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Guiley (The Encyclopedia of Saints) has revised this essential lexicon in response to Wicca's rise in popularity and recent acceptance as an organized religion. Spanning centuries and continents, the book defines 480 of witchcraft's and wizardry's major historical events, figures, tools, sites, symbols, and abstract terms. The highly engaging, alphabetically organized entries run several paragraphs in length and deftly clarify a term's etymology as well as its spiritual, historical, or spell-making significance. A nice complement to Lexa Rosean's The Encyclopedia of Magickal Ingredients (2005); recommended for Wiccan, religious studies, and occult collections. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Choice
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.

Guiley (independent scholar) has tightened her focus in this third edition, removing extraneous articles (mostly on demonic possession/exorcism) and adding over 60 new entries, mostly descriptions of historic and contemporary witches (including a few in their twenties) and traditions. Wicca is now included in the title. Nine years after the previous edition (2nd, CH, Apr'00, 37-4210), "technopagan" now merits a reference, and many additional readings are from Web sites. While this work shows the strong influence of authors who publish with Llewellyn Publications (e.g., see Raven Grimassi's Encyclopedia of Wicca and Witchcraft, CH, Mar'01, 38-3636), the treatment is reasonably balanced. This volume would benefit from somewhat more material reflecting feminist, queer, and Internet influences. Several standard articles, such as the one titled "Witchcraft," have been revised; biographical entries have been updated, with a larger bibliography and an index both retained. The expanded introduction includes a brief history of Western cultural responses to witchcraft, which ties together nicely the historical and contemporary aspects of this important work. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-level undergraduates and above; general readers. M. R. Pukkila Colby College

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

This new edition retains the balanced tone and thorough research of the previous two (The Encyclopedia of Witches and Witchcraft, 1989 and 1999). In more than 480 entries, paranormal expert Guiley covers both historical witchcraft, such as the Salem witches,Santa Fe witches, and Stamford witches of the seventeenth century, and contemporary issues and concerns. Topics such as different types of witchcraft, fairies, folk magic, the occult, pagan practices, voodoo or vodun, spells, demons, charms, and magic circles are clearly defined. Descriptions of beliefs, and rituals connected to witchcraft, and biographies of individuals, both historical and fictional, living and dead (for example, Aleister Crowley, Morgan le Fay, Margaret Alice Murray, and Starhawk), are included. In addition to updates of contemporary biographies, this edition contains new Wicca-related material, as indicated by the addition of the word Wicca to the title. Short lists of further reading, a number of them updated, follow many of the entries. The lengthy bibliography has been expanded and updated as well. Offering a broader perspective than many arcane resources on this popular subject, this volume is suited to casual readers and researchers.--Awe, Susan Copyright 2009 Booklist