Question of the Day: Using Published Spells

[My friend gave me] To Light a Sacred Flame by Silver RavenWolf. I haven't really started reading the book at all, just kind of skimmed through and looked a little at the spells. But after reading your post on why most wiccans despise Silver RavenWolf I decided that I'm not going to read the book. What I was wondering is are the spells in the book completely worthless or I guess wrong in a way? I know you write your own spells and do what feels best to you but since I'm starting out I kind of like using the spells I find in books as my 'guide' but I don't want to use RavenWolfs' if she really is that bad.

Let's clarify something first: spells are not effective simply because they contain the "correct" ingredients or chants. The suggestion that magic works like a recipe is one of the reasons why so many people want to tear their hair out upon reading Ravenwolf's works (among others).

Magic is something that works within you. The tools, stones, chants, gestures and everything else are there to help your focus. They can all contribute to the effectiveness of your working, but only if you understand how they relate to each other. A simple spells will a few but understood props is far more effective than one with piles of props if you don't understand why you're using them.

Because symbolic understanding is personal, many people write their own spells. However, if you're uncomfortable with that, your hesitation will only hinder you. on the other hand, if someone else's spell makes sense to you, then it makes perfect sense to use it.

Will you personally find meaningful stuff in Ravenwolf's work? Only you can answer that.