Return to Cauldron Home Page

Please donate now to pay our monthly server fees:
Donate to The Cauldron
[More Info]

Community Menu
Community Home

Message Board
Board Home
Board Rules
Board Extras:
   Arcade
   Calendar
   Links

CauldronMUX [Client]
Sister Forums:
   Asatru Lore

Menu

Home
Site Info & Rules
Site Archives
Volunteers Needed
Advertise Here

Pagan Supplies
Buy Pagan Books
Buy Pagan Supplies

Books & Media
Books Home
Games Home
Music: Free | Pagan
Online Books
Pagan Book Browser
Reviews:
   Academic Books
   Divination Decks
   Fiction Books
   Pagan Books
   Speculative Books
   DVD & Videotape
Submit Review

Pagan Features
Article Library
Auctions
Chat Log Index
File Library
Humor
Lessons
Pagan Holidays
Pagan Primer
Pagan Rituals
Pagan Supplies
Pagan Youth
Polls
Reconstructionism
Spell Grimoire [Blog]
Web Resources

Pagan Living
Cauldron Cookbook
Take Political Action

Newsletter
Back Issues
Subscribe

Other Features
eCauldronMail
Greeting Cards
Syndicated Articles
World News/Opinion

Shopping
Cheap Web Hosting
Doxy's Bazaar
Witchcraft Course
Zazzle

Old Indexes
Article Index
Webcrafting Index

Network Sites
Cauldron and Candle
Cauldron's Grimoire
RetroRoleplaying
RetroRoleplaying: The Blog
Software Gadgets
The Terran Empire

Site Search
Google
Entire Web
The Cauldron

Member - Pagan Forum Alliance
Charter Member

Get Firefox! While this web site is designed to work in all major browsers, we recommend Firefox.

This site hosted on
a Linode VPS
Formerly hosted by

Why Use Dreamhost?

Site copyright
© 1998-2009
by Randall

Home > Books & Reviews > Pagan > Lid Off the Cauldron Search

Order from Amazon.com
Buying books via our Amazon.com links helps support The Cauldron.
Book Review:
Lid Off the Cauldron

Author: Patricia Crowther
Trade Paperback, 200 pages
Publisher: Capall Bann
Publication date: 2001
List: US$22.95
ISBN: 1861630328
Price & More Info: Click Here


 
This is a revision of a book first published about twenty years earlier. It was originally published in 1981 and suffers from some of the attitudes prevalent at that time.

The author is a Gardnerian initiate and, consequently, espouses the "It takes a Witch to make a Witch" position. Self-initiation is not an option for this lady. A lot of what she says resounds with what I was taught, although I am not Gardnerian. For instance, her statement on page 53: "Unlike the ritual magician's circle, which is there to keep elementals and hostile forces at bay, the Witches' circle is erected to contain the magical power raised within it." Many modern-day Wiccans stress to protective aspects of the circle, thus betraying their fear of the powers they are attempting to associate with.

She provides basic information and examples regarding tools, magic working and circle casting, in the event one is not able to work with a coven. While this was an extremely valid position (and remains so to a lesser extent, even in 2005), with the advent of the burgeoning cyber community dedicated to the Craft and magickal workings, there is little excuse for not connecting with fellow practitioners.

The book is enriched by the inclusion of poetry and invocations created by Ms. Crowther and her late husband, Arthur. The imagery created is beautiful and contributes much to the beauty and power of the rituals being worked.

While this book is, in essence, a "Wicca 101" book (witness its subtitle "A Wicca Handbook") it has the advantage of being penned by an author who personally knew one of the acknowledged leaders if the early public life of Wicca. Thus her information is not the kind that has passed through several layers of teachers, with the resultant distortion which may occur. That doesn't necessarily make it better, but it does allow us to see what information was considered important, back "in the day."

She includes Planetary Rites to use as attunements (or at-one-ments) before beginning actual magickal operations. Each such rite included basic correspondences and invocations, as well as full descriptions of appropriate actions. There are no seasonal rituals given, nor are there any "laws" included. Only the final couplet of the Rede is quoted. Therefore, even though this is a "Wicca 101" book, it is even more basic than that.

It is an excellent overview of the Craft in the early days of its public existence, and can serve to provide a bit more meat on the bones of the usual Craft histories. On top of that, Ms. Crowther has a most enjoyable style of writing and is, on top of her other qualifications, quite entertaining.

Reviewed by Mike Gleason


Top | Home | Message Board | Site Info & Rules | Report Site Problems
Thanks to Cauldron Sponsors
(Sponsor The Cauldron!)

Cheap Web Hosting Report | Pagan & Magick Supplies
Witchcraft Course
Download Hundreds of Magic Spells