Blogcritics Author: Amita

Announcement: Short-content feeds

Phillip Winn — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 12:00:00 EDT

Sunday, August 26, 2007, marks the switch of all Blogcritics.org article feeds from full-content to short-content. This is the result of several converging factors, and is unfortunately a permanent decision (as permanent as any decision can be on the web, that is). We are aware of all of the reasons that this is a Bad Idea, and we are aware that some of you will be quite upset about having to click on something to read the free content, and we're sorry. Unfortunately, despite great effort, full-content feeds are not currently economically viable. Two other factors are involved: full-content feeds have resulted in an unprecedented level of content theft, with BC content appearing on many websites, usually spam sites, without attribution or permission. This duplicate content causes a cascading set of problems, not the least of which is that search engines generally aren't favorable to duplicate content, and don't always guess correctly. Finally, our RSS advertising partner is strongly in favor of short-content feeds. We hope that you'll continue to subscribe to BC via RSS, and when an article grabs your eye, it's only a click away, still free on the BC website. Thank you for your understanding.

Book Review: Homeland-The Legend of Drizzt by R. A. Salvatore

Amita — Tue, 25 Apr 2006 08:05:55 EDT

Homeland, the first entry in the Legend of Drizzt saga, starts off with an astounding level of detail about the lives of the Drow in the Forgotten Realms. This is fantasy writing at its best. Rarely have I seen a fantasy character take shape so well and under such sinister and devastating circumstances.When I read fantasy novels I am constantly on the lookout for break-out stories and characters, things that do not seem like yet another tired version of Tolkein. When I find something that sings with originality, I'm thrilled and want to read absolutely everything the author puts forth. I have not yet been disappointed by Bob Salvatore's work.First and foremost the man can weave a spectacular yarn. It's good storytelling. I am eager to find out what happens because in the world where it occurs everything is unique and fascinating. Each turn of the page brings something new and moves the story toward a viable climax. Every book actually has an ending, not just a juvenile cliffhanger like so many books do these days.Salvatore does not tend to pad his novels either. They are concise and well-edited - very tight. The economy of words doesn't divert from the subject-matter. In fact, it pulls you in even more.In this first book about Drizzt Do'Urden, we visit the Drow (Dark Elves) of Menzoberranzan and discover their demented and twisted evil society. I did have some criticism with the level of evil depicted here, for there are not many societies that could so continue for thousands of years without totally consuming themselves in the process. However, my criticism uses a human mind and human logic also based on our shorter life-spans. I have no idea what a society would be like with people who live to be 700 or 800 years old. I suppose everything would be slowed down considerably, so perhaps even the level of evil would be commensurate with the life-spans. It would not, for instance, matter if you committed an evil act every day so much as a big juicy one every 50 or so years, perhaps.This novel follows Drizzt's birth and childhood (which is told quickly to get us to the good parts) and then his years being trained by the weapons-master of House Do'Urden, his father Zaknafein, who ultimately becomes his mentor and the person who shows him that a world outside of evil is possible and does exist.I wish there was more about their relationship, but what is in the book is well done and poignant. Since Vierna (Drizzt's sister who is also Zaknafein's daughter) is also of the same blood, I found it unlikely that she would not have possessed a similar mind-set and this is never explored. She has not had the benefit of being taught the way Drizzt was by her father (as she is female and this is a matriarchal society) but still so much of what was good about Drizzt existed in him from the beginning, so perhaps it did for her too. Salvatore chooses to create a more simplistic caricature for her, which is unfortunate (as are most of the depictions of his female characters). I understand that they are evil and that by using women that creates an immediate contrast, as women tend to be the nurturers and not destroyers, but especially with Vierna, this was a waste of an excellent character.Warning: SpoilerFurther, Salvatore has her have incestuous designs on her brother at one point and then almost has him killed. She does actually participate in the killing of her own father at the end of the book, which is simply horrific. I wish Salvatore had been clearer with her character but I believe he just considers her a plot point or window dressing.Spoiler EndDrizzt comes through the terror of his upbringing, discovers the lies of his people, and is utterly shattered by them. He has nowhere to go and no earthly idea of how he will survive, just that he must and will make his way alone in the Underdark as a rogue Drow, a dark elf hunted by his family and those who would seek to use him in some fashion.Drizzt has been taught well by his father and he is a fighter without equal. I found the fight scenes to be some of the finest I've ever read. They were pure magic in their description. Drizzt is a brilliant fighter but he is fallible, which makes his feats even more breathtaking. There is always a chance that he could be defeated. I like that Salvatore keeps that level of excitement throughout these scenes and that he rarely goes for the gross-out. It is much more poignant not to describe every grotesque detail (as George R. R. Martin would), but to really let your imagination depict the horror for you. It also keeps the writing tight and from seeming immature.Drizzt Do'Urden is so compelling that you might as well order the entire trilogy when you pick up the first book. The second book, Exile is absolutely stunning and the final book in the trilogy, Sojurn was one of the best fantasy novels I have ever read.For a unique, original, and a brilliantly created main character Bob Salvatore has my great thanks as a reader and now fan.

