Book Review – Southern Cunning by Aaron Oberon
I recently read ‘Southern Cunning: Folkloric Witchcraft In The American South’ by Aaron Oberon. I was super intrigued with this book because of my obsession with the folk practices of the Southern USA and wanted to learn more.
I had heard great things about it, which is also why I wanted to read it but unfortunately I did feel a little let down in my expectations vs. reality. In saying that, I may not be the target audience since I am not actually a US southerner and if you are, then this book would likely hit different for you.
What I liked
It was a short, quick read.
I could tell it was a vulnerable and personal topic for Aaron to write about, and I appreciate Aaron’s honesty and openness.
There were some interesting correlations between folklore and witchcraft.
There were one or two ideas that I liked and hadn't read about before, and I appreciated learning about it.
Aaron has really good ethics and they communicate these very well plus make notes on safety and I liked Aarons explanation of Universal Personal Gnosis (UPG) and its importance.
What I disliked
Didn't realise I was supposed to have read "A Silver Bullet" and other southern folk stories to understand most of the references. Would have been handy to have that on the back of the book somewhere, or more of a "this story is about x,y,z" rather than just off hand references so I ended up needing to find those stories to read on top of this book, which is fine, but I would have liked a heads up.
It felt like the entire book skimmed the surface of every topic. There could have been some super interesting discussion topics but it was all just touch and go.
Didn't vibe with the "Witch Father" terminology, or description. Totally a personal thing, but just felt like something out of Sabrina.
If Witch balls are your thing you may enjoy it, but I knew immediately that was not a form of magick I would ever use. They're mentioned heavily in the book though.
Nothing gripped me.
The spelling and grammar errors in this book were quite a distraction. Not the authors fault (I am a writer, I get it) but definitely should have been edited better as it was really frustrating and meant re-reading sections a few times thinking I just read it wrong, but no, it was a repeat sentence, or there was no punctuation etc.
Do I recommend it?
All in all, I wouldn't read it again but I can see the appeal for other folks, particularly those who grew up with appalachian folk tales this is based on.
Since I didn't I may not be the target audience and probably wanted more depth on those folk tales than this book had to offer.
I give this book 2 out of 5 witches hats.
My witches’ hats rating system:
0 - Problematic, this book should be burned.
1 - Did not like this book, do not read
2 - It was ok, wouldn’t recommend it though.
3 - I liked it but it might not be for everyone
4 - I really liked it and think most people will like it
5 - AMAZING, I loved it and everyone should read it
Meet Hana
Hana O’Neill, the Suburban Witch is a professional Tarot & Astrology reader, Intuitive Coach and the host of the Witch Talks podcast.
