Yes! Something for those of us who’ve been practicing our craft a decade or more! I will absolutely say that our community has gotten better about sharing information beyond the ‘101’ level, but it’s a very small pile of books (e.g. GreyCat’s Deepening Witchcraft).
Kirk White, founder and academic dean at the Cherry Hill Seminary has given us the gift of his wisdom and practice, culled from 30+ years of practice in Adept Circle Magick: A Guide for the Advanced Wiccan Practitioner. It is an easy book in many senses – well written with a good tone and an absolute avoidance of patronizing. All of which I take for granted in a long-time teacher with a genuine love for hi practice. What surprised me was how much of the book was a review of the fundamentals and yet it was a necessary stepping off point to the deeper material.
The fundamentals are something many of us ‘slough off’ or skip over in our daily practice. They’ve become familiar, and like many such things, taken for granted. As well, many of us have our own practices and when discussing such things with others, might use a kind of shorthand or private language to indicate various tasks. It seems to me that establishing a common ground of expectations and language used to describe various practices is a smart way to ‘speak’ to those of us who have gone beyond the ‘101’ level in our observances.
Grounding, creating sacred space, divination, the wheel of the year, healing, initiation, aspecting and daily life are each covered – chapter by chapter -- in detail, and with clarity.
This is a book a newcomer could read, but s/he won’t get much out of it, as the practical workings are discussed, but the assumption is that it is establishing a language, not teaching a practice. I strongly recommend this book for any intermediate Wiccan as a indicator of where you want to end up; and for advanced practitioners as well. We could use a few reminders of what it is all about.
~review by Lisa Mc Sherry
Author: Kirk White
Citadel Press, 2006
pp. 241, $12.95
