Silver RavenWolf

Table of Contents:

Teen Witch - Reviewed by Daven
Witches' Night Out - Reviewed by Mike Gleason
Witches’ Night of Fear - Reviewed by Mike Gleason
Witches’ Key to Terror - Reviewed by Mike Gleason
Beneath a Mountain Moon - Reviewed by Mike Gleason
Halloween - Reviewed by Mike Gleason

Title:	Teen Witch
Author:	Silver RavenWolf
Publisher:	Llewellyn Publications
ISBN:	1-56718-725-0
Copyright:	2000
Reviewer:	Daven
Contact Information:	daven@davensjournal.com, http://davensjournal.com
Category:	Wicca
Review:	Teen Witch, by Silver RavenWolf...starts out strong and peters out into mediocrity. I had such high hopes for this particular book and most of them were shattered within the first 100 pages. Let me explain my disappointment to you, so you can see why I felt let down. Silver starts out the book by saying that she wrote this for the Teen and the seeker who is going through the times and trails of being a teenager while also trying to find their spiritual self. She starts out strongly with several good pieces of advice. In addition, there is a section for the parent who may not be Wiccan, to try and lay their fears to rest. Her stated purpose in this book is to teach teens how to cope with life, and to show them some of the mysteries of Wicca as a religion. This is what she tells the adults in the beginning of the book, as she speaks from the perspective of a parent herself. However, this never manifests anywhere in the text she wrote. In the first two chapters, Silver does a good job of staying on topic, giving a brief synopsis of what Wicca is and is not. She bursts several popular misconceptions with humor and good sense. She goes into some of the more difficult aspects of being a teen (such as drug use) and gives some good insights into what a teenager is going through. There is a good description of the journey she has taken in her spiritual quest and some of the trials she had with her own teens in the beginning of the book. It lets people understand her, know that she is human and that she has "been there and done that" with her parents and her children. Her cautions on Drugs and Alcohol in Magickal workings are needed injunctions. She illustrates this point with a true-life story that she was told by a friend. Her thoughts on teen pressure and how to cope with it are good also, but there are too few of these gems in the book compared to the overwhelming topic: SpellCrafting. In the very beginning of the book, she states that she is "-one of the most famous Witches in the United States today" as a way of introducing herself to the parents of a teen who is investigating Wicca. This statement may be fact, but it is not the way to make the readers comfortable with the material. The thumbnail description of Wicca is necessary, and it gives the reader a chance to define what they believe. By the third chapter, despite saying that Wicca is a religion over and over, she goes into Magick and Spells, continuing this topic for the next 8 chapters. Spells on this, spells on that, how to protect your locker with a spell, how to shop with a spell, how to gain money with a spell, never again focusing on the religion. There is one brief chapter about how to do a ritual, along with the holidays, and Esbat celebrations. In that chapter, she has teens getting together and having a Circle, invoking the God and Goddess and bringing Them into themselves, and doing Magick. She shows the teen casting spells left and right for one thing or another throughout the book. Even though she states multiple times that you don't have to do all the ritual she describes and "scripts" out, since that is all that Silver presents, the teen is left with little choice but to think that Spellwork is all there is to being a Wiccan. If she is trying to show Wicca as a valid religion, this book falls far short of the mark. If she is trying to help teens through a troubling time in their life, then again she fails. If she wants to perpetuate the stereotype that Wiccans cast Magick all the time then she did a good job. There is a tendency to throw out esoteric pronouncements that make no sense within the context of the statement, with little or no explanation to clarify them. For instance, here is one paragraph talking about the rules of Love Magick: You cannot own another person. A person doesn't "belong" to you like a piece of property. Witches never give away their "shields" to another person. You always retain your personal power. Teen Witch, pg. 138. I have studied Wicca for 10 years and metaphysics and Magick for 30, I asked others, and reread this particular passage multiple times trying to understand what she meant, to no avail. It makes no sense in the context of the thought to throw out a statement like that about personal power and shields. I can think of only two explanations for this: 1) People really are possessions, and she is equating another person to a shield to protect you from harm and you should not give them away to another person at all, or... 2) The publisher and author made a mistake in the manuscript that no one caught by misplacing this passage. There are multiple contradictory statements in this book. Silver states repeatedly that Witches don't do Magick to force anyone to be with them, and that readers of this book should not do that either. However, she goes on to give 18 different spells on love and relationships. One of which makes someone who is pursuing your "boy/girlfriend" go away forcibly. This sounds like a spell targeting a specific individual to me. There are some spells that are good and positive, and I will probably use some of them in my own practice. For example, a spell to make a romantic break up more amicable than it might be and her section on healing is good. While Silver harps on the fact that Magick is not the way to solve problems in teen life, she goes on to give them nothing but spells as tools to cope. This makes for a very confusing book. This is not to say that everything in this book is worthless. There are some good anecdotes on different problems, good suggestions for a "minimalistic" circle and sound advice. Unfortunately, there is so little of it in comparison to the spells, I'm afraid the advice gets glossed over. She went to a lot of trouble to write these spells, and they should be used, but by practitioners with a through understanding of the religious aspects, as well as the full knowledge of the consequences of the spells they are casting. One of the positive aspects is Silver does have the definitions for most of the esoteric words that are used right there with the text that uses that word. This is all to the good. Some of the other positive aspects are a wonderful solitary ritual for "Cleansing the Sacred Space" using the example of her daughter. I read it and thought that the ritual was very beautiful. Craft parents who are trying to teach their children to be Wiccan should use this book. There is a lot of simple explanation in there for the child or teen and it would be valuable for them. (Her example of a 10 year old using her stuffed animals as her Deity representations and as her Circle boundary is a really good one.) This is not for the teen that sees it on the shelf of a bookstore and decides to get it to see what Witchcraft is about. "Teen Witch" is a spell book. Granted it is a good spell book, but it is not what it was representing itself as, namely a guide to teen spiritualism. All in all, for fulfilling the purpose it was written for, I give it 2 stars out of 5. However, as a reference for the Craft Child, with the support and guidance of a parent or Priest/ess to help, it rates 3 1/2 stars on the same scale. There will still be a lot of work the teacher will need to do to help the teen along. Stars light your path. Daven
Review submitted:

