High Magic's Aid [Paperback]

Gerald Gardner (Author), Scire (pen name of Gerald Gardner) (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0963065785 | ISBN-13: 978-0963065780 | Publication Date: March 1996

The standard work on Wicca, Witchcraft and Paganism by "The Father of Wicca" Gerald B. Gardner is available again! Set in mediaeval times and told as an exciting adventure story in the manner of "The Lord of the Rings", "High Magic's Aid" takes the reader on a quest to uncover the ancient, lost and forbidden secrets of Magic and Witchcraft. The word "wicca" comes from the Old English "wise". Gerald Gardner's main achievement was the revival of the rituals and magical beliefs of Ancient Britain. With his in-depth knowledge of traditional folk-lore and magical rituals given to him by a Master Adept, Gardner revived a vital branch of the western magical tradition. Join the quest and discover the most arcane high secrets of High Magic's Aid!

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 236 pages
• Publisher: Godolphin House (March 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0963065785
• ISBN-13: 978-0963065780
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,522,379 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting book, well worth the read (and the money), October 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: High Magic's Aid (Paperback)

This is a book that should be in all Wiccans libraries! The magickal operations are correct and the 'wiccan' operations are also correct(ish) But apart from that, it is a warm, sometimes humorous, sometimes horrifiying story of two brothers fight to reclaim land that once was theirs, with the help of a magician and a witch. It gives alot of good background information on what the craft might have been like way back when...

23 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Historical Curiousity, March 20, 2001

By 

Elderbear (Loma Linda, Aztlan) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: High Magic's Aid (Paperback)

If you want a guide to Wicca, look elsewhere (Janet and Stewart Farrar, Starhawk, Doreen Valiente, to name a few). Although this was Gerald Gardner's first book on the Craft (published under the pen name Scire), most ritual presented within is ceremonial magic. At this time, much of modern Wicca had not yet been developed (The Charge of the Goddess had not yet taken its current form). Gleaning useful information from this text is a great deal of work--far more complete distillations may be found in the works of the authors named above.

Scire was not a great novelist, either. His prose is OK and his story development is adequate. But this isn't a real page turner. If you want to read occult fiction from this time period, *anything* Dion Fortune wrote is better written than this novel. Contemporary novels, such as Katherine Kurtz' Adept series & Mercedes Lackey's Diana Tregarde tales seem much more palatable for anybody who just wants to entertain themselves with "Witch Novels."

I am, however, deeply grateful for having taken the time and effort to read this book. It is a piece of History. Without Gerald B. Gardner and his antics, it is unlikely that the Craft would be available to the general public today. This book was the prodrome to the popular revival of the Craft. To read it is to partake of History. Because of this--not for its instructional merits, nor for its entertainment value--I give it five stars.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fact Or Fiction !, November 15, 2000

By 

Anthony Francis (Baldwin, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: High Magic's Aid (Paperback)

It's entertaining as a semi-fiction novel, but just the feel of authenticity and the sheer need for knowledge by most, including novices makes this an absoulte MUST HAVE. Those of us compleatly lost and looking for a basis of real ritual answers (and generally finding: You need to know the right people or read and guess what's authentic) is a hopefull hint towards a good ceremorial magical start. Check "The Rebirth Of Witchcraft" by Doreen Valiente (A former high priestess of Gerald's) as a historical reference to this and more of his works.