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Power of the Witch: The Essential Guide to Witchcraft
The earth, the moon, and the magical path to enlightenment. Written by a practicing witch who conducts classes and seminars on witchcraft—the oldest Western religion, a means of power and enlightenment, and a healing art.“Laurie Cabot has written a fascinating account of a beautiful and sadly misunderstood religion, witchcraft. She has with her life and work done a great deal to legitimize this ancient pagan form of worship. I am among the ecumenical Christians who have discovered the truth about witchcraft, that it is neither demonic nor evil. Power of the Witch is a marvelous introduction to the magical and highly ethical world of wicca.”—Whitley Strieber
306 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1989
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 68 reviews
May 14, 2018
A product of its time
This book is very much a product of its time. It is full of great suggestions for how to begin or enliven a craft practise, but it is also chock full of false history and implications of the "ancient" nature of modern Wicca and paganism. Overall a good read, but treat any and all history with a heaping bucket of salt.
This book is very much a product of its time. It is full of great suggestions for how to begin or enliven a craft practise, but it is also chock full of false history and implications of the "ancient" nature of modern Wicca and paganism. Overall a good read, but treat any and all history with a heaping bucket of salt.
April 24, 2014
It's a good book, but the glaring historical/general life/science inaccuracies make it really difficult to be a great book. At best you could say she is building a mythology for modern Paganism, which I could understand, especially if you do follow a tradition that for the most part comes from an oral tradition that the church would have Christianised or destroyed. She also does a lot of sweeping generalisations of who witches are, what they do, and what they believe.
I found the first part of the book and the second last chapter particularly difficult to get through...
The meditations I liked, as well as brief personal anecdotes; the feminist aspect was good too...I did like the book, and I would recommend this book, but I would also advise that it's-from my perspective-about building a mythology, rather than facts. I find when pagan authors go into "the burning times" spiel, credibility can go right out the window, in this case Laurie Cabot has the cred to kind of...roll with it, as it were.
I found the first part of the book and the second last chapter particularly difficult to get through...
The meditations I liked, as well as brief personal anecdotes; the feminist aspect was good too...I did like the book, and I would recommend this book, but I would also advise that it's-from my perspective-about building a mythology, rather than facts. I find when pagan authors go into "the burning times" spiel, credibility can go right out the window, in this case Laurie Cabot has the cred to kind of...roll with it, as it were.
May 26, 2024
Not what I was expecting, but I learned a lot about the history of witches in the USA.
Read
July 28, 2011This was a good intro book for me, and I would recommend it to people who are interested in learning about Wicca and Modern Paganism. However I will note that some of the historical stuff, particularly about the Burning Times, is not as simple or straightforward as she makes it out to be.
December 21, 2019
I honestly had a hard time reading this book. The "history" lesson is so inaccurate it hurts. There are few sources during this part of the book which is a big tip off. I had to keep telling myself that this book was written during a time in which that was common. There were a couple of interesting spells in it. You could easily just look for those and get the really useful information out of it.
August 16, 2015
I am very sentimental about this book. This is a re-read of a book I read about 25 years ago.
It was my introduction into paganism. As I read this book,it became abundantly clear that this way of thinking and practice would become a way of life for me.
Of all of the books I have collected over the years,this will always remain my favorite.
Blessed be.
It was my introduction into paganism. As I read this book,it became abundantly clear that this way of thinking and practice would become a way of life for me.
Of all of the books I have collected over the years,this will always remain my favorite.
Blessed be.
February 6, 2013
Very good with many ideas to incorporate into your own practice.
January 30, 2021
Well... I've been planning on reading this book for YEARS now but only recently have I gotten my hands on it. Not sure if it was because I read it in an audiobook format (I plan to re-read it in a physical format sometime later in life and my opinion might change) but this book was a bit... disappointing.
I know I must look at it from the POV of the time it was written and what information was available at said time. From the historical info POV, especially in the first few chapters, it's just.... terrible. So much wrong information and data that makes no sense to modern knowledge, especially when it comes to the Celts and the Prehistory and such.
However, ignoring that point, I do admit that the exercises for the Alpha chapters, meditations, healings and spells are very useful and have lots of interesting content into them (and are the main, if not only, the reason I plan to get my hands on a physical copy of this book).
Overall it's not a book I recommend as a beginner's guide. This book I would say is good for people who already know their way around Witchcraft and want to add more info to their practices and want some new exercises to apply to their paths.
I know I must look at it from the POV of the time it was written and what information was available at said time. From the historical info POV, especially in the first few chapters, it's just.... terrible. So much wrong information and data that makes no sense to modern knowledge, especially when it comes to the Celts and the Prehistory and such.
However, ignoring that point, I do admit that the exercises for the Alpha chapters, meditations, healings and spells are very useful and have lots of interesting content into them (and are the main, if not only, the reason I plan to get my hands on a physical copy of this book).
Overall it's not a book I recommend as a beginner's guide. This book I would say is good for people who already know their way around Witchcraft and want to add more info to their practices and want some new exercises to apply to their paths.
January 8, 2025
Eu admiro muito a autora por ter transformado Salem como a cidade das bruxas como a conhecemos hoje. Sobre o livro: É excelente, cheio de rituais cujo alguns quero testar, contexto histórico de várias coisas e minha parte favorita: relatos pessoais da autora.
