Wiccans? Pagans? Recommend a good book I can read to understand what Wiccan and Pagan beliefs are--please...?

Question

I am interested in knowing what your beliefs are all about. Recommend a book that really made an impact on YOUR thinking. Thanks!

Answer 1

Go buy the Idiot's Guide - it is a summary overview without any bias whic you are likely to get from some other sources.

Answer 2

What ever you do do not get the idiots guide! It was written by an idiot with no clue to its subject. My recommendation is Drawing down the Moon by Starhawk. It is a must read by many in the pagan community. Authors that are good are: Starhawk, Amber K, Scott Cunningham. Anything written by them will give you the insight you are looking for.

One that made an impact on me, the witches bible by the Ferrarrs. However it is written on an Alexandrian (the tradition of the Ferrarrs) view point. Also if there is an occult supply store in your area, go in and ask them if they can recommend any good books.

Answer 3

The Idiot's Guide is fairly accurate - glosses over some fine points where things can be more complex that is explained, but as a general overview, not too bad. Margot Adler's "Drawing Down the Moon" (revised edition) is good as well - a little dated, but does a rather good job of showing that there's more variety to Paganism than most modern books do. In fact, if anything, that last bit is the most important thing to get out of any of the books, or to know prior to starting the reading - every book is going to have its biases, its author's (or authors') viewpoints, but there's far more variety to Paganism than can be summed up in any book. A number of modern books present Paganism to be comprised solely of Wicca and "near-Wiccan" practices, at the expense of the non-Wiccan religions.

Answer 4

There are literally hundreds of books on the subjects of Paganism and Wicca. 99.7% of them are full of inaccurate information.

For the purpose of learning about these subjects I really don't recommend books at all. However I understand that this may be all you have to work with at this point. So:

For Paganism in general I would recommend "Drawing Down the Moon" by Margot Adler and anything by Pauline and Dan Campanelli. Ms. Adler's book is essentially enterviews with a number of different Pagans. Some of the information expressed is simply those Pagans opinions and may or may not be accurate. It does give you a very good look at Paganism in America.

For Wicca I recommend "The Meaning of Witchcraft" and "Witchcraft Today" by Gerald Gardner, "Wicca" by Vivianne Crowley, "What Witches Do" by Stewart Farrar, "A Grimoire of Shadows" by Ed Fitch, and "Wiccan Roots" by Philip Heselton. (ANYTHING by Philip Heselton!) I would recommend you stay clear of books by Scott Cunningham, Silver Ravenwolf and Edain McCoy.

Until the books arrive:

http://www.newwiccanchurch.net/
http://www.wargoddess.net/essay/btw.php
http://www.tradwicca.org
http://bruncreate.www8.50megs.com/wicca/wiwicca.html

Answer 5

I have read a lot of the books listed on this recommended reading list for Wicca and I enjoyed them.
http://www.tangledmoon.org/reading_list.htm
My favorites were "The Heart of Wicca" by Ellen Cannon Reed and "Covencraft" by Amber K

For my Celtic path, I like the recommended reading list found here:
http://paganachd.com/faq/readinglist.html
My favorite books are "The Apple Branch: A Path to Celtic Ritual" by Alexei Kondratiev, "The Gods of the Celts" by Miranda Green, and "The Mabinogi and Other Medieval Welsh Tales" by Patrick Ford.

The book that has had the most influence on my life was a fictional book printed in the mid-1970's called "2150AD" by Thea Alexander that describes the metaphysical concepts of Macro Philosophy. I read it when I was a kid and have believed in most of the concepts ever since then.

Authors that I have not liked due to their inaccuracies: Silver Ravenwolf, Edain McCoy, DJ Conway, Stepanich, and Douglas Monroe. These sites explain why:
http://www.cyberwitch.com/wychwood/Library/whenIsACeltNotACelt.htm
http://www.ecauldron.com/opedtarnishedsilver.php
http://wicca.timerift.net/ravenwolf.shtml
http://saille333.home.mindspring.com/21Lessons.htm

Answer 6

Wicca: The Old Religion in the New Age By Vivienne Crowley
Wicca For Life: The Way of the Craft from Birth to Summerland by Raymond Buckland
The Complete Book of Witchcraft by Raymond Buckland
Drawing Down the Moon by Margot Adler

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF4DsggUcPc
http://www.witchschool.com/

Answer 7

Asking "what do Pagans/Wiccans believe?" is like asking "What do Christians believe?"

You're going to feel like the fellow who ordered restaurant soup---sorry that he stirred it up; it was better when he didn't know what was in it.

This is doubly so with Pagans and Wiccans, because we tend to be ornery and independent critters, and it's like herding cats! Get five of us together, and you'll get 14 different opinions.

But _The Spiral Dance_ by Starhawk is a classic, the Idiot's and Dummy's Guides are pretty decent, and Llewllyn (urk! the publisher; hate Welsh spellings) is a major reputable publisher in the alt religions line.

Hope this helps, and come on back with more questions!

Answer 8

You'll read all the glowing reviews, so to balance things out, here are the books Wiccans DON'T want you to read:

Crafting The Art of Magic by Adian Kelly (a daming expose' on the evolution of Wicca as an s and m cult) Hard to find, but worth it

Triumph of The Moon by Ronald Hutton ( a professor at Oxford, and not easily dismissed)

The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology by R.H. Robbins
(Sybil Leek HATED this guy and used to heckle him when he gave lectures! He completely dismisses the Wiccan hoax.)

The Good Witch's Bible by Gavin and Yvonne Frost (two pioneers of Wicca teach orgies, pedophillia, incest, wife swapping and more in the name of religion. Blessed Be!)

All these books made an impact on me...and that's why I'm not a Wiccan anymore!

Answer 9

Go look back in some of my answers. I've answered this question before. Start with Raymond Buckland and Scott Cunningham. Buckland was responsible for introducing Wicca to the US. Cunningham is just as legitimate.

To spamahoy: Are you serious?? Do you really think anyone's going to take you seriously with a name like that? FUNDIE ALERT!

Answer 10

I'd have to list these:

The Earth Path - Starhawk
Pagan Spirituality - Joyce and River Higginbotham
The Spiral Dance - Starhawk

as having the most impact on my personal spiritual path.

"Pagan Spirituality" is actually the second book they've written. If you're just starting out, "Paganism" would probably be a better choice.

Answer 11

This website has a lot of good information and articles written by various people. There are also several booklists available and even lists of people you can get in touch with who can help answer any questions you have.

Also this is NOT a joke... there are a couple of good books called "the Idiot's Guide to Wicca" (and also one for Paganism). These books are SERIOUS and have a lot of good info for the beginner in both of these areas.

BB!