Witches, Wiccans, and Pagans?

Question

Which books would you consider "required" reading? Which books would you tell others to avoid?

Answer 1

After 25 + years, I have collected and read most of what is out there, and unfortunately have wasted a lot of money in the process. Of all my books, the two that I continue to refer back to time and time again are also the first two books I ever read on the subject. Those are my "must reads" whenever someone asks because of their accuracy and readability, and are:
1. The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Goddess by Starhawk

2. Positive Magic: Occult Self-Help by Marion Weinstein

The books by Scott Cunningham are also great resources; in particular Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner and The Truth About Witchcraft Today

Although Adler's Drawing Down the Moon is thoroughly researched and accurate, it is not as interesting (and easy) a read as those on my list.

I noticed that many people are suggesting you avoid the books published by Llewellyn, but not all their books are bad (for example, Llewellyn publishes at least 5 of Scott Cunningham's books--and as already mentioned--they are good resources). The problem with Llewellyn is that many of thier books offer nothing new; they contain the same information rehashed and just arranged differently with a new title.
Good reading and Blessed Be.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

There is a lot of good and bad material out there regarding Wicca and Paganism. Paganism, being a term for a collection of dozens of different beliefs and religions, has also a great deal of information out there about those different religions. Speaking specificly from a Wiccan point of view, there are some very good authors out there. Wicca does not have specificly a "required reading" though there are som texts that are considered a form of sacred text, including the Gardnerian Book od Shadows, which contains many individual pieces such as the Charge of the Goddess, the Descent of the Goddess, and some of the basis of the Wiccan ritual system. Aradia, by Charles Leland, is also important to Wicca, some of the basis for the religion comes from this text. You can find them both, and several other texts here:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/index.htm

For beginners, I normally suggest Exploring Wicca by Lady Sabrina, it is a good beginner text with some basic information about Wicca. Margot Adler's Drawing Down the Moon is also a very good book, especially from a historical value of early Wicca in the United States. Some other very good Wiccan authors to check out are:
Gerald Gardner
Doreen Valiente
Scott Cunningham
Patricia Crowther
Janet and Stuart Farrar
Dianne Sylvan
Ronald Hutton
Adaine Kelly
Lord AmonRaHa (due out later this year)

I hope this is a help. There are also a lot of websites out there with some interesting information. With most all books and websites, I recomend comparing them to other information, and reading them with a little discretion. There is a lot of bad information out there, especially on the internet. And, if you have any questions about it, you can always come back here to ask.

BB
Lord AmonRaHa

Answer 4

For starters, I recommend two books:

"Contemporary Paganism" by Graham Harvey is an excellent introduction to neopagan religions that's not as Wicca-centric as Adler's "Drawing Down the Moon". It's also not as dry as the latter text.

"The Four Powers: Magical Practice for Beginners of All Ages" by Nicholas Graham is the book for the person who either A) isn't sure what path to take or B) has been following a particular path for a while but would like to branch out into something else. Graham does a great job of explaining the various paradigms and models of magic, and the exercises in the book are designed to help the reader narrow down hir choices.

Beyond that, it all depends on what specific area of paganism you're looking at. While I don't think everything the bigger publishers put out is bad (all publishers have good and not so good books) I have a tendency to look for more obscure, small-press books, simply because a lot of what's found in the local B&N is a bunch of rehashes of the same stuff. This isn't to say that there's nothing good on the shelves, but it's not particularly diverse, and after a few years you start looking for books beyond the usual Wicca 101 stuff.

If you want to see what I've thought of a whole slew of pagan books, check out my review blog at http://lupabitch.wordpress.com - it's a lot easier than having me list them all here!

Also, take what I say with a grain of salt--I'm an author myself who prefers going the small press route ( http://www.thegreenwolf.com if you're curious).

Answer 5

Merry Meet all and sundry, because of the fact the definitions are know at present: All Wiccans ARE Witches. All Witches are actually not inevitably Wiccan, and all Wiccans/Witches are Pagan, yet Pagans are actually not inevitably Wiccans or Witches. In easy and Love, Alawnduin

Answer 6

Love your luck dragon.

Each pagan's path is a deeply personal one. What inspires one might not interest another. Some may prefer to use Fairy imagery, others seem to prefer different ones.

It's a overall attitude of "life affirming" & respect of diversity that binds Pagans.

Having said that, I'd suggest looking at the background of Authors/Publishers before chosing to read or ignore a publication. Somethings like a book came from a Fundemetal chuch's press then it'll obviously have a Anti-pagan bias.

.

Answer 7

For beginning Wiccans, I usually recommend "Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner" by Scott Cunningham, and "The Triumph of the Moon" by Ronald Hutton. I also consider "Drawing Down the Moon" by Margot Adler and "The Spiral Dance" by Starhawk to be seminal volumes.

I generally advise people to stay away from anything by Silver Ravenwolf, for reasons outlined in the following essay:

http://wicca.timerift.net/ravenwolf.shtml

Answer 8

If you are looking for nonfiction works, several authors I would recommend for a wide spectrum of reading, in no particular order, are:
Scott Cunningham
D. J. Conway
Patricia Telesco
Margot Adler
Silver Ravenwolf
Raymond Buckland
Ted Andrews
Migene Gonzalez-Wippler
Sandra Kynes
Fiction-wise, there is plenty of Wicca and Pagan-themed reading.My fav Wicca-theme writer is Isobel Bird. I think she did a fabulous job educating and entertaining with her series "Circle of Three".Cate Tiernan has two great Wicca-themes series, "Sweeps" and her more recent "Balefire "series about twin sisters who are also New Orleans' Witches.You might also like Celia Rees's "Witch Child" and "Sorceress" about a child who flees European persecution of her for being a witch only to find the same problem existing in the country she flees to, America.Rosemary Edghill wrote a fantastic mystery Wiccan trilogy "The Bast Novels": "Speak Daggers to Her", "Book of Moons", and "The Bowl of Night". All three can be found in one book, "Bell, Book, and Murder".M. R. Sellars also has written some good adult Wicca-themed mysteries. He has a series going with a St. Louis Wiccan named Rowan Gant as the main character.And Silver Ravenwolf also has written some pretty good adult mystery fiction: "Murder at Witches' Bluff" and "Beneath a Mountain Moon", and her Witches Chillers young adult series is ok: #1 "Witches Night Out", #2 "Witches Night of Fear", and #3 "Witches' Key to Terror"."The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare, "Gallows Hill" by Lois Duncan, and "Beyond the Burning Times" by Kathryn Lasky are three great books of fiction based on the witch trials. All three authors have also written other great works.Hope you find something you like here.

Answer 9

Avoid: Anything written by Gavin and Yvonne Frost, and any of those cutesy books about love or money spells.

Read: Drawing Down the Moon by Margot Adler, Wicca for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham, Positive Magick by Marion Weinstein, science texts and magazines, information on herbs.

But the most important thing to read, really, is the world around you.

Answer 10

Required Reading:

"Real Magic' by Isaac Bonewitz
"God Against the Gods" by Jonathan Kirsch
Anything and everything by Joseph Campbell

*** These are VERY good for ANY Pagan/Heathen path


As for books to avoid, pretty much anything published by Llewellyn, anything written by Slaver Ravingwolf (Silver Ravenwolf), and anything that has nothing scholarly cited as references in the back of the book.