Progressive Witchcraft
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| Books Nonfiction | ||||||||||
| Written by Ben Gruagach | ||||||||||
| Wednesday, 26 September 2007 | ||||||||||
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Book Info ISBN-10 / ASIN: 1564147193 Author:
Farrar, Janet & Bone, Gavin
Publisher:
New Page Books
Subject Tags:
Wicca •
British Traditional Wicca •
Witchcraft •
Magick •
Rituals •
Community •
Denominations •
History •
Practices •
People
Difficulty Level:
Introductory
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| Last Updated ( Sunday, 03 February 2008 ) | ||||||||||
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This book was published in 2004 so hasn't really gotten much attention yet, but this will very likely change as people realize it's available. The books is quite an important work. It's not a rehashing of material that is already available, but a valuable discussion of important foundational issues that should be of concern to all Wiccans, and indeed could be important to many who call themselves Witches as well.
Janet and Gavin wrote the book to encourage Wiccans and Witches to question the all-too-common assumptions on which our practice and philosophy is based. What is tradition and is it important? What about lineage and degree structures? What is meant by "mysteries" and what do they involve? Is it possible to experience Wiccan mysteries in solitary practice?
They go a long way towards demystifying topics which many Wiccans purposefully obscure for rather questionable reasons. Janet and Gavin deflate many of these reasons in rather straightforward ways, and point out that Wicca might have a healthier community if we acknowledge and overcome our shortcomings. They don't just criticize faults, but provide realistic alternatives, drawing on the past in order to direct us in a practical direction for the future.
The book provides a generous selection of suggestions for ways to conduct training programs within a Wiccan framework. It's not just about theory, but putting theory into practice. They also set an excellent example for the role of eclecticism in Wiccan practice.
There are some ideas which the authors need to research a bit more as they didn't seem to quite "get it" themselves. One instance that comes to mind is the difference between monotheism, duotheism, and the various forms of polytheism (which are often differentiated as "hard" or "soft" polytheism.) They used the Kabbalistic tree of life diagram to illustrate connections between how the various philosophies could interrelate, but in the text failed to make a distinction between what is essentially duotheism in the form of "all gods are one god, all goddesses one goddess" which is also sometimes called "soft polytheism." The authors seem to be unaware of "hard polytheism" which does not consider different deities to be aspects of something greater, but claims they are in fact distinct and separate entities.
"Progressive Witchcraft" is a book meant to make one think, to make the Wiccan community challenge basic assumptions. If enough people read the book and then spread the message that this is an important task of self-evaluation for our community, then we might see an interesting new development in our community.
"Progressive Witchcraft" is well worth buying and in fact should be considered recommended reading for anyone involved with Wicca. It's potentially the start of an interesting major force in the Wiccan community.