Customer Reviews

HexCraft: Dutch Country Magick (Llewellyn's Practical Magick Series)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Being PA Dutch myself and having grown up with the tales of PowWow and the powers of Hex, I was very interested in this book. It is a difficult subject to research, firstly. Not much has been written about it, old timer Dutchmen tend to keep those things spoken, not written (we're talking about a culture that has a language best spoken, rather than written, lest you start fighting over proper spelling) and the new Dutchmen have distanced themselves from the old and unfortunately have made it near impossible to understand some things. So we speculate and get a book such as this. A nice attempt.

Getting Dutchmen to agree on history is like getting cats to herd, easier said than done. So even speaking with old timers isn't gospel truth. My mom mentioned PowWows to me as a child, said it was strange, as religious as her mother was that in times of need or great misfortune, a trip to PowWow would be in order, though never spoken about it. She was raised Old Order Mennonite; my mom's mother did not condone ANYTHING pagan, though PowWow wasn't seen necessarily as Pagan.. ironic.

What the book does do though is summarize what is a dead art and a dying power. Hex signs, whether they worked or not, were a roadside beauty to behold on many a barn. The artists work, choice of colors and design all meant something... if only to themselves. Trying to capsulize the meanings is okay, but futile as some would paint what they wanted, regardless of meaning. They were all signs of prosperity, growth, fertility, hope, love and joy.. for these were all things needed and wanted in daily life on the farm. The hex sign and the bank barn are both indigenous to PA and a dying roadside view.

The title of this review ought to say it all. Silver Ravenwolf (i.e., Jenine Trayer)has, in her own way, attempted to tackle the subject of Pow-Wow and hexerei. She does the practice a grave injustice with her incessant wiccanizing. "Ravenwolf" has had timerity to wiccanize such elements as the biblical Psalms and traditional Christian prayers, throwing in for good measure New Agey concepts such as chakras, etc.

In spite of her having been taught by a Pow-Wow, Preston Zerbe, she displays little respect for the art. For those who don't have their heads in the sand, it is a well know fact that the wiccan religion (as practiced today) is a mere 50 or 60 years old (and that's being generous).

Through out the text Trayer makes stellar comments where she laments that Pow-Wows no longer acknowledge or utilise the "Rede" or "Law of Three". These are thoroughly modern concepts only found in wicca. Within the book she attempts to show Pow-Wow as merely a Christian cover for American witchcraft. Now, hexerei is witchcraft. Witchcraft is a practice, not a religion. As a practice, it can be worked within any religious context. However, Trayer wants everyone to believe that Pow-Wow is "actually" a bastardized form of Wicca (which she obviously believes predates Pow-Wow and other traditional magical practices).

While witchcraft can be worked within any religious context, Trayer does Pow-Wow a disservice by trying to make it so generic that it will fit anyone's fancy or fantasy, thereby removing it from its cultural roots. "In the name of God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost" is 'corrected' by Trayer as "In the names of Maiden, Mother and Crone". Prayers to Isis find their way in the text, too.

New Age wiccan writers such as Trayer are jeopardizing the survival of true traditional witchcraft practices such as hexerei with their lousy 'scholarship' and historical revisionism. Witchcraft is, indeed, pre-Christian in the sense that *every* art of civilization predates Christ. Witchcraft is as much a skill or art as fire-making, cooking, blacksmithing, basket-weaving, etc. Just because house building, for example, predates the advent of Jesus doesn't make it a "pagan" craft. Thowing out, minimizing, or tokenizing the Christianity within Pow-Wow subtracts form the cultural organic whole of the practice instead of adding to it. Llewellyn Publications and its authors are quite guilty of this manner of cultural rape. It's too bad there can't be laws against this manner of reprehensible 'scholarship' and its publishers.

For a truely decent book on Pow-Wow see Karl Herr's book *Hex and Spellwork*. Also, get a copy of Lee Gandee's *Strange Experience: an autobiography of a hexenmeister*. These texts, plus the traditional Pow-Wow books *Long Lost Friend*, *Sixth and Seventh Books of Moses*, and *Albertus Magnus Egyptian Secrets* are invaluable to the study.

I'd like to clear up a few things about this book. It is not witchcraft, it is not Pow-wow/Braucherei/Hexcraft, it isn't really anything except the debased mess that $ilver Ravingwolf made out of this living, breathing folk magic tradition.

I believe this book is now called American Folk Magic, which in itself doesn't make sense either because there isn't a unified, cohesive American folk magic tradition; there are many: Pow-wow/Braucherei, Curandismo, Brujeria, and Hoodoo to name just a few. The one thing all of these folk magic systems have in common is that they are all created and informed by the culture that produced them and they are *all* rooted in Christian faith so deeply that they can not be separated from it and still retain any authenticity or integrity. If you "de-Christianize" Pow-wow the way Ravingwolf has it is no longer Pow-wow, period. Doing so also disrespects the people and culture that created it, and is the worse kind of intellectual fraud I that can think of. This doesn't mean that if one isn't a Christian one can't practice Pow-wow, but the would-be practitioner needs to be at peace, or make peace, with Christianity if they want to truly understand Pow-wow and work with it authentically. If the practitioner can't do this they will need to find another form of folk magic to work with because Pow-wow, like many of the folk magic traditions found in the US, is a "majority rules" system. In other words, something isn't Pow-wow unless the majority of practitioners recognize it as such so it isn't a tradition in which "I can make it up as I go and call it Pow-wow" or "Pow-wow is what I say it is". Work with the system as is or walk away and leave it to those who can.

