Customer Reviews

Diary of a Witch

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

i actually purchased this paperback second-hand many many years ago when i was a teen. i felt back then i wasnt ready for this book and couldnt get "into" it, yet i hung onto it because i knew i would want to read it one day(i am now in my mid-30's). i read it in a short span of a couple of days in spite of a busy schedule and found it refreshingly honest and open about the emotions Sybil Leek experienced growing up in a Witch household and all of the special people who touched her life and shaped her experiences in England and throughout the world. Her special friendship with Aleister Crowley from early childhood was especially endearing to read about and gave a great insight to his personality. its a wonderful and entertaining as well as informative auto-biographical story. i highly recommend it to all!

I wizzed through this borrowed copy of "Diary of a Witch" in one day this summer. This is a delightful book that is well written and easy to read. I too have never read anything about witches or thier relgion wicca. It dispells (no pun intended!) any preconcieved notions, most of which are negative, you may have about witchcraft. Sybil certainly lead a very interesting life or she's a great story teller. Which ever way you look at it, if you are open minded I am sure you'll enoy this book.

Sybil Leek -- to generations that name means many things, yet, in fact, while many credit Gerald Gardener with the revitalisation of Wicca, Sybil Leek was the one to really bring the neo-Pagan arts to the masses, and to live her craft. I'm only allowed 1000 words here, and I can't even begin to say enough about her. I'd have paid a lot more for this book myself, and have searched for it for a few years. The Complete Art of Witchcraft, in whatever condition you can find it, is also a great read, and if anyone's got a copy of her book of Curses out there, put it up for sale, and I'll see what I can scrape together to give it a good home. Great witches never die, their words and actions live on and ensure them a place in the halls of immortality. May she and Mr. Hotfoot Jackson be reuinted in the Summerlands or beyond, and if that was not her last time around, may I meet her in this incarnation.

This book is great for all of those who are wondering what a witch can be like and for those who automatically think witches are as seen on television. I suggest it to anyone serious or curious about this subject!

This book is one the best i've read within all of Sybil's books. A great bio of her life and her ways of living as a modern day witch. Even though, there are "some" things that are taken with a grain of salt with her words (meaning you either believe her or not), its very hard to put down this great book. Very highly recommended !

This was the first book that I read that focused on witchcraft. I always learn something new each time I read it. If you're looking for a book about what it is like growing up in a family of witches, this is the one.

After reading this book one just has to feel closer to Sybil Leek. Her style of writing is just great and easy to follow. Definate must.

I read this book 20 years ago, just before Ronald Reagan was elected, though the book had been written about 15 years before that. It was a pleasant and interesting enough quick read about her life as a "witch" and astrologer among certain circles. As I am a person who has a much more earth-based orientation to life and, I suppose, the craft of being a witch, I could not really relate to her life, but it was still interesting to read about her life and times.

What did strike me, though, and what prompts me to write this, is that she wrote so many years ago about her association with Ronald Reagan. As I remember, she told him many years ago (before he entered politics at all, I believe) that he would have an important role to play in the history of this country.

I had such an eerie feeling as I read that, and such a sinking feeling that she was accurately predicting Reagan's election to the presidency...which did happen just weeks later. I was not at all surprised when years later it came out that the Reagans had been consulting astrologers about the timing, at least, of events relating to the presidency, nation and world.

I would have suggested OTHER witches and astrologers to consult. The Reagans could have learned something about the Earth, the Environment, and a more wholistic way of life from others. Remember, RR considered catsup a vegetable....

But Sybil Leek was a celebrity astrologer, and this is why she came into contact with the Reagans. Because of her contacts and friendships, she has been more influential than one might otherwise imagine. You can file this one under source material for the politics of the 1980's, along with "Where's the Rest of Me" and other simple Reagan biographies which show other little known and unexpected influences upon that era.

The book came right on time. The book was in really good condition. Thanks so much

Reading DIARY OF A WITCH again after 31 years is like sitting down for tea with a favorite great aunt that you haven't seen in ages and listening to her life's story. I recently found a copy of the first edition hardcover in a used bookstore and didn't hesitate to snatch it up, which I now consider one of my Wiccan treasures. The book is a fascinating read and in my opinion should be required study for any new witch or wizard. It is essentially a biographical essay by an hereditary witch. Sybil was one of the first witches to come out of the broom closet and her influence on American Wicca (i.e. the so called "eclectic" Wicca) is incalculable. Fortunately, it isn't a difficult book to read and a student can usually finish it in one of two readings. The chapters move quickly, although eleven and twelve do drag a little. Otherwise, the book is perfect. Back in 77 it proved to be the catalyst for a lifelong interest in the craft. My advice is to buy it used while you still can. The book jacket makes the hardcover edition worth having for the funky cover art and the slightly irregular page edges (which remind me of "old books") is a nice touch.