Customer Reviews

Wicca For Life: The Way of the Craft-From Birth to Summerland

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

 

 

Raymond Buckland is best known for "Uncle Buckey's Big Blue Book" which has been a staple in the community for years. He is a respected author and voice within our community.

His newest release "Wicca for Life" seems to be Mr. Buckland's new version of the "Big Blue Book" and is presented in a much more dignified and sedate package than his famous "blue pentacle" covered book.

The material has matured also. Mr. Buckland covers everything from the history of witchcraft to initiations to spells and rituals to death. There is a lot of new material here that was not in the blue book. The craft is brought into the 21st century and Mr. Buckland is just the person to do it.

It is well put together, simply explained, and covers a lot of ground. Though the book appears at first to be a handbook for the beginner, it reads more like a reference book for those who are already walking the path. Mr. Buckland still approaches Witchcraft as a religion of "initiation" and there is no differentiation between Wicca and Witchcraft. But his theology on Wicca is solid. Mr. Buckland has always been a Traditional Wiccan, with his own brand being a variation on the Gardnarian Tradition. While the book is geared towards the traditional, there is a lot to read, absorb and learn from in this book for anyone walking the Wiccan Path.

The hard cover version is lovely, nicely bound, lovely jacket art. The book does contain illustrations, and there is even music for traditional tunes if you are musically inclined.

I could see this book eventually replacing "big blue" on library shelves, and it would be a good choice. I did enjoy reading this one, and would recommend it to both beginners and seasoned travelers.

I've never read "Big Blue," so I'm not as familiar with the style and background as some of you may be, and perhaps some of my comments will be repeats in that vein. (Perhaps not -- this IS a different book.) Anyway, forewarned. =)

That said, WICCA FOR LIFE seems to be a very comphrensive and informative volume. It's full of information that will help you out if you're just getting started, but does not "talk down" to you if you've been with the "Old Religion" for a while already. Much of the suggested wording for various rituals is elegant and meaningful, something I don't find in a great many books about Wicca. WICCA FOR LIFE is about just that: how to live the tenets of the Wiccan faith in all life situations, from birth to death to initiation of children, and most especially how to effectively create and celebrate a hereditary family coven, which is an interesting idea and a neat thing to focus on, although I don't know how many extended families are all Wiccan -- in my experience that's rare.

Unfortunately, the book DOES talk down to non-Wiccans, and to Wiccans about non-Wiccans. It refers to them as cowans, a term I (and others) feel is slightly derogatory and unnecessary. It probably isn't intended that way, but it feels almost cruel. The tone can also get a little sanctimonious -- Wiccan families are more open than others, Wiccan children are better-adjusted than others, etc, etc, etc. Maybe that's true sometimes, but I know for sure that faith isn't the only factor in parenting or in growing up, so blanket statements like that aren't really justified. I was not raised Wiccan, and I think my parents (Christians) were and are wonderful role models. I plan to raise my own children Wiccan, but I will be happy to have their Christian grandparents share their own love and wisdom with my children.

The history in the book is also rather faulty. It doesn't go into depth, but it frequently mentions how Wiccans in "the burning times" wrote down their rituals in books of shadows and how they passed on the information to chosen children, etc. First of all, Wicca is a new religion. There were certainly pagans who went "into the closet" when you could be ostracized or worse for not being Christian, and Wicca does use some beliefs and practices from ancient (notably Celtic) pagan religions, but Wicca itself has only been around since the early-mid nineteen hundreds. Second, the "witches" who were burned were not what we Wiccans refer to as witches or Wiccans today. Some of them may have been wise women and men who were looked upon with suspicion as being "pagan", but for the most part the Inquistion and like horrors were political mechanisms, concerned with a "witchcraft" that was basically a reversed Christianity, and their victims were usually Christian people whose neighbors were harboring a grudge. Third, the author refers to witchcraft and Wicca as the same thing. Not all Wiccans and witches think this way.

In spite of all that, I liked the book, and I'd recommend it for its incredible amounts of accessible and helpful information. Just talk it with a big 'ol grain of purifying salt.

