Witchcraft: The Old Religion [Paperback]

Leo Louis Martello (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 1998

Most books written on Witchcraft are by non-witches. They discuss Witchcraft not as it really is but as it has been defined by the Catholic and other Christian Churches. Many are blatantly deceptive or totally ignorant of the truth.

Dr. Leo Louis Martello writes about the roots of the Old Religion as practiced today by witches of many different traditions. He shows the differences between true Witches, Old Religionists, Pop Witches, Christian-defined Witches and Satanists.

Witchcraft, or the Old Religion, is probably the only one that has not discriminated against women. In many branches the Goddess is superior to the male God, in others they are equal.

Dr. Martello is an initiated Witch and elder in three other witch traditions besides his own. His views as both theorist and activist have often been controversial. He is founder of the Witches Liberation Movement, director of WICA (Witches International Craft Associates) and the Witches Anti-Defamation League.

Dr. Martello believes that Witchcraft, the Old Religion, may be the faith of the future. Sacred cows are being challenged. Old terms are being updated. Modern witches are fighting for their civil rights.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp. (September 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806510285
• ISBN-13: 978-0806510286
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,047,690 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best, December 18, 2001

By 

Kaiden Fox (www.lylyth.org) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Witchcraft: The Old Religion (Paperback)

This is the best book on Witchcraft I have ever read. Instead of presenting the beliefs and practices, it presents the history and substance of the religion. Because it is not a "Wicca for beginners" book, but rather a "Wicca for outsiders," the information within is completely free of fluff. It is also highly critical of Christianity, which is refreshing in this age of selling short your beliefs in order to avoid sounding offensive. This is the best book I have seen as far as asserting that Wicca actually HAS a historical basis.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This Book Changed My Life, September 7, 2008

By 

Uber Duck "Life's Graven Image" (The September 11th Hijackers Heard God's Word Too) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Witchcraft: The Old Religion (Paperback)

I can not recommend this book highly enough for the seeker of truth in Witchcraft.
I found this book many years ago at a store in Tampa Florida. Before, I had always been interested in the Occult. When school assignments on book reports were due, I'd always gravitate toward Occult topics.They fascinated me and I wanted to share them with the class so they'd not be afraid of the dark.

Raised in a Christian household I was fed the standard lie. Witchcraft is of the Devil. It's evil and shall damn my soul. I never quite accepted that, because I always felt a kinship with nature. Then, long after I'd moved from that house and on my own in Florida, I was browsing a bookstores shelves and the spine of this title, stationed on the bottom shelf in the Witchcraft section, literally jumped in bold orange colors, right to my attention all the way from down there.

I knelled down and drew the book out from between the stacks and saw the cover depicted here at Amazon. I sat there on the floor of that shop and read to the second chapter without realizing how many pages I'd turned or the time that had passed or that I was very possibly blocking the way for others to walk around. But it was a lonely shop that day and there were few people there.

I bought the book and read it straight through before the end of the night. But before I'd left the shop, during the purchase, the cashier told me that if I was interested there was a Witchcraft study group close by and accepting new students for a class to begin in a few days time. I took the name and number of the High Priest teaching the course. Ron Parshley, also known to the Craft as Lord Sylvanus. )))O((( Goddess Rest His Soul. (http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usfl&c=passages&id=3719) And it was after that, that I claimed the name I'd always felt was truth in my spirit. Witch.

If you are a seeker of the true light in what Christian lies has attempted to obscure within the darkness of their deceit, read this book. And free the truth of the Old Religion.
"We Are Everywhere." And then some. ;)

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Recounting The Early Years A good insight, December 3, 2006

By 

Jere Perro "sanctum occularis" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Witchcraft: The old religion (Hardcover)

Martello was writing in the trenches during a time when repression was rampant towards those on the fringe. His unadorned demonstration of his distaste for those who would attempt to ban him from his beliefs is readily noted in his acerbic remarks. If your looking for potions and spells you won't find it in this book nor will you find knitted together "history" of witchcraft and wica. What you will find is what it was like in the early years in the United States to practice openly a religion/belief that was regarded as evil. What you will read is the history of a practicing witch in the face of adversity. Well worth the read to get the true insight without the "new age" fluff and bright blessings or the catty smugness of posuers using words like "quaint" when remarking on Martello's recollections of those early years.