Customer Reviews

Teen Witch: Wicca for a New Generation

5 star:		(129)
4 star:		(55)
3 star:		(23)
2 star:		(29)
1 star:		(80)

 

 

This book is not for those who are serious about their religion or serious about learning about contemporary paganism. This book is for people who like having their beliefs trivialised, sanitised and dumbed-down. This book is not even for beginning witches; it's more depressingly funny than it is educational.

Obviously intended to be mass-marketed to teens, this book makes no attempts at providing valuable information. Instead, it focuses on offering a plethora of recipes for spells in an attempt to grab the interest of teens. The spells themselves are not even serious in nature; stopping parents from inflicting harsh punishments on you when you do wrong, getting cute boyfriends and fighting -- get this -- locker elves.

On top of offering ridiculous "information" and cheesey spells, Ravenwolf presents a reality of witchcraft that is, in fact, not reality. Her idea and very definition of witchcraft (that which the entire premise of the book is based on) is very limiting and -- dare I say -- inaccurate. This book is not about witchcraft, it's about making money by presenting the author's own ideas as fact in a way that will make teenagers eat it up.

In truth, Ravenwolf's 'Teen Witch' is about as representative of modern witchcraft and neo-paganism as Disneyland is to reality. Whitewashed, simplified and often outright incorrect, this book has NO value as a text medium (maybe firewood). Furthermore, when presented from a condescending tone (which we as readers need, since we apparently are not up on par intellectually with the Great Silver RavenWolf) this book should be offensive to any reader and at age.

Do yourself a favour and buy a REAL book on modern witchcraft.

What RavenWolf is selling in this book is not Wicca. What she's selling is blend of Wiccan-flavored folk magic, new age trends and watered-down Wiccan theology. And hey, if that's what you want your religion to look like, that's great. Good for you. Just don't call it Wicca when it's not.

This book is a decent starting point for the study of folk magic--decent, but far from great. The negative points far outweight the good. Her tone is a bit condescending (teens don't need to be spoken to like children). Her information on Wiccan belief is inaccurate, and her historical info is even worse. She seems biased toward an anti-Christian viewpoint, to the point of telling her readers that the Christians in their lives will probably hate them for their newfound Wiccan beliefs.

I would not recommend this book to anyone. There's nothing said here that you can't also learn elsewhere. This was my first book on witchcraft, and I spent a while unlearning what I learned from it. Please, if you value your time and your money, don't even bother buying it.

I think my rating pretty much said it: don't bother. I am sorry about my other review, I wrote that when I was in the beginning of the book and hadn't finished it yet and hadn't read any other works about Wicca. This book is horrible! It is so condescending; I almost tore it apart. She actually says things like "Finally, a book written on your level and doesn't talk down to you." What the? By saying that she has to write on "OUR LEVEL" for us dummies to understand it she is saying we are too stupid to comprehend her usual "big word, grown-up" style that would make our brains explode.

When she listed the 13 Principles of Beleif(s) she wrote one and then below it she wrote "Teen Speak" and translated it for our toddler minds, as if we are not smart enough to understand a simple paragraph. I certainly did and when I read the Teen Speak paragraph, I could actually feel her patting me on the head.

Her pathetic attempts at slang were just plain embarrassing and her constantly condescending tone was sickening. She spent way too much time on unimportant subjects without really even explaining them, just ranting, and didn't focus on things of importance.

She also did a horribly unprofessional thing: referring to something like "mental programming" without previously saying anything about it as if we already have at least some background in The Craft when she specifically indicated that the book was for complete beginners!!! That has a name: bad writing and really bare experience in The Craft.

She also came up with a Teen Seeker Ritual as if she had to dumb it down and make it "teen" for us to do it right, otherwise we might actually die. That was one of the most unprofessional things a person can do when writing. Same thing with the "Teen Esbat" deal. What the?

