Great Book

Actually it isn't
I would reccemend "Wicca and Witchcraft for Dummies" before that one or most of Her books tbh.

http://www.amazon.com/Wicca-Witchcraft-Dummies-Diane-Smith/dp/0764578340/sr=1-1/qid=1160950453/ref=sr_1_1/102-2625599-4103323?ie=UTF8&s=books


What I would reccamend would be Marion Green's A witch a lone.
http://www.amazon.com/Witch-Alone-New-Thirteen-Natural/dp/0007133235


I would not consider these either to be Great books but good places for some one startig off.

Silver Ravenwolf's book is not about Wicca if it was she would have to be a linaged high preistess
and would have to be forsworn her oaths to write and print such books.
Her books are about magick and witchcraft and what is term Electic or McWicca for the masses.

For my two cents I would say that a really great book for beginner, intermediate and even experianced you should look to titles by Pyllis Curott. Particuluarly her book 'Witch Crafting'.



http://www.amazon.com/Witch-Crafting-Spiritual-Guide-Making/dp/0767908457/sr=8-1/qid=1160955096/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-1705871-8257525?ie=UTF8

other books that I would recomend,
The first book I ever read 'A Spiral Dance' by Starhawk

http://www.amazon.com/Spiral-Dance-Anniversary-Ancient-Religion/dp/0062516329/sr=8-1/qid=1160956450/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1/104-1705871-8257525?ie=UTF8

and 'Drawing Down The Moon' by Margot Adler

http://www.amazon.com/Drawing-Down-Moon-Goddess-Worshippers-America/dp/014019536X/sr=8-2/qid=1160956013/ref=pd_bbs_2/104-1705871-8257525?ie=UTF8&s=books

These can be a bit feminist for some as they were first published more so as part of the so called Goddess revival of the 1970's and 80's. But if you can look at the core principles and practices behind them they are very strong titles and have stood the test of time and agian are a must for anyones bookshelf be they new to the craft or an experianced Priestess.

Anyone notice the lack of broomsticks, cauldrons, oversized pentagrams, pointy hats and black cats on the covers of these books... hey and no velvet or ribbon too!!!

If anyone has genuine interest in learning the hard way or has an interest in specific areas of craft and wicca I do have a number of booklists that I can reccomend from.

and no 'how to make him fall in love with you' spells either!!!

In all seriousness though. There are some really bad books out there. Especially those that are aimed at young people. As a rough guide I would suggest that if you want to read the work of a good author and dont know who is good and who is not there are a few simple things to do
Firstly, look at the front cover. Mainly the title. If it says 'Wicca' or 'Teen' then its not a good idea. To my knowledge (correct me if Im wrong anyone) no one who can claim to be Wiccan has written a book with the word Wicca in the title. Then secondly. Witchcraft is not for children. Yes children can be raised in the traditions but they would be introduced to elements such as awarness and understanding and prayer to deity, the celebration of the seasons and the cycles of life. They would not perform ritual or be asked to hold and manipulate energy, they would not interact with entities by invitation and would not stand alone in circle and they would certainly not be initiated untill they have come of age. Therefore any authour who puts togeather a 'teach yourself witchcraft for teens' book is by default irresponsable. The fact that they are directly marketing at such a market is unethical and taking advantage of the emotional rollercoaster that is puberty.
Secondly, always look at the table of contents in a book. The contents of the book mentioned by skateing dragon makes me cringe. When every single chapter includes 'Shadow' in the title it cant be good.
And Thirdly, If your not sure ask someone whos opinion you trust. If you dont know anyone, evaluate the various reviews that most have on amazon or similar sites.

joseph dawton wrote:

If I wanted to become a Bhuddist, Jew or Muslim would anyone suggest I start with the idiots/dummies guide? Probably not - I think the same principle applies to paganism.

Not if you wre thinking of becoming a "whatever" if you were looking for information and an informative book on the terms and concepts of "whatever" then yes I would reccamend the for Dummies series.

Have you seen/read the wicca and witchcraft for dummies book ?

skateing dragon wrote:

Okay i guess i was wrong its just finding a Good Wicca Book in shops around here is kinda hard.

