Opinions on Silver Ravenwolf

[Wandering]

I've heard good and bad things.  I've heard some people say that she's good for beginners but not in the long run, while others have recommended I flush the book down the john... or something.  

So, I want opinions on Silver and her books.  Is she good for the newbie but not over the long run?   Does her work just suck outright?  Inaccurate?

[Melamphoros]

I've heard good and bad things.  I've heard some people say that she's good for beginners but not in the long run, while others have recommended I flush the book down the john... or something.  

So, I want opinions on Silver and her books.  Is she good for the newbie but not over the long run?   Does her work just suck outright?  Inaccurate?

 
*digs through the article library*

This editorial is probably a good place to start on the many criticisms of Silver Ravenwolf:

http://www.ecauldron.net/opedtarnishedsilver.php

I've never personally read any of her books (nor much interested in the subject of Neo-Wicca), so I would have to defer to others.

[Jenett]

So, I want opinions on Silver and her books.  Is she good for the newbie but not over the long run?   Does her work just suck outright?  Inaccurate?

 
Briefly, there is *much better* stuff out there these days, for pretty much any topic she's likely to cover. (and I am sure I and various other people would be likely to recommend, if you told us what you're looking for.)

The major problems - which is more prevalent in her early books than her later ones, but her later ones suffer from it too - run like this:

- Lots of generalisations, many of them imprecise and inaccurate in ways that limit people's further interactions with the larger Pagan communities in not-so-helpful ways.

- A strong emphasis (especially in her earlier books) that Good Witches never do anything remotely uncomfortable or societally challenging (which is problematic for a bunch of reasons.)

- A strong heteronormative model of explanation - and not from the "Wicca is a fertility cult, and biological fertility involves some biological implications" perspective, which is at least an internally consistent argument. but most of her examples/situations/etc. involve (presumably female) readers dating, marrying, having kids, etc. There are authors out there who do a much better job these days of broader examples, etc.

- In some of her books, encouraging teens to lie to adults in their lives about what they're doing, which is also not so cool.

- And in general, an awful lot of simplification. It's *hard* to write a good intro book, admittedly: there's a lot of assumptions about how religion works that intro-to-Wicca or intro-to-Paganism authors have to unpack - but at the same time, we have authors who've gotten a lot better at doing it in the 15 years or so since the earliest Ravenwolf books.

I still tend to encourage people to read at least one of them *eventually* because I think it's a critical piece of how conversation about Pagan religions formed in the US. But I recommend many other titles for actual initial learning first.

(My personal "If you want to read about religious witchcraft, here's where I'd suggest someone start without knowing anything else about them" list is over on my website. However, what I suggest for specific people changes sometimes, so again, more data, you might get more specific suggestions.)

[Jenett]

Briefly, there is *much better* stuff out there these days, for pretty much any topic she's likely to cover. (and I am sure I and various other people would be likely to recommend, if you told us what you're looking for.)

Replying to myself to link a discussion from last year that might be of interest - discussing the impact of Silver Ravenwolf on the larger community.

[RandallS]

So, I want opinions on Silver and her books.  Is she good for the newbie but not over the long run?   Does her work just suck outright?  Inaccurate?

IMHO, her books on magic are better than her books on Wicca/Religious Witchcraft. However, there are better books by others on both. Her fiction, while not great, is readable and enjoyable.

[Melamphoros]

Her fiction, while not great, is readable and enjoyable.

 
I thought all her books were fiction:confused:

[Wandering]

I thought all her books were fiction:confused:

 
Heh heh.

Yeah, I picked up To Ride a Silver Broomstick at the beginning of the summer (which should give some indication as to how much of a newb I am) and found it...  entertaining.    Honestly, in the beginning I was grabbing any book I could get my hands on just for the sheer thrill of having tangible reading material in front of me.  I've learned to be more careful about my resource choices since those dark ages, but at the time, her book seemed like a gift from the gods.  

Now, I do some careful viewing of reviews and the like before I get into a book.   I'm learning.  Albeit slowly, but I'm learning.

[Cabal]

Heh heh.

Yeah, I picked up To Ride a Silver Broomstick at the beginning of the summer (which should give some indication as to how much of a newb I am) and found it...  entertaining.    Honestly, in the beginning I was grabbing any book I could get my hands on just for the sheer thrill of having tangible reading material in front of me.  I've learned to be more careful about my resource choices since those dark ages, but at the time, her book seemed like a gift from the gods.  

Now, I do some careful viewing of reviews and the like before I get into a book.   I'm learning.  Albeit slowly, but I'm learning.

No worries, when I started out I did the exact same, grabbing any book I could on the subject. You learn over time which authors to trust and which authors are just trying to make money.

[Lokabrenna]

No worries, when I started out I did the exact same, grabbing any book I could on the subject. You learn over time which authors to trust and which authors are just trying to make money.

I was also in that boat. One of the few books I could find on the subject was Teen Witch which is the book where she encourages kids to lie to their parents.

I ate it up, but I also never stopped reading, and then I realized "Wow, what was I thinking when I took SRW's books seriously???"

[Fireof9]

while others have recommended I flush the book down the john...

Absolutely do not do that. I keep my copy of To Ride a Silver Broomstick for lighthearted bathroom reading and for in case (gods forbid) I run out of tissue.

[Wandering]

Absolutely do not do that. I keep my copy of To Ride a Silver Broomstick for lighthearted bathroom reading and for in case (gods forbid) I run out of tissue.

 
*Shrugs*  Seems legit.  Goddess forbid I continue down the newbie road, but I think I'm moving away from that... hope I am, anyway.  A lot of the books I bought in the beginning were Wicca books, mostly because that's was the majority of what the local bookstore sold.   I've tried to branch out to other subjects since then, and other, more recommended, authors.

[Nyktelios]

I've heard good and bad things.  I've heard some people say that she's good for beginners but not in the long run, while others have recommended I flush the book down the john... or something.  

So, I want opinions on Silver and her books.  Is she good for the newbie but not over the long run?   Does her work just suck outright?  Inaccurate?

 
It seems like everyone always has an opinion of Silver Ravenwolf, and no one every gets tired of regurgitating the typical arguments against her.

I enjoyed To Ride A Silver Broomstick and To Stir a Magick Cauldron, although I definitely wouldn't recommend them to a beginner, as there is a lot of misinformation, especially in To Ride and her teen books. They are light, enoyable reading on neo-paganism and magic, and some of her practical information is decent, even if the history she presents is inaccurate and just plain odd. If one is looking for information on traditional Wicca, it's best to look elsewhere. I do find she is pretty honest and upfront, and does state when something she has written is her own opinion and not necessarily right for everyone.