Witches' Craft: A Multidenominational Wicca Bible

Apart from the incredibly misleading title (which I cannot blame on the author, knowing that publishers and their marketing departments love words like "bible" and "complete" to sell a book), this is a terrifically useful and informative book for anyone who studies Wicca, or who is interested in how modern neo-Pagan traditions arise.

The back cover copy states that "Witches' Craft provides detailed explanations of practices from each of the five major Wiccan traditions" and that's precisely what it does. Books on Wicca usually focus on the Gardnerian source material to the exclusion of other influences, and Witches' Craft redresses this injustice in a clear and easy-to-compare format. The five traditions which Wilborn has chosen as the material for this text are: Gardnerian Wicca, Italian Wicca, Saxon Wicca, and West Country Wicca/North Country Wicca. Information on each tradition has come directly from original paperwork as well as interviews with long-time practitioners of each branch of Wicca.

The book is laid out in such a way that after an introductory section called "Fundamentals" situates the reader with a good look at history, tools, the deities of Wicca and more, three sections on "Rituals," "Grimoire," and "Seasonal Rites" set out how each tradition performs or approaches the same aspect of practice or portion of a larger ritual. This method allows the reader to see immediately how aspects of Wiccan philosophy differ from tradition to tradition, without having to sort through different chapters or even different books. The section on sabbats is particularly interesting, as the reader can better understand the wide variety of cultural sources for the modern Wheel of the Year simply by reading the variety of cultural sources for the associated traditions.

A glossary, bibliography, and a decent index are also included. The book is illustrated here and there providing visual reference for positions or diagrams which might otherwise be difficult to visualise.

Wilborn does a remarkable job in remaining non-judgmental, and presents facts as objectively as possible when writing a work based on interviews from subjects who may be far from impartial. Much of the information in this book will be new to practitioners of eclectic Wicca, and possibly to those of a specific tradition as well, providing a new outlook upon this religion and its variety of cultural interpretations.

(c) 2005 A. Murphy-Hiscock. Originally published in WynterGreene, Ostara (March) 2005.