I'm a real witch. I cast spells for a living. I've been doing this for 20 years. If you've got questions or need a spell visit me at magickrituals.com.

Book Review: Exile - The Legend of Drizzt, Book II (The Legend of Drizzt)

Amita — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 12:19:55 EDT

For me to finally read the books that center on of one of the fantasy genre's most beloved character's (and one that I think everyone who ever played D&D in the Forgotten Realms world wanted to be) was a fait accompli. I had generally enjoyed many of the books I read under the Forgotten Realms banner (though many were little more than two-hour, "while I'm eating a sandwich," reads) and yet had not read anything including R. A. Salvatore's dark elf gone good, Drizzt Do'Urden. I was bound to find them in my hands eventually.The Legend of Drizzt was recently re-released in collectible hardcover format and now also paperback. It spans at least six novels that focus on Drizzt, though there may actually be more forthcoming. The books themselves are gorgeous and the new artwork offers Drizzt as beautiful and principled and tormented as I am sure Salvatore intended him to be.Having read Homeland, the first in the series about a year ago and enjoyed it but not considered reading any further, I didn't approach Exile thinking that it would be too compelling. I liked Homeland but I found the names and political intrigues in the Underdark city of Menzoberrazan to be exhausting. Everyone was so evil and there was all this talk of Lolth the Spider Queen and the women (Dark Elf society is matriarchal and these are some nasty evil murdering women) were little more than one-note nasties. It was pulp fantasy fiction, entertaining but offered little else to urge me to move forward in the series.Fortunately I did move forward and found the story really opened up in the second book.You definitely need to read Homeland first and when you get to Exile you will reap the reward of watching Drizzt Do'Urden come to life, as well as develop into a character of principle and compassion. That was what got me the most. Seldom have I read fantasy where a character acted in such a truly compassionate manner. It caught me immediately off-guard. I was not expecting to disappear into this book. I was not expecting to feel so much for this character.He is tormented. He fights an internal battle against the society he was born into. And yet with compassion he faces nearly every situation he finds himself in.To do this he must learn to live instead of just survive and he is able to do this only through complete and utter surrender to the drows' racial enemy, the deep gnomes. As their captive in the beautiful natural stone city of Blingdenstone, Drizzt's fate is left up to the word of a maimed miner, whose life he had spared years earlier. Belwar, the deep gnome, speaks on Drizzt's behalf and they become friends, as Belwar takes the drow into his home. This deeply touching friendship opens something in Drizzt as his loneliness of living in the Underdark had began to exact a heavy price on his soul.Drizzt's totally dysfunctional family is still after him, most notably his evil mother fittingly named Matron Malice. This woman is something! She had Drizzt's father Zaknafein sacrificed to the Spider Queen and routinely marries men and then murders them, often in truly barbaric fashion.This time the Matron (who has fallen out of favor with the Spider Queen) outdoes her previous evil by not only re-animating the rotting corpse of Drizzt's father Zaknafein but then sending the spirit-wraith to avenge the Matron's house by murdering Drizzt. Meanwhile, her eldest daughter Briza waits for her time to take over the house, even if she has to kill dear old Mom for it.What a fun family! Sort of like the English nobles of yore.Salvatore packs a wallop in only 300 pages. It never slows down and you can practically feel the claustrophobia of the Underdark.The ending is emotional, heart-breaking, tear-jerking - all the right stuff. I love that Salvatore actually has "endings" in his books. I feel a sense of completion even though I eagerly anticipate the next book in the series. He puts a great finish on it.I miss Drizzt. There is some truly gorgeous writing in this book toward the end, very evocative as Drizzt makes decisions that will lead him into an entirely new life. He has courage and his convictions to guide him and the lessons that a little deep gnome has taught him about true friendship. I feel better, too, for having spent time with them.

