Deed Without a Name, A

I hesitated for a few days before deciding to purchase this book. Often times, a book can appear much more fantastic than what it truly is; the fantasy is better than the reality. Still, it was suggested to me by many close friends and colleagues. I must say, I've only ever been this pleased with one other book. Ironically, the book in question lacked much of the spiritual aspects I craved. It was in this shortcoming I found "A Deed Without A Name: Unearthing the Legacy of Traditional Witchcraft" to fill the void. I'd like to preface this review by stating this book, although incredibly informative, is definitely not fir the beginner as anything other than study. What this book lacks in size, it makes up for in subject matter, and clarity of writing. I expected this particular title to contain a few strong points of belief, maybe a few spells and/or rituals to show examples of the Traditional Way. I was, initially, taken aback to find this was not the case. However, within the first paragraph of this book, I found myself hooked into every word the author wrote. What the author had chosen to do, rather than load the reader to the brim with spells and charms, is give the reader a chance to revel in what so many books on Traditional Witchcraft fail to deliver: spirituality. While yes, spells and rituals play an integral part of the witch's practice, they are just one side of a many fevered jewel. In this title, not only are we given an understanding of witchcraft as a spirituality, we are granted the privilege of finally understanding some, unfortunately, commonly ignored subjects. Things such as the familiar spirit, the fetch-beast, the body double and its purpose, hedge crossing and its importance, the witch's sabbat, and more. While these subjects are merely skimmed over in most works regarding the traditional path, Lee Morgan has taken the time to explain, in some depth, each subject mentioned above, and their importance to the crooked path. Another standout feature of this book is the level of historical information shared, along with a fascinating grouping of testimonials, both ancient and modern, showing the similarities of the experience of the witch, regardless of time. These make for a deeply engaging bit of writing, as we the readers begin considering our own experiences, and how they may be similar to the experiences of our ancestors. At this point I want to caution potential buyers. This book is not a book of spells, charms, and rituals. You will not find within these pages a section describing tools commonly used by witches, commonly used spells, or a list of celebratory festival days. There exist three rituals towards the back: a ritual to call a spirit helper (familiar), a ritual of exorcism, and a ritual of necromancy. If you are looking for a book full of spells, charms, and other magical formulae, you will be disappointed with this purchase. However, I implore all those considering this noon to purchase it anyways. Books of practicality and magic (spell books of you will), often leave the reader wanting more, but not sure what it is they're wanting more of exactly. I can assure you, this book contains what it is you're searching for. Overall, I've fallen in love with this book. My only qualm with it comes with its size. I found myself wishing it was longer, then longer still. However, when paired with such books as "Traditional Witchcraft: A Cornish Book of Ways" by Gemma Gary, the reader holds a complete guide to nearly every aspect of Traditional Witchcraft. This book is so much more than a sliver of light shed on a shady subject, or a peak through the keyhole of a locked door; rather, this book will take you on a journey. It will test you, challenge your beliefs, and bring you face to face with your fears, as any truly good book should. For those seeking out the deeper aspects of witchcraft, to truly experience witchcraft for all it was and still is, I direct you here.