With this book, Ray Buckland returns to writing Wicca books after a long absence. Buckland is best remembered as the - I'm a Gardnerian Witch, no wait I'm a Saxon Witch, no wait I'm a Scottish Witch, no wait I'm a Gypsy, author and Witch.

With Wicca for Life, readers are introduced to a basic overview of Wicca. Not a bad book for beginners.

Usualy books get better the more an author writes. This just repeats what the author has said many times before, material that is mostly dated and a bit silly as a new title on the subject. If you already own the Big Blue, dont bother with this one as you already own an introduction to the basics of Wicca. If you don't already own the Big Blue, buy it instead.

First of all, I would like to say that I have never been a 'fan' of Buckland. While the knowledge level is unmistakable, I found a lot of his material to be a little condenscending and in some cases insulting the intelligence of the reader. Of course that's a subjective opinion and we all know what those are worth!

I really enjoyed reading Wicca For Life, the fact that it's done in hardcover is also appealing because I like substantial volumes. Nothing beats the heft of hardcover, and if I want the book bad enough to spend money on it, chances are I will go the extra bucks for hardcover if available. I certainly found this one worth every penny I paid for it! I love the cover painting as well.

The book itself is chock full of good things. Most of the material has already been published in one form or another by many authors, however, Buckland's perspective shouldn't be missed. I can't say I agree with everything he has to say, but I certainly value his experience and read his works with an eye for basically taking what 'works for me' and using it, as for the rest, well perhpas others get some use out of it. The songs in the book are a bit arcane. Give me the standard chants to raise energy anytime. They may be 'old' or 'over used' but it's because they work so well. A lot of what Buckland gives as song material is stilted and I guess I am a bit of a snob when it comes to poetry and prose. If you're going to use rhyme and meter, it should beautiful as well. Dry words never inspired anybody to anything. Buckland seems to lack that talent. Some of the song material uses traditional English tunes, and that's all well and good. It would be nice to have an accompanying CD to see what he sounds like doing these tunes himself.

Buckland addresses many situations with time honored practices and even gives the younger witch something to cut their teeth on. I balk at the ethics of teenagers being taught magick, but I guess if they're going to do other things anyway, the same applies to majick so they might as well have a worthy resource to consult. Buckland treats this subject with seriousness. Young witches looking for love spells and ways to eliminate competition won't find what they're looking for.

In the same volume to my surprise (and to the horror of some parents of young aspirants I am sure!) he also VERY frankly addresses sex magick. While I myself don't have a problem with this material and salute Buckland for including it, there will be some who think it's T.M.I.!! (Too Much Information!)

This is definitely not a book to ignore. I would recommend it before "Big Blue" only because the author speaks in a much more relaxed and less condenscending way than in some of his other works. Definitely one for the coven library if you have one. This book is probably best explored in a group setting as well. In fact, it would make an excellent textbook. Both introductory and advanced material are covered well.

Good work, Mr. Buckland!!! And thanks again for the hardcover!!!

I found this book to be nothing more than a re-hash of what was in his most popular book, "Raymond Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft." To say that it presented NO new material would be a lie, but the new material presented is nothing more than spells for every-day situations such as finding new love, doing good on tests in school, sex magick, magicks for pets, etc.

His history, knowledge, and wisdom of The Craft are certainly high on the totem pole when it comes to Wiccan authors. However, how he presents it in this book is extremely brief, almost to the point of being nothing more than a paragraph worth of summary information. My opinion is that he could have used this book to expand upon "Big Blue" and give the reader more of a guide than a loosely put together reference manual.

The largest thing to bear in mind is that Mr. Buckland - at least in this book - writes from the perspective of a coven. All of his rituals are written coven-style and tells you that they can be adopted to solitary work. Perhaps there is some benefit from taking his pre-written rituals and making your own, but if you already own his "Complete Book of Witchcraft," then you may as well save your time and money and NOT purchase this book.

All in all, I'm not a fan of this book nor would I recommend it for the reasons I've mentioned above.

This book repeats a lot of things presented in Buckland's "Complete Book of Witchcraft." If you have that book, you don't need this one. Buckland is Gardnerian and if you don't follow that path, this isn't the book for you, either. However, Buckland is a great man and has done so much for Wicca in the US that at least ONE of his books deserve a place on your reference shelf.

