Recommended Witch Books:
Tag: nonfiction
Plato’s Complete Works
Review:
You can learn more about magic and Witchcraft from a handful of Plato's dialogues than you can from a warehouse-full of popular modern books. *Diuvei recommends in particular the Republic, the Symposium, Timaeus & Critias, Phaedo, and the Apology.
Tags
Witchcraft Basics
Influence of Animism on Islam, The
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
Golden Bough, The
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
- cultures
- Roman
- superstition
- magic
- practices
- reference
- folklore
- history
- European
- customs
- Greece
- nonfiction
- mythology
- spells
- symbolism
- cosmology
- Anthropology
- religion
Witchcraft Basics
Great Mother, The
Irish Cures, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions
Review:
Enchanting, authentic, archaic folklore, magic, omens, prophecies, and proverbs compiled by the mother of author-wit Oscar Wilde.
Tags
- charms
- archaic
- collection
- cures
- Irish
- Ireland
- legends
- nonfiction
- mystical
- Pagan
- omens
- magic
- prophecies
- authentic
- proverbs
- superstitions
Witchcraft Basics
Folklore and Odysseys of Food and Medicinal Plants
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
Etruscan Roman Remains
Review:
A facsimile copy of the folklorist’s authentic 1892 masterwork revealing the beliefs, customs, deities, formulas, recipes, rites, and spells practiced and prized by 19th-century Witches in Tuscany. Written by the President of the Gypsy-Lore Society, this classic is the only book to list names of pesky daimons that plague lonely men and women, etc.
Tags
- formulas
- deities
- Italian
- recipes
- rituals
- persecution
- customs
- spellbook
- paganism
- ancient occult philosophy
- nonfiction
- Etruscan
- spells
- incubus
- magical formulas and recipes
- Olde Religion
- Pagan customs
- Pagans
- succubus
- daimons
- Tuscan Witches’ beliefs
- Rites
- European
Witchcraft Basics
Buckland’s Complete Book of Witchcraft
Review:
The famous "blue book" features illustrated, authentically traditional magic authored by the first Gardner-trained Third Degree Witch to publish such material in America. However it cannot, as promised, impart the reader “the equivalent of Third Degree.”
Tags
- healing
- covenwork
- herbalism
- scourging
- gods
- magic
- solitary practice
- goddesses
- occult
- Gardnerianism
- paganism
- Olde Religion
- American
- circle: casting
- Witchcraft
- athamé
- esbats
- Priest
- channeling
- nonfiction
- divination
- dream-work
- ritual
- European
- robe
- sabbats
- grimoire
- spells
Witchcraft Basics
Witchcraft Today
Review:
An expanded edition of the 1954 classic by the father of the modern Witch renaissance. Covers myriad magical topics, including Picts, pixies, Pagan persecution, cauldrons, and Kabbalah, and includes a biography of Gardner and contributions from some Wiccan elders regarding the Olde Religion's past, present, and future.
Tags
- Olde Religion
- elders
- practices
- magical
- Wicca
- Witchcraft
- Pagans
- Witch
- Rites
- ancient
- customs
- authentic
- paganism
- beliefs
- nonfiction
- theology
- spells
- animism
Witchcraft Basics
Witchcraft: The Old Religion
Review:
Magic that rings true, rare interviews with seminal Gardnerian figures, and a fascinating 1970s-era view of the challenges that Wicca’s burgeoning popularity posed the Craft community; written by a Strega practitioner and ground-breaking activist for Pagan and gay rights.
Tags
- Strega
- paganism
- Against Christianity
- nonfiction
- Lady Theos
- Gardnerian
- Sicily
- magic
- Olde Religion
- Witchcraft
- interviews
- Pagans
- Witch
- witches
- Italian
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
- 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
- chthonic
- temple
- ceremonies
- reincarnation
- nonfiction
- liturgy
- burial
- Recommended Reading
- magical: correspondences
- hieroglyphics
- mummification
Witchcraft Basics
Meaning of Witchcraft
Review:
Authentic beliefs, customs, history, practices, and theology of followers of the Olde Religion; written by a public, trained High Priest who ran the Witch Museum on the Isle of Man and is responsible for the Craft’s popularity today.
Tags
- authentic
- Gardner
- Gardnerianism
- Isle of Man
- history
- meaning of Witchcraft
- customs
- Manx
- nonfiction
- traditional material
- Olde Religion
- beliefs
- practices
- museum
- Witch
- theology
- ancient
Witchcraft Basics
An ABC of Witchcraft
Review:
Alphabetized information about Craft beliefs, traditions, lore, and practices; written by a witness to the modern rise of Witchcraft.
Tags
- England
- family traditions
- sabbat
- God
- Gerald Gardner
- Wicca
- Goddess
- Gardnerian
- Witchcraft
- nonfiction
- magic
- ritual
- New Forest Coven
- Pagan
- occult
- 1734 plate
- Olde Religion
- Aleister Crowley
- practices
- witches
- Book of Shadows
- Priestess
- Craft terms
- reference
- paganism
- esbat
- Robert Cochrane
Witchcraft Basics
Goodly Spellbook, The
Review:
Illustrated, definitive, fascinating guide to Witchcraft that explains how everyone can use common ingredients to work effective magic to help themselves, others, and the planet; written by trained, experienced Gardnerians.
