Book: Wiccapedia by Shawn Robbins and Leanna Greenaway
Rating: 2 stars
I love libraries. Growing up, my Mom and I went to the library every Saturday. I looked forward to it all week. There is just something special about libraries and books. As an adult, I still drop by my local library on a regular basis. The first thing that I always do is browse the new release section. When I saw Wiccapedia by Shawn Robbins and Leanna Greenaway during my last visit, I immediately checked it out.
Overview
In my opinion, the target audience of this book is definitely beginners. It provides a broad overview of many different topics. However, it is a bit different from any other beginner book that I have read. I found the overall organization of the book to be unexpected. For example, the authors chose to cover Spirit boards in the first section of the book. I expected the basic tenets of Wicca to be covered before delving into other topics.
At its heart, this book is about Angelic Wicca. I wish that it had been labeled as such. Until I read this book, I had never heard of Angelic Wicca. According to the book, it is a growing subset of the Wiccan population. In this tradition, angels take the place of deities. I don’t personally know anyone who practices this tradition, so I did learn something new by reading this book.
The Good Points
In my opinion, the best part of the book is the packaging. I love that it is available in hardcover. The book cover design is aesthetically pleasing. It would look great sitting on a book shelf. The text is written in a very readable and conversational way. It contains quite a few witty and memorable quotes.
“Witches never die. They just get recycled.”
Wiccapedia
The section on numerology is very interesting. I think that it provides a good overview of the topic. I found the associations provided for my numbers to be quite accurate. There are also quite a few lists of correspondences in the book. They were interesting.
The Not So Good Points
The book begins with a disclaimer. I found that strange. I don’t remember ever reading any book on spirituality with a disclaimer.
“The purpose of this book is to entertain. The authors and publishers shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused, directly or indirectly, by the information contained in this book.”
Disclaimer in Wiccapedia
While I like that the authors included stories from their personal experiences, a few of the stories in the book seemed a little far fetched to me. Perhaps I am a bit jaded, but I just can’t see anyone standing outside someone’s house all night after a first date in order to be near them. Unless of course, the person is unstable. However, that is a problem of an entirely different nature.
I personally didn’t really care for the book. However if you are interested in Angelic Wicca, this might be the book for you. It just isn’t a book for me.
I would definitely recommend checking the book out from your local library before purchasing it.
If your local library doesn’t have a copy, I recommend checking WorldCat. WorldCat is the largest available network of library catalogs. It enables you to search not only your local library’s catalog, but all of the participating libraries near you. Most libraries have an interlibrary loan department. So if you find a book at a neighboring library, your local library may be able to request it for you. I know my local library doesn’t have many Pagan books; however, I have been able to request quite a few through interlibrary loan.
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