num_pages: 30
description: Chapters: Charge of the Goddess, Book of Shadows, Wiccan Laws, Eko Eko Azarak, the Spiral Dance. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 28. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The Book of Shadows is the name used for a book that contains magical and religious texts in the religion of Wicca and certain other neopagan witchcraft traditions. Typically, a Book of Shadows contains the core rituals, magical practices, ethics and philosophy of Wicca within it, and more often a list of the witch's personal spells. In British Traditional Wicca, which largely revolves around the structure of the coven, the book is traditionally copied by hand from that of one's initiating High Priestess or Priest, who copied theirs in turn from their initiator. In Eclectic Wiccan terminology, however, a Book of Shadows is a personal journal, though often serves in a similar capacity to that of traditionalists. Within traditional lineaged forms of Wicca there are a number of versions of the Book of Shadows, their contents varying to a greater or lesser degree from the early versions belonging to Gerald Gardner, who first popularised Wicca. While Gardner seems to have originally treated the book as a personal journal, it has come to be considered a religious text in most traditions. A black and white photograph of Gardner's Book of Shadows, which is coloured with red and green. Gerald Gardner, the "father of Wicca," first introduced the Book of Shadows to people that he had initiated into the craft through his Bricket Wood coven in the 1950s. He claimed that it was a personal cookbook of spells that have worked for the owner; they could copy from his own book and add or remove material as they saw fit. He said that the practice of Witches keeping such a book was ancient, and was practiced by the Witch-cult throughout hi...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=8835
title: Texts Used In Wicca
publisher: General Books LLC