Goth Craft – Raven Digitalis

May 22, 2007 at 1:44 pm (Gothic Subculture, Magical Correspondences, Wicca and Witchcraft)

Goth Craft
Raven Digitalis
Llewellyn Publications, September 2007
316 pages

I was lucky enough to get to preview a galley copy of Raven Digitalis’ first book, Goth Craft, which is due out this coming September. Now, this is one of those books that had the potential to be either really good, or abysmal. Fortunately, Raven managed to stick to the former, avoiding a trainwreck of trendiness and black-dyed fluff.

If you’re unfamiliar with the Goth subculture beyond a few outward trappings, this book will give you a solid introduction to the whys, hows, and manifestations of what it is to be Goth. However, like the introductory material on witchcraft that he presents, Raven manages to avoid dogma and snarkiness. This will make Goth Craft a particularly good guide for teens and early twenty-somethings who are just getting into both the Goth subculture and witchcraft, though people who are more established in one community or the other shouldn’t turn away, either.

What I really liked about this book was the fact that it doesn’t shy away from potentially controversial material. The ritual use of drugs, sex (vanilla and otherwise) and gender issues are some of the topics that are covered in a respectful, intelligent manner. Raven also includes a good collection of rituals and spells aimed at the appreciation of the darker end of the spectrum of life, and provides some refreshing ideas to work with. He also shows the magic in “everyday” elements of Gothic culture, including conscious application of makeup and clothing, and the use of dance for reaching altered states of consciousness.

I would consider Goth Craft to be primarily 101 level material, but it’s on the higher end of 101–there are explanations of common pagan symbols and correspondences filtered through a Gothic worldview, but there’s also a good collection of further resources. And I learned quite a bit about the Gothic subculture that I hadn’t known before. So while the target audience seems to be younger folks in the Goth community who are interested in witchcraft, I suggest giving this book a chance if you’re interested in a darker approach to magic that is well beyond the ooga-booga spookiness and sensationalism that some prior texts have fallen prey to.

Five pawprints out of five.

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Dancing With Dragons – D.J. Conway – May BBBR

May 13, 2007 at 2:55 pm (Animal Magic, Bargain Bin Book Reviews, Books I Didn't Care Much For, Mythology, Otherkin, Wicca and Witchcraft)

Dancing With Dragons
D.J. Conway
Llewellyn, 2003
296 pages

I finally got around to reading this one, which just happened to be on the clearance rack. I knew it was pretty popular, though I didn’t realize it was in its thirteenth printing by 2003. I’d imagine there’ve been more since then.

I can see why the book has been so popular–for one thing, it was pretty much the first of its kind. Many pagans think dragons are the best thing since sliced bread, and so a book on dragon magic would have a pretty wide appeal. I’ve only seen one other book of its type, Torrence’s Sea, Land Sky: A Dragon Magick Grimoire which is on my wish list which I have reviewed as of 10 July, 2007.

So what was the first book on dragon magic like? Rather disappointing. I’ve generally disliked Conway’s works because she has a tendency to recycle the basic Wicca 101 material and plug in different cultural trappings; for example, her “Celtic Magic” and “Norse Magic” were practically the same book, only with different sets of deities and spirits. This book isn’t much different.

There’s a bunch of information on the history and mythology of dragons (without any sort of internal citations to show where she got specific bits of information). It seems pretty solid, and she has a good variety of cultures. However, it’s nothing you couldn’t find in any basic book of dragon mythology, such as The Book of the Dragon by Allen and Griffiths. Conway also indulges in a little more “Christians are evil!!!” sentiment than I’m comfortable with (as if no other group or religion had dragons as a symbol for dangerous things).

As for the magic itself, it’s basically Wicca 101 mixed with draconic imagery and a lot of Conway’s own UPG about her own dragon spirits. There are also pages upon pages of correspondences, information on basic Wiccan altar tools,and other 101 information that you could find in any book about Wicca, which makes me think that there was a serious need of filler. I really question the wisdom of some of her own material about dragons; for example, in the basic dragon ritual (p. 118 et. al) she instructs the reader to invoke Fafnir as the dragon of the south. I can’t find any evidence for the other three directional dragons, names Grael, Sairys and Naelyan. Is this UPG? She also talks about dragons as if anyone could work with them, and it’s just a matter of being polite to them.

