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Product Description The origins of the Wiccan Tradition have long been a subject of debate amongst practitioners and scholars alike. Did Gerald Gardner invent the tradition? Is Wicca a survival of a British folk magick system? Could it be a continuation of a European tradition of Pagan Witchcraft? Might it be that it evolved from Victorian ceremonial magick, or perhaps it is the modern manifestation of the medieval Grimoire Tradition? In this book the authors explore the possible beginnings of the tradition by examining the practices in the context of magickal and spiritual thought spanning thousands of years. Through setting aside the endless debates about initiatory lineages, they look beyond the personalities of the people and instead focus on what they consider to be at the heart of the tradition - the practices. Evidence from many previously uncredited and unconsidered sources is examined. This clearly shows how all the significant component parts of Wiccan ritual and practice have roots reaching back, in some instances thousands of years, before its public emergence at the hands of Gerald Gardner in 1950's England. They explore the sometimes surprising antecedents for key practices such as initiation, magick circles, ritual tools, the invocation of the Guardians of the Watchtowers, Drawing Down the Moon and The Great Rite. The precedents for the Book of Shadows, Wiccan Rede and Charge of the Goddess are also considered as part of this groundbreaking work. Wicca Magickal Beginnings may well answer as many questions as it creates about the true origins and nature of what is probably the most influential of the Western Esoteric Traditions today. Through combining scholarly research with practical knowledge, the authors clearly illustrate that the future of the tradition lies in utilising the rich diversity of its past, through the appreciation of its magickal origins and the untapped potential inherent in it. This book will be invaluable to anyone with an interest in the history, practices and beliefs of the Wiccan Tradition - and its links to Paganism, Witchcraft, the British Folk Traditions and Ceremonial Magick.
Customer Reviews:
Interesting material, a completely fresh lookJune 12, 2008 This book surprised me. I expected to find material which I was familiar with, but in fact the material here goes much deeper than skin deep. I have seen a few reviews comparing it with other books on the history of Wicca, such as Triumph of the Moon, but whilst this is a natural comparison to make, such comparisons miss the point. This book does not present the same material, nor does it cover the same ground as previous books on the history of the tradition. It might however seem to do so, if you have only a superficial interest in the practices and beliefs.
The conclusions reached in this book will interest those interested in the work of Sabbatic Craft, Traditional Witchcraft and anyone who has long felt that Wicca has roots which reach back much earlier than the 1950's. The author actually show that based on the practices alone the tradition might be a continuation of the much older and much respected grimoire tradition. This is very interesting, as the material they present goes into much more detail than previous books. In fact they show that it is not just the Key of Solomon which influenced the Wicca, but also a number of other very important and much older grimoires.
I found their conclusions and theories, their weaving of different threads into one coherent mystery of possibilities interesting. I read a review elsewhere which compared it to a detective story and indeed, in places, it does read like a good detective story. There are many facts and the authors leaves it to the reader to decide what they believe and what they put aside, encouraging the reader to make their own minds up.
The chapter on the Wiccan Rede was very interesting. They examine origins of the thelemic ode in The Adventures of King Pausole, Valiente's work, Gardner's work and a number of other sources. Likewise, the chapter on the Athame was fascinating. Here they present material, with line drawings, showing the actual meanings of the strange inscriptions long passed on from initiate to initiate, with jumbled meanings. The meanings often taken from The Witches Bible, given to the Farrar's by Valiente, who clearly must have misunderstood them. The chapter on Drawing Down the Moon again challenges views and I can imagine that this might upset some Wiccans. Likewise, whilst some of the analysis of The Charge of the Goddess given in that chapter has been seen before, the level of detail in this book is unprecedented and clearly laid out.
There is so much material here for those eagerly looking for something to further their understanding of their Craft. This book will not however make much sense to those Wiccans who prefer to keep their practice to talking about it, this is a book for those who practice and do so with an open mind. As such I would recommend it alongside the other books on the history of the Craft.
