As a fan of Ly De Angeles' books, I was excited when I heard she was to do a book specifically aimed at men and the male aspects of Celtic Wicca. Unfortunately, I was let down.
Ly can be a fabulous writer. I thoroughly enjoy her straight talking approach to the practices of magick. Ly includes her own heritage and language in her writings, as well as gives insights into how she practices (daily) the Craft, but that's the only similarity in this book to her previous offering. I found nothing new in this book that could not be found in "Witchcraft: Theory and Practice" other than more mention of the Wild God, and some masculine characters. There certainly was no intermediate magickal techniques, let alone advanced.
Yes, it is decidely more orientated to the male aspect [some would say balanced], but it is still feels quite a feminine book to me. Perhaps this can't be avoided when the writer is a woman? That said, it does provide a more balanced view than many, many other books on the Craft.
Ly De Angeles writes beautiful prose and poetry and yet, I found the fictional inserts rather lacking and somewhat stilted.
I know that Ly can write very informative, very interesting books that can hold the reader's attention; this is not one of them. "Witchcraft: Theory and Practice" is still one of the best beginner books around, but I will be thinking twice before referring any men to read "When I See the Wild God".
Some have looked at this book and thought it to be about Wicca. Indeed many people believe Wicca and Witchcraft to be interchangeable; this is not the case as Ly de Angeles' book WHEN I SEE THE WILD GOD - a companion, and brother to her earlier work WITCHCRAFT, THEORY & PRACTICE - eloquently demonstrates.
There is a primal spirit in Witchcraft that practitioner's of Wicca (in my opinion) shy away from. WHEN I SEE THE WILD GOD brings that primal energy to the reader in abundance, which is a telling feat as most of the chapters are rather short. Ms de Angeles writes with a potent understand of language and word-magic. She is able to express ideas that would take some writers pages to get cross, in concise verse that doesn't assume you - the reader- have an IQ of a 14 year old. Rather Ly's writing comes across like a seed, it implants within the fertile mind of those with the ears to hear and the eyes to see, and takes you on a strong spiritual journey as it deepens and you, and it, grow.
Yes, this book is bound to the Celtic tradition of which Ly de Angeles has spent the majority of her life following, studying and living. Rather than being presented with a hodge-podge of differing and even conflicting deity, Ly presents a rich tradition, and a history that is alive and vibrant.
WHEN I SEE THE WILD GOD is a book that bridges the gap between the strength of an ancient lineage and the primordial yearning in the soul of the seeker - who has been searching but not finding in the mass-market rubbish that has been positioned in todays marketplace. If WITCHRAFT, THEORY & PRACTICE can be described as a primer then WILD GOD is bonfire that lights for us a path that has been beckoning but lost to the shadow cast by society.
If you are serious about calling yourself a Witch, if you have heard the voice of the Gods in the wind, in the trees and through the roaring of the traffic in the congested streets of our concrete jungles, but have been unsure how to answer them, then buy yourself this book.
For as Ly says: "If the magic believes in you, how can you not?"
