Witchcraft Today 60 Years On

The legacy of Gerald Gardner's Witchcraft Today (first published in 1954) is difficult to accurately describe. A personal account of the practices of the witches he had worked with, Witchcraft Today has been hugely influential in explaining the Craft to the world. Now Moon Books has published Witchcraft Today 60 Years On, an anthology of written work gathered from various sources and provising a well-rounded-out account of how witchcraft has developed since the publication of Gerald Gardner's seminal work.

Split into two parts, the first section (Forms, Themes and Values) starts with a concise account of how Gardner developed his seminal work. Following chapters describe specific forms of modern witchcraft that developed from the original, starting with Alexandrian Witchcraft and then going on to look at Seax Wica, Eclectic Wicca, Dianic Witchcraft, British Traditional Old Craft, Hedge Witchcraft, Solitary Witchcraft, Nature Witches, Hekatean Witchcraft, and The Egyptian Magical Tradition. Also included are an essay on Male Witchcraft and Witchcraft Tomorrow. The second section (Journey on a Crooked Path) is devoted to personal accounts of various adherents and their call to become a part of Witchcraft.

As with many anthologies, the writing quality is uneven and the tonal differences between chapters and accounts can be jarring.

This is not necessarily a great book for a newcomer to the Craft. I think a newcomer would find it confusing to be told that a practitioner of Hekatean Witchcraft is following the same path as the Eguptian Magician, the Hedge witch, the Druid, and the British Traditional witch. I do, however, think it is valuable for indicating that Gardner never intended his words to be the One True Way and would, in fact, enjoy how his legacy has been the seeds to so many perspectives and paths to Deity.

Witchcraft Today 60 Years On is one for everyone interested in the history and legacy of witchcraft.

Strongly recommended.

~review by Lisa Mc Sherry

Editor: Trevor Greenfield
Moon Books, 2014
pp. 187, $13.99

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