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More Information
Online Resources
There are a number of resources available on the web to learn about the Craft, but keep in mind that there are just as many good sites as, well, not so good. Here are a few of my favorite resources:
Websites:
The Witches' Voice
Strong site with networking info and sample letters for community education to foster religious tolerance. If you are looking for community involvement, go here first. You can't beat their Pagan web listings!
Blue Moon Wicca
An introduction to Traditional Wicca. This site has so many layers, including a wonderful self-study guide for the solitary or beginner, written by a Traditional High Priestess.
Isaac Bonewits Homepage
I don't often agree with Isaac Bonewits, but he does present an awful lot of information, and I feel it is always good to get varying viewpoints. Plus, he has a very entertaining page on Classifying Witchcraft.
Proteus Coven
Judy Harrow, HPs and her coven provide a library of intelligent, thought provoking materials. Included is a training guide and extensive materials for coven leaders.
Fly By Night Bookstore
Fly By Night is a shop in Columbus, Ohio that hosts events and such. They also have this page with some great articles about Wicca, such as this article for the muggles in your life and one for teens.
E-Mail Lists
Amber and Jet
A serious mailing list for the serious seeker. This is a Traditional list and discusses British Traditional Wicca (BTW) and its offshoots. High volume, and expect to get thrown titles of a lot of out of print books. Also provides a "seeker's list" for those interested in finding a BTW coven to study under.
Yahoo! Groups
More mailing lists than you can shake a stick at, and most are crap. However, there are a number of "local" type lists which are nice to be on if you are interested in events in your area. Follow the link, and type your area in the search box.
New Moon Mailing Lists
New Moon (a British occult shop) offers a number of interesting email lists. I've been on these in the past, and enjoyed them, but I have no idea what they are like today.
Books
The following is a very short list of books based on my "must read" list. These are the bare essentials that I would require of any student who I would train one on one. There are a number of other good books listed in the study topics section.
Please keep in mind when reading my comments that I am a Traditional Wiccan, and am reviewing with some bias. The following is a pretty standard beginner's reading list. To purchase one of these books from amazon.com, simply click on the title or the photograph.
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The Truth About Witchcraft
Scott Cunningham, 1998
It's short (64 pages). It's cheap (usually about $1.60). It's easy.
This is probably the one book that every aspiring Witch should read. It's a quick, easy view of general Craft beliefs and practices, with a strong Wiccan flavor. This is the perfect book to help explain studies to family and friends as well. This is required because it helps to dispell any number of myths, and since it is so incredibly short, it can be worked through in a group with questions and answers in about two hours (one meeting).
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Drawing Down the Moon : Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today
Margot Adler, 1997
This classic of pagan literature is one of the few scholarly investigations into the area of Goddess worship. Ms. Adler approaches the subject with the spirit of a reporter (which she is) as well as a member of the community. It is hefty reading to get through the entire book, but the honesty with which our history (i.e. no one quite agrees, but here are the available versions) and the various faces of the pagan movement are represented make it well worth the effort. As a scholar, this is my favorite book written for a pagan audience. I require my students to read it in its entirety at least once prior to studying with me, because I feel that it is very important to impress upon them that Witchcraft is not the only pagan path in existence. A must read in most pagan study groups.
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- To Ride a Silver Broomstick : New Generation Witchcraft
Silver Ravenwolf, 1993
This is probably one of the "best known" of the recent wave of beginning Wicca books on the market. Like most of Ms. RavenWolf's "how-to" books, this book follows a workbook format. While the material within is not "Trad Craft", the presentation and exercises, when followed, will provide reasonable training for a solitary/eclectic beginner.
All of Silver Ravenwolf's magical books are helpful to those learning the Craft as a solitary student, but they present varying degrees of challenges. If you have some experience and are looking to expand your practice, try "To Stir a Magic Cauldron" or "To Light a Sacred Flame".
I require my students to work through at least Broomstick before studying with me, because Ms. RavenWolf has made an impression on mt own Craft training. Those who would study within my Traditional training will be required to work thorugh all three of the To... workbooks.
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Power of the Witch
Laurie Cabot, Tom Cowan (Contributor), Published 1990
Ms. Cabot is a character. Anyone who has seen her on a chat show or on the streets of Salem will attest to that. But beneath all that eyeliner and the insistence on wearing her robes all the time is a very interesting Witch.
This book represents a different facet of the craft, one that is not so astutely Wiccan. Ms. Cabot approaches Witchcraft as an art and a science as well as a religion, and has no problem talking about how things work. I require this book for its wonderful exercises in a short read, and its relatively light tone.
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