Book time: The Real Witches Handbook by Kate West

 

The Real Witches’ Handbook 

Kate West

The Real Witches’ Handbook: A Complete Introduction to the Craft is one of Kate West’s best-known books and has become a popular introductory guide to modern Wicca and witchcraft. 

It was first published in 2001 by Thorsons, with later editions published by Llewellyn. The original edition is around 176–197 pages depending on the bibliographic record/edition, while the 2018 Llewellyn edition is 208 pages. 

The book is deliberately practical and approachable, rather than being an academic history of witchcraft. West’s aim is to introduce someone to the Craft and show how witchcraft can become part of everyday spiritual life.

What does the book cover?

West begins by separating the reality of contemporary witchcraft from the stereotypical Hollywood image of a witch. She then introduces the reader to the basic beliefs and practices of Wicca, including:

• the nature of Witchcraft and Wiccan spirituality
• the Moon and lunar worship
• the four/five elements
• Gods and Goddesses
• the cycles of life, death and rebirth
• the Wheel of the Year
• the eight Sabbats
• creating sacred space and working with an altar
• magic and the responsibilities that accompany it
• spellcraft
• herbal magic and herb lore
• divination and related magical practices
• working as a solitary witch or within a group
• becoming a witch and developing one’s personal practice
• dealing with the question of whether to tell family and friends about one’s practice. 

One particularly useful aspect is that West doesn’t present witchcraft simply as a collection of spells. Ethics, responsibility and personal development are important themes. Magic is presented as something that requires thought and responsibility rather than being a supernatural shortcut to getting whatever one wants.

The Wheel of the Year

The Sabbats receive considerable attention. West introduces the seasonal cycle through festivals such as Samhain, Yule, Imbolc, Ostara, Beltane, Litha, Lammas and Mabon.

This is important because West’s approach views Wicca as a nature-oriented spirituality. The changing seasons provide a framework through which the practitioner can explore birth, growth, maturity, decline, death and renewal.

That makes the book particularly useful for somebody who wants to understand why the Sabbats matter spiritually, rather than simply learning the names and dates of the festivals.

Spellcraft and herbal magic

The practical section moves into actual magical work. West includes examples of spells and charms dealing with everyday concerns, including relationships, study, family matters and personal wellbeing. She also introduces herbal work, including herbs used traditionally for beauty, scent and magical purposes. 

This gives the book a distinctly hands-on character. A beginner can read about a particular magical principle and then experiment with incorporating it into their own practice.

As with any older witchcraft handbook, however, I would treat claims about the physical healing properties of herbs as traditional or folkloric information rather than medical advice.

Solitary witchcraft

Another strength is that West doesn’t assume that somebody needs to belong to a coven.

She discusses both group and solitary practice, making the book accessible to people who want to develop their own relationship with the Craft. This was one of the reasons the book became popular with newcomers: it doesn’t insist that there is only one legitimate way to practise.

West also discusses the potentially difficult question of “coming out of the broom closet”—deciding whether to tell relatives, friends or colleagues about one’s witchcraft. 

Where it fits within modern witchcraft literature

I’d place The Real Witches’ Handbook firmly in the tradition of accessible British Wiccan introductory literature. It sits alongside books by writers such as Janet and Stewart Farrar and Rae Beth, although West’s writing is generally particularly beginner-friendly

It is also interesting historically because it was published at a time when books aimed at people newly discovering Wicca were becoming increasingly mainstream. The book helped present witchcraft not as something sensational or sinister, but as a nature-centred spiritual and magical practice.

The 2018 edition describes itself as a complete introduction to Wicca and Witchcraft and specifically emphasises the distinction between the Hollywood image of witchcraft and its everyday practice. 

Worth getting?

If you’re building a witchcraft library, I’d consider this a worthwhile beginner-to-intermediate book.

Its greatest strengths are:

• 🌙 strong treatment of lunar and seasonal spirituality
• 🌿 accessible introduction to herbs and spellcraft
• 🔮 practical rather than purely theoretical
• 🕯️ useful for developing a solitary practice
• 🌿 presents witchcraft as a spiritual path rather than merely spell casting
• 📖 very approachable for someone new to Wicca

Its main limitation is that it is specifically rooted in a Wiccan conception of Witchcraft. Someone interested in traditional folk magic, historical cunning craft, ceremonial magic or non-Wiccan forms of witchcraft will need other sources as well.

