Not so awesome books

Obviously, since I ignored this blog for more than year, I haven't written about books in FOREVER. Books are kind of a big deal for me. My obsession with books has actually strained my relationships with people in the past, but it's not something I'm looking to curtail. I'm basically a professional student, after all, and (an assortment of gods willing) on my way to PhD-dom. Books are pretty much what I do.

When it comes to Craft books, I'm both a collector and a snob. I like to keep copies of what I read and I'm willing to read most anything as long as it says something new (even if it's wrong). I conduct all of my Amazon searches by publication date and often pre-order Craft-related titles if they look interesting (yeah, yeah, I know...shop locally, support Pagan-run shops. But the fact is, for the volume that I read, it just doesn't make sense to constantly be placing special orders and then waiting forever to receive them. And paying more. Nevermind the low quality of the one Pagan store in my city). There are several used bookshops in my area and they know me at almost all them because I regularly clean out the occult section of anything worthwhile (which, admittedly, isn't usually very much). I've been at this for something like ten years. All this to say that I have a lot of books. When I get home, I'll post a picture of some of my shelves. It's absurd.

The snobbery comes when I'm asked for recommendations. I've already posted about my favorites, and that all still holds true for me, so I thought maybe I could post my thoughts on some of the usuals suggested by others. This isn't a list of "books I hate" by any means, just commentary on the stuff that's typically recommended. Like last time, the pictures are links to Amazon's description page.



Okay, so everyone reads Scott Cunningham (terrible new cover art aside). This was one of the first books I read and I remember thinking it was pretty good (though not nearly as much fun as Silver RavenWolf). Reading it again, I still think it's pretty decent in some respects, though I would now say that it must be considered within its context and supplemented with additional reading. I don't see much of a place for Cunningham outside of considering him for the sake of history. For better or worse, he was (and continues to be) extremely influential. But there are much better books for the solitary available now (see my first books post). I also wish that I knew something more about Cunningham's lineage. Does he even have a lineage?



Looking back on this book, I can see why it appealed to (Willow)Thorn circa 1998. It was shiny, fun to read, and promised STUFF. One of the early chapters is on "stocking your magickal cabinet." In fact, there's not a lot of genuine religion (whether Wicca or not) in this book at all. It's mostly about the paraphernalia that can go along with it (correspondences, tools, herbs, stones, tips on making purchases and making things, etc.). People tend to like stuff, and this book condones a certain degree of materialism. I'm not exactly condemning it for that (I'm the one who chooses books over people, after all), but it does put it several miles away from my list of recommended reading. I also crack up every time I read the infamous athame line (in my copy it's on page 92, but I don't know where it is in the new one): (paraphrasing from memory) "The athame stands for reasoning and the intellect. I don't use mine very often." We all know what she meant, but it's still hilarious. I don't feel that it's necessary for me to comment much further on RavenWolf (using Wicca and witchcraft interchangeably, being deliberately vague on her training, maligning other traditions, etc. etc.), because a million people already have, and in much better ways than I ever could.



I don't have tons to say about Teen Witch that hasn't already been said. Honestly, I don't think it's the worst thing she's ever written, and I figure that if I could read a book like this when I was 13 and still turn out Trad, it can't be All That Horrible. I think we should collectively give teenagers more credit in their ability to be discerning. I will say, though, that Llewellyn should definitely bring back the original (hysterical) cover art. Ditto for To Ride a Silver Bromstick, which had the world's best artwork, inside and out. EVER.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not telling anyone not to read anything. I'm not condemning authors or publishers. These are just my current thoughts (minimal and not-so-profound as they are) on these particular books. Pretty much every YouTube Wiccan has a video singing the praises of these books and I just happen to disagree. No big.

Sidenote: In setting up the links to Amazon, I saw that Silver RavenWolf's Teen Witch Kit is going for between $60 (used) and $300 (new). INSANE. But suddenly I'm really excited to own one. I mean, more excited.