That said, this book is based primarily on Johannes George Hohmann's "Pow Wows or the Long Lost Friend," which uses German sources for it's information. Ravingwolf asserts the existence of a German Braucherei folk magic that was and remained "pagan" in the United States, which is nonsense in itself, but then she takes such bizarre impostures as the invocation of the Irish goddess Brigid! Not only is the premise itself a falsehood, but the author has the nerve to imply that she is returning American-German spell-craft to its pre-Christian Pagan (meaning IRISH) origins when it never had Irish or Pagan origins to begin with! As stated above Pow-wow is, and always as been, Christian-based and despite the erroneous belief held by many Neo-Pagans that Christians don't practice magic..nonsense, Christians have always practiced magic and this is one system they created. If you really want to see authentic Pow-wow read Hohman's "Pow-wows or The Long Lost Friend" for starters, but take this mess with a boulder of salt.

I found this book qhwn I was searching for information on hexsigns and the pow wow practices of the Pennsylvania Dutch. I bought it used, and good thing too! As I began to read, I found the author had really gone beyone taking liberties with tried and true practice. SilverReven Wolf seems to have decided that powwow is interchangeable with her "new age" religion. Pow Wow is based largely in Protestant Christianity and Ravenwolf seems to want to remove that aspect from it. What bothered me the most was the chapter on The Holy Psalms. The author actualy took Psalms and reworded them, taking away God and adding names of pagan goddesses...sorry but this is pure fantasy! The Psalms have been used for thousands of years and don't warrant changing. I am very open to many paths, but I know the difference between them, this author apparently does not!

Back in 1998, I became increasingly interested in witchcraft. I saw this book at a local book store and purchased a copy. It's sad to look back and think that this was my first real look at the magical arts, as this book is neither magical nor art.

The author clearly has a lot of unresolved anger towards Christianity, and writes far too highly of herself with claims of being from all these specific clans and heritage. Save it for the renaissance fair, Raven.

After reading more of her works, I was completely convinced that there was no place for me in Wicca. I don't have a problem with Wiccans, I'm just not one of them.

Years later, I still don't "belong" to a particluar path. I believe that true magic resides naturally within us all. Common sense, research, intelligence, and practice practice practice are all the tools you need to become a true witch.

We are a part of nature, not masters of it. A simple look at some of Raven's other writings expose her lack of concern for animals. In one of her books, she even admits to having cast a spell to have the biggest deer get in the way of her husband's shotgun. Using magic to cause the death of another living being is horrible!

Back to this book, don't read it. It's a terrible waste of time and energy.

This book os not bad, exactly.

Well, OK it IS bad-but could be of some use. As one of the other reviewrs has mentioned the professed history is truly worthy of ridicule and the neo-pagan changes to traditional christian chants is offensive (this is a neo-pagan talking!).

That being said there is some interesting material for the beginer with some idea of hex work/pow-wow. I would HIGHLY recomend Karl Herr's "hex and spellwork". Once you've read this I think you'll know which aspects of "hexcraft" are worthwhile and which are not

For people who are interested in reading about the Dutch Country Magick, this isnt' a bad book. Ravenwolf packs it with quite a bit of information,and shows many of the charms used by the Pow Wow Artists. It also shows her struggle in trying to write the book, as well as other things. Definitly a decent read if interested in Pow Wow, or desitring ot read more of Ravenwolf's books.

One of the primary premises of this book: that the Hexcraft of the Pennsylvania Dutch originated with Witchcraft and only covered itself with Christianity in order to be accepted by the masses.
For those who know better, read instead: "Hex and Spellwork by Karl Herr.

I orginally picked this book up while browsing through the library. I couldn't put it back and am currently searching for a copy of my own.

Silver Ravenwolf writes in a very down-to-earth, easy to understand format that keeps the reader interested, without omitting important information. She is obviously dedicated shown by her diligent research in a field where many are not willing to speak aloud what is in their hearts.

I commend the author in leaving the opportunity for all religious faiths to adopt the different spells & charms to use for themselves. One aspect of being truly Wiccan is never saying ones beliefs are the "right" and "only way". Silver Ravenwolf encourages thinking for oneself & religious tolerance.

This is yet another bookby Llewellyn which rehashes the same gunk that the others do, this time it is explained in terms of the pow wow practice. Wiccans like revenwolf seem to think that any practice dealing with any kind of herbal medicines or folk tradition is wiccan...ITS NOT!!!!....Wicca is a neo modern religion with absolutely NO roots what so ever except that it claims to stem from old religion. If you are looking for pow wow practice read "the Long Lost Friend"....If you want witchcraft, not wicca, but witchcraft which is entirely different, I suggest Mastering Witchcraft by Paul Huson.