The Book of Hedge Druidry is great for a newcomer in the Druid's path as well as the experienced pagan. It provides a clear history and brings the content to the modern age. Most of it applies to the solitary practioner, but can be easily structured for any grove.

Oh my goodness, this book. As someone who is a bit new to this path (and by "a bit," I mean brand-spanking-new) I have felt somewhat lost as I try to figure out where to place my next step. I picked up this book in the hopes that it would give me some insight, or perhaps shed a little light on the path that I've found myself on. Not only did it do exactly that, but quickly became a tangible bit of wisdom, guidance and comfort to hold onto. This is a book that will not only be a massively useful tool, but one that will offer security, should ever I find myself lost.

A comprehensive book that will teach you just about everything you need to know to successfully practice Druidry in a positive and meaningful way.

I absolutely love this book! It was so engaging and insightful that after reading the arc copy I went out and bought a copy for personal use that as of writing this review is fully highlighted and full of stickynotes.

I would recommend this to anyone who is looking to get more in touch with more nature based craft.

Highly recommend this book o what I consider excellent lessons, thoughts and practices of British earth magic hedge witchery. I know everyone has tossed and used the word Druidry around and it does an doesn't work imo. While all of the surrounding peoples of the islands of the UK practiced earth magic in high forms I think the practices and energy [as well as Deities in some cases] I feel the word Druid is specifically Celtic in particular Scot Irish and don't know how to explain it but can see the energy difference and practices on a soul level as different [not better mind you or worse] than either Wales which is unto itself but aligned with Celt heavily and then Britain proper. I loved the author and her light sweet energy. It was like a song in the woods under the golden sunlight, pure and bright. Anyone into earth magic be it any form of hedgewtchery or Druidry or both I would cajole to read this if not actually put it on their shelves as it was like a wonderful reminder and song of the sacred if already into your practices and a great start for a beginner

Having a Welsh background I am very pleased to receive this book for review . I found a well presented format of history of Druids, with exceptional information for my personal path. I enjoyed learning exercises, and learned much to begin my Druid education. The author has included rituals and spells, hedge druid education as well as a well presented history and knowledge.
I highly recommend this book for all seeking to better their knowledge about the Druids and those who wish to learn for their own backgrounds.
This book I highly recommend. Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley. My opinion is my own. 5 stars for this exceptional body of work.

This book is well written and very informative. It’s divided into four different sections; theory, practice, study and skills & technique. Joanna van der Hoeven includes information on history, beliefs, practicing, and sample rituals. I think it’s great for the beginner as a starting and also for the more advanced as a reference guide.

Read this book if you are looking for or already a part of earth-based spirituality traditions, love nature, love Celtic lore and myth, and want to begin or deepen your nature-based connections. I loved this book and how rooted it is in nature-based wisdom and pure hedgecraft. The basis of information that this book offers makes it a great starting place for others.

When I heard about The Book of Hedge Druidry, I knew I needed to read it. I’ve a perennial interest in hedgecraft and the mythos of crossing the Hedge. I consider myself, among other things, to be a hedgewitch.

I am, however, not a Druid - I’ve attended a few pagan events where I witnessed Druid rituals, and read a bit about the history of modern Druidry, but I don’t consider that path to be my own. Still, it is always wonderful to learn more about the beliefs of others, so I was excited to read this book.

This book covers many basic aspects of magical and pagan spiritual practice, such as meditation, visualization, empowerment, and more. For a book with “Hedge” in the title, surprisingly little page space gets devoted to crossing, though there are a lot of pathworking exercises included.

Hedgecraft, to me, is always an advanced art, and to ride the Hedge fully takes a lot of preparation, effort, and control. I can definitely see the exercises in this book would be useful to a novice hoping to ultimately make the crossing, but don’t expect to read this and come away from it with too much information about Hedgecrossing itself.

Still, there is a lot of decent material here, including a wide array of rituals to start a basic practice. The author mostly talks about the basics of paganism, magic, and more, while also contextualizing them for Druidic practice.

Still, I’d recommend the book as a whole for students with at least passing magical familiarity. Those starting from nothing might find some of the terminology confusing. Good for beginners, but perhaps not absolute beginners.

The author is refreshingly frank when talking about the history of modern Druidry. There is no pretension of an ancient, unbroken lineage, and she’s quite honest about where various practices actually originate.
On that note, a lot of the rituals and practices in the book, despite the Druid title, do have a bit of a Wiccan flavor. I didn’t mind this, despite not being Wiccan myself, but other witches might, so I thought I’d mention it.

All-in-all, I give this book three out of five stars. It’s a decent look at modern pagan practice in the context of Druidry. I’m specifically not giving it four stars, though, mostly because it doesn’t really address Hedgecrossing in enough detail. I honestly think the author should’ve just chosen another title, but other than that, it’s quite good. Great for beginners interested in paganism and magic in a Druidic context, though!

