Book Review: HedgeWitch by Silver RavenWolf

I've spent quite a while debating whether I should bother writing this review or not, and after seeing three different people asking about the quality of this book in the last week, I figure now's probably the time.

In the interest of honesty, Silver RavenWolf is an author that I would absolutely not recommend in most circumstances. I know she's a popular author to bash, but I actually own and have read several of her books, and there have always been issues with them. That said, I really did try to go into this book with an open mind - and after reading it, I have no problem saying this is the worst book of hers I have read to date.

Let me address the core issue first - this is not, in any way, hedgecraft. At all.

Now, many hedgewitches will recognize this as a common issue. Quite a few of the more generally popular authors who've written on the subject have really missed the mark, such as Rae Beth's earlier works which paint hedgecraft as a sort of watered down solitary Wicca, which hedgecraft is not. That said, sometimes these books might not be good resources on hedgecraft, but occasionally they work for those interested in green witchcraft or kitchen witchcraft. I do not feel that HedgeWitch is one of those books.

If you've ever heard of "The Secret" that is essentially what HedgeWitch is about. HedgeWitch teaches that you can pretty much get anything you want, so long as you're positive about it. In RavenWolf's own, often repeated, words, "it always works!" If you're not getting what you want, then gosh, you're just not being positive enough! The universe will literally give you anything you want as long as you think happy.

This is, in my opinion, a rather naive view of magic and the universe. A view that can actually be rather harmful when taken further. Aside from the fact that, frankly, it's a bit delusional, it also causes issues when looking at other people's circumstances. As an example of what I mean, the author of "The Secret" apparently once said that natural disasters can only strike people who are "on the same frequency as the event." In other words, people who've been affected by natural disasters brought it on themselves. This is just as disgusting as the fundie Christians who say that such disasters are meant to punish sinners.

RavenWolf herself doesn't make such a harsh claim (although she does blame some more minor events on negative thinking), but that does seem to the logical end of this particular way of thinking. I would write much more on the issues I have with taking positive thinking to such an extreme of "it always works!" but, frankly, a lot of people have already done this, and there are plenty of other issues in this book to get to.

Now, at the beginning of this book RavenWolf says that "the universe" doesn't understand "big words, flowery prose, or disclaimers." Using words like don't, won't, etc, in "spells" is a big no-no. Personally, I disagree with this idea quite a bit, because I do not think this is how magic 'works,' so to speak, and this idea is not present in many traditional forms of magic. Different people have different views, of course, but my real issue with this is I don't know if this is something that RavenWolf has, essentially, just made up, or if this is something with a bit more foundation to it. This issue of presenting everything as solid, indisputable, universal fact, even when it's just her own view, is a common one. There's nothing wrong with an author wanting to share their personal beliefs and experiences, it's part of what can make a book great, but just stating everything as total fact is not the way to go about it.

Perhaps a better example of this is her statement that "HedgeWitch prayer beads use twenty-eight beads on a string, with twenty-eight corresponding to one moon cycle." Where the heck is this coming from? I've never heard of it before, never seen it in any other source on the subject (good or bad). I mean, at this point in the book (about halfway through), it's clear RavenWolf doesn't actually have any idea what a hedgewitch is (or, perhaps, she just doesn't care). There is no universal structure for prayer beads within hedgecraft. This is in no way the absolute fact that she presents it as.

Another issue with this is while she presents these "facts" quite readily, she rarely addresses the actual "why" behind any of it. She'll say do this, use this, say that, and often doesn't explain the reasons behind any of it.

A fair portion of the book is dedicated to thirteen rituals, to be done over thirteen days, which end in... a dedication ritual. Yes, apparently thirteen days is all that's required before you should dedicate yourself. (To be fair, she also says they can be done over thirteen weeks, which is still rather questionable.) Fourteen days until you have all the power you desire, until you can have anything you want. This book reads like a snake oil scam - it'll cure anything!

After the dedication ritual, the rest of the book covers some craft ideas, a touch of herbalism, gardening, and some of the same old 101 stuff you can find anywhere. There are other books I would recommend for any of these subjects, as they go into more detail, and have a more solid base in them to work from. That said, it's not like the recipes and ideas in this section are necessarily bad, although I do find them to be a bit bland personally, but... there's that same issue again and again, the word hedgewitch keeps being used, but there is no hedgecraft in this book. None. Tossing the word hedgewitch everywhere, and casting a hedgewitch circle, writing in a hedgewitch book, and making a hedgewitch herb mix... none of it has any meaning. Hedgecraft is a personal and flexible tradition, but that doesn't mean you can just make up anything you want and declare it to be hedgecraft, without ever addressing any of the core elements that set hedgecraft apart from other practices. It's frustrating to see my tradition so misrepresented, and it's a waste of time, money, and effort for anyone who would actually like to learn about hedgecraft.

If you want to learn about hedgecraft, this is not the book for you. If you want to learn about green or kitchen witchcraft, there are much better sources. Unless you're really looking for "The Secret" with a bit of crafts and a little bit of shallow witchcraft, this is not the book you're looking for.

