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Monday, April 24, 2023

Book Review: Craft of the Hedge Witch by Geraldine Smythe

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Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Recently Crossed Crow Books, an independent occult publisher, has been picking up and reprinting previously out-of-print books, including Craft of the Hedge Witch by Geraldine Smythe. I was lucky enough to recently receive a signed limited copy to review, and I am here today, after a little hiatus, to share my review with you. This review has been requested multiple times by readers so I was happy to finally get my hands on a copy!

First and foremost, I am going to get it out there and say overall, this book was a huge letdown. It's not often I want to DNF an occult book, but this was one of them because I struggled with Smythe's tone, disregard for science, and trans-exclusionary language throughout the book. She is extremely pretentious and even snarky towards non-practitioners and witches of other "faiths." She states early on that she doesn't like covens (neither do I), because egos often get in the way, then spends the next 100-something pages going on an egotistical rant about her version of hedge craft and how witches are better than those living in the "world of agreement." She often says "Only a witch can.." do some occult thing, which is extremely dismissive to other spiritual practices, such as Brujeria, hoodoo, and Santeria, practices that do not refer to their practice as witchcraft. We have to remember all occult practices and magic are valid and capable of doing extraordinary things, not just witches. This is a very Eurocentric viewpoint, one that our community should be moving away from. At the end of the book she says, "...nothing more annoying to a real witch than a conflicted Bible thumper dabbling in the craft out of boredom and dissatisfaction with their own religious identity." What? A lot of us came from Christianity. Our dissatisfaction with the religion and its exclusive, culty nature is what drove us to seek something better and now suddenly we are the enemy? Absolutely not. Furthermore, there are Christian witches out there! Witchcraft is not a religion, it's a practice, and therefore anyone, from any faith, can practice it.

Smythe also takes a dismissive stance on anxiety, claiming that's a problem from the mundane world that witches shouldn't have and if you do have anxiety, like me, that you shouldn't be practicing witchcraft. I understand mental illness, especially anxiety and depression, can severely impact your magic, but that doesn't make people suffering from an illness less than others or incapable of practicing witchcraft. My witchcraft may look different than others, that's all. It isn't any less valid because I have anxiety. And what frustrates me the most is that those of us suffering do not need to be reminded that our illness often gets in the way. We know... We are living that reality day in and day out.

Later, Smythe claims that a "witch's shadow runs on...sexual energy" and that "females" are more powerful than "males" because "females" draw their power from their cycle and childbirth. This exclusionary take not only wreaks of transphobia but also a severe lack of understanding of the human body. First, it's gross to reduce people to their body parts. Second, not all women menstruate or bear children, and not all men are incapable of menstruating and bearing childing. Whether you bleed once a month or not has absolutely no impact on the potency of your magic.

Finally, Smythe dismisses science and reasoning, making it the enemy of witchcraft, but then tries to use a very inaccurate view of evolution to explain the existence of spirits. Pick a lane, lady. Do you support science or not, because you can't bash it then try to use it to support your "truth." Science and reasoning are not the enemies of witchcraft. In fact, they can help explain some of the mechanisms of witchcraft, but certainly not all. Evolution, however, does not explain spirits. Smythe says that if it (spirits) wasn't beneficial to humans then it wouldn't exist. This is not how evolution works. Nonbeneficial or neutral traits are selected for all the time. Evolution is simply change over time. Nothing more, nothing less. And unfortunately, it doesn't explain spirits.

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Whew...that was a lot of things I really disliked and hopefully, I haven't completely discouraged you from potentially picking up this book. Despite the egregious flaws, there are many hidden nuggets of wonderful information. First is her walking meditation. This is an excellent practice and one I highly encourage you to look into. Her directions and explanation are clear and concise, and she even offers examples to explain her point. Smythe also includes supplements that can aid in hedge riding, resources to find more information on the topic, her experiences with different supplements, how to use a key to hedge ride, and the difference between "hedging" and "flying the hedge" which I found enlightening. The book ends with a very small collection of recipes to help induce hedge riding, which I also really liked. I believe this information is valuable and useful to new and practiced hedge witches alike, more specifically pages 21-25 and many of the chapters in Part II, III, IV, and V, which also cover the elements, familiars, ancestors, and the foundations of spellcraft. 

If you decide to pick up this book, I encourage you to skip Part I and read the remaining text with a very critical eye. Just because the author's viewpoints are flawed, doesn't mean you can glean some valuable information from their text. I detest Crowley, but that doesn't mean his rituals aren't valid. Smythe offers a unique perspective on hedgecraft, one I found both validating and enlightening, but I had to wade through a swamp to get to it. You can pick up your copy of Craft of the Hedge Witch by Geraldine Smythe from most online booksellers now.




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1 comment :

  1. Thanks for an honest review. My funds for book buying are limited, sadly, and it's good to know what I would be getting into--both positive and negative. And thank you for this part: "A lot of us came from Christianity. Our dissatisfaction with the religion and its exclusive, culty nature is what drove us to seek something better and now suddenly we are the enemy? Absolutely not. Furthermore, there are Christian witches out there! Witchcraft is not a religion, it's a practice, and therefore anyone, from any faith, can practice it." It's good to know that Flying the Hedge is a place where I don't have to hide in the broom closet from other witches! Those spaces are pretty rare, sadly.

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