Witchcraft…Into the Wilds Review

I shall start this enthusiastic book review by saying that “Witchcraft…Into the Wilds,” by Rachel Patterson, was a delight to read. This is one of those books that I will read again when the occasion arises, and when time is right, because it seems to be one of those that surprise you each time you grab it; it is filled with so many surprises.

Patterson clearly explains how she started working by her own rules, the results, and encourages the reader to do the same, but always making it clear that any system the practitioner feels comfortable with is fine as long as they understand the logic behind it.

The writing style is easy to follow most of the time, not as serious as other books I’ve seen, and with a healthy dose of personal experiences that blend perfectly with the more academic content of the book. The author has given me a very comfortable reading!

About the actual content, it would be way too pretentious to say that everything is covered in here, but I feel that hardly anything else could have been added to Witchcraft…Into the Wilds since it is a complete approach to a topic of general interest and a good starting point for many who may seem a little lost about where to begin with in terms of paganism, religion and belief.

One of the things I liked the most is that we’re not left only on the theory, for there are also tools to practice what is explained. Each of the chapters serve as an introduction to the topic it will explore, and almost each of them come with two or more meditations and journal prompts in order to have not only a reading but a whole experience while navigating this book.

Additionally, I would recommend that readers have a notebook near because of the large amount of topics this books has included. It could seem to be confusing at time, I certainly had a hard time following the content because of what I thought was a lack of connection, but that perception changes pretty quickly when you get used to Patterson’s style.

Rachel Patterson isn’t afraid of including her own point of view on certain topics or show her personal meaning for something when the need arises, but she also gives enough room for the reader to create their own opinion, not forcing her standards on other but using them as a trustworthy reference to take into consideration. Well done and, perhaps, one of my favorite aspects about this book.

However, I did have problems with the structure of some exercises, with many of them having the very same starting point and following a similar procedure. I’m not to fond on repetition if not in incantations, but given the fact that this is an introduction to the topic, or that’s how I perceived it, it will be of use for many to have those who are curious; it just didn’t work that well on my case.

This is a perfect choice for whoever wants to deepen in terms of nature and reinforcing the connection we have with it, a book that defies standards in a simple way in order to clearly know what is happening with the energy and our magic when we work with a certain system, and that also makes the reader interested in new topics or acquire a broader vision about others. I’m certainly waiting for a next book on this topic!

Witchcraft…Into the Wilds

Print Length: 240 pages
Publisher: Moon Books (February 23, 2018)
Publication Date: February 23, 2018
ISBN-10: 1785354590
ISBN-13: 978-1785354595

About the Author
Rachel Patterson has penned more than a dozen books on the rituals and practices of magic and paganism. She is a High Priestess of the Kitchen Witch Coven and an Elder of the Kitchen Witch School of Natural Witchcraft. A Green/Kitchen Witch with an added dash of hedgewitch and folk magic. She lives in Portsmouth, UK.

About the Reviewer
Bader Saab is a digital journalist and self-published writer; a solitary, eclectic Wiccan interested in the darker side of magic and divination; a gothic guy that tries to educate whenever he cans. Hopefully, someday he will succeed in one of them.

Photo by Leon Biss on Unsplash