Customer Reviews

To Ride A Silver Broomstick: New Generation Witchcraft

5 star:		(186)
4 star:		(74)
3 star:		(51)
2 star:		(29)
1 star:		(71)

 

 

Having read many of the reviews, you can tell which reviewers of "To Ride a Silver Broomstick" are coven-based Witches. Having seen a recent survey on the Witches Voice web site, I can say with certainty that the great majority of practicing witches in the U.S. today are NOT in Covens, but solitary practitioners who have no teachers, and no guidance as they begin. This sort of "this-is-such-a-schmucky-book-because-it's-not-written-by-Raymond-Buckland-and-doesn't-revolve-around-a-coven" talk should really be left to the more mainstream religions. In the Craft, all paths are paths to the Goddess. It's also not realistic; most of us can't find people willing to teach us, and may not feel comfortable even if we could. Buckland's books are great, but they don't speak to Witches who are outside the coven group. (I also didn't know there were such things as "real" rituals...are my rituals less real because they're written by me and not by Buckland or Gerald Garner? That sounds remarkably Medieval Roman Catholic Church-like to me....) For those of us who are not lucky enough or choose not to be in a Coven, this book is a strong foundation, provided it's used correctly. If you simply read through it quickly, it will be informative, but it won't function as a basic course in Witchcraft. If you choose this as your main text (and there are other books that will be equally good depending on who you are), then you should really follow it closely to get the full effects: buy your notebook, take your time, do your exercises, and most importantly...READ the supplementary texts suggested at the end of most chapters. Read them between your chapters in "Broomstick". They will give you more insight and enhance your study, and will also give you ideas of the directions you want to take as you grow. If you do this, you will find yourself better prepared to tackle the mountain of information available on the Craft. I know I sure did.

I'm 18. I bought this book when I was 15 and it turned me off Wicca for nearly 2 years. It alarms me that people will actually recommend this book to anyone.

The tone is EXTREMELY condescending. After reading the book, I honestly felt as if I could never be a real Wiccan unless I purchased all her books and completed all her exercises. And I'm not sure where she found her "historical" information, but it's inaccurate AT BEST.

The exercises were insulting to my intelligence. Copy out a glossary of "Magickal Jargon" (most of which was completely irrelevant) word for word? Imagine what the God and Goddess look like?

As far as her teaching goes, I think I learned more about $ilver than I did about Witchcraft. (Or should I say Wicca? Apparently, they're interchangeable. She prefers Witchcraft because the word Wicca reminds her of wicker furniture.) There is no such thing as objectivity in $ilver's plane of existence.

This brings me to my biggest problem with the book: bigotry. When it comes to her opinion of Christianity, $ilver's about as subtle as a two-by-four to the face. She makes ludicrous claims and prattles on about "The Burning Times" like there's no tomorrow. I thought Wiccans were supposed to accept other belief systems and respect all of the Goddess's children. (Maybe Christians were adopted?) Even as a non-Christian with no Christian friends raised in a non-Christian family, I was extremely offended by her cutesy little fairy tale of how Satan came to be.

I would recommend that all would-be Wiccans stay far, far away from this book. $ilver Ravenwolf holds a great deal of responsibility for the commercialization of Wicca and the stereotypes that plague it. It's been suggested that those who denounce $ilver do so out of a desire to keep Wicca underground and mysterious, thereby making themselves feel special and mystical. I denounce $ilver because it is her way of thinking that is pushing serious Wiccans underground and out of the public eye. The fluffiness and anti-Christian mentality promoted by this book have drastically affected the mindsets of impressionable young teenagers to such a degree that the general public's perception of Wicca is warped beyond repair. I don't know if Wicca will ever recover from $ilver Ravenwolf.

This has become more of an essay than a review, but I'm genuinely concerned about the effects of reading this book on the psyches of the young people who seem to be attracted to it. Parents, please don't purchase this book for your child. There are so many more valuable learning tools out there. All this book teaches disrespect and paranoia - neither of which are beneficial to a developing mind.

This is the first book I read when I started off on my path as a Pagan Witch (note: not Wiccan). I thought it was pretty decent and wondered why people thought it was crap....until I had a few more books under my belt. The reason becomes quite clear.

The book, simply put, is only so-so as a beginner's book. It's OKAY. There are better, there are worse. This one in particular leans towards the "Fluffy Bunny" side pretty heavily. (Fluffy as in taking up lots of space but having little substance)

There are several things about "Mamma Silver" I dislike intensely [...] Mainly, her smugness in her superiority. This manifests itself several ways, for example the insulting term "Once Borns" used to describe Christians in this book. Another example is her little quote on her site regarding her Teen Witch book:

"Call 1-800-XXX-XXXX to place your order, or bug, bother and pester your neighborhood book store till they can't stand it any more. Oh, and for the adults that don't like this statement? Maybe you don't care about their future, but I do."

To me this isn't about someone's future, it's about common courtesy - she pretty much demands crews of teenagers harass booksellers into carrying her book. This indicates to me that she has a lot less concern for things like free will and courtesy than she has for things like money, and more money. "Momma Silver" indeed!

