{"id":28235,"date":"2023-05-01T01:00:04","date_gmt":"2023-05-01T05:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/?p=28235"},"modified":"2023-04-26T16:57:48","modified_gmt":"2023-04-26T20:57:48","slug":"book-review-1-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2023\/05\/01\/book-review-1-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Review \u2013 The Wildwood Way: Spiritual Growth in the Heart of Nature by Cliff Seruntine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Book <\/span>R<\/span>eview<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

The Wildwood Way:
\nSpiritual Growth in the Heart of Nature<\/span><\/strong><\/h1>\n

Written by Cliff Seruntine<\/span><\/b><\/h1>\n

Publisher: Crossed Crow Books<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

432 <\/span><\/span>P<\/span><\/span>ages<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/h1>\n

Release Date: November 15, 2022
\n(Previously published in 2015 by Llewellyn Publications)<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIn the green, there is room for mystery and enchantment, and there are moments when the amazing can and will happen,\u201d Cliff Seruntine wrote in The Wildwood Way: Spiritual Growth in the Heart of Nature.<\/em>\u00a0Part adventure, part instruction manual, part spiritual experiences, and part old tales that get across messages for today, he takes readers on a magical and spiritual journey deep into the forest, imparting knowledge required to venture there safely.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Each of the twelve chapters is devoted to a month, and divided into sections. Essays about homestead living and life in the wild are followed by \u201cWild Life\u201d covering such topics as bunchberries, musical frogs, meadow lights, and the friendliest of trees. \u201cEnchanted Forest\u201d presents legends and myths from a variety of cultures and times: Wood-Lady, The Water Sprite’s Wife, and Rhys at the Fairy Dance. In \u201cWood Witchery\u201d he writes about living well with spirits, sacred symmetry, the power of natural objects, cooking up potions, and practices to better know the magic of nature. \u201cWoods Lore\u201d conveys the skills and wisdom of bushcraft such as using a compass, all that a knife can do, how to pitch a camp, finding wild foods, and what to do when confronted with an aggressive wild animal.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

There are tips for creating sacred landscapes, and practicing traditional forms of courtesy toward creatures and spirits.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

At first I thought his book was about Seruntine\u2019s life and adventures and had nothing to do with magic. That was until he described adopting a wolf and touching caribou as they passed without even knowing he was motionless beside a tree. A profound reverence for all of creation becomes obvious in what and how he writes. The magic is found in the awe and respect he conveys and the practices he follows, which have little to do with charms, spells, and rituals to gain love, money, or power that begin to feel self-serving.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Wildwood Way<\/em>\u00a0offers techniques to form a closer connection with the land and its spirits, as well as practical advice for honing skills to live in harmony with nature. Readers following any earth-based practice or magical tradition \u2013 even city dwellers \u2013 will find wisdom, inspiration, enchantment, and healing by journeying deeper into nature and its magic, be it the language of ravens or the spirits of ancestors. There is much to discover outside your door. This book can help you find it.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

About the Author:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Cliff Seruntine is a practicing shaman, devoted permaculturist, writer, fiddler, life-long lover of fireflies, and psychotherapist with a busy private practice. He was born in New Orleans and grew up in the bayou country where he roamed the outdoors, absorbing the myths, enchantment, and spirits that were so much a part of the Acadian world. Shortly after Siruntine began college, he took a hiatus to see Alaska which turned into a decade-and-a-half sojourn in the wilderness. Often living in a remote cabin, he studied the shamanic practices and Inuqun beliefs of the subarctic aboriginal peoples, finding many parallels to the Acadian and Celtic faerie faith. Years later, he and his wife, Daphne, moved to the Nova Scotia highlands where they still live on their self-sufficient homestead. Siruntine also wrote, The Long Season<\/em> (Amazon, 2018), Seasons of the Sacred Earth: Following the Old Ways on an Enchanted Homestead<\/em> (Llewellyn, 2013), and An Ogham Wood<\/em> (Avalonia Esoterica Press, 2011). <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Read Lynn’s interview with Cliff Seruntine here.<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Wildwood Way on Amazon<\/u><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

