{"id":21467,"date":"2020-01-01T01:10:12","date_gmt":"2020-01-01T05:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/?p=21467"},"modified":"2020-01-05T18:09:00","modified_gmt":"2020-01-05T22:09:00","slug":"book-review-slavic-witchcraft-old-world-conjuring-spells-folklore-by-natasha-helvin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2020\/01\/01\/book-review-slavic-witchcraft-old-world-conjuring-spells-folklore-by-natasha-helvin\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Review – Slavic Witchcraft: Old World Conjuring Spells & Folklore by Natasha Helvin"},"content":{"rendered":"

Book Review<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

Slavic Witchcraft<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

Old World Conjuring Spells & Folklore<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

by Natasha Helvin<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

224 Pages<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

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I was asked by the Editor of PaganPagesOrg if I would be interested in reviewing this book because my background\/experience does involve some Slavic practices and traditions, and she wanted to see if I would mind giving an honest opinion based on what I\u2019ve learned already. I most certainly agreed to it as I was curious how it might compare to what I learned while living in Croatia and what I\u2019ve studied in the USA. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a> Let me explain briefly a little about my perspective and experiences: My father\u2019s family is originally from today\u2019s Ukraine and have been only been in the US for a couple of generations. This has always given me a deep curiosity to Slavic traditions and culture and I do what I can to study what I can find in English. I lived in the Balkans for about 5 years (Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia), learning everything I could get my grabby little hands on that discussed their Native Faith, referred to among all Slavic nations as Rodnovery, as well as what I could in comparison to what I consider Old World Orthodoxy and Catholicism. The Christian practices in much of Eastern and Southern Europe are different than what I\u2019ve experienced or known to be here in the USA. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

But back to my thoughts about Ms Helvin\u2019s writings\u2026<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

First, let me say I tried to be as unbiased as possible and take what she wrote for what it is \u2013 an account of practices based on her upbringing and the life she has lived. No one can say whether that is true or not \u2013 for anyone and their path. In so doing, you must understand this book is not really Slavic Paganism in the sense of knowing, understanding, and honoring the Old Slavic deities like Veles, Mokosh, Perun, and the rest of the Slavic pantheon. Natasha was raised in Soviet Russia with what I personally coined folk faith \u2013 the faith of the villages and towns. This is stereotypically a blend of old pre-Christian practices while observing much of the Christian doctrine. Natasha seems to fall into this category as you\u2019ll see her mention God (in the Christian perception) and Christian scripture more than any pre-Christian deity.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Many people in the modern thought consider \u201cwitchcraft\u201d to be synonymous with pagan thus referring to the observation of pagan deities. However, that\u2019s not the case in many non-Western influenced areas. But even a prime example of this blend would be voodoo, which would explain maybe why Natasha has chosen to follow the Voodoo tradition since moving to the USA. It\u2019s probably the closest thing she can find similar to her Russian witchcraft-filled upbringing. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I will say that around 90% of the book is spells. I\u2019m not a spell book person. I don\u2019t really cast either. The few I\u2019ve done over my 20 years of on and off practicing and studying have been what I felt was needed and didn\u2019t use a pre-written spell. That\u2019s just my personal choice. The other thing is, I feel the majority of the spells focus on matters that go against someone\u2019s free will like love spells. This, too, isn\u2019t my way. I understand protection in a defensive and offensive manner. I, however, have no interest in doing spells to make someone love me, separate couples or love interests, or anything of the sort. I personally felt that too many of the spells involved this mentality \u2013 almost in a repetitive state just worded slightly different to give a supposed different result. I doubt that was the intention but it was just how it seemed while reading all the spells provided. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I wish there would have been more details and explanations like how she put in the section on death and cemetery rites, rituals, and traditions. There aren\u2019t many books in English that give these practices from Slavic lands. The subtitle mentions \u2018folklore\u2019 and I definitely would have preferred there to be more of it in the book.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Overall, the book was good. Don\u2019t take my personal preferences of spell books as a reason not to read her book. I was always raised to realize \u2013 every – book, story, and experience offers something to learn but it\u2019s our place to realize it and appreciate the opportunity. Even if the knowledge gained is simply \u201cthis isn\u2019t for me\u201d \u2013 it\u2019s still another stone on your path laid. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As I read, I would use sticky notes to capture my first reactions. Here are a few that I thought I would share with you.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

On page 3:<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cFirst thought about the introduction so far \u2013 if you say \u201cmagic is everywhere and in everything\u201d then why don\u2019t\/can\u2019t you still practice daily as you did in ex-Soviet Russia? Why can\u2019t you practice outside of Russia? And if you can\u2019t, how do you expect the readers to do so?\u201d And this came from some remarks she made about how she missed practicing because she couldn\u2019t anymore now that she lived in the USA. There was never any kind of clarification or reason behind her viewpoint on this that I found, sadly. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

On page 13:<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

I have a question poised \u201cSo does a Slavic witch call on Zeus\/Jupiter?\u201d Natasha mentions non-Slavic deities just as much, if not more, than Slavic deities. This just seems odd to me \u2013 especially since there are many with similar attributes and I know that many of the beliefs and traditions are still very much alive with the Old Slavic deities based on friends I have that live throughout Eastern Europe and practice various forms of Slavic paganism.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

On page 66:<\/em> <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

There is a section called \u201cSpells to move on from a former lover.\u201d All I could think about when I read this title was how this *might* be beneficial for yourself but the spells that might go against the lover moving on could go against a person\u2019s free will and with that also rob them of their experience and learning opportunity of the situation.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

One page 123:<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

I found another note of mine \u2013 \u201cShe gives information about removing curses and putting curses on people and things, but never once mentions how an individual might go about figuring out if they have been cursed.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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