Fire Child : The Life & Magic of Maxine Sanders 'Witch Queen' by Maxine
Sanders © 2008 ISBN 978-1-869928-780 309 pages $26.51 (U.S.)
I have been waiting for this book to be written for years, if not decades.
As I have said in previous reviews, we need more autobiographies (as well
as
biographies) concerning those people who helped to bring our religion out
of
the broom closet. We already had Gerald Gardner: Witch and King of the
Witches as well as several books relating the life and works of George
Pickingill, Doreen Valiente, Sybil Leek, and more modern practitioners
such
as Fiona Horne. The internet has made it easy to find out about
individuals'
actions. Their motivations, however, may not be so easily determined.
One of the things I enjoyed about this book was Maxine's lack of
pretension.
Far too many Elders in the Craft had, seemingly, flawless introductions to
our religion, and smooth sailing throughout their careers. Not so with
Maxine. She honestly recounts the bumps in the road and reveals the
hidden
warts. It may give hope to the next generation of witches to realize that
snafus and bad decisions can be overcome with minimal bad effect in the
long
run.
Reading the accounts of the early days of public Craft brought back
memories. Not that I was involved - I wasn't. She and Alex were in
England
and I was just beginning my studies in Michigan and Illinois. Still, I
knew
of some of the individuals involved - Gardnerians, American Alexandrians,
and the Process Church of the Final Judgment, among others. The constant
sensational "news" stories, the blurring lines between Witchcraft, magic
and
the occult all had to be dealt with on a regular basis. It was refre****ng
to hear that the Elders at the time had to deal with the same day-to-day
realities.
On a totally mundane level, I was disappointed with the quality of the
editing. There were numerous sentence fragments which made to work appear
disjointed. Allowances must be made, I am sure, since Maxine is not a
professional writer. I say that with all love and sincerity since I have
been an Alexandrian initiate for more than three decades. I am grateful
for
her sharing of her memories and, while reading, felt as if I were sitting
down and having a pleasant chat over an afternoon cup of tea.
I am sure that this book will appeal to the many Alexandrian initiates. I
hope it appeals equally to those who simply want to know about how the
Craft
was seen and practiced in the days before the explosion of Craft
"traditions" and the easy availability of information via the internet.
There are lessons to be learned from Maxine's writing, some so simple that
they are often forgotten in training since "everyone knows" them, and some
much more profound. Even more im****tant, in my opinion, is her admonition
that the best way to become a teacher is the experience with the heights
(the exhilaration of a successful ritual) and the depths (when Murphy's
Law
looks like the writings of a hopeless optimist) of magical workings
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