Digging into my library to review some older books that deserve to be revived (and I believe there is a new edition of Christopher Penczak’s Gay Witchcraft in the works for this year), so here we are. There had been some work, particularly from the Radical Faeries, exploring gay male spirituality and Paganism as early as the late 1970s, (Mitch Walker, Larry Mitchell, and Arthur Evans) but these works are not well-known, even inside the gay communities, and their explicit radical and gay liberation tone is not at all what Penczak is about.
Penczak’s book, published by a larger occult publisher and widely distributed, is a very good general introduction to Wicca and witchcraft from an explicitly gay perspective. He covers European prehistory and history (both speculation and documented), queer-positive deities, and then a substantial section on the standard tools, setting up your altar and other nuts and bolts basics. A section on spellcraft ideas and basics, love magick, sex magick, healing magick, the wheel of the year, rites of passage, and finding community and practice.
In most regards this is a Wicca 101 foundations book, well-written, comprehensive introductory material. Naturally, he makes a point of using gay examples where possible, includes a ‘coming out’ ritual in his rites of passage section, a ritual for healing homophobia, explores queer mythology, and his section on sex magick is gay. Pretty well grounded in Gardnerian styled Craft and without a great deal of material that would surprise someone in the more British Traditions end of things.
Good general book, a useful addition to any Wiccan library.
~ review by Samuel Wagar
Author: Christopher Penczak
Red Wheel/ Weiser, 2003, 2025
264 pg. Softcover £15 / $28 Can / $20 US