All in all, I feel the nickname "$ilver" is appropriate for this author. This book is okay to read just so you can judge for yourself, but make sure you read several other "beginner" books before you decide to purchase any more Ravenwolf books. There is not one useful thing in this book that isn't presented a lot more thoughtfully and with beter references elsewhere.

And honestly, I had a hard time *giving* away my copy.

This book contains nothing of worth that hasn't been said already and better. I am concerned that so many of these reviews say that it is good for beginners. Why learn something that you are going to have to unlearn later? Be wary of something that is too easy. Better books are Margot Adler's Drawing Down the Moon, Stewart Farrar's What Witches Do, Stewart and Janet Farrar's A Witch's Bible, Raymond Buckland's The Complete Book of Witchcraft, Starhawk's The Spiral Dance, and Scott Cunningham's Wicca for the Solitary Practitioner. If you read those books you will be able to see just how poor Ravenwolf's books are. Don't waste time on cotton candy when there is steak and potatoes out there.

If you glanced at the trashy cover-art and title and found that they put you off, or if you simply didn't like the idea of buying a book by somebody called Silver RavenWolf (a name reminiscent of a bad night playing AD&D) then you might be quite surprised - "To Ride..." is a well conceived and thoughtfully presented title on Witchcraft, paganism and the occult that is worth the money and actually deserves to be read.

Beyond the cover and the title already mentioned, which is more or less Llewellyn's fault as the masters of gaudy sensationalism, "To Ride..." is a comprehensive study of what it takes to practice solitary, and refreshingly non-dogmatic Witchcraft. RavenWolf really knows her stuff and writes in a clear and friendly fashion, often boiling difficult content down to the level of the non-specialised reader (which is why people say she has a childish style - an accusation they probably wouldn't level at Donald Michael Kraig for doing exactly the same thing).

Beyond that, however, what RavenWolf excels in is enthusiasm, and it is certainly contagious as you itch to get started with her book. From page one, admittedly after skipping the dreadful fairytale account of The Charge (which really IS bad AD&D - yuck), the text pulls you in and motivates you to think carefully about Witchcraft and the occult, while encouraging you to get your feet wet by trying the practices out. In that sense, RavenWolf ranks among the very best occult authors from whatever field, as getting people motivated enough to claw their way out of the armchair is two thirds of the battle. The other third, of course, is to then get people to think beyond their limits but we can only expect so much here - it is Mr Crowley, after all, who still has the market cornered on that one.

What I would suggest is that if Witchcraft has caught your fancy and you are looking for a good introduction to it then you should start right here. Personally, I would rather do that than begin with a title by the late Scott Cunningham, who despite his growing status as a neo-pagan saint, actually wrote introductory books about Wicca/witchcraft and natural magic that do only half as well as this one. I mean, at least Raven Wolf doesn't chuck slushy greeting card sentiments across every page (only some of them) while also recognising that gush and content aren't really the same thing at all.

On the whole this is a very neat little book but it still suffers from the trend of seeing nature as 'nice' and 'fwuffy' (sic), which is present in a lot of neo-pagan texts. To balance it out, I would try working with something harder and more holistic, like the Shamanic magick of Jan Fries (which doesn't sugar-coat the natural world at all) or maybe even by reading "Last of the Medicine Men" by Benedict Allen to get a fuller idea of what working with nature really means to people who CAN trace their lineage back across dozens of generations. If you still think the forests and the wilds are 'pleasant' after that then good luck to you! If, on the other hand, you see something that people cut from RavenWolf's cloth have missed then welcome aboard - the bus heading for a firmer spiritual contact with the natural world is loading now and getting ready to leave the station before sundown.

Even though I've been a practicing Solitary Witch for nearly 10 years, I was urged by a friend to buy this book. Instead, I did what I usually do-I went to the library first and checked it out, along with two others by her. I'm so happy I've developed that habit.

Besides the generally condescending tone and the incessant bitterness towards anything regarding Christianity, I was completely appalled at the (mis)information and recommendations she is giving to her target audience - teens.

Nine million witches burned? Where, in any credible research, did she get that? Lie to your parents about what you're doing with those candles and incense? What responsible adult encourages children to lie to their parents?

Silver Ravenwolf "is" one of today's most recognized authors of books on Witchcraft. It would be wonderful if this book (or any others she has written) had factual history, responsible ethics, and well researched details. Unfortunately, none of the above is included in her work. If Amazon had an option for zero stars, that's what I would have given.

It's pretty obvious to me (as it must be to you) that more than a few of these reviews are written by outraged Christian Fundamentalists pretending to be kids. I'm not going to lie to you. I'm an adult Seeker working towards being initiated into the Gardnerian Tradition, which is one form of Wicca. There are many other traditions, mostly broken up into two camps: that of the British Traditionalist and the other of the American (often feminist and/or environmentalist), socio-political Wiccan practitioner. Silver Ravenwolf fits into neither of these categories.

