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- ISBN13: 9780875427911
- Condition: New
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Selling more than 300,000 copies, this popular guide to the Craft has been helping a new generation of Witches-those practicing or wishing to practice the Craft on their own-for over a decade. Filled with Silver RavenWolf’s warmth, humor, and personal anecdotes, To Ride a Silver Broomstick introduces the science and religion of the craft.
• New cover • New interior design • New edit • Updated artwork
Silver RavenWolf is one of the most widely recognized names in circles of witchcraft, and with good reason; she has written some of the best guides to contemporary Witchcraft available. To Ride a Silver Broomstick is a handbook aimed at the beginner, and doesn’t get bogged down in history, dogma, or gender roles. It is
Review by for To Ride A Silver Broomstick: New Generation Witchcraft
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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.
Review by Juliana for To Ride A Silver Broomstick: New Generation Witchcraft
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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 $ilver Ravenwolf.
This has become more of an essay than a review, but I’m genuinely concerned about the effects of reading this book on the psyches of the young people who seem to be attracted to it. Parents, please don’t purchase this book for your child. There are so many more valuable learning tools out there. All this book teaches disrespect and paranoia – neither of which are beneficial to a developing mind.
Review by for To Ride A Silver Broomstick: New Generation Witchcraft
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This is the first book I read when I started off on my path as a Pagan Witch (note: not Wiccan). I thought it was pretty decent and wondered why people thought it was crap….until I had a few more books under my belt. The reason becomes quite clear.The book, simply put, is only so-so as a beginner’s book. It’s OKAY. There are better, there are worse. This one in particular leans towards the “Fluffy Bunny” side pretty heavily. (Fluffy as in taking up lots of space but having little substance)There are several things about “Mamma Silver” I dislike intensely [...] Mainly, her smugness in her superiority. This manifests itself several ways, for example the insulting term “Once Borns” used to describe Christians in this book. Another example is her little quote on her site regarding her Teen Witch book: “Call 1-800-XXX-XXXX to place your order, or bug, bother and pester your neighborhood book store till they can’t stand it any more. Oh, and for the adults that don’t like this statement? Maybe you don’t care about their future, but I do.” To me this isn’t about someone’s future, it’s about common courtesy – she pretty much demands crews of teenagers harass booksellers into carrying her book. This indicates to me that she has a lot less concern for things like free will and courtesy than she has for things like money, and more money. “Momma Silver” indeed!All in all, I feel the nickname “$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.
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(out of 405 reviews)
List Price: $ 16.95
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