/begin rant
In my never-ending quest for information, I stumbled across a pdf of A Practical Guide to Witchcraft and Magic Spells by Cassandra Eason (Foulsom Press, 2001). I’m fairly certain it’s a pirated copy and for that, my apologies to Ms. Eason. However, had I purchased the book, it would have been returned.
The title of the book is really, really a misnomer. It should read, “A Practical Guide to Wicca…”.
Some errors from just the first chapter:
“Witchcraft is said to be the oldest religion in the world.” A quick Google search gives the following definition of religion: “the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power [emphasis mine], especially a personal God or gods.” While some witches may choose to follow a particular religion and/or incorporate deities in their path, it’s a craft and is separate from religion. (IMNSHO, of course.)
“[…] basic rules of witchcraft […] An ye harm none, do what you will. […] other equally vital law of witchcraft, the Threefold Law.” These are laws of Wicca, not of witchcraft in general.
Of course, there’s the whole casting a circle, calling on the Guardians of the Watchtower, invoking deities, continual mention of “white magick” … Not all of us cast circles, much less the Watchtower stuff and many of us have absolutely no problem casting a hex or curse.
When will people stop conflating Wicca with all witchcraft?
//end rant
1 Comment
Well, of course. What did you expect from a book that is copyrighted 2001? That means it was probably written 1999-2000. That’s around the time that the Great Shift in thinking about Wicca and Witchcraft was just beginning to get mainstream. There were preciously few books available on traditional Witchcraft, cunning-craft, etc., and most of those were from Great Britain. What was being published was what the market wanted at the time. Then the market changed, and as it did so, the books available changed, too. In your never-ending quest for information, perhaps adding some filters might be appropriate.
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