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Title:	Witches' Night Out
Author:	Silver RavenWolf
Publisher:	Llewellyn Worldwide
ISBN:	1-56718-728-5
Pages:	222
Copyright:	2000
Reviewer:	Mike Gleason
Contact Information:	gleason.mike@verizon.net
Category:	Fiction, Teen, Wicca
Review:	First in a series of fictional books by Silver RavenWolf, it develops the setting and background for an on-going series of books about a group of high school students who are learning about themselves, the art of magick, and the religion of Wicca. Like the protagonists in many young-people oriented series on the magickal/Wiccan path, it is a time of exploration and discovery; a time of testing one's abilities and powers; a time of trial and error. The youngsters in this series start with some advantages - some have a family history of magickal involvement, some have (unexpectedly) understanding parents, and then there is the competent (if unexpected) teacher who shows them some simple guidelines and basic magickal techniques. The housekeeper in this story seemed vaguely familiar, but I couldn't remember where I had encountered a similar individual. When I mentioned her to my daughter, she immediately responded with "Kind of like the one in The Believers." And she is right. There are differences, but they function the same, as a guardian for a child who needs guidance and protection from forces which most people don't recognize or acknowledge. My only major complaint about this work is that, in line with most series introductions, it is a little slow to develop the story-line, although it does pick up speed a little later. The characters are believable (the teen angst rings totally true), the magick doesn't always manifest in the anticipated manner or form ("Be careful what you wish for." warns a blurb on the back cover), and the situations the teens find themselves in are drawn from day-to-day life in almost any high school in the country. It does seem as though most of the teens in books written lately (by Pagan friendly authors) have combined their occult studies with crime-solving. I suppose that is a natural marriage of two popular strains of teen reading that just seem to gravitate to one another. I'm not sure how many teens would actually get involved in trying to solve crimes, but it does make for interesting reading. I look forward to reading the rest of the books in the series. While some members of the Wiccan community may have problems with Ms. RavenWolf, as is true with any author, she crafts an enjoyable story. For years I have bemoaned the fact that there were few fictional stories about Wicca and magick written by people with practical experience of the topics. I am glad to add this book to the growing list of fiction that I can recommend to younger seekers. It doesn't give away any "secrets" and it shows the pitfalls of trying to do magick without considering all the consequences. It also shows that it is not just a case of snapping your fingers, twitching your nose, or some other simple things to get magick to work. If you are a parent, looking for good, light reading for your Pagan child, check this book out. There will undoubtedly be questions asked about some of the things contained within it, and that is (in my opinion) a good thing. Anything which encourages a dialogue between adults and youngsters helps both sides to develop.
Review submitted:	10 January 2003

