📓 Year of the Witch by Temperance Alden

[BryWisteria]

Welcoming in @IrisW, @Marsha, and @iambecky- I hope you all enjoy Year of the Witch !

[Liisa]

Looking forward to sharing with you all <3 Blessed Be <3

[IrisW]

The Amazon man has just delivered my copy and I’m excited just to have read the back cover!

I’m going to dig in properly tomorrow as I have my Self-Dedication Ceremony tonight

[AliceInWonderdab]

I guess I better order this book!!!

[BryWisteria]

Check in time! How is everyone enjoying Year of the Witch so far?

Also a warm welcome to @AliceInWonderdab who has been added to the reading list.

Happy reading!

[Francisco]

I haven’t finished the book yet but I have found both good and bad things I’d like to share:

In my opinion, the best parts of the book have to do with the author’s personal experiences as a Witch influencer (having a large social media presence) and her views of the Craft in the 21st century.

The Good:

• She shares some great insights about the concepts of "plastic witchcraft" and the “witchy aesthetic” that you wouldn’t find in many beginner books. For example, she explains that these terms are sometimes used in a condescending way that belittle others’ spiritual practices. Also, enjoying the aesthetic and having lots of possessions doesn’t make you any less of a Witch.

• Another thing I found interesting was that most of her followers/students ask her about the use of Cannabis in Witchcraft. With broad legalization underway in the US, I expect this topic to be more openly discussed. I wish she would go more into detail about it as it’s certainly an interesting subject.

The Not-So-Good:

• After having read The Supermarket Sabbats by Michael Furie, this book feels a bit underwhelming when it comes to the Wheel of the Year. By the name, I expected “Year of the Witch” to go a bit more into detail, or to bring some new ideas for celebrating the sabbats. In this aspect, it feels like just another beginner witches’ book.

• The book has a section called “Climate Cycles” that ends with this paragraph:

I think it’s irresponsible to throw that in there without any context or further explanation. Milankovitch cycles are just one factor when it comes to the Earth’s temperature. These arguments have been defused years ago and I really don’t know what led the author to include that in the book. For those interested, here’s a data-based graph on what causes climate change, with Milankovitch cycles factored in.

I look forward to seeing what everyone else reading this book thinks about it!

[AliceInWonderdab]

So far so good!

[AliceInWonderdab]

You bring up the same point(s) with the bot so good that I had actually pondered in regards to climate change. I mean I’m a powerful witch but I don’t think I can just change it

[Liisa]

I am halfway through and I’ve quite enjoyed it so far. I do agree with @Francisco though that was a point that kind of jolted me a little as well, weather changes due to climate change aside I think it’s important to remember that living more eco-friendly isn’t just about the weather, it’s about the damage we cause to wildlife and ecosystems. Sustainability comes under the green banner as well and that is always beneficial to mother earth whether or not the axis will change eventually anyway. I do like the authors take on the Global aspect of practising the craft and making a wheel of the year that reflects how you approach your craft Blessed Be

[Rowan]

Hi all,
I thought I’d post that I am not finishing the book, there were just something’s I couldn’t connect with and lost interest in it.
I hate stopping halfway through on books but I also hate forcing myself to read something I’m not into.
Happy Reading,

[Susurrus]

I hope you can find something that you resonate with & can learn from. My book has nothing to do with my craft & I find that parts of it read like a manual or timeline, so it’s also hard to read at times. I like learning about the history of my little island though.

I will talk to you soon! I completely understand where you are at now.

[DerBraucher]

I feel you – there’s something about this book that doesn’t quite sit well with me, but I haven’t quite figured out what Parts of it are very well-written and I resonate with, but the majority of it has been kind of off-putting. Hopefully I figure out what it is about it that’s making me feel so “meh” by the time it’s time to post my final review/thoughts on it so I can see if others felt the same way about it as me, or what other people felt about those parts and why because I’m fascinated about that kind of stuff

[Rowan]

That’s exactly it for me too. Parts reeled me in, and others dropped me flat.
I’ll follow still to see how others resonated with it too.
Have a good week.

[DerBraucher]

You too! Blessed be

[IrisW]

Same here. I’ve loved parts of it and it’s made me think and question things. Other parts have… I don’t know whether irritated me is right exactly, but it’s close.

[Liisa]

I’m so glad I’m not the only one, I was kind of forcing myself for the last few days there. It’s not because the book has bad content i just think that most of it is stuff I already have in books and what I’ve learned from the site and all of you I do still like the “make the wheel of the year your own” aspect of the book, there was a lot of different cycles covered though and I think that less is more sometimes sp things don’t get stressful or confusing

[Francisco]

@Rowan

I hate stopping halfway through on books but I also hate forcing myself to read something I’m not into

In that case I usually skip the chapter and jump to the next, or keep skipping pages until I find something I connect with. Works most of the time… sometimes

The thing about this book however is that it doesn’t flow very well. The topics sometimes feel disconnected, and as said above it’s doesn’t go very deep into each idea.

[Rowan]

I’ve actually been reading two others sporadically so I think I’ll edit one of those on to the list.

[Elle]

Is it too late to join book club with a week left? I bought this book on Amazon back in January because of a YouTuber review on it, and I put it down (don’t remember why) and haven’t picked it back up since the night I downloaded it.

Maybe I need to take the book club approach of and to make it better going by some of the later comments in the post!

Time to catch up!

[Francisco]

LOL that reminds me of a quote “In wine there’s truth”.

It’s not too late to join but this topic will be open for just 1 week more!

Or… you can just add your book to the next reading which will start next month.