A very fascinating and informative read. I learned a lot about this tradition that I didn't know and got some interesting food for thought.
The book is well written and I liked the clear explanations and the style of writing.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

The Book of Hedge Druidry was a well-written and detailed description of what it means to be a Hedge Druid in modern times. I have recently found myself interested in modern druidry and each section thoroughly explored the history, practice, study, and skills pertaining to this path, which also provided a great basis for anyone looking for a more solitary approach. The author made each topic relatable by describing a bit of their own experience practicing what they believed but made sure to include elements of druidry that others have used in modern practice. I was very pleased with the authors writing style and felt that it made this book very easy to read and comprehend. I couldn't have asked for a better book to inform me about this topic and I look forward to reading other books written by this author based on this experience.

Thank you NetGalley for providing this title to me for review.

The Book of Hedge Druidry was an informative and in depth book, which covers a lot of ground. The book is also very easy to read, as it's split up in four sections - theory, practice, study, skills & technique. The author also bothered to historical texts to back up her claims and cite them on the bottom of each page that has a reference.

What I didn't like was that the book was sometimes a bit repetitive and a lack of explanation or practice involving hedge riding, Otherworld and spirit work in the book.

Though, overall, this is a good introduction to hedge druidry and a great reference book.

After a long time of paying no mind to Celtic history, I found myself reading my DNA results and discovering a strong Irish and Welsh background. Imagine my surprise growing up Italian and not really knowing what else was mixed in to my make up. Once this was known, I felt I needed to explore the Druid path to see if there was a place for any of it in my practice. Would I connect with parts of myself that have gone unknown and are waiting to be remembered and rediscovered? The Book of Hedge Druidry was the perfect stepping off for me in starting this quest. Alters, prayer, meditations, ritual and rites are all discussed in great detail. The author includes a table of modern Druid correspondences matching elements with seasons as well as directions, stages and attributes that I have found helpful. Much of the material presented was familiar to me as it crosses over into other practices as well. I've put this book down feeling perhaps a stronger kinship to Morrigan and Brighid than before and look forward to putting some of what I've learned in The Book of Hedge Druidry into practice. Many thanks to Llewellyn Worldwide and Netgalley for this ARC (all opinions expressed in this review are authentically mine).

Very informative and in depth book. I really enjoyed reading this book. Divided into really nice four parts (theory, practice, study, and skill and techniques). Looking at history, list of deities, the three realms. Very fascinating, good resource as a main book and a jump off point.

FULL REVIEW:
"Let me start off by thanking Llewellyn Publications and Net Galley for giving me the opportunity to review this book, and wow, what a book! I read a lot, and I do mean a lot, and not every book I read makes it to my blog for a review. In fact, I have read 14 books so far this year, well over my original goal of 12. The Book of Hedge Druidry: A Complete Guide for the Solitary Seeker by Joanna van der Hoeven is one of the best books I have read all year, especially if you are a hedgewitch. While this book focuses on Druidry, I highly recommend it to my fellow hedgewitches, whether you are just starting out or have been practicing for a while.

As the title suggests, this book is a druid approach to hedgecraft, but don't let that deter you if you are not interested in Druidry. van der Hoeven makes it very clear that this path is an individual one, and to use her book as a guide, not a Bible. The book has four parts: Theory, Practice, Study, and Skills and Technique. In the "Theory" section of the book, van der Hoeven covers the basics of Druidry, including Awen, the Three Realms, the Otherworld, the Wheel of the Year, and much more. I am not very familiar with Druidry, but van der Hoeven uses historical texts to back up her claims, citing them at the bottom of each page that has a reference. I would have liked to have seen more references, but I applaud her citing as much as she did, as this is a rarity in the pagan community. Furthermore, much of her tradition and belief is based on folklore, and she even mentions in the "Study" section on spell writing that you too should turn to folklore to write your own spells and rituals. I wholeheartedly agree with her and already turn to folklore in my own practice. Her descriptions of the sabbats are rooted in historical texts as well, and she accurately states that not all 8 sabbats were originally celebrated by our ancestors, that many of these holidays arose with Wicca in the last century. One of my favorite aspects of the "Theory" section is that she covers animism, which is rarely mentioned in other books I have read. In fact, it is a topic I have yet to cover here on the blog, but certainly, plan to remedy in the near future. Furthermore, she spends a lot of time encouraging her readers to get to know the spirits of place and the land around you. She notes how important this is to one's practice, as the magics in Great Britain and Ireland are very different from the magics found in other parts of the world.

