Wicca Magickal Beginnings: A Study of the Possible Origins of the Rituals and Practices Found in This Modern Tradition of Pagan Witchcraft and Magick [Paperback]

It was a breath of fresh air to read this book, which presents accurate and historical information in order to separate the `myth' from the `reality' in regard to the origins of Wicca. Perhaps for the first time, these authors look closely at the individual practices which make up Wicca as a whole, and source the exact origins of these practices.

There has been much hostility between different traditions of modern witchcraft in regard to whether Wicca is - or is not - a continuation of older practices. To compound this, many practitioners of Wicca also try to avoid association with the more controversial figures - such as Aleister Crowley: and this book proves - whether you like it or not! - that Aleister had an enormous influence on Wiccan practice, particularly in relation to some of its most highly regarded ritual and poetry.

This book presents very clearly that Wicca - whilst a new concept as a whole - is indeed based on older practices, perhaps including the mystery traditions of Greece and Rome, Ceremonial Magick, the Cunning Craft of Britain and the Grimoire tradition (the latter which provides Wicca with such key practices as the directions, or `quarters', and the magic circle; used in both Traditional Wicca and some forms of modern British Cunning Craft). The authors also give their own opinion based on the evidence at the end of the book as to which they believe was the most prevalent influence; but the reader is reminded to come to their own conclusions.

I would thoroughly recommend this book, `Wicca: Magickal Beginnings' to the serious student who is interested in the historical origins of this tradition, as well as the continuation of magical traditions as a whole - and I would not hesitate in placing this book next to other ground breaking titles such as Professor Ron Hutton's `Triumph of the Moon'. However - that being said, there is something more than just historical evidence coming through this book when one reads between the lines; because, whilst the authors draw on historical information, they also interject this work with statements such as, `the outward radiation of the mysteries', and `the continuation of a growing spiritual and magickal current', when speaking about the more debated texts and/or practices which have influenced the growth of Wicca - such as work by Murray, Frazer, and Leland.

An absolute gem of a read - and a fantastic `myth-buster', too! Any serious student of Wicca (and indeed student of any other magical tradition) should read this book, in order to gain further insight into the `Magickal Beginnings' of this practice - a practice which has, very quickly, become one of the fastest growing belief systems in the world.

I originaly wrote a review which is still listed below, but having reread this book I decided that it is probably the best available book on Wiccan history written to date and as such have decided to give it 5 instead of 4 stars. Anyone who mistakes this for "just another book on Wicca" should reconsider and spend the time and money on this book.

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This book surprised me. I expected to find material which I was familiar with, but in fact the material here goes much deeper than skin deep. I have seen a few reviews comparing it with other books on the history of Wicca, such as Triumph of the Moon, but whilst this is a natural comparison to make, such comparisons miss the point. This book does not present the same material, nor does it cover the same ground as previous books on the history of the tradition. It might however seem to do so, if you have only a superficial interest in the practices and beliefs.

The conclusions reached in this book will interest those interested in the work of Sabbatic Craft, Traditional Witchcraft and anyone who has long felt that Wicca has roots which reach back much earlier than the 1950's. The author actually show that based on the practices alone the tradition might be a continuation of the much older and much respected grimoire tradition. This is very interesting, as the material they present goes into much more detail than previous books. In fact they show that it is not just the Key of Solomon which influenced the Wicca, but also a number of other very important and much older grimoires.

I found their conclusions and theories, their weaving of different threads into one coherent mystery of possibilities interesting. I read a review elsewhere which compared it to a detective story and indeed, in places, it does read like a good detective story. There are many facts and the authors leaves it to the reader to decide what they believe and what they put aside, encouraging the reader to make their own minds up.

The chapter on the Wiccan Rede was very interesting. They examine origins of the thelemic ode in The Adventures of King Pausole, Valiente's work, Gardner's work and a number of other sources. Likewise, the chapter on the Athame was fascinating. Here they present material, with line drawings, showing the actual meanings of the strange inscriptions long passed on from initiate to initiate, with jumbled meanings. The meanings often taken from The Witches Bible, given to the Farrar's by Valiente, who clearly must have misunderstood them. The chapter on Drawing Down the Moon again challenges views and I can imagine that this might upset some Wiccans. Likewise, whilst some of the analysis of The Charge of the Goddess given in that chapter has been seen before, the level of detail in this book is unprecedented and clearly laid out.

There is so much material here for those eagerly looking for something to further their understanding of their Craft. This book will not however make much sense to those Wiccans who prefer to keep their practice to talking about it, this is a book for those who practice and do so with an open mind. As such I would recommend it alongside the other books on the history of the Craft.

This book is likely to upset or confuse people who are set in their ways, the sources of the rituals are not always as clear cut as it would have appeared to be from previous research published on the subject and many people may feel threatened by some of it.

For me this book represents the best of the best of what is being written on the Wiccan Tradition today. Its fresh, original and does not seek to convert or persuade people to take up a particular way of working or thinking. Instead it presents information which every single person who practice Wicca, Witchcraft or any form of ritual celebration within the modern Pagan movement needs and should read. (Unless they wish to remain ignorant)

(A version of this review was originally posted on 'The Avalonia Esoteric Book Review' site)

If we look at the arguments people have over Wicca, the biggest one is generally whether "Gardner made it up" or not. He introduced `The Craft' to the public in 1951, claiming that he'd been initiated into a system which was already in existence, not one that he invented himself. Since then we've found evidence that Gardner certainly changed parts of it later (as did Doreen Valiente and others), but the question over whether he really found an existing tradition remains.

The authors of this book decided not to focus on the big names like Gerald Gardner, but instead trace the origins of Wiccan *practices*. These are, after all, the things that make Wicca what it is - the ceremonies, tools and systems.

And this is where the trouble is going to start, because many people now see Wicca as primarily a pagan Earth-religion. Early `Gardnerian' Wicca (before it was called that) was very different in some ways: more like an initiatory system of ceremonial magic with some witchy themes. People are quite angry on both sides about whether real Wicca today is the initiatory type, or one that should be open to all.

So what does the book say about this? Well, the first conclusion is that - even if Gerald did make it up - the systems Wicca draws together go back a long way. The early chapters are interesting, but the sections on the Athame, Magic Circle and Calling the Quarters are brilliant. There is a lot of information here for Wiccans who want to know more about where their practices come from: specific parts are traced to the Lesser Key of Solomon or John Dee and Enochian Magic, but beliefs such as only walking sunwise around a circle go back strongly to Egyptian times.

The chants and verses are also examined. `The Charge of the Goddess' is analysed in detail, as are some of the more common chants such as the Witches Rune. This is where the arguments will begin again, because the authors point to some sources that many people won't like. They show just how much of the Charge of the Goddess comes straight from Aleister Crowley, who isn't always a popular figure with modern wiccans. Doreen Valiente re-wrote much of the Charge from the original version, claiming she wanted to reduce the amount of Crowley material in it, but then replaced it with more! In fact, Valiente doesn't come out of this very well at all, although the authors politely use phrases such as "she may have been mistaken...".

I already knew some of these origins before reading this book, but the level of detail here really adds something. It makes a difference that the authors are practicing Wiccans with experience in ceremonial traditions, because finding the sources sometimes depends on understanding exactly what each ritual represents. Unfortunately, the answers aren't always going to be what wiccans want to hear. At one point the list reads "Crowley, Lesser Key of Solomon, Crowley, Christianity". For wiccans whose path may be primarily a pagan religion, this isn't going to go down well.

It doesn't have to offend, though. By emphasising the link to ceremonial magick, the authors actually reinforce Wicca's connection to original European witchcraft. Cunning Men are well known to have worked from books on astrology and texts such as these, but included here are also illustrations of *witches* working in a similar way. One illustration from 1715 shows a woman in a double-circle commanding spirits with a wand, following instructions from a book on the ground.

So, the big question: Do the authors claim that Wicca has a beginning that goes back before Gardner? Well, I'm not going to tell you. Finding out is half the fun of this book! They set out a number of possibilities, and discuss the evidence for each before picking one based on their own opinions. Regardless of whether you agree with their conclusions, people are already so divided on this topic that it is likely to be a very controversial book.

Because of that, I expected `Wicca: Magickal Beginnings' to sell very quickly. (I didn't expect it to sell every copy of its first print run in approximately three hours, however!) What was a nice surprise was how useful it will be to wiccans in their daily practice - knowing the roots of the tools and ceremonies really added a lot to my appreciation of many areas, and I loved reading about them. Some of the references are put in just for fun (and clearly labelled as such), but quite often the conclusions are a little different to those the wiccan community usually assumes are the case.

The first printing isn't free from mistakes: an errata sheet is included (humourously claiming that the minor spelling errors are all the fault of Hermes, the mischievous God of communication). The rest of the presentation is good though, and it becomes a real page-turner when you find a part of wiccan practice you feel strongly about.

"Magickal Beginnings" pulls together all the subjects that will interest wiccans, but which are usually too diverse to be found in one place. Readers who want to go further now have a valuable set of links to excellent texts. (The bibliography at the back runs to 16 pages...) By covering the ceremonial topics as well as looking at themes on the pagan side such as Cernunnos, I think "Wicca: Magickal Beginnings" is going to become a vital part of many wiccans' bookshelves.