I'm a real witch. I cast spells for a living. I've been doing this for 20 years. If you've got questions or need a spell visit me at magickrituals.com.

Book Review: The Lord of the Isles by David Drake

Amita — Fri, 14 Apr 2006 22:24:26 EDT

I cannot tell you how sick to death I am of derivative epic fantasy novels. But I will. Why don't people have original thoughts any more? Isn't there something different you could do to your epic that doesn't hearken back to Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time or Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth (my most hated ever) series? I often randomly choose fantasy series to read because I like to discover a good yarn. But these books don't develop anything close to it.The Lord of the Isles is over 600 pages that projects into so many confusing directions that half the time I was reading it I wondered what the hell was going on. It starts simply; a young shepherd named Garric discovers that he is the descendant of the once future king or some such, then he and his adopted sister, best friend and best friend's sister start off on an adventure with the aid of a middle-aged warriorsort and an ancient female wizard. They leave their island home in some gentle "hamlet" (it really is named Barca's Hamlet) and all sorts of wondrous and terrible things occur to each one, including dealing with demons, the undead, cannibals and a tree that takes over the soul of one of them. I think. Honestly, I don't even know. How is it possible that I could have read this tome and come away so utterly clueless?The writing itself is basically dull. But an even-handed kind of dull. Drake isn't an especially gifted raconteur and he repeats himself frequently though his writing is much better than books in the Forgotten Realms library (except for anything by R.A. Salvatore) or other pulp-fiction fantasy series. Still the epic is so slow to get off the ground that it seems a ponderous undertaking. I wonder where his ideas come from. At one point (for half the book) he has half of the major characters adrift at sea in various occasions, which is extremely plodding, and he seems to make up things to happen to them as padding, as if he can't have them getting to a location too soon. This stuff is hardly page-turning material. I found myself falling asleep more than once during the three days it took to force myself to finish it. Nothing compelled me to move on in the story except that I wanted it to end.I have the next four books (I don't even know if there is more than that) in the series and I don't know if I am going to read them or return them.I don't like any of the characters. None of them have stand-out development. They are all so much like characters from other books that are frankly done much better. Even the characters in Goodkind's Sword of Truth series are more compelling and I never despised any characters in a book as much. In Lord of the Isles I would have gladly despised a character rather than feel completely and totally nothing about any of them.I understand that Drake has a military background and he writes like it. Nothing original, nothing emotional or particularly moving and he hasn't the vaguest idea how to craft a female character except to make them all somewhat masculine interspersed with fits of jealousy and crying. Great. Women I want to be just like.The men aren't any better, just cardboard cut-outs of the epic hero and his friend and the dedicated gentle but tough warrior guy and various evil baddies who all seem to meet with hasty deaths when Drake has no idea what to do with them.Also the names of the characters really bugged me. I don't mind fantasy names too much, I prefer them not to be overly long and difficult to pronounce but some of these names just seemed so fake. Much like his own name; David Drake. Feh. I hate pen names. I also don't think anyone should be named Nonnus, especially not the wise elder guide of the entire story. What a wretched name. How could he possibly think this was a good name for a wise warrior? Seriously it sounds like "No Nuts". Ewwww.No wonder I had never heard of this lengthy series before; it's just bogged down rehashing fantasy detritus.

