To Light a Sacred Flame: Practical Witchcraft for the Millennium

Having studied/experienced a wide variety of spiritual and religious paths in depth, I am most impressed with Silver Ravenwolf's additions to the field. I find myself amazed at the reviews which claim "this is not Paganism/Witchcraft" -- excuse me, perhaps it's not YOUR system, but I find it arrogant for one to assume they "know" the be-all and end-all of any system of belief. The more I study, the more I know how little I truly know...and I have been actively studying for over 25 years now. I believe Ravenwolf offers a lot of valuable and interesting information, as well as amusing anecdotes. I am impressed with her attention to what I believe is the foundation of ALL practice - the experience of the Self. Invariably I find self-awareness at the core of every major group into which I have delved. Silver offers several valuable techniques and guidelines to assist in experienceing the inner silence. Nice effort, I look forward to her next book!

I am not new to Paganism and I have not bought any of this author's books before. The blurred naked woman and mentioning the millenium (Christian dating system) on the cover are tacky, but that doesn't damage the rest of the book. Ravenwolf's "Barbie Wicca" covers have been problematic before, after all.In this book, Silver Ravenwolf explains some things about the Pagan/Wiccan religion clearly, and without the political baggage that some people these days find hard to deal with in some of the older Pagan books. She avoids unlikely claims about her own qualifications, and even manages a gentle and charming sense of humor. It's an easy and pleasant read, in a conversational style, full of interesting things to think about. A teenager would also be able to understand it.Is this book fiction? I think the author believes what she writes. This text should be understood as religion, not engineering. Not everything here will work all the time or for everyone. If you don't believe in the religion, you won't believe this, and the book doesn't spend much space trying to persuade skeptics. There are disclaimers, and putting more of them would make for unreadable prose, so it's good there aren't more. Likewise, if you only accept a particular kind of Paganism, and if this falls outside it, you won't like it. This book has one of the best discussions of how Pagan practice differs among individuals. No surprise that some people like meditating with slinkies, and some find it silly to use tools that weren't designed as religious articles. Since this book deals with integrating magic into everyday life, it's no surprise to find everyday objects.Someone interested in this book might also want to read Marion Weinstein's _Positive_Magic,_ and Isaac Bonewitz's _Real_Magic_, and (most important as a supplement) Robin Wood's _When,_Why_..._If_, which give slightly different points of view on related topics - not only how you CAN do but also what you SHOULD do.

This third installment to Mama Silver's New Generation Witchcraft series does not disappoint. Not so much about the Magick of the Craft and more about bringing personal healing into your life, at times this one reads more like a New Age self-help book than Craft text...but that's okay...RavenWolf is once again playing mother hen and reminding us that Magick is far more successful when we know who we are and where we want to be. Lady Silver reminds us that Magick is EVERYWHERE, not just in ritual, but that there can be Magick in everything from daydreaming to cleaning your house! That we can use techniques like self-fascination (which I've been doing since childhood, I just never realized it had a name), and self-hypnosis to attain specific goals in our lives. This one is all about healing, making your life better, and looking for Magick in the mundane! What a wonderful way to look at everyday life!Thank you Silver!

It is amazing what she has said in this book. Unlike some poeple she can turn anything in the house even a slinky into a part of magick and she is right that once you pick up a slinky it is hard to put down it gets mme right into the alpha state. Witch is much cheeper then buying 5 more books about going into alpha state. Thanks SIlver for anther great book. I tryed the Angel thing out and it has done wonders for me and my life.