The Witch Book: The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, Wicca, and Neo-Paganism

By Raymond Buckland

Book Overview

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. 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.

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. The Witch Book is a broad and deep look at witches, witchcraft and the Wicca tradition.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1578591147
• ISBN13: 9781578591145
• Release Date: November 2001
• Publisher: Visible Ink Press
• Length: 624 Pages
• Weight: 2.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 7.5" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

full of good stuff.

all kinds of stuff is to be found in here. great for history lessons, or basic need-to-know.

A Great Novelty

As the book states, it is an encyclopedia and you wont find any "how-to" information here, so if that is the type of book you're looking for this isn't the one for you. I consider this a novelty item to own and it has a lot of information about witches and paganism gathered from all over the world. It's also an interesting read, containing every piece of information that even "advanced" pagans and others new to Paganism or wicca/witchcraft would find interesting and learn from. Some inclusions are the Knights Templar, Knot magic, Astrology, aspergillum, many types of herbs and their lores and uses, besom, etc. This book is also great for quick references. This is the first of this type of book that I found in this genre and I love it. I definately dont regret my purchase.

The Witch Book Whitch's dictionary

An excellent book with thousands of things of interest and very accurate information. A book worth getting if you need history, and very useful notes about the Craft.

The Witch Book: Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, Wicca and Neo-Pa

Mr. Buckland has certainly done extensive research to put this book together. The encyclopedia includes terms associated with modern Wicca, the mythological witch, movies, and books. It is an all-around thorough book. So, if your curious about the use of mandrake root or you've seen a strange silent film called Hexan or your curious about Aradia the goddess of the witches, this book is probably a good choice for you.

Most Informative I've Seen On the Market

Recently, I have read The Witch Book by Raymond Buckland and have found it to be the most informative of any other encyclopedia that I have on my book shelf. The book itself goes into greater detail on many subjects whereas others may briefly outline the topic. By reading it, I could tell that many years of research and study have gone into The Witch Book's composition. Reading the entries and topics of which I am familiar with, I know that Buckland in The Witch Book is giving reliable and accurate information, not hastily put together. The Witch Book as an encyclopedia is definitely far superior toits predecessors. The topics given far surpass any glossary found within others books as it reveals as much history as possible of the topic and subject matter and not a mere definition of the word. The Witch Book, I definitely recommend as it would greatly suppliment other encyclopedias that any serious student may already own. Ray T. Malbrough - author