Aquilus Vampire and Pagan Forum

If someone was interested in picking up a book on Witchcraft or pagan paths, which author would you suggest? Or which book would you suggest for their first book to read?

In a way that's kind of hard to pick.  Some of the books that have a very good grounding and that I loved near the start of my practice I (and others) find rather "fluffy" these days, but there is no denying a lot of the basic information is still good.  There have been a lot of changes in pagan writings over the years. 

If I was going to pick authors, I'd have to pick Scott Cunningham and Raymond Buckland.  Some of Buckland's is rather path-specific, but the techniques work no matter which path you ultimately choose, and I've found in meetings with other pagans that a lot of covens who run beginner classes use "Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft" (aka Buckland's big blue book...lol) as their textbook.  He does teach one method, however, and doesn't really offer alternatives.  For example, someone else in another book....(very possibly Kerr Cuhulain's "Full Contact Magick" but I'm not positive....I would strongly recommend this book as well, though, it's one of my VERY favorites), mentions the teaching of calling on Watchtowers when casting a circle and makes you think about exactly what a watchtower is and asks, "are you in a place or situation where you need a watchtower specifically, or would you be better served by calling the element in general instead?"  Are you seeking protection, or do you want the energies of the elements to join in your working?  Watchtowers are protections that sit just on the outer edges of the circle instead of calling the elements to the inside of your circle, and you should think about what you really NEED instead of blindly using one method.  Buckland's just says, "do it like this" and gives the watchtowers version of a circle casting without mentioning there are other ways.

This is one of the reasons I find it harder to pick one beginner book.  So much of the information in Buckland's book is invaluable, but there are things in there like I mention above, and things that are left out that I find integral to my practice, that I've absorbed from others, like Silver Ravenwolf, for example.  I mainly am talking about her trilogy, "To Ride a Silver Broomstick", "To Stir a Magick Cauldron", and "To Light a Sacred Flame".  Admittedly, there are some rather "fluffy" aspects to her writings, and a lot of people complain about that, but there is also a lot of good information in there, and a lot of techniques that I still use today, as well as a lot of things I read in there that I later modified to suit myself better (which I find I do to most things from most books...I read them and say, "I like that, but I'd like it better like this!" and change it or personalize it slightly.)  I can't say anything about any of her other books, I only have those three.  I hesitate these days to recommend them mostly because they have such a rep for "fluffyness" anymore, but they were useful to me!

Scott Cunningham's books are to me more of the basic elements of spell-casting.  He has a number of books that I still use as reference books for herbalism and crystals, and explores the elements and their uses in magick.  He also has some about general practice, like his "Wicca for the Solitary Practicioner" and that kind of thing, which are also good, but I've found his specialty topics more useful personally.

Edain McCoy writes some very worthwhile books as well.  There are others that I'm sure are good, but aside from Christopher Penszak's "Inner Temple of Witchcraft" and "Outer Temple of Witchcraft" the vast majority of what else I have are specialty types, rather than "wicca 101" general books.  (Don't think I'm specifically NOT recommending his either, I just was way beyond wicca 101 by the time I got his and haven't read them closely enough to say they're great or not, I mostly skimmed them.)

I'd suggest getting two or three authors' beginner books to get a good grounding in the basic ritual forms, and perhaps something specific to a tradition the beginner feels drawn to if there is one to get a good rounded idea of the core of the practice, and then supplement with specialty books, like the reference type books like the Scott Cunningham books ("Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magickal Herbs", "The Complete Book of Incense, Oils, and Brews", "Earth, Air, Fire, and Water", DJ Conway's "Crystal Enchantments") because they help you learn which plants, which stones, which elements, are best suited to which purposes.  I'd also strongly suggest something on divination, whether divination in general or on one type in particular that appeals to the learner already.

Later, there are others that explore ritual in more depth, like "The Elements of Ritual" by Deborah Lipp and "Coven Craft" and "Ritual Craft" by Amber K that can greatly enhance your practice and/or your understanding of all of the aspects of a ritual, but I think those are better appreciated once the beginner has a good general grounding.

Ok, you caught me talkative today, this somehow ended up way beyond "recommend a first book for a beginner"....lol....  :)

I think it would be any of Scott Cunningham's books.

Scott Cunningham's Wicca for the Solitary Practicioner, was one of the first books I picked up. To me, his writing is a little flat. And in some areas I didn't think he went into enough explaination. I also picked up Silver Ravenwolf's To Ride a Silver Broomstick, this was before I heard how "Fluffy" she is. That book is good for looking up candle colors, and things of that nature.  But my favorite books have been by Raven Grimassi and Christopher Penczak.  I really like The Inner Temple of Witchcraft by Penczak. By Grimassi, I've read and would definitely recommend Spirit of the Witch, this one is good for those who are completely new to the Pagan world and Witchcraft. I've even shared my copy with a couple of members of my family, so they will have a better understanding on witchcraft and Paganism/Wicca. Currently I'm reading The Witches' Craft by Grimassi, it goes further in to detail then Spirit of the Witch. I'm really enjoying it so far, there's a few times though that Grimassi gets a little carried away with his references he uses in different chapters.

Scott Cunningham and David Harrington ~ The Magical Household
Scott Cunningham ~ Wicca ~ A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner

Stewart and Janet Farrar ~ Spells and How They work

Dorothy Morrison ~ The Craft

Marion Green ~ Practical Magic

Also, anything by Raymond Buckland and Gerald Gardner. 