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Title:	Witches’ Night of Fear
Author:	Silver RavenWolf
Publisher:	Llewellyn Worldwide
ISBN:	1-56718-718-8
Pages:	282
Copyright:	2002
Reviewer:	Mike Gleason
Contact Information:	gleason.mike@verizon.net
Category:	Fiction, Teen, Wicca
Review:	Before I begin this review, I feel it is necessary to remind people that, regardless how we may feel about the non-fiction books written by Silver RavenWolf, this book (as well as the others in this series) is intended as fiction, thus it should (in my opinion) be judged by a different set of standards. Had this been a non-fiction book, I could have found quite a bit to disagree with. Even then, however, I would have acknowledged that it is a matter of how individuals are trained. Ms. RavenWolf and I share nothing (so far as I know) in terms of training. We may or may not have shared similar experiences. Those of you who have read other reviews I have written know that I try to be as impartial as possible, and if something is outside my area of knowledge, I will freely admit it. You will also know that I judge each book as a unique experience without (as much as possible) allowing my personal expectations to come into play. This second book in the "Witches’ Chillers" series picks up exactly where the first one left off. Less than twenty-four have elapsed since we left the Witches Night Out coven. The youngsters perceptions of high drama continue unabated, as do the personality conflicts and changes which are so commonplace, but which seem to be manifestations of evil directed at young people as they grow into the adult world. Each of the teens encounters interpersonal problems, and are forced to make choices. Lack of research and thinking things through to their logical conclusions once again lead Bethany (the leader of the group) to make mistakes in judgment, but she continues to be aided by the most unlikely of sources. Throughout this book, without being preachy and/or dogmatic about it, the author continues to lay out the basic ground rules of Wicca " keep your word, be proactive rather than reactive, think before you act. She doesn’t clobber the reader with this information, nor does she says that everyone thinks this way. It creeps in naturally, and as a form of guidance. By the end of this book, Bethany has come to the realizations that: a) being a Witch is a lot of work; b) that responsibility for ones actions must be accepted; c) that, although she can expect some help and guidance from her teacher, she is the "leader" of the coven, and must accept that level of responsibility; and finally; d) that rushing to judgment is never a good idea. Bethany, and the other members of the group (Tillie, Nam, and Sidney) seem to be your average American teenagers (as if there is any such critter). They have conflicts with other students, misunderstanding with adults, and skewed perceptions of their own abilities and self-worth. If you have teenagers in your life, or if you are just out of your teens, or (especially) if you are a teen, you will know these individuals, and will be able to relate to them and their feelings. I’ll say it again. As fiction, this is well worth reading and having available for young folks to read. It is NOT non-fiction. There are things you won’t agree with, I’m sure. BUT if you take the time to read it, and then discuss it with those you have read it, it will open up a dialogue so that you can point out where you agree and where you don’t. Just don’t expect it to take the place of non-fiction books.
Review submitted:	12 January 2003

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Title:	Witches’ Key to Terror
Author:	Silver RavenWolf
Publisher:	Llewellyn Worldwide
ISBN:	0-7387-0049-5
Pages:	262
Copyright:	2001
Reviewer:	Mike Gleason
Contact Information:	gleason.mike@verizon.net
Category:	Fiction, Teen, Wicca
Review:	This final book (to date) in the series (Witches’ Chillers) continues the adventures of the Witches’ Night Out coven and their involvement in attempting to help other people, as well as further their magickal education. The youngsters once more find themselves in mysterious circumstances and getting involved with people who have a totally different lifestyle and existence from their own. The individuals needing help are an anachronism. They are almost Amish in their distrust of the "outside world," although their distrust is not based on a rejection of modern conveniences. The children in this family yearn to become a part of that "outside world, and struggle to make sense of their exclusion. There is far more "teen" and less "witch" is this book, for which reason I liked it less than its predecessors. It verges on pulp fiction is some areas. If Silver decides to continue with this series, I hope she regains he4r original focus. Bethany (the "leader" of the group) finds herself being challenged on a lot of levels, and reveals a little bit about her own background in this book. She continues to suffer from many of the teen anxieties which beset young people in our society, and deals with them in much the same way as any other teen ignore them when possible, only deal with the things you can’t avoid. The other members of the coven are beginning to emerge as individuals, and to show unexpected strengths and abilities, as well as displaying the usual assortment of insecurities and teen desires. They continue to ring true as people. That is one of the strengths of this series the characters could be attending almost any high school in this country. We have all known people like them. The members of the coven continue to find support from their families, which is something any teen would value. They continue to find skepticism from the majority of the "real world," as well as rejection by other teens because of their differences. As an enjoyable, lightweight read, it is fine, but frankly, I feel that the author produced this one simply because she had agreed to. There doesn’t appear to be as much thought and attention to detail as in the previous books. If this were someone’s first exposure to "occult fiction," they would probably decide to forget about the entire genre. I hope it was simply an "off" book. Every author has one now and then. Accept this as being a small bump in the road, and hope that the author continues to write more of this series. It will continue to spark dialogue.
Review submitted:	13 January 2003

