Customer Reviews
A Gem for Wiccans - By: RDWHITE, 19 Dec 2008 
"The Rebirth of Witchcraft" is one of the most important, & perhaps best, books about the history of the neopagan religion of Wicca. Doreen Valiente is, after Gerald Gardner, the most important figurein Wiccan history - she was a High Priestess of the Gardnerian Bricket Wood coven, & was also a member of Cochrane's Clan of Tubal Cain coven. She helped to rewrite the Charge of the Goddess, probably the most sacred scripture of Wiccans, & played a partin uniting the Neopagan groups through the Pagan Federation, & also, along with the Farrars, helped to open Wicca up into becoming a public religion & no longer simply a mystery cult.
This book, her fifth & final, is a history of Wicca (or "Witchcraft" as she called it, she disliked the term "Wicca", which was introducedin 1966 by June Johnsin her biography of Alex Sanders). This history is not quite as long & detailed as several others by professional historians (such as "Triumph of the Moon" by Ronald Hutton), but it is very easy to read, & is written by a person who was actually there!
really interesting - By: Adam Hodgson, 29 Jun 2008 
This is a really interesting book on the history of modern witchcraft, starting with the founder of modern witchcraft Gerald Gardner & the authors early involvement with him. Valiente also details her involvement with non Gardnerian branches of witchcraft: Robert Cochranes coven & writes a chapter on Alex Sanders. Probably the most intrigueing chapter is where Valiente describes & details a spirit cummunication she recieved from a witch who lead a covenin the nineteenth century, obviously some people will say Valiente just made the whole thing up but all I will say is keep an open mind & remember that all results that come from occult practices are subjective. Overall I would say this is a really good book & highly recommend it.
Fantastic work on the roots of paganism and Wicca - By: Squiebee, 08 Jan 2008 I read this book as a semi-beginnerin Wicca, after hearing Doreen Valiente's name dropped often & seeing how accessible this book looked. If you think you know how Wicca came about then read this - it goes into detail without being boring & reaffirms your beliefin Wicca if, like me, you sometimes have a hard time justifying a religion which is so new (The Meaning of Witchcraft by Gerald Gardner is also fantastic for this). Valiente covers so many topics here without it feeling 'Wicca 101', writing engagingly & intelligently. I found myself of many of the same opinions as her which helped - she is obviously an open-minded and, at times, slightly sceptic person.
Her communications with the 18th century witch John Brakespeare, whether you believe them or not, are inspiring as he tells you how the craft should be practised ie. simply & easily.
When I first started on the path I felt overwhelmed with all the names I heard, which it was (I was told) important to know about; eg. George Pickingill, Robert Cochrane, Alex Sanders. This book has a chapter on each one, which you can either be perfectly happy with or use as a springboard for your own research. I feel I know so much more about the path from this book, & it enables the transition from beginner to intermediate. Valiente also opens your mind to topics & new names you might not have known or thought you didn't care about, such as feminist Wicca & the fantastic artist Monica Sjoo.
Easy & quick to read, with so much info & inspiring & belief-affirming stuff, every Pagan should read this if they want to know more about the roots of the new age of Paganism.
