Authors I Personally Don't Recommend - RealPagan- Paganism for the Real World

Thank you, Rachel, for your w…

2011-01-15T22:00:01.586Z

Thank you, Rachel, for your words regarding her. My point of friction with her was the proclamation of black being "traditional witch garb". I will say that the idea is rather garb-age. It's for such reasons, I think, that the media always goes for the person in total black and 30 piercings...in their lower lip alone, as if it's the archetypal witch. Blah!

But I have never read her works, and for that. I am rather glad.

I would avoid the works of La…

2011-01-15T01:16:42.232Z

I would avoid the works of Laurie Cabot as if they were the Bubonic Plague. I had the misfortune to pick up her "Power of the Witch" a while back.

The first third of the book is a rewrite of history in order to make Witchcraft the oldest of all religions. She then proceeds to invent more history and declare that the people who started humanity on its course towards civilization through invention and innovation were also all Witches. Er, what?

Another big strike against her for stating in the third chapter that nine million Witches were executed during the "Burning Times". The entirety of chapter three is a purely anti-Christian rant that's beefed up by 'facts' that Cabot conveniently neglects to cite.

Maybe we can blame the date of publication for all the mistakes, but then again, why couldn't she, like Starhawk, release newer, annotated editions with updated and accurate information? Gods know that the woman has enough money and clout to do so. She is the "Official Witch" of Salem, Mass.

All of the above is bad enough, but I can overlook that sort of tripe if there are useful 'tidbits' anywhere in a book. The only thing even remotely useful to me was the "Crystal Countdown" method for slipping into a state of mind that is more receptive to ritual and spellwork. The above is covered in the span of about five or six pages, and it isn't worth it to purchase the entirety of the book for the one exercise. Curious about the method? Send me a message and I'll tell you how it works and how to do it, just please don't buy this book! Trust me, your brain will thank you.

For me, the straw that broke my camel's back came in the form of one of her planetary and hourly charts, found in the book's appendix. Apparently, Cabot believes that there are two undiscovered planets in our solar system: the first is closer to the sun than Mercury, and its name is Vulcan, (Trekkies rejoice) while the second is Earth's twin and stays diametrically opposite to Her at all times. Yep. It's on the other side of the Sun at all times. That's why we haven't discovered it. Its name is Sparta.

Hoo boy. I feel like I lost some brain cells by typing that up.

Thanks, I've jotted down the…

2010-12-29T18:49:38.462Z

Thanks, I've jotted down the name... I also have been keeping up with your posts on Runes in the "Trad" forum. Please keep posting :)

Okay I admit, I don't have time to read it right now... I'm still reading the Tarot book that came with my deck "Easy Tarot" and still have to get some runes to study them..

'Taking Up The Runes: A Compl…

2010-12-28T23:38:22.163Z

'Taking Up The Runes: A Complete Guide To Using Runes In Spells, Ritual, Divination and Magic' by Diana L. Paxson and 'Power and Principles of the Runes' by Freya Aswynn are my constant recommendations for runic studies. They're much broader in focus than simple divination, and they're both written from a folkloric POV, unlike most available works on the subject.

Erdred Thorsson is one of the…

2010-12-28T21:55:25.113Z

Erdred Thorsson is one of the more recommended Runic and norse scholars out there. Admittedly, I have read very little of his work, but I have heard nothing but good about it. When it comes to texts, admittedly, my reading could be added to immensely. I've red four, maybe five books on Magic, the rest all being Q&A sessions with other experienced practitioners, or side research from pratcitioners who have felt fit to write articles on the subject in question.

I have a very good website saved to my computer that is no longer in existence, called Runeschool. Amazing resource for the Runes.

I don't know if Beorc will ag…

2010-12-28T17:07:26.975Z

I don't know if Beorc will agree with me, but Edred Thorsson is pretty solid in runes I believe...

Zutte! That is the author tha…

2010-12-28T11:49:06.922Z

Zutte! That is the author that I was recommended to learn about Runes... If not Blum, then do you have an alternative please? thanks :)

Personally, I really enjoyed…

2010-12-27T23:56:31.785Z

Personally, I really enjoyed Kaldera's work. But that's as a non-Pagan reading about a Pagan viewpoint, not a Pagan trying to learn about Pagan things.

May we add Ralph H Blums Book…

2010-12-27T22:25:44.738Z

May we add Ralph H Blums Book of Runes to this list? It's flagrant disregard for the sacred order and meanings of the Elder Futhark, and the controversial (and very non-traditional) use of the runes as if they were Tarot cards is, in my opinion, a massive Red Flag. And don't EVEn get me started on the Blank Rune. It's inclusion in his system is enough to impress me of the flagrant ignorance of the man, despite his long running publishing successes. He has an interesting idea or two, but the butchery he does the Runes is really inexcusable.

Thanks for the information La…

2010-12-27T21:48:10.714Z

Thanks for the information Lark.