Book Review: A Witches' Bible
A Witches' Bible
Author: Janet and Stewart Farrar
Trade Paperback, 550 pages
Publisher: Phoenix Publishing
Publication date: July 1996
ISBN: 0919345921
More Information:
http://www.ecauldron.com/cncbook.php?asin=0919345921
If you are tired of "Wicca 101" books aimed at the complete
beginner (or worse, at "fluff bunnies"), the Farrar's A Witches'
Bible might be the book for you. While some of the material
seems dated and even slightly offensive in places (e.g. comments
that imply there is really no place for homosexuals in Wicca),
there is a wealth of information on the Alexandrian branch of
British Traditional Wicca and the early history of Wicca in
general.
A Witches' Bible is really two books under one cover: Eight
Sabbats for Witches and The Witches' Way. This is the chief
problem with the book. There are two separate tables of contents
and indexes. The page numbers start over from one in middle of
the volume. Some information is duplicated between the two
volumes included. This doesn't ruin the book, but it does make
it much less convenient to use. Having to look stuff up in two
separate indexes is a pain, for example.
The first half of the book, originally published as Eight
Sabbats for Witches, discusses each of the eight major Wiccan
festivals in detail. The authors examine both the rituals in a
fairly typical Gardner-derived Book of Shadows and how they fit
into a wheel of the year cycle of myths. Like much of early
Wiccan material, there is a somewhat embarrassing reliance on
questionable source material such as Robert Graves' The White
Goddess. This doesn't really ruin any of the rituals, it just
calls into question some of the background material and theory.
This first volume also covers in detail the opening and closing
of circles, the Great Rite, and rituals for Wiccaning,
handfasting, and death.
The second half of the book, originally published as The
Witches' Way, mainly consists of sixteen chapters on Wiccan
beliefs such as reincarnation, ethics, healing, divination,
magick, etc. as seen through the eyes of the Farrars. At times,
some of these essays seem very dogmatic. There is useful
knowledge and information in almost every one of them, even if
you do not agree with all the positions the authors take.
Approximately one-third of this second volume is ritual
material, however, presented and explained with the same detail
as the sabbats were in the first volume. You'll find initiation
rituals for all three British Traditional Wiccan degrees,
information on consecration rituals and various usual rituals.
There's also an appendix by Doreen Valiente detailing her
attempts to track down Gardner's "Old Dorothy" and the "New
Forest Coven."
If you are used to 1990's style Wicca 101 books, A Witches'
Bible may come as something of a shock to you. It's not written
in a "here's how to do this, run out and try it" style. It
provides detailed information and opinion that you have to study
and think about to get much out of. As one might expect from any
form of British Tradition Wicca, its rituals are definitely
aimed at group practice. You will not find solitary versions
handed to you. With a bit of thought and effort, of course, many
of the rituals presented could be adapted to solitary use.
While all this material may sound dry and dull, the Farrars
manage to make most of it quite interesting to read. If you are
interested in the origin and history of Wicca, British
Traditional Wicca, or are just tired of Wicca books obviously
written so as to not strain the brain of the average
"fluff-bunny," I can't recommend this book highly enough. I've
had a copy of another publisher's printing for more than fifteen
years. I've read it completely several times, and refer to it at
least once month.
If you are interested in Wicca and ready to move beyond all the
"Wicca 101" books on the market, pick up a copy of A Witches'
Bible as soon as you can. It's not perfect, but it is one of the
few "Wicca 201" books on the market. Even if British Traditional
Wicca doesn't really interest you, you'll learn a lot about
Wicca by reading and studying this book.
This review is one of hundreds of reviews of Pagan, Wiccan,
occult, and metaphysical books in The Cauldron: A Pagan Forum's
Books and Reviews section at
http://www.ecauldron.com/bookstore.php.