The Book of Hedge Druidry: A Complete Guide for the Solitary Seeker

Pros: Johanna Van Der Hoeven has provided a workable stepping stone known as "The Book of Hedge Druidry" for those seeking to tread the solitary Druid's path as a beginner, or experienced Pagan alike. For the beginner, 'The Book of Hedge Druidry' begins with a palatable explanation of who the Druids were/are, and weaves this into the exploration of what a Hedge Druid is. She furthers this knowledge by bringing this information into contemporary Druid practice through a walk-through of the building blocks of the the Druid's path. This is done introducing each theory from Awen to ancestors, to Deities, realms, and even the theory of magic, walking the reader through each in a chapter by chapter format. She even brings the topic of animism to the table (which is rarely spoken about in contemporary Pagan books).The Book of Hedge Druidry then carries the now well informed reader into the practical application of the learned theory by delving into the actual practices of Druidry. These applications are well written for a Solitary setting, however, there is much structure for even those who wish to operate in Groves.The readers are then encouraged to develop one's skill-set further in the utilization of Herblore, Ogham, and Spellcraft.Lastly, the author completes her guide with the topics such as ethics, and leadership, etc., qualities that are core values in Druidry and much needed in today's political climate.The beginner with find tables of contemporary Druid correspondences matching elements with seasons as well as directions, stages and attributes.The experienced Pagan will find the correspondences familiar, giving one the ability to quickly adapt the path of Druidry to one's own abilities. For the experienced Pagan seeking to incorporate Druidry into one's own practice, The Book of Hedge Druidry is exactly what it claims to be..."a Guide" in that it leaves much room for one to tailor and develop one's own practice to suit one's needs. One is even encouraged to write ones own spells based out of folklore (which I personally find refreshing, as this is a great concept for the experienced practitioner).Cons: While the author made a fair attempt to provide reference material within this book (cited at the bottom of the pages), I would have likes to see more of this (It would be a great value to the experienced Pagan looking to reach out further into Druidry).I would have liked to have a larger discussion of the application / practice of hedge riding. To the authors credit, there is a brief explanation of the topic which includes the originating phraseology "Hedge Priest", but very little in regards to hedge riding.Lastly, there is a bit of redundancy in information at times.All in all, this will no doubt be a great resource for aspiring Druids and Druids alike!On a side note, She is candid about her own reasoning behind her choice to tread the path of a Druid as a solitary of which I admired. I respect her openness to share a glimpse into her world.BUY THIS BOOK!!!

So if you have never read any books (and I mean any books about the craft at all... ever... since the dawn of time ever...) then this is good book, not great but good. If you have read anything published by Llewellyn, anything by Scott Cunningham or by Buckland, seriously, don't waste your money. This book is just a rehash of everything else that Llewellyn has ever published with pretty cover on the front. The back contains all the source materials from the internet, which means you could really look it up yourself if you wanted. Just another hack book from Llewellyn to make a buck without anything new or insightful. By the reviews and by the info listed, I was hoping to read something that I had not already seen in countless other books, even if it was just a couple of chapters of new and usual information. I should have known better.

I thought this book was just "okay". It's well written and a good start for beginners, but either the way druidry was presented in this book was just too Wiccan for my taste or the path of the druid isn't for me. I'm not going to stop at this book yet. I'll see what others have to say about this tradition before I make the choice to step off this path altogether, but at the moment I'm unsure.The good: The book is well written and is easy to read. You don't get a headache trying to pay attention to the text as you might with some books of this nature by other authors. I think the rituals and overall information given about the druid path are well done and even if you aren't a druid you could use that in your own practice.The bad: Even though the author said they aren't Wiccan, much of the content has a very Wiccan aura about it. The Law of 3-fold Return is hiding in the shadows of everything that's talked about, but then the author tells us that druids shouted curses against others, so that tells me that ancient druids didn't have the dogma of "do no harm" in their practice and just did what needed doing.There is also too much emphasis on Eastern spiritual practices and too much suggestion of a "zen" attitude. Cultivating a peaceful approach to life is fine, but it's so heavily implied that it makes me groan. If I wanted a book about Eastern spiritual concepts, I'd get a book about those. I wanted a book about CELTIC spiritual practice.Anyway, it's a decent book, but not fantastic. I'm not really sorry I bought it, but I'm still disappointed with it. It has information I can use, but on the whole it's just another occult book for my collection.

This is a beautiful book.I got this for my daughter (26) for Yule. She kept saying as she thumbed through, this is my path.I knew she could use some help structuring her solitary path in a way that allowed her to do so in a personal way.This orderly book marches you though aspects of practice and gives guidance that's not fluffy.

I fell right into reading this. Very easy to understand as a newbie (which I am) and it's really helping me feel connected to myself, my past and the future I am trying to build. Lots of extremely intelligent and pragmatic ways to look at yourself from the lens of Druidry that would only help you build upon your yourself in positive ways. Very happy I purchased this!

You would think that the author would have found someone that could pronounce the words correctly. It was amazing how many common words in the craft was mispronounced. I completely lost interest after hearing the same words mispronounced over and over again. What a waste of money.

This book is a good intermediate level guide for the seasoned practitioner who wants to explore the realms between the material plane and the world of faerie and the spirits of nature. You don't have to identify as a druid to gain insight from this book.

Love the author's approach here, very educational without being preachy. And provides some excellent suggestions and meditations for those of us walking the solitary path. Recommended.

Well written and informative, this is a great introduction for anyone interested in following this path, one minor niggle is that as a man I kind of felt that the book was aimed more at a female readership, not really an issue as the practice is the same regardless of gender but when all the scenarios reference "she" I just want to put my hand up and ask if I can join in.

This book really is a gem and an indispensable guidebook for anyone that is on the druid path working on their own for the large part, or entirely. It it so packed full of information, background, tools, rituals, meditations - to support a sincere druid practice through the Wheel of the year - I haven't yet worked through half of it yet. But even the chapter on ancestors alone has been worth the purchase price this Samhain. The author's writing style is clear, warm and accessible. This book lives close by me, where I can refer to it easily and it doesn't go back on the shelf ever. Absolutely brilliant. Highly recommended.

this is the best book on druidry there is. i am a solitary druid and now i know my path. so thank you Joanna .

Beautifully written with a clear and gentle voice. Full of great information and ideas. An excellent and inspirational resource for those interested in this path. I would also like to recommend her other books including , " The crane bag," and ," Dancing with Nemetona".

Good product