I've never read Big Blue. Although I'm told it's a must have in any pagan library, I've still to get my hands on a copy. :D I may not bother since I now have this one and from all accounts it's the better copy. Now, I admit, I don't care for all of his theories, and the history lessons also certainly aren't the best. But there is still a lot of good info. It's like with any author, you take the good with the bad; you use what you like and ignore the rest. All Pagan authors have views you don't always agree with, just as we all have favorite authors that can do no wrong. :D Sam Cunningham is still my first pick, especially for beginners. He just gives you the info, and lets you fly with it where you would; there's no specific Path. That said, Buckland still has a lot to give, and he's a close second. Now, someone mentioned "Buckland states that prayer is magic, completely ignoring important distictions between prayer and magic." Prayer is most definately magick! Magick is just the manipulation of the energies around us to help bring us what me may need. And it doesn't matter how you do it. You could just as well get the same results by performing a perfect ritual at the perfect time & place with the perfect clothes, etc. as by just stating to the powers that be what is needed and ask them for help if they are so inclined. And that is exactly what prayer is. Rituals, Prayers, Affirmations; they are all a form of magick. I'm actually more inclined to send out a prayer to whomever is listening than performing a ritual. It's just what I'm more comfortable with and what works best for me.

In a literary genre full of commercial hype and uneducated authors, Dr. Raymond Buckland PhD, is heads and shoulders above the rest. He has been a practicing witch for more than five decades and his current book, Wicca For Life, demonstrates the breadth of his vast knowledge of paganism and witchcraft. There are MANY imitations, but there is only ONE Raymond Buckland! This book is a MUST for all pagans regardless of their level of proficiency.

I won't call this book a *total* loss, but I certainly feel it has more working against it than for it. To start with, it rehashes the same old tired, inaccurate pseudo-history about the "ancient origins" of Wicca as "the Old Religion." Buckland's been around long enough to certainly know better by now. Some specific fallacies he sets forth in this book are:

* "Wicca temples" before "the persecutions"

* Multiple denials of any real relationship between Wicca and Ceremonial Magick which completely ignore such relevant facts as the origins of many of the tools used (mostly from _The Key of Solomon_) as well as the use of the circle in ritual. It also completely ignores earlier versions of Gardner's work from which Gardner himself, with the help of Doreen Valiente, distilled what eventually became the original "standard" Wiccan Book of Shadows. Especially _Ye Bok of Ye Arte Magical_ which borrows quite heavily from the works of Aleister Crowley, _The Key of Solomon_, _The Goetia_, and the Wait-Smith tarot pack. The particular editions of _The Key of Solomon_ and _The Goetia_ in question are those put out by Samuel Liddell Mathers, one time leader of the Order of the Golden Dawn. A Hermetic order from which most modern Ceremonial Magick takes it's influence.

* Doreeen Valiente later discovered that the term "Book of Shadows" was borrowed by Gardner from an article in "The Occult Observer" in 1949. The article was discussing an ancient Sanskrit manual by that name which gave instruction on methods of determining someone's destiny by the length of their shadow. However, Buckland insists that the origin of the name "Book of Shadows" is uncertain, then states that it has been suggested that it comes from "the time of the persecutions".

* Buckland states that prayer is magic, completely ignoring important distictions between prayer and magic.

* States that witches do not use drugs, and seems to imply that they never have. While certainly a positive message, it is misleading in that it completely ignores such long time traditional practices as the use of "flying ointments" and the like.

* Having stated numerous times that Wicca has no relation to Ceremonial Magick, Buckland goes on to use magick squares on pages 125 & 127.

On the positive side, the book does have some nice ritual work, and some decent suggestions for dealing with different situations.

All in all, not a total waste in my view, but not worth the cover price. Buckland's own _Complete Book of Witchcraft_ is certainly better for basic, practical use. For an accurate historical account of the origins of modern Pagan Witchcraft, I highly recommend Ronald Hutton's _The Triumph of the Moon_. For more in depth Traditional Wiccan ritual, I suggest the work of the Farrars. Theirs is the most complete you are ever likely to find in print, since the inner workings and ritual of Wicca are oathbound.