Rebirth of Witchcraft

by Doreen Valiente

Book Overview

One of witchcraft's most widely known figures, Doreen Valiente was a close friend of the late Gerald Gardner, generally regarded as the founder of modern Wicca. Initiated by him in the 1950s and for a... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0919345395
• ISBN13: 9780919345393
• Release Date: January 1989
• Publisher: Phoenix Publishing (WA)
• Length: 309 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Did Not Receive This Book

Hi, I believe I received the wrong book. It says that this was delivered today and I did not actually receive this book. I received a book called Jonathan Livingston Seagull-A story. Is there a way to receive the book that I actually purchased? Or receive a refund?

Wicca from the beginning

This book really shows us Wicca from the beginning. I don't think you'll be disappointed in the stories that Doreen has to share with us all. Really, she is the mother of Modern Witchcraft. If you want to know where we are going as a religious group of people, you should really read our history -- and she gives you an inside look at the people who shaped Wicca into what it is today. Much Love & Many Blessings, Thorn Nightwind

The absolute guide to history at the beginning of wicca!

This book gives a realistic view on all the fuss going on in England at 1950. Valiente writes about the situation with Scire (Gerald Gardner)and Dafoe. Also she mentions Robert Cochrane, Sybil Leek, Alex Sanders and gives a great perspective on how insiders and outsiders behave at the beginning of what has become: the rebirth of La Vecchia Religione, The Old Religion. An important fact is that Tradtional Witchcraft, is not the same as Wicca! Traditionals don't have a hierarchy.

Good, witchy gossip

The main reason I picked up this book was due to an interview I once read, in which Valiente expressed her disapproval over the "airy-fairy" attitude that was prevalent in the current neo-Pagan movement. I wanted to know what was different about "Old School Wicca".This book gives a nice little history lesson on what life was like for a British Witch in the 1950's and 1960's. Valiente gives personal accounts of such now legendary figures as Gerald Gardner, Alex Sanders, Robert Cochrane, Janet and Stewart Farrar, and even Aleister Crowley. She illustrates just how dangerous it was to be a public Witch in Britain at the time; and the trouble they went through with both the press and the police when it came to dealing with accusations of Satanism and committing human sacrifice. Valiente also describes the hazards of intra-coven politics. Witch wars waged in the media and psychic vampires turning up on your doorstep, hat in hand, with a big grin and a favor to ask. She pulls no punches when she talks about just how awful it can be when you are just trying to be both a helpful pagan and a decent person. While her chapter on "Feminist Witchcraft" seemed a little dated to me, it still expresses some important ideals: the need for women to take charge of their own identity, the necessity for good stewardship of the environment, and finding a way to cope with the ever increasing human population.Definitely not a "how to" manual for spell casting, this book will give readers a glimpse into the lives of some famous Witches. Some were powerful, some were fragile, a couple were downright deceitful, but they were all human.

Pull up a chair...

Old Doreen was around for the formative years of the modern Witchcraft movement, otherwise known as Wicca, and was a participant in many of it's early events. (She wrote the famous Charge of the Goddess, for example). Reading this book is like sitting in an Elder's kitchen, with a hot cup of coffee (too much dish here for mere tea, but with cream and sugar, not black) and having her tell you what it was *really* like back then, and what *really* happened. Now that she's passed on, I'm particularly grateful that she's given us this bit of eyewitness history and insight into how our religion took the form(s) it has. Also an indictment of hubris in those she loved, by a true Lady who had her head on straight, her heart in the right place, and her feet firmly on the ground. More interesting to folks somewhat familiar with Wicca than for beginners. Required reading for my own advanced Craft students -- it's that good.