To Ride a Silver Broomstick: New Generation Witchcraft by Silver RavenWolf, Silver RavenWolf (Introduction)

Great reading!by TAJ55

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September 05, 2009: Great for beginners looking to understand all the terms!

So much anonymity!by AislingWoodehame

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June 01, 2009: My name is Hillary Bergen. I began practicing when I was fifteen years old, after I read a borrowed copy of "The Spiral Dance" by Starhawk. I am now thirty-four.

I was blessed by helping to found one of the first university-funded neo-pagan student groups at Penn State University: Silver Circle(no, the name had nothing to do with Silver herself). When we found out that Silver lived about two hours away from us, we made our way in small groups or individually to visit her, participate in ritual, and talk to her. Many took training from her in the Black Forest Tradition and even those of us who were not drawn to Black Forest were always warmly treated at her home and welcomed in ritual. She did come more than once to speak to the members of Silver Circle(unfortunately, this was after my time).

I think I have just about every non-fiction book she has written, and I still find them useful now. She was the first author who I could "hear". As I read her books, I could hear her over my shoulder, chuckling at times, sympathetic at others, and stern when necessary. And yes, she became "Mama Silver" to us: she was the keeper of the hearth for a home with four children, her incredibly supportive husband, her father, and their family familiar, a wonderfully exuberant collie. Her writing and belief system reflects *all* of what and who she is--plain-spoken and outspoken.

Too many people seem to read one book and toss all of her writings as trash, envisioning her as a figure puffed up with vanity at her own importance. What I remember is a woman who would show up exhausted from her shift at the local grocery store only to face a houseful of family, friends, and people she had never even met, all ready and eager for a ritual. She always had a smile and a hug for us, members of the Black Forest Clan or not, and she showered us with appreciation for our simple gifts: a whole watermelon we would have already cut into chunks and hauled over in the biggest pot we could find, baskets of apples and grapes, a pair of candles from a first venture into candlemaking, or loaves of braided bread.

In regards to the "simplicity" of her books: She writes in different ways for different needs: the teens who must stash their ritual implelemts and books under closet floorboards; for the curious; and for those who know that the Craft is their path, but have been informed that they need a billion different ritual implements, a boatload of esoteric knowledge, and a coven initiation to *truly* be a Witch.

Silver takes her "simple" approach to instill a strong sense of integrity and respect for the Craft before introducing more advanced material. She *always* advocated physical and psychic self-defense, and she *never* pretended that the world was all sunshine and light.

Silver Circle had a ten-year reunion in 2004. I learned that many people were training with Black Forest, and some were already full-fledged members who were trained to guide others in the Tradition. There were also people who were not members, but enjoyed attending rituals and celebrations, as well as having the opportunity to talk to "Mama Silver".

I am a solitary greenwitch, training myself with Ann Moura's "Green Witchcraft" series. I have a large library, which contains books by many, many different authors. But over and over again, when I need some "Mother Wit", I...

I Also Recommend: Solitary Witch, A Witch's Notebook, HedgeWitch, Angels, Silver's Spells for Protection.