**<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

About the Author:<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Lynn Woike<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"All my life I have known magic was real. As a child, I played with the fae, established relationships with trees and \u201cjust knew things.\u201d In my maiden years I discovered witchcraft and dabbled in the black-candles-and-cemeteries-at-midnight-on-a-fullmoon magick just enough to realize I did not understand its power. I went on to explore many practices including Zen, astrology, color therapy, native traditions, tarot, herbs, candle magic, gems, and, as I moved into my mother years, Buddhism, the Kabbalah and Reiki. The first man I dated after my divorce was a witch who reintroduced me to the Craft, this time by way of the Goddess. For 11 years I was in a coven, but with retirement, I have returned to an eclectic solitary practice.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"When accepting the mantle of crone, I pledged to serve and teach. This is what I do from my skoolie \u2013 a 30-year-old school bus converted into a tiny house on wheels that I am driving around the country, following 72-degree weather, emerging myself into nature, and sharing magic with those I meet. Find me at <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>thewitchonwheels.com<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>, Facebook and Instagram.
\n<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\" thewitchonwheels.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Book Review The Wildwood Way: Spiritual Growth in the Heart of Nature Written by Cliff Seruntine Publisher: Crossed Crow Books 432 Pages Release Date: November 15, 2022 (Previously published in 2015 by Llewellyn Publications)         \u201cIn the green, there is room for mystery and enchantment, and there are moments when the amazing can and will happen,\u201d Cliff Seruntine wrote in The Wildwood Way: Spiritual Growth in the Heart of Nature.\u00a0Part adventure, part instruction manual, part spiritual experiences, and part old tales that get across messages for today, he takes readers on a magical and spiritual journey deep into the forest, imparting knowledge required to venture there safely. Each of the twelve chapters is devoted to a month, and divided into sections. Essays about homestead living and life in the wild are followed by \u201cWild Life\u201d covering such topics as bunchberries, musical frogs, meadow lights, and the friendliest of trees. \u201cEnchanted Forest\u201d presents legends and myths from a variety of cultures and times: Wood-Lady, The Water Sprite’s Wife, and Rhys at the Fairy Dance. In \u201cWood Witchery\u201d he writes about living well with spirits, sacred symmetry, the power of natural objects, cooking up potions, and practices to better know the magic of nature. \u201cWoods Lore\u201d conveys the skills and wisdom of bushcraft such as using a compass, all that a knife can do, how to pitch a camp, finding wild foods, and what to do when confronted with an aggressive wild animal. There are tips for creating sacred landscapes, and practicing traditional forms of courtesy toward creatures and spirits. At first I thought his book was about Seruntine\u2019s life and adventures and had nothing to do with magic. That was until he described adopting a wolf and touching caribou as they passed without even knowing he was motionless beside a tree. A profound reverence for all of creation becomes obvious in what and how he writes. The magic is found in the awe and respect he conveys and the practices he follows, which have little to do with charms, spells, and rituals to gain love, money, or power that begin to feel self-serving. The Wildwood Way\u00a0offers techniques to form a closer connection with the land and its spirits, as well as practical advice for honing skills to live in harmony with nature. Readers following any earth-based practice or magical tradition \u2013 even city dwellers \u2013 will find wisdom, inspiration, enchantment, and healing by journeying deeper into nature and its magic, be it the language of ravens or the spirits of ancestors. There is much to discover outside your door. This book can help you find it. About the Author: Cliff Seruntine is a practicing shaman, devoted permaculturist, writer, fiddler, life-long lover of fireflies, and psychotherapist with a busy private practice. He was born in New Orleans and grew up in the bayou country where he roamed the outdoors, absorbing the myths, enchantment, and spirits that were so much a part of the Acadian world. Shortly after Siruntine began college, he took a hiatus to see Alaska which turned into a decade-and-a-half sojourn in the wilderness. Often living in a remote cabin, he studied the shamanic practices and Inuqun beliefs of the subarctic aboriginal peoples, finding many parallels to the Acadian and Celtic faerie faith. Years later, he and his wife, Daphne, moved to the Nova Scotia highlands where they still live on their self-sufficient homestead. Siruntine also wrote, The Long Season (Amazon, 2018), Seasons of the Sacred Earth: Following the Old Ways on an Enchanted Homestead (Llewellyn, 2013), and An Ogham Wood (Avalonia Esoterica Press, 2011). Read Lynn’s interview with Cliff Seruntine here.   The Wildwood Way on Amazon   ** About the Author: Lynn Woike All my life I have known magic was real. As a child, I played with the fae, established relationships with trees and \u201cjust knew things.\u201d In my maiden years I discovered witchcraft and dabbled in the black-candles-and-cemeteries-at-midnight-on-a-fullmoon magick just enough to realize I did not understand its power. I went on to explore many practices including Zen, astrology, color therapy, native traditions, tarot, herbs, candle magic, gems, and, as I moved into my mother years, Buddhism, the Kabbalah and Reiki. The first man I dated after my divorce was a witch who reintroduced me to the Craft, this time by way of the Goddess. For 11 years I was in a coven, but with retirement, I have returned to an eclectic solitary practice.   When accepting the mantle of crone, I pledged to serve and teach. This is what I do from my skoolie \u2013 a 30-year-old school bus converted into a tiny house on wheels that I am driving around the country, following 72-degree weather, emerging myself into nature, and sharing magic with those I meet. Find me at thewitchonwheels.com, Facebook and Instagram.   thewitchonwheels.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":210,"featured_media":28236,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10005],"tags":[14099,10095,10015,14451,14491,10774,10075,14450],"class_list":["post-28235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews","tag-14099","tag-book","tag-book-review","tag-cliff-seruntine","tag-crossed-crow-books","tag-nature","tag-review","tag-the-wildwood-way"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/210"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28235"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28235\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28265,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28235\/revisions\/28265"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}