Further sidenote: Just in case people are curious (and you've seriously not yet encountered the big to do that surrounds Silver RavenWolf), here are links to an assortment of articles. This isn't me saying that I necessarily agree with 100% of what's here, it's just for your consideration:
Wicca For the Rest of Us: Why We Despise Silver RavenWolf
Wicca Explained: The Status of Silver RavenWolf

Interviewing for a coven and reflections on the past

So for the last month I've been in Paris for school. This past week I finished my program, and now I'm just here for another week to actually enjoy the city sans homework. My parents arrived two days ago to accompany me. Suddenly the trip has an entirely different atmosphere, as my father is Very Very American. He's appalled at the absence of ice in drinks, air conditioning, and spacious bathrooms. I think I actually heard him threaten someone at the Louvre yesterday.

Anyway, that's not what I'm here to write about.

I'm writing because for the last two weeks I've been e-mail interviewing with a coven and I've made it to stage two: the phone call. Obviously, that has to wait until I get back, but I'm really excited about it. Mostly I've been e-mailing with the group's HP, but it was the HPS who sent me the last e-mail, saying she'd like to continue the discussion via the telephone. I think if I hadn't done this once before already I'd be scared out of my mind. Now, I figure they'll either be a match or they won't. If they're not, I'll keep seeking. I was really hoping to find a coven within this particular tradition (which I won't name out of respect for the group and for the sake of my own privacy) and I'm pleased to have finally done so.

This particular group is very much in the broom closet, which actually pleases me quite a bit. Don't get me wrong, I'm personally very open about being Wiccan, but I'd rather be a part of a group that wasn't very public. The wider Pagan community, bless their hearts, is just a huge headache sometimes, and I don't want to get caught up in the drama that inevitably arises when differing trads and opinions interact for prolonged periods of time. If no one knows what you do and believe, then no one's there to argue with you. I'm especially trying to avoid the "Real Wicca" debate. Yeah, I have an opinion and it's something I care about, but I don't want to fight about it. It doesn't solve anything. Trad Wiccans are always going to go on doing what they're doing, and eclectics are going to keep on, too.

It's so weird to be interviewing with coven #2 and thinking back on where I've been and how far I've come. I got involved in Wicca the same way most people do nowadays: through a friend, and by reading the kind of books that make me cringe now. I remember being in high school and dreaming of the days when I would have my own money to buy whatever books or supplies I wanted, the freedom to practice ritual openly (outside, even!), the ability to attend festivals and open rituals, and the knowledge and experience to finally feel comfortable with what I was doing. Most importantly, a real connection to the Divine. Now, with or without a coven, I'm finally here. It makes me think about the two friends I started all of this with back in high school. I don't keep in touch with either anymore. I wonder if they're still Pagan.

As a sidenote, a million thank yous to my thirteen-year-old self for starting to journal right away and being so consistent. While not every little thing is documented, there's enough to get an overall sense of where I've been. It can't be overemphasized how important it is to start a book of shadows (or something) right away. My first was a composition notebook covered in duct tape. After that it was three ring binders. Now, it's mostly bound books. But it doesn't matter. They all end up being precious in the end.

Anyway, I'm rambling now. In a little while it's off to dinner at a very French restaurant that, despite the heat and no ice, I hope my parents will find charming and satisfying.

Holy crap! It's been more than a year!

But that's okay. I realize that I lost all of my followers, so now I'm talking to myself, but maybe that will change soon.

A lot has changed in the last year and a half. I'm at a different university studying something completely different, I'm freshly single, I've formally left the circle I'd been a part of since 2005, and I'm suddenly feeling weirdly motivated to reconnect to the interwebs. Summer does that to me. I also have a new YouTube channel that you can find here. I had one last year for about three seconds, and then got weirded out by it. But I want to try again.

My life IMPLODED this year, and now I'm trying to put it back together in a pleasing fashion.

Ostara

Ostara is tomorrow and I'm very excited. R has a friend who is hosting an Equinox bonfire this weekend and we're planning to attend. Tomorrow, I'll be conducting a solitary ritual - maybe even outdoors. I've been working outside a lot, planning this year's herb garden. It's a very small yard, but there's plenty of room for a small garden and there's a privacy fence. I am going to set up an outdoor altar, and as long as it's warm, I'll do rituals outside when I can. I've already started planting, but I'll do the rest of it this weekend.

