The Complete Witches'
Handbook, about witchcraft, spells, sabbats, wicca festivals and
wiccan beliefs.
Witches' Bible Reviewed
If you are tired of "Wicca 101" books aimed at the complete beginner
(or worse, at "fluff bunnies"), the Farrar's
A Witches' Bible might be the book for you. While
some of the material seems dated and even slightly offensive in
places (e.g. comments that imply there is really no place for
homosexuals in Wicca), there is a wealth of information on the
Alexandrian branch of British Traditional Wicca and the early
history of Wicca in general.
A Witches' Bible is
really two books under one cover: Eight Sabbats for Witches and The
Witches' Way. This is the chief problem with the book. There are two
separate tables of contents and indexes. The page numbers start over
from one in middle of the volume. Some information is duplicated
between the two volumes included. This doesn't ruin the book, but it
does make it much less convenient to use. Having to look stuff up in
two separate indexes is a pain, for example.
The first half of the book,
originally published as Eight Sabbats for Witches, discusses each of
the eight major Wiccan festivals in detail. The authors examine both
the rituals in a fairly typical Gardner-derived Book of Shadows and
how they fit into a wheel of the year cycle of myths. Like much of
early Wiccan material, there is a somewhat embarrassing reliance on
questionable source material such as Robert Graves' The White
Goddess. This doesn't really ruin any of the rituals, it just calls
into question some of the background material and theory. This first
volume also covers in detail the opening and closing of circles, the
Great Rite, and rituals for Wiccaning, handfasting, and death.
The second half of the book,
originally published as The Witches' Way, mainly consists of sixteen
chapters on Wiccan beliefs such as reincarnation, ethics, healing,
divination, magick, etc. as seen through the eyes of the Farrars. At
times, some of these essays seem very dogmatic. There is useful
knowledge and information in almost every one of them, even if you
do not agree with all the positions the authors take. Approximately
one-third of this second volume is ritual material, however,
presented and explained with the same detail as the sabbats were in
the first volume. You'll find initiation rituals for all three
British Traditional Wiccan degrees, information on consecration
rituals and various usual rituals. There's also an appendix by
Doreen Valiente detailing her attempts to track down Gardner's "Old
Dorothy" and the "New Forest Coven."
If you are used to 1990's
style Wicca 101 books, A Witches' Bible may come as something of a
shock to you. It's not written in a "here's how to do this, run out
and try it" style. It provides detailed information and opinion that
you have to study and think about to get much out of. As one might
expect from any form of British Tradition Wicca, its rituals are
definitely aimed at group practice. You will not find solitary
versions handed to you. With a bit of thought and effort, of course,
many of the rituals presented could be adapted to solitary use.
While all this material may
sound dry and dull, the Farrars manage to make most of it quite
interesting to read. If you are interested in the origin and history
of Wicca, British Traditional Wicca, or are just tired of Wicca
books obviously written so as to not strain the brain of the average
"fluff-bunny," I can't recommend this book highly enough. I've had a
copy of another publisher's printing for more than fifteen years.
I've read it completely several times, and refer to it at least once
month.
If you are interested in
Wicca and ready to move beyond all the "Wicca 101" books on the
market, pick up a copy of A Witches' Bible as soon as you can. It's
not perfect, but it is one of the few "Wicca 201" books on the
market. Even if British Traditional Wicca doesn't really interest
you, you'll learn a lot about Wicca by reading and studying this
book.
Review by Randall
Sapphire
A Witches' Bible by Janet and Stewart Farrar, Trade
Paperback, 550 pages, Phoenix Publishing, July 1996, ISBN:
0919345921.
This review is one of
hundreds of reviews of Pagan, Wiccan, occult, and metaphysical books
in The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum's Books and Reviews section at
http://www.ecauldron.com/bookstore.php.
Randall Sapphire is the
founder and co-host of
The Cauldron: A
Pagan Forum, a popular Pagan Interfaith web site and message
board. He is also an editor at
The
Cheap Web Hosting Report and webmaster for a number of other
sites.
Protect Your Identity
LifeLock
Stops Identity Theft
Click for a
Free Trial.
Meditate
Deeper Than
a Zen Monk.
You Just Press
a
Button. FREE Holosync CD.
Spirit Guides Candle
From
Psychic Tori Hartman. Hand
Poured by a Reiki Practitioner.
Control Your Dreams
Lucid Dreaming Kit
Gives You
Results in 7-Days Guaranteed.
|