The chapters on the different types of dragon read somewhat like a D&D manual, and she classifies dragons by their elemental properties regardless of what culture they come from. This just continues a neopagan trend that really annoys me, trying to wrap the entire world up in a neat elemental package. IMO, if you’re going to work with dragons deal with them as individuals according to the culture they come from, not whatever element they remind you of.

Basically, if you’re new to Wicca and you like dragons, you’ll probably like this book. Just don’t make it the do-all and end-all of your research on either topic. As per usual, there’s a lot of questionable material. Unfortunately, from what I’ve seen on the internet most of the material available on dragon magic stems from this book. Here’s hoping that Torrence’s work or future books of dragon magic will be improvements over this one.

One and a half pawprints out of five.

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Not in Kansas Anymore – Christine Wicker

May 10, 2007 at 11:50 am (Academic/Journalistic Approaches, Afro-Caribbean Religions, Books I Didn't Care Much For, Neopagan Subculture, Otherkin, Wicca and Witchcraft)

Not in Kansas Anymore: A Curious Tale of How Magic Is Transforming America
Christine Wicker
HarperSanFrancisco, 2005
276 pages

I first encountered this book when doing research for A Field Guide to Otherkin. I’d heard that the author had a chapter on Otherkin, and that was the first part I read. I wasn’t particularly impressed by what I found; it seemed a bit touristy and sensationalistic, though well-written.

Now that I have time to just read for the fun of it, I decided to give the entire book a chance. Unfortunately, my initial impressions aren’t that much different from how I feel now that I’ve seen the whole thing.

Wicker is a journalist, and it shows from the very beginning. She talks about her peers’ worries that she’ll “go native”, and her attempts not to do so are quite obvious. At least she’s honest, rather than pretending to be a member of a group to try to find out more about it. She states clearly where she’s coming from–not magical, pretty much an atheist, and seriously squicked about certain things (she seems terrified of BDSM in particular and takes any opportunity to describe it in lurid, evil manners).

The book seems largely dedicated to three subjects: Hoodoo, witchcraft and its variants, and Otherkin and vampires. She visits Zora Neale Hurston’s grave to get grave dirt, hangs out a bit with the Silver Elves, and gets witchy in Salem. In fact, she gets to have all sorts of experiences that numerous pagans and magical folk would love to have.

Granted, it does seem that she learns something from the experience. The book is a journey for her, from superstition to magic. Unfortunately, this is bogged down by numerous descriptions of various events and people that seme to be purposely slanted towards the extreme. She freaks out about every single instance of BDSM she encounters, describes in great detail just how bizarre everyone looks, and spends pages upon pages relaying the absolute worst of the paths she encounters. And while some of the people she interviews seem pretty down to earth and informational, others appear to be whoring for attention. Whether that’s the actual case, or just how Wicker chose to portray them, isn’t made clear here.

And everything is taken out of context, with the exception of some of the Hoodoo and witchcraft. Background information on the various topics she covers would have helped to ground her writing and make it seem less sensationalistic. For instance, all she really says about Wicca is that it’s white-light and not every pagan likes it. And she leaps from topic to topic fast enough to make my head spin.

I appreciate what Wicker was trying to do: present the magical fringes of society in a manner that the mainstream can palate. Unfortunately it feels more like a patchwork of whatever she happened to find; from reading this book one might assume that all vampires are into BDSM, all witches are tacky, kitschy, weird people who wear too much eye makeup, and that Hoodoo seems to be the only thing discussed that has any redeeming value. While it’s not as horribly sensationalistic as some of the “occult expose” books out there, there are better “outsider” views of magic and paganism out there and go in more depth; I recommend Earthly Bodies, Magical Selves by Sarah M. Pike, an academic look at the neopagan festival culture by someone who is not pagan but who manages to cover the material in a respectful, even-handed manner while writing at a level that non-academics can easily digest.

