To Ride A Sliver Broomstick
By Staff Writer: Paganus Greybeard
To Ride A Sliver Broomstick
Author: Silver Ravenwolfe.
Available: Barnes & Noble
Llewellyn Publications
ISBN : 0-87542-791-X.
Pages: 300
Retails: $14.95 (US)
$22.95 (Canada)
It is well indexed with 3 appendices. There are four sections and 23 chapters.
As the blurb on the back of the book says -
“Take a Ride on a Silver Broomstick, and let your Magickal Adventure
begin!”
This Paganus did.
It was a very good ride.
She is a mother with children. She lives in Pennsylvania. She is the
Director of the Wiccan/Press Alliance. She has been active in varied and
various aspects of the Wiccan/Pagan Craeft since she was seventeen. In
November of 1991 she received her First Degree from Bried Foxsong of
Sacred Hart.
She is on the rolls of the International Red Garters. She also is of
Second and Third Degree status from the Temple of Hecate Triskele of the
Caledonii Tradition. She now heads the Black Forrest Clan is four states.
She was ‘Eldered’ by Lord Serphant of Serphant Stone in June of 1996.
Her hearthstone coven is the Coven of the Wolf. This is quite a
remarkable biography for a working, writing mother and wife with
children. Just who is this Lady - this Witch?
She is Silver RavenWolf - Mother of four children and Author of over 17
books. She is also a very talented artist. Many of her drawings
illustrate and illuminate the first volume of her trilogy of “New
Generation Witchcraft".
She opens her book with Valiente’s “Charge of the Goddess". For a book
written as an introductory instructional guide to the Craeft the
“Charge” is an ideal opening. The Craeft is not - despite the incessant
and discordant howlings of the numerous “Born-Again” Whatever’s and the
“Right-Wing” Whomever’s - a Dark and Negative Craeft of Death, Doom and
Desolation for the Immortal Soul. Far from it. A witch is most often a
teacher, a guide and healer. A witch does not knowingly and deliberately
deal with the “Dark Side". It is just not done. For so many reasons it
is not done…..
Silver is - for this Paganus - very easy to read and understand. She
writes as not only a Witch but also a Mother and a Wife. Her sense of
humour is also greatly appreciated. So many of the books I have looked
through - and not bought - are deeply serious tomes of ’secret sacred
knowledge revealed’. Reading Silver - along with Cunningham - you very
quickly learn that ’secret sacred knowledge’ may - or very likely may
not be - of any value save perhaps to a book publisher selling a book to
gullible readers.
After the “Charge” she has a short introduction to herself and her
background. Reading her book - in the context of the introduction -
gives the reader a much needed ‘grounding’ in the ‘real world’. As she
herself says in that introduction - “I live in the real world that has
such neat items as rent, phone bills, electricity bills, family upsets,
car problems and bank snafus. Not to mention the biggies, like war,
crime, and the sometimes uncooperative neighbors.” Knowing this - and
knowing she wants you to know this before you read the book means this
Lady has her Magick together. “
I like the book because it is in what I know to be ‘trade-paper’ size.
It’s larger than some of - if not many - of the books on the ‘New
Age’/'Occult’ shelves. It has a blue cover that is very easy to find. On
the cover is a lovely young lady witch riding her flying broom painted
by Lisa Iris. Inside the book are the illustrations by Silver.
The drawing of the young woman at her desk that graces the introduction
is quite striking. Being a ‘trade-paper’ sized book also means the size
of the print-type is larger - and for this Paganus with bifocals that is
a great help and advantage.
At the conclusion of many chapters is a summary of that chapter along
with a suggested reading list. Since her book was published by Llewllyn
an obvious thought would be that most of the books on the chapter’s
readings lists would be from Llewellyn. While many of the listed books
are from Llewellyn many are not - including Samuel Weiser, Harper and
Collins, St. Martins and the Aquarian Press.
Some of the chapters of the book include:
Picking up the Broomstick,
Magickal Jargon,
Religion Vs. Science,
Your Sacred Space,
Coming out of the Closet
Obviously this is a book for beginners to the Craft. Yet, I find as I
near the end of my First Year of Readings that this book may also be of
value to one skilled and experienced in the Craft.
The references of Pagan Newsletters and Services in the second appendix
is invaluable.
This book is dedicated to two men in Silver’s life - her father and her
husband. Marching to a different drummer is how she dedicated this book
to her father. To her husband she gave the dedication that without him
it would not have been possible. A daughter, wife, mother and published
author. When the Power Flows - the Magick Can and does Grow.