An Investigation into Irish Witchcraft

I debated at first as to whether to give this book a three star or a four star review. I voted a four star and I can tell you why. The first chapter cuts through a lot of BS and myth. She tells you clear cut that there is a difference between being a Wiccan and Witch . There is also a difference between being a Pagan and a witch. Lot's of people call themselves Wiccans or eclectic Wiccans even when they practice is pulled to together from many different books and really does not even remotely resemble Wicca.

The Next dose of common sense is the importance of learning about the Irish culture and traveling to Ireland if you want to practice Irish Witchcraft. If you want to communicate with the Irish Gods and Goddesses then learn Irish or at least make the effort. They will appreciate you for it. The author advocates moving to Ireland at least for a bit. I must say that in this respect I agree with her wholeheartedly. If you want to practice this system then immerse yourself.

She goes through a list of all the Gods and and Goddesses and tells us what areas of specialty they are involved in. Dgda is a god of fertility. Morgana is a goddess of war and magic. It is important to study and know these deities if we want to work with them. She gives good sources at the end of the book for further research. Something I advise checking out.

The Section on faeries is heft and informative. They are not like Tinker bell at all and some could be rather vicious. treat them with respect and have your courage ready to over come any fear. Faeries do not like people who grovel. She discusses where faeries live and a few stories connected to faeries and how they tutored some humans in magic. Lora does a good job separating them from spirits of the trees, genus loci and the Sidhe. She gives some techniques on how to connect with the spirits of the trees.

I liked her personal anecdote of going into Morgana's cave. There is definitely a line between a true spiritual seeker and a tourist who comes to visit a faery site and pretends to get something out of it.Her encounter with Morgana was frightening and it is no light thing to dedicate oneself to a deity.

While the book is very common sensical I got the feeling that the book had a lot of Wiccan input regardless. I mean what exactly is Irish Witchcraft. The author states that her coven which used to be Wiccan is now more eclectic pulling from different sources such as Crowley's OTO. She says in the beginning of her book that she will not spoon feed the reader or give over any spells. I have nothing solid on which to base Irish witch craft on. No model technique. Do Irish Witches draw circles or is that up to the individual practitioner. I have nothing against freestyle magicians or sorcery whcih is really what the book seems to be save that she gave it the title "Irish Witchcraft" Every sort of witch craft and magical system has a set of techniques. We need sample so we can create our own in the spirit of Irish witchcraft.

That being said the author's Wiccan influence comes in strong and steady. Nothing wrong with that just label it as what it is. Wicca with an Irish twist. The initiation and degree system is Wiccan with the exception that they use Irish Terms. The book give a good over view for the non Irish into Irish culture which is definitely of value. The book is a starting point and definitely good for the beginner. For the more advanced they may wish to go a little deeper.