Witchcraft Today: An Encyclopedia of Wiccan and Neopagan Traditions

An excellent resource on the contemporary practice of witchcraft and on the ancient traditions that inspired it, this book features both short entries on terminology and concepts and longer articles on the development of various esoteric and neopagan organizations. A lengthy introduction by Lewis (religious studies, World Univ. of America) details the pivotal role that Margaret Murray and Gerald Gardner had in shaping the rituals and hierarchies still accepted by witch covens in Britain and America today. The text frankly demonstrates that much of what Gardner and Murray wrote was based on conjecture, fabrication, and spurious scholarship, but it treats the organizations that evolved (at least from Gardner's vision) with respect, documenting their influence on the ecological movement, the women's movement, and religious reform. The bibliography lists print and online resources, and two appendixes offer a chronology of the development of modern witchcraft.