She also made things unclear and vague like when she listed the Theban alphabet. She said in some Craft traditions, first-level students must learn a complete magickal alphabet to translate their entire Book of Shadows into a secret magickal tome. Then she said never translate English to runic as each rune carries a magickal property, but she doesn't tell us if Theban is runic or not. Again, bad writing and bare experience. How are we supposed to learn if we can't write it down and she just said that you might translate the BOS into it and use it in the next couple of spells? I read that page about sixty times, waded through the rest of it, seething, and then gave it to a second-hand metaphysical shoppe.

It is also not true that you can be a Wiccan and a Christian at the same. They simply don't suit each other. There are Christians who practice a bit a magick, but Wiccans who are trying to swing one or more religions with Wicca are going to go insane one of these days!

Last but by all means not least, most of her history about the Craft and information about herbs and colors and cord magick and almost all of her Spells are wrong. She contradicts herself left and right like nobody's business and I got the feeling like she was hiding something: carefully tiptoeing around subjects as if she didn't want to reveal something when she clearly said there is nothing to hide in Wicca!

There are lots of good books on The Craft by the following authors:

Ray Buckland
Scott Cunningham
Edain McCoy
Amber K
Durina Dunwich
Sirona Knight

Lauren Manoy
Gwenevire Rain
Jamie Wood
MJ Abadie
Theresa Francis-Cheung
Teresa Moorey

Look those authors and up on this site and stay ... away from Silver RavenWolf!

This book is a waste of time and money. When starting out learning about Wicca, it is important to read a lot, and you will come across good books and bad books. Part of the learning process is to compare and separate the two. This was the first book I read, and even then I didn't like the condensending tone. Ilooked at all the spells, and didn't try them, thank Goddess! That said, I quickly moved onto Scott Cunningham's "Wicca for the Solitary Practitioner." I am embarassed I even spent money on "Teen Witch".

Spells and Magick are not to be done lightly. In fact, I do not believe that they should be in a beginner book at all. And the chapter on Spells, with cutesy names such as "The Crabby Teacher Spell," and the "Elf Locker Spell." Really, who is she kidding?

More disturbing are spells which manipulate and control other people, such as "Tie His/Her Tongue Spell," "The Bully Frog Banish Spell," "Posies and Honey Parent Love Spell,"The Doodle Bug Love Spell,"Pucker up You Sucker Spell." ("You've told someone a secret, and now you think they're going to run at the mouth....To prevent someone from telling the intimate details of your life, try this spell" Pg 212)

This book is embarassing and insulting. As a Wiccan, I can say that it is hard enough to live in a world that treats my faith either as something sinister or a fluff newspaper article around Halloween. I recycled it rather than donating it to a used bookstore. Good Riddance to Bad Rubbish, as the saying goes.

I have to admit that this book did give some good basic info for begginners. It was nothing however, that you couldn't get in another book without all of Silver's junk. First of all, I didn't like her condescending tone. I myself am 13 and am perfectly capable of understanding the Principles of Wiccan Belief without her translating it into "teen speak". I mean, just because we are teens does not mean we are stupid. Give me a break! And then she constantly uses words like "witchy points". Why? Would she use such terms when talking to an adult? I don't think so. She obviously underestimates and has no respect for teenagers. Another thing that really bothered me was her spells. She should really come up with some better names. I mean "I love Fluffy Spell"? Please! But, ok. We'll let the names slide. How about the contents of the spell? Even worse. She leads begginners to believe that you can just write some words on a paper, bounce a ball up and down, say some mumbo-jumbo, and...tah-dah! You've got what you want! She completely fails to mention visualization of any kind when performing spells. She makes wicca all cutesy-spells and fluff. It seems she forgets all about the spirituality of the religion. She seems convinced that her way is the only way. Which is definitely not true. Now, some people may laugh and say, "This girl's only 13. What can she know about wicca?" Well, you'd be surprised. There are a lot of young people out there who know more about wicca and witchcraft than Silver. My advice, don't read it. It's not worth your time. Instead, go for something by Scott Cunningham. He's much better.