Publisher

Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd

Publication date

2008

Language

English

ISBN 10 

0738713759

ISBN 13 

9780738713755

Binding

Paperback

Number of pages

198

https://www.abebooks.co.uk/9780738713755/Real-Witches-Handbook-Complete-Introduction-0738713759/plp

About Kate West

Kate West is a British Wiccan author, teacher, speaker and High Priestess who has played a significant role in making modern British Wicca accessible to newcomers.

She is particularly associated with practical, down-to-earth books that explain how Witchcraft can be incorporated into ordinary life rather than treating it as something secretive or inaccessible.

Her background

West has described herself as having been practising Witchcraft for more than 30 years by the time of the publication of The Real Witches’ Handbook. She became particularly active in the British Pagan community during the 1990s and subsequently became a prominent public representative for Wicca. 

She served as both Vice President and Media Co-ordinator of the Pagan Federation, one of Britain’s major Pagan organisations. She was also Media Officer for the Children of Artemis, an organisation involved in Wiccan and Witchcraft events, publications and education. 

The Hearth of Hecate

One of the most important parts of West’s work is her connection with the Hearth of Hecate, a Wiccan coven of which she has been High Priestess.

This is significant because West isn’t simply writing about Wicca from an academic or purely theoretical perspective. Her books draw heavily upon her experience of actually practising, teaching and organising within the Wiccan community.

In interviews, she has stressed that reading about Witchcraft isn’t the same thing as practising it. She encourages people to read widely, question what they encounter, meet other practitioners where possible and ultimately develop their own judgement and instincts. 

Her approach to Witchcraft

What makes West interesting is her practical philosophy.

She tends to present Witchcraft as a combination of:

• spirituality
• nature reverence
• ritual
• personal development
• magic
• seasonal observance
• community
• individual responsibility

She is particularly sympathetic towards solitary Witches. She recognises that not everyone can or wants to join a coven, and several of her books provide exercises and practices that can be undertaken independently. 

This makes her somewhat different from authors whose books assume that formal coven initiation is central to becoming a Witch.

Her books

West has written more than a dozen books, with the Real Witches series becoming her best-known work. Among them are:

• The Real Witches’ Handbook
• The Real Witches’ Kitchen
• The Real Witches’ Coven
• The Real Witches’ Garden
• The Real Witches’ Year
• The Real Witches’ Craft
• The Real Witches’ Book of Spells and Rituals
• A Spell in Your Pocket
• Handfasting: The Wiccan Wedding
• Wiccaning: The Naming of the Child
• The Rites of Withdrawal
• The Rites of Age

Her books cover everything from spellcraft, herbs and gardening to covens, Sabbats, ritual and major life ceremonies. 

Interestingly, her career began partly through writing short informational pamphlets for newcomers to her coven. This helps explain the straightforward instructional style that became characteristic of her later books. 

Her influence

West became particularly influential during the period when Wicca was moving from a relatively specialist Pagan interest into something much more visible in mainstream publishing.

The Real Witches’ Handbook, published in 2001, became a bestseller in both Britain and the United States. Her subsequent books helped establish the Real Witches series as a recognisable introduction to practical modern Witchcraft. 

She has also been involved in Witchfests, conferences, workshops, media interviews and Pagan publications, giving her influence beyond her books. She received a Lifetime Contribution to Witchcraft award from the Children of Artemis, as well as recognition for her nonfiction writing. 

Her personal philosophy

One quotation from an interview captures her attitude particularly well. When asked what advice she would give someone wanting to learn Witchcraft, she essentially recommends reading, listening, questioning and developing one’s own judgement. 

That is an important characteristic of her work. West generally doesn’t tell the reader that there is one way to be a Witch. Instead, she encourages the practitioner to learn the traditions, experiment with practices and develop a personal relationship with the Craft.

A particularly interesting aspect of her story

West has also spoken about her childhood and family background. She has described being raised Christian while nevertheless being exposed through her family to older traditions involving healing, the land and the cycles of nature. She has also recalled an early childhood encounter with a woman whom she later understood to have been involved with an occult group. 

Whether one regards these experiences as a literal transmission of folk tradition or simply as formative childhood experiences, they provide an interesting backdrop to her later emphasis on nature, seasonal cycles and practical Witchcraft.

Kate West’s place in modern Witchcraft

I would describe Kate West as part of the second-generation popular British Wiccan writers who helped translate the ideas of the earlier Gardnerian and Alexandrian traditions into a format accessible to the general public.

