{"id":1370,"date":"2018-04-21T13:27:33","date_gmt":"2018-04-21T21:27:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/?p=1370"},"modified":"2018-04-21T13:27:33","modified_gmt":"2018-04-21T21:27:33","slug":"recommended-reading-for-new-witches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2018\/04\/recommended-reading-for-new-witches.html","title":{"rendered":"Recommended Reading for New Witches"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

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Photo by Natalia Y on Unsplash<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

I\u2019m often asked what books would I recommend for someone who is new to Witchcraft.\u00a0 Sometimes I feel like they would get just as good an answer asking a moss-covered rock, because that\u2019s often exactly what I feel like.\u00a0 My recommendations haven\u2019t changed much over the years, despite my library steadily growing.\u00a0 That\u2019s not to say that I haven\u2019t read some awesome books, but I tend to focus my attention (and available reading time) on specialties versus generic or basic topics.<\/p>\n

Another reason my list is fairly short and unchanging is that I appreciate materials that give foundation without advocating a specific path.\u00a0 Many of us are often born into a specific religion, because that\u2019s what our parents chose for us.\u00a0 But now you\u2019re choosing your own path and spirituality, so you should have as much information and options as possible.\u00a0 I feel giving folks a light framework and the opportunity to explore possibilities much better than \u201cthis is how things are done.\u201d\u00a0 Lastly, I don\u2019t want to overwhelm folks, or give the impression that you can only learn about this stuff from books. Because that\u2019s certainly NOT true<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Drawing Down The Moon<\/em> by Margot Adler
\nI truly wish Margot had been able to write another update to this book before she passed away.\u00a0 Regardless, the research and breadth of information Margot covered is crucial to understanding the roots and landscape of modern Paganism \u2013 particularly if you reside within the US. I do hope that someone (not me) can do an expansive exploration of the who\/what\/where of today\u2019s landscape \u2013 of the same caliber and tone of Margot\u2019s book. No, it\u2019s not going to tell you how to do spells or draw down the moon, but it will give you a solid idea of what different people believe and practice under the large umbrella of Paganism.\u00a0 Then from there, you can easily explore the varieties that interest you most.<\/p>\n

The Rebirth of Witchcraft<\/em> by Doreen Valiente
\nWant to know what was going on over in England in the previous century that got us where we are now? From the horse\u2019s mouth? Then read this book. Doreen\u2019s no-nonsense approach with an easy hand gives a fascinating insight into the people and places that have influenced the larger movement today. Then if you want to keep going down that path history-wise, then check out Triumph of the Moon<\/em> by Ronald Hutton and the biographies on Doreen Valiente and Gerald Gardner by Philip Heselton.<\/p>\n

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Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Witchcraft for Tomorrow<\/em> by Doreen Valiente
\nSo while the previous book primarily dealt with history (which I\u2019m a huge fan of), this book focuses on practice. Witchcraft for Tomorrow<\/em> was Doreen\u2019s answer for solitary practitioners\/people who couldn\u2019t find a coven to work with. Again, her no-nonsense, practical approach gives the reader a good background without fluff or doctrine.<\/p>\n

I do have some fiction that I love to recommend, and I\u2019ll just name two of those for starters:\u00a0 Juniper<\/em> by Monica Furlong (a young adult novel based in Cornwall) and Jitterbug Perfume<\/em> by Tom Robbins (a beautiful exploration of humanity, divinity, and magic).<\/p>\n

After these three books, I recommend people start focusing on areas that interest them \u2013 whether there\u2019s a specific culture (like Italian, Baltic, Irish, etc) or practice (herbalism, divination, etc) or tradition (Feri, Alexandrian, Cochrane, OBOD, etc).<\/p>\n

I know some folks will ask, \u201cBut what about Scott Cunningham, or Silver Ravenwolf, or Raymond Buckland?\u201d\u00a0 I know there are many folks who started with those books \u2013 but I didn\u2019t.\u00a0 And there are other folks who have written excellent books that are geared more towards a slightly more seasoned practitioner and\/or focus on a specific path, so they\u2019re not going to be the ones I recommend for a newbie. I did read The Spiral Dance<\/em> by Starhawk starting out, and I know it made an impression on me, but it\u2019s been so long I feel like I need to reread it before I recommend it to folks today.\u00a0 Same goes for the Green Witchcraft<\/em> series by Ann Moura.<\/p>\n

But I didn\u2019t find my path via any one book. It came from reading a lot of them, following my gut, and figuring out what worked for me.<\/p>\n

To be honest, the book I just finished writing: Weave the Liminal: Living Modern Traditional Witchcraft<\/em> is the book I feel that has been missing from the modern market for those seeking to walk their path as Witches. That is my hope for it at least. But we\u2019ll have to wait until early 2019 for it to be out.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m often asked what books would I recommend for someone who is new to Witchcraft.\u00a0 Sometimes I feel like they would get just as good an answer asking a moss-covered rock, because that\u2019s often exactly what I feel like.\u00a0 My recommendations haven\u2019t changed much over the years, despite my library steadily growing.\u00a0 That\u2019s not to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2676,"featured_media":1382,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[230,12],"tags":[231,104,512,509,506,7,4],"class_list":["post-1370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","category-modernpractice","tag-books","tag-doreen-valiente","tag-margot-adler","tag-new-witch","tag-recommended-reading","tag-witch","tag-witchcraft"],"yoast_head":"\nRecommended Reading for New Witches<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I'm often asked 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