Excellent and neededMay 24, 2008 2 out of 2 found this review helpful
(A version of this review was originally posted on 'The Avalonia Esoteric Book Review' site)
If we look at the arguments people have over Wicca, the biggest one is generally whether "Gardner made it up" or not. He introduced `The Craft' to the public in 1951, claiming that he'd been initiated into a system which was already in existence, not one that he invented himself. Since then we've found evidence that Gardner certainly changed parts of it later (as did Doreen Valiente and others), but the question over whether he really found an existing tradition remains.
The authors of this book decided not to focus on the big names like Gerald Gardner, but instead trace the origins of Wiccan *practices*. These are, after all, the things that make Wicca what it is - the ceremonies, tools and systems.
And this is where the trouble is going to start, because many people now see Wicca as primarily a pagan Earth-religion. Early `Gardnerian' Wicca (before it was called that) was very different in some ways: more like an initiatory system of ceremonial magic with some witchy themes. People are quite angry on both sides about whether real Wicca today is the initiatory type, or one that should be open to all.
So what does the book say about this? Well, the first conclusion is that - even if Gerald did make it up - the systems Wicca draws together go back a long way. The early chapters are interesting, but the sections on the Athame, Magic Circle and Calling the Quarters are brilliant. There is a lot of information here for Wiccans who want to know more about where their practices come from: specific parts are traced to the Lesser Key of Solomon or John Dee and Enochian Magic, but beliefs such as only walking sunwise around a circle go back strongly to Egyptian times.
The chants and verses are also examined. `The Charge of the Goddess' is analysed in detail, as are some of the more common chants such as the Witches Rune. This is where the arguments will begin again, because the authors point to some sources that many people won't like. They show just how much of the Charge of the Goddess comes straight from Aleister Crowley, who isn't always a popular figure with modern wiccans. Doreen Valiente re-wrote much of the Charge from the original version, claiming she wanted to reduce the amount of Crowley material in it, but then replaced it with more! In fact, Valiente doesn't come out of this very well at all, although the authors politely use phrases such as "she may have been mistaken...".
I already knew some of these origins before reading this book, but the level of detail here really adds something. It makes a difference that the authors are practicing Wiccans with experience in ceremonial traditions, because finding the sources sometimes depends on understanding exactly what each ritual represents. Unfortunately, the answers aren't always going to be what wiccans want to hear. At one point the list reads "Crowley, Lesser Key of Solomon, Crowley, Christianity". For wiccans whose path may be primarily a pagan religion, this isn't going to go down well.
It doesn't have to offend, though. By emphasising the link to ceremonial magick, the authors actually reinforce Wicca's connection to original European witchcraft. Cunning Men are well known to have worked from books on astrology and texts such as these, but included here are also illustrations of *witches* working in a similar way. One illustration from 1715 shows a woman in a double-circle commanding spirits with a wand, following instructions from a book on the ground.
So, the big question: Do the authors claim that Wicca has a beginning that goes back before Gardner? Well, I'm not going to tell you. Finding out is half the fun of this book! They set out a number of possibilities, and discuss the evidence for each before picking one based on their own opinions. Regardless of whether you agree with their conclusions, people are already so divided on this topic that it is likely to be a very controversial book.
Because of that, I expected `Wicca: Magickal Beginnings' to sell very quickly. (I didn't expect it to sell every copy of its first print run in approximately three hours, however!) What was a nice surprise was how useful it will be to wiccans in their daily practice - knowing the roots of the tools and ceremonies really added a lot to my appreciation of many areas, and I loved reading about them. Some of the references are put in just for fun (and clearly labelled as such), but quite often the conclusions are a little different to those the wiccan community usually assumes are the case.
The first printing isn't free from mistakes: an errata sheet is included (humourously claiming that the minor spelling errors are all the fault of Hermes, the mischievous God of communication). The rest of the presentation is good though, and it becomes a real page-turner when you find a part of wiccan practice you feel strongly about.
"Magickal Beginnings" pulls together all the subjects that will interest wiccans, but which are usually too diverse to be found in one place. Readers who want to go further now have a valuable set of links to excellent texts. (The bibliography at the back runs to 16 pages...) By covering the ceremonial topics as well as looking at themes on the pagan side such as Cernunnos, I think "Wicca: Magickal Beginnings" is going to become a vital part of many wiccans' bookshelves.
