The Inner Temple of Witchcraft: Magick, Meditation and Psychic Development (Penczak Temple Series)
These two new titles from Llewellyn focus on witchcraft, or  Wicca, a cluster of religious rituals and beliefs deriving from  ancient European polytheisms or paganisms. The author of seven  books on witchcraft, Grimassi is a practicing Italian witch (a  strega) who has researched the history and theory of witchcraft  back to antiquity, with a view to recovering and preserving  teachings and lore. As a result, the book is primarily a  historical study of various European witchcraft traditions. Even  when considering magickal techniques for the focusing of natural  power or discussing methods of psychic development, the author  takes pains to cover their historical development.   While Grimassi's book will appeal more to scholars of religion,  Penczak's book will appeal to believers and interested casual  readers. An active witch and teacher of modern neo-Paganism,  Penczak teaches classes (mainly in New England) on witchcraft  and various other New Age practices such as reiki, shamanic  journeying, and past-life regression. His book aims at using  Wiccan techniques (generally termed "Magick") to aid in personal  growth. Accordingly, after a brief history and some basic theory  of Wiccan spirituality comprising four chapters, there follow 13  lesson-chapters on techniques of spiritual growth, each followed  by appropriate exercises. A minor criticism: some of the  material discussed, while probably hermetic or occult in origin,  is not ordinarily considered Wiccan but pertains to other  religious traditions. Astral travel, for instance, is more often  a feature of Shamanism, while chakras are a part of yoga. Both  books provide a useful introduction to modern witchcraft and are  recommended for both academic and public libraries, particularly  those with substantial religion collections.James F. DeRoche,  Alexandria, VACopyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.