Book Review and Giveaway: Magick: Wicca, Witchcraft, And The Book of Shadows

Magick: Wicca, Witchcraft, And The Book of Shadows by Gregory Branson-Trent is one of the most information-filled books I've ever read.  Starting out with an introduction that discusses what Wicca  and witchcraft are (and what they are not) the book moves on to discuss more subjects than you can shake a stick at, including much detail on what magick is, a discussion on traditional Wicca and the different traditions included under that umbrella. There is a Frequently Asked Questions section, information on herbs, candles, aromatherapy, animal guides - basically if it's connected to Wicca or witchcraft, it's touched upon in this book!

I have to say that I have never, in all my reading (and if you know me, you know how big a book freak I am!) come across a Pagan-themed book that has such a detailed list of correspondences than this book.  Lists included in this book, among others, include correspondences listed by need, for stones and herbs.  There are also lists of tools, a glossary of magickal terms, a glossary of medical terms for using with herbs, even a list of tarot card meanings! Seriously this is a great reference book.

As with all books, there are a few flaws, though they are barely worth mentioning.  The book is, though it discusses witchcraft in general, very Wicca-centric.  As a witch who is not a Wiccan, there are a few things  in the book that I would have to say that I don't agree with, such as the assumption that all witches, like Wiccans, live by the rule of "harm none".  Though many (maybe even the majority) of witches do abide by the rede, not all do.  There are plenty of witches out there that would say that they try not to harm anyone up until the point where it becomes about protecting you and yours (for example, if someone comes into my house in the middle of the night and threatened my family, you can bet that I will be all about harming somebody, no questions asked).  This is, of course, one of those areas that is a little murky as far as self-defense and such, and always gets a conversation going.

Other examples of the Wicca-yness of the book: only Wiccan traditions are discussed at length (though some other forms of Paganism are included in the glossary, such as "eclectic,  terms such as "hedgewitch" and "kitchenwitch" are not).  The only deities discussed at length are those from the Celtic pantheon.  Honestly, though, for the amount of information included in this book, these issues are very easy to overlook.

Who should own this book?  This book would be a great resource for someone who is starting off on their path and looking for something that covers a lot of information.  It's a great jumping off point for discovering things like tarot or reiki for a "newbie" Pagan.   This would also make a great text book for a tween or teen who is exploring the path (or a parent who needs information to pass on to schools about what Wicca/witchcraft is not!)  And of course, for  someone like me, who loves a good reference book full of information!

And now, thanks to Gregory Branson-Trent, one lucky winner will be getting their own copy of this great book!  Here's how to enter:

Requirements to enter:

• Have an blog accessible through your user name or leave an email address with each entry.
• Visit the Gregory Branson-Trent website, come back and comment about which of his other books you might be interested in reading.

For extra chances to win (required post must be made for these to count!), you may do any one or more of the following (leave a separate comment for each):

• 1 entry each (for a total of three possible) - Write about this giveaway on your blog, Myspace or LiveJournal. Leave a separate comment for each and include the URL to the post. (As per the Facebook TOS,  Facebook can NOT be used as an entry for giveaways.)
• 1 entry: Be or become a follower of the Magick, Wicca, Witchcraft And The Book of Shadows Blog.
• 1entry: (per day/separate comment for each) - Twitter the following message: RT @MrsBsConfession Visit silvermoonwitch.blogspot.com to enter to win the book #Magick, #Wicca, #Witchcraft & The Book of Shadows! (Do to my blog code, you will have to delete the "read more" comment if you copy and paste the twitter message.)
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This giveaway will end on June 16 at noon EST, with the winner being announced soon thereafter. Good luck!

Read the first chapter of this book for free here!Also find Gregory Branson-Trent on Facebook!

PLEASE NOTE: 

• If your blogger profile is set to private, I will be unable to find your blog or email via your profile.  If you don't leave an email address in your comments, and your profile is private, the entries DO NOT count.
• Entries that are not on separate posts will be counted as one entry. 
• Entries that contain links not related to the giveaway (capital "s", rhymes with "ham") will be deleted, and those entries will not count.
• Entries must be in English.
• If you are actually reading these comments, leave the word "rules" in comments for an extra entry!