Wicca: The Complete Craft by D.J. Conway
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Book Reviews of Wicca: The Complete Craft
Book Review: Wicca: The Complete Craft
Summary: 3 Stars
I have read many books on Wicca and Neo-Paganism over the past 3 years, so I am speaking from comparison. This book is very well-organized and a "pretty" looking book. It is encyclopedic in style in that things are organized by subject and if you're trying to look up a specific ritual or spell, it can be easily found, unlike many of the other books I've read on Wicca. However, I find the tone of it to be too dry and unfeeling. I can't get a clear impression about DJ Conway, nor her personal feelings about the Craft, so the book doesn't really move me. There is no humor about this book either, which leaves me feeling kind of dull. I have enjoyed her "Moon Magic" book, and use it again and again, mostly as a reference book as I'll probably use this book. Much of the information in "Wicca" can be found in other books that are written in a more amusing and interesting style.Book Review: Not so bad!!
Summary: 3 Stars
As a long time student and teacher of the Craft, I don't generally recommend books by this author, however I have to admit that this one is not really too bad.This book is well organized and less fluffy than most books on modern Wicca. While it still falls into the category of "making up Wicca as you go along" books, I think it is less misleading and less filled with nonsense than the majority of popular Wiccan books.
So, strictly for beginners, I think this is an okay book.
Book Review: Fluffy bunnies much?
Summary: 2 Stars
Wicca, the Complete Craft as written by D.J. Conway is an interesting book, to say the least. If you are new to Wiccan studies and instruction books, please pick up a copy of Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner (Includes Author's Book of Shadows). There you will discover a much better and more accurate look at history as well as a less biased look at the role that the God and Goddess play.
She has reduced the God to little more than a good lay for the Goddess, which is completely inaccurate. Her feminism would do well to duck its head when she works on an instructional text, to say the least.
It is however, a handy reference material, offering nicely presented correspondence lists as well as alphabets in the back. To tell the truth, with the slim pickings of books in my area, it was a nice buy only to get the compilation of information in the back.
Book Review: Nice enough in some ways, but could be better
Summary: 1 Stars
This book gives an introduction to a broad range of topics. The explanations are complete enough to provide a basic understanding of the topic, without being completely overwhelming. That said, it is not a good teaching tool by itself (I have a Bachelors in Music Education and have taught school K - 12, so I do have some expertise in this area). It seems as if would make a good reference guide, but as a book, it's rather, well, boring. I have little experience with Wicca, so I am not qualified to comment on the factual aspects of the book, but most of what Conway says fits in fairly well with the few other books I have read on the subject; however, certain other aspects of the book cast doubt upon her reliability.
Her historical accuracy, for instance, leaves much to be desired. I am no historian, but many of the assertions the author makes prove to be untrue. For one example, she claims that all truly ancient civilizations were matriachies, but then evil patriarchies invaded and wiped those civilizations from history. To support this, she cites the work of Johann Jakob Bachofen. Bachofen was a sociologist/anthropologist who lived and worked in the nineteenth century, before the debut of modern anthropological tools and methods, and his work has since been refuted or debunked. Nevertheless, Conway uses him as the basis for some of her claims. This is analagous to claiming that the sun revolves around the earth on the basis that Aristotle believed it. This level of stretching for facts is the rule rather than the exception, at least in the historical section. The academic research in this book is a complete joke.
This writing is also strongly biased against men in general and Christianity in particular. In her chapter, "The History of Wicca", she writes that patriarchy - and by extension, men - are responsible for all the ills of society in the entire history of the human race.
When Christianity enters the picture, the book leaves Wicca entirely to spend most of the rest of the chapter blasting Christianity, a theme that continues throughout the rest of the book. This book will take any chance imaginable to blast Christianity - and only Christianity. It is clearly not horribly opposed to monotheism in general; in fact it avoids the subjects of Judaism, Zoroastrianism, and Islam completely. Instead, it says such things as, "The deities and ideas of any ancient culture except Christianity can be grafted onto Wicca, thus forming a legitimate form of Witchcraft." The book only ever refers to Christianity negatively, and never makes any other reference to other monotheistic faiths.
Let me make it clear here that I am not a Christian, and that I bear the religion no love. It has caused more damage in my life than all other influences combined. Nevertheless, a bias like one shown by this book has no place in what claims to be an instructional guide for beginners.
To the author's credit, she states at the beginning that this book reflects only her opinions of Wicca, and that other Witches will have differing opinions. However, while allowing for more flexibility than a book that claims to be complete, undeniable fact, this only grants a certain degree of latitude in the things that can be claimed without falling into the territory of academic dishonesty, and that is this book's major failing.
In summary, this book has some good points, but there are better to be had for twenty bucks.
Book Review: Just as bad as her other books?
Summary: 1 Stars
I picked up a copy of this because of the number of people telling me that this was so much better than Conway's other poorly-done books. After reading it, I strongly disagree!!
Beginning in the introduction, when she incorrectly states that "the words Wicca, Witchcraft and the Craft are actually interchangeable", there is very little here that can't be found in dozens of other phoney McWicca-lite introductory texts.
Her history is based on the myth that there was once a peaceful matriarchy, and everyone worshipped "the Goddess" until evil patriarchy came along and spoiled everything. She would do well to actually read some of the accurate archeological works listed in her bibliography!
She then proceeds to confuse the term "Paganism". In spite of the way she misuses the word, "Paganism" is actually a large group of related, but highly dissimilar religious. It is not a single path "based on a specific pantheon of deities", and there are certainly more than "only a few differences between Wicca and Paganism, besides the difference in their ages". (And NO religion can be dated back to the Stone Age! NO ONE knows what beliefs existed then, what their 'religious' practices were, or even if they HAD any religious beliefs!) She also defines many Traditions within Wicca inaccurately, and shows little understanding of the history of Wicca, or the various practices that define it's many branches.
When speaking of Deities, she first states that Wicca is polytheistic, then proceeds to "explain" that all Gods are a reflection of a single God archetype, and even the Gods are subservient to the Goddess. (That's not polytheism.) She also speaks of Triple aspects of Goddess, saying that this is a universal concept, and that it has been recognized "from the beginning of religion". This is untrue. (She has quite a habit of stating historical "facts" that are contrary to the archeological evidence, without saying where she is obtaining her "information". She also frequently speaks of conclusions of how found items were used or what they signify that are very different from what the scholars who are trained to interpret such finds conclude. Especially when the archeologists determine that NO conclusions can be made from the evidence available.)
In my opinion, Ms Conway's version of "wicca" is a blend of New Age thought, Ceremonial Magic influence, and poor research. While I don't doubt that it could be used to create a viable and valid spiritual path, it bears little relation to actual Wicca. If one wishes to learn about Wicca, I would strongly suggest starting with A Witch Alone by Marian Green, then moving to books such as Gerald Gardner's recently republished classics. No, it won't be as easy as what Ms. Conway has written... but *real* Wicca cannot be condensed into a 400-page how-to manual.