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

by Raymond Buckland

Book Overview

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...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1578591147
• ISBN13: 9781578591145
• Release Date: November 2001
• Publisher: Visible Ink Press
• Length: 624 Pages
• Weight: 2.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 7.5" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

Not the cover shown

The book has a lot of information and even though the cover is not the same I'm glad I purchased it.

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