Customer Reviews

Meaning of Witchcraft

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Gerald Brosseau Gardner found Witchcraft to be a beautiful, deep, and meaningful religious path. After his initiation into the New Forest coven in 1939, he dedicated his life and resources to preserving and promoting Witchcraft, which he feared was a religion on the verge of extinction.

GBG, with the help of Doreen Valiente, gave structure and form to what he learned. His followers have come to be called "Gardnerians", and it's a name they are proud to claim. Many traditions abound in Wicca, and all of them have gleaned something from GBG's writings. These influential books are a must have for any serious student of the "Craft", but a bit deep for those who only play at being "Witches".

It's only fair to warn you: Gardner's writing style can be dry and his organization a bit erratic. Sometimes it can be downright tedious reading his books. However, the information and opinions he gives are well worth the occasional headache! If you only want to play around and "cast spells" as a game, don't bother with his books. There are plenty of recipe-format spell books out there that will serve you just fine. If you are into the Religion of Wicca, then this book will find its way into your library ... one way or another. You might as well get it now! You'll thank yourself ... maybe not *while* you're reading it, but *after* you've (finally) finished!!!

Students of witchcraft are often advised to read the works of Gerald Gardener. It is true that he is the father of modern witchcraft and his writings are the core of modern practices. Upon reading this book it is clear that things have come a long way in the past 50 years.

This book is not meant as an introduction for aspiring witches, but as a history lesson for those who might persecute witches. The book is filled with old practices and superstitions that formed the basis of modern witchcraft, as well as the origins of witch prosecutions.

The Meaning of Witchcraft may certainly deserve some scrutiny as Gardner obviously has an agenda and occasionally leaps to a conclusion that supports his claims when the evidence does not offer as much support as he claims.

The book is a heavy read that may take some effort to get through if you are used to lighter modern writing. Gardner is primarily concerned with the origins of witchcaft in Britain, and witchcraft's future in Britain. The book has many local anecdotes that may lose meaning over time and distance.

The information I found most interesting was the history of the Christians moving into Britain, how they pushed out the native pagan beliefs, and how those pagans left traces of their beliefs.

I had never read any of Gerald Gardner's books before. Being more than a generation removed and being subjected to the formualted books on the subject I was suprised with the integrity of the subject matter.
It was unknown to me that Mr. Gardner was somewhat of an accomplished anthropologist and folklorist. This should be required reading of anyone with a serious interest in Wicca.
For those who haven't had the pleasure this work bears a resemblace to Star Hawks famously acclaimed The Spriral Dance,Sir James Frazier's The Golden Bough and Robert Graves The White Goddess.
It's also good reading for students of Welsh, Celtic and European-Arayan folklore in general.
I definitely intend to read all of his works.

The title is somewhat misleading - this is more a thesis on where witchcraft's roots are than the meaning. Almost 100 pages are dedicated to trying to "prove" Wicca is not related to Satanism (Black Mass, Some Allegations Examined parts I - III) which takes away a bit from the reading from the first few chapters where Gardner goes into his theroy of where Witchcraft comes from. While these chapters are good reading, they mainly imply what modern history texts have already - that trade routes existed and people traded culture / religion as well as goods.

He puts forth some good references to the early days of pre-Christian Britain, but apparently doesn't go into any of Ceasar's writings about pre-Christian Europe (evidently the author who invaded, conquered, and the wrote about the local people of the time isn't a good source of information?).

Gardner also has a few "I cannot state XYZ because of my oath" in this book as well. Nothing is more frustrating than someone trying to imply that they have more knowledge than the reader but will not share the information. A better way to "get the message across" to me would be leaving all references to xyz out of the text altogether. This would leave out any impression that the author is pointing out that he could give more information on xyz but the average reader is not worthy of the information. University Professors that taught this way (Differential Equations for one) did not come across as great teachers of knowledge but as arrogant and self centered people who enjoyed making fun of other people's lack of knowledge.

Take this book with a grain of salt - some of the theories Gardner puts forth in this book can easily be debated since none of it can be proven or backed up with writings from people like Ceaser. Read this book, but also read other reference books (like Ceasar's account of defeating Gaul) in order to form your own opinion of the origins of witchcraft.

This book's title suggests it might offer something that seems to be disappointingly elusive in literature on witchcraft and wicca: their rich symbolic, metaphoric, psychological and spiritual MEANING for the practitioner. However, like many other books on witchcraft and/or wicca, this book doesn't offer much in the way of this sort of meaning. As other reviewers have noted, it examines the "origins" of Witchcraft in history, and offers an "apology" of witchcraft by arguing that it has nothing to do with Christianity's figure of Satan, since Witchcraft is not at all a Judeo-Christian religion. I would love to see an intelligent book which explores the psychological depth available in witchcraft. Unfortunately what Gardner offers vis a vis psychology is rather shallow. In particular, it gets old to hear witchcraft being highlighted as principally a fertility cult (which, besides being shallow, is heterosexist) and I don't know how many times in this book Gardner emphasizes that the Maypole is a phallic symbol, as is the wand and the sword, and the church spire...oh, and everything else that's thin and elongated, such as a lightpole, a tree, a fence post, any upright human being, etc ad nauseum. (By contrast, neither Gardner nor any other male writer on witchcraft cares to take note that every doorway, cave, passageway, dome, sphere, mountain, apple, orange, or any rounded thing whatsoever is a vulvic, vaginal, breast or womb symbol....no, quite predictably, their only interest is in the phallic) Perhaps in sexually repressed 1950's Britain one could get a whole lot of mileage and thrill out of bringing diverse phallic and fertility symbols out of the closet, but ultimately, a spiritual path that stays at this level is rather vacuous and trite and, in contrast to the title "The MEANING of Witchcraft", conveys an impoverishment of psychological meaning.

This book is a must to the wiccan ..because is detailed and to the point..thank you for this item!! I recommend to all that seek knowledge

This is a must for any student of esoteric arts as Gerald Gardner is the founder of one of the most influential paths of the modern craft movement with connections to the other 'big names' of the time (Patricia Crowther, Alex/Maxine Sanders,Doreen Valient, Crowley and of course descendants of the Gardnerian way today.
My first edition (1959) hardback copy has been a definite bonus to my collection for the past 20+ years.

This book is very informative, if a little on the dry side. (LOL) He goes very indepth starting with the paleolithic times o forward. I enjoy Gardner's view from the inside.

If you don't know of Gerald Gardner, he was one of Aleister Crowley's last henchmen and the founder of the religion of Wicca as we know it today. He was also a big feature in Patricia Crowther's autobiography. This I believe to be, while not his best and definately a cash in or cash grab on his fame or notoriety, is his best written book. Especially, it doesn't seem like a cheaply made reprint of a key figure in the modern Wiccan movement. This reissue seems more professional, like a clinical disertation on the history and cult movement of witchcraft. Other reissues of these classic text seemed cheaply made. This is devoid of many typos as seen in his fiction and not as tacky looking as his Witchcraft Today. Even though currently I am pursuing a renewed interest in more conventional Christian ethics, this is worth looking into as an alternative religion and lifestyle.