Any books recommendations on Wicca?

[Valz]

Greetings,

I was wondering if anyone here could recommend a good book on Wicca, to get started with the religion and learn it? I have heard a couple: Heart of Wicca, Philosophy of Wicca, A Witches Bible, etc. Which one do you recommend?


Thanks in advance,
Valz

[RubyRose]

I'd have to go with A Witches Bible personally. Also Scott Cunningham's books are pretty good for beginners.

[Mouse]

The best book on wicca I ever read was "a witches magical handbook" by the frosts. I'm not sure if it is that good for beginners, like cunningham's, but its basically the only book i have not picked apart or heard being picked apart.

[Sage Rainsong]

I really liked the book , Where to park your broomstick by lauren manoy. I read it when I was neither a teen or a newbie but I still couldn't put it down.

[cjtarot]

Hi,

My favorites are: Idiots guide to Witchcraft (don't laugh) and Wicca by Scott Cunningham.

I also have the Grimoire for the Green Witch. This is a GREAT ref. book. Just wish there was an index..lol..have to look thru the whole book for stuff, which prob. isn't such a bad thing..

CJ

[Arion]

A Witches' Bible is very good, yet its quite Gardnerian and emphasises male-female magical partnerships, which may or may not be a problem for you. I prefer to think that everyone possessed male/female polarity in themselves. the information on the sabbats, ethics, rationale of witchcraft, witchcraft and sex, reincarnation etc. is fanatastic. I would also recommend books by Starhawk and Drawing Down the Moon by Margot Adler.

[blacksatin]

My best advice to you is to read every book (or ebook) you can gain
access to that does not appear to be too hokey. I am personally not a fan
of any book that includes the full text of a book of shadows or spells with
specific instructions that are "guaranteed to work" if properly performed.
If you happen to want to pick up one of these, I'd use it as more of a
model or as guidelines for your own bos and spellwork.

But before you get into any of this stuff, I reccomend you read some
actual books that are written from an educated/religion class/historical
standpoint. An easy way to identify these sort of books is by the fact that
the author's credentials do not include that they were a high priest for 25
years, or the author does not assert to the reader anything pertaining to
their own religious preferences. This type of book is usually written by a
religious scholar from a somewhat neutral standpoint.
Try Pagan and Christian Creeds: their origin and meaning, by Edward
Carpenter.
here's a link to a free online copy:
http://www.bookrags.com/ebooks/1561/

Also browse this site for some gems:
http://www.sacred-texts.com/index.htm

I hope this helps.

blacksatin

[Ron]

Ditto. Read every book in the bookstore, just go in and take a chair. loll. The bookstore is an international Pagan library.

[fireswimmer]

I am not someone to tell you to read every book. Find a book or two, I am sorry that I can nto offer suggestions, figure out where you would like to focus, and get oput of the "new age" section. Take the areas that you would like to focus on and do some meditation, talk to the spirits, see where your path guides you.

Continuing to read is an idea, but look at different books. For example, if you like crystals and stones I think that the Crystal Bible is fabulous, and so it Love Is in The Earth. They explore stones quite well. For me, I follow a lot of modern day Mayan beliefs. My research is done mainly at a college library searching through journal periodicals. I have no idea how to telnet into the databases so I sit in the library.

I love the suggetsion of looking for non pagan perspectives. If you are interested in a specific culture, study it! You would be amazed at what types of information there is out there on different cultures. The research often exceeds what some pagan writers put into theirs. I know that we have well respected authors on this site. I am not trying to be offensive and I am not trying to defame any of them. I am not naming names, but it is true that there are a lot of less than stellar pagan authors when it comes to historical accuracy.

Don't be afraid of looking at a culture or a belief from different stand points. It is okay if the author disagrees with something you believe in. Why do they disagree? Is there validity to their statements? Look at their words and see if they strengthen your beliefs or weaken them.

[StarSpiral]

There's a Books Forum in the Special Interests Section where you can read lots of reviews of various books and there is an ongoing thred about reccomended books. You can also use the "Search" feature along the top to look up "beginner books" or the name of a specific book or author.

Good luck!

[Ben Gruagach]

There's a Books Forum in the Special Interests Section where you can read lots of reviews of various books and there is an ongoing thred about reccomended books. You can also use the "Search" feature along the top to look up "beginner books" or the name of a specific book or author.

Good luck!

What StarSpiral said... plus be sure to look for the "sticky" threads at the top of the thread list in each area. They tend to be the things that are most important for newcomers to read, or are topics that come up over and over again.

Here are some direct links to some of the relevant threads for you:

http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=52948 (good advice for Wiccans starting out)
http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=3733 (recommended reading list)
http://www.mysticwicks.com/showthread.php?t=54567 (free books online)

[Wiccamagikal]

I would definetly recommend Raymond Bucklands work, there is one I think it is Complete Book of Witchcraft. I would check that out...I think you may be able to get it at a public library (I got mine from amazon.com I think)
hope this helps,
BB