Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #741082 in Books
• Published on: 2001-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 624 pages

About the Author

Customer Reviews

Nice Coffee Table Book
Buckland's new title would make a nice "My first Witchcraft/Wicca book" as it covers many topics in a light introductive manner. As such, it would make a nice gift for a teen or young adult that has expressed an interest in investigating Witchcraft.

However, as a Community Elder who has taught the Craft for over 20 years, I cannot recommend this book for the serious researcher as it does not go into much depth and omits much of the material that would have made this book a good community resource. My comment is in no way intended as a put-down of Buckland's book, but simply a personal observation. Personally I enjoy all of Buckland's works.

I think this particualr book would make a good companion volume to other Wicca and Witchcraft encyclopedias that go into much more depth and cover a wider scope of topics.

A Little Buckland Flavor
I am impressed with all the large bodies of work that have been taken on by the authors in the pagan community as of late. There have been a few who have tried to collect in one place all the information regarding the birthing and growth of the pagan community.

Each of them has its own flavor, which is what makes them different from each other. They contain various bits of information that the author found to be of significance to the pagan community.

Raymond Buckland has now placed his collection of facts and fiction before the pagan community with his encyclopedia. This has the "Buckland" flavor throughout and is the Pagan world as he sees it.

The entries are comprised of biographies, descriptions of tools and words, short synopsis of movies and television programs, traditions, history and much more. Many entries are accompanied by his sources, which also includes Raymond Buckland.

So, presented here, for the reader, is the world according to many different authors, with diverse opinions on many of the topics. This can give varied opinions on the many topics covered here, but it also gives us the insights and opinions of Mr. Buckland as well. In some instances there are direct contradictions, but if you check the source, you will find it is because Mr. Buckland has presented the viewpoint of two different persons, which gives this book a contrast not seen in other works of this kind.

The material is cross referenced in the index which allows for quick access to the material within, as well as it being alphabetically referenced.

There are also photos and illustrations of different aspects, symbols and persons including some from the Fortean Picture Library, which is Raymond Buckland's own collection.

I found this to be an interesting collection of material. From movies to magic, Mr. Buckland included it all in one very nicely presented volume which would enhance any coffee table or library. And while I would really have liked to have seen Mr. Buckland's reviews of more movies than the few he did review, for the most part it is an eclectic collection of references, persons, events and things that comprise our way of life. boudica

Nice Cover
Buckland's encyclopedia is an attractive "coffee table" style book on Witchcraft. The entries don't go into much depth and remain pretty much surface level, some entries more sketchy than others. So this is a good book for flipping through on a cold winter's night, some light entertainment when there is little else to do.

Regretfully, many of the entries don't agree with one another, and there are very few biographies (with most of the well-known contemporary Witches missing completely). So for beginners this might not be the best book, and as a research book it is lacking the essentials. For a serious Witchcraft encyclopedia that deals in depth with a wide variety of topics I would suggest the Encyclopedia of Wicca and Witchcraft by Raven Grimassi.