For the month of January, I had been reading Priestess Path by Stacey Demarco for our coven book club with our online community at BronxWitch HQ. The group loved it and I wanted to share my thoughts on this book as well to see if you’d like to give it a read yourself!
This book is beautifully laid out, straightforward and an amazing guide towards becoming a witch from within. This book is about taking that Priestess Path within ourselves and Stacey becomes our guide.
This book is the perfect read for the witch who wants to add more substance to their craft. This book is for the witch who is ready to find and connect with their inner power.
Book Breakdown
Priestess Path by Stacey Demarco is 13 chapters, each dedicated as a lesson for the witch, with an introduction at the beginning, detailing how to navigate the book and two bonus sections that cover the Wheel of the Year and the other covering traditional and modern ceremonies. The titles of the 13 chapters give the reader a glimpse into the lessons to be learned.
- Beginning Where You Are
- Know Thyself
- The Only True Power is Developed from the Inside Out
- We Can’t Actually Control Anyone (Yeah, I know it’s frustrating)
- Love is an Organising Principle
- First, Observe
- Welcome the Mysterious
- The Continuous Getting of Wisdom (or having an open mind but not open enough that your brain falls out)
- Look to Your Own Virtue and Offer Protection and Justice to Those Who Need Your Support
- Anything Great Requires Sacrifice
- To Develop Courage, Baby You Have to Feel the Fear
- You Were Not Made to Hide: The Great Circle and Thinking Big
- Your Great Work
These chapter titles are awesome, let’s just say that. To the point, great reminders, and who doesn’t love a cheeky line.
Mythos
Something Stacey emphasized within her book is the utility of mythos throughout. In her introduction, she grounds the reader to her definition of a mythos and orients the reader in how to approach the mythos which she explains as:
‘Mythos’ is a greek concept that simply means ‘ a story with a truth‘
pg. 14
Stacey drives home the lessons of each chapter through the storytelling of the mythos. I find this so valuable for myself in my practice in helping me strengthen connections between the mythos and the truths within them.
I can tell you to trust yourself, but you’ll remember that point much more deeply if I tell you through the story of Rhiannon and the horses.
pg.14
Something I personally enjoy that Stacey provides in Priestess Path is her ‘How to get the best out of the Priestess Path’, where she provides a lovely list of recommendations for the reader to prepare themselves for the journey. I’m genuinely a sucker for a good list and orientation, which I find Stacey provides. Really helps set you up for the experience.
Something else I appreciate about this book is the layout of each chapter. Each lesson follows this formula: the mythos, a mythos debrief, tasks that usually involve some journaling and some action, and suggested magical workings correlating to the mythos presented at the beginning of the chapter. Also the decision to have all black pages for some sections, really gives this book that extra witchy touch and makes for a visually satisfying read. It definitely did it for me!
Overall, this book covers some essential foundational information that I believe every witch should possess. The book doesn’t go into any specific traditions which makes it accessible to witches of a variety of paths and the book offers much flexibility for the reader to ultimately decide what their priestess path will look like.
