Lady Sheba, claiming an Ancient Family Tradition of Witchcraft going back to the mythical Isle of Avalon, attempted to be recognized as the true hereditary Queen of American Witches (because her family had supposedly been the hereditary Queens of all British Witches). Not incidentally, she wanted everyone present to turn over copies of their Books of Shadows to her. As I recall, her intention was to combine them into a single "approved" BOS for all American Witches; much like the event in early Christian history when "authorized" scriptures were approved by a group of bishops and all "unauthorized" copies (with inconvenient stories and doctrines) were carefully destroyed. To her chagrin, Lady Sheba was told firmly by the assembled Wiccans that, "We're a democracy in this country - we don't need a Queen!" (I must confess, I believe I was the first person to actually be rude enough to say that out loud.) (71)

The book opens with a black and white photograph of a necklace which is described as a "Witch Queen Necklace." Lady Sheba cites a convenient legend that "states that its possessor is the Queen, by birth the true and legal heir to the title of 'Queen of Camelot, Camelot Coven - since the days of King Arthur.'" Within the same paragraph that glorifies the supposed Witch Queen Necklace and its current owner, none other than Lady Sheba, there is also an interesting statement which begins: "[f]or a Witch or Warlock to be granted [. . .]." This is the very first time that I have seen the term Warlock acknowledged as a viable description of a male Witch in a Neo-Pagan context. The use of this term struck me quite oddly since every other NeoPagan text tends to avoid that word knowing that it actually has a negative connotation and is a Scottish word for an "oath-breaker," someone not to be trusted. A number of other things struck me as strange. For instance, many invocations include the name of Arida, a Goddess of whom at least I've never heard. The name of this Goddess appears where traditionally the name of the Goddess Aradia would apear (I only found one instance where Aradia is used, and it occurred after Arida had already been invoked). I'm not sure if "Arida" is an extremely persistent typo on the publisher's part (there are many other typos even within the non-ritual text), if Lady Sheba's own BOS is a flawed copy (perhaps even a bootleg copy - I don't know her lineage) of the Gardnerian BOS, if she altered the invocations slightly to preserve an oath, or if it is truly intended to address another Goddess altogether, which I doubt.

Towards the end of the book in a section dedicated to Sabbat rituals, I also discovered something odd: the Autumnal Equinox is described as the "Samhain Sabbat," and the Summer Solstice is called the "Beltane Sabbat." I do not understand the reason for the mix-up. In addition, while I understand that this book was originally published in 1972 and that Llewellyn wishes to preserve the text, I still feel that some of Lady Sheba's claims to ancient knowledge are ridiculous even for the time period in which it was first published. Case in point, she goes a little too far in stating that the Runes (a modified version of the Elder Futhark in this instance) are the ancient alphabet of the Witches: "The runic alphabet is ours; don't let any school teacher ever make you believe otherwise. During the course of your school years you will hear much speculation from scholars and theologians about the Runes. HEED THEM NOT. It always has been and always will be the magical, sacred alphabet of the witches" (15). This is a load of crap, if I may be so blunt, and I find it insulting that she would incourage a willful ignorance of history among Witches.

I read through most of this book at the bookstore well before I bought it, and I was aware of some of the negative aspects of it mentioned above. So why in the Goddess' name did I buy it? Well, firstly, the book is actually nicely designed and is aesthetically pleasing (I'm an artsy-fartsy person majoring in Graphic Design - I cannot help but notice these things!). For it's $19.95 price, you get a lovely harbound book with a placeholder ribbon. Honestly though, that was not the main reason I bought it. The true reason I decided to purchase it was because it contains a number of documents I wanted to have in print, as opposed to viewing online versions, including the 162 Craft laws and the Eightfold Path. Also, it includes a great deal of beautiful Traditional Wiccan liturgy, undoubtedly mostly written by Doreen Valiente although she is never credited. I've cross-referenced much of it with other published material included in the works of Gardner, Valiente, and the Farrars, and I have come to the conclusion that it is based very closely on Gardnerian material despite the fact that Lady Sheba claims that it is ancient (on the back of Lady Sheba's Book of Shadows, also published by Llewellyn as a separate softbound book yet included in The Grimoire of Lady Sheba, she states that she is a "Witch by birth, but a Gardnerian Witch by choice"). Within this book you will find the prose version of the "Charge of the Goddess" which is well known and can be found all over the Internet, but it also contains the poetic/verse version, which Valiente herself deemed inferior to the prose version yet is still worth reading. I have read snippets of and comments on the poetic version in other books, but this was the first place I found it in its entirety.

In conclusion, while I definitely would not recommend this book to a beginning Seeker as an instructural manual, I would certainly recommend it for access to the other documents and liturgy within it. Truthfully, I think it would have been much better if Lady Sheba had presented it without any of her input at all.

