Customer Reviews

Witchcraft and the Shamanic Journey: Pagan Folkways from the Burning Times

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

 

 

This book makes a very convincing case for locating the roots of practically all true magical practices in the original spiritual path of shamanism. In doing so, we see that true Wicca, and other simular traditions, have a legitimate claim to extremely ancient and profound practices dating back to the dawn of the race. The author shows parallels between the beliefs and practices in culture after culture (Mayan, Plains Indian, Siberian, Norse, Celtic, Chinese, Tibetan, Polynesian, Hindu, Greek, Etc.) He then shows connections with more historically recent traditions in Germany, Switzerland, France, Ireland, Italy, England, etc. I found it to be a magnificent and convincing synthesis.

I found it especially appropriate that a book about common roots should use the universal symbol of the World Tree as a starting point.

The author points out that when a society ceases to listen to the messages of the otherworldly dimension the results are always the same: listlessness, depression, addiction, inhumanity, and general malaise. This is the result of "loss of soul." It is the natural function of the shaman to maintain the connection with the otherworld and to reclaim lost souls.

The next time a "skeptic" tries to minimalise the legitamacy and lineage of your spiritual path, you could do far worse than to refer this book to them. The connection between early Christianity and Shamanism is even explored (estatic states, speaking in tongues, spirit journeys to higher realms, helping spirits, crucifixion on the World Tree....)

Armed with the work of one professor on the legends of a group of psychic warriors in Northern Italy and an extremely free definition of "shaman" the author wends his unsubstantiated way through the real and pseudo history of Witchcraft in Europe.

Certain Witchcraft books really get me mad, this is one of them. In Witchcraft' Mr. Johnson pieces together little chips and bits of information from the records of Witch trials(yes, every piece of information he uses is taken from trials) and then comes up with the conclusion that that the basis of Witchcraft was Shamanism. This meaning that the goal of the Witches was to uncover the mysteries of the underworld and heavens, while still alive. Some f this true. Witches certainly were masters of herbal concoctions that made them feel like they were in another world(usually a faery mound), but Johnson tries to pass off all of Witchcraft as this. The great mother goodess is now a bone goddess with her lunar cults now death cults. The horned god is now an underworld god rather than a forest and animal god. And like so many other sholarary books of modern Witchcraft, he has little regard for neo-paganism. He looks at little pieces of Wicca and then decides for himself whether they are correct or not. Like Erica Jong in "Witches" he seems to think that his information is better because he has P.H.d But with his very biased, and for the most part, wrong, interpretation of Witchcraft, all his degrees don't mean jack. Try the first chapters of "The Wiccan Mysteries" by Raven Grimassi or "Wicca" by Vivianne Crowley. In all fairness though, alot of the historical information taken from the trials is good. It's simply a matter of being misinterpreted and wanting YOUR version of Witchcraft to right that makes this book bad.