I'm a real witch. I cast spells for a living. I've been doing this for 20 years. If you've got questions or need a spell visit me at magickrituals.com.

Book Review: Dragons of a Fallen Sun (Dragonlance: The War of Souls, Volume I)

Amita — Wed, 5 Apr 2006 10:43:31 EDT

I began with Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman's Dragonlance Chronicles long after their glory had been established. The original series, Chronicles, was published in 1986, the year I graduated high school. At the time, although I was an avid Dungeons & Dragons fan, I was more interested in the Forgotten Realms and had been playing that and reading those books instead. Thus the world of Dragonlance did not come to me until 20 years later.I devoured the first three books in the series, Dragons of Autumn Twilight, Dragons of Winter Night and Dragons of Spring Dawning. I was immediately drawn into the fascinating world of Krynn and compelled by the richly crafted characters and the swiftly moving story line.It was not the best writing in the fantasy fiction world, but it was highly addictive and the entire series was a masterful page-turner.I was loathe to finish the series, sad to let go of characters I had grown to love and adore. I was thrilled to discover then that there was a second trilogy, called Legends (Time of the Twins, War of the Twins and Test of the Twins) that focused entirely on my favorite characters, Raistlin Majere, the dark mage and his warrior twin brother Caramon.This series outclassed the first in its focused depth. There was real human anguish here and so much of it was about love and the pain that it can bring. While it dealt with some larger themes, in the end it was the story of twin brothers; one fighting to become something he could never be and the other fighting to save him from himself.I loved the characters and read every word, hating that it would soon end.In 2001, Weis & Hickman came back to Dragonlance and began a new series that takes place 50 years after the end of Test of the Twins finale. I was immediately confused. Although I had stuck to the Weis & Hickman novels, there had apparently been many written in between by other authors that had taken the saga in unheard-of directions. I began this new series as a stranger to Krynn even though there was prodigious use of characters from the previous series.The new characters were flat and lifeless, with no spark in them, no dimension whatsoever. They were all one-note wonders and the now ancient characters from the previous series were used primarily as window dressing. They too became sad paeans to their former glory.In this book, Dragons of a Fallen Sun we are introduced to the characters who will be central to the three novels (though some do not live through it). None of them are interesting or complex. The two who might have been are left with nothing much to do except repetitively echo the same sentiments over and over again.As I said, I never read these books for the great writing. For the most part, I found the writing to be on a high school level, not particularly elegant or interesting. Definitely not lyrical or evocative. These books are written with a glancing blow to language. They get the job done and use as few five-dollar words as possible, lest anyone become caught up in the actual wording rather than the story. These books are written for young people who just want to get to the good stuff - the action, the dragons, and the battles.In Dragons of a Fallen Sun, Weis & Hickman have lazily given up on conventions most decent books heed, like continuity, structure, and character depth. It seems exactly as if they are making it up as they go along. Entire scenes are misplaced and useless. Characters come and go so quickly and with little meaning to entrances and exits that further on in the series, two of the main characters appear through the final book as zombies! This should be shocking, but considering that everyone else is a zombie, too (by virtue of the fact that they are just puppets who serve no purpose in the story), you barely notice.What Weis & Hickman have done however is create the single most annoying character I have ever come across in any book: Mina. Just Mina. She is a seventeen-year old girl who brings