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The Deep Heart of Witchcraft: Expanding the Core of Magickal Practice
The elements, the guardians, the spirits and gods; these are all things beginner Witches are taught about and trained to work with. We learn about correspondence and how to associate symbols with their mysteries. But what are the real mysteries behind the symbols? What lives at the very heart and core of these teachings? In the Deep Heart of Witchcraft, we seek the teachings and ways that might lead us to look beyond the surface and into the depths of the Craft. In this book, we ll look at the tools and spirits of the sacred elements to connect us back to the power of nature. Through ritual, we turn and face traditions both new and old to enrich our practice and feed the soul. And through the wheel of the year, we connect with the ebb and flow of the cycles of time and space.
337 pages, ebook
First published April 16, 2013
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970 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 24, 2015
Author David Salisbury assumes that you already know something about being a witch, that you’ve read a few books and know the basics. If you don’t know the basics, have no idea what to do with an athame, have never worked through the wheel of the year... this is not the place to start. Get a copy and stash it for later, because if you’re seriously interested in witchcraft, you’re going to want to read this.
The majority of books are aimed at the beginner. As a consequence there’s a lot of material that will allow you to set up a basic practice and do some witchy things, but moving on from there into work of greater depth, power and significance, can be a bit of a mystery. If it doesn’t come naturally to you, the whole thing can be a bit perplexing. There’s no shame in not being able to do this in a big intuitive leap because so many things in our culture lead us away from the spiritual and magical. Many of us have a lot of assumptions and habits to overcome as part of our path into Paganism.
David’s book will lead you through the familiar territory of the elements and the wheel of the year, but rather than showing you yet another surface, he takes readers deeply into questions of why, and how, and to what purpose we work with these things. This is enriching. Coming to this as a Druid who has read a lot of witchcraft books, I thought it was an absolute gem. There’s a lot of wisdom here that has relevance for wider Paganism as well as
witchcraft, and more eclectic practitioners may well benefit from reading it.
The writing style is friendly and accessible, and there’s a lot of passion underpinning the work. It’s clear David lives his path and writes from a place of knowing, not from hypothesising. He’s beautifully non-dogmatic, making it easy to work with his ideas without being restricted by them. A fine book, and a worthy addition to any esoteric bookshelf.
The majority of books are aimed at the beginner. As a consequence there’s a lot of material that will allow you to set up a basic practice and do some witchy things, but moving on from there into work of greater depth, power and significance, can be a bit of a mystery. If it doesn’t come naturally to you, the whole thing can be a bit perplexing. There’s no shame in not being able to do this in a big intuitive leap because so many things in our culture lead us away from the spiritual and magical. Many of us have a lot of assumptions and habits to overcome as part of our path into Paganism.
David’s book will lead you through the familiar territory of the elements and the wheel of the year, but rather than showing you yet another surface, he takes readers deeply into questions of why, and how, and to what purpose we work with these things. This is enriching. Coming to this as a Druid who has read a lot of witchcraft books, I thought it was an absolute gem. There’s a lot of wisdom here that has relevance for wider Paganism as well as
witchcraft, and more eclectic practitioners may well benefit from reading it.
The writing style is friendly and accessible, and there’s a lot of passion underpinning the work. It’s clear David lives his path and writes from a place of knowing, not from hypothesising. He’s beautifully non-dogmatic, making it easy to work with his ideas without being restricted by them. A fine book, and a worthy addition to any esoteric bookshelf.
January 30, 2014
I wasn't sure what to expect with this book, when you have been living the Craft for a lot of years you begin to think that you won't read anything new...but I have to say David Salisbury's book delivers the goods. I was captivated from the very first few pages. David's book reads in such a pleasant and informal way that he brings the reader into his thoughts and ideas, he also asks questions, important ones and of course answers them with various insightful options. This book is wonderful, packed full of information, thoughts, points of view and lots of exercises to help the reader understand and gain experience from. Definitely one to have on your bookshelf whether you are new to the Craft or a seasoned Witch, in fact don't just leave it on the bookshelf...I encourage you to use it!
February 1, 2013
I had the joy of having an advanced copy of the book-
As a witch I am always looking to move my practice into deeper spaces and The Deep Heart of Witchcraft helps to do that. Even though the book is geard to move beyond foundational work, I feel that both beginner and advanced magickal workers will get something from David's years of craft study. David blends both personal experience and research and offers readers a wonderful narrative to help deepen and connect to guardians, elementals and personal power. You can tell that David has a deep love for the craft and I look forward to future books by this author.
September 14, 2019
I know the author, so I might be inclined to give this a more positive review, but I found this had a lot of depth (no pun intended) and some great advice and suggestions. The wheel of the year section was especially fresh and original, and I loved his take on prayer and religious practice. Also some nice thoughtful stuff about gender and dealing with the more limiting binary aspects of Wicca.
Unfortunately, it has some typos that look like a result of the publisher not having professional editing done (they were the kind of things that word check wouldn't catch like "raising" instead of "raisin") but I enjoyed it enough not to detract from the overall read.
