Joanna van der Hoeven’s The Old Ways: A Hedge Witch’s Guide to Living a Magical Life, is a sort of companion and deeper look into the subjects from her first book, The Path of the Hedge Witch* and guides the reader towards deepening the skills learned in that book. The Old Ways is written in a voice that is engaging and friendly, and I especially like that van der Hoeven encourages readers to feel free to read and try the things that they feel called to or interested in within the book – there is nothing rigid or prescriptive in her writing or exercises.
I really enjoyed how each chapter had exercises, suggested readings, journal prompts as they fit the chapter and would work best towards deepening the reader’s understanding and craft.
This book is also a very helpful reference piece for witches interested in stocking their own witchy cupboards with herbs and plants of varying types, and what those herbs and plants are useful for and how to use them. Chapter Ten, “Your Own Herbal Allies and Practice” is a chapter I bookmarked immediately, and I expect to add marginalia and sticky notes as I work through it more thoroughly and reference it in my own practise.
For folks who maybe need or want a jumping off point for ritual language, especially at the Sabbats/Equinox/Solstice periods, this book has you covered in Chapter 12, “Integrating the Cycles of the Season”. The language is approachable and lovely, and could be expanded as the reader chooses, or used as is.
Another excellent part of this book – something I don’t always see addressed or mentioned in books about witchcraft – is in chapter fifteen, “Integrity and Integration”: “You are still a hedge witch when you have to scrub the toilet—true fact.”
Not only did this make me giggle, but it also resonates; real life continues to happen even when you’re a witch, and I always love to see the ways in which practitioners integrate the necessary chores of everyday life with their practise. This part, for me, made an accessible book even more human and earthy.
This is an excellent addition to anyone’s collection of useful and fun books you’ll want on hand.
—review by Mara McTavish
Author: Joanna van der Hoeven
Llewellyn Publications, 2025
Pp.: 237, $19.99
*I have not read the first book, and so any faults in my understanding of this work for this review are entirely mine.