the power of what she calls "The One God" to Krynn, as apparently all the Gods have deserted Krynn following the War of Chaos (I have no idea what these stories were about , though they are somewhat re-hashed here and I believe it was chronicled in the equally horrible Dragons of a Summer Flame, which I did not read but skimmed through and had no clue who anyone was.)SPOILER WARNINGI had a feeling the One God would be Takhisis (the evil Goddess from the first trilogy who tried to take over the world but was thwarted by the heroes of that series), because, at that point, I expected nothing but the least imaginative course. Of course, the evil Goddess does return and Mina serves her evil purposes willingly, never doubting, and never straying.END SPOILERMina. The name just makes me shudder to see in print, as does the phrase "The One God." They are repeated to such a degree that I daresay there must have been tens of thousands of these references in the series. In the third book, except for a few other words, it is mostly Mina and "The One God," ad nauseam.I can tell you that I immediately did not like Mina. She was one-dimensional and stupid and that is not the kind of character you want to carry through an entire series, especially one longer than any written previously by Weis & Hickman. 500 pages of Mina. Then 600 pages. Then 600 more pages. 1,700 pages of Mina. Mina. Mina. Mina. The One God. The One God. The One God. Oh, God - any God - make it stop!Like some kind of supreme torture, it never ends. How everyone loves Mina. How they do it all for Mina. MINI-SPOILER: How the Elven king loves and then dies for Mina. How everyone is affected by Mina; entire nations and races of people. All for Mina.How dumb are these people? No one can see the writing on the wall even after dealing with all this God-crap before, only 50 years earlier? The elves live forever and they seem more idiotic than anyone!I mean c'mon, there was not one character who could not immediately sniff out how evil Mina was? I knew it. And I really didn't feel like spending the next 1,700 pages dealing with how obtuse everyone on this entire planet had become.Mina is nothing more than a slave to this One God. Nothing more than a device and a servant. She is nothing. She does not fear. She does not love. She does not really have any emotions at all. YAWN. Wake me when it's over.Ultimately, before the book was even finished, I wanted her to die. I wanted to be rid of Mina and have them focus on another character, someone with a little ...something! Anything! An in-grown toenail! Whatever it takes so I was not falling asleep. Someone who was not a boring, soul-less character who made me skip entire passages out of utter boredom.The book ends on a cliffhanger, making me thankful that I did not read these when they were published in 2001. Waiting for the next crappy book would have added insult to injury. At least now I could go on to the next and flip through it and try to get out of the Mina-hell faster.Weis & Hickman bring back Tasselhoff Burrfoot and the Device of Time Traveling (which was used well in the Legends Trilogy but is absurd here) and they do more than just murder Tas a second time (he died in the War of Chaos). They make him unlikable. They make him pestering and benign. They made me want to see him squashed like a bug beneath the foot of giant.Likewise they do the same for an ancient Goldmoon and Laurana (who has not aged as she is elven) and even the minor character in Chronicles, Alhana Starbreeze. There are a whole bunch of children of the various now-dead heroes (all middle-aged in their fifties) and none of them are remotely compelling. One of the new characters Gerard, a Solamnic Knight, is so dull that I can't even recall what he was actually doing in the series at all, yet he appears on the covers of the last two books as if he is somehow central and important to the plot, which he is not.If by some miracle you decide to forego my warning against this sad money-maker trilogy, you must read the first two trilogies and Dragons of a Summer Flame to have any clue whatsoever what is going on. Even then you will be confused and bewildered as I was for the entire thing. And I do not envy your descent into Mina-hell, one bit.