August 29, 2026
The part of Power of the Witch that has stayed with me most is Laurie Cabot's insistence that magical practice begins with learning how to use your own mind. Tools, herbs, colors, numbers, spells, and correspondences all have their place here, but underneath them is a much more fundamental skill: deliberately shifting consciousness into a state where magical work can occur.
Cabot calls this the Alpha state, and it forms the practical heart of the book for me. Rather than treating psychic perception and magic as mysterious abilities that simply happen to gifted people, she presents entering an altered state of consciousness as something a witch can practice intentionally. Relaxation, visualization, concentration, sensory awareness, and mental discipline become foundational magical skills rather than optional additions to spellwork.
I loved encountering such a strong emphasis on training in a book originally published in 1989. There is a tendency in some introductory Witchcraft books to move very quickly from explaining what magic is to providing spells, leaving the reader with recipes but very little instruction in developing the consciousness performing them. Cabot spends substantial time on the operator.
That makes her description of Witchcraft as an art, religion, and science much easier to understand. “Science” here reflects Cabot's particular metaphysical vocabulary and should not be confused with contemporary scientific consensus, but I find the attitude behind it valuable. She wants witches to experiment, practice, observe what happens, refine their abilities, and become increasingly deliberate about the mental states they bring into magical work.
The Alpha material is where that philosophy becomes experiential. Instead of waiting around for the right magical feeling to descend, the practitioner learns how to approach a particular state intentionally and then work from within it. Repetition gradually creates familiarity, and familiarity gives the witch something reproducible to build upon.
That seemingly simple idea has enormous implications. Visualization becomes easier to understand when it is practiced as a faculty rather than demanded suddenly in the middle of a spell, while sensing energy becomes something that can be exercised instead of merely believed in. Psychic impressions, magical concentration, healing work, and the charging of objects can all be approached as abilities whose clarity may improve through repeated use.
I think this is where Cabot's reputation as a teacher comes through most strongly. She is interested in giving the reader things to actually do, and the exercises create a progression from reading about Witchcraft toward experiencing it. Even when I don't share every explanation she gives for why a technique works, I can still perform the technique and evaluate the experience for myself.
There is also something wonderfully unapologetic about her belief that witches should develop power. She does not present Witchcraft primarily as an aesthetic identity or a collection of seasonal activities, and she clearly expects magical practice to produce changes in the practitioner. Greater awareness, self-control, psychic sensitivity, magical ability, healing, protection, and personal transformation are treated as legitimate goals of the path.
At the same time, power is consistently connected with responsibility. Cabot's Witchcraft has an ethical framework, and she repeatedly pushes against the sensational image of witches as malicious or spiritually dangerous people. Considering the cultural environment in which this book originally appeared, that defense of Witchcraft feels historically significant in its own right.
The sections dealing with everyday magical life reinforce this beautifully. Witchcraft does not exist only during formal ritual because the trained state of awareness can influence how someone approaches ordinary circumstances. Magic becomes a way of perceiving and participating in life rather than something switched on only when candles are burning.
I also enjoyed how much personality Cabot allows into the book. Her stories and opinions make it very clear that this is Witchcraft as understood and practiced by a particular witch rather than an impersonal encyclopedia pretending to speak for every tradition. She has strong convictions about what Witchcraft is, and even when I disagree with one of them, I would rather encounter a distinctive practitioner with an actual worldview than a book so generalized that nobody's Witchcraft remains visible.
The historical material is where contemporary readers need the most discernment. Ideas about an ancient universal witch religion, prehistoric matriarchy, the history of the persecutions, and some of the connections drawn between modern Witchcraft and the distant past reflect theories circulating widely in Pagan literature when the book was written but should not be relied upon as current historical scholarship. Reading newer academic work alongside this book makes those problems fairly easy to identify.
I don't think that requires throwing the entire book away. Historical claims can be checked against historical evidence, while exercises can be practiced and evaluated through experience. Keeping those categories separate allows Power of the Witch to be appreciated for what it still does extremely well without requiring the reader to defend everything published in 1989.
In fact, reading it historically adds another layer of interest. This is a glimpse into a period when publicly identifying as a witch carried different cultural baggage, when far fewer books on Witchcraft were readily available, and when prominent witches such as Cabot were actively trying to explain their religion and magical practices to a frequently hostile or misinformed mainstream audience. Her confidence feels different when placed back into that environment.
There is something powerful about the fact that she was not merely asking the public to tolerate witches. Cabot was presenting Witchcraft as intelligent, ethical, empowering, spiritually meaningful, and worthy of being taken seriously. The book's confidence in the value of the Craft is still infectious decades later.
What I keep returning to, however, is the training. The most enduring lesson I took from Power of the Witch is that magical development requires learning how to direct attention, alter consciousness, build concentration, engage imagination, perceive subtle information, and repeat those processes until they become familiar skills.
That makes the book more interesting to me than a historical introduction to Witchcraft from the late twentieth century. Beneath some very dated historical theories is a practical philosophy of magical development that remains surprisingly relevant: train the mind that performs the magic.
Correspondences can be looked up, spells can be copied, and ritual tools can be purchased. The witch's consciousness has to be developed through practice, and Laurie Cabot understood that distinction remarkably well.
