Reviews
Entering Hekate's Garden: The Magick, Medicine & Mystery of Plant Spirit Witchcraft by Cyndi Brannen
zeddlonglastname's review
As a witch learning about Hekate from a Hellenistic perspective, this book was really disappointing. It's full of upg (unverified personal gnosis), and after a skim of the rest of the book for any possible redemption, it also includes dangerous suggestions about ingesting essential oils. Really disappointing :/
hrusewif's review
1.0
Well, the book certainly starts with a bang- and not in a good way. Rather, it starts with a short fictional "introduction" by Medea, one of Hekate's mythological daughters, titled "Medea's Truth". This serves both as a minor pseudo-autobiographical rewrite of the mythos (with that mildly obnoxious Radical Feminist bend we're all far too familiar with when it comes to NeoPagan works dealing with feminine characters), as well as a call for you to answer Hekate's call to her garden.
To put it bluntly, I genuinely don't understand why this "introduction" was even necessary. The tone was childish, and it came across as petulant and toddleresque more than anything. It lends such a ridiculous and nonsensical atmosphere to the book starting out, that it doesn't give me hope it's going to be any good at all. And I'm not horribly wrong in that assessment, either, sadly. The book's a right mess from top to bottom (or as far as I could get, anyways).
Firstly, if you're looking for legitimate information on Hekate or her daughters, you're looking in the wrong place. I wouldn't expect any accuracy from this book at all. What's presented is itself sparse and largely the gnosis of the author presented as fact-but-not-fact (predicated by statements such as "I know it in my heart"). When anything factual or semi factual is presented, it is presented either unsourced entirely, or only vaguely sourced (such as with statements like "in one account by the ancient historian Diodorus", which tells you as much as if she'd never mentioned a source at all). And of course scattered about is the same nerve grating Radical Feminist "the Mens! the Patriarchy!" bullshit that plagues most female-centric NeoWiccan texts, which I grow so, so, so incredibly tired of reading; while there are certainly many problems with translations and sexism throughout history, like the wailing of a toddler on a Greyhound Bus in 100 degree weather with another 4 hours still to go until your next stop, this particular brand of Radical Feminist winging (and the way in which it's always positioned) just gets old- nevermind the inaccuracies of the narrative itself).
I will say, though, that I do applaud her routine openness about the fact that much of this was developed herself and is based largely in her gnosis- something which is refreshing in an area where everyone's annoyingly clamoring to claim theirs is the most "ancient" and "legitimate". Ultimately, however, reading on I dislike the frequent ways in which she couches how much of it really just comes from Traditional Witchcraft. If she'd just been open about her foundations, her sources of inspiration, and where she built from, I wouldn't have a problem with it. But the fact so much of it is very clearly pulled from Traditional Witchcraft with a little bit of Hellenism sprinkled in, and that she seemingly tries to obfuscate that, does annoy me.
The further brushing off of "any perceived discrepancies by the reader" as merely the author's "inspired development of a new word rooted in an ancient one" is likewise something that grates on my nerves. It feels all too much like a convenient cop-out so she doesn't have to deal with any criticisms on the matter... Criticisms such as the fact she doesn't even use some of her terminology correctly even on simple things. Or, for instance, her divide between "magic" and "magick", and treating them as if they're two difference things or concepts (instead of one being merely a different spelling of another popularized by an edgelord supreme)- which is nothing less than unnecessary and annoying.
The constant rallying of the author against the modern separation between medicinal and magical herbalism is likewise childish. This is a sentiment I'm seeing crop up a lot in Greencraft books of all stripes lately, and it's beginning to get tiring... It's important to point out that the separation is a modern construct and that for the majority of human history no such distinction was made between the mystical, spiritual, and scientific elements of healing. Likewise, it's important to understand our practices, our resources, and many of the surviving correspondences and other influences within that context. However, that modern separation is an integral one. And for all the author makes a big deal that "We must respond to [the plant spirits'] calls from our modern perspective [because] The past is long dead; this is a new cycle of growth", they very conveniently want to ignore the fact that these new distinctions are in place for some damned good reasons- and should remain there.
Mostly, though, all Brannen really does is talk herself around in circles. A lot. Constantly repeat the same things over and over again, but never in a way that actually makes sense. That would be too easy, of course. But no. Instead she has to explain things in the most convoluted ways possible- and each time she explains the same exact thing again, she somehow manages to explain it worse than she did the last time she thought she needed to explain it. After a certain point I just gave up on the damned thing altogether. It was better than hearing the same exact spiel about Medea, Circe, and Hekate that I'd just read 4 paragraphs back for the 8th time.
By the time I got to any sort of actual magic, I was so annoyed I could've thrown my E-Reader. When I actually read the first ritual I rolled my eyes so hard I put the book down and never bothered opening it back up; like the rest of her writing, her spellwork is equally bad, and her instructions are rarely coherent (trying to get through the Ekdotis "Talisman" in particular was almost infuriating in some areas).
