The Wiccan Path: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner - Rae Beth

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NOTE: The Wiccan Path: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner, is sold outside the USA as 'Hedge Witch: A Guide to Solitary Witchcraft'. The author, very kindly, points this out to prevent customers buying both by accident. As the copy I have is not the US edition, for the remainder of this review, I will be referring to the book as Hedge Witch, to avoid confusion (more on my own part, than yours!).
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WHY I BOUGHT THIS BOOK (feel free to skip. See, I'm being thoughtful again!)

Since the age of around 15, I've been studying Wicca and Witchcraft on and off, but it's only in the past year that I've been more committed and focused on learning. Now, this isn't fairly unusual considering the type of TV shows that were airing at that time and opening more people up to the existence / possibility of Witchcraft and magic - Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed being the main culprits!
However, since I was a rather unusual child (compared to my classmates anyhow), I've always been fairly accepting of certain things that I see as fact, and am incredibly lucky that my parents (my Mum especially) have been on the same wavelength with similar beliefs and have never tried to tell me that I'm wrong or that certain things aren't real.

Ghosts, for example, and hauntings. Reincarnation (a family friend was reborn as a Scottish King, which I found a bit amusing considering she's English). Bad mojo or curses. Psychic abilities like TK (telekinesis, moving stuff with your mind. Like Carrie, but without killing people). Multiple Gods, not just the one dude chillin' in Heaven (I always had a fascination with the different Roman Gods and Goddesses, and eventually looked closer to home for the Celtic counterparts). And Hell was something I couldn't quite grasp, and eventually I had sussed it out for just being used to keep folk in line from doing stuff that they ended up doing anyway and then praying for forgiveness. And I'm still undecided on the exact origin and nature of UFOs.
Let's put it this way, I'm not the daughter of a Spiritualist for nothing!

So I suppose wanting to explore a faith that didn't go against what I already knew / decided, and that encouraged me to keep learning and to help make me a better person rather than tell me to condemn others who aren't of the same religion, was fairly inevitable.
So I have been buying books, checking out Pagan and Wiccan sites on the internet and am fairly certain I'm on the right path here, though I still certainly consider myself to be very much the novice (if I had a wand, I'd likely just poke someone's eye out. And as for leaving an offering of wine as thanks for the God and Goddess - forget about it! They'll have to wrestle the bottle from me first).

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WICCA... WITCHCRAFT... PAGANISM... EH?!?

Here's the absolute gist of it (apologies for any confusion, links are provided for a little more info)...

Paganism (and neopaganism - neo = new) is a generic and broad term for all religions that are considered spiritual or work with nature.

http://treesong.org/spirituality/wicca/f​aq/

Witchcraft is an old religion, also know as 'craft of the wise' by some folk. When the Witchcraft Act of England was repealed in 1951, Gerald Gardner shortly thereafter released his book 'Witchcraft Today' in 1954. As Gardner increased an already revived interest in the faith, it was referred to as Wicca as it was a new spirituality with roots in the old religion.

Like Christianity, it has different traditions (or branches). For all the Lutherans and Jehovah's Witnesses in Christianity, you've got Dianic Wiccans (a more feminist movement focusing only on the Goddess) and Eclectic Wiccans (no one set tradition, but learns from all teachings).

And no, there is no devil worship. The devil is a Christian creation, and as much as I know that some people can put out very bad vibes and be capable of immense cruelty - I ain't gonna blame that on a horned guy dwelling in a place I don't even believe exists. Some people believe if you give such evil a name, you can give it power.
Witches and Wiccans have moral codes and ethics - and deliberately doing something bad, or worshipping something bad, is a big no-no.

for more info:

http://www.religioustolerance.org/witchc​ra.htm
http://www.paganfed.org/paganism.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicca
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neopaganism

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BUT WHY BUY THIS PARTICULAR BOOK? (skip again if you like)