As for “Not in Kansas Anymore”…

Two pawprints out of five.

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The Wiccan Mystic – Ben Gruagach

May 8, 2007 at 11:09 am (Magical Theory, Wicca and Witchcraft)

The Wiccan Mystic: Exploring a Magickal Spiritual Path
Ben Gruagach
WitchGrotto Press, 2007
256 pages

The Wiccan Mystic is author Ben Gruagach’s answer to the complaint “I’m TIRED of Wicca 101 books! Where are the Wicca 201s?” With a few exceptions, he’s created a book that fits the bill.

The basic premise of the book is that Wicca is a mystery tradition, and the practitioner a mystic. He does a wonderful job making the argument that a mystery tradition doesn’t necessarily have to be group-oriented, and that the mystery is between the practitioner and the Divine. Those who are looking for good perspectives on Wicca as a solitary initiatory religion will definitely find useful fodder, and traditionalists may end up disagreeing. Gruagach holds his own, though.

The bulk of the book beyond the initial definitions deals with various topics of interest to the Wiccan who already has the basics down and wants to go further. There’s not a bunch of prefabricated spells and rituals, though; other than some pathworking templates in one of the appendices, it’s thankfully free of pre-crafted material. Instead we’re offered a wide variety of food for thought. Gruagach covers critical thinking skills, thoughts on balancing group and solitary work, philosophy and ethics, and even guidelines for critiquing a book in a balanced manner. All the material is aimed towards getting the reader to think about hir path, why s/he’s there, and what s/he’s going to do with it–without dogmatically flogging the author’s personal agenda (which doesn’t even come into play here).

There’s a bit of what initially looks like 101 material in here, but it’s approached from a 201 perspective. Rather than giving a list of deities, Gruagach offers up ideas on actually connecting to the Divine (rather than a “stereotype”, as he puts it). In other places he could have gone into a little more detail; the two paragraphs dedicated to familiars was pretty scant, and could have used a little more definition of what he was considering a familiar–it sounded a bit like he was considering all pets to be familiars. A little more elaboration on the various points that didn’t get so much attention would have helped to flesh the text out more.

I would also like to have seen more personal anecdotes to back up some of his thoughts. How have these ideas worked for him? What processes helped him learn what he passes on to others? Additionally, I think the appendix with the pathworkings could have been made into a standalone chapter.

There’s a terrific bibliography in the back; Gruagach has most certainly done his homework. It’s not all just neopagan source material, either; I saw Aldous Huxley in there, as well as a translation of the Greek Magical Papyrii. What I would really liked to have seen, though, is in-text or footnote citations of the material that didn’t come right out of his head (for example, his historical research). There are a few endnotes, but they tend to be more commentary on the material than actual citations. A big long bibliography is a lot more useful if there are citations in the main body of the work showing exactly where the author got a particular piece of information. Not only does it show the author’s work, but it also helps others who want to do more research on a given point or check the research against their own.

The only other quibble I have is with the layout. Maybe it’s just me, but the styles of fonts used for the headers seemed a little inconsistent, with a mixture of italics and bolds at various font sizes. The text also wasn’t justified, giving the right margin of the text a ragged look and giving away its self-published origin (though, to be fair, in both content and style it’s one of the best self-published works I’ve ever seen, and better than some of the traditionally published works out there!).

Still, the positives much outweigh the negatives here. Gruagach has created a much-needed text in the corpus of Wiccan knowledge beyond 101. I applaud his efforts, and encourage his writing career wholeheartedly!

Four pawprints out of five.

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Love is the Bond – M.R. Sellars

May 6, 2007 at 11:19 am (Fiction, Wicca and Witchcraft)

Love is the Bond: A Rowan Gant Investigation
M.R. Sellars
E.M.A. Mysteries, 2005
346 pages

This is the latest Rowan Gant novel by Sellars–and is it good!!!! He’s got a good balance of psychic phenomena and mundane sleuthing this time, and it was a really well-paced work.

