Customer Reviews

Gardner's Book of Shadows

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

This is nothing new. This is just repackaging of material made public elsewhere and freely available on the net. This material is what Aidan Kelly has been trying to pass off as a Gardnerian Book of Shadows for years. However, it is not a Gardnerian Book of Shadows. Such can only be obtained by authentic Gardnerian training and initiation. Don't buy what you can obtain online for free.

What the hell is this? This has GOT to be illegal! I believe Doreen Valiente is the one who would give permission for Gardner's actual material re-printed, or it would be in the hands of their publisher from their original "Book of Shadows" published grimoire.

Gerald's NAME isn't even SPELLED CORRECTLY on the cover! WTF? This, if nothing else, should be an indicator as to what the material is like. Who is this other author? Obviously not Valiente. I wouldn't credit this book more than the dirt on my shoe.

I have NEVER seen a more poorly constructed book in my entire life...and I've been alive 30 years. Perhaps the publisher could not afford to pay proofreaders? Don't waste your money on these "Gardnerian secrets" when the designer/publisher didn't even take the time or make the effort to put the book together correctly. YUCK!

Never trust a book that misspells the author's name on the cover.

You're not going to get a REAL Gardnerian book of shadows unless you're initiated into a Gardnerian coven. Want to know what they know? You'll have to do the work. Don't feel called to be a Gardnerian? Why would you ever need their BOS?

While I certainly agree that all of the Gardnerian BOS has been published in one form another and there isn't any great big secret bit to it, I have to disagree with the idea that "there are no hidden secrets to the Gardnerian tradition ..." If there weren't any secrets, it wouldn't be a Mystery Religion. And, the secrets don't have to be secrets kept by humans, but those kept by the Divine, only to be revealed when the time is right.

If you buy this book, you do yourself and traditional Wicca - especially if you want to learn traditional Wicca - a great disservice. Stay away from the abundance of crap.

I've seen this material on the web. It's certainly not worth buying. Some folks will print anything. It's all stuff that Kelly dreamed up years ago in his others books.

I found this book to be very useful in making my own BOS. Gardner's Book of Shadows has some of the most beautiful rituals ive ever seen

I have to agree with the High Priestess who also reviewed this book that it is highly accurate and well put-together. People who tell you that the internet version of Gardner's Book of Shadows is better, either because it's free or because it's "more accurate" or reveals more "Gardnerian secrets" is deceiving you or deceived themselves. First of all, let's be clear on this, there are no grand "Gardnerian Secrets" waiting to be revealed or anything, the Book of Shadows by Gardner is about coven ritual and cult mythology. And yes, it is free on the internet, but an internet version is subject to the possibility of endless tampering, and who wants to keep going back to the computer screen or printer paper to review the content? I for one prefer an attractive book like this one to open when I need to refer to the material within, and haven't found a parallel to this book anywhere. Some will say it is poorly laid-out, but they are probably complaining about the first section of the book, a poorly typed and poorly researched internet discussion on Gardner's works, I recommend you ignore that section as it offers nothing positive, just dive right in to the content of the book itself. I enjoyed this book greatly and intend to hold onto it.

The book is beautifully done! This book shows how coven rituals are performed. Do not be fooled by those who claim that there are more secrets to Gardnerian than what is here. There may be a new ritual or two added but for the most part this is acurate information. I have been High Priestess most of my life and I can tell you that there are no real deep secrets to unveil.

this is such a good book! I loved it!