Sexual imagery is the strongest recurrent theme in [W]itchcraft. It is the [W]itches' main symbol of integration. In this image, the [W]itch seeks to harmonize with the natural flow and the rational, the inner and the outer, the passive and the active, within his or her own nature. For this is the inner marriage of Sun and Moon. Sex is also stressed because it is the means by which we enter life. To a [W]itch, therefore (I will say it again, it is worth saying), sexuality is sacred. Sexual pleasure is a true celebration of life, an act of worship. It is the mystery, the force behind the stars.(31)

I would recommend this book for beginners who seek a natural and simple Witchcraft practice, yet I would not recommend it as an initial book because it contains a number of inaccuracies. For one, the history is incorrect. She states that Witchcraft is essentially a religious survival from when society was matriarchal and peaceful, and that one of the reasons that people were killed and tortured during the "Burning Times" was that they revered a Goddess (11). Another statement that irked me was when she referred to the Witches' Rede as a commandment (it is not, as Rede actually means "council" or "advice") and she declares it to consist entirely of the phrase "Harm none," completely ignoring the other six words that comprise the Rede(27). In addition, I feel that she should have capitalized the terms Witch and Witchcraft to distinguish its use as the name of a Pagan religion from the practice of magic or spellwork.

It should be noted that, despite the book's title in the U.S. (it is actually published as Hedge Witch in Great Britain), Rae Beth does not claim to be writing about Wicca.

The particular tradition she presents is uncomplicated, informal, and somewhat eclectic. She has dubbed her approach "wildwood mysticism" which I find to be a very evocative name for the spirituality she details in her book. Its main basis is Pagan prayer and inner journeying with very little reliance on ritual tools or formal ritual structures. Wildwood mysticism, as she describes it, has its foundation in a number of principles:

1 Pagan prayer
2 Journeys to wild and sacred places (pilgrimage)
3 Pagan ritual
4 Inner journeying (trancework and visualisation)
5 Living a dedicated life (honoring nature, enviromnmentally) (40)

For [W]itches, distinctions between prayers and spells can fade quickly, so the prayers are magical in themselves, as well as being the foundation for magic ritual. This is to do with the way they are worded, and also with the the nature of the [W]itches' deities. Witches see the Goddesses and Gods as possessing a continuum of powers and qualities[. . .]. (12)

Things that I consider faults in this book are virtually the same as those I found in The Wiccan Path. Again she states that "the witches' commandment is 'harm none'" (61) which is really not an accurate statement if it is meant to encompass Neo-Pagan Witches (read my review of The Wiccan Path for further explanation). She does not present as much of a historical backround about Wicca/Witchcraft in this book as with her last book, so there is not much to comment about her historical accuracy or lack thereof. Rae Beth proposes the viewpoint that all Goddesses are one Goddess, and all Gods are one God, and while there is nothing wrong with this belief in and of itself, it may be a disappointment for those who are more strictly polytheistic in outlook.

The need to classify witchcrafts is strong since there has been so much debate over what group of people has the right to use that word to describe themselves. No one will give it up easily, and so coming up with prefixes to tack onto the word witchcraft (for instance, Classical, NeoPagan, Ethnic, etc.) are necessary for clarity's sake. Bonewits has come up with a good system of describing the varieties of witchcraft, and I hope that more people would use these prefixes when describing the form they practice.

Bonewits' writing style is blunt and witty, which makes Witchcraft easy and pleasant to read. However, I will warn you that he does not gloss over his dislike of fundamentalists and those he terms "monotheistic dualists" nor does he treat the myth of Wiccan history with any sort of delicacy when he goes about dismantling it in favor of accurate history. If you happen to be easily offended by such things, avoid this book.

I do not have the same high opinions of some of the books he recommends towards the end of Witchcraft, but that is one of the very few things I found I disliked about it. Otherwise, I would heartily recommend this book to anyone seeking an accurate (but not lengthy) account of Wicca's history or to someone having trouble sorting out what various people mean when they say "witchcraft."

It includes descriptions and information on some fairly typical altars as well as several sets of instructions for casting a basic Circle (which for the most part I viewed as redundant and unnecessary since such instructions can be found in virtually any beginners book), but it also includes some unique spaces. For instance, it documents a child's altar and details the creation of a circle in prison. A number of notable Pagans also contributed information about their household and ritual sacred space: Marion Zimmer Bradley; Silver Ravenwolf; Ray Buckland; Morning Glory Zell; Selena Fox, who wrote at length about the Pagan space she founded, Circle Sanctuary; and the Campanellis themselves, whose entire home and property is in some way dedicated to the Old Gods. Some chose to write about areas they specifically consecrated as sacred, while others wrote about places existing in Nature that called to them as especially liminal. Of the entries included, some of the spaces are intended to be transient and portable (for instance Wylundt's ingenious circle in a suitcase) while others are decidedly more permanent areas demarcated by trees or standing stones. As a person truly interested in creating a sacred garden space/small shrine but lacking in gardening skills, I found the writings contributed by horticulturists Amethyst and Degan quite inspiring. Unfortunately, a small handful of the contributions are a bit flaky. The entry from The Silver Elves strikes me as a notable example. It is one of my personal biases to regard people who literally claim to be "elves" suspiciously. I also find it difficult to respect people who associate reverence of the Gods with prostitution: "We do not use the word altar because of its religious connotations. While we elfin are a truly spiritual people we are not religious in the traditional sense of the word. Nor do we worship (whoreship) the gods...we believe worship to be an obsolete concept which is both inappropriate and degrading (103)". Other than such occasional entries, this book is a very interesting look into the creation and maintenance of personal sacred space. I tend to regard the creation of sacred space as an artform in itself, and this book has provided me with much insight and inspiration to bring such space into being.

This book will be a bit more difficult to find since it is currently out-of-print, but if you are highly interested in the subject it will likey be worth the hassle of obtaining it.