The Wiccan Mystic [Paperback]

"The Wiccan Mystic" is author Ben Gruagach's answer to the complaint "I'm TIRED of Wicca 101 books! Where are the Wicca 201s?" With a few exceptions, he's created a book that fits the bill.

The basic premise of the book is that Wicca is a mystery tradition, and the practitioner a mystic. He does a wonderful job making the argument that a mystery tradition doesn't necessarily have to be group-oriented, and that the mystery is between the practitioner and the Divine. Those who are looking for good perspectives on Wicca as a solitary initiatory religion will definitely find useful fodder, and traditionalists may end up disagreeing. Gruagach holds his own, though.

The bulk of the book beyond the initial definitions deals with various topics of interest to the Wiccan who already has the basics down and wants to go further. There's not a bunch of prefabricated spells and rituals, though; other than some pathworking templates in one of the appendices, it's thankfully free of pre-crafted material. Instead we're offered a wide variety of food for thought. Gruagach covers critical thinking skills, thoughts on balancing group and solitary work, philosophy and ethics, and even guidelines for critiquing a book in a balanced manner. All the material is aimed towards getting the reader to think about hir path, why s/he's there, and what s/he's going to do with it--without dogmatically flogging the author's personal agenda (which doesn't even come into play here).

There's a bit of what initially looks like 101 material in here, but it's approached from a 201 perspective. Rather than giving a list of deities, Gruagach offers up ideas on actually connecting to the Divine (rather than a "stereotype", as he puts it). In other places he could have gone into a little more detail; the two paragraphs dedicated to familiars was pretty scant, and could have used a little more definition of what he was considering a familiar--it sounded a bit like he was considering all pets to be familiars. A little more elaboration on the various points that didn't get so much attention would have helped to flesh the text out more.

I would also like to have seen more personal anecdotes to back up some of his thoughts. How have these ideas worked for him? What processes helped him learn what he passes on to others? Additionally, I think the appendix with the pathworkings could have been made into a standalone chapter.

There's a terrific bibliography in the back; Gruagach has most certainly done his homework. It's not all just neopagan source material, either; I saw Aldous Huxley in there, as well as a translation of the Greek Magical Papyrii. What I would really liked to have seen, though, is in-text or footnote citations of the material that didn't come right out of his head (for example, his historical research). There are a few endnotes, but they tend to be more commentary on the material than actual citations. A big long bibliography is a lot more useful if there are citations in the main body of the work showing exactly where the author got a particular piece of information. Not only does it show the author's work, but it also helps others who want to do more research on a given point or check the research against their own.

The only other quibble I have is with the layout. Maybe it's just me, but the styles of fonts used for the headers seemed a little inconsistent, with a mixture of italics and bolds at various font sizes. The text also wasn't justified, giving the right margin of the text a ragged look and giving away its self-published origin (though, to be fair, in both content and style it's one of the best self-published works I've ever seen, and better than some of the traditionally published works out there!).

Still, the positives much outweigh the negatives here. Gruagach has created a much-needed text in the corpus of Wiccan knowledge beyond 101. I applaud his efforts, and encourage his writing career wholeheartedly!

Paganism, and Wicca specifically, sometimes feels like authors are making a buck by rehashing the same materials over and over again. It can become a challenge to find a book that isn't just another spellbook.

In The Wiccan Mystic: Exploring a Magickal Spiritual Path, Ben Gruagach has delivered a thoughtful and distinguished work. From helpful advice to discussions that are designed to make you think about Wicca, and spirituality as well, in a new light.

Its nice to be able to read a Wicca 201 book, to use Lupa's phrase. The index and bibliography are great, given that much of the industry hasn't yet figured out that they're necessary and good to include in a book.

In short, while I may not agree with everything that Ben puts forth (God help me if I ever agree with everything anyone says), the book is a valuable addition to the bookshelf of anyone who is interested in Wicca.

My on-going issue with the use of the word Wicca (outside of traditional paths) aside, I think this is a really great book. While it's not going to be nearly as easy as what the back of the book seems to make it out to be, there is quite a bit of excellent information to be found within these pages. It gives you the foundation on which to build and deepen your understanding of your path. I have to admit that up until about chapter 4, I wasn't completely thrilled with the book. Again it wasn't necessarily that the information presented wasn't good or useful, but I didn't feel that it applied specifically to Wicca. I do think that the information applies to anyone who is seeking to create their own spiritual path, but isn't exactly sure where to start, or to anyone who is looking for ways to increase their current practice - no matter what path they are on. What I especially like about this book is that while it gives you basic outlines on how to do things, it gives you the leeway to make it your own. It also does an excellent job of explaining basic concepts, that are often times lacking in many of the other books that are out there. There is also a great list of resources in the back of the book and a nifty little "Wicca" timeline that is quite interesting, and helps put things into perspective. Overall a great addition to any collection.

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