Synopses & Reviews
Practicing witches, many of them middle-class women with families, number from 50,000 to 250,000 in the U.S. alone, according to the New York Times. Salem, Massachusetts, draws more than 500,000 tourists and $42 million worth of serious fun every year at Halloween. With 560 entries, a resource section, and 114 photos and illustrations, The Witch Book is an exhaustive A-to-Z exploration of people, places, events, literature, and other matters related to this ever-timely and popular topic. Best-selling occult author Raymond Buckland defines both the darker Christian concept and the true concept of Wicca, concentrating on the Western European and later New World versions of Witchcraft and magic. From Abracadabra to Aleister Crowley to Gardnerian Witchcraft to Rosemary’s Baby to Sorcery and Zoroastra, The Witch Book is unmatched in its coverage of witchcraft’s historical, practical, and cultural aspects. “ Highly recommended. A true moveable feast for reading, and as a reference it is one of the most complete of its kind available.” —Ghostvillage.com. “ An excellent reference source for those researching the historical and contemporary world of witchcraft.” —American Reference Books Annual 2004. “ Just about everything a person might want to learn about witches and witchcraft can be found in this one volume.” —-About.com
Review
"Through 560 entries, this encyclopedic reference includes biographies of major figures, reviews the portrayal of witches and witchcraft in popular movies and books, discusses the persecution of witches over the ages, and explains key concepts important to Wiccan beliefs and practices. Just about everything a person might want to learn about witches and witchcraft can be found in this one volume."
About.com"This is an excellent reference source for those researching the historical and contemporary world of witchcraft." American Reference Books
"Enjoyable for general reading purposes, it is also an incredible referencing of material . . .. Buckland's The Witch Book is highly recommended." Ghostvillage.com
"Buckland has done a fine job putting together this volume. a unique and powerful collection of knowledge." Horrornews.net
Synopsis
A look at Witches, Witchcraft and the Wicca tradition from the author of Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft From Abracadabra to Aleister Crowley to Gardnerian Witchcraft to Rosemary's Baby to sorcery and Zoroaster, The Witch Book by the late, great Raymond Buckland is unmatched in its coverage of witchcraft's historical, practical, and cultural aspects.
With 560 entries, a resource section, and 114 photos and illustrations, this is an exhaustive exploration of Witchcraft, Wicca, paganism, magic, people, places, events, literature, and more. It shows how, in pre-Christian and early Christian times, Witchcraft (with a capital "W") was a magical and healing practice associated with early spirtual beliefs, including how the word "Witch" comes from the Old Anglo-Saxon wicce or wicca, meaning a "wise one" the wiseman or -woman of the common people who had knowledge of herbs, healing, augury, and magic. It also tackles how Witchcraft and paganism were erroneously linked with Satanism, black magic, and pop-culture distortions. It defines both the darker Christian concept and the true concept of Wicca, concentrating on the Western European and later New World versions of Witchcraft and magic.
A student of the late Wicca pioneer Dr. Gerald Gardner, Raymond Buckland has been widely credited with introducing Wicca to the United States. He was one of the world's foremost experts on Witchcraft, Wicca, and Earth religions.
Synopsis
With 560 entries, a resource section, and 114 photos and illustrations, this is an exhaustive A-to-Z exploration of people, places, events, literature, and other matters related to this ever-timely and popular topic. It defines both the darker Christian concept and the true concept of Wicca, concentrating on the Western European and later New World versions of Witchcraft and magic.
Synopsis
In pre-Christian and early Christian times, Witchcraft (with a capital "W") was a magical and healing practice associated with the pagan religion. Good witches were pretty much the norm. The very word "Witch" comes from the Old Anglo-Saxon wicce or wicca, meaning a "wise one;" the wiser of the common people having knowledge of herbs, healing, augury, and magic. But during the last 1,000 years, Witchcraft and paganism received much bad press. With 560 entries, a resource section, and 114 photos and illustrations, this is an exhaustive A-to-Z exploration of people, places, events, literature, and other matters related to this ever-timely and popular topic. It defines both the darker Christian concept and the true concept of Wicca, concentrating on the Western European and later New World versions of Witchcraft and magic. From Abracadabra to Aleister Crowley to Gardnerian Witchcraft to Rosemary's Baby to sorcery and Zoroastra, The Witch Book is unmatched in its coverage of witchcraft's historical, practical, and cultural aspects.
About the Author
One of the world's foremost experts on the occult, Raymond Buckland has been studying and practicing fortune telling, Witchcraft, Gypsy magic, and other aspects of the supernatural for more than half a century. He has had nearly 40 titles published, including The Witch Book, The Fortune-Telling Book, and the classic Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft. Buckland has been the subject of and has written countless newspaper and magazine articles, appeared on many television and radio shows, and lectured on college campuses nationwide.