Cabot calls this the Alpha state, and it forms the practical heart of the book for me. Rather than treating psychic perception and magic as mysterious abilities that simply happen to gifted people, she presents entering an altered state of consciousness as something a witch can practice intentionally. Relaxation, visualization, concentration, sensory awareness, and mental discipline become foundational magical skills rather than optional additions to spellwork.
I loved encountering such a strong emphasis on training in a book originally published in 1989. There is a tendency in some introductory Witchcraft books to move very quickly from explaining what magic is to providing spells, leaving the reader with recipes but very little instruction in developing the consciousness performing them. Cabot spends substantial time on the operator.
That makes her description of Witchcraft as an art, religion, and science much easier to understand. “Science” here reflects Cabot's particular metaphysical vocabulary and should not be confused with contemporary scientific consensus, but I find the attitude behind it valuable. She wants witches to experiment, practice, observe what happens, refine their abilities, and become increasingly deliberate about the mental states they bring into magical work.
The Alpha material is where that philosophy becomes experiential. Instead of waiting around for the right magical feeling to descend, the practitioner learns how to approach a particular state intentionally and then work from within it. Repetition gradually creates familiarity, and familiarity gives the witch something reproducible to build upon.
That seemingly simple idea has enormous implications. Visualization becomes easier to understand when it is practiced as a faculty rather than demanded suddenly in the middle of a spell, while sensing energy becomes something that can be exercised instead of merely believed in. Psychic impressions, magical concentration, healing work, and the charging of objects can all be approached as abilities whose clarity may improve through repeated use.
I think this is where Cabot's reputation as a teacher comes through most strongly. She is interested in giving the reader things to actually do, and the exercises create a progression from reading about Witchcraft toward experiencing it. Even when I don't share every explanation she gives for why a technique works, I can still perform the technique and evaluate the experience for myself.
There is also something wonderfully unapologetic about her belief that witches should develop power. She does not present Witchcraft primarily as an aesthetic identity or a collection of seasonal activities, and she clearly expects magical practice to produce changes in the practitioner. Greater awareness, self-control, psychic sensitivity, magical ability, healing, protection, and personal transformation are treated as legitimate goals of the path.
At the same time, power is consistently connected with responsibility. Cabot's Witchcraft has an ethical framework, and she repeatedly pushes against the sensational image of witches as malicious or spiritually dangerous people. Considering the cultural environment in which this book originally appeared, that defense of Witchcraft feels historically significant in its own right.
The sections dealing with everyday magical life reinforce this beautifully. Witchcraft does not exist only during formal ritual because the trained state of awareness can influence how someone approaches ordinary circumstances. Magic becomes a way of perceiving and participating in life rather than something switched on only when candles are burning.
I also enjoyed how much personality Cabot allows into the book. Her stories and opinions make it very clear that this is Witchcraft as understood and practiced by a particular witch rather than an impersonal encyclopedia pretending to speak for every tradition. She has strong convictions about what Witchcraft is, and even when I disagree with one of them, I would rather encounter a distinctive practitioner with an actual worldview than a book so generalized that nobody's Witchcraft remains visible.
The historical material is where contemporary readers need the most discernment. Ideas about an ancient universal witch religion, prehistoric matriarchy, the history of the persecutions, and some of the connections drawn between modern Witchcraft and the distant past reflect theories circulating widely in Pagan literature when the book was written but should not be relied upon as current historical scholarship. Reading newer academic work alongside this book makes those problems fairly easy to identify.
I don't think that requires throwing the entire book away. Historical claims can be checked against historical evidence, while exercises can be practiced and evaluated through experience. Keeping those categories separate allows Power of the Witch to be appreciated for what it still does extremely well without requiring the reader to defend everything published in 1989.
In fact, reading it historically adds another layer of interest. This is a glimpse into a period when publicly identifying as a witch carried different cultural baggage, when far fewer books on Witchcraft were readily available, and when prominent witches such as Cabot were actively trying to explain their religion and magical practices to a frequently hostile or misinformed mainstream audience. Her confidence feels different when placed back into that environment.
There is something powerful about the fact that she was not merely asking the public to tolerate witches. Cabot was presenting Witchcraft as intelligent, ethical, empowering, spiritually meaningful, and worthy of being taken seriously. The book's confidence in the value of the Craft is still infectious decades later.
What I keep returning to, however, is the training. The most enduring lesson I took from Power of the Witch is that magical development requires learning how to direct attention, alter consciousness, build concentration, engage imagination, perceive subtle information, and repeat those processes until they become familiar skills.
That makes the book more interesting to me than a historical introduction to Witchcraft from the late twentieth century. Beneath some very dated historical theories is a practical philosophy of magical development that remains surprisingly relevant: train the mind that performs the magic.
Correspondences can be looked up, spells can be copied, and ritual tools can be purchased. The witch's consciousness has to be developed through practice, and Laurie Cabot understood that distinction remarkably well.
July 20, 2015
Before reading this I checked out some other reviews and found many have it poor ratings do to all the inaccuracies. I must agree if you are looking for the history of the wiccan movement please turn elsewhere. Ronald Hutton"s books come to mind.
Reading this book you're going to have to wade through a lot of misinformation but every so once and a while you will find little nuggets of truth.
I recommend this book if you're thinking about getting into wiccan and would like a jumping in point. I would so recommend this book if you want to get a sense of how the movement looked twenty years ago.
Reading this book you're going to have to wade through a lot of misinformation but every so once and a while you will find little nuggets of truth.
I recommend this book if you're thinking about getting into wiccan and would like a jumping in point. I would so recommend this book if you want to get a sense of how the movement looked twenty years ago.
August 28, 2012
A wonderful & magical insight into the Beauty of True Self & The Wise one's Craft, a must read for the greater understanding of what has been hidden & persecuted for far to long~*
August 2, 2011
Really good book, love Laurie Cabot's books.
May 22, 2023
Witch mother Laurie Cabot lives in Salem, Massachusetts, a place infamous for its witch trials where in 19 innocent people were hung or pressed to death. Most of the victims were women. A town rid of it’s witches now has people walking around in witch garb. Some accept it while others cannot get used to it.
Her life echoes that of witchcraft in general. As a youth she realized that she was different and that she was drawn to witchy things. She would have premonitions or be drawn to nature and it’s plethora of spirits. As children our minds are more open to the magical. While she does advocate being open about the craft and spreading th word she does realize that it is not always safe for people to come out of the broom closet.
Witches are not a bad thing in fact they are positive. Most of their work was for healing, abundance and prosperity. All things positive. The midwives of old had knowledge,of herbs and Star and all sorts of healing lore. The common folk being pagan had a sister of beliefs and practices. When Christianity took root the old deities were turned to devils and the church usurped many holidays and practices. This included medicinal lore.
When men opened the universities they took this medicinal knowledge with them and banned women from their universities. This put the power of medicinal stuff in the hands of men. When women were tortured and killed for witchcraft who were the ones who most benefited?
Laurie Cabot gives the reader a strong Wiccan view of history. She is honest in how Wicca was given birth to by Gerald Gardner. Her view posits that before patriarchal times women we’re in control and things were a lot better. I do not know if thst part is true. But women had larger roles and more importance back in old times and that is for sure.
The book explains many tenets of Wicca, including the sabbath on the wheel of the year and that lunar phases. She explains the metaphysical underpinning behind the use of magic. The book has instructions on circle casting, calling quarters and spell casting. Great stuff!
What I found most useful was the crystal countdown for going to a beta mine state to an alpha mind state. I also found that I liked the 7 Hermetic principles. Take note this is the principle of magic.
1. Mentalism : the whole universe is constructed of thought.
2. Correspondence: As above so below. Meaning that what effects the smaller microcosm affects the macrocosm.
3. Principle of Vibration: every single thing gives off a vibration at certain frequencies. Nothing stands still.
4. Polarity : everything contains within itself it’s polar opposite. Hate contains love, fire contains water.
5. Principle of Rhythm: every thing has its ebb and flow.
6. Law of Cause and Effect : Every cause has its effect; every effect has its cause; everything happens according to law; chance is but a name for law not recognized; there are many planes of causation, but nothing escapes the la
7. Law of gender : everything has masculine and feminine characteristics.
Another quite useful thing I got from the book was the Crystal Countdown. This get’s you into the alpha state where magic , dreams and astral travel happen. This is something one should learn to use. Enjoy the book it is awesome!
Her life echoes that of witchcraft in general. As a youth she realized that she was different and that she was drawn to witchy things. She would have premonitions or be drawn to nature and it’s plethora of spirits. As children our minds are more open to the magical. While she does advocate being open about the craft and spreading th word she does realize that it is not always safe for people to come out of the broom closet.
Witches are not a bad thing in fact they are positive. Most of their work was for healing, abundance and prosperity. All things positive. The midwives of old had knowledge,of herbs and Star and all sorts of healing lore. The common folk being pagan had a sister of beliefs and practices. When Christianity took root the old deities were turned to devils and the church usurped many holidays and practices. This included medicinal lore.
When men opened the universities they took this medicinal knowledge with them and banned women from their universities. This put the power of medicinal stuff in the hands of men. When women were tortured and killed for witchcraft who were the ones who most benefited?
Laurie Cabot gives the reader a strong Wiccan view of history. She is honest in how Wicca was given birth to by Gerald Gardner. Her view posits that before patriarchal times women we’re in control and things were a lot better. I do not know if thst part is true. But women had larger roles and more importance back in old times and that is for sure.
The book explains many tenets of Wicca, including the sabbath on the wheel of the year and that lunar phases. She explains the metaphysical underpinning behind the use of magic. The book has instructions on circle casting, calling quarters and spell casting. Great stuff!
What I found most useful was the crystal countdown for going to a beta mine state to an alpha mind state. I also found that I liked the 7 Hermetic principles. Take note this is the principle of magic.
1. Mentalism : the whole universe is constructed of thought.
2. Correspondence: As above so below. Meaning that what effects the smaller microcosm affects the macrocosm.
3. Principle of Vibration: every single thing gives off a vibration at certain frequencies. Nothing stands still.
4. Polarity : everything contains within itself it’s polar opposite. Hate contains love, fire contains water.
5. Principle of Rhythm: every thing has its ebb and flow.
6. Law of Cause and Effect : Every cause has its effect; every effect has its cause; everything happens according to law; chance is but a name for law not recognized; there are many planes of causation, but nothing escapes the la
7. Law of gender : everything has masculine and feminine characteristics.
Another quite useful thing I got from the book was the Crystal Countdown. This get’s you into the alpha state where magic , dreams and astral travel happen. This is something one should learn to use. Enjoy the book it is awesome!
September 1, 2026
Power of the Witch is one of those books where I found myself mentally separating what has aged beautifully from what has simply aged. Laurie Cabot published this in 1989, and some of its historical claims about ancient Witchcraft, matriarchal cultures and the continuity of the “Old Religion” reflect ideas that were much more commonly repeated in Pagan literature at the time than they are today. This is also the aspect of the book that contemporary readers criticize most frequently, and fairly so. I wouldn't use this as my primary source for the history of Witchcraft.
What surprised me is how little that diminished my appreciation for Cabot's actual magical instruction. The book covers ritual, divination, herbs, correspondences and everyday Witchcraft, but I became completely absorbed when she started discussing consciousness. Her chapter on alpha states and the Crystal Countdown technique was easily the highlight for me. Cabot treats the deliberate alteration of consciousness as fundamental to successful magick, psychic perception, healing and related practices. That immediately made sense to me. Learning how to intentionally shift your state of mind before attempting psychic or magical work seems considerably more useful than memorizing another hundred correspondences, and it is interesting to see altered-state training given such prominence in a Witchcraft book from this period. Other readers repeatedly single out the alpha work and meditations as among the book's strongest and most enduring material.
I also enjoyed Cabot's attempt to explain why magick might work. Her “science of Witchcraft” inevitably contains ideas I would describe as metaphysical speculation rather than established science, but I appreciate the impulse behind it. She wants Witchcraft to be intelligible. Instead of merely instructing the reader to perform a ritual because witches have always done so, she tries to connect mind, energy, consciousness and natural law into a coherent magical worldview. I found myself disagreeing with individual claims while still enjoying the larger intellectual project.
That contradiction more or less summarizes my experience with Power of the Witch. I wouldn't accept everything in these pages uncritically, particularly the history, and nearly four decades of scholarship and Pagan publishing have given us better resources for several subjects Cabot addresses. Yet I came away with techniques I genuinely want to use, particularly her work with alpha consciousness. There is also something compelling about encountering such a confident articulation of Witchcraft as a serious spiritual, psychic and magical discipline at a time when witches were still fighting much harder for basic public understanding. This may be a book I read with a pencil in one hand and a grain of salt in the other, but there are enough gems buried inside it that I'm very glad I did.
What surprised me is how little that diminished my appreciation for Cabot's actual magical instruction. The book covers ritual, divination, herbs, correspondences and everyday Witchcraft, but I became completely absorbed when she started discussing consciousness. Her chapter on alpha states and the Crystal Countdown technique was easily the highlight for me. Cabot treats the deliberate alteration of consciousness as fundamental to successful magick, psychic perception, healing and related practices. That immediately made sense to me. Learning how to intentionally shift your state of mind before attempting psychic or magical work seems considerably more useful than memorizing another hundred correspondences, and it is interesting to see altered-state training given such prominence in a Witchcraft book from this period. Other readers repeatedly single out the alpha work and meditations as among the book's strongest and most enduring material.
I also enjoyed Cabot's attempt to explain why magick might work. Her “science of Witchcraft” inevitably contains ideas I would describe as metaphysical speculation rather than established science, but I appreciate the impulse behind it. She wants Witchcraft to be intelligible. Instead of merely instructing the reader to perform a ritual because witches have always done so, she tries to connect mind, energy, consciousness and natural law into a coherent magical worldview. I found myself disagreeing with individual claims while still enjoying the larger intellectual project.
That contradiction more or less summarizes my experience with Power of the Witch. I wouldn't accept everything in these pages uncritically, particularly the history, and nearly four decades of scholarship and Pagan publishing have given us better resources for several subjects Cabot addresses. Yet I came away with techniques I genuinely want to use, particularly her work with alpha consciousness. There is also something compelling about encountering such a confident articulation of Witchcraft as a serious spiritual, psychic and magical discipline at a time when witches were still fighting much harder for basic public understanding. This may be a book I read with a pencil in one hand and a grain of salt in the other, but there are enough gems buried inside it that I'm very glad I did.
September 6, 2026
There are books I admire because they are correct, and books I admire because they mattered. *Power of the Witch* belongs rather decisively in the second category. I would not hand its historical chapters to someone today without a warning label. Much of the prehistory, persecution narrative, and presentation of Witchcraft as an essentially continuous ancient religion reflects ideas that were common in Pagan publishing when the book appeared in 1989 and that subsequent scholarship has made very difficult to defend. Yet simply reducing the book to “bad history” misses why Laurie Cabot was important in the first place.
The part I still find genuinely interesting is her insistence that a witch should learn how to alter consciousness deliberately. The chapters on the science of Witchcraft and the alpha state are where the book suddenly becomes much more than another period introduction to altars, herbs, festivals, and spellwork. Cabot treats meditation, visualization, psychic awareness, and magical consciousness as things that can be practiced rather than personality traits one either possesses or doesn't. That idea seems commonplace now because it worked its way so thoroughly into later witchcraft literature. Reading Cabot after Penczak, Auryn, Hunter, and others can therefore produce the peculiar sensation of encountering an ancestor after already knowing several generations of descendants.
I am much less persuaded by some of the scientific explanations than I am by the practices themselves. Cabot occasionally moves too easily from something interesting about consciousness or physics into conclusions about magic that the science itself cannot establish. Still, I have a certain affection for the ambition of it. She wanted Witchcraft to be intellectually defensible without making it less Witchy, and at a time when witches were still regularly presented to the general public as either dangerous lunatics or Halloween decorations, there was something wonderfully audacious about insisting that the witch was a disciplined practitioner working with mind, nature, and consciousness.
And perhaps that is the fairest way to read this now. Laurie Cabot was not writing for a Pagan world with thirty years of later historical scholarship, queer theology, podcasts, online archives, and shelves upon shelves of specialized magical literature behind it. She was helping create the conditions in which that world became possible. I can roll my eyes at some of the history and still feel tremendous respect for the woman in black robes who publicly insisted that Witchcraft deserved to be taken seriously. Those two reactions coexist quite comfortably for me.
The part I still find genuinely interesting is her insistence that a witch should learn how to alter consciousness deliberately. The chapters on the science of Witchcraft and the alpha state are where the book suddenly becomes much more than another period introduction to altars, herbs, festivals, and spellwork. Cabot treats meditation, visualization, psychic awareness, and magical consciousness as things that can be practiced rather than personality traits one either possesses or doesn't. That idea seems commonplace now because it worked its way so thoroughly into later witchcraft literature. Reading Cabot after Penczak, Auryn, Hunter, and others can therefore produce the peculiar sensation of encountering an ancestor after already knowing several generations of descendants.
I am much less persuaded by some of the scientific explanations than I am by the practices themselves. Cabot occasionally moves too easily from something interesting about consciousness or physics into conclusions about magic that the science itself cannot establish. Still, I have a certain affection for the ambition of it. She wanted Witchcraft to be intellectually defensible without making it less Witchy, and at a time when witches were still regularly presented to the general public as either dangerous lunatics or Halloween decorations, there was something wonderfully audacious about insisting that the witch was a disciplined practitioner working with mind, nature, and consciousness.
And perhaps that is the fairest way to read this now. Laurie Cabot was not writing for a Pagan world with thirty years of later historical scholarship, queer theology, podcasts, online archives, and shelves upon shelves of specialized magical literature behind it. She was helping create the conditions in which that world became possible. I can roll my eyes at some of the history and still feel tremendous respect for the woman in black robes who publicly insisted that Witchcraft deserved to be taken seriously. Those two reactions coexist quite comfortably for me.
September 6, 2026
I have really mixed feelings about this one because parts of it are still excellent and parts of it have aged like milk. Laurie Cabot’s work with meditation, entering the alpha state, energy, visualization, and actually training the mind for magic is the reason I’d still tell people to read it. You can see why this book mattered so much when it came out in 1989, especially compared with the witchcraft books that were mostly giving you Sabbats, correspondences, and spells. Cabot was trying to teach you how a witch’s mind works, and that part still has teeth.
The history is where I started doing a lot of penciling in the margins. There are claims about ancient witchcraft, matriarchal religion, persecution, and the continuity of modern practices that reflect what a lot of witches genuinely believed and taught at the time, but scholarship has moved on considerably. I don’t think that makes the book worthless at all. It actually makes reading it now kind of fascinating, because you can watch modern witchcraft figuring itself out in real time, including some ideas we inherited and later had to untangle.
What really struck me rereading this is the line you can draw from Power of the Witch to Christopher Penczak’s The Inner Temple of Witchcraft and then to Mat Auryn’s Psychic Witch. Inner Temple takes a lot of this psychic-development-meets-witchcraft territory and gives it a more developed training structure, and Psychic Witch pushes it even further with a more current understanding of practice, history, psychic development, and how all of these pieces fit together. I think Psychic Witch is the strongest of the three, with Inner Temple right behind it, but honestly I’d read all of them. Seeing how the material evolves across those books tells you almost as much about modern witchcraft as the exercises themselves do.
The history is where I started doing a lot of penciling in the margins. There are claims about ancient witchcraft, matriarchal religion, persecution, and the continuity of modern practices that reflect what a lot of witches genuinely believed and taught at the time, but scholarship has moved on considerably. I don’t think that makes the book worthless at all. It actually makes reading it now kind of fascinating, because you can watch modern witchcraft figuring itself out in real time, including some ideas we inherited and later had to untangle.
What really struck me rereading this is the line you can draw from Power of the Witch to Christopher Penczak’s The Inner Temple of Witchcraft and then to Mat Auryn’s Psychic Witch. Inner Temple takes a lot of this psychic-development-meets-witchcraft territory and gives it a more developed training structure, and Psychic Witch pushes it even further with a more current understanding of practice, history, psychic development, and how all of these pieces fit together. I think Psychic Witch is the strongest of the three, with Inner Temple right behind it, but honestly I’d read all of them. Seeing how the material evolves across those books tells you almost as much about modern witchcraft as the exercises themselves do.
March 9, 2021
A decent primer for anyone interested in belief systems outside the dominant culture, but certainly a product of its time. Some of the history and science bears some fact checking, but it’s a snapshot of a witch’s perspective in the 80s prior to the mass popularisation of witchcraft in popular culture (honestly I wonder what she’d say about the Harry Potter series).
Though there may be some easily identifiable inaccuracies, Cabot briefly touches on a bit of everything, which makes it a decent starter book. From the history of persecution mostly in the Western world, media portrayals, to detailed descriptions of ritual and practices. The part that loses me quite a bit is the last chapter prior to the epilogue, probably because I’m in the future she was trying to predict.
I think while Cabot emphasised the importance of marrying science and witchcraft, this is in no way an objective view on the practice. Keeping in mind this is written pre-internet, pre-social media, I can see how she is invested in contributing a counterpoint to the more cliched portrayal of witches in the dominant culture, but it does veer on fanciful at times (though I suppose not any more grandiose and indulgent than other major religions that brought about mass executions and continued prosecution of oppressed peoples).
It’s fine and could be a good reference for basics.
Though there may be some easily identifiable inaccuracies, Cabot briefly touches on a bit of everything, which makes it a decent starter book. From the history of persecution mostly in the Western world, media portrayals, to detailed descriptions of ritual and practices. The part that loses me quite a bit is the last chapter prior to the epilogue, probably because I’m in the future she was trying to predict.
I think while Cabot emphasised the importance of marrying science and witchcraft, this is in no way an objective view on the practice. Keeping in mind this is written pre-internet, pre-social media, I can see how she is invested in contributing a counterpoint to the more cliched portrayal of witches in the dominant culture, but it does veer on fanciful at times (though I suppose not any more grandiose and indulgent than other major religions that brought about mass executions and continued prosecution of oppressed peoples).
It’s fine and could be a good reference for basics.
September 9, 2025
First let me say that I read this book back in my early days of learning the Craft in the 90's. A lot has changed since then. The beginning of the book briefly covers the history of the Craft. We know more today than we did back then, so from a modern perspective the history is a mess and full of misinformation. That said, there is some great information and practices that can help any Witch master her/his abilities in the art of magick and psychic development. She does give some oil and potion recipes, incense mixes etc. However, her information on working in the alpha state, self-love and building self confidence are much needed elements to becoming a powerful force of change and magick in your life. Ultimately, the most important magick is the kind that changes you, the practitioner, for the better. I have used the tools given in this book as a solitary, as well as taken Laurie's Witchcraft course many, many years ago. If you utilize even just the alpha mediation work along with building a strong sense of self worth your magick will have a solid foundation for everything that comes afterwards.
March 25, 2018
A lot of the information in this was not new to me, but there were a few unique gems to take away, like how make up and clothing can be a legitimate and useful aspect of everyday magic. Cabot was a bit prescriptive regarding altars and spells, but I understand the traditional angle this was written from too. Though I found it interesting that she put fire in the east and air in the south. That's another unique perspective that flaunts current prevailing trend, and worth exploring.
I most appreciate Cabot's continued emphasis on witches learning the science of magic, and following new science discoveries in order to inform and support our spirituality. A modern spirituality is one that integrates, harmonizes, and builds upon what we know of our material reality.
A great book for a beginner to Wicca.
I most appreciate Cabot's continued emphasis on witches learning the science of magic, and following new science discoveries in order to inform and support our spirituality. A modern spirituality is one that integrates, harmonizes, and builds upon what we know of our material reality.
A great book for a beginner to Wicca.
December 31, 2020
The book holds a lot of misinformation about the history of witchcraft. Witchcraft is seen as an old religion, which reminds me a lot of Margaret Murray's theory of an ancient witch cult. (Which was false.) The talk about The Witch Hunts (or the Burning Times) shouldn't be taken seriously.
The book also doesn't separate witchcraft as a practice from Wicca, which is a religion.¨
However, there are some good meditation techniques that I've found helpful. The correspondences in spells aren't always explained, which is a shame. There is a table of correspondences at the end of the book, but it may be hard to understand if you're not familiar with witchcraft already.
The book also doesn't separate witchcraft as a practice from Wicca, which is a religion.¨
However, there are some good meditation techniques that I've found helpful. The correspondences in spells aren't always explained, which is a shame. There is a table of correspondences at the end of the book, but it may be hard to understand if you're not familiar with witchcraft already.
September 15, 2023
As others have said, a product of it’s time. The dated narrative of “light and love” and negative connotations of many BIPOC traditions were prevalent throughout the book, as well as many instances of “rule of three” and “do no harm” which are almost exclusively Wiccan ideals. The book mentions that not all witches are Wiccan, and vice versa, but then continues to drive home Wiccan philosophies as the gold standard.
It’s a good book to pick up, but read it through a cautious lens. And continue reading books from authors of varying backgrounds. There is great information and Laurie Cabot shares some great personal anecdotes.
It’s a good book to pick up, but read it through a cautious lens. And continue reading books from authors of varying backgrounds. There is great information and Laurie Cabot shares some great personal anecdotes.
