Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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59 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Clarity, Scholarship, Fairness and Respect, June 16, 2000
I really appreciated reading this book, which is the work of a serious religious scholar. I am a very Wicca-friendly, Pagan-wise person (in my opinion), and certainly do not believe the heart or soul of a religion can be judged better by scholars than by practitioners. But I also think critically, love history and respect fact. This book settled a lot of questions that books written by either firm believers or ranting detractors failed to.This is a fair book, well-researched. It lays the groundwork for 3 kinds of "witchery" in human history: "sorcery," which has belonged to and persists in all cultures, all religions, at all times, in various forms, with various levels of acceptance; "diabolical witchcraft," which is an "invention of the [European] Middle Ages," a compendium of folklore + religious bigotry + political expediency + etc....; and "modern witchcraft," which is a "new religion." And he, thankfully, makes it clear that Wicca and Paganism are not in any way satanic: "Satanism today is quite different from historical witchcraft, however, and it is totally rejected by all the neopagan witches today. Modern witches observe that since they reject Christianity they can scarecely be supposed to worship a Christian Devil. I describe Satansim here only so that the lack of resemblance between it and witchcraft may be clear." While Russell's book deals mostly with religious and historical analysis and his critique of the claims of early 20th-century folklorists (such as Margaret Murray, whose "The Witch-cult of Western Europe" and "God of the Witches" have now been -- whether some folks like it or not -- proven largely, though not entirely, ill-grounded in their conclusions), he gives due credit to the living belief systems of modern day Pagans and Wiccans. While he reveals the sometimes sordid esotericism of the Crowley-Gardener heritage of modern Wicca, he does not use old rumors and scandals (even Crowley's well-known dabbling with diabolism) to tarnish contemporary witches or their religion. As he says, "That Gardener (or Crowley) invented the religion does not invalidate it. Every religion has a founder, and much that surrounds the origin of every religion is historically suspect. Lack of historicity does not necessarily deprive a religion of its insight." As Russell concludes his book, after two chapters that respectfully (sometimes it seemed even 'lovingly') set out the practices of Wicca in 20th-C, "One need not be a witch -- I am not -- to understand witchcraft as a valid expression of the religious experience. The religion of withcraft offers to restore a lost option, paganism, to our religious world view. Both Christianity and scientism have taught us falsely that paganism is nonsense... This is not an informed view... The neopagan witches are attempting to recreate the positive values of pagan religion."
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41 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Easy to read and unbiased, December 16, 1999
first of all let me point out that if you buy this book, the cover will be different from the one Amazon has posted. Istead there is a picture of a hand with a pentagram in the paml and a variety of magickal diddies on the fingers, it's a very attractive cover and is ten times better than the incrediblely ugly one you see above. As for the book itself, it's a terrific buy. It seems that in regards to this subject there are two catagories: there are scholary books about the inquisition that give us endless pages of political rhetoric, and then there's the neopagan books that give us just that, rhetoric. This book engages the reader on the level that is easy to nderstand and NEVER boring, but is also very well researched. And, as a review above states, it goes into terific detail about the history of neopagan witchcraft and its key players. However, he is in no critical of Wicca, but makes it clear where Wiccan claims have fallen short and where holes in the neopagan story of witchcraft show up. The book is also loaded with colorful(and sometimes graphic) photos and illustrations that help to keep the book interesting.
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21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well-Researched Introductory Investigation of Witchcraft, August 14, 2002
Jeffery Burton Russell is well known for his works on the history and myth of the Devil. Here Russell provides us with a very well-researched introduction to historical witchcraft that seeks to give an overview of the essential influences and origins of witchcraft and the Christian myths of diabolic magic and demonic pacts that eventually lead to the virulent witch-craze of the Renaissance and early modern period. Russell identifies several essential elements that influenced European thought and lead to the persecution and murder of tens of thousands of suspected "witches". These are: sorcery, ancient pagan religious beliefs, Christian theology, Inqusitorial and other anti-witch writings. These elements provided the basis for a belief in diabolic witchcraft that, modern historians largely argue, never existed and erupted in the period between 1450-1750 in the largest witch hysteria in history. However, Russell shows that these types of events are not relegated to the past, but can occurr in any society at any time, such as Nazi Germany or Stalinist Russia in recent times. Russell analyzes the witch hunts in Europe, England, and the American Colonies and contrasts the various judicial methods and popular beliefs regarding them. For instance, it is interesting to note that unlike on the Continent, England viewed the crime of witchcraft as a civil rather than religious matter. This has alot to do with the connection between witchcraft and chrisitan heresy that was prevalent in Europe in the centuries prior to the beginning of the witch hunts but that was largely absent from English history. Russell continues with an analyses of the decline of the witch-craze and the rise of general skepticism and disbelief in witchery. He shows that by the late 18th century, the accusation and execution of suspected witches had all but ceased. It was only in the late 19th century that a revived nterest in magic and the occult gave rise to a romanticized interst in witchcraft. Russell concludes with an overview of the history of modern-day witchcraft and neo-paganism and the lingering perceptions that the public maintains about it. This is an excellent introduction to the academic history of witchcraft and should lead interested readers to a more in-depth study regarding one of the most horrific periods in human history.
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