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Title:	Beneath a Mountain Moonr
Author:	Silver RavenWolf
Publisher:	Llewellyn Worldwide
ISBN:	1-56718-722-6
Pages:	341
Copyright:	1995
Reviewer:	Mike Gleason
Contact Information:	gleason.mike@verizon.net
Category:	Fiction, Wicca
Review:	I know there are a lot of people who, for one reason or another don’t like Silver RavenWolf’s writings. I have to say that I haven’t read enough of her non-fiction work to form an unbiased opinion of it. I have read the series of novels she wrote for teens (Witches’ Night Out, Witches’ Night of Fear, and Witches’ Key to Terror [see my previous reviews]) and found them enjoyable. This book, not intended for the teen market, is an excellent story. It is well plotted and the characters, if a bit overstated in some cases, are achingly familiar to anyone who has spent more than a few years in the magickal community (we’re not all "White Light and Fluff," you know). The character of Terry Anderson rings true of so many wannabe psychics. She knows all the "book meanings" of her chosen tool of divination (the runes), but has no connection to the "higher powers." She knows enough to impress the average person seeking a reading, but is still a seeker herself. The interplay between Elizabeyta, the ghost of her great aunt, Terry’s ghost (after her unfortunate demise) and, at a different time and place, the "Spirit of Death," is the stuff of good horror stories without touching the levels of the macabre that some horror tales slip into. The magick which is used is, obviously, drawn, from personal experience and background, as is the information on Pow Wow. This book is, primarily, a good mystery, with a background of magick. As such, you don’t need to be a practicing Pagan or Witch to enjoy it. It is not an attempt to teach about the reality of Pagan and Wiccan thought, although it does get tossed into the mix. It is not preachy. It simply weaves a web of mystery, leading you to its somewhat unexpected conclusion. Even if you think you don’t like Silver’s writings, give this book a read. Not everyone will agree with the details, but I honestly think most people will enjoy the mystery and the story for their own value.
Review submitted:	8 March 2003

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Title:	Halloween
Author:	Silver RavenWolf
Publisher:	Llewellyn Worldwide
ISBN:	1-56718-496-0
Pages:	216 pages
Copyright:	2003
Reviewer:	Mike Gleason
Contact Information:	gleason.mike@verizon.net
Category:	Wicca, Paganism
Review:	This is one of a series of books, by various authors, dealing with the Sabbats. Some people like what Silver RavenWolf has to say and how she says it; some people don't. My attitude is that each book has to be evaluated on its own merits. For those who judge a book by its author, or publisher, or any other generality, I would like to offer a favorite quote (author unknown): "There is so much good in the worst of us, and so much bad in the best of us, that it ill behooves any of us to talk about the rest of us." The first section of this book deals with mythic and historic background of the Sabbat from a variety of cultures and through the ages. There are a lot of familiar items in here (no, Samhain is not the Celtic god of the dead, no matter what the fundies claim, as Silver makes very clear). There are also items not so well known. After this comes customs and traditions associated with Halloween. Once again a variety of cultures and times yield their information. The author tells how to make a set of runes from pumpkin seeds (and provides basic information on them); how to make magick mirrors and scrying vessels; as well as how to do psychometry. Next come recipes to share with friends. All of these recipes are easy to make, even for folks who don't normally do-it-themselves. Several of them, created by Silver's children, are downright fun. Whether your Halloween party guests are magickal or not, they are sure to enjoy these tasty treats. Moving on, we come to a chapter devoted to Halloween magick. Any of these ideas will work well for when the coven is meeting at your house. There are all kinds of crafts in this section, including making corn husk dollies; uses for fall foliage; charm bags, etc. The instructions are simple, clear, and easy to follow. The final chapter deals with rituals - both Wiccan and non-Wiccan. The bibliography is fairly wide-ranging and offers something for everyone. The majority of the items should be easily available through any public library. There are a few older sources, but nothing older than the early 1920s. This book was fun to read. The information was presented nicely. There was no obvious bias. Silver went out of her way to be as historically accurate as possible (within the limits of space) while still keeping the subject relatively light and entertaining. This is the first of the books dealing with the Sabbats (from Llewellyn) that I have read. While I wouldn't recommend it as a "required reading book" to my students, I would certainly recommend it for a bit of background information to them, and to my non-Pagan friends as well.
Review submitted:	8 September2003

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