The "Practice" section includes beautiful seasonal rituals, moon rituals, and even rituals for rites of passage, such as a handfasting. I can't begin to express how much I loved all the rituals I read. They were a breath of fresh air in a world full of Wiccan inspired rituals. I was truely inspired by the handfasting ritual, and should I marry again, I will definitely be using her ritual as a guide. In each ritual, she notes that you do not have to form a circle or set of sacred space, and offers alternatives for those of us, like myself, who do not include a deity in our practice. The inclusivity of the rituals shows that van der Hoeven took the time to recognize that hedgecraft is very individual and unique, which I greatly appreciated. "Study" includes information on herblore, Ogham, and spellcraft. They are by no means complete, but a nice little introduction to those interested in such things. Her Ogham chapter is particularly good, as she mentions that there are tons of different Oghams, and suggests other books for the reader to use to delve deeper into the study. I love that she mentioned Robert Graves in reference to the Tree Ogham, but did not claim he is the best source. I appreciate this because much of Graves work has been thus proven incorrect.

She ends the book discussing ethics, peace, and being a leader in the community. In the current political climate, this section is a great reminder that our actions must speak louder than our words. She encourages her readers to do what is best for everyone, without being judgie or hiding behind the Three-Fold Law seen in other texts. She also includes no mention of Karma, simply asking that you consider the consequences of your actions.

There are a couple of things I did not like about the book, however. First, her interpretation of hedge riding is a form of pathwalking. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this, and if that is your shared belief, then ignore me here. Personally, I believe hedge riding and pathwalking are very different. Pathwalking is guided, while hedge riding is not. However, pathwalking is still a great way to meet with spirits and beings of the Otherworld should that be your chosen form of travel, but I believe it is different from hedge riding. Furthermore, I would have loved to have seen more written about the Otherworld and hedge riding than what was included in the book. It was mentioned on and off as an underlying theme of hedge Druidry, but there was not a whole lot of explanation or practice involving hedge riding and spirit work in the book. This was rather disappointing to me because I really love reading about how other people experience the Otherworld. Much of what she does talk about regarding the Otherworld is centered around working with the Fair Folk, and there is so much more to hedge riding and the Otherworld than the Fae. Despite this, I strongly recommend the book to all my readers, giving it a 5 out of 5! If you are looking for something new, whether you are into Druidry or not, The Book of Hedge Druidry: A Complete Guide for the Solitary Seeker by Joanna van der Hoeven is a great place to start! The book is currently available for pre-order and is set to release on July 8, 2019."

PUBLISHED ON: Flying the Hedge
RUN DATE: 5/27/19
LINK: https://www.flyingthehedge.com/2019/05/book-review-book-of-hedge-druidry-by.html

It was interesting to know about Druidry and Pagan religions and the many aspects of nature and myths within it. I'm sure it'll be very helpful for anyone who wants to be in this religion or is already a Druid and wants to know more.

Another thing I loved the most are the mini stories after each chapter. If the author would write a fiction based on Druidry, I'm honestly going to be very interested in reading it.

However, there are two things that bothered me. First is that there were a few grammatical mistakes especially with the commas. Second is that a lot of information are repeated many times which grew a bit tiring. Maybe it was to me, since I'm not seeking to change to this religion and maybe it'll have more resonance to anyone who plans to be a Druid.

Completely unrelated to the book but I haven't read the ritual and prayer parts since it's against my religion to do so.


Thank you Netgalley for providing me with the digital copy for an honest review.

This was a fascinating read! I have to admit, I don't know too much about druidry, but this was a fabulous read. Not only did it provide insight into modern druidry and go through all the basics, it provided a solid amount of detail suitable for those who aren't beginners, as well. Excellent read. I also really enjoyed how each chapter ended, with a blurb of a hedge druid on her spiritual path. I'd definitely recommend this for anyone interested in druidry.

This is is for people who are interested in and called to the magic and mystery for those who feel to explore the mysteries of your ancestors ,spirits of a place . It helps with The exploration The four quarters, meditation and other entities. If you are interested in The fair folk, increasing balance in your life and learning The techniques of Druidry to connect to a higher wisdom for all. I loved the simplicity of the book.. I received this book from Net Galley and Llewellyn for a honest review.

This is a beautifully written book. Part narrative, but also a practical how- to, The Book of Hedge Druidry manages to impart the background that a druid needs to know, while also weaving stories and a magic of its own. Highly recommended.

(Sorry for possible English mistakes)
Great and very interesting book! It will give you excellent insights into Druidic tradition. Lucid approach to theory and practice makes this book extremely valuable. In very simple terms one will learn about what is all about this tradition, about basics of magic, prayer, nature of Gods (personal view from the author)...nice additions are advices about meditation (again more personal views). Nice book!!!