I'm a real witch. I cast spells for a living. I've been doing this for 20 years. If you've got questions or need a spell visit me at magickrituals.com.

Make Magick: Spells for the Curious - Money Honey

Amita — Tue, 21 Mar 2006 12:20:24 EST

Magick is an important part of my life. As a witch, I live magick daily and believe that this communing with nature and higher-mind can make anyone's life more entertaining and much more balanced.Just casting a spell does not make one a witch; however a little magick in everyday life can be an absolute boon! Try it and you'll see!When working on a spell for yourself there is no need to cast a circle (like many witches do before spellwork) especially if you are only doing a simple spell.Casting a circle refers to the circle of protection that most witches cast that can include calling the quarters or invoking elementals to act as a sort of ethereal protection against forces of negativity.Since you'll be doing this spell on your own and it is only white pure magick (White rather than magick like Black Magick or the Dark Arts) and very positive.A sacred space is a place where you feel very comfortable and at peace. It can be outside or somewhere in your home where you have privacy. You do not want to be disturbed by anyone, so it is best to make sure you will have some alone time and to take the phone off the hook.In the future of this series of spells and articles on making magick, I will discuss in greater detail components of simple spells, correspondents and how a spell actually works. For now however, all you need to know is that you will be the source of the magick for this spell. It responds and manifests according to your focused will and intention.Make sure you have everything you need with you for the spell so you don't have to hunt for something in the middle of it. Also never leave a burning candle unattended and be careful with candles and spell components around children and pets. Use common sense.MONEY HONEY SPELLThis spell is to help keep a continuous cash flow in your life. It may seem a little silly at first but once completed you will soon experience renewed vigor in your financial situation.Items need: One jar of honey (any kind with a metal lid) One tightly rolled dollar bill (tie with string or ribbon to keep it together) Red or white taper or 4-inch chime candle Sandalwood or patchouli incenseTime to cast the spell: New Moon or a ThursdayIn a sacred space (a place where you feel comfortable and will not be disturbed), place a red or white taper candle in a holder and light it. In an incense holder place a joss stick of sandalwood or patchouli incense and light. Take three deep breaths and relax. Let the candle and the incense set your mood.Since this is not a complex spell you do not need to cast a protective circle. Just let your mind relax and concentrate on the candle for about three minutes. Next take the rolled dollar bill and insert it into the jar of honey and then cap it tightly. Once you have done this tap the jar of honey three times and say, "Anum erum exum." Say this three times. Leave the jar of honey by the candle until the candle has burned down almost to the end. Put out the candle (best to use a candle snuffer.) Now take the jar of honey and place it in a kitchen cupboard where it can lie untouched and unviewed. Just leave it there and do not think of it again. Money will begin to flow much more easily into your life.I hope you try and enjoy the spells that I offer. Make Magick part of your life in even the smallest ways and you will find you can change your world.Blessed be!

I'm a real witch. I cast spells for a living. I've been doing this for 20 years. If you've got questions or need a spell visit me at magickrituals.com.

Make Magick: Spells for the Curious - Penny Good Luck Spell

Amita — Fri, 17 Mar 2006 05:17:48 EST

Everyone needs a little luck now and then, right? I am sure there have been times that you've thought to yourself, if only I had luck on my side! With this spell, you can make your own luck.PENNY GOOD LUCK SPELLTime to cast the spell: New Moon or a TuesdayItems needed:Seven new pennies red candle (taper or 4 inch chime candle) parchment paper or any paper and pen musk incenseIn a sacred space where you will not be disturbed, take seven new pennies and place them around a red candle. Light the musk incense and then the candle.Focus on the candle and think about what good luck means to you. Think about what you need to change in your life. Now on the piece of parchment paper (or whatever paper you are using) write your wish in detail. Fold up the paper and place it under the candle holder or by the candle. Now say, By flame, this luck, come to me tonight, I see good fortune mine within your light. I believe, I hope, I trust I can. I make good luck wherever I am. Let the candle burn down to a stub. Carry the pennies in your wallet or change purse as a reminder. You can even spend them or leave them around as tokens of good fortune for others.Notes: never leave a burning candle unattended. This spell works best at night. You can find chime candles at party stores or candle shops like the Discount Candle Shop.

I'm a real witch. I cast spells for a living. I've been doing this for 20 years. If you've got questions or need a spell visit me at magickrituals.com.

Make Magick: Spells for the Curious - Stone Business Spell

Amita — Thu, 16 Mar 2006 09:46:06 EST

For those of you in the every-day working world, there are times when you will feel more stressed than others. This little bit of business magick will help with stress.STONE BUSINESS SPELLTime to cast the spell: Tuesday or a Thursday on the Waxing MoonItems needed: one 1 inch to 1 1/2 inch tumbled sodalite stone a green candle (taper or 4 inch chime candle) frankincense incenseSodalite: is considered a gemstone of trust and rational thought without the emotions that can sometimes cloud judgement. Sodalite is thought to help one make logical decisions.It brings calm to its wearer and is said to have a strong feminine (yin) polarity. You are going to charge your special stress-relieving stone to help you relax during difficult times at work.To begin, find a quiet sacred space where you will not be disturbed. Place your candle in an appropriate holder and light it. Use the candle to help focus your energies.Light the incense and take three deep breaths. This will help to ground and center you.Hold the stone in your dominant hand and sit quietly with it watching the candle flame and smelling the incense. When the stone is very warm to the touch in your palm, then place it in front of the candle.Say, "Burning candle on this night imbue this stone with precious light."Let the candle burn down to a stub. (Remember never to leave a burning candle unattended.)Carry the stone with you to work. Keep it in a desk drawer or right on your desk. Hold it and feel its quiet energy calm you.Blessed be!

