Rating: 
Summary: Knowledge only gets you half way there
Review: I found this book to be very dry and difficult to read, infact it was downright painful. But one thing Buckland has done that I have seen no other do, is present the reader with everything and then he lets the reader decide what will be done with the knowledge given. Uncle Buck, as my friends and I call him is a wonderful and learned man and he will show you everything you will need to stand on in order to move ahead. This book is basic, but not just basic about one particular path within the realm of Witchcraft but he will show you all sides of the coin, from the cominalities to our differences, he even provides you with a list of different sect and their address so that you may inquire directly. He gives you the low down on everything from sabbats to intiations to herbs and divination, but again it is only the basics. If you do not know which way to turn but you have decided that Witchcraft and or Wicca is what you wish to dedicate your self into, try to read this book, it will help you discover your planets, numerology number and it helps you know what to look for.. It's like taking all those general education courses in college, you hated doing it but it helped to define your major in the end.
Rating: 
Summary: how to, but not why
Review: It's not that this book isn't helpful. It is. Buckland packs as much pure info and how-to in these two hundred fifty some-odd pages as possible. In the prossess, however, he manages to remove all semblence of poetry and mystery from the craft. This book is an excellent how-to, but it's about as inspiring as Time-Life DIYs.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Gift for An Apprentice Such As I
Review: I really like the fact that Mr Buckland has written a book for novice solitary practitioners like myself. The book is divided into "Lessons" instead of chapters, and there are questions at the end of each lesson to test a student's memory and knowledge without him or her referring back to the text. The book was given to me as a gift, and I am still working through the "lessons" at my own pace.
I pity the reviewer who gives a negative report about Mr. Buckland's book, because it is but one of many tools to help people to start a process of self-initiation into Wicca, or to gain more understanding into the Old Ways. Don't trash the book, people; take from it what benefits you the most and leave the rest.
Rating:
Summary: Good for beginners
Review: By the time this book was written, Ramond has strayed from straight Garderian and had become more Saxon-Witch, Picti-Witch. Its evidence is all over this book. It is a good book for people to learn some of the basics of witchcraft but it has no real investement in the religion itself. It a good teaching book.
Rating: 
Summary: Good book, but not for the beginner.
Review: This was one of the first Wiccan books I read and I wasn't that crazy about it. I liked it, but I wasn't that crazy about it. The book had a lot of good parts, but sometimes I got kind of turned off. The main problem I found with this book was that Dr. Buckland seemed very strict - ie. you must do this, you must not do that, etc. I believe that there is no right or wrong way to practice the Craft. Just do whatever feels right to you. If you accidentally step over the circle boundary, you wont be struck by lightning! If you mess up during ritual, don't worry about it. The Lord and Lady have a sense of humor, I'm sure. All in all, it is a good book, but not really for the beginner. Blessed be!
Rating: 
Summary: Out of date and overly dramatic.
Review: Reading this book as a modern Wiccan is like watching an old episode of Star Trek when you are a fan of the Next Generation. This book has value in that you can use it to see why Wicca was not very popular until the wave of books that have come before Scott Cunningham, A.J. Drew, Beth, and the modern authors who have placed soul into the religion.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Inspiration
Review: This book was so imformative yet so inspiring to me. It showed so many opportunities. One window it opened was one of explanations for all my questions and wonders about Wicca. It gave me reason to practice Wicca, and a lot of help for my future experiences. This wonderful book also gave some good tips and warnings on the practice of Wicca. I now know that Wicca is very seriouse and should only be handled by a professional. Buckland has really out-done himself writing this well written book for Wiccan practicers.
Rating:
Summary: Sorry, the ego got in the way.
Review: This book looked really good when I bought it. It promised to make me "the equivalent of the Third Degree" after I completed all of the lessons, and the lessons seemed to span a wide variety of subjects. The lessons did include many different "witchy" practices, from energy-raising to herbalism to palmistry, giving the reader a little knowledge of each one. However, I don't think a little knowledge of a lot of things necessarily makes me some sort of "advanced" Witch. Eventually, one has to specialize, and go deeply into aspects of the Craft, and to go deeply into any aspect of the Craft, one must go beyond this book. This is more like a guided tour through the practices of Witchcraft, and any further exploring is up to you. Maybe this book can make you the equivalent of the First Degree. I don't know, since I don't belong to a tradition that awards degrees, but this stuff just doesn't _seem_ advanced enough to merit a Third Degree. It's not bad as a beginner's book, though I've seen more inspiring and passionate ones (try Starhawk, Rae Beth, Scott Cunningham, Phyllis Curott, or Yasmine Galenorn). If you're not a beginner, don't waste your money buying this--it won't help you advance any further. I wouldn't be upset if it had been presented as a beginners' book, but the promise of "Third Degree" knowledge implied that it was also useful for a more advanced practitioner. The second problem I have with the book is Buckland's ego. He seems determined to prove what an important Craft elder he is. In one of the first chapters, he presents the history of the modern Craft, with a quiz about influential figures in the pagan revival. Guess who one of them is? And when he goes into the Sabbat rituals, he makes a point out of saying, in effect, "Hey look, my Sabbat rituals are so much better-written than the ones from the Gardnerian tradition." Even when it's not this explicit, everything he says seems to carry an undercurrent of "My way is THE way." After a while, it just got on my nerves.
Rating:
Summary: blue gold for wiccans
Review: this is a masterpiece for those wanting to practice wicca or if your just curious about the craft everything is covered from history of the craft to breaking the news it not only proves that were not devil-worshippers but shows that wicca is a very respectible religion that has morals, ethics and promotes spiritual growth basically this book is blue gold for wiccan's
Rating: 
Summary: Money maker
Review: Why is it that the majority of these highly reccomended books on Wicca are basically the same thing over and over and over again. So much avialable material is "beginner" and hardly ever will you find anything that goes beyond casting a circle or this is the way it is because the author says so. That's pretty much why I bailed out of Wicca. It was fun while I was in high school and it gave me a card carrying membership to the Club of Oppressed People by that Evil Wickid Bad Christianity(well actually the ones who You-Know-Who-Says-He-Doesn't-Know) If I truly wanted something useful on old religions I could have gone to a college library and checked out books concerning old rituals by historians. And that would have been free as opposed to 14.95 per book.
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