Rating: 
Summary: FINALLY!!!
Review: A book that works for the intermediate, it is easy enough for a beginner to use but isn't filled with all the begineer info. Its a easy read with great information and detail.... the companion cds are great also.
Rating:
Summary: FINALLY!!!
Review: A book that works for the intermediate, it is easy enough for a beginner to use but isn't filled with all the begineer info. Its a easy read with great information and detail.... the companion cds are great also.
Rating: 
Summary: Some good points but.....
Review: As a beginner's book, this is a fine introduction, except.... Mr. Penczak continually uses the term entomology instead of etymology. Entomology is the study of insects! He means to use etymology, which is the study of names and their origins. I find it hard to take him seriously when he doesn't use the correct terminology. I even contacted Llewellyn Publishing about this glaring error and received no communication in return. You would think they would want to fix such a glaring error.
Rating:
Summary: A perfect foundation for the Craft
Review: As a relative newcomer to this Path, I found The Inner Temple of Witchcraft to be an incredible resource and a relief from all those books that tell you that you MUST do something so-and-so's way. Mr. Penczak introduces a not-so-revolutionary concept here: You use what works for YOU. If that means borrowing from the Native Americans, the Buddhists or the New Agers, so be it. There is no "pure" tradition of witchcraft. Finally, an author who admits that!This book takes you through the spiritual search for your own place of power within. That's something missing in a lot of Witchcraft cookbooks today. The entire point of Mr. Penczak's book is to teach witches to build the Inner Temple as a necessary foundation for their outer workings. People may not want to admit this but Wicca is a SPIRITUAL path. How can you partner with the Divine if you haven't met Her? This book was written for those interested in a balanced and eclectic practice who may not have access to formal training. His writing reads as if he is speaking directly to you. With its year-and-a-day format, I think it's an appropriate substitute for the first level training that many of us want and few of us can find.
Rating:
Summary: simply one of the best books out there
Review: Chris has written exactly what I have been looking for during my years in the craft. A book that starts at the beginning, with a clear history of the roots of paganism and later its conflicts with Christianity. It continues with well-defined and clearly structured chapters which include exercises to help you along the path of self-awareness. The text is always clear, the explanations simple, and you always find well thought-out arguments if arguments are needed.
Never boring, always enticing me to continue on, with only the thought of "no, I ought to go slowly and learn each lesson well" tempering my pace, Chris has really managed something which I can only congratulate him for.
Many authors have tried, but none have succeeded as well as Chris Penczak. His work is remarkable.
Blessed be the day the Goddess inspired him to write.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Reference For Anyone Interested In Witchcraft/Magick
Review: Christopher Penczak has put together a wonderful, thorough book that is very easy to read. It is a great reference for anyone interested in the history, study, and practice of Witchcraft and Magick. You can sense the author's knowledge, and dedication. The Meditation CD Companion is a must! It offers serveral guided meditations for candle meditation, psychic development, mental projections, protection, auric and chakra balancing, and more! His gentle, relaxing voice easily assists you with the practice of these meditations. I highly recommend both the book and companion CD set.
Rating: 
Summary: Should be "The Inner Temple of New Age Wicca"
Review: Do not confuse with Traditional (non Gard) Witchcraft, or even Traditional Gardnerian Wicca. It has some good meditation tools in it, but not much that I haven't seen elsewhere, and much of it was new age drivel.. As in, "You can't honestly expect a sane person to believe in THAT, can you?" I like Christopher Penczak, and I really wanted to like this book, in fact, I do like parts. I think *some* of it would be good for a person with no meditation experience. But the vast majority of it is post-1960's New Age psycho-babble... Nothing "ancient" or "secret" here.
The reason I give it three stars is because it's different than most of the stuff Llewellyn publishes (maybe Llewellyn will get a clue and publish something with depth..?). Nevertheless, it is just meditation techniques thrown in with your average "Learn how to contact your spirit guide!" stuff, thinly disguised as witchcraft. The main focus on this book is getting in touch with your inner self, your sixth sense. He has a meditation on something or other every page or so. A much easier way to do this is to go out in the woods, sit for a while, and THINK. I guess people must have too much time on their hands, because from raising a kid and working.. I barely have time to READ let alone meditate on every little thing.
