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Ow!
Ok, expect this to happen a lot over the next few days (I don't think it will take me very long to finish this book ... it isn't terribly deep). Not just for letting off steam, but so that I can remember exactly why this book is going on my 'Don't Waste Your Money' list :oP
I think I have pinpointed the attitude she has about 'traditional' Witches. It is something along the lines of 'they are all uptight know-it-alls whom you really don't have to listen to. They are only good for getting the alphabet soup after your name ... but make sure you keep doing things the way that I have taught you because I know better than they do.' pbhtpbhbpdhbhpbh! :oP~~~
About the book specifically ... she is constantly refering to 'the astral', but never explains what it is or how to get there ... I am beginning to think that she thinks that 'astral' is just Witchie speak for 'imaginary'. Also, if you have ever wondered what the Wiccan Mysteries are ... SRW lays them all out for you in To Stir a Magick Cauldron. One of the biggest? Oh, well that is just that all religions are the same, and therefore it is ok to grab the shiny bits you like and incorperate them into your own work ... they all come from the same place anyway (well, all positive religions anyway ... cause we all know that those Satanists aren't as good as us Witchies).
The anti-Christian thing is toned down a bit ... though, in the angel section she is specific to refer to Judaic angels rather than Chrisitian angels (because they are apparently easier). Minor quibbles include her constant refering to ritual tools as 'props' (as in "Use your wand or other appropriate props"), she does the ground and center thing backwards (ground first, then center), and she makes a big deal about the difference between calling 'elementals' to your ritual and calling 'elements' to your circle (though, if as she says, elements can't think and are no more alive than a rock, why would you bother to call them?).
Now, lets move onto the concept of deities ... this is where I tend to think that divine possession is something she finds a bit squicky (from pg. 58): "There are several kinds of drawing down the moon/sun in Craft application. The Lunar/Solar Draw is the porcess of invoking the energy of the moon or sun for either little magicks, sacred space, meditation, or full ritual."
She treats gods and goddesses like they are plug 'n play symbols to be used as the "Working Witch" sees fit and then sent on their way (they are only archetypes and are all the same anyway). I find that morbidly distasteful, and I hope that she finds out the hard way that deities aren't toys.
Oh, and if you have ever wondered why there are so many folks out there with 'cool' animals as their totem animals, this quote from pg. 85 I think sums it right up: "Before creating or drawing totem energies for quarters, you will have to do some research yourself. Your choices should be base on:
Your affinity for the animal.
Its mundane and spiritual characteristics.
Its availability to your locale."
Because you can't have a totem animal that doesn't actually live near you :oP~~~
The tone of the book is a little less condiscending that Teen Witch, but really shows her true colors as a fluffy twit (from pg. 73): "Again I remind you (lest a rabid reviewer begin to salivate poisonous fangs over this book) that different Witches deal with magickal applications in a variety of forms."
Well, at least she got the letters ... she didn't understand them as more than an attack on her all-knowing self, but she got them :oP
--Phae
Ok, expect this to happen a lot over the next few days (I don't think it will take me very long to finish this book ... it isn't terribly deep). Not just for letting off steam, but so that I can remember exactly why this book is going on my 'Don't Waste Your Money' list :oP
I think I have pinpointed the attitude she has about 'traditional' Witches. It is something along the lines of 'they are all uptight know-it-alls whom you really don't have to listen to. They are only good for getting the alphabet soup after your name ... but make sure you keep doing things the way that I have taught you because I know better than they do.' pbhtpbhbpdhbhpbh! :oP~~~
About the book specifically ... she is constantly refering to 'the astral', but never explains what it is or how to get there ... I am beginning to think that she thinks that 'astral' is just Witchie speak for 'imaginary'. Also, if you have ever wondered what the Wiccan Mysteries are ... SRW lays them all out for you in To Stir a Magick Cauldron. One of the biggest? Oh, well that is just that all religions are the same, and therefore it is ok to grab the shiny bits you like and incorperate them into your own work ... they all come from the same place anyway (well, all positive religions anyway ... cause we all know that those Satanists aren't as good as us Witchies).
The anti-Christian thing is toned down a bit ... though, in the angel section she is specific to refer to Judaic angels rather than Chrisitian angels (because they are apparently easier). Minor quibbles include her constant refering to ritual tools as 'props' (as in "Use your wand or other appropriate props"), she does the ground and center thing backwards (ground first, then center), and she makes a big deal about the difference between calling 'elementals' to your ritual and calling 'elements' to your circle (though, if as she says, elements can't think and are no more alive than a rock, why would you bother to call them?).
Now, lets move onto the concept of deities ... this is where I tend to think that divine possession is something she finds a bit squicky (from pg. 58): "There are several kinds of drawing down the moon/sun in Craft application. The Lunar/Solar Draw is the porcess of invoking the energy of the moon or sun for either little magicks, sacred space, meditation, or full ritual."
She treats gods and goddesses like they are plug 'n play symbols to be used as the "Working Witch" sees fit and then sent on their way (they are only archetypes and are all the same anyway). I find that morbidly distasteful, and I hope that she finds out the hard way that deities aren't toys.
Oh, and if you have ever wondered why there are so many folks out there with 'cool' animals as their totem animals, this quote from pg. 85 I think sums it right up: "Before creating or drawing totem energies for quarters, you will have to do some research yourself. Your choices should be base on:
Your affinity for the animal.
Its mundane and spiritual characteristics.
Its availability to your locale."
Because you can't have a totem animal that doesn't actually live near you :oP~~~
The tone of the book is a little less condiscending that Teen Witch, but really shows her true colors as a fluffy twit (from pg. 73): "Again I remind you (lest a rabid reviewer begin to salivate poisonous fangs over this book) that different Witches deal with magickal applications in a variety of forms."
Well, at least she got the letters ... she didn't understand them as more than an attack on her all-knowing self, but she got them :oP
--Phae
