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Click the graphic for purchasing information. Keepers of the Flame: Interviews with Elders of Traditional Witchcraft in America by Morganna Davies and Aradia Lynch   In recent years there has been an explosion of new books released by a variety of publishers that run the gamut from the simple how-to books all the way up to scholarly treatments of Paganism, Neo-Paganism, Wicca, Witchcraft and the occult in general. With a few notable exceptions the subject of Traditional Witchcraft in America has pretty much remained untouched by many of these releases which makes Keepers of the Flame a book that will be of interest to those who have ever wondered about some of the Traditions that currently exist in America and how to contact them. Keepers of the Flame is a collection of interviews from some of the cornerstones of Traditional Witchcraft in America today. This book is an attempt by the authors to collect some of the viewpoints and ideas held by the elders of Traditional groups in America and preserve them for future generations of seekers who will step onto the path after these elders have disappeared from the earthly stage. Hence the image of passing the torch from the elders of the current movement to those who will become the new elders at some point in the future.  The problem with writing a book about Traditional Witchcraft that is aimed at readers beyond those who are already involved within these traditions is that because of the secrecy and lack of public exposure over the years you have to reacquaint your readers with who it is that you are talking about. The authors handled this by splitting the book into two distinct parts. The first part is broken down by tradition and then by those who are interviewed for the book within that tradition. Each tradition is given a short intro which is followed by an introduction to those who will be expressing their opinions in part two. The personal introductions are short and to the point taking only enough space to give the reader some idea as to who the person is and what their affiliations are with the traditions that they will be talking about later. The second part of the book is basically a question and answer session featuring the elders who introduced themselves in part one with each one speaking as a representative of the tradition of which they are an active member. There was a chronological limit imposed on who would be speaking about each tradition as well. For the most part everyone who contributed material to this book became a High Priestess or High Priest before 1980. The questions in this section touched on many topics including: Is the Craft based on Ancient Teachings? , What do you think of the current quality of teaching?, How do you feel about degrees and hierarchy?, and Is a tradition necessary today?. The answers were varied and as expected covered a whole spectrum of feelings, some very open to the current climate and some not caring much for what is happening within Wicca, Witchcraft and Paganism. Keepers of the Flame is not a book of secrets, rituals or even in depth information about Traditional Witchcraft. As per the beliefs of those who practice this form of Witchcraft, that information can only be had by joining a tradition and moving through the degrees. What it does offer is a glimpse of those who are the elders of this movement and how they feel about all the changes that have taken place in the Traditional Craft movement over the last 50 years or so. Some see the "mainstreaming" of our beliefs as a blessing and others think that it would be the worst thing that could happen. The opinions were as varied as the elders who offered them. I would not recommend Keepers of the Flame to everyone but I would recommend it to anyone who is considering Traditional Craft as the path they wish to follow or to those who would like to understand the opinions and attitudes that make Traditional Craft what it is. Some names that you will find in the book will be very familiar such as Raymond Buckland, Hans Holzer, Elizabeth Pepper, Chas Clifton and Leo Martello and others will be totally new to you depending on your own involvement with Traditional groups. For those who are happy on their eclectic, non-traditional, self dedicated path then this book will hold little of interest. For those who are always curious about what is on the other side of the fence then perhaps you might want to take a look at what Traditional Craft is about through the eyes of its elders and see whether or not the grass is greener over there, at least on a personal level that is. An interesting read.