It amazes me exactly how much like my extremely nice but amazingly fundamentalist Christian grandparents Ms. Ravenwolf sounds in this text. My family members are the kindest, most good-intentioned people in the world--yet they have a strong tendency to scoff at the religions of others, paint over a world of colors in stark black and white, and annoint themselves as the followers of a "right way"--much like the statements Ms. Ravenwolf makes within her various books. In particular "Teen Witch" is disturbing in its promotion of what a "real" "good" witch is and how a teen should explain this ideal to family. She contradicts herself by promoting acceptance then sneering at the so-called lesser "non magickal" folk out there and by taking a patronizing view on other religions. This is not what a teenager seeking a new path in his or her life needs. It is a manipulation of the ideals and history of Wicca so that it might better fit into a society mostly built upon Judeo-Christian ideals. One does not need to say they are invoking "Angels" in order to please those around them--as a practicing witch on the Wiccan path, I have met with amazingly little resistance when it comes to my beliefs and I live in Texas! I am a 20 year old college student now and at 16 I "came out of the broom closet," you might say. My family is very fundamentalist Christian and though they were saddened by this I did not try to wash over it or hide what I am; if I were to do so then why bother to "come out" at all? There is little satisfaction in lies. This book paints a simple, black and white view of two very complex subjects--spirituality and magic (two separate things that are stated to be unwaveringly connected in the texts of Ms. Ravenwolf) and this simplicity has been marketed as "easy to understand." Well, we are dealing with very complex things, the world itself is complex, and teenagers are not small children unable to comprehend that sometimes that even a hero's methods can be wrong! A small child can understand little more than good or bad but we are speaking of adolescents; allow them to live, to search for meaning around them, to grow into adults. Wicca is a complicated religion, made more complex by its lack of stringent laws such as the concepts Ms. Ravenwolf seems to have created for it. No blood, ever? Then thousands of years of witches begging for a good harvest are now null and void? Evil, even? This book makes no effort to truly delve into any complexity but rather promotes the insta-Witch. Well, that is all well and good if she was claiming no connection between magic and spirituality or self; however, she says that they are inseperable. If one is striving to become Wiccan, religion and spirituality is involved and when one truly seeks answers in such areas, they NEVER simple. For learning how to aquire money by chanting over a green candle, Ms. Ravenwolf's books are wonderful; she even implies at one point that a spell done wrong could make someone drop dead--now that's some strange power! Too bad it never worked for the inhabitants of countries being invaded... For someone seeking true knowledge in the area of Wicca, Silver Ravenwolf's work is a poor guide. Whether she is like my family, truly believing in the superiority of her path, or is knowingly playing with concepts in order to make them easier for our society to swallow, and simpler for teens, I find her writing embaressing.

This book was really good for me, when I first began. It pointed out all the things that I was wondering about. At first, like probably most teens, or younger children, I immediately thought that you could do ANYTHING with magick. Well, maybe you can do alot, but not EVERYTHING (^_^). A couple of people ( as I've read in the reviews ) have said that the books says one thing, but then contradicts itself. Well ( I'll use the earliest one I've seen about the teacher spell ^_^ ), it says that you can't use magic against somebodies will, such as making them doing something they wouldn't normally do. Though ( with the teacher spell ) you can change how the teacher feels ( in one way or another ) to have her ( on her own ) change. Most likely, I'm guessing this is through use of her spirit. If you are just beginning with Wicca, this is a book for you. If you've atleast read a couple of books, and understand the main principles ( holidays, spells, rituals, etc. ), then I would suggest not reading this book.

Silver Ravenwolf, in my opinon, can do better than this. I read this book a few years ago after having been on my path for several months.

In the beginning I enjoyed the tone of the book...very "Mama Silver." (As she refers to herself.) The information was presented in an easy to read manner at first...but later on I had my disagreements.

