where can I find good reference books on witchcraft / Wicca?

Answer 1

Try witchvox.com as they will have all the Occult/Wicca shops in your area listed...
Plus a whole lot of links...
Blessed Be... )O(

Answer 2

Um, Ann Moura is a good author, Scott Cunningham is a good author, Raven Silverwolf is a decent author, some folks really like her, some really don't.....depends on what you are looking for, Raven Grissami is also very good. I find some of my best deals on Amazon and on Ebay. Also, you would want to start with some basic books like Scott or Ann or Silver and then work your way up to some other authors. There are many forms of Wicca and Witchcraft, so you might want to read several different authors to decide upon whose books you might like Ann Moura is Green Witchcraft, Scott Cunningham is generalized Wicca, Raven Grissami is Italian Witchcraft, there's also Hedge Witch Authors, Dark Witchcraft authors, Satanic Authors (which I DO NOT reccommend), Nocturnal Witchcraft authors, and many others. Try to find some form that you are interested in and then check out amazon and ebay.

Answer 3

Where to look: major bookstores such as Barnes & Noble or Waldenbooks generally have reference and how-to and related topics grouped loosely under "New Age", although some independent bookstores may just have a Wicca and/or Witchcraft category.

Some public libraries may have titles of interest; it depends in part on where you reside. I wouldn't bother looking in a Kansas public library for anything but the Rev. Montague Summers (a Catholic priest) denunciations of several decades ago.

Witchcraft itself is best studied historically through European myth and folklore as well as the writings of 20th century practitioners, such as G.B. Gardner, J & S Farrar, Doreen Valiente, Patricia Crowther, Margot Adler, Judy Harrow, Deborah Lipp, Phyllis Curott, Jane Thompson, Jane Raeburn, and many others.

In general, you will find the more substantive titles available from publishers such as Thorson, Element, Capall Bann, and Weiser (now Red Wheel/Weiser). The readily available titles from Llewellyn Publishing need to be read with a good reference encyclopedia & entymological dictionary at hand, and some regard for checking "facts" for yourself.

Blessed be,

Deporodh

Answer 4

There is one book that I believe will help you answer your questions about Wicca and Witchcraft and help you get a better understanding of it. It is called Simple Wicca by Michele Morgan. You can pretty much find it at Borders or any place they sell books. Good luck and hopefully it will help you!!

Answer 5

Crafting The Art of Magic by Adian Kelly ( A Wiccan "Tradition Head")
The Triumph of The Moon
Stations of the Sun by Ronald Hutton ( A History Professor at Oxford University, and not easily dismissed.)
Goddess Unmasked: The Rise of Neopagan Feminist Spirituality by Philip G. Davis
Witchcraft and Demonology by Montague Summers
The Encyclopedia of Witchcraft and Demonology by R.H. Robbins
The Myth of Matriarchal Prehistory: Why An Invented Past Will Not Give Women a Future by Cynthia Eller
The Genocide of Women in Hinduism By Sita Agarwal
The ABC of the Occult by Kurt Koch
Cracking Da Vinci's Code by James Garlow
http://usminc.org
http://spiritwatch.org/pagtest1.htm

Principles of Belief, The Council of American Witches (1974)
"11. As American Witches, we are not threatened by debates on the history of the Craft, the origins of various aspects of different traditions. We are concerned with our present, and our future. "

Answer 6

Amazon.com. enter keywords Wicca, Witchcraft, Paganism. Libraries have a usually limited supply and bookstores are nice because you can browse for your own interests. I like the Idiots guide to Wicca for beginners or newbies.

Answer 7

If you aren't ready or able to purchase books from a store whether thru the internet or at an actual store, you ought to try your local library. I think the section is 133 or 134 by the dewey decimal system. Sometimes there are a lot of books by different authors. You can see which ones you like and which ones you don't like without having to spend any money. If you find a book that you like and want to keep for references...you can then purchase it from whatever store you wish.

Answer 8

I'm probably gonna stand out, and get spamed for this, but stay away from the "fluffy, feel good" wiccan books (Ravenwolf, Cunningham, etc). Look for books as old as you can find (the good books are mostly out of print, they don't sell as well as the feel good ones). Check out authors Donald Kraig (who simplifies everything and makes it manageable!), Israel Regardie, E. Levi, Agrippa, anything edited by Chic and Sandra Tabatha Cicero. Almost anything written in the last 30 years is a waste of paper. There are a couple styles of magic/magick (not green, or black, etc...that is lame and if you disagree you need to do more homework), from the simple nature worship to jewish (yes, thats where magick with angels and demons comes from!) magick. Search online, there is a wealth of info out there, you just have to be smart enough to figure out what is crap and what isn't. Check out this link, they sometime have great finds on their rare book section (not supporting all books they sell). Good luck on the information hunting! Any questions or want to discuss things, then send me a im or email. http://www.discountnewagebooks.com/

Answer 9

Many of the larger chains of bookstores like Barnes and Noble, etc. have good selections...I would recommend starting with Scott Cunningham, and Ellen Dugan. A great online book source is Llewellyn.com.

And don't let the bible-thumpers dissuade you, dear. Witches are NOT evil and have nothing to do with the christian satan/devil. In fact, if christians really knew the history of their good book, they would know that the word 'witch' was never in the bible at all until the invention of the printing press, when 'witch' was substituted for the word 'poisoner'...which was during the time of the Inquisition, when hundreds of thousands of innocent European pagans were tortured and murdered by the church of Rome because they refused to convert to christianity. Hmmm...

Anyway, good luck in your research, and I wish you Bright Blessings!

Answer 10

Go to your local independent pagan or occult book/etc. store (http://www.witchvox.com can help you find them in your area - go to the witches of the world pulldown menu on the upper left hadn corner of the main page) Don't patronize B&N, Borders and other chain stores--they put independently owned shops out of business, and they only carry the most basic books, usually rehashes of Wicca 101. Independent stores, on theother hand, generally have a better variety and are more than happy to order books for you. Amazon.com has a lot of books, but they do nothing for your local community. Go to your local shop, and you're giving back to the community and you're supporting more diversity in pagan publishing.

As for book suggestions, I have a pagan book review blog at http://lupabitch.wordpress.com - make sure you check out the links to other reviewers on the left sidebar partway down the page.

Answer 11

The best source for this is amazon.com
I reccomend "True Magick" by Amber K., and "The Spiral Dance" by Starhawk.
Those will give you some basics.
Also, any book by Scott Cunningham or Raymond Buckland is good.
These can be found on amazon.com