Wicca et. al. Bibliography
You might be curious why I didn't make the book titles links to Amazon or some such. It's simple -- I don't like Amazon. I also have a limited use for other big chain bookstores. They have made a point of systematicly destroying local bookstores through what I consider unfair competition and manipulation of their marketshare. I don't like that. Check out your local occult shop. Aside from supporting your community you'll be getting to know some folks. If you must shop online, check out the used bookseller sites such as Abe Books.
Recommended Introductory Texts
Be a Goddess! A Guide to Celtic Spells and Wisdom for Self-Healing, Prosperity and Great Sex by Francesca DeGrandis. -- Yes, the title has an element of silliness to it. That's part of the point. The title is in deadly earnest, too. No, that's not a contradiction. Nor is it a paradox -- there are no paradoxes. If you think there's a paradox, either one of the premises is false, or there's something you don't understand about them. The Sprial Dance: A rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess by Starhawk -- This book is probably responsible for more people discovering Wicca than any other two books combined. It contains a wealth of information presented in a lively and engaging fashion. It's a pity that the vision presented is poisoned by Starhawk's difficulty accepting the God on equal footing with Goddess -- and men on equal footing with women. Even with its flaws, which do decrease slightly each decade when a new edition is released, the book is worth reading. Wicca, A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham. -- Scott broke some very important ground with this book. While many books before it mention Solitary practise as a valid Wiccan Priesthood, Scott was the first to give it the focus it truly deserves.
More Advanced Texts
Witches Bible Complete by Janet and Stewart Farrar -- This is a fairly definitive description of Alexandrain Wicca, which is to say that it's strikingly close to a fairly definitive description of Gardnerian Wicca as well.
Focus on Men and the God
Gods In Every Man by Jean Shinoda Bolen The Flowering Rod by Kenny Klein
Focus on Women and the Goddess
Godesses In Every Woman by Jean Shinoda Bolen
Divination
78 Degrees of Wisdom: A Book of Tarot by Rachel Pollack Futhark by Edred Thorson
Herbalism
Nota Bene:Herbalism, a forerunner of modern medicine is a field in a state of flux. What was yesterday's well-known medical principle is today's quackery, and yesterday's panacea is today's poison... sometimes. Medical information about herbs gets outdated. Don't rely on these books as if they are the Physicians Desk Reference. (For that matter, take the PDR with a grain of salt.) These books remain useful, though, for discussions on how to identify the herbs in the wild and how to use them in incenses and the like.
Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbsby Scott Cunningham Culpeper's Complete Herbalby Nicholas Culpepper
Our Roots
Witchcraft for Tomorrow An ABC of Witchcraft Past and Present The Rebirth of Witchcraft
by Doreen Valiente, who had front row seats to the birthing and childhood of our religion. Witchcraft for Tomorrow also contains a small Book of Shadows for Valiente's vision of solitary practise which may be the first such in publication.
Witchcraft Today by Gerald Gardner Crafting The Art of Magick by Aiden Kelley -- This was easily the most controversial book on Wicca to be published in the last 20 years. Kelley has been the target of much vitriol and criticism for asserting that available evidence indicates that Wicca as such did not exist before being constructed by Gardner in 1939. Interestingly, the criticisms have been of his alleged "hidden agendas," his methodology, his reasoning, and assertions that a lack of data proving the existence of pre-Gardnerian Wicca are unsurprising given persecutions and secrecy. Conspicuously absent from all this, though, is actual refutation of his claims. Vangelo: The Gospel of the Witches by Godfrey Leland
Our Distant Cousins: Other Pagan Religions

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