Here are a few examples of the glaring errors Llewellyn authors try to pass off as fact in their manuals. While they may not seem like the most Earth shattering revelations, I'm trying to keep from getting too scholarly, so these examples can be understood by someone who has no knowledge of any specific culture or pantheon. And on to the untruths:  

     1) Pentacles are ancient and ubiquitous Pagan symbols. This is not true! While a few examples of this symbol pop up in Pagan material prior to the 60’s (most notably the red Pentacle on the shield of Sir Gawain, favorite of the Goddess) they seem to have been introduced by Alchemists and other ceremonial magicians from the late medieval/early renaissance period. As for the pentacle’s place in ritual worship, it was introduced by modern Wiccans and had no place in ancient religions.  

     2) that candles (not to mention colored candles) were used in ancient Pagan rituals. Candles are a fairly modern invention as light sources go, and if most ancient rituals (aside from the obvious exceptions of Egyptian and Greek/Roman temples) were performed outside (and evidence suggests that they were) candles would be more of a hindrance than a help - just try keeping them alight with evening breezes blowing and see what I mean. Now, candles were certainly introduced to ceremonial magick during the medieval period, but again, this was a fairly late development, one that definitely does not hark back to the days of the ancient Babylonians.  

     3) that all ethnic-specific deities were known and/or worshipped throughout all of the Pagan world, during any given time period. Again, this is patently false. Most ancient deities were highly localized, often being specific to tribal groups. Certainly some tribal deities were variations of other tribal deities, and certainly worship of some deities became widespread due to warfare and trading, but this was far from a universal occurrence. In order to avoid embarking on a long tangent, those interested in some examples can read them here.