Customer Reviews

The Witches' Way: Principles, Rituals and Beliefs of Modern Witchcraft

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

 

 

What a wonderful source of information! Janet and Stewart Farrar detail rituals, beliefs, including views on reincarnation, tools and religious myths of the two major traditions of modern Wicca, specifically Alexandrian and Gardnerian. The rituals and beliefs of these traditions have been guarded throughout the years, consequently, it's wonderful having all this great material all in one cover. They even detail the history of the Gardnerian Book of Shadows and point out the changes it underwent throughout the years. The initiation rituals are all included here - 1st degree through 3rd. There is even a self-dedication ritual for those who have not been able to find a teacher, do not belong to a coven, and want to began practicing wicca. This book has undoubtedly taken its stand among the greats of this genre. This couple has done much to increase the understanding of the science and religion of witchcraft. This book belongs in your personal library.

The book is fine, very informative but it you buy the "Witches Bible" also written by the Farrars you can get "The Witches Way" and "Eight Sabbats" all in one book!

Book very intesting only wish I knew that I should have read first the eight sabbats by the same author due to they talk about the eigh sabbats very much in the book

As books concerning Traditional Wicca go, I've seen none better. This book is all "meat and potatos," having none of the fluff so common in more recent Wicca "how to...." books. It belongs on the shelf of anyone with a serious interest in Wicca or Witchcraft. Not another book of spells, this is a book focusing on practices and beliefs from an Alexandrian and Gardnerian perspecive.

I thought I already reviewed this but will do so again. Thanks so much for excellent service. Book in great condition. Very nice doing business with you, I appreciate it!

If you respect animals this book is not for you. Putting aside the "glamour" that goes with the english accent and the cultural association that these authors have with that country, this book is really full of misinformation, and throughout the book there is a definite and marked slant against animals, this in my opinion separates us from nature, instead of uniting us with it, which should be one of the main purposes of wicca.
In the chapter about reencarnation, the author writes "non-human animals!??,in general, again perhaps excluding cetaceans, are not self- conscious, they are only dimly aware, if at all, of their own separate individuality. Psychically, each of them is part of a group soul. One theory is that on phisical death the non phisical elements in an animalare reabsorbed into the group soul of the species, which "buds off" new individuals from the common pool of physical manifestation.
This ludicrous theory reminds me of the attitude Christians have had throught the years, postulating that animals have no souls and exist only for our consumption, use and benefit, as written in the spiritual exercises of a very well known saint.
This attitude has lead only to exploitation, cruelty, and ecological imbalance,having had multiple cat households since I was a child, it is very easy to see, even for the non-psychic, that no two cats are alike, they have a definite individuality, and if someone is so callous, insensitive and bruttish, not to realize this, I really doubt they have any psychic powers whatsoever, so how can this authors claim to teach a skill they do not have?
A wiser, more logical approach is to be found in books of theosophical literature, in which they acknowledge the fact that animals will eventually incarnate in humans, (and my own observations seem to corroborate this fact) and that our present attitude towards them will be reflected in the kind of humanity that they will make.
Another major problem I found in this book is their approach to magic, amongst other things, they seem to raise power and direct it towards individual issues as different as "Bridie's persecution compex", "success in an interview for a job I applied for", " my sister's missing cat" etc.
Bridie's paranoia, a successful interview, and the sisters missing cat, are very different problems which require the aid of very diferent aspects of deity, and in consequence, diferent incenses, colours, candles and ritual arrangements. I remember Dion's fortune reference to the parable of "the pearl of great price" regarding this topic, in which she mentions only one magickal goal is possible to be attained per ritual. And this is the same approach I've found in all books except for this one.

Their disregard towards animal rights is evident throughout the book. In one of the plates they proudly display an athame made with a deer's foot!!???