Customer Reviews

Wicca 333: Advanced Topics in Wiccan Belief

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

I actually purchased this book when someone ranted about how much they hated it. This was the second time I did this with a book, the first being "Triumph of the Moon."
First, let me say this: This book, indeed, delivers on all the promises it makes. I didn't find it dry or boring at all but witty, intelligent and breathtaking.
It doesn't surprise me that there are those that absolutely hate this author. She backs up every word she says with research, is absolutely willing to tell where she and other people have gotten things wrong (there is a section entitled "how I and other authors have made the situation worse" about how newbs can't understand 101 books) and, frankly, doesn't hold back.
There are several times in this book where I had to consult a dictionary, and it's not just that this is NOT introductory material, this is sometimes hard reading. There were three or four subreferences I didn't get right away, and had to look up.
I thought the most interesting section was the one on the Great Mother Goddess religion. She went after the good and bad sides of Feminist Paganism like an ant on a honeycomb.
Do yourself a favor, read this book. Forget the hype some people have that Kaatryn MacMorgan made their authors of choice look bad by showing where their myths were and where their facts were and READ THIS BOOK.
That being said, did you ever notice how, with so many authors here, the people who give good reviews can detail what they liked and those who give bad give, like, 3 line "I didn't like it, na, na, na!" reviews? I wish there was someway to make only those who've read a book review it!

Thoughtful, pointed and provocative. This is an *excellent* source and starting point for discussion in Wiccan and Pagan philosophy and world view. This work is a great start to filling a gaping hole in Wiccan teaching. Kaatryn MacMorgan is opinionated, but well researched and well grounded in her views, and her purpose is to spark thought, research and more discussion. Her statements are sometimes bold, and tend to stir up the thought processes.

Each chapter contains references to source material that can be used as a start for further discussion and more advanced topics. The book is suitable for solitary study, group discussions, or classroom situations.

Others have pointed out that there are typos in the text, and there are several. However, substance is far more important, and this is an important work.

I consider this a "must read" for any serious solitary or group studying Wicca seriously.

So, you've read many 10's of books that essentially rehash the same old stuff. Some of them are deeper than others, and you appreciate the carefully written ones. But you're tired of seeing the same chart of correspondences, the same words about the Rede. You're even tired of seeing the original poem, as beautiful as it is.

Instead, you want a book that gives you questions, instead of answers. A book that makes you want to exercise your intellectual aptitude. Wicca 333 is that book.

While the book could stand some copyediting, and the anecdotal style is somewhat disconcerting to the academics, you will find that it is well worth your money, even if all you use is the bibliography and discussion questions. Ms. MacMorgan is a careful researcher, and the diligence she used in the writing of this book shows.

I got the book and read it through over several weeks while I was working through my school-work. The presentation of the material was not for the novice and it was evident that at least a bit of previous research and learning was needed before this work was undertaken. Some of the aspects were somewhat questionable but I found the use of the dual sided argument, the siting of sources, and the repeated act of telling the reader to research and come up with their own opinion refreshing in a genre that seems to be geared more toward the fluffy side of religion. I wouldn't recommend this work for a basic student text but it should be read within the first couple of years if possible.

This is a great book and it has exactly what the title tells you it has: Advanced topics in Wiccan belief. The topics covered in this book are mostly a matter of clarifying the things that are most confusing and controversial about what wiccan do and believe.

It starts with something that might be seen as simple: The wiccan Rede. What is it, what does it mean, and what does it not mean. Kaatryn MacMorgan does a great job of sorting out the history myth and confusion surrounding these words.

This book explains what Wicca is as best as is possible. She talks about common mistakes made by beginners, and how easy those mistakes are to make. She explains what kind of mistakes and lies have been published in many of the popular wicca 101 books and advises her readers to check sources and do research instead of just taking a pagan author on their word (including herself).

There are a lot of misconceptions out there about Wicca, most of them held by Wiccans. This book is a great start if you want to clear yourself of those misconceptions and gain a more critical eye when examining Wiccan texts and traditions.

The author urges the reader to educate themselves so that they won't be put in a situation where they will have to explain their beliefs and not be able to, or accidentally misrepresent themself, which can be a common occurance when Wiccans enter a discussion with people who don't really know what wicca is. The book explains how to ask intelligent questions and to make sure you understand a question before spititting out an answer. Much of this book is devoted to not only clearing up the information that wiccans have, but also clearing up the dialogues they have to facilitate learning and reduce conflict.

The one chapter I found rather uninforamative was the the Chapter that discussed Satanism. The author's gal was to explain what Satanism was and was not and how it wasn't wicca. Unfortunately it was never quite made clear what exactly it was. The goals of explaining what it wasn't and how it wasn't wicca were accomplished, but after reading the chapter I don't think I could tell anyone with confidence what a Satanist is or what they are about. But given that the book was on Wicca, that's a really minor problem with the book.

Kaatryn MacMorgan really helped me define and answer questions about my spirituality. If you are looking for 1 book to answer your questions start with All One Wicca then move on to this one.

This is the second book in the Universal Eclectic Wicca tradition. This one focuses on more metaphysical ideas and is a great book for anyone on the Wiccan path.