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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Enjoyable Read., February 28, 2007
This review is from: Elemental Witch: Fire, Air, Water, Earth; Discover Your Natural Affinity (Paperback)
I really enjoyed reading this book. You can read it fairly quickly and still get a lot of information from it. Although I recommend this book, it unfortunately has a few problems. As with most Llewellyn publications, it could use a good editor. It is, overall, well written, but a few of the sentences are akward. Another problem it shares with the vast majority of llewellyn books is the lack of footnotes. This can be quite frustrating to some of us who would like to verify some of the more outlandish statements. For instance, the author writes that sylphs are "thought to be the offspring of the Sidhe". I have never heard this before and it seems rather unlikely and I would like to know the source of this information.
Another problem with the book is in the Gods of the elements sections. I feel that it relies too heavily on non-western deities. I found the information interesting but not practical as I don't think it is ethical to use the deities of Native American and African peoples because of the crimes European Americans have commited against them. But if you don't feel the same way, of course, this issue won't be a problem for you. There are also a lot of inaccuracies in these sections. Sedna is called a "Native American" goddess, when in fact she is Inuit--whose people live all over the far north, not just america. Another mistake is when the author says that in Ireland "Brighid's snake appearing from its mound" is a cousin of the american groundhog weather prediction traditon. The problem is that this custom is from Scottland, not Ireland--the Emerald Isle seperated form Europe quite early and has no indigenous snakes.
You may accuse me of nit-picking but I do think that it is time for pagan literature to grow up and stop spreading misinformation. If the mythological sections contain so many mistakes how do I have trust in the magical information the book provides?
I feel that this should not be a person's first book on witchcraft because not all the elemental correspondences are the ones that are most widely used. The season correspondences the author lists are very different from the traditonal. To the authors credit she does tell you to use the correspondences that you feel comfortable with.
So while I don't recommend this book to absolute beginners, I do think this book has a lot to offer, especailly in trying to figure out which elements you resonate with. It also provides good ideas for incorporating the elements in your practice. I really did enjoy reading this book, and I hope that one day Llewellyn and other Pagan friendly publishers will start providing better editors for their authors.
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7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Beginners Guide on the Elements, September 20, 2006
This review is from: Elemental Witch: Fire, Air, Water, Earth; Discover Your Natural Affinity (Paperback)
The practice of the Witch relies on sources of energy for the workings. A good witch can draw upon the elemental energies for her use and knows the properties well and how to use them best.
Ms. Sullivan's book examines closely the properties of each of the four elements and gives a good rounded education in their history, associations and applications.
The book is broken down into each element and then breaks it own further into the path of each element, the magics and then Deity associations. There is lore, spells, recipes and herbal and stone associations.
What is nice about this book is that is does offer information on all four elements, and gives the beginning practitioner a well rounded education. And while you may find you have a preference for one or two elements, this book will give you a good look at working with all four.
This is a nice book, easy to read and understand and provides the basics for anyone looking at the practice of witchcraft using the four elements as focus. boudica
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Thank You!, October 7, 2007
This review is from: Elemental Witch: Fire, Air, Water, Earth; Discover Your Natural Affinity (Paperback)
Easily read and absorbed although unfortunately abbreviated. This book was the first one that put a name to my practice and I am forever grateful that this book exists at all.
It is geared toward people who work with the elements but does not really draw any lines as to create some ficticious dogma in order for an amateur to understand. I felt that although it was easily read there was a lot to absorb for someone who has taken the time to explore their own path rather than copy another's. I found this book to be particularly affirming in that regard and did not feel at all inclined to take the authors advice on some things but others I felt were spot on.
I would certainly not suggest this for anyone who is merely exploring but it is most certainly one of the most basic 'advanced' books now on my shelf.
I am now exploring a similar vein with other authors for a more in depth book, but this will certainly remain a favorite.
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