There are a couple of new elements; the killer in this book misuses elements of Voodoo (don’t worry–the misuse is made quite distinct from proper use). In addition, there’s a flavoring of BDSM to the story; it’s not as bad as some squicked-out reviewers have made it, and leads me to wonder where this series is going to go.

The ending is a hell of a cliffhanger, more maddeningthan any other. When the next book “All Acts of Pleasure” comes out, which should be soon, I’m picking it up ASAP!

Overall, I really enjoyed this series, and I’m glad there’ll be more to it! Highly recommended for esoteric mystery fiction, and a good, quick read to rest your brain from research and other such things.

Five pawprints out of five.

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Crone’s Moon – M.R. Sellars

May 6, 2007 at 11:17 am (Fiction, Wicca and Witchcraft)

Crone’s Moon: A Rowan Gant Investigation
M.R. Sellars
E.M.A. Mysteries, 2004
332 pages

I’ve really, really been enjoying this series! In this latest Rowan Gant book, Sellars opens the story with almost immediate action–a kidnapping, to which Rowan and his cop friend Ben are both witnesses.

This book is probably the best blend thus far of action and downtime. The pace is quick, and there are some new twists in the storyline. There are a couple of hints dropped about several of the characters, too, that I can’t wait to see develop further.

There’s more of the psychic activity, too, and exploration of the firsthand experiences of Rowan–and, this time, Felicity–as they both fall into the well of the Otherworld. The whole “Oh my gods, (insert name here), you almost died from reliving someone else’s death psychically!” thing is getting a little old, adn sometimes I admit I did sort of flip through a few sections just because I figured that whoever it was that was having the seizure would get pulled out by the other one. But Sellars does a good job of conveying the anxiety and the desperation of the characters as the story unfolds, and the insistent pull of the Otherworld. I am kind of hoping, though, that later books rely less on the psychic seizures as a plot thickener, as after a while they all start running together. I’d also like to see more focus on clues about the perps, as in the first book, rather than having everything hinge on the seizures.

Still, the story itself is great, and it was a real page-turner–I couldn’t put the book down as I neared the end, and stayed glued to the pages all the way through. I’ve already started “Love Is the Bond”, and it’s already pulling me in–I only tore myself away long enough to write this review!

Four pawprints out of five.

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Perfect Trust – M.R. Sellars

May 6, 2007 at 11:15 am (Fiction, Wicca and Witchcraft)

Perfect Trust: A Rowan Gant Investigation
M.R. Sellars
E.M.A. Mysteries, 2002
369 pages

This is the third of the Rowan Gant series. It’s different from the first two; there’s more psychology and high weirdness, and less action. It took me til about 2/3 of the way through the book to really get into it, but it was worth it.

It’s fun getting into a character’s head–in this case, Rowan–and seeing just how close to insanity he can get without falling over the edge–or knowing the reason.

The thing I’ve learned, though, with mysteries in general, is to pay attention to detail. I won’t say anything more than that. But with this one, everything snapped into focus within the last couple of chapters. There’s one detail that’ll throw you for a loop, though!

Overall, another good book! Not as easy for me to read as the others, but still, worth the money.

Five pawprints out of five.

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Never Burn a Witch – M.R. Sellars

May 6, 2007 at 11:11 am (Fiction, Wicca and Witchcraft)

Never Burn a Witch: A Rowan Gant Investigation
M.R. Sellars
Willowtree Press, 2001
412 pages

Sellars’ mystery series takes a few new twists in this second book. Once again we have a serial killer, but this time s/he’s targeting pagans in the St. Louis area. Worse yet, whoever it is has decided that The Malleus Maleficarum is holy writ.

As before, Sellars gives us good views of who his characters are as people–and how they deal with increasing weirdness, such as the stigmata-like wound on Rowan’s arm that resembles the same symbol the killer leaves at the scenes, and Rowan’s increasing detachment from reality and into the alternate world of the spirits of the murder victims. These details rather push the limit of the realism of Wicca presented in the book, but it still beats flying fireballs and physical portals into the Otherworld.

