Hoofprints in the Wildwood: The Review

Well, I have the book and am about halfway through it, and so far I quite like it. The cover, done by Sarah Lawless, is absolutely GORGEOUS. The content is lovely as well, with contributions from my personal favourite of Gemma Gary and Eric Jeffords (Twisting Ways.) I was especially interested in hearing more about Bucca Dhu, the Deity of Gary's Cornish coven, as information about Him is hard to come by. There are some quite useful songs, chants, and poems included, which I will no doubt be putting to good use in the future. The only minor problems I can see are that some of the illustrations didn't show up too well in the book, and at times some of the prose can veer off into the flowery. I personally view The Gods as being more "impersonal forces of Nature" as opposed to "parent-like beings who closely follow our day to day life" and so I find it hard to relate to some of the personal accounts in the book. These are but minor issues, though, and I heartily recommend the book to all interested parties. For far too long, the God has been demoted to simply being the "consort" of the Goddess, as though He were a lesser being, and in some modern "traditions" He is deliberately ignored. This book puts Him back in His proper place, as a powerful, independent force to be reckoned with.

Look for my own, upcoming essay about the God though the eyes of a gay practitioner. I feel that we have a unique, and powerful, relationship with Him and believe that He can be an important part of our spirituality as a powerful, sexual being (in welcome contrast to the dry, sexless, judgmental God of the monotheistic religions.)