She isn’t primarily a historian of Witchcraft. Her importance lies more in practical modern Wicca: How do I actually live as a Witch? How do I celebrate the Sabbats? How do I create ritual? How do I work alone? How do I incorporate magic into everyday life?

That makes her a particularly useful author to read alongside Rae Beth, Janet and Stewart Farrar, and later practical Wiccan writers. West is especially good for seeing how British Wicca was presented to a new generation of solitary practitioners around the turn of the 21st century.

Book time: The Witches Bible by Janet and Stewart Farrar

 

A Witches’ Bible: The Complete Witches’ Handbook 

By Janet and Stewart Farrar.

First Published 1981 

Edition shown and discussed is my 2018 edition 

This is one of the most influential practical books of modern Wicca. It was written by Stewart Farrar and Janet Farrar, practitioners who were initiated into the Alexandrian tradition of Wicca by Alex and Maxine Sanders. The book first appeared in the early 1980s and is still widely read by witches and Wiccans today. 

One important point about the title is that it isn’t really a single book in the way the name might suggest. The modern Witches’ Bible combines two earlier Farrar works: Eight Sabbats for Witches (1981) and The Witches’ Way (1984).  Be sure to read my look of the latter.

What is in the book?

The book is essentially a combination of ritual handbook, Book of Shadows, explanation of Wiccan theology and guide to coven practice.

Among its major subjects are:

• The eight Sabbats
• The casting and banishing of the magic circle
• The Great Rite
• Initiation ceremonies
• Consecration of magical tools
• Spells and spellcraft
• Witches’ tools
• The role of the Goddess and God
• Coven organisation
• Witchcraft and sexuality
• Clairvoyance
• Astral projection
• Wiccaning ceremonies
• Handfasting
• Requiem and death rites
• Full and New Moon ritual work

The publisher describes it as covering the principles, rituals and beliefs of modern Witchcraft, while the Museum of Witchcraft and Magic also holds an early edition in its library. 

The Sabbats

One of the book’s particularly valuable features is its treatment of the Wheel of the Year.

It discusses:

1. Imbolc
2. Spring Equinox
3. Beltane
4. Midsummer
5. Lughnasadh
6. Autumn Equinox
7. Samhain
8. Yule

The Farrars don’t merely describe these festivals historically. They provide ritual structures for actually celebrating them, making this section especially useful to someone interested in practising rather than simply studying Wiccan history.

The Book of Shadows

Perhaps the most significant aspect of A Witches’ Bible is its attempt to present a substantial body of ritual material associated with British Wicca.

The Farrars drew heavily upon the Gardnerian and Alexandrian traditions and worked with material associated with the Wiccan ritual tradition. Doreen Valiente, one of the most important figures in early Gardnerian Wicca, was also associated with the Farrars’ work and provided important assistance and insight. 

Consequently, the book became an important way for ritual material that had previously circulated primarily within covens to reach a much wider readership.

This was significant because Wicca had traditionally placed considerable emphasis on initiation and oral transmission. The Farrars helped move modern Witchcraft toward a more openly published and accessible tradition.

The Great Rite

The Great Rite receives considerable attention.

Within traditional Wicca, it symbolises the union of the masculine and feminine divine principles. The ritual can be performed symbolically or, within certain traditional contexts, literally by consenting initiates.

The Farrars’ treatment is important because it places sexuality within a sacred and ritual framework, rather than treating it simply as an occult technique.

This was quite striking when the book appeared and remains one of the reasons it is historically important.

Coven practice

Another particularly useful part of the book is its discussion of how a coven actually functions.

The Farrars discuss matters such as:

• initiation
• degrees
• priesthood
• leadership
• ritual roles
• training
• magical development
• group organisation
• relationships between members

This makes the book much more than a collection of spells. It attempts to explain Witchcraft as a religious and communal practice.

For someone interested in traditional Wicca, this is particularly valuable because it gives a picture of how a working coven might understand itself.

Magic and psychic development

The book also ventures into areas that would now be considered part of the broader Western esoteric tradition, including:

Clairvoyance: developing psychic perception and awareness.

Astral projection: exploration of consciousness outside ordinary physical awareness.

Spellcraft: understanding intention, ritual symbolism and magical technique.

Consecration: transforming ordinary objects into ritual tools through magical ceremony.

The emphasis is generally on ritual practice and disciplined development, rather than simply collecting spells.

