27 replies to this topic

[Horne]

I know about his rep Aurelian, and I've been interacting with Robin a bit on and off over the last decade or so. I agree he may have been kind of a hot-head for some time, and I don't necessarily agree with him on a lot of issues, but I mostly know Robin as a pleasant and good-humoured guy with a great sense of humour.

Edited by Horne, 15 November 2014 - 12:47 AM.

[Aurelian]

Ahh, well it's good and fair to recognize that we can all evolve.  Sorry for being such a bitch.  ::

[Horne]

You're not being a bitch as far as I'm concerned, Aurelian, Robin Artisson just had that "controversial" thing going on because people have and had been going on forever about that since he began publishing online. And I think that began to lead a life of its own at some point, and from what I've seen in the past (on the son of art yahoo group or on livejournal etc.) Robin being opinionated didn't make him controversial, it was mostly the people against or opposed to him and who couldn't handle his opinions that created the "myth" of him being a troll and having "sockpuppets" everywhere. As far as I know, he was always just being himself, drawing from sources many of witchcraft inspired people have loved and cherished, and found his own ways of working with them, just like so many others did, including me.  LOL And who doesn't love a little controversy in a witch?

[FancyShadowCat]

I’m reading The Horn of Evenwood currently and I’ve noticed that Robert Artison has a more sorcerous way of working than I expected. At least from what I can tell from my very limited experience. For instance he states in his book that the witch is a conduit for spiritual power and that without a familiar/deity or other source of power, your working will fail. I was under the notion that traditional witches often acknowledged their own personal power and thought of evoking deities and familiars during a working as more of pooling of power, and optional.

I’d be interested to hear others’ opinions on this matter if any are interested

Edited by FancyShadowCat, 14 September 2018 - 04:43 PM.

[Holdasown]

I have read four of his books and had no idea he had any controversy around him. I don't feel the Hela is Holda thing the way he does. I have encountered them as different individuals but I enjoy his books because they give lots of inspiration. 

Edited by Holdasown, 18 September 2018 - 06:18 PM.

[FancyShadowCat]

I have read four of his books and had no idea he had any controversy around him. I don't feel the Hela is Holda thing the way he does. I have encountered them as different individuals but I enjoy his books because they give lots of inspiration.

I agree, his books have taught me about spellcrafting not only from explanation but giving “recipes” as well. They are inspiring because he encourages you to use these recipes as formats for other spells, using your creativity. There are a few moments where I find myself rolling my eyes. Such as when he talks about hedgecrossing, and how you can’t perform it without strong devotion to the Master. Which is the god he heavily venerates and possibly worships as suggested in The Horn of Evenwood

Edited by FancyShadowCat, 20 September 2018 - 10:33 PM.

[WinterMeudwy]

I only recently came across Robin's work. I too didn't know anything about him, I just picked up a book after seeing a mention of some workings on a blog which were from one of his books. I much prefer to pick up a book and not let the author's reputation precede them, so I can make my own mind up if I think it's pants or not.

 

I have dipped in and out of a couple of his books and I've found certain bits fascinating. I took the bits I agreed with and found useful and skipped the rest. I don't mean any disrespect to the author on that point, but that's how I feel we all develop our own unique path.

 

A few bits from his books have made it into my grimoires and I'm definitely going to read some more!

[WitchVillage]

I found Artisson's work visionary and poetically inspired, but his online personality dogmatic, histrionic and erratic.

Based on the effects that his work appeared to have upon him, I decided to ditch the books I had of his.

I regret this somewhat in retrospect, but I do go through major book cullings every so often. I have to.

Sometimes I also repurchase things. I may reconsider his work at some future date.