Wiccan Beliefs & Practices [Paperback]

In chapter one, Cantrell states that if you "change the basics" of Wiccan practice then you "step outside of that philosophy and develop a path of worship that fails to address those basics or subverts the old methods, you are no longer practicing Wicca." Then in chapter 3 he goes on to discuss how he doesn't use the basic ritual tools of Wiccan practice. Of the wand, Cantrell writes: "Like the besom and the sword. the wand is something I have never used." His comment on the chalice reads: "The chalice...is another of those tools for which I personally have found very little applications." While I admire the courage of this "High Priest" to admit that he is essentially clueless about how to use the basic ritual tools of the religion he practices, I found myself wondering many times how he ever rose to the level of High Priest to begin with.

Among those authors that Cantrell says were most influential on his thinking, he lists Edain McCoy. McCoy is the author that wrote about how the ancient Druids used the potato as a mother symbol, with its many eyes. Of course, the potato is a New World plant and was entirely unknown to the Druids, since it was not brought to Ireland until after the discovery of America. However, Cantrell's admiration for McCoy does help to explain the poor and incorrect historical data he provides in his own book. It was difficult to wade through the text because the author continually goes on and on reminding the reader on almost every page that everything is simply his own personal view. He also apologizes a great deal throughout the book in an attempt to please everyone in every tradition, which became very boring. In addition to the inaccurate historical information, the author also gives incorrect information on various deities and provides inaccurate overviews of several Craft traditions.

In my opinion Cantrell's book is an extremely poor book on Wicca, filled with misinformation and misdirection, and should be avoided as it undermines the integrity of the Craft and will confuse new seekers.

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The book covers definitions of Wicca and of Diety and then talks about Wiccan ethics, then ritual preparation, then rituals and holy days themselves, all before a single mention is made of spellcasting. This is the way it should be: Wicca is first and foremost a way of life. Magic(k) is always secondary.

The author shares some personal stories and devotes an entire chapter to "the humorous side," reminding us never to take ourselves too seriously. He also includes a chapter on "coming out of the broom closet," which, though not applicable for everyone, does cover the pros and cons of telling people who you are, and some of the basic legal aspects as well (opposition to pagans, pagan alliances in various communities such as the military, legal protection of Wicca as a religion in the U.S.) These chapters seem to get criticized a lot, but I was grateful for their inclusion (especially when I chose the Wiccan path and needed to worry about those subjects.)

Appendices at the back include two versions of the Rede, the Charges of Goddess and God, some nice examples of ritual invocations (the author encourages writing your own if you can), and a (very) "general dictionary of gods and goddesses." The bibliography includes some good websites (and great books) that can help you network with other pagans.

All in all this book is a great resource (and a very modern one -- 2001), whether you're looking for the right path, already following the Wiccan one, or interested in finding out what it is Wiccans do. It's necessarily more focused on the author's tradition (which is a sort of eclectic), but he stresses that there is no single correct path and encourages experimentation and further reading.

A big plus: the cover and the title aren't annoying or completely stupid like so many of the Pagan/Wiccan books I see. I love to read, but I'm embarrassed to be seen with some of those titles! With this one, no worries.

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The book covers definitions of Wicca and of Diety and then talks about Wiccan ethics, then ritual preparation, then rituals and holy days themselves, all before a single mention is made of spellcasting. This is the way it should be: Wicca is first and foremost a way of life. Magic(k) is always secondary.

The author shares some personal stories and devotes an entire chapter to "the humorous side," reminding us never to take ourselves too seriously. He also includes a chapter on "coming out of the broom closet," which, though not applicable for everyone, does cover the pros and cons of telling people who you are, and some of the basic legal aspects as well (opposition to pagans, pagan alliances in various communities such as the military, legal protection of Wicca as a religion in the U.S.) These chapters seem to get criticized a lot, but I was grateful for their inclusion (especially when I chose the Wiccan path and needed to worry about those subjects.)

Appendices at the back include two versions of the Rede, the Charges of Goddess and God, some nice examples of ritual invocations (the author encourages writing your own if you can), and a (very) "general dictionary of gods and goddesses." The bibliography includes some good websites (and great books) that can help you network with other pagans.

All in all this book is a great resource (and a very modern one -- 2001), whether you're looking for the right path, already following the Wiccan one, or interested in finding out what it is Wiccans do. It's necessarily more focused on the author's tradition (which is a sort of eclectic), but he stresses that there is no single correct path and encourages experimentation and further reading.

A big plus: the cover and the title aren't annoying or completely stupid like so many of the Pagan/Wiccan books I see. I love to read, but I'm embarrassed to be seen with some of those titles! With this one, no worries.

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