I didn't get far enough in to say how she handled the actual plants- which is what the entire book is supposed to be about. The book just wasn't worth beating my head against my Kindle for anymore- and that's all I'd done since the first moment I'd picked it up. As it stands, from what I have read, all this book is, is a trite, childish, and utterly useless waste of time. And I can't for the life of me even begin to pretend to imagine that she's capable of handling the plant aspects with any sort of competency.
If you're actually looking for legitimate plant content, or even for content on Hekate, for the love of the Gods, I implore you: Seek ye elsewhere.
To put it bluntly, I genuinely don't understand why this "introduction" was even necessary. The tone was childish, and it came across as petulant and toddleresque more than anything. It lends such a ridiculous and nonsensical atmosphere to the book starting out, that it doesn't give me hope it's going to be any good at all. And I'm not horribly wrong in that assessment, either, sadly. The book's a right mess from top to bottom (or as far as I could get, anyways).
Firstly, if you're looking for legitimate information on Hekate or her daughters, you're looking in the wrong place. I wouldn't expect any accuracy from this book at all. What's presented is itself sparse and largely the gnosis of the author presented as fact-but-not-fact (predicated by statements such as "I know it in my heart"). When anything factual or semi factual is presented, it is presented either unsourced entirely, or only vaguely sourced (such as with statements like "in one account by the ancient historian Diodorus", which tells you as much as if she'd never mentioned a source at all). And of course scattered about is the same nerve grating Radical Feminist "the Mens! the Patriarchy!" bullshit that plagues most female-centric NeoWiccan texts, which I grow so, so, so incredibly tired of reading; while there are certainly many problems with translations and sexism throughout history, like the wailing of a toddler on a Greyhound Bus in 100 degree weather with another 4 hours still to go until your next stop, this particular brand of Radical Feminist winging (and the way in which it's always positioned) just gets old- nevermind the inaccuracies of the narrative itself).
I will say, though, that I do applaud her routine openness about the fact that much of this was developed herself and is based largely in her gnosis- something which is refreshing in an area where everyone's annoyingly clamoring to claim theirs is the most "ancient" and "legitimate". Ultimately, however, reading on I dislike the frequent ways in which she couches how much of it really just comes from Traditional Witchcraft. If she'd just been open about her foundations, her sources of inspiration, and where she built from, I wouldn't have a problem with it. But the fact so much of it is very clearly pulled from Traditional Witchcraft with a little bit of Hellenism sprinkled in, and that she seemingly tries to obfuscate that, does annoy me.
The further brushing off of "any perceived discrepancies by the reader" as merely the author's "inspired development of a new word rooted in an ancient one" is likewise something that grates on my nerves. It feels all too much like a convenient cop-out so she doesn't have to deal with any criticisms on the matter... Criticisms such as the fact she doesn't even use some of her terminology correctly even on simple things. Or, for instance, her divide between "magic" and "magick", and treating them as if they're two difference things or concepts (instead of one being merely a different spelling of another popularized by an edgelord supreme)- which is nothing less than unnecessary and annoying.
The constant rallying of the author against the modern separation between medicinal and magical herbalism is likewise childish. This is a sentiment I'm seeing crop up a lot in Greencraft books of all stripes lately, and it's beginning to get tiring... It's important to point out that the separation is a modern construct and that for the majority of human history no such distinction was made between the mystical, spiritual, and scientific elements of healing. Likewise, it's important to understand our practices, our resources, and many of the surviving correspondences and other influences within that context. However, that modern separation is an integral one. And for all the author makes a big deal that "We must respond to [the plant spirits'] calls from our modern perspective [because] The past is long dead; this is a new cycle of growth", they very conveniently want to ignore the fact that these new distinctions are in place for some damned good reasons- and should remain there.
Mostly, though, all Brannen really does is talk herself around in circles. A lot. Constantly repeat the same things over and over again, but never in a way that actually makes sense. That would be too easy, of course. But no. Instead she has to explain things in the most convoluted ways possible- and each time she explains the same exact thing again, she somehow manages to explain it worse than she did the last time she thought she needed to explain it. After a certain point I just gave up on the damned thing altogether. It was better than hearing the same exact spiel about Medea, Circe, and Hekate that I'd just read 4 paragraphs back for the 8th time.
By the time I got to any sort of actual magic, I was so annoyed I could've thrown my E-Reader. When I actually read the first ritual I rolled my eyes so hard I put the book down and never bothered opening it back up; like the rest of her writing, her spellwork is equally bad, and her instructions are rarely coherent (trying to get through the Ekdotis "Talisman" in particular was almost infuriating in some areas).
I didn't get far enough in to say how she handled the actual plants- which is what the entire book is supposed to be about. The book just wasn't worth beating my head against my Kindle for anymore- and that's all I'd done since the first moment I'd picked it up. As it stands, from what I have read, all this book is, is a trite, childish, and utterly useless waste of time. And I can't for the life of me even begin to pretend to imagine that she's capable of handling the plant aspects with any sort of competency.
