Witchcraft for Tomorrow

Witchcraft for Tomorrow answers many frequently asked questions about witchcraft including: 'How can I find a witches' coven?' and 'How can I become a witch?' Doreen Valiente tells you what the old religion of witchcraft has to offer the new age of Aquarius; how the age-old Craft of the Wise can be practised in the modern world; how to initiate yourself as a witch and found your own coven. The author, who was the leading figure in the establishment of the modern Wiccan movement, includes a new Book of Shadows (the witches' handbook of rituals and instructions) based upon ancient magical tradition but geared to the age of the future. There are witch songs, spells, incantations and practical advice on how to run a coven and how to acquire your own collection of magical implements; as well as methods of divination and other witch lore. The author shows how the oral traditions of witchcraft throw light not only upon the origins of the present-day witch cult and the activities of the witch leader George Pickingill and his covens, but also upon the mystery of the founding of the famous magical order, the Golden Dawn. Also discussed is the relationship between the witchcraft of Britain and Europe and the magical belief of the Far East. Do both traditions hark back to the legendary city of Shamballah and to the shamanistic practices of Asia? And why do the secret circles of the witches resemble those of the Tantric sex-magic of India?

Doreen Valiente was one of the founders of modern Wicca and was initiated into four different branches of the Old Religion in Great Britain. She is the author of An ABC of Witchcraft: Past and Present, Natural Magic, The Rebirth of Witchcraft and Witchcraft: A Tradition Renewed. She made many television and radio appearances, discussing witchcraft and folklore and displaying items from her collection of witchcraft objects.