The Wiccan Mystic

By Ben Gruagach
WitchGrotto Press (print on demand from Lulu.com) 2007, $19.99
ISBN13 978-0-6151-4311-8

Review by Daven

My Rating?  

Mr. Gruagach (and no, I don’t know how to pronounce his last name myself) asked me to consider doing a review of his book, and obviously I agreed. I’m very glad I did.

The subtitle of this book is “Exploring a Magickal Spiritual Path”. That’s a very accurate subtitle. In this book, Ben gives a good description of not only what a mystic is, but how Wicca can be a mystical path just as well as any other spiritual path.

The impressions I got as I was reading this is that he has spent some time on this path himself. He has apparently thought about how to be a mystic and what it means to be a mystic. He gives instructions on how to be not only mystical, but also how to be a mystic on a path that is more practical than mystical.

The cover is plain white with a nice picture of a fossil of a snail shell and a pentagram in on the fossil. It is obviously a vanity press publication and there isn’t anything wrong with that. For it being a vanity book, it’s a good publication. But Lulu is a good “print on demand” company anyhow.

The contents are well laid out and well written. I have to compliment Ben on his writing style it is clear and concise, without being so esoteric that it loses the reader. Instead he goes out of his way to explain everything he is speaking on clearly and thoroughly.

I was surprised at the depth he went to in this book. Most books about such esoteric subjects tend to skim the surface of the topic and then expect the reader to do a lot of soul searching to find the answers to the more esoteric questions. But Ben does not do this. He clearly explains what is happening and why, how to live in a mystical mind set and he goes over basics of things like meditation and ritual, and how to apply them to your life.

I honestly can’t find anything to criticize in this book. I tried and it is not there. It is a shame that this is a Lulu imprint because I don’t think this will get the mass market circulation it deserves.

If you have multiple books on how to meditate, what sacred space is, how to live in a sacred space, what to do while you are there, you will probably not need to get this book. However, if you are just starting on this path, this is THE resource to buy instead of all the others works.

I’m giving this 5 stars of 5 and advising you to go get it. This is one book you won’t be sorry to have.