Product Description

Phyllis Curott, a New York lawyer tells of her initiation into a coven, describing ancient techniques such as meditation, energy work, trance states, ritual, prayer, spells and dreams.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #497818 in Books
• Published on: 1999-10-28
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Review
An engaging memoir of magic and self-discovery, by Wicca high priestess and entertainment attorney Curott. Curott has lectured nationally on the renaissance of witchcraft in America, and here she offers a treatment of magic's role in her own spiritual journey and professional life. Curott wisely uses the genre of autobiography to introduce readers to witchcraft gradually, as she herself was introduced to it. She first describes her visions of an Isis-like figure in her final year of law school, and her sudden development of extrasensory talents. A bit later, she met a self-described witch and through this friendship began attending her first "circle" meetings, which sound a lot more like a feminist consciousness-raising group than a coven. Which is precisely Curott's point: the book's chief function is to dispel Christian-based stereotypes about witches, who don't worship Satan (he's not a figure in pre-Christian traditions) or cast spells on people (Curott insists that witches seek to establish harmony in the world, not to be masters of others or of nature). But in her well-intentioned efforts to rehabilitate witchcraft, she occasionally succumbs to perpetuating rather ridiculous inaccuracies about its detractors (as when she repeats the claim that the Catholic Church was responsible for the Black Plague because it had killed off all the cats, thinking they might be witches' familiars). And at times her rhetorical devices are not too subtle - she gives her lecherous boss the pseudonym Hades, symbolically casting herself as the ensnared Persephone, who must utilize female magic to escape from his underworld. However, Curott also presents some fine insights into the role witchcraft plays in the complex milieu of American religion, including her observation that Wicca is appealing because it does not demand exclusive devotion (one enchantress calls herself "an Episcopagan"). Though jagged, Curott's book stands as a unique first-person account of more than 20 years as a practitioner of Wicca. (Kirkus Reviews)

Customer Reviews

Bringing light out of Shadows
Going against the stereotypes of someone who chose to become Pagan / Wiccan at 15, I have always been sceptical of so-called 'Wicca books'/ 'Witchcraft books' (there is no 'how-to' for becoming a Witch). But when I noticed the hardback edition of this one whilst browsing a small bookshop, I quickly realised this was something different.

Book of Shadows is part auto-biography, part guidebook, and part story.
The Author's Note at the beginning states:
"The story that follows is true. In an effort to safeguard the privacy of individuals whose lives have touched mine, all of the names and many of the identifying details of the people mentioned in this book have been changed. In some cases, composite characters have been created and some events altered for the purpose of further disguising the identity of individuals."



Phyllis Curott was a non-religious law student when she had her first experiences of the 'magical' world in the 1970's. At the time, she did not recognise them as such. When she graduated she left New York for Washington DC, but found that her premonitions, dreams and insights had stopped. A year later she was made redundant, and returned to New York.
She ended up managing a band, and met a fellow manager, Sophia, who called herself 'a white Witch'. Sophia introduced her to a group of women who were starting a womens circle, or 'coven'.

Over the thirteen chapters (representing the 13 moons of the year), we follow the first year of Phyllis' spiritual journey, as she tries to balance her profesional life in the male-dominated law world of 1980's New York, with her discovery and understanding of the world's oldest religion.

Because Phyllis has no pre-conceived religious beliefs, we are able to put ourselves in her place as she makes her way through the experience. She explores not just modern Wicca, but also a brief look at its history, and how so many myths and misconceptions arose around these beliefs.



I found this book so difficult to put down, and have now read it 6 times. Every time I have had to stop, when I come back to it (days, weeks, or months later), I always find myself at a point relative to my life at that moment!

Ignore all those 'how-to' books for Wicca and Witchcraft, seemingly aimed at the teenage market. THIS is the best introduction to The Craft, presented in a very accessible manner, but with enough to grip an intelligent, adult reader.

NB: Book of Shadows is the term given to a coven's book of spells.

Great read, and highly informative.
First off, I'd like to say that Curott's writing style is very readable. She takes the reader with her on a journey through her initiation into witchcraft, and makes every inch of that journey interesting and enjoyable. If this book doesn't set your world on fire, it's because there's not a dry section of prose in there.

The style is that of a biography, set over a specific period of time. The information that is put across is generally expressed in terms of Curott's own thoughts and feelings about the events surrounding her, making this very personal reading.

Although this focuses on Curott's own journey, any events from her personal life tend to have relevance to the spiritual side, and there's nothing in there that could realistically be edited out. For those that take note, the book contains warnings of mistakes that can be made - if you decide this is the path for you, you will be forewarned about some of these by reading this book. I'd highly recommend it to anyone wishing to learn about witchcraft.

Excellent
This book is excellent, the writer has written almost an autobiography of her beginnings as a witch, and yet she manages to keep us interested and make us anticipate every next paragraph. Her journey to initiation as a witch is inspiring to say the least, and the insight into areas of her family, social and work life is most welcome, as it shows how witches are not 'abnormal' or stupid, and most certainly are not evil. She was a completely normal young woman, and she still is normal, only now she is finally 'in tune' with herself, and with the world.

An excellent read for anyone, experienced or not in the wiccan ways.