I'm a real witch. I cast spells for a living. I've been doing this for 20 years. If you've got questions or need a spell visit me at magickrituals.com.

Book Review: A Witch's Notebook by Silver Ravenwolf

Amita — Mon, 13 Mar 2006 19:00:39 EST

What I enjoy about reading Silver Ravenwolf's books is that she is always true to herself, even if some in the Wiccan/Witch community may find her to be a little bit "witch-lite," or as some have called her a "fluffy-bunny" (a derogatory term for a witch wannabe who is all sunshine and rainbows).The world needs a few fluffy bunnies in my estimation, so I won't rag on Silver Ravenwolf, even though some of her early books having made Wiccans out to be something other than what they are - like cute and cuddly and obsessed with being "good."Her most recent offering is a mature look at living as a witch that gets rid of at least some of the opinions from her early books that made people cringe with their non-authenticity. A Witch's Notebook is based on the author's personal collection of notebooks that she has kept over the years on a variety of topics that are definitely advanced witchcraft.It is nearly impossible to find books on advanced witchcraft and the few that I have read really did not have much to offer. Silver's book is a step in the right direction in that she discusses topics that are not usually covered in Wicca 101 books (like Quantum Psychics for instance!).Unfortunately it is a short book and could have been much more! In fact Silver even says in the introduction that originally she had considered thirteen lessons, but then changed it to five. I think that was a mistake. This volume could have done with a little more MEAT and a little less filler.The book is divided up into lessons in five chapters. In the first chapter Silver explores some "mystical truths" and even touches on Zen Buddhism, which got my attention (as a Buddhist Witch). If you've ever wanted to try chakra cleansing and dealing with your aura, and other New Age things that many witches may not have had much experience with, this chapter will drop you right into that mindset. Or rather, "higher-mind set". I liked that she included this in a book about witchcraft, as too often, those on the path forget to veer off and take a detour.The second chapter talks about "life being a Sacred Journey", and that does kind of bug me. Of course life is a sacred journey! You are alive and you are this fortunate human being with the opportunity to gain enlightenment in your time on earth. You're not a dog, or a flea on a dog, so it's fortunate and it's sacred. Thus, it doesn't need to be spelled out in such a "life is a Sacred Journey" way, which is kind of like making the observation that hey, puppies and kitties are cute! This chapter does include some great sigils and rituals for practice (a sigil is a magickal symbol drawn by a witch); Ravenwolf uses many sigils from Hoodoo and Voodoo mysteries -- sigils have inherent magickal power on their own and can be used in a variety of magick spells.The third chapter explores some consequences of karma and the science of witchcraft and the fourth chapter is an interesting exploration of some Hoodoo magickal basics.Although the fifth chapter is also called a lesson, I don't think it really is. Silver has included a Witch's Herbal here, which, although it is interesting to read, is nowhere near the completeness and professional quality of books like A Compendium of Herbal Magic by Paul Beyerl (my personal favorite) or Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs by Scott Cunningham. I actually consider the fifth chapter to be filler, which is too bad, as Silver was going pretty strong until then.However, I am glad that I gave Silver another chance as I believe this book is an excellent beginning exploration of advanced witchcraft, from an author who is finally coming into her own. I still would have liked to see more length and more depth, for those of us who are long past reading about what a cauldron is or how to use candles in magick.

I'm a real witch. I cast spells for a living. I've been doing this for 20 years. If you've got questions or need a spell visit me at magickrituals.com.