The Crooked Path: An Introduction to Traditional Witchcraft

Excellent book, well written and comprehensive - some slight inaccuracies centred on his perspective on Hereditary and Traditional Witchcraft but overall great little book.

I have been reading and learning about witchcraft for only eighteen months. I found this book to be well written, easy to read, very informative. I have learned so much from the information. I would recommend this book without hesitation.

For me this book is perfect. I go by the name of Trad Witch so this was great for me. I do not get on with the modern ways of witchcraft as I find them far too diluted. I have been a practicing witch for well over 30 years and this book is definitely for you if you wish to learn the old ways of magick.

When I'm unsure whether to buy a book or not, I always look at the reviews, especially the ones that have rated the book 1 or 2 stars, because they give you a better insight of the potential flows of the book. Now, no book is perfect and especially when it comes to witchcraft everyone's expectations are different and varied, as it should be, as witchcraft is not a straightforward path and it's bound to be lived and felt in so many different ways by each one of us. I loved the chapter about the Witch Father and Witch Mother and I found it enlightening. Maybe it's me who never get this info before, but this is the first Author who classifies gods as Spirits and not as spiritual beings who are superior to the other spirits. That was so refreshing and I loved it, because it's what I always felt they are. I've been always at pain with the idea that gods need to be acknowledged at any cost as a foundation of practicing witchcraft. The author clearly attaches much importance to them and it's fair enough, since a book it's never "unbiased" but always has the imprint of the author. But at least he stresses the fact you don't need to work with gods in order to practice witchcraft but you can work with any Spirit. I would recommend this book to anyone really!

I bought this on a recommendation from a friend. It is a well-written beginner’s investigation into Traditional Witchcraft as conceived by Robert Cochrane. Well written,succinct and clear - I enjoyed it very much. My only dislike was the author’s use of standard Wiccan doggerel during ceremony which is a pet peeve. I dislike it in Garderian Wicca, and even more so here. It cheapens the rest of the author’s vision, I feel. But it’s a small peeve in an otherwise excellent book.

This book solidified for me that Traditional witchcraft is my path. Kelden is a very compelling author. I really enjoyed going through the book page by page and his insight to tradional witchcraft is commendable. I highly recommend this book.

Great book for anyone starting out on their path

Interesting book covers lots of historical information. Well written and presented.

Un livre très intéressant sur la sorcellerie traditionnelle des îles britanniques. Les informations sont de très bonne qualité et l'auteur revient sur la différence entre cette tradition et la tradition wiccane. Il aborde de nombreux sujets très variés (vérifiez la table des matières dans l'échantillon de Kindle). Le niveau d'anglais est abordable et le style est très clair. Ça se lit très bien, et en plus la mise en page est magnifique. Je recommande pour celleux qui souhaitent élargir leur pratique et leurs connaissances.

Extremely informative. It helped break down some old mindsets on the Witch father and on myself

I love the book, I’ve learned more about myself and so many doors have opened mentally and emotionally.

Ich habe mir dieses Buch geholt, weil ich eine verständliche Einführung in traditionelle Witchcraft gesucht habe, die nicht oberflächlich wirkt. Genau das bekommt man hier. Das Buch ist gut strukturiert, angenehm geschrieben und vermittelt die Inhalte auf eine ruhige, respektvolle Art. Besonders gefallen hat mir, dass es nicht wie ein typischer moderner Ratgeber wirkt, sondern mehr Tiefe und Atmosphäre mitbringt. Die Themen werden nachvollziehbar erklärt, ohne dass man sich als Einsteiger verloren fühlt. Gleichzeitig hat man nicht das Gefühl, dass alles zu stark vereinfacht wird. Für mich ist es ein sehr gelungenes Buch für alle, die sich ernsthaft für traditionelle Hexenkunst, Rituale, Symbolik und alte Praktiken interessieren. Es lädt dazu ein, sich Zeit zu nehmen, mitzudenken und eigene Eindrücke zu sammeln. Ein schönes, wertiges Buch, das ich gerne weiterempfehle.

The Crooked Path has proved to be a really fascinating and informative work. I do not plan to become a traditional witch and certainly do not at all think of adopting practices such as treading the mill (I'm kind of scared); that, however, is not an impediment for me to appreaciate a book that taught me a lot I didn't know (and how can we decide upon the adoption of practices we don't know about?). And let's be fair: some of the practices in the book may not resonate with me, but on the other hand I did identify with several passages regarding feelings, attitudes and living in close contact with the natural world. The Crooked Path is very well written and organized, thus really standing out from most books I've read; the author is thoughtful and serious about the topic; plus, more than simply knowing his topic well, he knows how to address it and teach it. And on top of all the information he shares we can also find an extensive bibliography at the end, suggesting titles I had not heard about. The Crooked Path offers so much more than your average witchy book, and I am glad I purchased and read it.