Monday, February 11, 2013

There's something about a storm...

There's something about being alone in the house with the wind roaring through the woods behind us that has me thinking witchy thoughts. There's incense burning on the altar, and a shelf full of witchy books to read. But I've realized I have no general witchy books. All my general pagan books are about specifics. Encyclopedias of goddesses, books full of prayers, books about witchy housecleaning or herbs or tarot or astrology. I don't have any general witchcraft books. So I'm searching Amazon for interesting books. Not that I have the money to buy them right now, but perhaps the library has some of them?

So far I've been looking at Ann Moura's Green Witchcraft series, but I think it might be too wiccan-y for me.

I've also been looking at Lora O'Brien's Irish Witchcraft from an Irish Witch and A Practical Guide to Irish Spirituality.

Paganism: An Introduction to Earth- Centered Religions looks really interesting. The same author has published Pagan Spirituality: A Guide to Personal Transformation as a sequel.

I've heard conflicting reviews about Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft, but I guess it has to be a classic for a reason, right? And of course there's Silver Ravenwolf's Solitary Witch: The Ultimate Book of Shadows for the New Generation which is also a little iffy to me.

Anyone have any recommendations for general pagan/witchcraft references?

Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America is another one I'd like, but it's more a recent history of the people, and not so much a reference on the religion itself.





6 comments:

  1. "Green Witchcraft" is very Wiccan-centric, but it's worth it for the correspondence tables and herbal information. At least, that's my own opinion. Nothing says you have to subscribe to her point of view ;)

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    1. Man, I really wish my library had a copy. I'll have to go flip through it at a book store before I decide to buy it. Thanks!

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  2. Check out -The Spiral Dance- by Starhawk. Even better, the 2006 edition of -Drawing Down the Moon- by Margot Adler. Not new, but a foundation in Neopagan philosophy and each a classic.

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    1. I actually just picked up that edition of Drawing Down the Moon from my local library, along with Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft and the Paganism book I mentioned above. I'll put in a request for The Spiral Dance, thanks!

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  3. Hi-- found you through the RAoA Goodreads page. I just subscribed to your blog and hope to see more posts. Did you know you made this post on Sylvia Plath's head-in-the-oven day?

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  4. I second the recommendation for Starhawk's "Spiral Dance." Also, T. Thorn Coyle's "Evolutionary Witchcraft" was a really powerful book for me.

    Feel free to check out my pagan nonfiction shelf on Goodreads for other ideas: http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/9568525?shelf=pagan-nonfiction

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