Rating: 
Summary: A nice Craft book with serious omissions
Review: "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Wicca and Witchcraft" ("The Guide ...") is a book describing Wicca, witchcraft, and related New Age topics. The book is professionally written. Its authors, Denise Zimmermann and Katherine A. Gleason, either are experienced writers or received extensive editing support. The book uses graphics art professionally. "The Guide ..." was produced very professionally.The book's primary audience is women in transition (e.g., discharged career women, divorcees, empty-nesters and widows) who seek new motivation. "The Guide ..." discusses astrology, gemology, herblore, spellcraft, divination, and witchcraft and Wicca's history. "The Guide ..." discusses how a prospective novice can begin Craft activities. A clearly written book, "The Guide ..." covers more subject areas than most books written for prospective novices. "The Guide ..." is a nice discussion about the Wiccan religion and witchcraft (Coven gatherings are described like card parties), yet its niceness is a mixed blessing. Wicca and witchcraft have dark natures not discussed within the book, a serious omission. (E.g., some spells are punitive, some witches practice necromancy, some Coven initiations include binding commitments and secret ceremonies.) Also, "The Guide ..." discusses why an individual might choose to begin Craft activities, but the ethics underlying the Wiccan religion and witchcraft are not discussed strongly, another serious omission. I *cannot* recommend "The Guide ..." to prospective novices because of its omissions. I recommend both "Inside A Witches' Coven" by Edain McCoy and "Wicca: A Guide For The Solitary Practitioner" by Scott Cunningham as first books for the prospective Wiccan novice.
Rating:
Summary: It's a guide
Review: At first when I got this book, I thought it may not have anything useful in it, boy, was I wrong. The book touches on so many different Wiccan topics; but it only touches on them, you need to go out and further your reading with the subjects in this book. This book is not nor does it claim to be a complete library on the subject, it's only a primer, but a very well written concise one at that.
Rating: 
Summary: The book for starting out.
Review: Don't get me wrong, fellow pagans, I recommend Cunningham' Guide for a solitary practitioner and other well known books. But sometimes it is easy to start from the very beginning. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Wicca and Witchcraft, does just that. It lays the foundation for other works (such as those by Cunningham) to contiune the way. This book introduces you to concepts and theories as well as jargon and even how to lead you in circle casting and ritual work. It presents the information in an easy to understand and comprehend manner. It breaks down complex ideas and explains them to you one piece at a time. It also offers tidbits of information throughout the book that are fun and informative. This book has gone on my top ten of books to recommend to new people. I also recommend this book to people wanting a refresher on Wiccan basics. Kudos!
Rating:
Summary: Funny and Helpful!
Review: I bought this book and Scott Cunningham's Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner together. This book goes step by step and is very easy to follow. There is also a ton of humor sprinkled throughout. I highly recommend it to any beginner. Blessed Be!
~Leola~
Rating:
Summary: Great Introduction to Wicca
Review: I feel that it is a great first book for people who really know nothing about Wicca and want a book that will spell out the path in a very simple but clear manner so that they can decide if it is a path they would like to follow. It is very easy to read and goes from the very basics of what Wiccans believe all the way to rituals and spells. It also openly admits that it is a place to start and encourages further study and has an extensive bibliography.
The thing that I like best about this book is that it assumes that you know nothing at all about Wicca and that its purpose is to help you decide if this is the path you would like to follow. It is not as "open" as Cunningham's book, "Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner" in that it has less of "do whatever feels right to you" and more of "in general, this is the way we do things". The Idiot's Guide also does not sugar coat any of the beliefs or rituals. It is very honest about the dedication and commitment required to follow the path. I am really glad that I read this book before I read Cunningham. It helped me to understand Cunningham's book much better.
Rating: 
Summary: Newbies?
Review: I'll agree that any newbie should also read Cunningham and other well known authors. But his book does exhibit the basics of wicca and witchcraft and is a good starter book. But I bought this book for my boyfreind. He didn't even know what witchcraft was, let alone he thought "witches were to be feared." His mom and I are both Pagan. Seeing as how we were, and he still didn't have a clue about it, he was still curious. We pitched in and bought the book for him, and after he read it, he's been talking to me about the craft with confidence, and with good reason. He now understands our beleifs and several of our holidays and traditions thuroughly. I'm what people call a "Generational" practitioner. Witchcraft runs in my family. If you're already confident about your knowledge in the craft, you don't really need to buy this. It truely is for beginners and those who wish to learn the basics. It doesn't hold much value for advanced practitioners. It is good informative reading for anyone looking to get the basic knowledge of the craft. Reccomended by me.
Rating:
Summary: Wicca and Witchcraft 101
Review: If you absolutly new to Wicca and Witchcraft, this is a good beginner's book and it'll help start you down the path. The title is a bit of a misnomer.
However if you've already read Scott Cunningham and the like then this book is pretty much a reiteration of what has been covered in those books, and you should probably save your money by skipping this one.
Rating:
Summary: For The Beginner or For Good Reference
Review: If you're just starting out in the Wiccan Religion, or you just want some general information because a loved one is Wiccan, I recommend this book to you. It's informative and it tells you some good points in which to live by.
Rating:
Summary: Detailed yet vague
Review: This book has an astounding amount of detail on spellcraft. It gives you everything you need to know to start writing and casting spells. But the book isn't supposed to be just about spells. It's supposed to be about wicca. The first few chapters are about wicca. There is an overview of the religion, and the intents. In the later chapters all it really says it that you should become an activist for wiccan causes and not to accept money for performing magick. While it is written as a reference type book, there isn't anything you'll need to look up that you won't find in a few dozen other books. And the stuff that you WILL need to look up (like the two chapters on astrology and timing you spells) you will definitely need a more detailed referance to make much use of it. The book is ideal for only the most unseasoned beginner, and there are other books that would be more helpful. I consider it worth reading if you are bored and can borrow it from a friend or the library. At the very least it isn't completely wrong in it's descriptions of wicca, and it gives you enough information to know what kinds of more detailed books you should buy (poppet magic or a book on herbs?). But it's too vague to justify the number of pages in the book.
Rating:
Summary: Great beginner's book
Review: This book is best for beginner's, especially ones that havent read so many books. I recommend this book coz it is very very easy to understand. This book was the best for me. Till now, i couldnt find a book that has the same style. It was the one that set me on the track.
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