What can I say this is a great book for those who feel a calling for traditional witchcraft of a non-wiccan variety. I would say that the book gives a great overview for those just starting on the path. As for those who have read a lot of material and are practicing on their own without a mentor this book will teach you a few things as well. Several notable author's are referred to which will give one further fuel to continue their quest. Such greats as Emma Wilby, Carlo Ginzburg,Claude Lecoeux and a few other.The book covers a liminal space between myth and scholarship while giving a good strong taste of both. Some of the topics covered are how witches are called to the craft, forming alliances with the different spirits, different animals the witch will ally with and the parts of the soul. This great overview offers a quick read and a very enjoyable experience. The end of the book has some working that you can do to discover your daimon, allies and doubles.Witches are called to the craft in a variety of ways just as their are a great variety of witches. Some care called forth in dreams where they meet their spirit guide or dead ancestor. Sometimes they will endure great sickness before receiving their powers. Traditional Witchcraft is more aptly compared to Shamanism. Shaman's will have plant, animal and spirit allies. Most cross over to the spirit world to bring good to the community while the bad ones may do it for selfish cause or to do harm. The Benadnati in Italy are ones who fight for the good. Sometimes witch will be marked by being born with a caul, six fingers or extra teeth. It ccould alos be the seventh son of the seventh son. The witch can cross into the realm of spirit both the realm of the dead and nature spirits. A witch will make a pacts with the faerie royalty, devil and damme Sans Merci at the crossroads which could be physical or a cross meeting place between the world of spirit and the physical world.The witches initiation also can coincide with a carnal relationship of sorts with the devil, faerie queen or spirit guardian. It is of described as being hard and cold. Spirit allies are fed by the humans. This can be done with blood, milk fat or other sorts of fat. If the spirit ally gets nourishment from the witches blood there could be a tell tale mark, like between the knuckles, on the feet or near the breast.The soul can be divided into three so to speak. The Daimon is a guardian spirit usually inherited from the family. It is usually the opposite gender of the witch. The next level is the astral double which can human form or animal form. It is usually powered by the shadow. The second skin can sometimes be taken and used by someone elses shadow. They refer to this as being hag riddenThe witch can release their inner beast. But it has got to be kept in balance with the flame of human reason. Just as animals can ridden so too can plants. THe double enables witches to commune with the dead, march with faeries , astral travel and go to sabbats. Getting to the spirit realm one must come upon a power spot. It is here that one must make friends with the guardian dragon in order to enter.This easy to read book covers lots of material. To find out more I advise that your read it.

I actually like this book, which is why this review is so long, so I can actually say WHY I had to give it two stars. TLDR: The book is criminally under-edited, and as a result the book suffered horribly in quality.The content itself is fantastic, and not something I've personally seen in a book about Trad Witchcraft. HOWEVER, I couldn't bring myself to rate it highly because it's so badly written. I even feel bad for saying that, but I need to be honest about it.It was a very, very 'hard' read, despite the subject matter itself being quite easily digestible by the average adult.The author tries too hard to sound as academic as possible, but ultimately just uses a lot of filler words, and a painful lack of punctuation.I mean look at this excerpt, and note the run-on nature of it, lack of commas, using letters instead of numbers for 'seventeeth', and the inconsistencies with usage of quotation marks (and the incorrect use of them where a full stop is concerned). So. Badly. Edited."Although this account was gathering in the Middle Ages this notion of an ecstatic shamanistic practice linked with poetry and inspiration (what the Welsh called the Awen) continues up until this seventeenth century account that has much in common with the material here termed 'witchcraft'."The book has lots of excerpts from old witchy writings, interviews and whatnot - and the nice flow of *that* writing compared to the author's own only made the bad writing stand out even more for me. It was jarring.NB: I did a Google, and this was published by one of those online 'indie publishers' who accept non-agent submissions, so it's quite clear why this was published in the condition it was in. Again, crying shame, could've been one of the best books I ever read, but falls short on this account.

I was giving this book 2 stars but that seems a bit low considering the wealth of knowledge in the pages so I have raised it to 3. There truly is a lot of information in the book about some of the darker, more profound aspects of witchcraft but the book itself is just erratic. There seems no rhyme or reason to the chapter flow, it's as if the author was just spewing it all out trying to get it into book form as quickly as possible, for that I suppose we could blame the editing. Anyway, a worthwhile book if you are an experienced crafter but if you are not, this will just be a big old ball of confusion.

Very interesting, well-researched, well-written and presented account of the 'old' and 'new' witchcraft. It has certainly cleared a few things up for me and some parts were like a new discovery and synchronicities that explained a few things for me. I believe I read the book just at the right time.I recommend you read it if you are interested in finding out what witchcraft actually is and what it is not.

This book didn't just speak to me but sung a beautiful song.This crystallised several feelings I had about linking British Witchcraft to the shamanism we once had in this land. It validated many of my gut instincts.

Great product!