#jane meredith

[libercoven]

In fact, all of our bodies and all the body of this earth is made up of the same stuff: stardust, just expressed in different forms.

Jane Meredith, Circle of Eight

[lostinphases]

Book Review: Circle of Eight

Title: Circle of Eight: Creating Magic for Your Place on this Earth

Author: Jane Meredith

Review: ★★★★☆

Have you ever felt a little sick of the fact that magic and witchcraft have been copy and pasted from book to book until it can feel like there’s nothing new or authentic to be offered? I find this to be true as a witch that is not in the standard woodland locale that most books assume is the ideal picture of a witch’s home, and I know that Southern Hemisphere witches really struggle with this as well.

Circle of Eight is one of the most refreshing perspectives on witchcraft I’ve read in a while. This collection of experiences, thoughts, and memoirs is focused on seasonal relationships between witches, the Wheel of the Year, and the directions, but it manages to cover so much under that umbrella, from correspondences to ritual building, that I think you would be hard pressed to read this without getting introspective about your entire practice. As a witch from the Northern Hemisphere exploring and reinventing her magic in the Southern Hemisphere (Australia specifically), Meredith shows us how important experiential learning and adaptability are in magic.

Reading this book comes at a time when I’m reevaluating my own relationships with the seasons and the Wheel of the Year, so reading about Meredith’s journey not only with devising her own system of practice but with finding her magic organically rather than simply following the prescribed “rules” that have been copy and pasted into so many of the books we are familiar with was inspiring.

There is so much to love about this book from the balance between insight, personal experience, and actual directions to the overall honesty that is obvious throughout the book. While there are some chapters toward the later half of the book that did drift toward being long-winded or mildly repetitive (mostly because she was heavily emphasizing concepts she’d already covered), there is something about Circle of Eight that is this peaceful but emphatic push to say “I’m done memorizing rules made for different people and different parts of the world!” and go out and actually discover your own space and your own magic. 

Circle of Eight is nothing if not authentic and encouraging, and it is a reminder as to why memoir and personal experience are so important when we try to learn about magic from other people. I would highly recommend it, and I hope to see more work like this from a diverse community of witches in the future. 

[pagansquare]

Book Review: Aspecting the Goddess

I hadn't intended to review Jane Meredith's book Aspecting the Goddess on this blog. But then I read her tale of Ariadne, and I just had to.

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[libercoven]

“It’s an essential part of my personal belief, magical practice, and worldview that whatever actions we take in the world reflect something within ourselves, and whatever is inside the self will seek to be expressed externally.”

—Jane Meredith, Circle of Eight

[libercoven]

Myth, ritual, invocation, and inner work all overlap and tide together.

Jane Meredith, Circle of Eight

[libercoven]

Working with a myth will for one person be a process of delving deeply within, where for another it may have more interest as a commentary on the myth itself or its historical context.

Jane Meredith, Circle of Eight

[libercoven]

The seasons, demons, and dystopia are dominating @lostinphases current TBR. We love a healthy balance of genres!🌱✨😍

[libercoven]

The whole correspondence table reads to me like a suspect marketing plan...

Jane Meredith, Circle of Eight