Stephanie Woodfield / llewellyn ?

[Deb13b]

Whilst searching the local library I came across this book CELTIC LORE AND SPELLCRAFT OF THE DARK GODDESS-INVOKING the Morrigan,by stephanie Woodfield. Not my usual stuff but I have been feeling totally lost on my path for a while now so I thought I'd try reading something different. Just brought it home and realised it's by llewellyn ( aarrgghhh!!)

Has anyone read this ? Is it the usual fluff? I hate to admit it but I wouldn't have bothered if I'd noticed it was published by them.

[RapunzelGnome]

I can't tell you anything about the author but I know that rarely...oh so rarely...Llewellyn manages to get a really good author that knows their stuff. (Money talks)

 

What I've heard in multiple author interviews, however, is that the editors they must work with them shred up the manuscripts in an effort to push them into the very small worldview box that Llewellyn deems acceptable or widely marketable. They often push the authors into going in a direction they never intended to go, abandon the real "meat" that would be more difficult for a larger market to grasp. That actually sounds like ALL corporate publishing actually, but in the world of witchcraft, it can really water down the potency. (Maybe that's a good thing for the balance of the world, who is to say? It forces those who need literature with more "teeth" to dig deeper than what you'll find at the local bookstore).

 

So anytime I read a book by a good author that happens to be Llewellyn, I accept right off the bat that while there is probably good info in it, I'm definitely not getting the whole story, but one that is filtered through the publishers' narrow lens.

 

Since you don't much about the author, just read with a discerning eye. Don't take anything at face value, and trust your instinct. If you get two chapters in and realize it's all fluff and nonsense, oh well...lesson learned. At least you got to read from a different perspective, which is always good. On the other hand, you might read it and find that parts of it are resonating with you, but you suspect there's more to it than the book is letting on, then it might be a good idea to find out if the author has done any independent publishing.

 

The title does sound interesting.

[bewitchingredhead]

I've read it.

 

I think it's a good starting point if you're interested in The Morrigan and/or other Irish Myth/Lore. There's a pretty decent bibliography in the back, so there are several other references I would deem pretty reputable (especially the academic ones). 

 

Plus I don't believe the author has a large publishing career w/Llewellyn. It's def Wiccan, and though I'm not, I still found it useful. I did immediately start finding and reading sources from the bibliography though. 

[FullsizedHobbit]

I purchased that book a few years ago when I was exploring Wicca, but wanted to narrow down my beliefs to align more with my heritage. As a primer, I really like it. It was one of the few Wiccan-y books that I kept when I gave all of my Cunningham and Conway books away.