Are there any good actual books (as opposed to just websites) about hedgecrafting?
The term “hedgecraft” means many different things to different people. To some popular authors, the term just refers to general herbal or green witchery, and to others, oddly enough, it just refers to witchcraft of the hearth and home. I’m guessing you’re asking this in response to the masterpost I reblogged about hedgecraft, though, which uses the term to refer to a sort of journeying on the part of the witch into other realities and worlds.
This is what I personally tend to mean by the term these days, but I realize it’s a relatively new term to describe a centuries-old experience. It’s also something not often discussed, even among those who do practice it.
I put this down to the general fear of being seen as “crazy;” after all, some people are perfectly willing to accept that a person might light a candle or drink a tea for good luck, but might get a bit judgmental when presented with the notion that a person might leave this world entirely and go somewhere else!
I personally kept mum about my hedgeriding experiences (which took place mostly in the distant past, but I’ve taken it up again rather recently) for quite some time for that reason.
I also didn’t call it “hedgeriding” at the time, because that term’s rather new. It originates from a much older term but it’s recent use in this context is mostly from the past fifteen years or so. I myself hadn’t heard the term used this way until shortly after joining Tumblr, oddly enough.
As to books, there are precious few, and even fewer that are actually decent. For the most part, budding hedgewitches need to sort the wheat from the chaff rather thoroughly to make a good start in these practices.
Furthermore, very, very few books actually use the term hedgeriding or hedgecraft to describe the practice; many more use terms like “journeying” or just “shamanism.” The latter is a bit of a misnomer, as the word properly refers to Siberian indigenous practices, but I’ll admit the concepts are similar. But anyways, here are some books I’ve found that mention and discuss the subject of hedgecraft, in no particular order:
Ecstatic Witchcraft, by Gede Parma. This is actually probably my favorite book on this subject, even though hedgeriding is only a part of what the book discusses. The only bad thing I can really say about this book is that it’s really not recommended for beginners, and it’s helpful to have the basics of visualization already mastered (for example) before doing the exercises Parma recommends.
By Land, Sky and Sea, by Gede Parma. This book goes into even greater details regarding different ways of conceptualizing the cosmology of hedgeriding, and I find it a very refreshing book that appreciatively draws from a number of different perspectives while grounding itself, so to speak, with the overarching metaphor of land, sky, and sea as the three worlds.
The Temple of Shamanic Witchcraft, by Christopher Penczak. Penczak is usually a pretty mixed bag, and this book is no exception. It gives a lot of good practical information and a very in-depth exploration of the three worlds (a useful concept), but it’s primarily framed by Wicca, so it might not resonate with those of other faiths and particularly those who aren’t pagan at all.
Ascension Magick, by Christopher Penczak. There’s a chapter or two in this that address alternate ways of conceptualizing the architecture of reality, and it’s pretty helpful for a hedgerider. Beyond that, this book is mostly about ceremonial magick, but it’s a (mostly) good book. Certain parts (such as the bit about UFOs) are a little off, in my opinion.
The Shamanic Witch, by Gail Wood. This book is really best suited for someone who practices Wicca and, besides the background info and cosmological descriptions, is really only useful in the context of that tradition. If you’re Wiccan or willing to pick around a lot of Wiccan-talk, though, this is a good foundation.
Witches, Werewolves and Fairies, by Claude Lecouteux. It can be hard to find scholarly works on these phenomena that are affordable, but here’s one I personally enjoyed. It details many accounts of journeying experienced by both pagans and Christians in earlier times, and gives a good description of the concept of the astral double, the architecture of the soul, and other topics throughout history.
Betwixt and Between, by Storm Faerywolf. This book is mostly a guide to the Feri tradition of witchcraft, but while I myself don’t practice that, those who do seem to know a lot about hedgeriding! The book has several chapters on the subject and is highly recommended for this reason.
The Psychic Energy Codex, by Michelle Belanger. A lot of people have strong opinions about this author, but this is book actually provides a lot of good information about so-called “energy work” which can be a step in the right direction for those wanting to ride the hedge.
Psychic Dreamwalking, by Michelle Belanger. In this book, Belanger discusses, essentially, how to use your non-waking life as a vehicle to for journeying, and while I myself don’t usually dreamwalk, much of what she says applies to hedgeriding in other states, too.
Hedge Riding and Hedge Witchcraft, by Harmonia Saille. I only mention these two in order to say that they’re best avoided. Saille tries to give a comprehensive look at the phenomenon, but it’s poorly-written and overly New Age. The negative reviews of them on Amazon really cover the problems with these book in more detail than I ever could.
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