Defining Sacred

I'm trying to be more focused. Sometimes when I'm feeling good I think I have all this potential, and it's just a question of letting it out. It's a real struggle to maintain that feeling of connectedness sometimes. For a lot of people, reading and writing is a very airy sort of thing. A higher pursuit that requires thought, discernment, and hopefully, ultimately, the acquisition of knowledge and wisdom. All very Easterly. But for me, a different effect is achieved. Research grounds me. Writing keeps me centered. The physical act of reading comforts me. The more I reach outside of myself and consider things beyond, the more connected I feel to the rest of the world and the more I think I could do something positive with my life. In my room, my books are in the North. I didn't do it on purpose, it just worked out that way, and thinking about it now it makes sense to me.

Right now I'm reading Kaatryn MacMorgan-Douglas's Wicca 334: Further Advanced Topics in Wiccan Belief. KMD is a Priestess of the Universal Ecelectic Tradition, which I know nothing about, but many of her books are of immediate relevance to all Wiccan Traditions and I really enjoy them. I was really excited when I saw that she'd released a sequel to Wicca 333. The chapter I'm reading now is on sacred space and defining what is sacred and what isn't. A lot of Wiccans struggle with this idea. If the Divine exists in all things, then all things are sacred, be they people, animals, plants, or inanimate objects.

It's easy to say things like that. Everyone seems to always be talking about the sacredness of the world, but most people don't want to extend sacredness to things like guns and pavement, buildings and cars. Is everything really sacred or is that something to which Wiccans only pay lip service? Additionally, if thoughts are things and all things are sacred, are all thoughts sacred? Or is sacred a relative term? My athame is sacred to me, but there are many in this world who believe all weapons to be evil. Taking that idea further, are all actions sacred? Terrorist attacks are considered sacred, holy acts by many who now perpetrate them. Can something be sacred just inherently or does someone have to declare it to be sacred? How can the sacred be relative if the Divine exists all things?

Yeah, this is what I do with my free time. And this to me is what Wicca is about: trying to come up with answers to these questions. If we're not asking them to begin with, then what are we doing?

Imbolc Date Discrepancies Explained

Imbolc is not on February second. It might be on February fourth, but it's not on February second. I'll explain.

So there's this popular lady on YouTube who calls herself TipToeChick. I've watched a few of her videos, but it's not really my thing. I can see that she's really got a following, though, and she recently started a blog that you can check out here. If we were a spectrum, I think I might be on the other end, but that's okay. Anywho, she just made a post listing the sabbats and their dates in the year 2009 and there was a lot of confusion in her comments because she listed Imbolc as being on the fourth of this month (as well as Samhain on November 8, Beltane on May 6, and Lammas on August 8), when common Wiccan practice states that Imbolc is on February 2. So basically all of her comments were along the lines of, "Wait! Isn't Imbolc on the second?!"

No, no it's not. Most Wiccans seem to celebrate it then, but it's not. Imbolc as Wiccans originally observed was based on a pre-Christian Celtic festival marking midwinter. Early Wiccans, Gardner included, called the holiday "February Eve," and practiced their rites the night before the first day of February and into the next day. Things got confusing when we decided that Imbolc and Candlemas were the same holiday. Candlemas is a Catholic holiday celebrating the presentation of Jesus at the Temple in Jerusalem, described in Luke 2:22-40. Candlemas is celebrated by Catholics either on February 2 or on the Sunday between January 28 and February 3. It's not a Wiccan holiday. I'm not sure where the idea that Wiccans observe Imbolc on february 2 comes from, but thanks to mass market publishing and newbies teaching newbies, everyone now thinks that Imbolc is February 2. This is also why everyone thinks that Halloween and Samhain are the same holiday. They're not. Halloween is on October 31. Samhain is on November 1. Gardnerian and Gardnerian-derived groups celebrate "Samhain Eve," so they often circle on October 31. But they're not celebrating Halloween. They're celebrating the night before Samhain. Kind of like how Christians have festivities on Christmas Eve, even though Christmas is the next day.