I was encouraged to check out different authors, to work out myself who was credible and who was to be avoided, and obviously what appealled to me. Some Wiccan and Pagan authors (Wiccan mostly) are subject to attack by others in the community who consider their message to be totally wrong and misinformation. Which is a bit sad, considering that everything I've learned so far says that there is no 'One True Way' but that doesn't necessarily mean you can do whatever you feel like.
What you do does have repurcussions, for example, and it's a little off puting when you read such hateful words against another person. You get what you give, Karma, the Threefold Law, etc. (do you see now how there ain't no way that someone could do anything evil or worshipping that pesky satan without it coming back to bite them in the ar*e?)

I had scoured Amazon for reviews on books to see what was informative and what was regurgitated nonsense, checked out some people's recommendations, and decided that Rae Beth was worth a look and specifically chose Hedge Witch as it dealt with Solitaries (studying on one's own and not a member of a Coven, or group) and because it was recommended as good for beginners, and also looked at Hedge Witchcraft (considered to be a form of folk-magic) unlike the other books I had read.

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HOW EASY IS IT TO READ? WHAT'S THE FORMAT?

The book was first published in 1990 (although some sources say 1992) and is separated into two parts.
Part One of the book is actually compiled from a series of letters that Rae Beth composed to two 'apprentices' interested in becoming witches, Tessa and Glyn, over a 12 month period from January 1987 until January 1988 in which she divulges teachings regarding the faith. This I felt was quite an interesting format, as although Tessa and Glyn's own written responses were not published, any questions they had written were addressed and anwered in the next letter by Beth - which would make the book almost interactive, so long as the readers have the same questions!The first letter addresses most people's initial queries about the faith, and explains a bit about Witchcraft, and that it is not only a male deity that is worshipped, but a Goddess as well, and the implications that has / had in a patriarchial society (trust me, this isn't a man-bashing book! But you do have to wonder if we'd need to have documentaries like 'An Inconvenient Truth' to frighten us into looking after the Earth if women had been left in charge... hmm).
Also addressed is nude rituals (some people do, some people don't. But have some commonsense if it's cold - "there is nothing magically effective about gooseflesh!") as well as the Horned God.

• gasp* 'the Horned God is the devil!', I hear you cry. 'You lied to us! You said the devil was a Christian creation!'.
• enter Michael Winner* 'Calm down dear! What bandcamp said is correct, but the Horned God is associated with wild animals and woods, and so has animal characteristics (horns and hooves).'
  Cheers Michael, now b*gger off, this isn't a commercial.

As the letters cover a 12 month period, it means that letters also guide us through the 8 festivals (Sabbats) of the year, beginning with Imbolg on February 2, Beth explains about their meaning and gives suggestions for how to celebrate and soothes any worries about needing to have complicated and grand affairs. If birthday candles and plasticine are all you have, that will do! Nowhere does it say that simple cannot be effective, and Beth gives examples but often precludes by saying "you may say" or "you might say" to encourage some creativity in the spoken parts, as it is often easier to remember words that are your own, and that they will perhaps have more feeling to them.
Gradually Tessa and Glynn (and the reader!) are taught more about the remaining festivals -
Spring Equinox / Eostar (falls between 20th-23rd March)
Belatane / May Eve (Beth says 30th April, most folk celebrate Beltane 1st May)
Summer Solstice / Litha (falls between 20th-23rd June)
Lughnahsadh / Lammas (1st August)
Mabon / Autumn Equinox (falls between 20th-23rd September)
Samhain / Hallowe'en (31st October)
Yule / Winter Solstice (falls between 20th-23rd December)We learn about the year as a cycle and the relations to the God and Goddess. But it's not all talk and no action, no! Very soon Beth advises how to cast (create) a magic circle within which to do magical workings and rituals, while explaining it's representation is not only physical, but psychic and almost 'between worlds'. Naturally, we are also told how to take down the circle once our work is done and that this a sacred, and protective space.

