Silver RavenWolf?

[godhi]

Chaiyo Dekana

godhi

Captainkaneda

Two words-Sell out 3nodding

My personal criticism of $ilver Ravenwolf:
She has abandoned the Gods and Goddesses of Paganism for one all-powerful deity: The Almighty Dollar.

I contest this assertion. I think the search of money within authorship is not a dishonorable one- no matter what the Neo-Hippy-Pagan scene says.

She sacrificed her search for accurate information on her own. Many authors pen great books in large numbers without junking research in the process.

My point exactly, dear lady. $ilver Ravenwolf no longer cares about her readers or the accuracy of her research. All $he cares about is making money.  

[TeaDidikai]

godhi

My point exactly, dear lady. $ilver Ravenwolf no longer cares about her readers or the accuracy of her research. All $he cares about is making money.

Have I told you how much I love it when you call me "dear lady"? mrgreen

~ahems~  

[Hypomanic Poet]

WebenBanu

emmfullness

Currently, the only problem I've had with the information offered by RavenWolf is that it was way too little. She didn't give a lot of the warnings that Zimmerman did

That's my roommate's major complaint on this author. Silver tends to set up exercises without considering the ethics of them- like randomly throwing energy around in order to learn out to call it up, without paying any attention whatsoever to what the consequences of randomly throwing energy around might be.^_^' The stuff she covers is simplistic, yes, but she kind of encourages folks to treat it like a toy- and that's a really bad start. And so the roommate is really against newcomers using Silver's books for instruction.^_^

Personally, I bought several of her books when I was a Wiccan, and all bright-shiny-new at it; they'd looked like a good enough set of magical and/or religious instructions just from the pretty covers and spiffy titles. But I didn't get very far into Broomstick before I put them away in disgust, and I haven't really bothered to pull them off the shelf since then except during moves. The information was sloppy, and she seemed to lash out at everyone and everything.^_^' Now I'm no longer Wiccan, so it's likely that I never will- but from what I've heard, I think I made the right choice from what I did read.

I'd recommend instead reading Raven Grimassi's stuff. He's got a couple of good books out on Wiccan theology and Wiccan magic.

I strongly agree and reccommend Spirit of the Witch, by Grimassi himself. I just finished it and it's excellent.  

[Keistera]

I have yet to read any of her books, and I can't actually enter the New Age/Wicca and Paganism section of the local bookstore without running away with a hand over my mouth. Seriously.

I'll have to take one out of the library so I can rip it apart. O.o  

[Elizabeth Tarion]

Keistera

I have yet to read any of her books, and I can't actually enter the New Age/Wicca and Paganism section of the local bookstore without running away with a hand over my mouth. Seriously.

I'll have to take one out of the library so I can rip it apart. O.o

Eh? They're just going to make you pay for it, ya know.  

[TeaDidikai]

[Bavi]

Keistera

I have yet to read any of her books, and I can't actually enter the New Age/Wicca and Paganism section of the local bookstore without running away with a hand over my mouth. Seriously.

I'll have to take one out of the library so I can rip it apart. O.o

Eh? They're just going to make you pay for it, ya know.

Could be worth it.

One less copy to be floating around.  

[maenad nuri]

Keistera

I have yet to read any of her books, and I can't actually enter the New Age/Wicca and Paganism section of the local bookstore without running away with a hand over my mouth. Seriously.

I'll have to take one out of the library so I can rip it apart. O.o

I hope you mean that figuratively.

Librarians have a hard time keeping pagan-type books on the shelf as it is (usually because some teen tries to keep them), please don't rip up our books. its rude.

Of course, if you mean tear apart the arguements....be my guest.  

[TeaDidikai]

Nuri

I hope you mean that figuratively.

Librarians have a hard time keeping pagan-type books on the shelf as it is (usually because some teen tries to keep them), please don't rip up our books. its rude.

Of course, if you mean tear apart the arguements....be my guest.

I've done the librarian thang before- I found the good pagan books often have important pages torn out.

