Book Review: Blackfeather Mystery School: The Magpie Training
The first White Rose Witching book review! I’m very excited to share my thoughts on Blackfeather Mystery School: The Magpie Training by Irene Glasse and Caine Dreamwalker.
Cover of Blackfeather Mystery School: The Magpie Training
What happens when a beloved and respected figure in the Maryland pagan community is given a directive by Skuld, the Norn associated with the future, to “keep teaching”? You get the Blackfeather Mystery School! This book is the result of years of experience teaching witchcraft and associated practices, weaving in spirit work, approaching the design of a course of study with sincerity and passion, and learning from real-world practice. The focus of this book on developing practical skill and approaches to spell work and ritual makes it accessible regardless of whatever path brought you here.
The book itself is presented as a course, complete with homework and daily practices. One of the things I loved most about this book, however, is how it meets the reader with compassion and understanding. Early on it acknowledges that sometimes life is out of our control and no matter how much we want to commit to a daily practice we just can’t. Too often new pagans or witches are made to feel guilty or ashamed if other things need to take priority but Blackfeather Mystery School acknowledges the chaos of life and asks us to meet ourselves with love, gratitude, and acceptance. It also provides concrete steps for how to reengage with our practice.
Blackfeather Mystery School: The Magpie Training provides a solid foundation if this is your first encounter with spirit work, energy work, and paganism. It is also a valuable addition for veteran pagans and witches with an array of solo and group exercises that provide new tools for approaching our own paths. The book also provides a number of illustrations and diagrams designed to keep the guesswork out of exercises, something I wish more authors would provide!
Out of everything in this book there are two exercises that I found to be personally impactful: the Guided Journey to the Mirror and the Labyrinth Ritual - honestly, the entire chapter on The Labyrinth was incredible and something I fully intend on weaving into my own personal practice! I found the use of the Mirror during journeywork as a way of viewing ourselves through different lenses to be a novel and powerful approach to engaging with self in journey space. While the exercise in this chapter focused on seeing yourself as an empowered witch there are so many ways to adapt this tool for other types of self-work. This is a theme throughout the book - direct, powerful tools that give you a structured way of learning to engage with them but are incredibly adaptable and versatile.
The Labyrinth rituals provided are another example of how this book provides versatile and adaptable tools. I’ve always been interested in using a labyrinth for spell work and often daydream about having space enough to create one in my backyard. While I do have limited access to one or two physical labyrinths, the logistics of scheduling, travel, etc. have always kept this as just a half-formed idea. In the book, Irene and Caine discuss using a walkable labyrinth but also provide an example of creating a traceable/finger labyrinth. This is something that never would have occurred to me, and the book presents a solid example of how this style of labyrinth work is just as meaningful and powerful as a walkable one.
I am incredibly excited this book has come into being, and I am eagerly awaiting the next courses in the Blackfeather Mystery School. Blackfeather Mystery School: The Magpie Training is coming May 4, 2022 through Dragon Alchemy Publishing.
