A learned and serious manual to Witchcraft for the mature practitioner, by one of the craft's leading teachers.
Evolutionary Witchcraft
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About the Author
T. Thorn Coyle has been a spiritual seeker her whole life, and a Witch for more than twenty years. A musician, dancer, activist, and poet, she teaches internationally.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
107 of 113 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
First, a word about what this book is thankfully not. Although it has plenty of information and exercises that will be useful to beginners, it is not an introductory book on witchcraft. The program of training presented here is a challenging one, with a serious focus on personal growth and development. Those who are accustomed to the relatively shallow, sweetness-and-light approach of New Age personal development books will find themselves in much deeper waters here.
Secondly, this book is not yet another reframing of common-knowledge neopagan models and techniques. Coyle is working out of a unique pagan tradition, one that has its own specific spiritual technology and models of approaching magick. Although practitioners of other traditions are sure to find resonances with their systems, tools such as the Iron Pentacle are unique to the Feri and Reclaiming traditions. More importantly, however, these tools make sense outside a Feri context, and practitioners of other paths will find them to be important additions to their magickal repetoires. No one in Western society is free of the cultural baggage that hangs on Sex, Pride, Self, Power, or Passion, and Coyle provides meditations and exercises that effectively break down the personal and cultural barriers that keep these important energies bound.
Finally, a few words about what _Evolutionary Witchcraft_ is. EW is a well-written, down-to-earth, extremely coherent book on Feri witchcraft that is yet designed to be accessible to practitioners of any magickal path. It is packed with practical exercises without entirely ignoring theory, and it structures its training program within a unique and exciting Feri aesthetic. As a former student of Victor and Cora Anderson, the poetic and eclectic founders of the Feri tradition, Thorn Coyle gives us her own evolutionary, socially-aware twist on the Feri line while remaining close to the richness of the source.
Secondly, this book is not yet another reframing of common-knowledge neopagan models and techniques. Coyle is working out of a unique pagan tradition, one that has its own specific spiritual technology and models of approaching magick. Although practitioners of other traditions are sure to find resonances with their systems, tools such as the Iron Pentacle are unique to the Feri and Reclaiming traditions. More importantly, however, these tools make sense outside a Feri context, and practitioners of other paths will find them to be important additions to their magickal repetoires. No one in Western society is free of the cultural baggage that hangs on Sex, Pride, Self, Power, or Passion, and Coyle provides meditations and exercises that effectively break down the personal and cultural barriers that keep these important energies bound.
Finally, a few words about what _Evolutionary Witchcraft_ is. EW is a well-written, down-to-earth, extremely coherent book on Feri witchcraft that is yet designed to be accessible to practitioners of any magickal path. It is packed with practical exercises without entirely ignoring theory, and it structures its training program within a unique and exciting Feri aesthetic. As a former student of Victor and Cora Anderson, the poetic and eclectic founders of the Feri tradition, Thorn Coyle gives us her own evolutionary, socially-aware twist on the Feri line while remaining close to the richness of the source.
50 of 53 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Thorn Coyle is a Witch, an initiate of the Feri Tradition in which Starhawk (author of The Spiral Dance) was trained, and an initiate also of Reclaiming, the political collective and Craft tradition of which Starhawk is the best-known founder. Evolutionary Witchcraft is a logical successor to The Spiral Dance: a manual of Feri Witchcraft, a compendium of training derived from her own teaching experience, designed to give people who may not want to or have the opportunity to be directly initiated into Feri a chance to use its basic tools to improve their lives.
This is not your average Wicca 101 book. (In fact, there are good reasons why Feri Witchcraft should not be called Wicca, but that's another story.) There are no spells here, no tables of correspondences, no pre-made rituals for solar or lunar holidays. Instead, there are meditations or practices that work with the breath, with posture, with movement and dance, with the magical tools of blade and cup, and with stories, deities, and concepts specific to Feri Tradition such as the Peacock God and the Iron and Pearl Pentacles. Thorn's writing is clear, powerful, and poetic without being forced; in reading this book, I found myself remembering how breathtaking The Spiral Dance was when I first read in 1979, the year of its publication, how Starhawk's words swept me away into a world of new possibilities. I believe Evolutionary Witchcraft will do the same for a new generation of people who want to deepen their connection to spirit, to the earth, and to their best selves.
This is not your average Wicca 101 book. (In fact, there are good reasons why Feri Witchcraft should not be called Wicca, but that's another story.) There are no spells here, no tables of correspondences, no pre-made rituals for solar or lunar holidays. Instead, there are meditations or practices that work with the breath, with posture, with movement and dance, with the magical tools of blade and cup, and with stories, deities, and concepts specific to Feri Tradition such as the Peacock God and the Iron and Pearl Pentacles. Thorn's writing is clear, powerful, and poetic without being forced; in reading this book, I found myself remembering how breathtaking The Spiral Dance was when I first read in 1979, the year of its publication, how Starhawk's words swept me away into a world of new possibilities. I believe Evolutionary Witchcraft will do the same for a new generation of people who want to deepen their connection to spirit, to the earth, and to their best selves.