Along with an explanation of the moon phases and wonderful little stories about how festivals were once celebrated (Beltane was considered the first day of Summer, and to ensure fertility and fruitfulness for when the harvest came, young couples would go into the forests and make the beast with two backs. Sorry that was rude and unprofessional. They made love. Hehehehehe). Along with the usual advice on being careful to do spells for folk on command, just to prove you can, and whether to wait to do a spell for someone until the right moon phase in a magic circle, we are also told about the witch's version of a christening and what should be considered before carrying out a Wiccaning, and also touches upon death and reincarnation.

In her last letter to the two, they are given a brief list of herbs and essential oils and which 'magical application' they are best suited to e.g. healing, psychic protection, luck. And with this, she wishes them luck on their journey discovering the craft.

What I found very useful and informative about this book, was lurking in Part Two of the book, when Beth began to speak and describe visualisation and working while in a trance. Sounds a tad dodgy, doesn't it? You hear trance, you think Peter Powers making you fellate a banana (does he? I don't know, I just assume).

Still written in the letter format from March until June 1988, Beth is only now addressing Tessa (although I suppose we could still assume Glyn was on his voyage of discovery). She goes on to explain about how trancework is when the more powerful magic can be done, and throughout the remainder of the books gives advice and exercises for visualisation ('seeing' something inside your head, while in a relaxed state - daydreaming, almost) as well as techniques for ensuring protection while 'psychically open', and how to determine if anything or anyone encountered while visualising is a threat to you.
Admittedly, this will sound a bit bizarre but when you consider that we can be hurt mentally with words as well as physically with force, you'll maybe see it is possible for some people to be hurt psychically just by another person's ill will or by any bad feelings or vibes that may occupy a place.

Once Tessa (and the reader, if so inclined) has mastered the basic and then slightly more difficult visualisation exercises, we can then learn to visualise to meet our animal familiars - companions who will help protect and guide us, and speak with the God and Goddess in their various aspects if not just to commune with them, then to ask for advice or guidance on a specific matter. Normally, the answers will be symbolic or something you realise that you've known all along - which isn't unusual, since isn't the God and Goddess inside all of us?

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THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS AND OTHER GIRLY THINGS

I felt that even the most beginner of beginners - who had never picked up a book on this subject before - would be able to follow the material easily and not get bored. Sometimes it's easy to be overwhelmed by a topic, or the subject becomes a bit stale, but it was very easy to get through this book and not get lost in the lingo, as it was all patiently explained without any hint of being patronising.

As for the letter form, well since she was writing to two students wanting to study the faith, it was written in a friendly manner (though with nowhere NEAR the warmth and friendliness I've noticed with Scott Cunningham's writings) and with the occasional pen ink drawing featuring something relevant to the time (daffodils in March, apples in October) and which broke up the pages and brought a bit of life into it. No chapters in this book, no sir! I admit though, it's easier to remember which chapter you were about to start rather than what date on a letter! My own fault for overestimating my memory I suppose, and not using a bookmark.

The thing that totally impressed me with this book though, as I've mentioned, was the detailed work and techniques for visualisation. I've seen this mentioned in other books but with nowhere near this amount of details, and although I have not yet attempted it, I'm a lot more confident that when I do (literally) put my mind to it, I will be able to do it, or at least put me on the right path to doing it.

Now, I got my copy of Hedge Witch from Amazon.co.uk for £5.24. It's probably available elsewhere, but I can't be ar*ed looking and the Co-Op are going to stop selling booze shortly.

I appreciate the fact that some of you will have read this without perhaps knowing what on earth I'm talking about, or even believing in what I do, but I'm very grateful for the fact that you have and just hope I've done this justice without confusing or alienating anyone! Or boring anyone, since I tend to write essays. At least I'm consistent!

This review was written while under the influence of sobriety. Which is why I'm going to make up for it... hehehe

Rae Beth's website: www.knibb.org/rae/index.htm