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The Heart of Wicca: Wise
Words from a Crone on the Path Whether it was the publisher or the late Ellen Cannon Reed herself who named this book, they certainly chose an apt title. Coming in at a mere 130 pages (including the appendices), the book might be easily dismissed as a lightweight in this "more is more" genre that tends to produce giant Wicca 101 tomes full of instructions for every possible move in circle. Here instead, we truly find the "heart of Wicca." Freely voicing her extreme disdain of new age Wicca and its freeform (don't laugh) political correctness, Reed bemoans the lack of structure in most covens, criticizing everything from the conceptualizing of Deity to the use of spellwork, Reed seems to show no respect for those who do not adhere to her own idea of what Wicca should be. Although she is direct is saying that not everyone will appreciate the view she shares in this book, I was surprised to find how vehemently angry she is at the eclecticism that now pretty much defines Wicca, even going so far as to make many comments such as "Pardon me while I choke" in reaction to groups who dare to explore pantheons (particularly cross-pantheon pairing, it appears) and utilize Deity in duality beyond the traditionally paired Gods and Goddesses. I found the book to be an
enjoyable read and a highly distilled piece of Wiccan instruction and
although I agreed with many of her assertions against the Wiccan
community, I found the degree of anger she levels to be sad and
inappropriate for a woman of her distinction and experience. I truly
hope that my journey toward cronedom does not take me to such an angry and
condescending place. As is evidenced by my Diva writings in The Diva
Digest, I have plenty of irritations with the Pagan community and do not
hesitate to voice them, but even I found this book to carry a tone of
mean-spiritedness that surprised me since that is not the
reputation that Ms. Reed cultivated in our world prior to her death.
I completely endorse direct speech, candor and calling a duck a duck and I
would really like to say that this is how I, personally, took what she had
to say. Sadly, it was not. One might be quick to say that I am
uncomfortable with what she's saying because I am one of the High
Priestesses she is criticizing; however, my practice is actually very
close to the way her own is
I will say that when the sarcasm and condescension is overlooked, she offers a wonderful view of the Craft and I did enjoy the parts of the book that were not so intolerant. I particularly enjoyed her view of the wheel of the year, identifying each sabbat as a "promise" of the previous one, that creates an ever turning chain of the fulfillment of the promise coupled with the creation of a new promise for the incoming sabbat energy. Also, in her section on Deity, she admires this statue (left) of The Morrigan by Paul Borda, which prompted me to look it up. I am grateful to be introduced to the lovely work of this artist.
Reviews by Katrina Rasbold |
described
in the book.