Unfortunately, it has some typos that look like a result of the publisher not having professional editing done (they were the kind of things that word check wouldn't catch like "raising" instead of "raisin") but I enjoyed it enough not to detract from the overall read.
August 26, 2023
I like this authors style, very clear and easy to dive into. They feel like someone I would like to know. Just wish authors from the US would not forget that witches in the southern hemisphere have seasons/festivals at different times of the year.
April 7, 2022
Decided to give this book a five star rating, because this is the first time I ever read a informative Witchcraft book, written by a male Witch who happens to be queer as well! Such a shame, since Wicca and Witchcraft are all supposed to be about equality and balance. Anyhow, the writing style of the book was very nice. The chapters where short, but I still had to concentrate alot on the information that was being explained on the pages. Despite this, the rituals and spells given away in this book didn't stick with me. This just wasn't the information I was hoping to discover. Afcourse, the author can't be blamed for it, this is just a personal issue of mine. Espacially nice for beginners who would like to be introduced to the world of Witchery from a males perspective, for a change.
February 21, 2022
I really liked this book. There were great exercises and meditations to follow. Many of them are very simple but impactful. The information was wonderful and refreshing.
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April 17, 2021The Deep Heart of Witchcraft is David Salisbury's first book, but you may already know his name. He's the bureau chief behind the DC Bureau of the Pagan Newswire Collective, columnist at Modern Witch Magazine, and high priest of DC's Coven of the Spiral Moon. If you're familiar with his writing then you know he can write with a light touch on heavy subjects, and you've probably anticipated his first book as much as I have.
The book's subtitle is Expanding the Core of Magickal Practice and that's exactly what it does. There's several pages dedicated to the usual "wheel of the year" concepts, sabbat celebrations, rituals, and creative visualizations, but the real value lies in Salisbury's personal touch. What makes The Deep Heart of Witchcraft deep is that it shares his own personal experiences and interpretations, surpassing simple correspondences such as which colors or directions are associated with each element, and encourages self-reflection by offering his own. It teaches that witchcraft's core isn't so much what we do, but what we value, and that to be truly deep we must break beyond the traditional and into the personal.
There's many things to like about Salisbury's style. I like that his first practical lesson is to keep a journal. He says "every act of writing is an act of magick" and the large number of pagans who are also writers upholds his claim. I like that he uses the term "Great Work" to label our life purpose, that he spells magick with a K, and that he teaches "We are all made of stars." All of this seems to derive from Crowley's teachings, but Salisbury avoids Crowley's snarky pretension without overflowing into the touchy-feely fluff of Wicca 101. It's often hard to paraphrase or simplify Salisbury's writing because he speaks so directly to begin with that there is no simpler paraphrase to offer.
The book's subtitle is Expanding the Core of Magickal Practice and that's exactly what it does. There's several pages dedicated to the usual "wheel of the year" concepts, sabbat celebrations, rituals, and creative visualizations, but the real value lies in Salisbury's personal touch. What makes The Deep Heart of Witchcraft deep is that it shares his own personal experiences and interpretations, surpassing simple correspondences such as which colors or directions are associated with each element, and encourages self-reflection by offering his own. It teaches that witchcraft's core isn't so much what we do, but what we value, and that to be truly deep we must break beyond the traditional and into the personal.
There's many things to like about Salisbury's style. I like that his first practical lesson is to keep a journal. He says "every act of writing is an act of magick" and the large number of pagans who are also writers upholds his claim. I like that he uses the term "Great Work" to label our life purpose, that he spells magick with a K, and that he teaches "We are all made of stars." All of this seems to derive from Crowley's teachings, but Salisbury avoids Crowley's snarky pretension without overflowing into the touchy-feely fluff of Wicca 101. It's often hard to paraphrase or simplify Salisbury's writing because he speaks so directly to begin with that there is no simpler paraphrase to offer.
May 28, 2015
Worthwhile addition to any Witch's library.
Newcomers to the craft would benefit a lot from David's book, but after the basics have been leant first, as the author assumes you already have a firm grounding in craft practice.
I have been practicing for several years now and have taken away a lot from this book.
Very well written, with many ideas on how to deepen your own traditions.
Newcomers to the craft would benefit a lot from David's book, but after the basics have been leant first, as the author assumes you already have a firm grounding in craft practice.
I have been practicing for several years now and have taken away a lot from this book.
Very well written, with many ideas on how to deepen your own traditions.
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November 4, 2015 Taken from http://www.badwitch.co.uk/2015/03/rev... this is part of a much longer review of Path to the Mysteries, written by 'bad witch' Lucya Starza.
I've tagged the other books in the series, which Lucya refers to in her review, and also David Salisbury's excellent 'Deep heart of witchcraft'.
I've tagged the other books in the series, which Lucya refers to in her review, and also David Salisbury's excellent 'Deep heart of witchcraft'.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews