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Bonewits's Essential Guide to Witchcraft and Wicca
This is a encyclopedia of witchraft and Wicca, providing a history of belief and ritual practices of Neopagan Witches, an overview of the evolution and central tenets of modern Paganism and advice on rituals, poetry and magical ethics.
224 pages, Paperback
First published February 1, 2006
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417 people want to read
About the author
Isaac Bonewits
14 books54 followersPhillip Emmons Isaac Bonewits was an influential Neopagan leader and author. He was a liturgist, speaker, journalist, Neo-druid priest, and a singer, songwriter, and independent recording artist. He had been heavily involved in occultism since the 1960s.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 9, 2013
“Bonewits’s Essential Guide to Witchcraft and Wicca” is aptly titled. By no means is this meant to be the only book on Wicca or Witchcraft you should ever have to read but it does serve as a solid introduction to the subject for those who are unfamiliar with it and also as a consolidation of ideas that those experienced in this topic will find useful and accurate.
In the Preface he explains his biases and experience in the field of Witchcraft and Wicca, something I honestly wish more authors would do in some of their works in this field. This aids in helping you see through the author’s perspective and hopefully enables a frame of mind where the information being presented can be put into proper context. Also, too many books are written by “High Priests/esses” whom have little or no real world experience in their Craft and more often than not present a skewed or inaccurate portrayal of Wicca or Witchcraft in general. Bonewits is one of the few serious writers of occult topics that goes above and beyond to take a scholarly approach to the subject and would have been one of the first ones to change or edit his beliefs with the presentation of new evidence proving a theory incorrect. It was clear that he highly valued an accurate understanding of history and would not be one to hide or brush anything under the rug that may portray Wiccans in an unfavorable light. This is seen time and time again in the proceeding sections of his book.
Part One is entitled Paleopagan Witchcraft and examines the known origins of Witchcraft, or at least with what people have come to recognize as the origins of Witchcraft. Bonewits was always one to delve into etymology and not surprisingly the first chapter explores the history of the word “witch” and how its use and association has evolved over time. The next two chapters approach the topics of Cunning Men/Women and Shaman’s respectively and how they may, or more likely not, have been involved in what most people would consider to be the practice of Witchcraft today.
Part Two is called Mesopagan Witchcraft and attempts to shed light on many of the misconceptions the founders of Wicca had concerning the “Old Religion” they claim to be continuing. Chapter 4 is a solid essay on witches as followers of Satan which has been exaggerated to an almost comical extent by several denominations of people, even witches themselves. The next chapter goes into length on the wildly inaccurate but highly touted theories of Margaret Murray who claimed that Witchcraft in post medieval times is really the remnants of a universal witch cult which thrived in the Pre-Christian era. Though this is now known to be nothing short of fantasy it is important to understand the works of Murray as they has a direct influence on the founding of Wicca and many Goddess oriented beliefs in the past century. The next chapters covers the myths and realities of so called “Family Witches” who claim to have a surviving Pagan tradition passed though their family lines over the centuries (most commonly, my Grandma taught me to do it!). The final two chapters of this section highlight those who directly influenced the Wiccan belief system. Chapter 8 which is titled “The Parents, Aunts, Uncles, and Feuding Cousins of Wicca” goes into exceptional detail of the who’s who of early Wicca including of course a section on Gerald Gardner the literal founder of Wicca which is very informative.
Part Three titled Neopagan Witchcraft expands on the growth of the Neopagan movement during the late 1960’s to early onward. As Bonewits himself was an influential member of the Neopagan community during these times his commentary provides some insight from someone who was actually there about that time which was filled with the creation and breaking of several different factions involved in the movement. As he points out not all of his ideas and attitudes were accepted during these times but in my opinion he does not go overboard in being critical of his opponents of what led those to show him disfavor. Chapter 10 explains how feminism and Witchcraft became associated with each other and the benefits and drawbacks that have come from a political movement uniting with a growing religious movement. The end of this section is a valuable critique on how Neopagans can further cement their foothold in our culture and establish some credibility in this modern age.
Part Four is a brief but efficient primer on the framework of Wiccan practices and some of the most common beliefs held by practicing Wiccans. None of this will be anything new even for someone who has read the most basic “Wicca 101” book but Bonewits does do an excellent job of summarizing the majority of the core elements of Wiccan ritual and belief.
And last but not least is the Appendices which cover an assortment of relevant topics and as well as some resources (some which may be outdated at this time) for Wiccans at the time of the books printing.
This is a book that has a big title that delivers completely in its promise. As I said earlier this is definitely not the only book you will ever need to understand Wicca and Witchcraft but it is certainly one of the best ones available. This book along with “Drawing Down the Moon” by Margot Adler are excellent sources of information for those looking to study the social significance and history of the Neopagan movement. This may have been a quick read but each chapter is to the point and loaded with well researched ideas and evidence. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking to brush up on their knowledge of the Witchcraft and Wicca and for those who just want another valuable addition to their existing Pagan library!
In the Preface he explains his biases and experience in the field of Witchcraft and Wicca, something I honestly wish more authors would do in some of their works in this field. This aids in helping you see through the author’s perspective and hopefully enables a frame of mind where the information being presented can be put into proper context. Also, too many books are written by “High Priests/esses” whom have little or no real world experience in their Craft and more often than not present a skewed or inaccurate portrayal of Wicca or Witchcraft in general. Bonewits is one of the few serious writers of occult topics that goes above and beyond to take a scholarly approach to the subject and would have been one of the first ones to change or edit his beliefs with the presentation of new evidence proving a theory incorrect. It was clear that he highly valued an accurate understanding of history and would not be one to hide or brush anything under the rug that may portray Wiccans in an unfavorable light. This is seen time and time again in the proceeding sections of his book.
Part One is entitled Paleopagan Witchcraft and examines the known origins of Witchcraft, or at least with what people have come to recognize as the origins of Witchcraft. Bonewits was always one to delve into etymology and not surprisingly the first chapter explores the history of the word “witch” and how its use and association has evolved over time. The next two chapters approach the topics of Cunning Men/Women and Shaman’s respectively and how they may, or more likely not, have been involved in what most people would consider to be the practice of Witchcraft today.
Part Two is called Mesopagan Witchcraft and attempts to shed light on many of the misconceptions the founders of Wicca had concerning the “Old Religion” they claim to be continuing. Chapter 4 is a solid essay on witches as followers of Satan which has been exaggerated to an almost comical extent by several denominations of people, even witches themselves. The next chapter goes into length on the wildly inaccurate but highly touted theories of Margaret Murray who claimed that Witchcraft in post medieval times is really the remnants of a universal witch cult which thrived in the Pre-Christian era. Though this is now known to be nothing short of fantasy it is important to understand the works of Murray as they has a direct influence on the founding of Wicca and many Goddess oriented beliefs in the past century. The next chapters covers the myths and realities of so called “Family Witches” who claim to have a surviving Pagan tradition passed though their family lines over the centuries (most commonly, my Grandma taught me to do it!). The final two chapters of this section highlight those who directly influenced the Wiccan belief system. Chapter 8 which is titled “The Parents, Aunts, Uncles, and Feuding Cousins of Wicca” goes into exceptional detail of the who’s who of early Wicca including of course a section on Gerald Gardner the literal founder of Wicca which is very informative.
Part Three titled Neopagan Witchcraft expands on the growth of the Neopagan movement during the late 1960’s to early onward. As Bonewits himself was an influential member of the Neopagan community during these times his commentary provides some insight from someone who was actually there about that time which was filled with the creation and breaking of several different factions involved in the movement. As he points out not all of his ideas and attitudes were accepted during these times but in my opinion he does not go overboard in being critical of his opponents of what led those to show him disfavor. Chapter 10 explains how feminism and Witchcraft became associated with each other and the benefits and drawbacks that have come from a political movement uniting with a growing religious movement. The end of this section is a valuable critique on how Neopagans can further cement their foothold in our culture and establish some credibility in this modern age.
Part Four is a brief but efficient primer on the framework of Wiccan practices and some of the most common beliefs held by practicing Wiccans. None of this will be anything new even for someone who has read the most basic “Wicca 101” book but Bonewits does do an excellent job of summarizing the majority of the core elements of Wiccan ritual and belief.
And last but not least is the Appendices which cover an assortment of relevant topics and as well as some resources (some which may be outdated at this time) for Wiccans at the time of the books printing.
This is a book that has a big title that delivers completely in its promise. As I said earlier this is definitely not the only book you will ever need to understand Wicca and Witchcraft but it is certainly one of the best ones available. This book along with “Drawing Down the Moon” by Margot Adler are excellent sources of information for those looking to study the social significance and history of the Neopagan movement. This may have been a quick read but each chapter is to the point and loaded with well researched ideas and evidence. I would highly recommend this book to anyone looking to brush up on their knowledge of the Witchcraft and Wicca and for those who just want another valuable addition to their existing Pagan library!
February 8, 2013
I loved this book! It's not only a must-read for "newcomers" to the Craft but also for the Elders of the Craft! Like Hutton's 'Triumph' this book is groundbreaking and a very worthy read when you want to know about Wicca's true history. Whereas I do think that the lack of evidence doesn't necessarily prove that our religion isn't a survival, it still seems very unlikely that it is (which doesn't make it illegitimate or anything, though)... The romantic in me wants to believe but for now we'll have to go with the provable facts! And if you want those you'll want to read this amazing book by Isaac Bonewits!
December 9, 2014
Isaac Bonewits was the Bill Bryson of Paganism: able to distill a ridiculous amount of information down to a short, highly readable form. The first half of this book is a history of the idea of witchcraft, from the middle ages through Gerald Gardner to the present day. The chapters on the growth of American witchcraft and Paganism benefit from Bonewits's having been involved in those movements from very early on: he has first- and second-hand information that many other Craft historians lack. This little book is an absolutely fascinating look at how we got to where we are - I recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in witchcraft.
December 24, 2023
I immensely enjoyed this book. I read an older version witchcraft a concise guide and will get this one soon and re-read it. This is definitely not a typical introduction to Wicca. it clears all the misconception about the roots of witchcraft. I have not read a book quite like this one before. I enjoy his humor which some might probably be offended by. This is now on my must-read list for new Wiccans.
April 3, 2025
Closer to a 5 than a 3. Though the author's writing style was abrasive at first it contains very interesting information and views on Wicca. I could surely see myself recommending this book to someone whose interested in Wicca and is tired of Wicca 101 books.
April 25, 2009
I believe that one of the most important things that a teacher of the Craft can impart on their students is an understanding of the difference between our mythology and our history. While both are vitally important to understanding where we came from and who we're trying to become, it is a distinction that needs to be made. Many books (too many) claim the created mythology of the "history of modern Wicca" as real history. Bonewits, however, makes the distinction clearly and relatively concisely, in a book that is geared towards non-academics without being "dumbed down". This is absolutely a book that I would recommend (even require) any of my students to read and seriously think about as a first step into the Craft and paganism. It's a great introduction to the subject, as well as a springboard for more involved texts like Hutton's "Triumph of the Moon".
June 26, 2012
this is more of a history/debunking myth book than a standard wicca 101 how to book. he touches on many of the same points as Hutton did in The Triumph of the Moon but the presentation here is far more concise and written for a more general audience. i enjoy the authors "let's dispense with the bullshit" approach as well as his humor/sarcasm. this is the first book of his i've read and i will definitely seek out more. the book contains a very useful and very detailed recommended reading list.
February 13, 2015
Bonewits has written a very handy guide that takes the reader through a likely sociological history of western European paganism - from ancient times to the present-day neopagan movement. His stance seems neutral to me, and I appreciated the occasional snippet of humour to lighten the tone. I appreciated as well his citations, and his assessment of other sources seemed quite unbiased.
All in all, a very approachable book that demystified a few things for me.
All in all, a very approachable book that demystified a few things for me.
December 29, 2016
Too much politics; not enough info.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews