Wicca the Complete Craft was written by D.J. Conway. This book was published by Crossing Press in 2001. It covers and goes through very thoroughly the many ceremonies, traditions, holidays, beliefs, and much more of the Wiccan religion. Wicca the Complete Craft was written with the intent to help someone go through the process of joining the Wiccan religion rather than a reference for someone to simply learn about the religion. Do not let me mislead you though, the book provides wonderful insight into the religion. It was just not written with that intent. It provides numerous list and step-by-step instructions but very little pictures and diagrams. The content of the book did not require a whole lot of diagrams or pictures, list and step-by-step instructions were adequate enough. I give Wicca the Complete Craft 4.7 stars on a 5.0 scale.
The only thing that stopped me from giving Wicca the Complete Craft a solid 5.0 stars was that the author, D.J. Conway, came of as somewhat biased at times. It was very subtle, but he would slip in comments that the book could do without. You can tell he is very passionate and very serious about his religion, Wicca. I think that is fantastic but the comments that he slipped in every so often may turn people away or agitate them. I brushed them off and I am so glad I did because the Wiccan religion is fascinating and I learned so much from Wicca the Complete Craft.
Wicca is an extremely old religion. Wiccan beliefs and views are so alien to the more modern religions like Christianity and Judaism. A major aspect of the Wiccan religion is covens. A coven is basically a group of 3 or more Witches (Witches are what people of the Wiccan religion call themselves) that gather together ...
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... He touched base on everything you need to know to become a Witch. He even provided exercises to help you along with your journey to becoming a Witch. For the spell work aspect of the Wiccan religion he provided step-by-step instructions on several different spells. He thoroughly goes through all the processes to become a Witch. He made the reading easy to understand and if there is a word you do not recognize you can most likely find it in the multiple little dictionaries he has provided on words that have to do with the Wiccan religion throughout the book. When the need arises he provides pictures and charts. In the chapter on runes there is a particularly handy chart. There are a lot of lists in this book and they are a load of help. Overall Wicca The Complete Craft was an outstanding read.
Works Cited
Wicca the Complete Craft by D.J. Conway
In the book, Apostles of Disunion, author Charles B. Dew opens the first chapter with a question the Immigration and Naturalization service has on an exam they administer to prospective new American citizens: “The Civil War was fought over what important issue”(4). Dew respond by noting that “according to the INS, you are correct if you offer either of the following answers: ‘slavery or states’ rights’” (4). Although this book provides more evidence and documentation that slavery was the cause of the Civil War, there are a few places where states’ rights are specifically noted. In presenting the findings of his extensive research, Dew provides compelling documentation that would allow the reader to conclude that slavery was indeed the cause for both secession and the Civil War.
...craft is a book that is written very well. The two authors, Paul Boyer and Stephen Nissenbaum, take a story that most of know from high school and take it more in depth. Not just showing the church side or the side of the accused but it shows how the social side of the town played into everything. After reading this book and going on line and look at some reviews I now have a better understanding of why the outbreak of “witchcraft” first started and why it got to the point that people were killed. Not only did the book going in depth about the social aspect but it also break down the cause and effects of the actions taken in Salem during this time. I could find no real downside to this book, it took something I had prior knowledge of and showed me so much more on it, thus allowing me to learn so much more. Makes me glad I chose this book instead of the pirate book.
Witchcraft is the most illogical and despised practices involving the supernatural power. “It implies the ability to injure others. A witch usually acquires his power through an inherent physical factor or through the power of another witch. Witch possess a special organ called mangu, located somewhere behind the sternum or attached to the liver.”[11] Woman/man may become a witch through the influence of another witch or contact with another witch. Witches do not intend to do harm; they are as much the victims of witchcraft as those upon whom they practice it. They have innate power and often don’t know what they are doing. The belief in witchcraft helps people explain the causes of illness, death and misfortune experienced by a person or a group when no other explanations can be found. Most of the time when witches create injury and calamity, they were punished by death, sometimes by exile. They also were forced into admission of guilt by torture, fear, or the hope for lighter punishment. “Most witches work by night, are capable of covering long distances very rapidly, tem...
Many ethical paradigms exist and The Wiccan Rede are often compared to those of The Golden Rule and those presenting set rules, like the Ten Commandments of Christianity. If there is a discussion of ethics it's often the subject of it and while some try to dissect the couplet, others discuss it loosely as a valuable rule and guideline.
The book's depictions and dissects remained on their own as significant commitments as far as anyone is concerned of witch legend and the vague status of ladies in colonial New England. Karlsen's work is one of imposing educated force and a real commitment to the investigation of New England witchcraft. It puts the focal part of ladies as witches under the magnifying lens an extensive 300 years after the events transpired. Karlsen's novel is obliged perusing for the hobbyist, casual reader, or general spectator looking to comprehend and translate the wide picture of pioneer witchcraft in New England.
The Wiccan religion is one of the fastest growing religions in the United States as well one of the most misunderstood due to the controversies surrounding its history and mystery shrouding its beliefs and doctrines. Due to a series of popular TV series that have shown Witchcraft in a positive light, such as Sabrina, the Teen-aged Witch and Charmed, the popularity of Wicca has grown, especially amongst teenagers; but sadly this popularity has not been partnered with a growth in understanding and respect (Kaminer). Although Wicca offers a nature-oriented, egalitarian belief system with a rich collection of customs and rituals, ignorance and historically-rooted misconceptions still dominate public opinion.
Cunningham, Scott. Wicca: A Guide of the Solitary Practitioner. St. Paul, Minn.: Llewellyn Publications, 1988.
Overall I enjoyed reading Witchcraft at Salem. Hansen brought new ideas while challenging the old ones in a very enthusiastic manner. Many scholars have differing views on what happened at Salem. Some believe that girls were lying, while some believe that a physical ailment was the cause. This book was great for a reader who wanted to find several opinions on what took place in Salem. If the reader wanted to know just the basic facts of the Salem Witch Trials then I would not recommend this book. Witchcraft at Salem requires a general knowledge of what happened during the witch trials because it goes very in depth. This book might be confusing to someone who slept in high school history or english and knows nothing of what happened at Salem during 1962.
Wicca, commonly known as the “Craft” or “Old Ways” is an expression used to describe various traditions of contemporary Paganism, an earth-centered religion that shows a substantial amount of respect for nature; celebrating the changes in the season and lunar cycles (Mankiller, Wicca); As stated by Morrison Wicca celebrates, “the beauty of the moon, the stars, and the sun (5)”; and the worshipping of the deities (Morrison, 2001). Those who follow the path of Wicca are usually referred to as “Witches” or “Wiccans” derived from the Anglo-Saxon term wicce, which can be translated as “Sorceress” or “Wise One” (Morrison, 2001), they are nothing like the witches seen in modern media (Mankiller, Wicca). Throughout History Wicca has been depicted as a Satanist related religion, leading to mass persecution of those who adhere to its principles (as seen in the Salem Witch Trials); few truly fathom the Wiccan faith. The real truth about Wicca is that, it is a religion centered on the theology of the deities in form of the Patron Goddess and God, it is a matriarchal religion, with varying traditions and religious branches, that doesn’t believe in predestination, and has basic tenets that must be followed.
For hundreds of years, Wicca and witchcraft has been considered the practice of the Devil. In result, many witches throughout those hundreds of years have been tortured, burned, hanged, and killed outright. Although the “witches” from the infamous Salem Witch Trials were not actual witches, it is the thought that counts. The assumption that witchcraft involves summoning the devil and sacrificing animals is extremely inaccurate, as well as a little insulting. Wicca and witchcraft has been misunderstood throughout the time it has existed, and it is actually a very beautiful practice.
In the 1990s and 2000s, Wicca began to become recognized as a religion in popular culture. Aspects of Wicca were combined into the New Age movement, and a lot of Wiccans began to start using New Age beliefs and practices. Wicca was also began to be added in to movies, books, and shows; in 1996, the American film “The Craft” was released, it was about four witches who are changed by their power. The same year the tv series “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” came out, which was followed by “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, and then, the year after that, “Charmed” and the movie “Practical Magic”. While these were criticized alot by a lot of Wiccans, they did encourage many teenagers and young adults to learn more about the religion. Most covens and Neopagan groups did not allow people under eighteen into their coven, and so many teenagers started using books to find out more. Because of this, quite a few books were published to provide for them, including Silver Ravenwolf's Teen Witch: Wicca for a New Generation and Scott Cunningham's Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner. This helped wicca to get more younger people involved in their religion, and it has been thought that the reason why so many young adults are paying attention to the faith can "Be attributed to the fact that it tackles issues that teenagers are interested in — in a way that other religions...
Macmorgan, K. (2001). All One Wicca: A Study in the Universal Eclectic Tradition of Wicca: iUniverse.
The religion of Witchcraft dates back about 25,000 years, to the Paleolithic Age, where the God of Hunting and the Goddess of Fertility first appeared. Out of respect for the overwhelming power of Nature grew a belief in beings, gods, who controlled the winds, the seas, the earth and the fires (Rinehart). People have been slaughtered for ages because they had different belief systems or they simply were not liked. Whether they were witches or not, hundreds of thousands of people have been burned at the stake, dunked in freezing rivers, or otherwise tortured because people accused them of being witches.
To completely understand the history of New England witchcraft you have to understand the role of colonial women. The author of this book, Carol Karlsen, used a lot of Secondary and primary sources to support her thesis. She uses first hand accounts of witch trials. Which I found very interesting to read. Such as her use of Cotton Mathers personal writings. She also used court records as one of her sources to writing this book. These records showed the detailed court proceedings, depositions, and court rulings.
Witchcraft is a term which sprouts many different meanings. As stated above, it is attributed to witches. But what is a witch? Probably an evil haggish-like women who has signed a pact with the devil if we think of it in the English sense. So witchcraft must be evil doings; putting curses on people to make their life miserable, using wicked spells to transform humans to frogs etc. But does this hold true to everyone's idea of what witchcraft is.People's believes on the subject of witchcraft might differ between different cultures.