He does cover the holographic universe theory, though not in any depth. He might get the readers interested in science though, which is a definate plus. Another plus is that this author admits that not all witches are Wiccan (finally!! A Wiccan author admits this!). He also is a little more updated than most Wiccan authors, but still believes unproven and sometimes just odd things because "He can". If you are interested in meditation, and have a lot of extra time to work with this book, or if you want to skip over that stuff and just take whatever new knowledge you can from it, go ahead and get it. Most of the stuff here was already covered in books by Laurie Cabot (a teacher of the author).
Rating:
Summary: This book has been long overdue
Review: Finally a book that presents a refreshing change on magick and the Craft as opposed to "here's a billion and one spells (go play with matches)". This book explains what magick is about, how magick works and most importantly why magick works.
This book goes behind the scenes,so to speak on what happens when you are creating a ritual and/or spell. It also explains to the magickal practitioner what happens as a result of such ritual and/or spell.
It is my opinio that today too many people have no knowledge, interest and/or understanding on how magick really works, what makes it work etc - they are just interested in the "quick fix" result - which is great for those wishing to line their pockets, but not for the rest of us who have to go around picking up the pieces.
People have turned their backs on solid foundational teaching to cash in on the "fad" - however, I do believe that there are an increasing number of people who have gone beyond the "fad" stage and are interested in the REAL stuff - they want to know about magick, how it works, the hermetic laws, etc - all to gain a deeper understanding of what they are doing.
As a magickal practitioner, both in Craft and hermetic magick, for over 15 years, it was refreshing to pick up something that (1) provided solid and accurate information,
(2) didn't provide any fluff (or a billion and one spells), and
(3) focused on the nuts and bolts of what should be included in basic magickal training.
This book will be added to my recommended reading list for the Temple of the Dark Moon's Outer Court training circles because it provides the student with a solid foundation onto which they can build their own magickal temple - something which is rarely offered these days.
Rating:
Summary: A solid foundation
Review: For me, this book filled in a lot of gaps in all the other Wicca/magic 101 books. Those books would say "meditate on...", "raise power", "visualize your intent" without actually telling you HOW to do any of those things. Perhaps I'm just stupid, but none of those things are natural to me. Then I found "The Inner Temple of Witchcraft" and my questions got answered. This book makes me feel better knowing that I'm not the only one who can't figure out what it really is to "visualize your intent" right off the bat. It eases you into a meditative practice, visualization, affirmations, healing, chakra work, etc. He presents the skills as progressive lessons so the format is easy to follow. All the other magic 101 books say that magical skill comes with practice, but once again, this book is much more useful. Instead of just saying that you should practice, Penczak actually lists homework at the end of each lesson. Personally, this was exactly the beginner book I needed, one that sets up a solid foundation before rushing right into spells and Sabbat rituals.
Rating:
Summary: A solid foundation
Review: For me, this book filled in a lot of gaps in all the other Wicca/magic 101 books. Those books would say "meditate on...", "raise power", "visualize your intent" without actually telling you HOW to do any of those things. Perhaps I'm just stupid, but none of those things are natural to me. Then I found "The Inner Temple of Witchcraft" and my questions got answered. This book makes me feel better knowing that I'm not the only one who can't figure out what it really is to "visualize your intent" right off the bat. It eases you into a meditative practice, visualization, affirmations, healing, chakra work, etc. He presents the skills as progressive lessons so the format is easy to follow. All the other magic 101 books say that magical skill comes with practice, but once again, this book is much more useful. Instead of just saying that you should practice, Penczak actually lists homework at the end of each lesson. Personally, this was exactly the beginner book I needed, one that sets up a solid foundation before rushing right into spells and Sabbat rituals.
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