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Rating: 
Summary: Witta
Review: First we start with the word Witta. Someone should have told her at Llewellyn that Witta is not Irish but Scottish. And that the word itself means Elder. Witta was someone you went to in the village council who had all the answers. The word was later mispronounced and gave birth in the 1930's to the modern day philosophy of Wicca (Thanks to Scotman Gerald Gardner).Wicca writers, especially those simply pumping out titles, should stay away...far away from the celtic religions. It seems that everytime one doesn't, the rest of us hold our heads in our hands and proceed to whimper. This book particularly hurts my intelligence.
Rating: 
Summary: Okay, this book is bad
Review: I am very fond of Edain McCoy's books but I have to admit this one is pretty bad. It seemed exactly what I wanted -- a form of Wicca based on Irish heritage, with the emphasis on simplicity and nature instead of lots of tools and strict rituals. Because it has these things, I give it 2 stars, but I can't recommend this because I am thoroughly against sloppy scholarship, church-bashing, male-bashing, and passing something off as authentic that you seem to have made up yourself. In short, I agree with all the awful reviews I've read on this site. But, don't let this bad book keep you away from Edain McCoy without giving her another chance. I can't tell if this was her first book or not, but she's gotten a lot better (I am one of the few people that liked Celtic Myth and Magick, but I feel that her scholarship in that book was MUCH better than this one -- really! -- read my review on that if you want). I guess she learned her lesson or something -- most of her books now get really good reviews. I wouldn't recommend her if I thought she was a charlatan. I think she made a mistake with this one, but I urge you to give her another chance. Try The Sabbats, Lady of the Night, Inside a Witches' Coven -- all 4 or 5 star books.
Rating: 
Summary: From "When is a Celt not a Celt?" by Joanna Hautin-Mayer
Review: I would like to refer everyone to go read the interview of Ms. McCoy at a website that I am not allowed to divulge. :P Do a search in a search engine, you'll find it. In the interview, she explains that in fact, Witta isn't an ancient tradition, and that she did no "classical" research for this book. She actually sounds embarrassed that it should have caused such a ruckus, that she wrote it so badly that people would take such offense to it. I personally enjoyed the book to begin with, and when I found out how poorly researched it was, and how fabricated the history was, I was very disappointed. I feel that if you can ignore the fabricated history and the poor research, there might just be a valid path there to get ideas from for your *personal* path. Just because a tradition isn't "ancient" doesn't make it less valid, it just makes it new. Even ancient things were new at one time. Take it with a grain of salt, and enjoy. :}
Rating:
Summary: Nope, get something else
Review: Now, I enjoyed this book immensely though it is, in my opinion, quite feminist. I always strive for a balance and this appears to be a bit out of balance but if that's your thing you may dig this book. On to the bad stuff... There's absolutely no historical data to back this book up. As near as I can tell it's a total lie. Wicca (or if you choose to disguise it as "Witta") is not 1000 years old. It's not even Celtic. It's barely 50 years old and wasn't founded with anything to do with Celts. See my website www.linesofthedragon.com
Rating:
Summary: Blarney of the first water!
Review: There is a difference between folkways and religion. That one goes to the hills or valleys or whatever on Saturday and then to Church on Sunday does not make one a Pagan or Wicca or Wittan (whatever that is). It is indicated that Ms. McCoy made up most of this stuff, but in an interview she says she met a teacher at a dance party. She says Witta exists in Ohio and Virgina and other places. She cannot however trace it back to Ireland, it appears. So did she make it up or is it a tradition. Seems authors like Ms. McCoy just keep changing their minds. Makes one wonder how far you can trust anything they write.
Basically after you have learned the basics of Wicca or Witchcraft, you do not need this book or any other book to teach you what to do. Because the authors didn't. They just made up stuff. So can you! Why not?
I suggest after reading Starhawk's Spiral Dance, The Farrars' books and perhaps a Scott Cunningham book or two, that you do research yourself. Stop reading books by these Wiccan, Wittan, Neo-Pagan authors. Read books on history, art, poetry, literature, archeology, anthropology, other religions. It's not as boring or as biased as the Neo-Pagan/Wiccan authors would like you to believe. They just want to keep you in ignorance, so you won't know how bad their books really are. If you find you are drawn to a certain pantheon or culture such as Greek or Celtic or Irish or Roman or Egyptian or Mayan or whatever, make sure your education involves the history of those people. It may lead you into a whole new and wonderful life.
Take classes in healing if that's what interests you. Pranic, Reiki, whatever. Write poetry to your Gods and Goddesses. Help out your community. Meditate. Visualize. Whatever.
If words are suppose to mean something in the Neo-Pagan or Wiccan or whatever community than what does it say that these people just make up stuff and pass it off as traditional or ancient. It says they don't respect the word. It says they don't respect the folkways of the people they are ripping off. It says they don't respect you.
Rating:
Summary: Imaginary history
Review: This book is ridiculous. It is full of absurd historical inaccuracies and blatantly false information regarding Paganism in Ireland. Read this book for a laugh, not a religion. It's an anthropological atrocity.
Rating:
Summary: Edain McCoy didnt dig deep
Review: This book would be good if Edain would have dug a little deeper. I am interested in Witta but can't seem to find much on it other than this. Knowing what I about Ireland and the rich history this feels more like a shallow grave.
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