I received a copy of this DVD, Witchcraft & Wicca, for review, and I have to admit that I was a little skeptical at first.  There are a handful of these types of DVDs and home study programs available designed to to give an overview of Wicca and magickal practice in order to help someone get started on their practice.

The DVD is produced by a company in the UK called Hagstone Films.  Unfortunately their website is a bit generic and lacking in information, so it’s hard to tell much about them.  This is their only currently available video, but according to the news bar on the page there are several other magickal titles in the works including a Wiccan view on the practice of Reiki and one on poppet magick.

This DVD runs just shy of 2 hours and covers a great number of topics covered.  It’s hosted by a woman that goes by the name Freyja.  I was disappointed that on the Hagstone Films website there is no info about her since she not only hosts this one but she is also hosting the two other films that they are creating that involve the Craft.

Before I get too much deeper into review, let’s stop and look at a trailer for the DVD.

The DVD has the following chapters and topics covered:
Chapter 1 – Introduction
Chapter 2 – History
Chapter 3 – Origins of Wicca
Chapter 4 – Wiccan Beliefs
Chapter 5 – Coven Structure
Chapter 6 – Wheel of the Year
Chapter 7 – Tools
Chapter 8 – Ritual Prep & Dress
Chapter 9 – Ritual & Self Initiation
Chapter 10 – Magick & Spells
Chapter 11 – Divination & Scrying
Chapter 12 – Where Next

Overall the video isn’t bad.  For trying to cover so much in such a short period of time you have to understand that nothing here is in-depth and that it’s very much a drive-by look at the Craft.  Everything is presented in small soundbite style with just the base essentials of every topic covered.  This is OK if you’re either already experienced in the Craft, but since this video is really aimed to present information to the beginner or the curious it will only serve you well if you take this as just the first step of discovery.  There is certainly no lack of information here to intrigue the curious, so in that it certainly does its job.

Let me get some of the less than stellar comments out of the way.  The presenter, Freyja, quickly becomes a little annoying by the end of the first chapter.  She doesn’t look into the camera when she talks and is clearly reading off cue cards or a teleprompter.  It isn’t until Chapter 9 of the DVD, during the elemental calls during her ritual, that she finally looks at the camera to speak and seems to do it without reading something.  There is a stiffness to her throughout that is a little uncomfortable and makes you wonder if she actually does know the material that she’s presenting.  She also says the word “however” easily 100 times and in a mechanical way that, like everything else, just has a little bit of a disconcerting feeling to it.  When she isn’t standing behind an altar she’s positioned in front of somewhat tacky backdrops that are reminiscent of those horrible settings used for yearbook photos.  It also doesn’t help that she’s sitting in a way that has her somewhat looking over her shoulder; I kept waiting to see the camera flash go off.

Now, as for the content on the DVD, it’s certainly not bad.  In fact, for such a short overview of such a large number of topics it’s pretty good!  But there are a few things that had me wondering.  First, she begins right off with talking about hiding her books and her interests from her parents out of fear of getting into trouble.  While I know this is the thing that many young practitioners have to do, it’s something that has always bothered me and it’s something that I always dislike seeing advocated or suggested to others (not that she says to do this, but if it’s good enough for her it must be good enough for the viewers).  She also talks in chapter three about not liking the word “crone”, and apparently not using it herself, because she doesn’t like the image of the old lady or hag that the word implies.  I have to admit this put me off a little.

Another thing that was interesting and that sort of had me stop and shake my head was her explanation of the Watchtowers; she says that they are human spirits now in the Summerland who are connected to those specific elements and who now watch over that element and assist in ritual.  I just found that view interesting and it was something I’d never heard before.

The history overview was quite good and touched on a number of key points that aren’t always presented in beginners material.  The chapter on the origins of Wicca really doesn’t focus on the origins but glances briefly at Gerald Gardner and then goes on to talk about current practice.  In chapter four she talks about some nice ways to work toward getting in touch with the God and Goddess but she also talks about spells a little while discussing the Rede and Three-Fold Law.  She specifically talks about love spells, giving and example of one and talking about how it goes against the Rede.  But a little later on in the chapter she talks about love spells being OK as long as you know what you’re doing and take responsibility for your actions and what happens as a result of your spell.

The chapter on tools was one I really liked because she does make a point of letting you know that you don’t have to run out and buy all your tools at once and that you can let them come to you as you find things that are meaningful for you.  She also talks a great deal about purchasing items from charity shops (i.e. thrift stores like Good Will or Salvation Army).  By doing this you’re not only getting a deal on items but also helping the community.  Since all your tools, whether new or used, need to be consecrated and charged it doesn’t really matter where it comes from.  She also talks about making your own tools when possible and not being pressured to purchase fancy tools from Witch shops just because they’re pretty.

The ritual chapter was nice and she walks you through her self initiation ritual.  Now, I have a problem with self initiation, but that’s neither here nor there.  The problem I ultimately had here was her interchanging of the terms self initiation and self dedication.  They are so often seen as being the same thing but, in reality, they are somewhat different.  Her circle casting method is, for lack of a better word, unique; but as a method I’ve never seen before it was really interesting to see.  Either way, the ritual she presents is nice, simple, and one that anyone could easily work with to effectively dedicate themselves to the Craft.

The chapters on magick, spells, and divination are all the usual brief gloss overs but she takes time to emphasis the important parts such as ethics in spellwork and she talks about needing to take time to practice divination over time and learn to trust your own intuition and not become dependent on guides and books.  One thing that did bother me in the chapter on divination is that after all her talk about practicing, learning, and trying different methods she says that all predictions are only about 50% accurate but that in time you might be able to increase that.  It just seemed to almost make the whole chapter a little pointless, in my view, because anyone can make a 50/50 guess at something without using divination.

All in all, Witchcraft & Wicca is a nice introduction to many of the core aspects of the Craft but it will definitely need to be just that, an introduction.  There is nothing earth shattering here and certainly this isn’t going to teach you anything in depth.  But if you’re looking for something other than a book or a website to give you the basics and to actually show you thing and walk you through a simple ritual, this is a nice DVD to do that with. The US version of the DVD, which is available to purchase through their website, will cost you $30.50 with shipping.

I give this 4 our of 5 stars