From Witch to Wicca

From Witch to Wicca is a mythographer's view of the transformation of cultural perceptions of witchcraft and magic, from folk shamanism to Hollywood witches of the 21st century. An excellent examination of the perception and portrayal of witchcraft throughout the ages, it is made even more interesting by the author's explicit statement that she is neither Pagan nor Christian, nor indeed a devoted follower of any religion. By examining witchcraft via the depictions of the contemporary media, Jones offers a different dimension of understanding how history has treated the figure of the witch.

The book works through the medieval witch craze, through Enlightenment, and the Victorian industrial revolution, drawing parallels between the political and secular atmospheres and the gradual lessening of emphasis on the spiritual life. Jones looks at the depictions and perceptions of the natural, practical magic often termed as "folk magic", and compares and contrasts the perceptions with those of political, intellectual magic often termed "high magic" or "ceremonial magic." Jones examines the standard historical information most Neo-Pagans are familiar with, but from a less academic and more socio-cultural viewpoint. As a mythographer, Jones looks also at the literature produced concurrent with the historical events, offering a different dimension to her research. Traditional cultural perceptions of magic and witchcraft as portrayed through media such as plays (focusing on Shakespeare's oeuvre), gothic novels (such as Walpole's Castle of Otranto), and children's literature (especially Baum's Oz series), and myth all serve as focal points for Jones' analysis.

Although the ending is a bit rushed, and the book in general lacks an overall conclusion, the text itself is still interesting for the lay reader. Written in an appealing style, it offers a pleasant alternative to the heavier ethnographies and anthropological studies available.

(c) 2004 L.A. Murphy-Hiscock. Originally published in Wyntergreene Ostara 2004