Excellent IntroductionMay 27, 2008 This, along with The Witches' Goddess: The Feminine Principle of Divinity, provides and excellent introduction to Wiccan concepts of divinity. Both books are well researched and as complete as can be expected given the enormity of the subject.
The Witches' God by Janet and Stewart FarrarApril 23, 2008 This is a really good book for people that are studying the gods. I truely enjoyed this book. It was very informative.
A necessary piece of the puzzleJanuary 2, 2008 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is well worth the time and effort. Our male divinites are a vital part of our beings and the Farrars have done a commendable job with this one. I say that this volume is a necessary part of any witches study.
Some people will dismiss the entire work because of a postition they do not agree with (a reviewer below advises that this book is dangerous).In my view,I would think that most intelligent and understanding people in the craft will be able to utilize the information presented here as an asset to their own spiritual path. Even information that you feel is wrong is a gift because it can ,if you allow it to, help to strenghten your own beliefs.
What in my opinion makes this book, along with all of her published works so valuable to our history is the fact that, like Starhawk and the Spiral Dance, Janet has grown and changed over the years.It is important for us, especially to those who are just setting out on the path to see and undestand how the Craft, modern paganism and Wicca as a religion have developed, stumbled and grown into what we have now, and how it will hopefully do the same as the years move on. As we grow as a movement and learn more about our histories we can only hope that others who are held as leaders in our communities will have the same courage shown by Janet and others to realize that some ideas and understandings no longer work.
That being said, I would like to add this: If it were not for the Farrars,Gardner,Doreen Valiente, Raymond Buckland, Ed Fitch,Gavin & Yvonne Frost, Wicca would not exist.We must give honor and respect to those who helped clear the path for the rest of us no matter if we agree with them or not.
What draws me to this path is that unlike the big-box religions,the pagan way is one that is and will always be evolving. If we allow ourselves to be open to change, growth and have an unconditional trust in the Gods, we will be able to become the people we were meant to be. And getting there is going to be the journey and adventure of a lifetime.
very dangerousAugust 2, 2006 12 out of 21 found this review helpful
Reading this book one encounters some information about pagan male deities, but it is presented in a manner "dry" and somewhat disorganized, just a collection of facts which seem to have been taken out of an encyclopedia, like a kid's homework. A more "humane" depiction of the God of the witches, is to be found in starhawk's spiral dance, it is inspired, poetic and it helps the practitioner to understand better, and attune to the horned God. Even though some of the rituals presented in this book are of interest I only gave it one star because in the section appertaining "the war God", the authors have the ridiculous arrogance of retiring the God mars! and even write: "But war Gods today we can do without" and "we would do well to reject firmly mars", so according to this people, people from the aries sign, (such as myself), the holy sephira Gebura,( which despite their folly is holy) and those born under the influence of the "red ray" should not exist! For a practitioner, to think that he/she is wiser than deity, is the first step in the path of self destruction, one shouldn't forget the story of Lucifer, although I'am a witch,there is always wisdom to be found in the theology and parables of other religions.Having seen that woman in a video (Janet Farrar) and observing her demeanor, it is not difficult to realize that she probably thinks she can tell the Gods what to do and even retire them! Their anti-war position of this people is an impracticable utopia, a dangerous delusion which is only likely to create imbalance in the microcosm and in the macrocosm and render the practitioner vulnerable to forces darker than he can possibly imagine.
Informative ReadJanuary 6, 2004 10 out of 10 found this review helpful
This book is advertised as having three parts. The first discusses God archetypes, the second presents rituals for various Gods, and the third is supposed to be an encyclopedia of Gods. The only truely useful part (for me at least) is part one.
The discussion of God archetypes is pretty good. Some of the archetypes are better than others, but overall the Farrars' do a good job of presenting the material. A little more academic than most of the other books I have read on the subject. Presents the each archetype seperately but makes important connections between them. Written sort of as a series of justifications for archetypes.
The second part gives short descriptions of each God and then provides a ritual. Many of the rituals are little more than long incantations. They are all written for covens and most cannot be easily adapted to solitary use. Still, the descriptions of the Gods themselves are interesting.
Finally the third part is nothing more than a list of names. Many of the names say nothing next to them at all. Some of three or four word descriptions like "God of War" or "Father of Blank." Arranged alphabetically instead of by culture or archetype so you need to know the God's name in order to look it up, at which point you only learn His name, something you already knew.
A good read if you are interested in learning more about the roles of God archetypes.
