Customer Reviews

A Witch's Notebook: Lessons in Witchcraft

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I read all the reviews as of this date (12-10-05), but the one that most disturbed me was by L. Rutherford. Though I am not a long-time practitioner, as are many, I am versed enough to recognize an unfair and obviously biased review. First, I have yet to get the feeling that Lady Silver was trying to sell this book as a book of Wicca...it is a book about Witchraft. In my humble opinion, the two are not one and the same but different philosophies and practices that meld with one another beautifully and practically. I have been, whether accepting of it or not in my past, a Witch always and long before I became a practicing member of the Wicca. Although, I have not used my copy at great length, I, each and every time I have used it as a resource, have found something useful for a particular type spell, ritual or magickal situation. I would recommend the book and also recommend that others stop bashing and have an open mind and stop with their petty jealousies. They do nothing but belittle the writer and the reviewer. Lady Silver has made great strides to move Wicca and Witchcraft into the mainstream as an acceptable form of spirituality. One may not like her, but she has earned respect and deserves it. Ms. Rutherford, blessings to you, but, please, stop the bashing.

This book reflects deep insight and years of practice by a serious, working Witch.
Not light hearted. A huge leap away from basic "Wicca 101".
Discussions on the demands and rewards of spiritual progression are one of the many highlights in this book along with research into the science of Magic (sorry, I refuse to spell it with a "K", the same as I refuse to accept the idea of Ebonics as a proper form of the English language) by touching on the area of Quantum Physics.
If there has ever been any misunderstanding of this author, they are cleared up here.
I hugged the book when I was finished. Finally a book written by someone who has walked the walk and has knowledge of the occult that far surpasses the boundaries of what Wicca is today.
Applause! Not a typical Llewellyn book calling on friends to gather and klink athames and have a potluck.
For the serious student of WitchCraft.
Five Stars!!!

I recently lost all my possesions in a life changeing event. I lost everything and when time came to begin to rebuild, of all the books I lost I knew that Silver Ravenwolf was one I would replace. I had at one time collected all her work and guide books, but financially I can not replace them all now so I chose this one. It has it all, the basics, the wisdom, the strength of belief to continue on. This dear lady does know what she is talking about and she does provide practical and useful rituals and advice that will help anyone looking into the craft as a pathway to higher powers.
One day I will replace all the books I had, but until then this one does meet all my needs.
Thanks Silver for a compact and generous contrubition to this womans life.

I purchased this book without being sure what to expect.
It turned out to be very well organized and with much subjects to think about. The only think I wanted to be different is the amount of hands on projects. Don't get me wrong I love working with my hands and creating new things, casting spells in a different way than I used is wonderful but from a book which is named "advanced" I was waiting more information on spiritual quest. I loved the exercises though and I would definately recomend it for a more advanced work but don't wait to find an in depth discussion on thealogickal subjects.

Normally, I devour RavenWolf's books but I couldn't quite get into this one. I like the cover and artwork, but I wasn't very impressed with it overall. I'm very into herbcraft so when I got to the last part of the book with the index of herbs, I realized that that section redeems a lot of the book. Although it doesn't mention some of the herbs I have (Rose of Jericho, Maidenhair Fern, etc) there were some that I hadn't heard of, so I guess you could say I learned something new from it. I liked the spells for the herbs, which could have been formatted better, but they were still informative and interesting.

I got this book as a gift, so I guess I'm glad I didn't have to pay for it. If you do want it though, just for the section on herbs, get it used.

The information of this book comes secondary to the look and feel of.
The pages have an ancient parchment look to them and they have uneven
torn look on the page edges. It is a sweet little wonderful book by Silver Reavenwolf. The information in this little book does make a welcomed
addition to my growing library of books. ( I hope this is the book that I think it is, can't find my copy at this writing)

This book delivers to you magical information that is very worthwhile to check out. This book is excactly what the title of the book suggests, "A Witches Notebook", no more - no less.

I've read some other reviews on here from other people and I think some may be missing the point of what this book actually is and intends to be. In other words, it tells you on the back of the book that you are getting a peack inside the magical notebook of a witch. I know I personally have a ton of notebooks full of magical ideas and recipees that I have laying around ... they are not really organized or put in order, but that is the basis of a notebook -- basically a book full of hand written notes that I thought would be relevant to try out. This book is just that in a sense.

This book uses many different magical techniques from different cultures and magical practices ... She is not presenting a specific tradition of witchcraft, nor is this book nothing but Wicca or Witchcraft ... just magical exercises, spells, rituals and herbal information! And it is very good information!!!

I really enjoyed the magical information in this book!!! This book is an EXCELLENT resource if you are looking for fresh ideas and information... Come on everyone, how many books on the market are out their with the same stuff written over and over??? This book is not like that at all, it presents many different magical practices to try out ....

I won't go into more detail of the "meat" of the book, because I don't want to ruin the suprise for you -- but honestly, I can say that you won't be disappointed if you look at it for what it is -- a notebook of magical practices, excersizes and ideas.

At the end of the book, Silver gives a small chapter on herbs that is pretty good! It gives lots of spell ideas for using the herbs in certain spells and herbs to combine and mix in your own personal formulas.

I consider myself to be an intermediate Wiccan. Bought this book to further my studies but I found most of the rituals included to be overly and unnecessarily complicated. To make matters worse, the author often got sidetracked in describing the already convoluted rituals. (step one: do this. Now let me ramble for three pages about the irrelevent historical meanings of a tiny aspect/ingredient in this step. Now I will tell you a not-that-funny anecdote about this time I told this student this thing about this part of the ritual.) There was frequently at least one page of irrelevent material between step one and step two of a ritual; occasionally there were as many as 4-5 pages between. I found myself having to flip back through to remember what I was supposed to be doing in step 1.

I think there is actually some information of value in this book but that it is buried by what I think is a lot of drivel. Yes, the techniques/philosophies/rituals presented are advanced but I think the author should still be expected to present it in a clear, straightforward manner.

After reading this book, the only question I'm left with is "Why didn't her editor step up and make some corrections?!"

I ordered this book and it arrived quickly. The book was sealed in a thin plastic wrap within the box it came in. It is easy to read, filled with very useful information for new or seasoned readers. Do not let the title deceive you!

If you follow Silver Ravenwolf's work this is a great book to add to your collection. I have only read section one (there are five sections total and the last is 'A Witch's Herbal') and am a few pages into section two and as with everything I have ever read that she has written I can tell you that you will not walk away without having learned something new. As always her wit and knowledge are so very easy to learn from and so far this book does not disappoint.