The first book I ever picked up on Wicca/Witchcraft was Ravenwolf's To Ride a Silver Broomstick. It was okay, if not a little fluffy. I had also done a lot of online research beforehand, so I knew the basics. After that, I ended picking up To Stir a Magick Cauldron and Fiona Horne's Magickal Journey. Unfortunately, most of the books I seem to pick up seem to either be fluffy, or written in a "you shall do it this way and not any other way" tone. Some stuff is good, but just take everything with a grain of salt. It also helps to take from a book what is useful to you, and add that to your magickal practices.

The first book I was given was also Ravenwolf's To Ride a Silver Broomstick. I broke down in tears after reading her version of the Charge of the Goddess. However I have to agree that she tried to hard to make the Craft accessable to the uninitiated. I much rather tell people to start with Buckland or Cunningham. Mostly because if you can make it through their textbook mentality then I figure you are on the right path LOL. But seriously I have found a couple of other books that are perfectly fine to start with.

Witchcraft, Theory and Practice is a very practical guide to rituals, spellcasting, and sorcery ( as the author puts it.) It was written by Ly deAngeles. She's been writing for decades and has alot to say about the "pomp and ceremony" that most modern Wiccans practice today. She cuts right past it to the basics.

Green Witchcraft by Ann Moura is also a good primer for a more shamanistic path. Though it is becoming harder to find a copy of this one on the book store shelves. You could probably get it at Amazon or Llewellyn's website.

I made it through Cunningham's textbook mentality, so I guess I'm on the right path :P
I have to agree though, if you're just starting out or curious, his books are an easy read.

 :P Right back Undead_elf. You have to admit that they both have a very dry way of writing and I know some who I've helped along the way simply couldn't do it. They said it was too much like school :lol: I thought that was the point of studying the Craft.

Anyway, like I said, if they can make it through and still retain what they learned, then I usually figure they are going to stick it out and make a decent Witch. After all, magick is one part Will, one part Soul, and two parts paperwork LOL!

LOL..........the first witchcraft book that I ever bought/read was " To Ride A Silver Broomstick" by Ravenwolf  :lol: That is really coincidental!

I am no longer considered a Neo-Pagan, per se, but I dabbled into it before I moved onto Shaktism. 


I honestly would recommend Scott Cunningham's books, just as many others in this thread said.

 I have read Silver Ravenwolf's Teen Witch and then I checked out her other books (I did not read all of the other books, more like skimmed).  Suffice to say, I was not impressed because she seemed condescending and she also seemed like she was exploiting teenagers and spent a good amount of time overly criticizing Christians; do not get me wrong, I am fine with a little bit of it for maybe a paragraph or so, but a lot of it turns off people and can drive them away from Wiccan or even Witchcraft in general.  While some of the things she has to say is an okay start for those who want to learn a bit about Neo-Paganism, you have to really take everything she says with a lot of skepticism.  Some of the things that she claims can be misleading if you rely solely on her.  I also know that sometimes, her resources are not reliable. 

A general critique that can apply to a lot of Neo-Pagan books is that Neo-Paganism is so individualistic that the authors will sometimes end up putting more of their personal beliefs in their writing than what would help people understand general Neo-Paganism.  While flexibility in a religion is not a problem in itself, sometimes the authors do not always talk about general Neo-Paganism and instead, talk about their own way of practicing it and no other way.  While the Hindu authors that I have read are sometimes guilty of this, I have not seen it so much and it is usually an established fact that it is a family of religions and not just one religion (provided the author is half decent in writing the book).  At any rate, I digress.



I probably spent more of this thread criticizing Silver Ravenwolf and some of the Neo-Pagan literature that I have seen, but I hope this thread can be helpful to anyone who is sincerely seeking information.  I honestly cannot recommend just one book, but many books with Neo-Paganism, at least for those who sincerely want to make a distinction between Neo-Paganism trends, as well as the 'traditional trends' of the religions that they base their practices off of.  If an author does a good job of avoiding the claim that their religion was the oldest religion, as well as a book that is done somewhat with modesty and with less 'fluffiness', I think the person found a good starter book.



Sincerely,
TheRadiantSeraphim

I think the best thing I can recommend to someone starting out is to read as much as you can-anything you can.
Compare the things you read. Find what seems right to you.

Go to a Pagan bookstore (or sometimes a new age bookstore) and talk to people about the books.
I have found some very interesting people in "New Age" or "Pagan" bookstores and have learned a lot about the books from them.

If you see that the person who works there in knowledgeable ask them for advise about the books. Often people who work in these stores practice.

I really don't think any one book should be relied on for all of your information.

I think it depends on the comfort level of the person.   Some people  could jump into it with Scott Cunningham's book first, because it looks "harmless"  and safe.   

Raymond Buckland's "beginner" book, is a bit more blatant.

Silver's beginner book trilogy was in-between those two.

Now if someone wanted to jump into and not look back they could start with Christopher Penzack's books ( :btw: they are some of the few that I've read where the author actually explains how to do certain techniques that are talked about in other books, but he's one of the few to actually walk you through it.)

Now...personally...I think any one book that is written by an author sympathetic to paganism that offers a basic covering of the beliefs and traditions...is the better place to start.


Me, I started with Scott Cunningham's book Wicca for the Solitary and Silver RavenWolf's Book of Shadows for the New Generation (you know, the big brown thick book), and Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magickal Herbs.

Christopher Penzack's book Ascension Magick is the only book I have of his so far, and I really like it. He does walk you through things, which is really nice.  :)

I really enjoy Christopher Penzak as well. I like his writing style, it's like you are getting a one on one with him and he makes you feel a little more relaxed in my opinion. I have 4 of his books so far and really enjoy them.