Letters from the Devil's Forest: An Anthology of Writings on Traditional Witchcraft, Spiritual Ecology and Provenance Traditionalism

Like many of the reviewers commenting here, I have been a longtime and enthusiastic follower of Mr. Artisson. He is one of the few witchcraft authors I have ever read where I genuinely believe the work to be divinely inspired. He clearly took his vision and ran with it, and is upfront in all of his writing that what he presents is the culmination of his own work. For the last decade easily his work has served as a foundation for my own. We don't see eye to eye on everything (as I explain below) but I still appreciate the wisdom he makes so readily available to anyone patient enough to wade through his writing.As of writing this I am about 3/4 of the way through and after a month needed to take a break to read other things so if my review is inaccurate in any way I apologize. This latest installment of his features a number of engrossing and thought-provoking essays on a wide range of subjects, many of which provide a clear insight both into his spiritual practice and his own mind. I found this fascinating from both a spiritual and a psychological perspective. In this work it also becomes very clear who his own "mentors" are: David Abram, Isobel Gowdie and Jung stand out.This tome contains a slew of techniques and operations, as I've found his works usually do. If nothing else, this feature makes his work worth purchasing. As usual, they need to be tweaked to the individual but I consider this a strength rather than a weakness because it means he is laying out raw spiritual tech and not underdeveloped personal gnosis. As I've become better educated in my own study of the mind I've noticed that much of his stuff borrows from already established techniques like the "going within" in the Witching Flesh chapter, or the dream game, reframed in the context of traditional witchcraft.I did not read the rant on pages 338-341 as an interpretation of single people, nor the description on pages 328-329 of the various people he'd met as containing any inclination towards a political orientation. Rather I understood both of these as his attempt to illustrate his earlier stated aloofness from the world and general disgust for "hylic" people who are so focused on their rote existence they cannot see the larger reality. In both of these sections I think this is the only value judgment he is applying here. That could be way off base. Overall, I generally got the very strong sense he doesn't care very much about politics or where this world is going because he has aligned himself with something larger--existence itself, perhaps. This perhaps marks one of the breaks I have with his philosophy. I read him from a perspective of belonging "in and deep within" this world ... which he espouses, but does that not then mean that the personal is, in fact, the political (in the broadest sense of that word)?The other major break I have with his philosophy if his reverence for rural landscapes and what appears to be the pastoral ideal. This is a dangerous philosophy to me as any time one parcel of land is preferred over another, a hierarchy of value is created that necessarily devalues some other part. For a land ethic, I find the implications of this highly disturbing, particularly when it is presented alongside a spirituality entwined with the land.Also, as the title states, he still needs an editor. This latest volume probably represents a nadir of typos and crappy formatting in his literary career, but it's still noticeable (he alternatively spells David Abram's name as Abram and Abrams, for instance). Also, there was a pleasing absence of run on sentences and confusing passages as compared to Witching Way.Overall I am finding this work is a very good meditation piece. Read one chapter, sit and think about it. If the sigils throughout the pages are any indication, I think that was how this work was designed.

Having purchased several of the Author's books in recent times during a dive into Traditional Witchcraft and finding them mostly insightful, I picked this up hoping for further insights into the cosmology and practice the author espouses. Sadly, I'm mostly disappointed, because I went into the book with the wrong expectations. This is mostly my fault, but is still something I want to warn other people about.There's a tendency in Trad Witchcraft books to lean heavier into practice and leave the 'spirituality' to theory and personal experience. For this book in terms of theory, cosmology, there's that in spades. Very light on references (the previous review claiming this is literally just the author's Facebook posts is very believable) and lighter on practicality than I'd like, but what's truly throwing me off is just how incredibly *religious* the author is.I use the word 'religious' purposely. If you replace the words "Otherness", "Other", "Unseen", "Master", etc etc, with Christian words (God, Heaven, The Holy Spirit, The Host, Lord, etc etc), you'll quickly come to believe you're reading a Christian book. Try it with the introduction, you can see what I mean quite early on. Combined with his anti-science bent (and the implication that lack of contact with 'the other' is what causes human's behaving poorly to one another, despite this being a completely ahistorical claim) I'm forced to admit that I'm just not impressed. As someone who came for the Craft, this is just *not* what I'm here for. If I wanted to be told I'm living my life incorrectly because I happen to value scientific progress, choose to remain childless, etc, I can talk to a standard Christian.There's a lot here of value if religion is what you're looking for, but if you're looking for something closer to a non-religious or folklore based tradition, or anything based on Sovereignty I'd recommend picking up something different. The Author's other works are generally better about this -- though he still goes on anti-modern culture/anti-science screeds he gives workable information, historical context, references and etc far more often in his other books. This book seems to be almost straight religious views, and sometimes I have have to squint to remember it's not Jesus he's talking about from the way he talks. It's really, really not my style, and it might not be yours either.

There is something very special about this book. Not only it is well-written, researched and practiced, there is this extra something, one might say 'ecstatic' something that is clearly present with it. It is a book I know I will go back to again and again. Thank you for putting it together, my very own witchcraft encyclopedia, if you like, or way more special than that.

I will keep this review simple. I have learned more from this book, than most of my library. In fact certain clarity, that this book has given me, will enable me to see afresh, what some other books made foggy, giving them value, once more. Highly recommended

Very interesting book for those of the Traditional faith who dont 'fit in' to Wiccan craft and have the 'knowing' to use their super senses.

The book was good but the condition of the book was not very good the pages were warped.

These essays will mark you. Each and every one has stayed with me for years in the back of my mind.