Product Description

This text provides an A to Z of modern-day Paganism and magic as they are practised by witches, druids, staunch feminists and others who profess allegiance to a nature-oriented doctrine with antecedents much older than Christianity.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1082431 in Books
• Published on: 2000-06-22
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Customer Reviews

A Must
The entries are concise, well-written, informative, and balanced?. The photographs are spectacular?

The most penetrating work of reference available on the craft

In a realm where subjective opinion often obscures the most basic issues, Michael Jordan gives straightforward facts about people, phenomena and events.

Contains four remarkably candid interviews with prominent Pagans - Doreen Valiente, Olivia Durdin-Robertson, Maxine Sanders and Vivianne Browley.

Sally Griffyn's photographs provide the most outstanding visual insight into modern Paganism ever published

Encyclopedia format book missing vital items
This book is useful for looking up things but lacks potential categories and entries eg the Wiccan Rede etc. It is also quite inaccurate in terms of the history. Not very good for factual purposes because of inaccurate background research although information about individuals involved in paganism etc is quite interesting.

The interviews are excellent and enjoyable to read. They include Vivianne Crowley, Maxine Sanders and Doreen Valiente so if you like any of these particular characters then it is worth a read and possibly worth a four for that bit alone.

a pleasant surprise!
I really didn't think this book would be much good, but it was interesting, informative and it's earned a place on my bookshelf. I would have given it 5 stars had it covered a wider area instead of sticking to the tried and trusted, for example, the witchcraft persecutions, entries like Johannes Junius, who died at the height of the witchcraze but was obviously NOT a witch. And while I really like Caitlin Matthews work, I am not sure why she was entered here... and where are the likes of Paddy Slade, Kate West et al? Although Maxine Sanders and Doreen Valiente are pioneers of modern witchcraft, I'd have liked to have seen more space given to those who have continued to promote witchcraft, like Poppy Palin and Anna Franklin.