If you're actually looking for legitimate plant content, or even for content on Hekate, for the love of the Gods, I implore you: Seek ye elsewhere.
pikamonster's review
informative
medium-paced
2.0
The overall plant information is pretty useful it would be even better if they included pictures of the plants even if it were just black and white sketches. However the overall tone of the book felt like the author is the exact kind of practitioner I tend to avoid. A decent read but not worthy of having on my shelf.
scaredykatbooks's review
3.0
This was a very ... interesting book.
For clarification, I would not consider plant magic or herbal witchcraft my specialty, but the inclusion of Hekate and the fact that this was available at my local library caught my interest.
This... has the formatting of a textbook and comes off very academic and yet there are long pieces of text that talk directly to the reader. It's...an interesting combination.
"Absolutely no prior knowledge of herbalism is required to start this adventure" is a nice sentiment, but I would definitely disagree.
I would say that this book is not good for beginners trying to get into witchcraft, the formatting and language made it hard to get into for myself and I wouldn't consider myself a beginner.
I will say that this book has some very unique/ hard to find information in it. It's not just a repetition of your usual book on witchcraft.
The authors devotion to Hekate is clear and I appreciate her interpretation and personal gnosis (spiritual beliefs that are gained through personal intuition and experiences but can't be verified by tradition, scholars, or citation in a religious text)
The author openly acknowledges that a good deal of the book is personal gnosis, which is VERY refreshing. But parts of the text still come off as.... preachy? And her interpretation of myths is teetering on the "girlboss" feminism retelling we often see in neopaganism
The focus on Hekate in the Greek Goddess sense, not just the modernized Wiccan triple goddess (mother/maiden/crone) is something I rarely see, and a very welcome interpretation that I would love to see more of. Although I personally still feel that the authors interpretation is still influenced by Wiccan/ similar neopagan ideas.
There were some elements of Hellenism/ Hellenic paganism (Ancient Greek religion)
Like the cleansing ritual of using khernips (blessed water) but then it mixes in unnecessary neopagan elements (I can't remember the exact wording but it just put me off)
Although it is definitely still modernized/ personal gnosis on the myths (the mention of Persephone's story, specifically that Demeter was an overbearing mother) and the interpretation and focus on Medea was... interesting because she definitely killed her own children in the myth in order to get back at her ex husband. Yes there is nuance and the myth can be interpreted many ways but, just a weird thing to gloss over and then praise Medea for the rest of the book.
3 stars because part of me thinks this book just wasn't a good match for me personally, and I found the information interesting and a unique perspective. I wouldn't rate it any higher because the way it is written is just... so hard to get through.
For clarification, I would not consider plant magic or herbal witchcraft my specialty, but the inclusion of Hekate and the fact that this was available at my local library caught my interest.
This... has the formatting of a textbook and comes off very academic and yet there are long pieces of text that talk directly to the reader. It's...an interesting combination.
"Absolutely no prior knowledge of herbalism is required to start this adventure" is a nice sentiment, but I would definitely disagree.
I would say that this book is not good for beginners trying to get into witchcraft, the formatting and language made it hard to get into for myself and I wouldn't consider myself a beginner.
I will say that this book has some very unique/ hard to find information in it. It's not just a repetition of your usual book on witchcraft.
The authors devotion to Hekate is clear and I appreciate her interpretation and personal gnosis (spiritual beliefs that are gained through personal intuition and experiences but can't be verified by tradition, scholars, or citation in a religious text)
The author openly acknowledges that a good deal of the book is personal gnosis, which is VERY refreshing. But parts of the text still come off as.... preachy? And her interpretation of myths is teetering on the "girlboss" feminism retelling we often see in neopaganism
The focus on Hekate in the Greek Goddess sense, not just the modernized Wiccan triple goddess (mother/maiden/crone) is something I rarely see, and a very welcome interpretation that I would love to see more of. Although I personally still feel that the authors interpretation is still influenced by Wiccan/ similar neopagan ideas.
There were some elements of Hellenism/ Hellenic paganism (Ancient Greek religion)
Like the cleansing ritual of using khernips (blessed water) but then it mixes in unnecessary neopagan elements (I can't remember the exact wording but it just put me off)
Although it is definitely still modernized/ personal gnosis on the myths (the mention of Persephone's story, specifically that Demeter was an overbearing mother) and the interpretation and focus on Medea was... interesting because she definitely killed her own children in the myth in order to get back at her ex husband. Yes there is nuance and the myth can be interpreted many ways but, just a weird thing to gloss over and then praise Medea for the rest of the book.
3 stars because part of me thinks this book just wasn't a good match for me personally, and I found the information interesting and a unique perspective. I wouldn't rate it any higher because the way it is written is just... so hard to get through.