Nope you just need to know what a good book is.
Hell I picked up my copy of the witches bible in books unlimited.
Hughes and Green's carry that and a range of the other books.
You will also find some of the good ones in Easons.
The the time to have a good read of the back of the book and the references off the back and then try holding the book , closing your eyes, finding your quiet space and asking your gods is this for me and wait for an answer or an indication.

Seriously check out your local library you will be surpirsed what is in the stacks, that won't cost you anything unless you end up with late fees.

skateing dragon wrote:

Thats €23 i'll never see again! So is everything in that book complete bull? And is there any point in reading the rest of it?!

You bought it, I would suggest you read it.

Really do so with what you have learned about the author here and see what in it you agree and disagree with, what feels right, what feels wrong.

You could sell it to a second hand shop or see if you can return it if you have the reciept, say that it was gotten for you and you want to exchange it.

I would suggest that you keep it as a reminder.
The fact that you bought it and now have learned that this may have not been the best way to go about things and that things that seem to be to good to be true or offer all the answers on a plate are not what they seem.

You have to look for your answers, what works for you, what you believe in not what someone who lives on the other side of the planet says.

what is your truth ?
what is your spirituality ?
What is your connection to your gods and to nature ?

I have in fact two of SRW books bought for me by well meaning people.
They give me the giggles. They sit on my book shelve and if anyone starts poking about and are nosey I will let them 'borrow' one of them.
They either give them back saying "ok then" and don't press further or get distracted by the shiney or say "what a load of fluffly bollix, I could not stand to read it do you have me somthing else "

I also have a Fiona Horne book <giggles> A Witches' Guide to Beds, Knobs, and Broomsticks <giggles> again given to me by a well meaning friend.
The first time I read it I laughed so much I cried.

Really so you spent 23 quid on a book but have you learned anything from it ?
Not the book the whole experiences that it has brought you ?

You do know that your library can order in books from the cataloge of the other libraries it is connected to ? Ask about it and check and see what they have and what they can get on loan for you.

I would also suggest you have a look that what is in the folklore and history sections.

I would suggest trying Hughes and if they don't have it they are usually very good at ordering them in for you , it is helpful if you have the name of the author and the publishers and the ISBN number.

Nope and my first instistic on the title alone is Witches don't have temples or churches.

/goes and goggles

This is the second of a series of five books written by Christopher Penczak and to be published by Llewellyn.

Second in a series, why would you want the second and really do you want to invest in 5 books ?

I have read some of the articles of the authors site but I can't say that I have read any of his books.

Why that one ?
Why that author ?
What do you know about the author ?
What can you find out ?
Do any of their personal or political leanings colour thier writings ?

Talliesin wrote:

Vivianne Crowley is a Gardnerian HPS.
Her book Wicca: The Old Religion in the New Millennium (also published in editions with different subtitles)

I totally forgot about Vivianne Crowley so I stand corrected. She is a very credible authour and is an Alexandrian initiate aswell as a Gardnerian High Priestess of many years experiance.
That book was published twice the older title is Wicca: The Old Religion in the New Era and the newer one as you have quoted. They are the same book with different forwards.
I would not personally be as fond of this book and dont think it a great one for a new seeker as it is very proper Wicca coven centered and defo not as a first book on the subject as she is insistant on naming Witchcraft as the oldest religion in Europe which we all know is not true and can be misleading to people without a wider understanding. It is however a great companion book for a neyophyte or dedicant to a traditional coven.
Her Principles of Wicca book is an excellent first book and is easily available and some editions have come with a nice tape with meditations and oral demonstrations and prenunciations etc an excellent starter book particuluarly for younger people.

skateing dragon wrote:

Okay i guess i was wrong its just finding a Good Wicca Book in shops around here is kinda hard. Thats €23 i'll never see again! So is everything in that book complete bull? And is there any point in reading the rest of it?!

