'Sign of the Witch' back cover blurb

I am totally honoured and chuffed that David Waldron asked me to provide a blurb for the back of his new book 'Sign of the Witch' (Carolina Academic Press 2008). Here's what I said:

The contemporary Witchcraft movement is increasingly finding itself under the spotlight of academia’s critical gaze. While to some adherents the examination of our history, beliefs and structure appears as a bright and intrusive light probing the dark crevices and tangled tales of our beloved tradition, for others objective academic scholarship is exciting and a welcome aid in the process of self-reflexivity. Waldron’s identification and critique of the core aspects of the modern Witch’s identity provide what should be seen as an invitation for practitioners to remove our rose-coloured glasses approach to our own history and instead to take on board the results of rigorous investigation. For the general public, by whom Witches are so often misunderstood, an academic examination of the movement can only enhance the likelihood of tolerance and understanding that are the essence of religious pluralism.