The Twelve Wild Swans: A Journey to the Realm of Magic, Healing, and Action
Starhawk and Hilary Valentine, renowned leaders in the Wicca movement,  use the transformative fairy tale ofThe Twelve Wild Swansto teach an  advanced class on magic. More significantly, this is an introduction to a mature  level of Wicca called "reclaiming," a model of witchcraft that blends magic,  personal growth, and activism. The book begins with the first chapter of the  fairy tale, in which a foolish queen wishes to exchange her 12 sons for a  daughter. An old woman "dressed all in black" overhears the queen and makes the  wish come true, granting the queen a daughter but turning her sons into wild  swans.From here the coauthors launch into a back-and-forth structure of telling the  story and then stopping to show how it applies to a witch's initiation and  transformation. For example, we all must leave the castle in order to heal our  past. We all must spend some time wandering in the wilderness before finding our  true home, and we all must conquer some form of "wicked vows" before we can  reach full maturity. These are wise leaders and strong guides, well worth  following on this life-altering fairy tale.--Tara West