Tags
- deities
- Witchcraft
- Crossing Over
- home
- purity
- nonfiction
- paranormal
- essential
- names
- Strega
- Craft terms
- Barbarous Words of Power
- ghosts
- oils
- world
- gods
- America
- culture
- invocation
- Renaissance
- ritual
- Activism
- European
- numbers
- Sumerian
- love
- Gerald Gardner
- body
- Golden Dawn
- oral tradition
- goddesses
- ceremonial magic
- cure
- Italian
- Russia
- sabbats
- African
- fascination
- and squares; medieval
- survival skills
- witches
- Gardnerian
- brew
- Greece
- Pagan dances
- tradition
- Earth
- cursing
- justice
- sacred: geometry
- spells
- Air
- fairies
- Meso-American
- symbolism
- cauldron
- New Forest Coven
- Burning Times
- grimoire
- Paleolithic
- reincarnation
- gatherings
- death
- kitchen
- substances; Santeria
- spirits
- ancient
- fertility
- mind
- travel
- occult
- Celtic
- guide
- persecution
- language
- nature
- daimons
- magical: colors
- scourging
- animals
- Fire
- monotheism
- the Mysteries
- Olde Religion
- chanting
- gypsy
- planet
- paganism
- polytheism
- divination
- décor
- secret
- cosmology
- Asian
- flowers
- mythology
- voces magicae
- practices
- Church
- healing
- practical
- ethics
- Priest
- dreamwork
- gems
- sex
- Pagan
- astrology
- fortunetelling
- Native American
- virtues
- Rites
- Priestess
- compendium
- herbs
- prevent pregnancy
- England
- principles
- Egyptian
- foods
- solitary practice
- Roman
- attraction
- freemasonry
- Norse
- Voudon
- history
- reference
- conjure
- herbal medicine
- protection
- esbats
- spirituality
- Elements
- movement
- spell ingredients
- sites
- authentic
- German
- numerology
- Water
- illustrated
- Wicca
- cooking
- herbalism
- Puritans
- Initiation
- folklore
- entities
- music
- spellwork
- statues
- banish
- gesture
- offerings
- wind
Witchcraft Basics
- By Lady Passion & *Diuvei
- Beliefs, Practices, & Traditions of Pagans, Witches, & Wiccans
- Fortune-telling & Divination
- Healing Arts
- Rituals & Spells
Witch Book
Review:
Alphabetized, oft-illustrated information about magical practices, fads and traditions, and some ancient and modern occultists; written by a trained Gardnerian Witch elder who’d given our The Goodly Spellbook a rave review.
Tags
- Olde Religion
- Witch
- practices
- reference
- Wicca
- Witchcraft
- America
- Craft beliefs and terms
- paganism
- folklore
- nonfiction
- paranormal
- Pagan
- spiritualism
- occult
- table-tipplng
Witchcraft Basics
Plato’s Republic
Review:
A seminal tome by a Classical Pagan who argued that archetypal ideas govern matter and time, and explains magic’s philosophical bases.
Tags
Witchcraft Basics
Witches Bible
Review:
Illustrated with nude photographs, this book features modern British Alexandrian magic with an Irish emphasis; objectionable because: Its title is ungrammatical and contains an Xtian term, the term “complete” is arrogant, and the authors broke vows by including Gardnerian material forbidden to be printed.
Tags
- nudity
- Alexandrian magic
- ritual
- circle: casting
- sabbats
- England
- spells
- God
- spirits
- Goddess
- banishing
- esbats
- covenwork
- Elevation
- Initiation
- Ireland
- nonfiction
Witchcraft Basics
Drawing Down the Moon
Review:
Craft history, information about diverse magical practitioners, groups, and Covens, and resources; written by a traditionally trained Gardnerian Witch; the author included information about Coven Oldenwilde in this 20th-anniversary update of her 1986 original edition.
Tags
- nonfiction
- reference
- interviews
- ritual
- Wicca
- nature
- cosmology
- Witchcraft
- Pagans
- Craft terms
- America
- witches
- polyamoury
- Gerald Gardner
- ceremonial magic
- polytheism
- Gardnerian
- Druids
- history
- Priest
- magic
- Earth
- tradition
- principles
- occult
- Feri
- paganism
- spirituality
- Olde Religion
- gatherings
- God
- practices
- Goddess-Worshipper
- Goddess
- Priestess
- heathen
Witchcraft Basics
Alexandria: The Journal Of The Western Cosmological Traditions
Alexandria 1: The Journal of Western Cosmological Traditions
Vol. 1, ed. David Fideler (1991 Phanes Press)
Alexandria 2: The Journal of Western Cosmological Traditions
Vol. 2, ed. David Fideler (1994 Phanes Press)
Alexandria 3: The Journal of Western Cosmological Traditions
Vol. 3, ed. David Fideler (1995 Phanes Press)
Review:
Explorations of Pagan topics such as the Life of Hypatia, an Orphic Hymn to Artemis, the Sacred Geography of the Ancient Greeks, The Science & Art of Animating Statues, and Pythagorean Harmonics, etc.; written by academic researchers and magical practitioners.
Tags
- cosmology
- Roman
- Gnostic
- sacred architecture
- Greek
- harmonics
- Hypatia
- hymns
- Mantinea
- sites
- history
- Orphic
- statues
- paganism
- Orphism
- Western magical traditions
- God
- Pagan
- Goddess
- philosophy
- nonfiction
- religion
- Artemis
- research
