Pow-Wow: Traditional Folk & Grimoire Magic: Institute for Hermetic Studies Study Guide (IHS Monograph Seres)

Well written but a little lukewarm in terms of content, a lot of rehashed material but that’s what happens when writing about any traditional system. A great introduction for the person new to the subject and of interest to those versed in it as the author is sharp, unpretentious and funny and he clearly relates the ideas with context, and context is almost as important as the ideas and beliefs themselves. Being a Pennsylvania native, Mr. Stavish writes from a vantage point not many can and his knowledge of this and other forms of western magic is broad. I wish it had ventured a little deeper into the metaphysics of Braicherei. The author is very knowledgeable and shows mastery in this field, overall a good read.

A strong mixture of humor, scholarship and practical Working advice.

This book is strangely written in that it’s a transcript of a class the author gave. That would be fine except there are these near-constant “interruptions,” like he talks about celebrities and in parentheses it will say (laughter) or something about a slide not shown in the book.Also, there is very little mention of anything that has to do with pow wow. When not off on weird tangents he mostly teaches ceremonial magic, nothing specific to pow wow.The few times he sticks to the topic of the book, there is some value in what he has to say. But if you’re looking to learn about pow wow, it would be beat to look elsewhere.