Testament of a Witch

Author: Douglas Watt
ISBN: 9781906817794

Why did I read it?  It was given to me in exchange for a review and I was keen on the idea of a fictional work set in Scotland during the the notorious witch hunts.

Synopsis:   John Mackenzie is an advocate in Edinburgh who is charged by a letter from a dead woman to investigate happenings in the village of Lammersheugh. He and his assistant, Davie Scougall, a man raised in religious superstition, arrive to find the dead woman's daughter, Euphame also accused of witchcraft and the enlightened Mr Mackenzie and his reluctant assistant must work quickly to save her.

What did I like? Douglas Watt keeps his chapters short and each has a different voice, focussing on one person, or section of the community and this keeps the story moving at a cracking pace.  The zeitgeist of the Scotland in the 17th century - the religious fervour and political unrest - is evoked with apparent ease and Mr Watt is explicit when describing the gruesome nature of the treatment afforded those accused of being in league with the devil but this adds to the feeling of uncertainty and terror of the time.

I enjoyed this book and sped through it keen to discover the underbelly of Lammersheugh with John Mackenzie, but unlike other murder and/or mystery books, I was unable to unravel the mystery ahead of the author's reveal.  For me, this is a big plus for the book.

What didn't I like?  Very little.  Some of the chapters were difficult to read as over half the chapter was  written in a Scottish dialect, though the few Gaelic phrases scattered throughout other chapters were translated into plain English.

 Would I recommend it?  Yes!  I would thoroughly recommend this book to others: friends, family and even my grandmother, a fussy reader.

Rating: 4/5.

A Charm to avert the Evil Eye

Another example of the use of a thread cure used as a charm to avert the evil eye, or droch-shùil, was collected by Alexander Carmichael on 10 April 1875, from the recitation of Fionnghal NicLeòid, Flora MacLeod, a cottar, from Carnan, Ìochdar, South Uist.

Read the whole article at the Carmichael Watson Project blog.

Book Giveaway

The Pagan Writers’ Community are giving away one copy of a book and this time it is "Shades of Faith" edited by Crystal Blanton.

To quote the Pagan Writers’ Community:

"Shades of Faith: Minority Voices in Paganism is an anthology that encompasses the voices and experiences of minorities within the Pagan community and addresses some of the challenges, stereotyping, frustrations, talents, history and beauties of being different within the racial constructs of typical Pagan or Wiccan groups.

Often the associations of the roots of Paganism have pushed assumptions that worshippers of Paganism are strictly Caucasian. The mainstreaming of Wicca has elevated images of worship and deity that connect with Celtic, Greek or Roman cultures. There are a lot of minority races that are practicing Pagans and are often having a myriad of experiences that are fashioned by the reality of walking between the worlds of their birth ancestry or culture and that of their spiritual culture. This anthology is an opportunity to share their stories and experiences with others around being the minorities within a minority spiritual community.

Some of the practitioners in this anthology practice paths that include (but are not limited to) Wicca, Voodoo, Umbanda, Shaman, Native and other Pagan paths.

Join us in celebrating the incredible diversity and beauty that encompass the harmony that has created the song of the Pagan community. The previously unheard voices of our community are now sharing the power of experience through the written word and through their voices."

Please go to the website of the Pagan Writers’ Community for details on how to participate.

Good luck!

The Pagan Anthology of Short Fiction

Editors: PanGaia magazine and Llewellyn publishing
ISBN: 0738712698/9780738712697

What's it about? It's a selection of short stories from pagan authors as collected by a panel of judges for PanGaia magazine.

What did I like about it? There was variety so if you didn't like the style of one author, at least you could look forward to the next, in addition to which no one piece was overly long or short.

My favourite stories were A Valkyrie Among Jews by April, which incidentally was the winning story according to the Introduction to the book, and Black Doe by Vylar Kaftan.

A Valkyrie Among Jews examines pagan identity and the conflict that sometimes arises between the birth religion and paganism of converts. In this instance, the pagan convert is a woman working in a Jewish retirement centre where she is surrounded by the religion of her upbringing. Black Doe was a very well written story about a woman who is shunned by her tribe at her own request in order to feel free, but has to turn to the gods for help. According to the author, the story was written in response to challenge to write about "survivor's guilt about food poisoning and someone getting a haircut" (page 209) and the author certainly delivers. It's also the last story, so was a real treat.

I would be interested to read more work from either of these authors, which I suppose is the purpose of anthology: to bring new authors to the attention of readers.

What didn't I like? All but two of the stories in the anthology.

I'm afraid most of the pieces held no interest for me, and I continued reading only so I could discuss them with fellow readers in the book club. I found myself half a page in on one story, and already hoping the next work was better.

Every story involved the supernatural or fantasy in some way, i.e. there was no real, modern world stories which I think has been mentioned by another reviewer, Eli, here. I kept hoping I'd find a piece that wasn't overtly pagan, fantasy or magical but it never arrived. I've read pieces by pagan authors which have not fantasy, science fiction, magical or pagan elements but are just very good stories. One, in particular springs to mind; it's about a girl working behind a bakery counter as life passed by. There is nothing in the storyline that would label it as pagan; it addresses ordinary concerns from a pagan point of view, i.e. the author. I guess, though, this is not the anthology to find such a narrative.

I do enjoy reading books with magic, the supernatural, myth and manifest deity, but I would dearly love to see writing from pagan authors which veers from the expected genres and, in this regard, I think this collection missed an opportunity.

Would I recommend it? I would recommend the two stories I mentioned above, just not the whole book.

