I really thought I'd like this book, being as I'm Wiccan and all. However, The Wiccan Rede by Mark Ventimiglia is so much less than advertised - as noted on the back cover blurb - "the first and only book to concentrate soley on the deep and meaningful teachings of the Wiccan Rede." In fact, this book is nothing more than a thinly-disguised collection of propaganda that one Wiccan would like to see Wicca defined as.

First of all, he starts off the book by declaring, in the introduction, that Wicca is a shamanistic religion. Uh, whoops, wrong! Mirriam-Webster defines "shamanistic" as "a religion practiced by indigenous peoples of far northern Europe and Siberia that is characterized by belief in an unseen world of gods, demons, and ancestral spirits responsive only to the shamans; also : any similar religion" and defines "shaman" as "a priest or priestess who uses magic for the purpose of curing the sick, divining the hidden, and controlling events."

Hi, I don't know what religion he's practicing, but many Wiccans don't use magic whatsoever (as they'd rather focus on the spiritual aspects, thanks), and Wicca has nothing to do with the indigenous peoples of far northern Europe and Siberia. Wicca is a religion founded by British and American modern people in the 20th-century. (I'd give more than one link, but this is basic info that can be found in any decent text on Wicca.) Many also consider that Wicca is a mysteries religion, and I happen to be one of them, but I don't define Wicca as "a mysteries religion." However, Wicca has as little to do with shamanism as with astrology: some Wiccans may use shamanism or astrology in their practices alongside (or in conjunction with) Wicca, but they're entirely separate practices from the ritual and spiritual practices of Wicca.

Throughout the introduction and the first chapter of the book, he also slams Christianity and its origins, which is unacceptable in my view of ethics. Respecting others' faiths is not only part of being a good Wiccan, but a good person.

In the second chapter is where the propaganda really starts to kick in: the entire chapter is a treatise on Why You're A Bad Wiccan (And A Bad Person) If You're Not Vegetarian. And I quote: "For every hamburger you consume, a living creature had to die, and usually very horribly. These creatures are much like you and me; they are capable of feeling happiness, fear, love, anger and pain. Yet we exterminate them by the millions for the satisfaction of our greedy little stomachs. It is very sad, indeed." Could that be any more biased? I think not.

The author goes on to discuss food as spiritual nourishment, in a description that is straight out of Buddhism and other Eastern religions, and has nothing to do with Wicca whatsoever - "Basically, there are three kinds of food: pure food, stimulating food, and impure food. Milk, butter, fruits, vegetables, and grains fall into the category of pure foods. These are foods that bring calmness to the mind and soothe and nourish the body. Hot spices, meat, alcohol, fish, and eggs are considered stimulating food because they raise the animal passions in humans and bring about a restlessness of mind and body. Needless to say, all food that is rotten, overripe, cured, and putrefied is impure, and thus, can only bring disease and death." What interesting concepts, but they're total bunk from anything except the point of certain religious beliefs, which (as I mentioned) have nothing to do with Wicca.

The next several chapters discuss Wicca As The Author Practices It, and are pretty harmless. They're most certainly not the end-all and be-all of Wicca, but only a view from one particular tradition (and he doesn't even name which tradition, which further speaks to this book being propaganda).

Then the author starts dissing the Elder Futhark runes. Hi, catch the clue bus. First of all, runes are not Wiccan, either. Runes are a Norse/Germanic magical/religious writing system (some would even say "alphabet") which eventually migrated to other parts of Europe and the British Isles (changing as they traveled to meet the needs and religious practices of the people using them). The Elder Futhark runes date back to about the time of Christ, though there is some evidence that they may be approximately 2 centuries older than that. The runes the author proclaims as the only valid runic alphabet for magical purposes are the "Seax-Wicca" runes, which are an invented (by Raymond Buckland in the 20th century) runic alphabet. The Tolkein runes are a runic alphabet invented by an author (guess who?) in the 20th century, too - but nobody claims they are Wiccan, or have any merit to be used in Wiccan practices. The Elder Futhark runes, however, have over 20 centuries of verifiable magical history (even if they aren't Wiccan).

I've been studying and casting runes for 15 years, and I know my stuff when it comes to the Elder Futhark. I'm Wiccan, and I happen to use runes - but the two subjects have no more connection than a Catholic who happens to practice tai chi chuan.

There's also a lot of numerology in this book, and numerology isn't Wiccan, either. I also have a lot of questions about an author who includes, in his "required reading for this chapter" notes at the end of each chapter, books such as The Lord of the Rings, and A Wizard of Earthsea. Fantasy novels as required reading for Wiccan study? Yeah, I have a big problem with that. Wicca is a faith, not a LARP. Let's keep fiction and non-fiction separate, thanks.

I wouldn't recommend this book for any reason whatsoever, to anyone. I'm annoyed that I only scanned a few bits in the store before I bought it, and I hate the thought of selling it to a used bookstore where some unsuspecting, uneducated person who doesn't know much about Wicca will end up buying it and falling right into line with the incredibly unfortunate bias this book is chock-full of. I suppose I will keep the book as an example of "sad propaganda"...after all, I do have Silver RavenWolf on my bookshelf, too!