The Everything Wicca and Witchcraft Book: Unlock the Secrets of Ancient Rituals, Spells, Blessings, and Sacred Objects (Everything Series)

I look at this like a coffee-table book that you can pull out when people have basic questions on a wide variety of Wiccan/Witchcraft topics. Contrary to some reviews here... I'd say it's impossible for ANY author to cover it all in under 300 pages considering the diversity of Wiccan beliefs and practices (but the Everything books try to do just that). Singer does her best within the framework provided (this reminds me of the Dummies guides but with a little more class). If you already know the foundations of the Craft, this probably isn't the book for you, but it is the book for friends and family who find themselves confused and just wanting something to help them grasp the foundations of what you believe/do. Plus there are simple angles that Singer brings to the work that make a lot of sense in our busy world. You're not going to get a treatise here on any one part of Wicca - but rather snapshots of a very diverse faith, which is a tribute to "unity through diversity" .. overall a very strong book.

I am new at Wicca(n)1 week to be exact and a lifetime (over 35+ yrs)of being a Roman Catholic. I have been overwhelmed in what to read first. The title and the reviews here helped me decide to have this as one of the first books to start with. I found it to have a good foundation; however it brought on a lot more questions. I guess that would be a good thing. Still not sure where to start or what is most important- start an altar, deciding on which devination, choose a god or goddess to start studying, do rituals on everything I buy. I bought other books at the same time(Cunningham crystals,oils and herb books as well as solitary books) and hopefully they will help answer some of my questions I did find out that I am more Fire my color is orange; My b-day is on Lughnasadh Aug 1. I understand more about my personality then ever before; and why I do certain things and why I prefer the mountains and outdoors over the beach or gardening. The book gave me the ground work to start with and now I have to research a little deeper for a better understanding. So I am going to look for books on getting specific for certain areas that I have read that I have questions on. As a newbe I feel this book gives you a GREAT basic understanding it's not to overwhelimng (besides his use of uncommon words need a dictionary near you), it entises you to research more information if your still intrested in wicca(n)

This is a great overview for the beginner. It describes the philosophy and idealogy, history, and folklore in the first few chapters, then moves on to practical instruction. I found the section on kitchen witchery particularly interesting. It does go into casting circles, ritual construct, and eventually deities, but is mostly a book of "low" (as opposed to "high", or rituallistic) folk magic. Despite the title, I did not find it to be particulary biased toward Wiccan magic, thus making it great for the beginner looking for a generic or secular approach. No section is terribly in depth, but it will expose you to a variety of magickal pursuits, leave you excited about continuing, and give you an idea what you wish to study more about.

This book is great for those of us who are just starting out and want a basic understanding of Wicca and everything that goes with it. It lightly touches on a lot of subjects and gives answers to questions that I didn't even think to ask. If you are just starting out you might find you really like this book. I know I did.