BOOK REVIEW - The Wicca Handbook

The Wicca Handbook by Eileen Holland © 2000 Red Wheel/Weiser 282 pages +
Bibliography, Index of Spells & Index paperback ISBN 1-57863-135-1
$16.95 (U.S.)

Some things are hot button item for me, and the title of this book punches
one of them for me. Had the title been A Wicca Handbook, I would have
approached this book with a more open mind. Fortunately, I am one of those
individuals who take the time to read Introductions. In this case the
Introduction begins to show the slant this book is going to take.

Unfortunately, I feel, Eileen tries way too hard to be inclusive. As an
individual who is a Solitary and has learned from books and personal
experiences, she favors that path and tends to downplay, I believe, the
benefits of coven training. She sees no need for an initiation ceremony,
even one of self-initiation. Call me old-fashioned, but I feel that if you
are making a commitment as serious as becoming a Witch, it should involve
more than just looking in a mirror and saying "I am a Witch." She suggests
reading 10 serious books about Wicca, which is fine as far as it goes.
However, some practical experience should be included. On top of that, how
is a novice to know which books of the hundreds available in any bookstore
are "serious"?

Most chapters include lists of correspondences, patterned after those in
Spiral Dance by Starhawk, as Eileen says early on. One thing which she
fails to make clear, however, is that these lists are what work for her, and
for those form whom she drew inspiration. They may not work for the reader.
Everyone's correspondence lists need to be tailored to, and by, their own
experiences.

Her approach borders on the dogmatic in some places, which is in contrast to
her eclectic approach overall. As regards the Book of Shadows, for
instance, she says it "must be handwritten," although she later refers to
keeping such information on your computer. I know large numbers of
individuals who keep their BoS on their computer hard-drives, on CDs, or
simply typed up in notebooks. She also says you should "never allow anyone
else to handle it." I certainly wouldn't let mine out of my possession, but
see no reason not to allow others to have access to it under my supervision.

Although the Craft is highly individualized there are some things which are
absolute minimums, in my opinion. Even if you are, in Ms. Holland's words,
"an urban witch who can't see moon from her apartment windows<" you should
be aware of the lunar phases. There are plenty of computer programs to
track it and many calendars list the quarters. And, Goddess knows, there
are almanacs aplenty out there, from "The Old Farmer's Almanac" to
"Llewellyn's Magical Almanac." There just is no justification for paying
"no attention to the moon whatsoever." It just isn't that much trouble to
keep track of it.

I do not agree with her statement that pronunciation of deity names in
unimportant; that you can pronounce words of ancient origin anyway that
sounds right to you (that may be a result of the way I was trained,
however).

She doesn't know the origins of certain phrases, so rather than trying to
find out, she simply discards them. It would take too much time and effort,
evidently, to do some research.

In many ways, her approach seems to be quite cavalier, and that tends to put
me off a bit. Admittedly, we approach the Craft in different ways, even
though we both work as Solitaries. I was trained in the Alexandrian
Tradition (amongst others) and was expected to do my homework, not just
whatever "felt right." That has stood me in good stead through the years.
When training in magick, which is actually what a large portion of this book
is dedicated to, one of my instructors warned me that those things which
worked for others might not work for me.

I guess the thing about Ms. Holland's book that nags at me the most is the
list of deities to be invoked for the various situations. The groupings, in
my opinion, seem to be too much of a "grab bag" approach. There is no
explanation for most of the names included. How many people know anything
about Ninegal, for example? All the entry (on page 80) says, is
"Strong-armed Lord, Smithcraft," Where is he from? (I know, Mesopotamia).
What offerings are appropriate? What colors are associated with him? What
day of the week is sacred to him? What scents does he prefer? Are there
any items which are forbidden in his invocation? I couldn't answer any of
those questions without doing some serious research. I certainly wouldn't
be comfortable invoking his aid without knowing more about him. My
suggestion to you, before using any of the deity names in these lists, is to
do your research.

Ninety seven pages are dedicated to tables of correspondences. The first 25
pages of these give no details on the gods/goddesses mentioned. The last 72
pages of this section are better. since they are composed of data on
animals, colors, metals, rocks and gemstones, letters, and numbers.

The final six pages comprise a basic glossary. My only objection here (and
I freely admit that it is a personal bias) is that she only mentions a few
of the dozens (or more) of traditions by name. She could easily have
included some of varying orientation (Dianic, Faery, Seax-Wica, etc.)

While her bibliography appears to be fairly extensive, some of the sources
are going to be very difficult to obtain. The majority, however, are fairly
mainstream and should be easily available for those who wish to check her
original source material.

If you buy this book, I have a couple of recommendations for you: First,
make sure you have some mythological resource books (or websites) available
to you so you can learn more about the various deities in her lists.
Second, remember that this book was written by a self-trained individual.
If you are a part of a traditional line, or expect to become part of one,
you may find conflicts between what Ms. Holland has written and what your
teachers may tell you. That DOES NOT mean that one is right and the other
is wrong. It simply means that different opinions are a part of life. This
book certainly offers a different point of view, and one which deserves to
be considered, especially by those with a fairly solid background and some
experience.

Reviewed by Michael Gleason gleason.mike DeleteThis @verizon.net