However, my first problem was the fact that she didn't suggest that teens be honest with their parents about their interest in Wicca.

Further into the book I realized how simplified Ravenwolf had tried to make the information..which would be a good thing if not for the fact that I felt she talked down to her readers.

The more I got into the book the more I began to disgree with her. There is a lot of emphasis on spellwork in the book, and I don't feel there is enough mention of Wicca--the religion.

I was not impressed with this book, and unless you're looking for something overly simple then I'd not suggest this as a beginner book.

A major disappointment, and for all the hype and 'best-selling' stuff written about it, Teen Witch _doesn't_ give a good introduction to the Wicca. It's basically a handbook for the movie "The Craft". Ravenwolf claims she is trying to tell the truth about Wicca, but she may as well have written a dedication to Satan it was so full of crap. She has supposedly been Wiccan for 20 years, or somewhere along those lines, but she writes like a 13 year old who stumbled across some warped version 'Wicca' by accident. It's very poorly written and does not contain more than a few pages of information. She does not give a good view of Wicca and has more than likely ruined many good opinions people might have had of the religion.

For lack of information, lack of maturity, and the book being filled with lame fluffy spells, I give Teen Witch 1 star. Don't waste your money or your time reading this book, it's not worth it.

ShatteredCrystalChalice

Why on earth would anyone write such junk? If $ilver was really a true pagan and a witch she would never have written a book like this. My heart weeps for all those young people who sincerely want to learn witchcraft and this is the first information they get. You should be ashamed of yourself, $ilver!

I originally bought this book because I was developing a website and English not being my native language I thought it would be easier to read and perhaps translate than some of those more complex books out there. Boy, was I wrong to buy this one! It's worse than nothing! You teens out there, reading this book is worse than not knowing anything at all about witchcraft! If you want an easy read buy Scott Cunningham's Wicca, a Guide to the Solitary Practitioner.

First of all the author talks to the reader as if he/she was an eight year old. Secondly she's not self-consistent in the book. For example, she has a whole chapter directed to parents to keep them at ease. And in the beginning of the book she tells the reader that you should always tell your parents that you are studying Wicca and respect their opinion, not go behind their back if they don't allow it etc. But that's just in the beginning and she knows that very few parents would have the time to read the whole book through. So in the end she says that if you parents forbid you to study Wicca and that it's what you really want it's ok to go behind their back. $ilver has also been critizised for teaching the young when she originally said that noone should teach a child younger than 18 years old!

My opinion is that if you are about to teach anyone, no matter what age you choose to limit yourself with, you should always tell the truth. I know some children and teens can misunderstand and misinterpret some information that they are given but those aren't many and most are (of course!) really smart and logical. Saying that this and that isn't part of any witchcraft tradition just because you think kids might take it out of proportion or be misled by it is wrong in my opinion. If you don't trust people's judgement, why bother telling them anything at all? It's better just to tell the truth than giving people information they might truly believe and then be really disappointed when they find out how wrong everything they knew was.

Witchcraft is not all bright and shiny, it CAN be dark and dangerous too. Sex IS sometimes used in magical ceremonies, but only if one is TRULY EXPERIENCED and only with two people if they are both very experienced. That means having studied magic for f.x. 20 years or more. In Wicca it is recommended that it is only the High Priest and High Priestest that do this in the Great Rite and it is better that they are married and know each other well. Sex is never a necessity and can be replaced with other activities. But it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. There's a lot more, but I'll be all day writing this review if I keep on going.

The spells given in the book are CRAP (excuse my language, but strong words are needed). Who came up with ideas like "Beach Baby Sun Spell" Anyway? "If it doesn't work, try again in an hour, and then in an hour..." etc. WTF!? If $ilver honestly thinks this is magic she's not a witch at all. She's not there to help you, she only wants your money. Or so it looks like.