5 Easy Steps to Becoming a Witch Book

Gilly Sergiev describes herself as "a natural-born white witch" and a "solitary". The "solitary" aspect comes through clearly in this little guide to the life and habits of a witch--it's very much her personal view, rather than the well-developed beliefs and practices of Wicca. In fact, some Wiccans might be irritated at her assumption throughout that witches are female, and on her spending a 10-page chapter on "Appearance", which gives the impression that this might be a rather trivial approach to the subject. In fact, much of the content of this book would probably be acceptable to most witches; Wicca is, after all, one of the most individualistic religious practices. Included in Sergiev's 5 Easy Steps to Becoming a Witch are thumbnail sketches of the eight major annual festivals, advice on rituals, and on the care needed in choosing and looking after the various "tools of the trade", including the cauldron, the athame or ritual knife--and the broomstick. (This is used for sweeping out a ritual space, not for flying over the rooftops.) There is also a useful compendium of spells for love, luck, protection and so on. This is a light-hearted and attractive book, nicely illustrated in a simplified version of Aubrey Beardsley's style. A useful introduction for those who might find more heavyweight books on Wicca a little off-putting. --David V BarrettRead More