BOTW: Teen Witch

Even leaving my feelings about Silver Ravenwolf aside,  this is one of the very worst Pagan books that I have ever read.

It is presented as a Christian/mainstream parent-friendly guide, but smacks of a desperate attempt by ‘Mama Silver’ to appear cooler than the average mom.

I found her ‘To the Parents’ section to be exceedingly condescending. I cannot imagine that this tactic would be at all helpful in dealing with the situation that a Christian-raised teen would find themselves in when seeking a new spiritual path.

The frequent implication that Wicca and Christianity are basically the same with differing symbolism is just plain wrong.  It also serves to contradict the very anti-Christian tone of many of her other books.

Teen Witch is filled with misrepresentations and in some places, downright lies. Many Witches, myself included, take exception to the information in Ravenwolf’s ‘Real Witches Do’s and Don’ts‘ section.

I read this book before I was a parent, but even then, I think that what I most objected to in this book was the part in the back that details ways for teens to hide their religious practices from their parents – even going so far as to suggest what lies they should tell.

What does it tell you about the ethics of a Witch who suggests that teenagers sneak around and lie about something that it as life changing as a new religion?  Any school teacher would be fired for suggesting such things, and any religious teacher who does the same should be called out for the malignant fraud that she is.

I wrote an article years ago containing information for teens on how to approach and co-exist with disapproving parents; one thing you never do is lie.  Once you lose the trust of your folks, it can take years to rebuild.

On the plus side, Teen Witch is an easy read.  I also found some interesting folklore for those interested in the Pennsylvania Dutch.

My suggestion is to not wasting what precious little money you may have as a teen on this book.  Even though many people may claim that Teen Witch is good for beginners, you would do yourself a greater service by passing over this one in favour of one of the many other beginner books available.

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2 thoughts on “BOTW: Teen Witch”

  1. A lot of people agree with the opinion that Silver Ravenwolf is not one of the best Wiccan writers, but TeenWitch helped me get into learning about Wicca more (I don’t know wether it was the lies that helped me, but still… I’m glad for that…)

    1. I imagine that you would have found your way even if you hadn’t come across that particular book. The Universe is a big fan of serendipity 😉

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