Book of the Week: Witchcrafting

Witchcrafting by Phyllis Curott is a lesson book for Eclectic Wicca. Though it claims to provide new ideas and techniques for the adept, it ends up as a book that is truly aimed at beginners. Even though it tends to fail in its attempt to teach ‘old Witches new tricks’, I found it to be a very well written book and I recommend it regularly.

It is a thin paperback, and manages to still hold the magical tone of the author’s memoir work, Book of Shadows. This makes it very enjoyable to read. She doesn’t talk down to beginners and doesn’t make claims that her ways are the right ways.

It takes on many of the basics that lots of other 101 books have, but I think that this one has a sense of serious integrity that many of the pink covered sparkly volumes do not. The suggestion in the beginning to keep a journal while working the exercises is one that I think that needs to be reiterated for any course of magical study. If for no other reason than to be able to look back and see how you change as you work through it.

An oft neglected section that can be found in Witchcrafting, that might not be in other beginner styled books is the ‘Covens and Groups’ section. So many Eclectics are very Pro-Solitary, and that is fine, but no where is it written that if you start out alone, then you must stay alone forever. Groupwork can add an essential element to your practise, and it is something that beginners are better to not write off as useless simply because they are not currently ready for that step.

This book is worth every penny that you will pay for it. It will take you further in your study than most others, and you will likely find yourself referring to it again and again. I have never been sorry that I bought this one.