Light from the Shadows: A Mythos of Modern Traditional Witchcraft [Paperback]

Gwyn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2000

An inside account of traditional witchcraft as it is practised today by several covens and clans across Britain and how it compares with modern Wicca. Subjects include the working tools of the witch; the Horned God and Witch Goddess; enterin

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: Capall Bann Pub (January 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1861630611
• ISBN-13: 978-1861630612
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.7 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,873,129 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good overview, September 13, 2004

By 

Mr. M. P. Duffy (Littlehampton, West Sussex United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Light from the Shadows: A Mythos of Modern Traditional Witchcraft (Paperback)

I note that further down a reviewer suggest that people from the UK will not like this book as it "reveals too much", well as a reviewer from the UK I actually didn't find this to be true. There is little that is stated definitively here, rather things are 'alluded to', which is the way it should be.

The problem is always going to be that traditional witchcraft includes so many and varied traditions, with teachings that are greatly at odds with each other, that any attempt to provide a definitive book on the subject is likely to be beset with problems. However, despite the inherent problems of writing an overview of such a diverse subject, this is a good & solid book that tackles the subject well. It is a worthy addition for anyone wanting an overview of modern traditional witchcraft.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Close to the bone, December 19, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Light from the Shadows: A Mythos of Modern Traditional Witchcraft (Paperback)

This book is excellent and the authors knowledge of traditional witchcraft is without question. The book gives a glimpse into witchcraft as it was practised before wicca and still is. Many witches in the UK will disapprove of this book as its quite revealing, but not too revealing. If your interested in wicca and want to know about the craft before the 1950's, read this book. It contains some subjects which some wiccans may not have come across before, i leave you to find out for yourself!

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fills In Gaps, September 28, 2004

By 

Brother MOLOCH 969 "MolochSorcery.com" (Cleveland, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Light from the Shadows: A Mythos of Modern Traditional Witchcraft (Paperback)

This is one of the better books on Witchcraft I've had the pleasure of reading in some time. Fully footnoted and annotated it also offers a comprehensive bibliography that draws on non-standard authors - which is rare in the publishing world of Wicca. There is much meat and potatoes in this book although if you're looking for a how-to-do-it approach, you'll have to look elsewhere. GWYN's approach is more of informational and background material much of which covers how traditional Craft workers do things in merry old England.

Some of the sources GWYN draws from include authors of articles found in past issues of Mike Howard's English magazine, The Cauldron. Still the sources are both eminent and scholarly and she (I'm presuming GWYN is a 'she' - the book does NOT offer anything about the author's background) uses them to validate her points.

One of the best chapters is the 12th which is on "Making Traditional Magick". (Interestingly enough, for a traditionalist, she hops onto the modern bandwagon of spelling Magic with a "k" which is just irritating to the rest of us who use the traditional spelling) In this chapter, GWYN discusses a wide variety of folk practices including one of the most abhorred by modern Wiccans, Necromancy.

An interesting note from chapter 12 is that there allegedly was a magazine published in 1791 called "The Conjurer's Magazine" and it had articles on ceremonial magic, astrology and alchemy. Now this would be an interesting find to come across in our modern day if one could discover an issue or more of such an old magazine. GWYN also mentions the home-grown grimoires with titles like "The Devil's Plantation", 'The Secret Granary" and "The Book of Cain" all of which would be hunted by modern practitioners. These grimoires according to GWYN were books owned by "cunning folk" who were mainly country practitioners like modern rural Witches and southern Hoodoo Conjurers.

In other chapters, GWYN pulls in a LOT of information on the more traditional aspects and roles of the Goddess, the Horned God, the Crossroads and it's functions in the Craft PLUS she even goes so far as to mention what types of tools are used and how they differ from the more Americanized Wiccan traditions.

I have to give this book four stars and would've given it five stars had it offered a background on the author.