Crafting the Art of Magic

Crafting the Art of Magic, Book I is a history of the development of modern Witchcraft during the later lifetime of Gerald Gardner, the Craft's most important founding figure, from 1939 to his death in 1964. It reconstructs this history not from the claims of the individuals, but by applying standard scholarly techniques to the available documentary evidence. This book not only describes Gardner's activities in building this religion, but also presents the actual text of the Book of Shadows as it stood in the years 1949, 1953, 1957, and 1961. Modern Witchcraft is a vital religion in the process of being created by its members, and all who are drawn to its guiding concepts - hte Goddess, means of self-transformation, intense small-group worship and celebration - can participate directly in this process of creating the Craft as a religion.