She is, instead, a self-made witch with rather a narrow viewpoint and a bun on herself. (She is also out to make a good buck, as she has on several occasions readily admitted.) It seems to be going around these days. So many of these self-made "Wiccans" are writing books right and left, expounding on this or that theory or technique with great energy and authority, and while some of them really do have magical ability, they are almost never actually Wicca. And because their scope is so limited, they almost never realize this.

If you are interested in Wicca- the religion, the Mystery Tradition, into which you must usually be initiated in some shape or form- ignore this book and others like it (that goes for D.J. Conway, "Lady" Sheba, Raven Grimassi, Edain McCoy and their ilk) and instead concentrate on Ed Fitch, Gerald Gardner, Doreen Valiente, Vivianne Crowley, Patricia Crowther, Alex Sanders, Sybil Leek, and the earlier writings of the Farrars and Ray Buckland (specifically, "Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft" and "A Witches' Bible") for a British Traditional approach. For a more Eclectic approach, read Starhawk, Cunningham, Bonewits, Church of All Worlds stuff (Otter Zell and friends), and Faery Tradition stuff (Victor Anderson), etc. You will notice that none of these traditions will initiate anyone younger than age 18, but that does not mean you can't prepare- you would have to wait years to be initiated into some of these trads as an adult, so use the time wisely- you won't be sorry.

Or, you can just read the tribe of Llewellenites I just mentioned if you simply want to practice witchcraft. Very few of them are accurate in their research, but that doesn't matter. If you have a knack for a spell, you can make up practically what you like and it will often still work, as long as you focus your Will. But I would caution you not to neglect protection for yourself, first (ie: make sure you can cast a mean circle and call up some benevolent protection). Otherwise, some pretty unpleasant things can happen in the ethers that will catch up with you on this level in time. And know that these people you are reading are far, far from the last word in the magickal community.

It because of books like this that there are so many wannabes running around. RavenWolf takes us on a magickal journey, and that's it. 90% of this book is magick. What little there is concerning spirituality is fuzzy and staggering. There are only a few, yes, a few, paragraphs concerning craft history. And what there is, isn't quite accurate. My conclusion here is that RavenWolf has no true understanding of what her religion is all about. Nor is does she even give the impression that she's even a pagan. The problem that plaugues so many beginners is that they are convinced that there is a correct way to stand, to sit, to talk, to walk, etc. And if you don't follow these rules, your spells won't work, and the goddess won't love you anymore. RavenWolf indulges in these things and actually makes the point of the rules concerning "proper" ritual behavior, thus creating an army of little craft zombies. This is especialy true in the follow up to this book, which is 100% devoid of any religious references whatsoever. This book is HORRIBLE!!!

I have mixed feelings about this book, and about Silver RavenWolf's writings as a whole. While they do serve as a good guide for beginners, they are not the complete and final word on things. I do appreciate RavenWolf's style of warmth and humour, she is also very condescending. One of the best aspects of Wicca is that it is what you make of it, it's different to every person. But RavenWolf writes as if she has the only true knowledge of Wicca.

She also uses the words "Witch" and "Wicca" seemingly interchangeably. Although this is pretty common, someone who is well versed in Witchcraft or Wicca would know that Witchcraft isn't a religion; it is rather a science and an art. Wicca is an actual religion. The two words are different, and I think RavenWolf would ahve more credibility if she got that straight.

She also uses examples of spells that violate the Rede, and this doesn't sit well with me.

Still, she has given very good information about the basics of Witchcraft. I would recommend that people read this book, just don't take EVERYTHING she says as the final opinion. She is not the only point of view that you should examine.

$ilver Ravenwolf is called the Queen of the Fluffy Bunnies, and those who love her do not understand that title. This book alone should describe what that means, but only if one is willing to read more that what was written by $ilver. If you need an introductory book, read Bucklands Big Blue Book. Those ready for more advanced work should read Gerald Gardner, and those ready for history and theology should read Raven Grimassi.

Wicca is a religion that embraces the cycle of nature. Life is part of that cycle, and so is death. The Goal of the Witch is to achieve balance with nature. It is no mystery to a Witch that when we are born we are covered with blood, a vital fluid of life. Wicca is also a religion that is trying to gain genuine recognition as a valid religion, practiced by a variety of people of all ages and walks of life, not just teenagers who think that magick is making a wish on your lucky quartz crystal.

On the other hand, you can sanitize and sugar coat the religion, take out anything that could possibly offend anyone, pretend that we are all sweetness and light instead of people with good and bad combined, and you would have $ilver Broomstick. That is why anyone who is initiated in a coven and has done actual work on their faith finds $ilver Ravenwolf both insulting and an impediment.

Traditionalists may criticize Z Budapest and Starhawk for their views, but not for their knowledge or teaching skills. Many debate whether the Farrars broke oaths when they wrote their books, but none dispute the genuine value of their books. $ilver, alas, has none of those redeeming qualities that even the pariahs of wicca posess. Her version of Wicca is to pretend that there is nothing bad in the world and that all witches are sweet and nice people who never do anything wrong because it is a sweet and nice religion with nothing even remotely resembling anything that might be considered dark. That leaves nothing but cuteness without substance, much like a Fluffy Bunny.