Review: the Wildwood Tarot

The Wildwood Tarot

Created by Mark Ryan and John Matthews

Illustrated by Will Worthington

The Wildwood Tarot is a reworking of a previous deck, called The Greenwood Tarot. It is structured in a similar manner to the standard Rider-Waite Tarot deck. There are twenty-two cards in the major arcana, and fifty-six cards in the minor arcana, which is broken up into four suits. However, the Wildwood tarot differs in the names of all the cards, and in the symbolism of a few of them.

For example, the first card is The Wanderer, rather than The Fool. The imagery and symbolism of the two cards are otherwise similar. However, in the Wildwood tarot The Ancestor takes the place of the Hierophant, and comes with a fairly different image and meaning.

Additionally, the four suits of the minor arcana are not the standard ones. Instead of cups, wands, pentacles and swords, we are greeted with vessels, arrows, stones and bows. The Kings, Queens, Knights and Pages are all shown as animals, rather than humans as typically seen.

The minor arcana cards depict detailed scenes, rather than just having a pattern of four wands, or seven swords, as some Tarot decks do. For example, The Wildwood's Eight of Stones, compared to Dean's Golden Tarot's Eight of Pentacles. Additionally, each minor arcana card also has a keyword written on it. Some enjoy the guidance of the keyword, others may find it limiting. If you like the deck, but dislike the keywords, you may want to consider cutting the frames away from the cards, so you're just left with the artwork.

The packaging, with book to the left.

The deck also comes with a fairly detailed guide book. The guide begins by explaining how the Wildwood tarot came to be, and what the creators were hoping to achieve with this deck. "We believe that the Tarot represents an accurate map of the human psyche that can be manipulated to absorb new cultural and ideological archetypes (it has indeed done so in the past). The Wildwood Tarot seeks to strip back these archetypes to their basic form, and remove some of the many attributes prompted by political and sexual principles through the ages. It also attempts to demystify some of the esoteric code of the Tarot by utilizing the Wheel of the Year."

To begin with their first point, they say that, when fitting they tried to make the human figures in the major arcana androgynous "so as not to deny anyone access to these archetypes." To this end, only four of the cards seem truly androgynous to me. Five show men, five show women. The Forest Lovers, where I was really hoping for a more open picture, pretty clearly shows a man and a woman. The rest of the major arcana cards do not show a human at all. While I wish they'd taken the concept a bit farther, it does better than the standard Tarot in this respect.

A fair portion of the book deals with the use the cards, explaining how to formulate proper questions or topics for the deck, mainly though learning to ask deeper questions. Questions that focus more on introspection, rather than fortune-telling. For example, questions like "will I get the job" are discouraged by the authors, as they feel the deck can not answer that type of question.

Another use is in meditating on the aspects of each card of the major arcana as they relate to the Wheel of the Year (which in this case does not focus on the Wiccan mythos). It encourages the person to look at the many layers within the Wheel, and within humanity, and within themselves. Much as the standard Tarot is the fool's journey through life, the Wildwood Tarot follows The Wanderer through the primal wood, within and without. The book gives a lengthy explanation of this cycle, and how the cards fit in to it.

The book also includes descriptions of each card, and suggested meanings. The major arcana is explained in two pages per card, the minor arcana one page per card (sometimes just a paragraph or two). It also gives some ideas for spreads fitting to the deck, including 'the bow', and 'the world tree.'

Physically the deck is 3 inches by 4.75 inches. The backs of the cards are a simple green background, with a thin white border. Some feel the cards are too thin, but they feel about the same as my other tarot decks to me. I don't expect them to wear down quicker than normal.

As far as the artwork is concerned, I find it stunning to look at, as well as being well thought out and detailed. I enjoy many of the little touches, such as seeing The Wanderer again later in the deck, being guided by The Pole Star. Since opinions on artwork are, of course, quite personal, and the artwork can make or break the ability for one to connect with a deck, I've included several samples at the end of the review.

If you like the idea of the Tarot, but have found yourself wishing for something a little more primal, something that seeks to go back further into our own history, something that taps more into the wild of the deep woods, then this deck is definitely worth a look.

The major arcana of the Wildwood Tarot, vs. the major arcana of the Rider-Waite Tarot.
The Wanderer -- The Fool
The Shaman -- The Magician
The Seer -- The High Priestess
The Green Woman -- The Empress
The Green Man -- The Emperor
The Ancestor -- The Hierophant
The Forest Lovers -- The Lovers
The Archer -- The Chariot
The Stag --Justice
The Hooded Man -- The Hermit
The Wheel -- Wheel of Fortune
The Woodward -- Strength
The Mirror -- The Hanged Man
The Journey -- Death
Balance -- Temperance
The Guardian -- The Devil
The Blasted Oak -- The Tower
The Pole Star -- The Star
The Moon on Water -- The Moon
The Sun of Life -- The Sun
The Great Bear -- Judgment
The World Tree -- The World

Queen of Stones * Bear
Eight of Stones * Skill
Six of Arrows * Transition
Nine of Arrows * Dedication
Three of Bows * Fulfillment
Eight of Bows * Hearthfire
Two of Vessels * Attraction
Seven of Vessels * Mourning