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Author Topic: Wicca/witchcraft books?  (Read 2374 times)

OhMyGlob

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Wicca/witchcraft books?
« on: May 25, 2016, 08:17:28 am »
Hi, I am new to witchcraft, and I am looking for good books/grimoires i may purchase. I have found a several books such as "Grimoire for the greenwitch", and "The traditional witchcraft grimoire book of shadows".

Please give me suggestions and your opinions on my selected books.

Thanks

HarpingHawke

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Re: Wicca/witchcraft books?
« Reply #1 on: May 25, 2016, 10:23:38 am »
Quote from: OhMyGlob;191792
Hi, I am new to witchcraft, and I am looking for good books/grimoires i may purchase. I have found a several books such as "Grimoire for the greenwitch", and "The traditional witchcraft grimoire book of shadows".

Please give me suggestions and your opinions on my selected books.

Thanks

 
Just gonna note, as it's an important distinction: Wicca and witchcraft are not interchangeable. Wicca is a religious system that sometimes involves witchcraft; witchcraft is a practice that can be done independent of religion. :)
"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self." - Hemingway

Jenett

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Re: Wicca/witchcraft books?
« Reply #2 on: May 25, 2016, 10:45:21 am »
Quote from: OhMyGlob;191792
Hi, I am new to witchcraft, and I am looking for good books/grimoires i may purchase. I have found a several books such as "Grimoire for the greenwitch", and "The traditional witchcraft grimoire book of shadows".

 
Can you share a little more about what you're interested in learning or focusing on? It would likely help people make some other suggestions for you.

Also, do you have an author or other information for the second title? There's a number of very similar titles out there.

The first title you mention is by Ann Moura, whose history is pretty suspect, and my understanding of that particular title is that it mostly offers a book of shadows approach (spells, rituals, etc.) without necessarily much explanation of how they're supposed to work, why they're structured that way, how to adapt them to your own needs, etc. I tend to recommend to people that they start with an understanding of the concepts, first, and then move into collections of other people's materials.

My own suggested reading list (centered on religious witchcraft) is on my website, with commentary about why I reccomend those items.
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Seeking: first steps on a Pagan path (advice for seekers and people new to Paganism)

MamaThistle

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Re: Wicca/witchcraft books?
« Reply #3 on: May 25, 2016, 03:51:21 pm »
Quote from: OhMyGlob;191792
Hi, I am new to witchcraft, and I am looking for good books/grimoires i may purchase. I have found a several books such as "Grimoire for the greenwitch", and "The traditional witchcraft grimoire book of shadows".

Please give me suggestions and your opinions on my selected books.

Thanks

 
There are lots of beginner books. If your are interested in a more academic approach Ronald Hutton's books are great.
"Think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people."

- W.B. Yeats

Freesia

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Re: Wicca/witchcraft books?
« Reply #4 on: May 26, 2016, 03:15:17 pm »
Quote from: OhMyGlob;191792
Hi, I am new to witchcraft, and I am looking for good books/grimoires i may purchase. I have found a several books such as "Grimoire for the greenwitch", and "The traditional witchcraft grimoire book of shadows".

Please give me suggestions and your opinions on my selected books.

Thanks

 
There are so many books out there, but what you like other people may hate. I suggest you research any book that strikes your fancy and the authors. I read the Appendix first and see what authors the book sources. If I have most of those books I don't buy it.  

Some people will say "read everything" but I say "don't buy everything." Half of the books I own I don't even use. Most of the books I use aren't even witchcraft books, but they are on folklore, mythology, history, and philosophy.

Don't jump into the academic sources right away. Give yourself time to develop a meditation/visualization practice first. Start small and work outward. Spend time listening to trees, birds, bugs, the ocean (if you are lucky). Feel the planet breath.

Don't include anything in your practice that you find uncomfortable or funny. I made this mistake with circle casting. I thought everyone practiced circle casting so I did too. I didn't understand the process or reasoning of why it was done and I felt stupid when I did it. I had to be told by Janet (I think it was her) to stop casting circles if the practice made me feel that way. I haven't cast a circle since, and I wont unless I feel like it is the right thing to do.  

Don't buy a book because there is a cat or other pretty picture on the cover (I do this all the time, still haven't learned my lesson).

Don't believe everything you hear or read, but some strange things do happen. I'm a pantheist (I don't have a personal deity or pantheon in my practice), but I've also had Unverified Personal Gnosis (UPG) with a deity that I believe was Hecate. I did what I was told and got my reward. The entire event scared the shit out of me; but I can't deny that it happened to me, so similar events must happen to other people.  
   
Youtube is an excellent source for book reviews and documentaries. Check out blogs and book archives.

The most useful book in my collection is Joyce and River Higginbotham's Paganism: A Guide to Earth Centered Religions. I still go over it, but I have moved on to druidry and kitchen witchcraft. There is no One Book to Rule Them All.

The most useful habit is writing. Write about how you feel about a subject before researching, then write about how your views changed or didn't. Take notes on all your books, it will help you remember the content.

Keep your mind open, but use your discernment. Happy Pathworking...It never ends.

YungMeatRabbit

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Re: Wicca/witchcraft books?
« Reply #5 on: June 03, 2016, 09:44:32 pm »
Quote from: OhMyGlob;191792
Hi, I am new to witchcraft, and I am looking for good books/grimoires i may purchase. I have found a several books such as "Grimoire for the greenwitch", and "The traditional witchcraft grimoire book of shadows".

Please give me suggestions and your opinions on my selected books.

Thanks

 
I would recommend "Mastering Witchcraft by Paul Huson.  I like to study witchcraft and have read and re-read this book a few times.  It's an older book and is about traditional witchcraft, not Wicca.  Specifically, witchcraft as a practice that's separate from any religion.  It also includes lots of folk magic and talks about where a lot of traditions.  

The only possible con (and ymmv with this) is that this book leaves ethics to the reader and gives instructions on how to cast both curses and love spells that target a specific target.   Alternatively, this con could become a pro as it could help the reader understand more about the mindset of the witches of the past and how their ethics may have been different/the same as ours and maybe give some insight into why.

HarpingHawke

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Re: Wicca/witchcraft books?
« Reply #6 on: June 03, 2016, 11:15:28 pm »
Quote from: YungMeatRabbit;192218

The only possible con (and ymmv with this) is that this book leaves ethics to the reader and gives instructions on how to cast both curses and love spells that target a specific target.   Alternatively, this con could become a pro as it could help the reader understand more about the mindset of the witches of the past and how their ethics may have been different/the same as ours and maybe give some insight into why.

 
There's a reason the saying "a witch who can't hex can't heal" exists. :)
"There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self." - Hemingway

Dynes Hysbys

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Re: Wicca/witchcraft books?
« Reply #7 on: June 04, 2016, 08:56:41 am »
Quote from: YungMeatRabbit;192218
I would recommend "Mastering Witchcraft by Paul Huson.
..........
 this book leaves ethics to the reader .


Which is just as it should be! My ethics are my own. This is one of my favourite books too btw.

YungMeatRabbit

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Re: Wicca/witchcraft books?
« Reply #8 on: June 05, 2016, 08:36:22 pm »
Quote from: HarpingHawke;192223
There's a reason the saying "a witch who can't hex can't heal" exists. :)

 
That's a very good point.  No one said that witchcraft would always be sparkles and unicorns.

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