59 of 65 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
There are a lot of pagan authors who write books that are simply rearranged versions of the knowledge that they acquired from other books, with the result that their books are either overly academic or completely 'fluffy.' Evolutionary Witchcraft is neither of these. T. Thorn Coyle is a serious, longtime practitioner in the Anderson Feri tradition, and she also brings her work with Sufi tradition into play as well. Evolutionary Witchcraft is a book for people who wish to go beyond 'Wicca 101' and start to peer into the mystery that is the Self in relation to the Divine. It is a book that will take people who are witches much farther down their path. It is a quantum leap ahead of most books on Witchcraft and Paganism. Engagingly written and powerfully motivating, Evolutionary Witchcraft is not for the unserious or the beginner, but for someone looking to deepen their path and their relationship with the Gods, it's a must-have.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Let the real Craft begin...
There are plenty of texts out there which provide excellent introductions to Witchcraft and NeoPaganism. This work is for those who are ready to move deeper. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Jibrael
This book has the potential to change your life powerfully!
T. Thorn Coyle begins with some insights into the societal factors (and her reactions to same) that created her. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Dawnie
A great book for the serious student
Thorn is amazing in this book, she managed to put all of her sufi knowledge with the witchcraft practice on a daily basis that it's impossible not to want it in your life! Read more
Published 10 months ago by Bruno
Shallow and Repetitive
Having heard of Feri and and being interested in its unique attributes as well as Coyle's experiences with Sufism, I decided to see what knowledge and inspiration I could gather... Read more
Published 20 months ago by Azoth
Good exercises for embodiment of life force
Many books on Wicca or Witchcraft tell you the tools needed, the words to say, and then some of the myths behind the magic, and then leave you to fill in the "body" of the Craft on... Read more
Published 20 months ago by D. Riverblue Cloudwalker
Evolutionary Witchcraft
This book is simply amazing. Taught me many things about myself and I can't wait to read more and learn more! Read more
Published on November 18, 2009 by Sara Imhof
Blender Wicca a "Tradition"?
If you take all the popular "advanced" and not so advanced books on wicca/witchcraft that are the current fad, you get yet another "tradition". Read more
Published on October 23, 2007 by L. Galloway
If you buy just one book on witchcraft...
...Let this be the one you buy.
You may have heard the joke, "What do you call a fourth-degree witch?" The answer: "A Buddhist. Read more
You may have heard the joke, "What do you call a fourth-degree witch?" The answer: "A Buddhist. Read more
Published on September 10, 2007 by Branwyn
Evolutionary Witchcraft
After learning the basics of circle casting and herbal correspondence, many Witches seek a deeper understanding of magick and inner working. Read more
Published on August 26, 2007 by Jaratura G.
A spiritual guide to magic
Evolutionary Witchcraft
T. Thorn Coyle
Penguin books
302 pages
I found this book to be very intriguing because it provides a mystical perspective to magic... Read more
T. Thorn Coyle
Penguin books
302 pages
I found this book to be very intriguing because it provides a mystical perspective to magic... Read more
Published on April 5, 2007 by Taylor Ellwood
Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
The Audre Lord quote above is graffito in the Kopi Café in Chicago, a place full of travel books and hippie clothing. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
pearl pentacle, evolutionary witchcraft, invoking pentacle, let yourself fill, shining flame, sacred sphere, grounding cord, auric egg, sex energy, green cube, feel your feet, sitting practice, blue sphere, take another breath, black mirror Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Black Heart, Devotional Dance, Feri Tradition, Black Mother, God Soul, Heaven Shiner, Peacock God, Shadow Lover, Guardian of the Gates, Fen Tradition, Melek Taus, Rite of Unbinding, Cora Anderson, Expansive Attention, Divine Twins, Feri Witch, Holy Mother New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
The Audre Lord quote above is graffito in the Kopi Café in Chicago, a place full of travel books and hippie clothing. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
pearl pentacle, evolutionary witchcraft, invoking pentacle, let yourself fill, shining flame, sacred sphere, grounding cord, auric egg, sex energy, green cube, feel your feet, sitting practice, blue sphere, take another breath, black mirror Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Black Heart, Devotional Dance, Feri Tradition, Black Mother, God Soul, Heaven Shiner, Peacock God, Shadow Lover, Guardian of the Gates, Fen Tradition, Melek Taus, Rite of Unbinding, Cora Anderson, Expansive Attention, Divine Twins, Feri Witch, Holy Mother New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 32
books:
See all 32 books this book cites
3
books
cite this book:
- The History of Magic by Eliphas Levi on page 187, and Back Matter
- Sister Outsider: Essays and Speeches (Crossing Press Feminist Series) by Geraldine Audre Lorde on page 15, and Back Matter
- The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft by Ronald Hutton in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- In Search of the Miraculous (Harvest Book) by P. D. Ouspensky on page 23, and Back Matter
- Molecules of Emotion by Candice B Pert on page 47, and Back Matter
See all 32 books this book cites
- The Temple of Shamanic Witchcraft: Shadows, Spirits and the Healing Journey (Penczak Temple Series) by Christopher Penczak on page 100, and Back Matter
- Wicca for Beginners: Fundamentals of Philosophy & Practice (For Beginners (Llewellyn's)) by Thea Sabin in Back Matter
- Protection and Reversal Magick (Beyond 101) by Jason Miller in Back Matter
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