Wicca 333: Advanced Topics in Wiccan Belief [Paperback]

Kaatryn MacMorgan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 10, 2003

Divided into 12 hot topics, Wicca 333 tries to provide the level of insight and depth of material found in many "101" books without repeating the same tired introductory information that is irrelevant to today's advanced student.Touching on topics ranging from the overlooked history of Wicca to creationism, Wicca 333 provides serious information and commentary while often remaining light-hearted and fun. As always, well-documented fact mixes with anecdote, humor and even an imaginary people!Author of All One Wicca, Kaatryn MacMorgan once again relies on a text-with-tools format and a supporting website where readers can ask questions about the material and participate in in-depth discussions.Opinionated, experienced and unashamedly Pagan, Wicca 333 takes the discussion of the Wiccan Religion to the next level, where we discover-much to our surprise-that learning can be exhilarating!

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kaatryn MacMorgan is the author of All One Wicca: a Study in The Universal Eclectic Tradition of Wicca and the current president of CUEW. She lives in Upstate New York with her long time companion and her son.

Product Details

• Paperback: 322 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (March 10, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595271707
• ISBN-13: 978-0595271702
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,784,384 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

57 of 62 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Philosophy and theology, not training, February 26, 2004

By 

The Old Philosopher "The Old Philosopher" (WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Wicca 333: Advanced Topics in Wiccan Belief (Paperback)

This is one of those books that may be misunderstood by some who buy it. Wicca 333 is a discussion of current philosophy, beliefs, and theology from a Wiccan perspective. MacMorgan addresses several current topics such as feminism and Wicca, science and Wicca, proselytizing, real history, and others. If you are a "trad" Wiccan who already knows "the one true way," then forget it. If you're looking for a more advanced "how to" book of super duper magick, it's the wrong book. But if you're a thoughtful Wiccan theologian or philosopher who enjoys keeping up with what others are saying and thinking about Wiccan religion, ethics, history and philosophy then this is a must for your reference library.

52 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Advanced Topics in BELIEF., August 1, 2003

By 

Kelly Linde (CNY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wicca 333: Advanced Topics in Wiccan Belief (Paperback)

This book is a collection of vignettes-twelve relatively short sections that each describe an aspect of *belief*, either Wiccan belief or beliefs often associated with Wicca, in extreme detail.
The information is critical. The author cites sources, gives contrasting views at time (for example, in the section on the Wiccan Rede, she talks about the reasons why it is generally interpretted as she describes, (her interpretation is Gardnerian to the core, which is weird from a self-described eclectic) then suggests that those with contrasting views should do the research, presumably to challenge her reseach or reach their own conclusions.)
Perhaps most refreshingly, right in the introduction she states that she is not a guru, and that she should not be accepted because her word is in print. It's almost a complete turn around from other books I've read in which the author lords it over the readers. She repeats the message of "do your own research" again and again, and always states when, where and how she came up with what she says.
There are even a few times where she states two contrasting opinions in the community and says she has no opinion on which is right and several times where she states an extreme belief, expressed by friends and covenmates and says "but I'm not sure I can believe that, and here's why."
This book will alienate people looking for things about how to be Wiccan or an easy form of Wicca... it's a challenging read, giving equal creedence at times to points of view that are obscure.
I imagined, at times, the author was vetting things through a ravening hoarde of reconstructionists, whose side she's clearly on in the whole unethical eclecticism vs communal and cultural gnossis debate.
It is no more, and no less than what it says it is, advanced topic in Wiccan Belief, and perhaps provided a read that stuck with me more than any other book I've reviewed.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing Minty flavor, June 6, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Wicca 333: Advanced Topics in Wiccan Belief (Paperback)

Wicca 333 is a book for Wiccans. At times, it is about Wicca, and at other times, it is about issues that affect Wiccans.
I am a Celtic Pagan, a Pagan whose culture is Welsh, and I deeply appreciated the topic called "Why Wicca is not Celtic," which clears up a lot of misconceptions about the Celts and Wicca. (I only wish she'd mentioned Druidism, too.)
I also REALLY liked the section on Satanism, where she explains both why Wicca is not Satanism and what Satanism is. The section made me rethink my own webpage, and sure enough, I removed my own statement about What Satanists DO...
I'm sorry to say, however, the section on statistics just confused me further in the whole numbers game...
what I liked best were the Wicca in Practice sections- the one on mind experiments and validity testing opened me up to a whole different way of thinking about the world (especially about magick...) The one on evaluating resources was awesome I fit into that group of people who learned all that in college then shut it out when I started learning about religion.
The test at the end of the book was awesome. I fit right into that group she said the book was aimed at, in that there were only two or three questions I wasn't familiar with... I STILL don't know why the Parthenon is called that, but the other ones were addressed in the book.
I even liked the discussion questions. I was reading another book with questions at the end of each chapter, and those just wanted you to look up facts. Most of the questions were in the form of "why do you think the author says" and a lot of those went right into my mirror book.
I have read her other book, All One Wicca, and this is way better and not about just one tradition.