Sellars leaves us with a cliffhanger of an ending, which of course led me to run and get the next book from the shelf so I could find out just what happens next. I’m really enjoying this series thus far, and I’m glad to have a good series of fiction to relax with.

Five pawprints out of five.

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Harm None – M.R. Sellars

May 6, 2007 at 11:08 am (Fiction, Wicca and Witchcraft)

Harm None: A Rowan Gant Investigation
M.R. Sellars
Willowtree Press, 2000
380 pages

My husband, Taylor, turned me on to Sellars’ works last year. I had the good fortune of meeting Mr. Sellars at the fall ’06 Gathering of the Tribes in Virginia, and between that and Taylor’s insistence I decided to take a break from all the nonfiction. Good choice!

I really enjoyed how Sellars wove Wicca with real-life situations. Rowan, the protagonist of this book, is a solitary Wiccan (at least at the time of the story) with his wife, Felicity, who is also Wiccan. (I suppose you could have a coven of two.) Anyway, there’s no huge fireworks–no fireballs, or flying through the air, or anything like that. The magic that does happen manifests itself primarily psychologically though to someone sensitive enough a strong piece of magic can manifest itself through a physical reaction. So pretty realistic.

The story itself is good P.R. for Wiccans in general. You have the stereotypically feared human sacrifice (though not carried out in a stereotypical fashion) and the locals automatically pointing to witches. Enter Rowan, who is an open spokesperson for the Wiccan religion. In this book, Sellars uses the character of Rowan to dispel some of the common myths about Wicca, which is a definite boon as plenty of non-Wiccans are sure to pick this one up.

In addition, the characters are human–even the cops. Everybody has something to them below the surface, or at least that potential. Some characters, no doubt, will be explored further in the series, but I really like Sellars’ ability to create people in his story. He also does a wonderful job of causing the “whodunit” needle to point to a number of suspects, rather than focusing on the chasing down of one.

Highly, highly recommended for a good, fast read on a Saturday afternoon, or something fun to take with you to work for breaktime–or any time else you want a well-written, entertaining read.

Five pawprints out of five.

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The Old Power Returns – Morven Westfield

April 30, 2007 at 1:49 pm (Fiction, Otherkin, Wicca and Witchcraft)

The Old Power Returns
Morven Westfield
Harvest Shadows, forthcoming June 2007
312 pages

Generally I’m not a huge fan of fiction, but I had the opportunity to read this particular novel over a weekend while flying cross country. And I do have to say it’s pretty good!

Set in the early 1980s, “The Old Power Returns” features Wiccans, psychics, and vampires, just as its prequel, “Darksome Thirst”, did. An added geek feature is the collection of references to circa 1980 computer technology that pepper the story.

It took me a little while to get into the story, partly because there were a lot of references in the first couple of chapters to events from the first book in the series. However, with some reading it wasn’t too difficult to get at least some idea of the events leading up to this book, though not enough to spoil the promised fun of “Darksome Thirst”, which is now on my wish list.

Westfield does a great job of writing a story that drew me in. There were plenty of interesting twists in the action; Frederick the vampire was one of my favorite characters (and one of the more unique bad guys I’ve seen created). However, all of them were well-rounded and distinct.

I think I only really have two small quibbles about this book (and don’t let them deter you!). One is that the book could have used a bit more editing. There were parts that were a bit wordy, or where the author used a particular phrase in two consecutive sentences. Also, the overall message of “Wiccans are good, not evil” got a bit tedious and heavy-handed. I realize that there are still plenty of misconceptions about neopaganism in general, but the traits of Wicca might have been worked more smoothly into the text rather than mini-essays presented as dialogue. Still, the effort is appreciated, and the info itself was pretty accurate.

Overall I found this to be an engaging read once I figured out the backstory. It may start a little slow, but “The Old Power Returns” is a great page-turner by the end!

Four and a half pawprints out of five.

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