Rating: 2½/5.

Book Giveaway – Uneasy Lies The Head

The Pagan Writers' Community blog are offering "Uneasy Lies The Head", a book by S. P. Hendrick, as a giveaway.

"In the near future, Britain has given up its constitutional monarchy to become a republic. But though the crown is a museum piece and the family no longer bears its ancient titles, Stephen Windsor feels the stirrings of the lives of ancient Sacred Kings in his bones, which is not surprising as at key points in Britain's history he has been reincarnated to perform the supreme kingly act. And though the throne is empty and forgotten, the Land remembers, and calls once more for a crown upon a royal head... and royal blood upon the ground!"

Why not go over to the Pagan Writers' Community blog and see if you can't nab yourself a copy of this five star read, as rated by the reviewers at Good Reads?

Faery Tale: One Woman’s Search for Enchantment in a Modern World

Author: Signe Pike
ISBN: 9781848503724

What’s it about? According to the author, “It’s an examination of the loss of myth in modern culture” (page 9).   I would say it’s a personal exploration into the current belief (or lack thereof) in fairies in the modern world, as experienced by one young woman by travelling through Mexico, England, the Isle of Man, Ireland and Scotland, all the while still grieving the loss of her father about whom she has mixed emotions.

By reacquainting herself with the belief in faery, Signe Pike feels she may find a way to work through the conflicting emotions she has following the loss of her father, but before undertaking the journey to faery, Signe relinquishes her job in publishing and moves interstate, away from the city.  Life-changing events indeed.   

Why did I read it?   Because it was offered to me.

What did I like about it?  It’s an amazingly easy read.   It shows that Signe Pike worked in the publishing industry, because the book is very well organised, with a warm voice, unimposing language and her memories of her father are interposed nicely with the main narrative.

Signe Pike clearly did her research and was enthused by her subject; her descriptions refrain from being flowery or expansive, but the impressions given provide a good image in the mind’s eye of the places visited.   Thankfully, too, the book progresses from the Disney-like fairy creatures to musings on the Sith, Sidhe and other historical manifestations of the “other crowd“.  

What didn’t I like?   The research undertaken was done post-travel, and there were errors.  For instance, on page 185 of the U.K. paperback edition, the following appears:

“… elderflower liquor … made from the flowers on the hawthorn trees, you know, the faery trees“.

Elderflowers are from elder trees, which not unlike hawthorn is thought to reign back luck down on those who cut it down without permission, but most definitely isn’t the same as hawthorn.   Hawthorn does produce berries (haws) which can be made into wine though.

I didn’t agree with a lot of the connections/extrapolations the author made; some I felt were more than a step too far.  Many sites were missed out, owing to financial restrictions, and I felt some research before the trip might have been beneficial, but this is a personal journey, so I suspect serious research was beyond the scope of the book.

Would I recommend it?  Sure:  To those that really, really want to believe in that magic they knew as a child; to those that  want to dip their little toe in the mystical otherworld; to those going on holiday and want something easy and light to read, but nothing too serious; to those that might frequent Glastonbury, the town, not the festival.  

I would not recommend it to anyone that has spent time traversing the Otherworld; I just don’t think they would appreciate it very much.

Rating: 3½/5.

Lughnasa Live

RTÉ broadcast this programme on Sunday, 31 July 2011 in celebration of Lughnasa:  Lughnasa Live.  Now, you can watch this 55 minute long programme which includes snippets on selkies, Eddie Lenihan on the loss of the renowned Irish storytelling, and much more.

Enjoy!

9th Century Irish Myth and the Internet

I read this and thought it needed reblogging, because it is an inspired connection between the Irish myth and the internet of today.

From Mo Thearmann:

This always comes to mind when I see people acting like idiots online. It's from Tecosca Cormaic (The Instructions of King Cormac).

"O Cormac, grandson of Conn", said Carbery, "What is the worst pleading and arguing?"

"Not hard to tell", said Cormac.
"Contending against knowledge,
contending without proofs
taking refuge in bad language
a stiff delivery,
a muttering speech
hair-splitting
uncertain proofs,
despising books
turning against custom
shifting one's pleading
inciting the mob
blowing one's own trumpet
shouting at the top of one's voice."

Trance Portation: Learning to Navigate the Inner World

By: Diana L. Paxson
ISBN: 9781578634057


What I like:  The book is very well organised and the information is solid.  The book is designed to be read over a period of months, as each chapter's exercise is undertaken and understood before moving on to the next.   The text contains an appendix aimed at teachers who are taking students through the process of trance.  As such, this book is suitable for teaching groups though the author suggests it is suitable for solitary students.

What I dislike:  the style of delivery rather dry and uninspiring; I had to push myself to read the book, as it was part of a book club group read. I am not a newcomer to trance, and perhaps this made it more difficult for me to engage with the information provided.

There appears to be a serious flaw with the book: the author assumes every reader is capable of adapting each exercise to their own tradition, but this is not always the case. For instance, if the reader is also new to particular path, faith or tradition they will have no understanding of the landscape traversed by followers, or the deities, entities, etc. and, as such, will not know how to adapt the exercises therein. Although Paxson does provide some examples, these are not comprehensive and this could leave a newcomer rather at a loss.

Would I recommend it to others:  As it is aimed more at the newcomer, I would hesitate to recommend it to anyone for the reasons stated above; however, I would think it suitable for students to work through with their teachers.

Rating:  3½/5.

Lament by Damian Byrne

Thanks to mo thearmann and Tairis for bringing this to my attention.