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Title: Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard by Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, Grey Council ISBN: 1-56414-711-8 Publisher: New Page Books Pub. Date: 12 February, 2004 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $18.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.82 (11 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: A Good Effort
Comment: I've read my way through many of the post-Harry Potter books on real occultism, and this is, imo, by far the best, and most complete. With the right teacher(s), and plenty of additional reading material a student could be guided through the whole process of beginning to learn the magical arts.
Oberon has attempted a truly comprehensive introduction to the world of magic and Paganism, and he's done pretty well. I like the boy-scout manual feel of the book, mixing life skills, woodland skills and occult skills. I like the generalized, traditionless version of occult arts fairly well, though I think that some discussion of where the various ideas come from would have been good. The ideas tend to be presented as though they were simply a 'tradition of wizardry', with no real discussion of the fact that 'wizardry' is being concocted right here and now.
Each chapter is a fairly good introduction to the topic presented. Some, such as the basic how-tos, could be implemented just as is, from the book. Other chapters should help to lead students toward wider resources on the topic.
My biggest criticism is that the book almost entirely avoids the matter of religion. 'Wizardry' is presented as having plenty of commerce with the Gods and Goddesses, but there is no instruction at all on how to approach those powers, except in a ritual magic, 'energies to be used' sort of sense. Some instruction is given on the use of shrines, etc, and in the 8-fold year of Pagan worship, but it never resolves into any very useful introduction to Paganism as worship. To me, all this 'magic' without a real spiritual relationship with the world is little more valuable than Harry Potter itself - a pleasant pass-time. The Potter books themselves, of course, strictly avoid any hint of religion, and I think that spirit has carried over into this work. I think that, in that way, it seriously short-changes its students.
But it's still as good a general intro to modern Pagan magic and 'wizardry' as has been done yet.
Rating: 4
Summary: A Great FIRST Book For Kids Interested In Magic!
Comment: Normally I don't buy 101 level Occult books however this one in particular caught my eye since it's geared towards a much younger audience. The theme is sort of a Hogwarts-cum-Apprenticeship program that's mostly home study. I've been looking for something simple yet comprehensive enough to give to not only my own kids but also to other kids who want to learn the truth about Wizardry & Witchcraft.
The only downside to this book are two small things: #1 Oberon mentions Sorcery in the typical "black arts" vein and pretty much disdains it. And #2 is I'd like to have seen more comprehensive material added on each subject. Yes I know, the book would easily be over a 1,000 pages long as well as very costly.
Aside from that, there is little in the book to get a youngster (or first year practitioner) into any trouble. The mentioning of Evoking a Spirit leaves out a lot of essential details that normally if done half-assed, would get someone into some trouble.
If you've got a Harry Potter-ite lurking in your family, give them this book and let the child learn of real magic that won't cause you headaches yet allows them to stretch their imaginations with factual evidence about real esoteric Magic and folklore!
Rating: 1
Summary: Drivvle
Comment: This Grimoire, as they call it, is one of the worst books on magic I have ever had the displeasure of reading. It is obviously written by someone who is trying merely to boost his own image, as Oberon Zell often references himself in a positive, almost gloating, light. For instance, he makes quite a show of pointing out that his personal staff, "Pathfinder," is "known and recognized throughout the magickal community" (p. 118). However, I have asked several people in the community, and not one of them have heard of it, let alone been able to recognize it.
In addition to this overtone of egoism, it is also filled with several glaring historical inaccuracies, such as his claim that "Julius Caesar encountered their [the Tuatha du Danaan] entire fleet of 220 ships in June of 50 BCE, at the English Channel." He goes on to state that were they able to fight the Roman ships, "Christianity would never have been spread throughout the Empire and the world. There would have been no Dark Ages, no Crusades, no Inquisition, and no Burning Times. And the worlds of Magick and Mundane would never have become separated..." (p. 322).
Lastly, he seems to completely innodate this book with bad references to J.R.R. Tolkein's mythos, as well as putting forth generous references to Harry Potter, such as his definition of "Cerberus - Guardian of the Greek Underworld; a great three-headed dog with the tail of a dragon. It was brought out of Hades's realm by Heracles..." So far so good, in line with classic mythology... but then, "who apparently lost it in a bet to Rubeus Hagrid, who installed it at Hogwarts to guard the Philosopher's Stone..." (In the J. K. Rowling mythos, didn't Hagrid get "Fluffy" as a puppy?) (p. 326).
Lastly, I would just like to point out that this book, despite all the glaring errors, would have been greatly improved by a simple grammar check. Throughout the book, there are many places where non-proper nouns are capitalized, proper nouns are left in lower case, parentheses within parentheses are used several times, without changing the type of bracket, and there are innumerable instances of misconjugations. He also has a tendency to let his sentences trail off, and to go off on tangents that have little or nothing to do with the subject on which the section began.
On a positive note, there are many contributions from people who do know what they're talking about, and many of the tables of correspondences, as well as the alphabets, are quite useful, though nothing you can't find elsewhere.
For anyone interested in buying this book, I would recommend you spend your money on "Uncle Buckey's Big Blue Book." Even though I'm not the greatest fan of that work, it is still immensely superior to Oberon Zell-Ravenheart's "Grimoire For The Apprentice Wizard" in almost every way.
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Title: The Elements of Ritual: Air, Fire, Water & Earth in the Wiccan Circle by Deborah Lipp ISBN: 073870301X Publisher: Llewellyn Publications Pub. Date: July, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Grimoire for the Green Witch: A Complete Book of Shadows by Ann Moura ISBN: 0738702870 Publisher: Llewellyn Publications Pub. Date: September, 2003 List Price(USD): $17.95 |
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Title: The Master Book of Herbalism by Paul Beyerl, Diana S. Greene ISBN: 0919345530 Publisher: Phoenix Publishing, Inc. Pub. Date: December, 1984 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
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Title: Progressive Witchcraft: Spirituality, Mysteries, and Training in Modern Wicca by Janet Farrar, Gavin Bone ISBN: 1564147193 Publisher: New Page Books Pub. Date: January, 2004 List Price(USD): $15.99 |
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Title: The Veil's Edge: Exploring the Boundaries of Magic by Willow Polson, M. Macha Nightmare ISBN: 0806523522 Publisher: Citadel Trade Pub. Date: March, 2003 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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