Recommended Witch Books:
Folklore, Myth, & Superstition
Amulets and Superstitions
Review:
Seminal tome; written by a British Museum Keeper of Egyptian and Assyrian Antiquities.
Tags
Witchcraft Basics
Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead
Review:
Lavishly bound English translation of breathtaking facsimile illustrations from ancient papyri and carvings explaining how the dead should propitiate ancient Egyptian psychopomps and deities to earn rest and reincarnation.
Tags
- chthonic
- temple
- ceremonies
- reincarnation
- nonfiction
- liturgy
- burial
- Recommended Reading
- magical: correspondences
- hieroglyphics
- mummification
- Egypt
- names; Nile
- tomb
- mummy
- history
- pharaohs
- pyramids
- masks
- afterlife
- Rituals & Spells
- costumes
- personification
- illustrated
- Africa
- art
- deities
- tradition
- language
- gods
- customs
- stone-carving
- goddesses
- appearance
- embalming
- pantheon
Witchcraft Basics
Aradia Gospel of the Witches
Review:
Authentic 19th-century Stregheria (Italian Witchcraft) liturgy, mythos, spells, and traditions descended from a medieval-era, roaming female Witch named Aradia, who taught the oppressed how to use magic to protect themselves from their rich overlords. Leland, a British folklore researcher, acquired the information in this book from a Strega known as Maddalena. In the 20th century, Doreen Valiente adapted and popularized the “Charge of the Goddess” from this book.
Tags
- techniques
- witches
- Western magical tradition
- rituals
- Witchcraft
- folklore
- Witch
- practical
- Etruscan-origin Italian spells
- spellbook
- Strega magic
Witchcraft Basics
Christianity: The Origins of a Pagan Religion
Christianity: The Origins of a Pagan Religion
Philippe Walter, tr. Jon E. Graham (Inner Traditions, 2006)
Review:
“Reveals how Christian mythology of the Middle Ages had more to do with paganism than the Bible; identifies pagan deities that were incorporated into each of the saints; shows how all the major holidays on the Christian calendar are modeled on long-standing pagan traditions.” Also much useful info on various olde Pagan Sabbat traditions.
Witchcraft Basics
Witchcraft-related Subjects
Encyclopedia of Goddesses and Heroines
Review:
Lore about Goddesses worldwide, including their magical correspondences and powers, feast days, myths, and much more.
Tags
- Native American
- sea
- Earth
- Sumerian
- sky
- nature
- Water
- South American
- Air
- wind
- spring
- Asian
- Goddesses: African
- storm
- Celtic
- angry
- summer
- Egyptian
- autumn
- volcanoes
- European
- mountain
- warrior
- Fire
- rain
- winter; history
- Meso-American
- raped
- God
- legend
- mythology
- river
- reference
- lore
Witchcraft Basics
Folklore and Odysseys of Food and Medicinal Plants
Folklore and Odysseys of Food and Medicinal Plants [Illustrated Edition]
Ernst and Johanna Lehner (Farrar Straus Giroux, 1973)
Review:
Pen-and-ink illustrations of ancient Pagan glyphs and plants decorate this exploration of ancient, medicinal herbal lore and the magical uses of food.
Tags
Witchcraft Basics
Folklore of the Scottish Highlands
Review:
Mystical, revealing details of ancient and olde Scottish Highland Pagans written in a balanced sympathetic and objective manner by a Gaelic-speaking archaeologist and magical practitioner.
Tags
Witchcraft Basics
Golden Bough, The
The Golden Bough: The Classic Study In Magic
Sir James G. Frazier (1890 et seq.; this reprint by Papermac, 1990)
Review:
Magical myths, folklore, customs, and practices of cultures worldwide compiled by a Scottish anthropologist. While its material is sometimes scattered or specious, it remains a valuable resource. (Actual book cover not shown.)
Tags
- customs
- Greece
- nonfiction
- mythology
- spells
- symbolism
- cosmology
- Anthropology
- religion
- cultures
- Roman
- superstition
- magic
- practices
- reference
- folklore
- history
- European
Witchcraft Basics
Great Mother, The
The Great Mother: An Analysis of the Archetype
Erich Neumann, trans. Ralph Manheim (Princeton/Bollingen, 1991)
Influence of Animism on Islam, The
The Influence of Animism on Islam, an Account of Popular Superstitions (Classic Reprint)
Samuel Marinus Zwemer, pre-1923 (facsimile reprint, Forgotten Books, 2015)
Review:
Exploration of the polytheistic animism that preceded monotheistic Islam, and its continued influence on the later religion and other cultures; written by a Princeton Theological Seminary professor.
Tags
Witchcraft Basics
Witchcraft-related Subjects
Irish Cures, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions
Irish Cures, Mystic Charms, & Superstitions
Lady Francesca Speranza Wilde (1887; Sterling reprint, 1991)
Review:
Enchanting, authentic, archaic folklore, magic, omens, prophecies, and proverbs compiled by the mother of author-wit Oscar Wilde.
Tags
- cures
- Irish
- Ireland
- legends
- nonfiction
- mystical
- Pagan
- omens
- magic
- prophecies
- authentic
- proverbs
- superstitions
- charms
- archaic
- collection
Witchcraft Basics
