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Due to the sheer number of Wicca 101 books on the market, many newcomers to the Craft find themselves piecing together their Wiccan education by reading a chapter from one book, a few pages from another. Rather than depending on snippets of wisdom to build a new faith, Wicca for Beginnersprovides a solid foundation to Wicca without limiting the reader to one tradition or path. Embracing both the spiritual and the practical, Wicca for Beginnersis a primer on the philosophies, culture, and beliefs behind the religion, without losing the mystery that draws many students to want to learn. Detailing practices such as grounding, raising energy, visualization, and meditation, this book offers exercises for core techniques before launching into more complicated rituals and spellwork. Finalist for the Coalition of Visionary Resources Award for Best Wiccan/Pagan Book "In her first book-length work, Sabin presents a first-rate, fresh, and thorough addition to the burgeoning field of earth-based spiritual practice volumes...written in a light, informative style that magically mines depth, breadth and brevity."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)… (more)
User reviews
Meanwhile, more cultural appropriation and more identifying practices as "Native American" (call people by their own damn names for themselves and don't generalize this isn't rocket science).
I did appreciate that this one was a bit more dense, but some of the recommendations I've seen of it were that it presented more options and variety than the average beginner book, and that honestly wasn't my experience at all? And specifically, the chapter on energy work tells you to visualize over and over and over, and... I have aphantasia, you guys. I LITERALLY cannot.
I have some of my own ideas for how I can adapt things for myself, no worries there, I just think these things are often written assuming you're white, straight, cis, neurotypical, and abled. Which, for a religion that prides itself on being different and full of outsiders... I'd really like to see better. Especially in books literally marketed towards beginners. Meet people where they're at.
(Note, this is the third "for beginners" book I've read in a row, so this and the cultural appropriation note are both a cumulative complaint rather than limited to this specific book.)