Ok, first it is not hard to find books unless all that is available is your small local bookshop but give any bookshop an ISBN number (you can find that out on amazon) they can order it in for you. It is often better though to go to a bookshop yourself and take time to leaf through books, see what they are about and even read a few pages and the contents and bibliography of course. If you really want to buy books for yourself I would suggest two things, first do a little research. The interweb is a wonderfull thing so use it. Check out amazon or similar, look at the reviews, check out some of the listmania, compare and contrast what you find in that site and then google the book title and/or the authors name and you should then be working from a very solid base. Secondly, go to the bookshops most likley to have a large selection. Obviously the yellow brick road and the house of astrology but also the dawson street book shops. The big Hughes and Hughes and directly across the street Hodgis Figgis (who also have a loyalty programme similar to a coffee shop rather than the supermarket) All of these will have the largest selections. Make a day of it and take your time browsing the bookshelves.

No book that you buy, even if it is silver raven wolf is a waste of your time effort or money because you will still learn something even if that something is not what you thought. The book you bought is not all bull, mostly because it would mostly contain re-hashed material from other authours with Ms Ravenwolfs own twist put on it. You will learn over time what parts of it are bull and what are not, what is simplified and what is plain copied from other books.

Also, you keep saying that your looking for info books etc on Wicca. So I wonder if you are looking for the right thing. Wicca is a priesthood of specific lineage so you cant become wiccan from reading books and making a choice. However, if it is witchcraft that you are interested in then you can learn a whole lot from the world of books and again the wonderfull www.
Best of luck seeking though

Anything by Dion Fortune, as her writings were more or less what everybody read in the fifties and sixties and became part of the core material from which modern wicca was constructed, along with Crowley, Murray and Leland..... back to the roots folks....

Never heard of it tbh.

I would like to recommend anything by Terry Pratchett for anyone, if there is anyone who hasnt heard of them.
His more recent Wee Free Men series is some of his best work even if he does say so himself.
Equal Rites, Wyrd Sisters, Witches abroad, are three from the Discworld Series that all have the witches as central charachters.
As well as being a good laugh, with plenty of witchy in jokes, there are some real nuggets of wisdom.
Its a bit hard to explain and remember were in the Sci Fi/Fantasy section here which some people can find a bit .... well heres an excerpt from one of the Discworld novels Witches Abroad to give a kind of flavour.

This is the Discworld, which travels through space on the back of four elephants which in themselves stand on the shell of the Great A'Tuin, the sky turtle.
Once upon a time such a universe was considered unusual and, possibly impossible.
But then...it used to be so simple, once upona time.
Because the universe was full of ignorance all around and the scientists panned through it like a prospector crouched over a mountain stream, looking for the gold of knowledge among the gravel of unreason, the sand of uncertainty, and the little whiskery eight-legged swimming things of superstition.
Occasionally he would straighten up and say things like 'Hurrah, Ive discovered Boyles Third Law' And everyone knew where they stood. But the trouble was that ignorance became more interesting, especially big fascinating ignorance about huge and impodrtant things like matter and creation, and people stopped patiently building their little houses of rational sticks in the chaos itself- partly because it was a lot easier to be an expert on chaos, but mostly because it make really good pattern that you could put on a t-shirt.
And instead of getting on with proper science ( like finding that bloody butterfly whose wings cause all these storms) scientists suddenly went around saying how impossible it was to know anything, .........

On witchcraft itself

Up on the mountain, the sabbat had settled down a bit.
Artists and writers have always had a rather exaggerated idea about what goes on at a witches sabbat. This comes from spending too much time in small rooms with the curtains drawn, instead of getting out in the healthy fresh air.
For example, there's the dancing around naked. In the average temperate climate there are very few nights when anyone would dance around at midnight with no clothes on, quite apart from the question of stones, thistles, and sudden hedgehogs.............

And finally there's the sabbats themselves. Your average witch is not, by nature, a social animal as far as other witches are concerned. Theres a conflict of dominant personalities. Theres a group of ringleaders without a ring. Theres a basic rule of witchcraft, which is 'Dont do what you will, do what I say' The natural size of a coven is one. Witches only get together when they cant avoid it.

I imagine there are a few people who've been there and appreciate his humour.
Humour is certainly a great gift.