Why the book is historically important

A Witches’ Bible appeared during an important period in the development of modern Paganism.

By the 1970s and 1980s, Wicca was moving from relatively small initiatory groups into a much broader Pagan movement. Books such as the Farrars’ made previously obscure practices accessible to people who had no connection to a traditional coven.

The book therefore helped bridge two worlds:

Initiatory Wicca and Public Pagan Witchcraft

It helped establish ritual patterns that subsequently became familiar throughout modern Witchcraft.

Its influence can be seen particularly in the widespread modern practice of the Wheel of the Year, Sabbat rituals, circle casting, magical tool consecration and Wiccan life-cycle ceremonies.

Is it genuinely “traditional”?

This is where some qualification is useful.

The book is extremely important, but it shouldn’t be treated as the definitive description of all Witchcraft.

It primarily reflects the Farrars’ experience of Alexandrian and Gardnerian-derived Wicca, with their own interpretations and developments. Wicca itself has always contained different traditions, covens and individual approaches.

There have also been disagreements within the Pagan community over the publication of ritual material that some practitioners believed should remain within initiatory traditions. Contemporary descriptions of the book sometimes note these controversies. 

So it is better regarded as a major historical and practical source for modern British Wicca, rather than a universal Book of Shadows.

The Witches’ Bible and the Farrars’ other books

The book is best understood as part of a much larger body of work by Stewart and Janet Farrar.

Their other important works include:

• What Witches Do
• Eight Sabbats for Witches
• The Witches’ Way
• The Witches’ Goddess
• The Witches’ God
• Spells and How They Work
• The Pagan Path
• The Healing Craft

Their later work with Gavin Bone also helped develop ideas sometimes described as Progressive Witchcraft.

Worth buying?

If you are interested in traditional Wicca, Alexandrian Witchcraft, coven ritual or the historical development of modern British Witchcraft, A Witches’ Bible is one of the books I would consider essential reading.

Its greatest strength is that it combines history, theology and practical ritual. It gives you a feeling for how Wiccans actually understood their religion and magical practice during the formative decades of modern Paganism.

It is also worth reading critically. Some of its material reflects the attitudes and terminology of the 1970s–1980s, and modern Wicca has developed considerably since then.

In other words, it is valuable both as a practical Witchcraft handbook and as a historical document of modern Wicca.

The current edition is published as A Witches’ Bible: The Complete Witches’ Handbookand remains available in print and electronic editions. 

If you’re exploring the Farrars’ work in depth, I would particularly recommend reading The Witches’ Bible alongside The Witches’ Goddess and The Witches’ God, because together they give a much fuller picture of their understanding of Wiccan ritual, the Goddess and the God.

The book is readily available new and used.

Publisher

RBJT6

Publication date

1999

Language

English

ISBN 10 

0709072279

ISBN 13 

9780709072270

Binding

Paperback

Number of pages

584

https://www.abebooks.co.uk/9780709072270/Witches-Bible-Complete-Handbook-Janet-0709072279/plp

About Janet and Stewart Farrar

The authors of A Witches’ Bible were Stewart Farrar (1916–2000) and Janet Farrar (born 1950). They were much more than writers about Wicca: both were initiated practitioners, priests and priestesses, and became two of the most influential figures in the development and public understanding of modern British Witchcraft. 

Stewart Farrar

Stewart Farrar was born in London in 1916. Before becoming involved with Witchcraft, he had an extensive career as a journalist, novelist, screenwriter and writer. He worked for publications including Reuters, Reveille, Soviet Weekly and the Daily Worker, and wrote scripts for British television and radio. 

His introduction to Wicca came through journalism.

In 1969, Farrar interviewed Alex and Maxine Sanders, the founders of what became known as Alexandrian Wicca. The meeting profoundly changed his life. Rather than simply reporting on the Sanders, Farrar became fascinated by the religion and its ritual practices. 

He was initiated by the Sanders in 1970, and very quickly became a prominent member of the Alexandrian community. He subsequently became a High Priest and established his own coven. 

What Witches Do

Farrar’s first major Witchcraft book was What Witches Do, published in 1971.

It was significant because it was one of the earliest books written by someone who was actually participating in a contemporary Wiccan coven. Rather than presenting Witchcraft as an historical curiosity or sensational story, Farrar attempted to explain what modern witches actually did.

This established the pattern that would characterise much of his later writing: taking practices that had traditionally been transmitted within covens and explaining them to a much wider audience.

