Healing Magic: A Green Witch Guidebook

As the title suggests, Healing Magic addresses the concept of healing, both of the physical body, the spiritual body, and of the sadly decayed relationship between humankind and the earth. Robin Rose Bennett has created a book which outlines a life-affirming, Nature-honouring path, in which magic is presented as the pursuit of harmony with Nature. The book is designed with women in mind (although several of the exercises and meditations are expressly given variations for men), with an eye to reclaiming and reviving the Wise Woman concept.

Bennett introduces readers to the bounty of nature and the lessons which may be learned by working with the seasonal cycle, trees and herbs, the elements, and the lunar cycle, and how all these things interact. The word "witch" is used in a purely non-Wiccan context, which is refreshing. The lore in Healing Magic comes from a variety of cultures, but most often from Native beliefs, which are directly related to the flora of the American continent. Bennett guides the reader into seeking the wisdom of Nature through personal interaction, rather than outlining cultural and historical practice.

A pleasant variety of personal anecdotes, exercises, techniques, and meditations provide a balanced approach to the material. Bennett addresses the concept of deity with reverence and the understanding that practitioners all have their personal visions of the Divine. She does not push the concept of the Goddess, as so many body/mind/spirit texts do, although she does discuss the Goddess in connection with women's consciousness groups she has founded or participated in; rather, she refers to the concept of deity as God-Goddess-All-That-Is. Bennett's addressing of the spirits of certain trees and plants as Grandmother subtly reminds the reader that the Divine is present in many forms.

This gentle book does an excellent job as an introduction to a spiritual, non-denominational path that honours Nature, which is not expressly Wicca or witchcraft. A text such as this is welcome in a market saturated with Wiccan and pseudo-Wiccan 101 texts.

(c) 2004 A. Murphy-Hiscock. Originally published in Wyntergreene, Harvest (September) 2004.