2008-08-11 Great!

Doreen Valiente really knew her stuff, I bought this book after reading her other one 'Natural Magic' and being very impressed by her knowledge of witchcraft -- this is not a how to book, please note. For anyone not interested in Wicca this is a good book to buy as it's about traditional witchcraft as well as a few bits about Wicca.

'ABC of Witchcraft Past and Present' covers a wide array of topics all relating to witchcraft in an alphabetical format -- very much like a mini encyclopaedia! I've not gone through the whole text yet, but I've read many of the entries and found them fascinating, I've also learned a fair bit I was unaware of before (always a good thing). The only error I've spotted thus far is that Doreen refers to Hecate as a 'crone' which is maddening, as Hecate is a virgin goddess that is how she was seen in ancient Greece (so please be wary of some information).

All the topics covered are in line with witchcraft and all the gods Doreen writes about are traditional Witch gods/goddesses -- the topics covered can vary in length from one page to several.

Some of the topics covered in the book are: Druidry and its connections to witchcraft, the Fae and their connection to witches, Avalon, Artemis, Hecate, Lilith, Diana, the Horned God, the Green Man, the evil eye, 'Aradia: or Gospel of the Witches', Gerald Gardner, Charles Leland and the astral planes etc.

Probably not the most appropriate book for absolute novices, but for the rest of us (with some prior experience in witchcraft) this is a wonderful book full to the brim with a wealth of interesting information. Happy reading.