Wicca has many paths to choose from, and you can take a sample walk down all of them in this accessible, balanced, and entertaining study. Its a veritable one-stop shop for information about the fastest-growing religion in the world, with background on Wiccan belief, philosophy, and practice; gods and goddesses; and important herbs and trees. There are instructive glossaries and tables of symbols, too, plus practical exercises in visualization, ritual, and magic and guidance on customs and traditions such as circlework and coven etiquette. Novices will especially appreciate the useful sections on Wiccan divination, which draws from tarot, runes, scrying, and qabbalah.
So yea, I am reading this book and I really like it. But there is one thing I miss. So, I fair warning, this won't be a real review of the whole book, but of the one part I miss.
It takes part around LGBT. You see, I really like the authors view that the bipolarity of the masculine and feminine are nonsense. Every sort of love is beautiful ans shouldn't be viewed as bad and non working for something.
You see, I myself am LGBT. I identify myself as a Asexual, and then of course I like to see if people are supporting in any way. Love knows no gender. But the problem I have is, that I also identify as Transsexual. I am a Male to Female Transsexual. Am still pre-surgery. And that is what I missed. I know it is not a sexuality, and that's exactly it!
It is a gender identity. And it often gets mistaken for sexuality. When you look at it – LGBT, then those are sexualities. And that's the short version. There are far more. And the named many sexualities, but only two gender identities. And one is more one for many. It is not Transsexual in LGBT, but Transgender. And many people don't know that. It's being forgotten. And that's bad.
So, now here is my question. Why wasn't this mentioned in the book. I'd like to know how covens look at this. How would they take me? Would they respect me? How would they treat me? How do they treat pre-op Transsexuals? How do they treat after that when they know?
This has simply been left out. Why? I think when the author went into this, she should have covered everything. I really miss. I want to know. And where should I learn this than here?
Read this book first!!!! If you are going back to Wicca, new to the Wiccan way or just curious then I really, really recommend you read this first!!!
It really does get the Wiccan ethos (Rede) right and explains beautifully throughout: ‘Do what you will, but ensure there is no harm done to others’
It provides historical information about the roots and evolution, is extremely knowledgeable,unbiased and really shows the beauty of the Wiccan way of life.
It gently supports the vein running through the practice, and fun of Wicca which is all about an individual’s development and evolution to be the best version of ourselves.
It’s an excellent starting point and helps identify where to look if you want to learn more. I’ve read A LOT of books on the topic, beliefs, practices and history and I’m sure I will read a lot more but I do find myself coming back to this one.
Whilst this book offers insight into Witchcraft and magick and remains on my bookshelf alongside many others relating to Witchcraft, I disagree with the notion that it provides everything there is to know about the 'Craft'. By its very title, it gives a skewed position that is firmly entrenched in the Wiccan Tradition. This could prove misleading for those new to the practice and learning of Witchcraft because it leans towards one particular practice.
Having said that, for somebody who teaches in a global online school of Witchery, it is a valuable point of reference for everything Wiccan. In addition, it does cover some of what I would deem the basics in terms of The Sabbats, The five elements: Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Spirit, The Cycle of Life, Sacred Circles, Visualisation and various Gods & Goddesses.
It also - to be fair to the author - covers a variety of topics that those treading the path or beginning their journey will encounter such as runes, tarot, alchemy, scrying, spells for a variety of purposes, astrology and more.
There are some elements within the book that are pure Wiccan in nature but the title clearly reflects this, although someone new to this journey may think that all practitioners operate in the same way.
Despite these reservations, the book is well-structured, easy to understand, full of information and directions that can only support the learning of others and for that it should be applauded.
I was recommended this book by a client as a way to get a bit of a glance at his worldview as he is a practicing pagan. I also read it as a means of continuing my religious studies, since Wicca is one of the many religions that I have very little knowledge of. This book is jam-packed with information on everything from herbs to visualizations, circle-work to runes. Since I myself am a non-theist and not a practicing Wiccan, I cannot speak on its helpfulness to those in the “craft”, though I would assume it would be a wonderful resource. As an outsider looking in, however, I’m grateful for both its broadness and specificity. Very helpful resource for anyone wanting to learn more about this religion.
-8/10 -I'm not a practicing member of this religion ⚠️ -I picked up this book to better understand what Wicca is and I found many questions of mine answered but many other formed -Overall I'm sure this book would be very helpful to someone who is looking to get into this stuff -I enjoyed all the imagery and the easy terminology
I have two main frustrations with this book. 1. The fact this book title uses the word "bible" in it (considering the bible was used to justify murders of countless pagans, witches, etc.) 2. The lack of history and explanation of various origins. Otherwise, it was a good beginner book to understanding the basic ideas of Wicca.
This is a great book for beginners as it covers the basics on almost everything and as such offers a good starting point on a lot of topics. This one would also be good for anyone returning or just wanting a refresh on the basics. I like that there's exercises included. Haven't done any myself yet, but will be diving back into this book to spend time doing the activities
I was reading this as research for a project i am working on and it has been very helpful! It is clearly written, very informative and thorough without droning on. Good for research but great if you are new to Wicca and don't know where to start!
A great quick and easy reference guide to the basics of Wicca. The photos look like they're from the 90s (this book was published in 2005), but overall this is pretty good info!
Very informative, well written, easy to understand for a beginner, covers all the main areas of Wicca. Great introduction and some good spell and ritual ideas.
Think I’ve read this before-But maybe not all of it? 🤔 Not sure!
I read it for a basic refresh-As most of the info in it’s nothing new to me. 😊
It’s very informative re Wicca & I’d recommend it to any beginner Wiccans. 👍🏽 But, for me, as an eclectic, solitary, non-Wiccan, Witch-It also reminded me of the aspects of Wicca that I don’t like/agree with! 👀
I don’t believe in any Gods-So I already knew that part wouldn’t speak to me & that’s ok. 👌🏽 But the parts about *having* to do this, that & the other to “become” a Witch & the way the Author kept using Wiccan & Witch interchangeably, as if one doesn’t exist without the other...Nah! 👎🏽 All Wiccans are Witches, but not all Witches are Wiccan. ✅
So yeah-I wouldn’t recommend this if you’re a beginner non-Wiccan Witch, or looking for info on Witchcraft only. But otherwise, you might find it useful! 🙂
This book is mostly intended for beginners. There wasn't much new information for me. A few of the things bothered me. First of all, this is yet another book where the author uses the words wiccan and witch interchangeably. Not all witches are wiccan. She also claimed that hedgewitch is used as another name for solitary wiccan. That may be but in that case the term is used completely inaccurately. Hedgewitchery is its own thing. The author also uses the term smudging despite also writing about being respectful to other cultures. Smudging is a very specific Native American ritual and adopting the term is cultural appropriation. The information was generally quite superficial which is understandable, considering the book is supposed to be an overview on Wicca. Still I think some things felt a bit unnecessary for such book. I think that the chapters about alchemy and Qabalah felt a little redundant and the space could have been used to deepen other given information instead. The author seemed to prefer Wicca that is less focused on female/male polarity but i would have liked more examples on the subject. However, I did like how the author did not assume that all her readers are able bodied, and the pictures weren't too over the top ridiculous.
This is a fairly decent introduction to modern Wicca, but it is by no means as complete a work as the "Bible" in the title seems to suggest. That being said, I would still recommend it to a beginner looking into the religion for the first time because of its simplicity and solid information. There is no bad history, little filler, and the full-color photographs provide inspiration and enrich the topics covered. Visual learners will be delighted. However, the lack of depth present is what prompted me to give this work three stars. A wide range of topics are presented, but overall the chapters are more like overviews. They barely scratch the surface. The reader who desires more information about just what all that circle-casting pomp is about will need to look elsewhere, but the book lacks a bibliography which would point them towards the information they need. Experienced practitioners will likely want to look elsewhere, because this book will be of little use to them, except as a rather attractive coffee table piece and conversation starter.
Think of this book as a sort of encyclopedia. It's not a book attached to some specific tradition, but it's useful noneless, and it has a lot of information. The best thing: it's easy to read. Ideal for those that want a lot of information before you start searching specific things, but not for those of you who want in-depth insights into the craft.
This is a nice clear reference book. It's great for beginners *although I don't agree with everything it says or every detailed step for the "spells"* I still enjoyed it and will keep it on hand for quick reference.
This is my first resource when I have a question about Wicca. The author compartmentalizes different aspects of the religion/spiritual practice in ways that are easy to understand and navigate.
A guide to the Wiccan faith, written by one of its practitioners. The pictures were pretty, but I skimmed over most of the descriptions of the spells and rituals.