A lot of time the scholarly books on paganism (at least where I worked) were set to retirement because of the low circulation.  

[bobz]

Keistera

I'll have to take one out of the library so I can rip it apart. O.o

Noooooooo!!!!!!
Dear goddesses and gods of all that is good, bad shiny and indifferent don't dare do that!
*eeps and shivers in a corner at the mere thought*

I don't care if a book is full to the brim of lies and misinformation, it's still a book! There's a simple solution to ravenwolf, and indeed to any book you truly find objectionable.
it comes in a printer and photocopier, and if you feel REALLY fancy (and in my eyes still a bit rude) some paste.
You write a simple essay, one page.
Explaining and referencing ravenwolfs own (glaring) logical fallicies, and paste it in the end of the book, with a little bibliography on books a beginner SHOULD read. (maybe one or two source texts but not enough that they'd get bogged down too early).

That way the moment they pick up THAT ravingwolf book they get happily hooked, get to the end (or even the middle, pop it into a page that you know someone will skip to) and while their opinion of the author is still pretty formed and fresh.... they get it blasted, take a good look at what they've been reading again, and go off to read proper books.
Maybe the book will even make it back to the library shelf with the essay intact and save another.

(if you're really mean you could write in the margins too.... but then I'm a hopeless bibliophile and I'm never going to do a thing like that)  

[Pelta]

^ That's... a really good idea! I consider pretty much all books of ink and paper sacred and could never bring myself to *shudder* destroy one. But a little helpful essay in a fluffy teen book would be a great way to help combat the problem. Quite polite as well. If I were ever bothered to check out such drivel from our local library I would do it... but it's really not worth the effort. xp  

[TeaDidikai]

I used to have the "Paper and Binding" is All Sacred approch.

Then I worked in the Library. They break you of that so that you can mark and ID the Library books.

Plus, a lick of good sense says stuff like Buckland and Ravenwolf is better kept in the tinder box than on a shelf. (Although under it to even things out works well too)  

[maenad nuri]

Chaiyo Dekana

I used to have the "Paper and Binding" is All Sacred approch.

Then I worked in the Library. They break you of that so that you can mark and ID the Library books.

Plus, a lick of good sense says stuff like Buckland and Ravenwolf is better kept in the tinder box than on a shelf. (Although under it to even things out works well too)

marking in books=okay, esp for the librarians. For the patrons, erase the marks you make, and for goodness sake, don't use pen.

Destroying books=bad, mmkay. We replace them, and you'll pay for them. That's like buying another horrible book.

Also, I looked while at work at our catalog for "pagan", "neopagan", "Wicca" and "Witchcraft". Only one silver book....a novel, and we have Triumph of the Moon. I guess that evens out the DJ Conway.  

[TheDisreputableDog]

Keistera

I'll have to take one out of the library so I can rip it apart. O.o

//Twitch.// If you really want to rip it up that badly, buy your own copy and then use the paper for something useful a la Tea. If you don't want to destroy it badly enough to spend money to do it, don't use a library copy.

My ex basically thought that libraries were there for her to steal from. (You could get out of our library through the basement without going through detectors.) I spent three years discovering un-checked-out books in our rooms and returning them. Libraries have enough trouble without patrons systematically stealing and destroying books.  

[XxGothicKittiexX]

evil I dont care what anyone says about her she's still my favorite wiccan author. So she doesn't always say what you want her to oh well. Your not discrediting all the other people who actually make up every word they write....so if you don't like her don't buy her stuff. BYE! evil  

[maenad nuri]

XxGothicKittiexX

evil I dont care what anyone says about her she's still my favorite wiccan author. So she doesn't always say what you want her to oh well. Your not discrediting all the other people who actually make up every word they write....so if you don't like her don't buy her stuff. BYE! evil

Okay, lets start with one question: Why is she your favorite "wiccan" author?

(and read through some of the other topics. We regularly argue with and about LOTS of other authors. I'm in love with one particular set of books right now, Yasmine Galenorns, but I will argue about the things I disagree with in her books)