Book of Shadows

by Phyllis Curott

Paperback, 1999

Status

Available

Call number

291.33

Genres

Religion & Spirituality

Collection

Gifts

Publication

Harmony (1999), Edition: Reprint, 3202 pages

Description

Since Phyllis Currot first published Book of Shadows, the story of her spiritual journey and initiation as a High Priestess in the Wiccan community, Witchcraft has captured America's imagination as a theme for fiction, television shows, and films. Now America's highest-profile Witch returns to dispel more myths and misrepresentations of her faith, and to share a practical guide to the beautiful spiritual rituals and philosophies behind Wiccan tradition. Rich with enchanting stories from Currot's own experiences and detailed advice for creating potions, working with Nature, and finding the Divine within, Witch Crafting is much more than just another superficial recipe book. Curott's unique guidebook integrates the inspiration of religious wisdom with sound, practical information. Witch Crafting reveals how to: incorporate Wiccan practices into your daily life; master the secret arts of effective spell casting; create sacred space and personal rituals; perform divinations for insight and success; and tap the magical power of altered states, such as dreaming meditation, prayer, and trance. Perfect for beginners or seasoned practitioners, Witch Crafting is the ideal handbook for anyone seeking to unlock the divine power that makes real magic happen, and to experience the power and gifts of the universe more fully.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member wyvernfriend

Interesting account of encounter with the Goddess and Ms Curott's interaction with a group/coven in New York. Mildly biased in favour of the Covenant of the Goddess and more than a little Goddess centric (I likes my balance) but interesting the the ways she had to come to terms within herself about

the religious change.

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LibraryThing member EmScape

In Book of Shadows, the memoirist recounts her experiences as she encounters a group of Witches and becomes an initiate into their coven. This occurs in New York City sometime in the late 1970’s. She considers herself a rational, analytical person and at first has some difficulty merging her new

discoveries with her scientific, factual background. This is helpful for the reader, as she explains how history , sociology, and quantum physics play a role in backing up what she is learning. At the same time, she is also trying to build a career in entertainment law and has to contend with a repulsive, smarmy boss in the days before sexual harassment was even a thing. She explores using her new power to improve her situation at work. These vignettes about her actual life were much more interesting, to me, than the historical and scientific background she relates, and often goes into a rant or tangent about right in the middle of an anecdote. She’s to be commended for relating the factual, informative parts to her life, but at times it seemed to almost devolve into a lecture or sermon for the benefit of the reader, rather than naturally flowing with the story. Other times, though, she gave the information as it was imparted to her, either in dialogue or recounting what she learned from a text, which came off as more cohesive and beneficial to the narrative.
The information contained was very helpful, and realistic. The author quickly disabuses the casual reader of the notion that witchcraft is about casting spells and hexes, and explains that the goal is to live more intentionally with the earth and harness its power to improve yourself and your situation, as well as to help and heal others. Although some rituals are described, there are a lot of details left out. This is not a manual –at all. It is a peek into one woman’s journey to enlightenment. She is lucky that she sort of stumbled into these women who were willing to work with her and teach her, and it seems like she almost doesn’t appreciate this. It is much more difficult to gain these skills and insights when working on your own, learning mainly from books.
Recommended for those curious about witchcraft, and fans of memoirs in general.

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LibraryThing member Seshen

An enjoyable look into her personal spiritual journey.

LibraryThing member earthlistener

An unusual book but still a nice read. Instead of being another book on what Wicca is, this book is more of autobiography written in basically a story format. The book goes through the journey of the author finding out about Wicca all the way through her initiation. One downside to the book is that

throughout the book the dialogue continues to suggest historical events and lineages which have either been proven untrue or over simplified. The idea that Wicca is truly an old religion which is a survival of pre-Christianity has basically been proven false. Similar factual errors can be found here and there in a few places. Outside of that, this book is still an interesting read. I’ve read books on Wicca before and a few recounts of the story of how a person came into their path, but never have I seen anything like this.

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LibraryThing member KRaySaulis

A little fluffy at points, but a good book nonetheless...

LibraryThing member BethanyMoore

Excellent intro book that doesn't read like a how-to manual. It's her personal story... a journey from a place of thinking witches cavorted with Satan to a place of High Priestess. Fascinating read.

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