Evolutionary Witchcraft

by T. Thorn Coyle

Book Overview

A learned and serious guide to Witchcraft for the mature practitioner, by one of the craft's leading teachers. Most of us tap only a fraction of our capacity as human beings. As a result, we often... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1585423475
• ISBN13: 9781585423477
• Release Date: October 2004
• Publisher: Tarcher
• Length: 302 Pages
• Weight: 1.14 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.2" x 9.3"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

The Spiral Dance: The Next Generation

Thorn Coyle is a Witch, an initiate of the Feri Tradition in which Starhawk (author of The Spiral Dance) was trained, and an initiate also of Reclaiming, the political collective and Craft tradition of which Starhawk is the best-known founder. Evolutionary Witchcraft is a logical successor to The Spiral Dance: a manual of Feri Witchcraft, a compendium of training derived from her own teaching experience, designed to give people who may not want to or have the opportunity to be directly initiated into Feri a chance to use its basic tools to improve their lives. This is not your average Wicca 101 book. (In fact, there are good reasons why Feri Witchcraft should not be called Wicca, but that's another story.) There are no spells here, no tables of correspondences, no pre-made rituals for solar or lunar holidays. Instead, there are meditations or practices that work with the breath, with posture, with movement and dance, with the magical tools of blade and cup, and with stories, deities, and concepts specific to Feri Tradition such as the Peacock God and the Iron and Pearl Pentacles. Thorn's writing is clear, powerful, and poetic without being forced; in reading this book, I found myself remembering how breathtaking The Spiral Dance was when I first read in 1979, the year of its publication, how Starhawk's words swept me away into a world of new possibilities. I believe Evolutionary Witchcraft will do the same for a new generation of people who want to deepen their connection to spirit, to the earth, and to their best selves.

Don't Judge a Book or a Human by their Cover

I came across this book last year. In reading though it I was impressed with it's fresh insights and a few things I had discovered on my own without any training or tradition. Then I turned to the back cover and was put off by the authors picture. So I didn't buy the book. The image of the author was out of balance in my judgement with the love and light content within the book itself. Months passed, and some of the insights of the book stayed with me. One evening during a prayerful meditation the Crone aspect of the Goddess made an appearance and...well...scared me , and then accused me of being disriminatory based on appearances, age, and things. She was right and I gave up my judgement of others based on their appearances. Time passed. I came across Ms. Coyle's book again a few weeks ago, sat down read through it, turned to the back with new eyes, said hello and purchased the book. I really like the context of body movement as part of working with energy. I hope she comes out with a DVD to go along with the book. (Hint). If you are looking to connect with Divine energies and transform how you view the world this is a unique book that is very fresh and different on the topic of magic and working with energies. Ms. Coyle has wisdom and insight beyond her years and unique appearance(s). Within the book is a caring and love that infuses the information with a power to reach your heart and sense of knowing. It is very special. It is obvious to me that the Divine has inspired this work. If your reading the reviews, your pondering this book. It's in hard cover which means it won't wear out. For me, this is a worthy addition to my home library, if my library were destroyed or stolen, this is a book I would repurchase to always have available. Thank you T. Thorn Coyle for pouring your heart into this work. Buy the book, support this author and teacher who's insights and work inspires the heart and spirit. - David, founder w w w . t h e c h u r c h o f w h a t w o r k s . c o m Just a 40 year old guy, who needs to stretch a bit before dancing again :) Bright Blessings to everyone!

Unique, relevant, and way beyond Witchcraft 101

First, a word about what this book is thankfully not. Although it has plenty of information and exercises that will be useful to beginners, it is not an introductory book on witchcraft. The program of training presented here is a challenging one, with a serious focus on personal growth and development. Those who are accustomed to the relatively shallow, sweetness-and-light approach of New Age personal development books will find themselves in much deeper waters here. Secondly, this book is not yet another reframing of common-knowledge neopagan models and techniques. Coyle is working out of a unique pagan tradition, one that has its own specific spiritual technology and models of approaching magick. Although practitioners of other traditions are sure to find resonances with their systems, tools such as the Iron Pentacle are unique to the Feri and Reclaiming traditions. More importantly, however, these tools make sense outside a Feri context, and practitioners of other paths will find them to be important additions to their magickal repetoires. No one in Western society is free of the cultural baggage that hangs on Sex, Pride, Self, Power, or Passion, and Coyle provides meditations and exercises that effectively break down the personal and cultural barriers that keep these important energies bound. Finally, a few words about what _Evolutionary Witchcraft_ is. EW is a well-written, down-to-earth, extremely coherent book on Feri witchcraft that is yet designed to be accessible to practitioners of any magickal path. It is packed with practical exercises without entirely ignoring theory, and it structures its training program within a unique and exciting Feri aesthetic. As a former student of Victor and Cora Anderson, the poetic and eclectic founders of the Feri tradition, Thorn Coyle gives us her own evolutionary, socially-aware twist on the Feri line while remaining close to the richness of the source.

Join the (R)evolution...

Finally: a book on the Craft that offers the keys to an advanced magickal practice. Far more than the garden variety Witchcraft book which offers the same rehashed information ad infinitum, in this much anticipated work, author and priestess T. Thorn Coyle reveals many of the spiritual tools from the Feri tradition of Witchcraft as a means toward personal transformation. "Evolutionary Witchcraft" amounts to a training manual for those who are interested in developing their own Divine potential. Using tools from one of the most potent and mysterious traditions of Witchcraft being practiced today, Thorn is able to offer the reader much more than is generally available currently on the subject of the Craft, focusing less on simple spells and esoteric symbolism, and more on practical techniques designed to allow the practitioner to develop their own spirit, as well as to strengthen their magickal power. Using spiritual practice as a means toward personal evolution, Thorn is able to guide the reader through a series of self-examining exercises which are as simple as they are powerful. For those practitioners of the Craft who yearn for something more, then "Evolutionary Witchcraft" is for you. For those interested specifically in learning more about the Feri tradition then there is no better book on the subject than this. Covered Feri topics include: Casting the Feri Circle/Sphere The Iron and Pearl Pentacles The Three Souls Working with the Elements and the Guardians Working with the Gods of Feri The Black Heart of Innocence ...and much more. Author T. Thorn Coyle is a holder of the Black Wand of the Master, a title recognized by some lines of the Feri tradition and bestowed upon her by one of Feri's founders, Cora Anderson. A Feri and Reclaiming priestess, as well as accomplished poet, dancer, and singer, she teaches internationally on the spiritual tools of Feri Witchcraft as well as in spiritual political activism. This is her first book.

evolve, already!

There are a lot of pagan authors who write books that are simply rearranged versions of the knowledge that they acquired from other books, with the result that their books are either overly academic or completely 'fluffy.' Evolutionary Witchcraft is neither of these. T. Thorn Coyle is a serious, longtime practitioner in the Anderson Feri tradition, and she also brings her work with Sufi tradition into play as well. Evolutionary Witchcraft is a book for people who wish to go beyond 'Wicca 101' and start to peer into the mystery that is the Self in relation to the Divine. It is a book that will take people who are witches much farther down their path. It is a quantum leap ahead of most books on Witchcraft and Paganism. Engagingly written and powerfully motivating, Evolutionary Witchcraft is not for the unserious or the beginner, but for someone looking to deepen their path and their relationship with the Gods, it's a must-have.