The Witch Book: The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, Wicca, and Neo-paganism

I put a spell on you and you and you.

A direct link to our wild and crazy nature-loving pagan past, witchcraft has mesmerized people for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. And The Witch Book, Visible Ink?s latest sublime survey of the supernatural, is sure to at least enchant, with best-selling occult authority Raymond Buckland as your guide. Of Romany (Gypsy) descent, Wiccan high priest Buckland has been studying witchcraft, gypsy magic and other aspects of the occult and supernatural for half a century. He has authored more than 30 titles, including Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft.

In pre-Christian and early Christian times, Witchcraft (with a capital "W") was a magical and healing practice associated with the pagan religion. Good witches were pretty much the norm. The very word "Witch" comes from the Old Anglo-Saxon wicce or wicca, meaning a "wise one;" the wiser of the common people having knowledge of herbs, healing, augury, and magic. But during the last 1,000 years, Witchcraft and paganism received much bad press, becoming erroneously linked with Satanism and black magic. This was to the lasting and often fatal detriment of good witches, bad witches, and non-witches accused of being witches. Not surprisingly, pop culture has further distorted the truth. A pioneer in the modern Wicca religion, Buckland clears up the misconceptions, focusing more than half a century of expertise and publishing experience.

With 560 entries, a resource section, and 114 photos and illustrations, The Witch Book is an exhaustive A-to-Z exploration of people, places, events, literature and other matters related to the ever-timely and popular topic. Buckland defines both the darker Christian concept and the true concept of Wicca, concentrating on the Western European and later New World versions of Witchcraft and magic. From Abracadabra to Aleister Crowley to Gardnerian Witchcraft to Rosemary?s Baby to sorcery and Zoroastra, The Witch Book is unmatched in its coverage of witchcraft?s historical, practical, and cultural aspects.