Janet Farrar

Janet Farrar was born Janet Owen in London in 1950.

She encountered Wicca in 1970, initially accompanying a friend who was interested in investigating the Sanders’ coven. Her intention was apparently more to keep an eye on her friend than to become a witch herself—but she became fascinated by the Craft and was eventually initiated. 

It was in the Sanders’ coven that she met Stewart.

The two became partners in both Witchcraft and writing. They were handfasted in 1972 and later legally married. In 1976 they moved from London to Ireland, where they continued their coven work and writing. 

Janet became an important figure in her own right. She wasn’t simply Stewart’s assistant or collaborator. She was an experienced priestess and practitioner whose perspective substantially shaped their books.

Their partnership

The Farrars’ importance comes partly from the way their relationship combined ritual practice, research and writing.

Their major collaborative works included:

• Eight Sabbats for Witches (1981)
• The Witches’ Way (1984)
• The Witches’ Goddess (1987)
• The Witches’ God (1989)
• Spells and How They Work (1990)
• The Pagan Path (1995)
• The Healing Craft (1999)

A Witches’ Bible subsequently brought Eight Sabbats for Witches and The Witches’ Waytogether into one volume. 

This explains why A Witches’ Bible is such a substantial work: it represents two major books of their earlier career combined into one handbook.

Their relationship with Alexandrian Wicca

The Farrars began firmly within the Alexandrian tradition established by Alex and Maxine Sanders.

Alexandrian Wicca drew heavily upon Gardnerian Wicca but also incorporated elements of ceremonial magic and Qabalah. 

The Farrars eventually developed their own approach, however. Their later work became less concerned with maintaining a strict Alexandrian identity and more interested in exploring Witchcraft as a developing spiritual tradition.

This is an important distinction when reading A Witches’ Bible: it contains a great deal of traditional Alexandrian/Gardnerian-derived material, but the Farrars were also interpreters and innovators.

For example, some rituals in their books were their own constructions or adaptations rather than ancient survivals. Their treatment of the Oak King and Holly King cycle, for instance, was influenced by Robert Graves’ The White Goddess and subsequently became extremely influential in modern Paganism. 

Their connection with Doreen Valiente

Another fascinating aspect of their story is their relationship with Doreen Valiente, one of the central figures in the history of modern Wicca.

Valiente had worked closely with Gerald Gardner and was responsible for writing or revising some of the most important early Wiccan ritual material. She later supported the Farrars and contributed to their efforts to investigate and document Wiccan history. 

This gives The Witches’ Way in particular an unusual historical importance: the Farrars weren’t simply publishing their own rituals; they were also trying to trace the development of the Gardnerian and Alexandrian traditions.

Stewart’s death and Janet’s later work

Stewart died in Ireland on 7 February 2000, following a brief illness. 

Janet continued writing and teaching after his death.

She subsequently worked closely with Gavin Bone, with whom she co-authored several important books, including Progressive Witchcraft and The Inner Mysteries. Their later work moved further away from a strictly traditional Alexandrian model and explored trance, mystical experience, spirituality and the individual’s relationship with deity.

Janet therefore represents an interesting bridge between traditional initiatory Wicca and the more experimental, eclectic forms of contemporary Witchcraft.

Their lasting influence

The Farrars’ influence on modern Witchcraft is enormous.

Their books helped transform Wicca from something that was largely encountered through initiatory covens and oral tradition into something that could be studied and practised by a much wider public.

They helped popularise ideas that are now extremely familiar:

The Wheel of the Year → Sabbat rituals → Circle casting → Wiccan priesthood → Initiation → Handfasting → Wiccaning → Great Rite → Goddess and God theology

Their books have consequently influenced generations of witches who have never belonged to an Alexandrian coven.

The Crowood Press describes A Witches’ Bible as one of their most influential works and notes that their books helped “set the mould for modern Craft writers worldwide.” 

One particularly interesting thing about Stewart

Given your interest in the history and development of Witchcraft, I think Stewart Farrar is especially fascinating because he entered Wicca as a journalist investigating Alex Sanders and ended up becoming one of the people who documented and shaped the movement himself.

There is even a biography of him, Stewart Farrar: Writer on a Broomstick by Elizabeth Guerra, which draws upon his life and career. 

So his story is almost a microcosm of the emergence of modern Wicca: journalist encounters controversial witch → becomes initiated → becomes priest → forms coven → writes about the Craft → helps bring Wicca into the public sphere.