So back to TipToeChick. The dates she quoted are the astrological dates of the sabbats. I'm not an astrologer and as a general rule have little to no interest in astrology, but plenty of Wiccans do. So there are some Wiccans out there who celebrate Imbolc (a.k.a. midwinter) when the sun falls midway in the sign of Aquarius. The sun moves through twelve different astological signs over the course of the year (roughly three signs per season). So, midwinter falls halfway through the second winter sign - Aquarius. Ta da! Ditto for the other weird dates she listed for Samhain, Beltane, and Lammas (Lughnassadh, more appropriately). They're the halfway points in their respective signs. It's pretty unusual for Wiccans to observe this way, but it certainly happens.

My Recommended Reading List, abridged

I celebrated Imbolc yesterday after a day spent cleaning and hanging out with friends. R and I went to the flea market and he found me a pair of horns for my Oya altar. I'm really pleased with them. I need to hunt around and see if I can't dig up something to use as an altar cloth.

I wanted to make a post regarding my favorite books, simply because everyone seems to have a list, and I think the best books are sadly under-represented. Most of them can't be had if you only frequent large mainstream booksellers (but some of them can), and so they tend to go unread. These aren't in any particular order, and I've made the cover images into links so that if you want to purchase them, you can do so. I'm not saying that you shouldn't go out and read Ray Buckland or whoever else. I think if you're serious you should be reading and analyzing anything you can, but there are definitely some books that are better than others (not-so-great books are frequently distinguished by sparkley covers and/or authors who are named after animals). These are the ones that I wish someone had recommended to me when I was introduced to Wicca.



The Triumph of the Moon by Ronald Hutton
This is easily the best secular, objective books on Wicca ever published. Period. Hutton is not Wiccan. He's not even Pagan. He's a British historian and an authority on European paganism (small "p" intentional). In this book, Hutton closely examines Wiccan history, belief, and practice from the very beginning. He addresses Wicca's origins, surrounding influences, evolution, and spread over seas. My copy is marked up and tabbed. I've read it several times, and every time I learn something new. Almost every Wiccan history book available today (that isn't totally false) is just an abridged version of Hutton. Save yourself time and money and just read this one.



The Circle Within by Dianne Sylvan
I adore this book and I think it would appeal to anyone regardless of Tradition. The subtiltle is Crafting a Wiccan Spiritual Tradition and that pretty much says it all. Sylvan writes plainly about incorporating Wicca into daily life. If you're one of those people who laments not having time to practice, then you need this book. Sylvan discusses the need for daily prayer and ritual without imposing her own personal beliefs. I reread this book periodically because I find it to be very inspiring.



Witchcraft Today by Gerald Gardner
If you're Wiccan, you need to have read Gardner. Whatever your Tradition, odds are most of it comes from him and his cohorts. Besides, he's quirky and very British and some of the conclusions he draws are hilarious (my personal favorite being that because "Robin" is an old French-English word for "spirit" and "Hood" is just another word for "wood", Robin Hood MUST be a mythical form into which witches could transform at will. WHAT.) What modern Wiccans practice today makes so much more sense (or not) after you've read the first book ever published on Wicca.



Fifty Years of Wicca by Frederic Lamond
Read this book simultaneouly to Witchcraft Today. Gardner will make a lot more sense. Frederic Lamond was one of the the witches in Gardner's original coven. We're lucky to still have him and even luckier that he decided to write books. This is Lamond's memoir. He discusses how and why he came to Wicca and writes about his experiences as Gardner's friend and covenmate. I think there's a lot to be learned by reading primary sources, and this is one of the few that we have.




The Heart of Wicca by Ellen Cannon Reed
Ellen Cannon Reed is non-Gardnerian, but she's still Trad Craft, and that's the perspective from which she writes. To Reed, and to myself, Wicca is an initiatory mystery tradition. In The Heart of Wicca, she discusses her experiences as a High Priestess, the value of initiation and training, the importance of history, and she does it all without devaluing the solitary experience. I think most people will either love or hate this book, but I adore it. If you're a solitary, eclectic practitioner, this book will offer you a perspective on the Craft that you might not have been exposed to before.

I'll write plenty more on books, I'm sure. There are plenty of really excellent ones out there, so don't limit yourself to Cunningham (also an important author, but I'm assuming you know that).