January 17, 2025
The Power of the Witch de Laurie Cabot
Algumas pessoas próximas a mim sabem que eu sou muito interessado em questões relacionadas ao misticismo e às religiosidades diversas. Acredito que é muito instrutivo ver como existem tantas formas de se ter contato com o sagrado. Gosto muito, em especial, desde movimento neopagão e místico e esse livro está justamente dentro desse grupo. Laurie Cabot é uma bruxa de Salem e explica muitos elementos da bruxaria, com destaque para uma interface com os estudos científicos que ela faz. Para quem tem curiosidade ou se interessa pelo neopaganismo e afins, recomendo muito.
Algumas pessoas próximas a mim sabem que eu sou muito interessado em questões relacionadas ao misticismo e às religiosidades diversas. Acredito que é muito instrutivo ver como existem tantas formas de se ter contato com o sagrado. Gosto muito, em especial, desde movimento neopagão e místico e esse livro está justamente dentro desse grupo. Laurie Cabot é uma bruxa de Salem e explica muitos elementos da bruxaria, com destaque para uma interface com os estudos científicos que ela faz. Para quem tem curiosidade ou se interessa pelo neopaganismo e afins, recomendo muito.
March 24, 2022
I read this book and found it to be an interesting book that is simultaneously a bit dated in its perspective and yet timeless in what it offers. It’s a fascinating read and while I didn’t necessarily agree with everything the author shared I do respect the work for what it is and how it has helped multiple generations of people discover and work with their psychic powers. It’s a useful book that provides a snapshot of where we have been and useful to provide perspective on how much has changed since the book was published.
October 10, 2022
I went into this book with high hopes, and halfway through I caught myself just waiting for it to be over. I found a sexist undertone (though, I think it's just dated).
I did find any of this particularly useful, and I've been practicing mysticism for quite some time. I wouldn't recommend it for beginners, or for seasoned witches. Some of the spells in the later part of the book were good, but that's about it.
Though, I think what turned me off ultimately was the idea of needing to "act and dress like a witch", something about it just made me kind of cringe.
I did find any of this particularly useful, and I've been practicing mysticism for quite some time. I wouldn't recommend it for beginners, or for seasoned witches. Some of the spells in the later part of the book were good, but that's about it.
Though, I think what turned me off ultimately was the idea of needing to "act and dress like a witch", something about it just made me kind of cringe.
February 1, 2026
Not A Magick Book
This is a good all round book on Wicca & witchcraft, mostly a lot of history. The first few chapters speak of the witches’ holocaust. Only 1 chapter has a little magick using herbs, making potions, baths, minor stuff. This is a not a witch’s grimoire. I was disappointed. Cabot speaks of visualization techniques, her past interactions/clashes with popular people for being a witch, her visions & hopes for the future of witchcraft, raising children in the craft, etc. She is well educated, very knowledgeable beyond her time. Much respect to Laurie Cabot.
This is a good all round book on Wicca & witchcraft, mostly a lot of history. The first few chapters speak of the witches’ holocaust. Only 1 chapter has a little magick using herbs, making potions, baths, minor stuff. This is a not a witch’s grimoire. I was disappointed. Cabot speaks of visualization techniques, her past interactions/clashes with popular people for being a witch, her visions & hopes for the future of witchcraft, raising children in the craft, etc. She is well educated, very knowledgeable beyond her time. Much respect to Laurie Cabot.
April 27, 2026
This book is a great introduction to witchcraft from one persons perspective. There are a lot of generalizations about what witches believe, what witches do, and great ways to educate others about how awesome witchcraft is that are inaccurate and outdated. She also refers to Wiccan holidays as though they’ve been around for aeons rather than the 20th century wheel of the year reimaginings popularized by Gerald Gardner and others. I like the spirit of the book, it was enjoyable to read, and it paved the way for updated spiritual successors like Mat Auryn’s books.
February 27, 2021
Please keep in mind what the craft was going through when it was written. Witches and the craft evolve quickly and as we grow we learn that things are different. Everybody and every book has some thing to teach. I love her focus on going alpha and meditation. The spellcraft in this book is solid. It's a great perspective. I find that even when I do not agree, I do understand where she is coming from and why.
August 30, 2023
[Tradução: Álvaro Cabral]
No geral, adorei a leitura! O conhecimento, tanto histórico quanto prático, transmitido pela autora é, em muitos pontos, superinteressantes e valiosos, por isso vejo o livro como um daqueles que voltamos a consultar de tempos em tempos.
A tradução, porém, deixa a desejar em algumas passagens. Não há falhas de compreensão, mas escolhas lexicais e gramaticais um tanto deslocadas, que hoje seriam resolvidas por uma preparação bem-feita.
No geral, adorei a leitura! O conhecimento, tanto histórico quanto prático, transmitido pela autora é, em muitos pontos, superinteressantes e valiosos, por isso vejo o livro como um daqueles que voltamos a consultar de tempos em tempos.
A tradução, porém, deixa a desejar em algumas passagens. Não há falhas de compreensão, mas escolhas lexicais e gramaticais um tanto deslocadas, que hoje seriam resolvidas por uma preparação bem-feita.
July 13, 2024
I wouldn’t reach for this book as a beginner. There’s a lot of absolutes about how to practice. There’s a lot of misinformation, and patchwork theories strung together. A seasoned practitioner would be able to discern the small portions of good knowledge, which are hidden in amongst the utter trash. The anecdotal stories from her life come across in a way that she is not a reliable story teller and hyperbole at best.
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