Tag: book rec

I think maybe you should look into history! You have a lot of misconceptions about history and the history of witchcraft, it will help you form a better picture of the real witchcraft and how it has been throughout history and help you see what was really historical witch activity and what was a load of Catholics blaming one another in simple terms! It’s interesting so brushing up your knowledge should be easy!

maddiviner:

byebyebat:

i definitely will look into it! but you told me that i shouldn’t so like… what hehehe

I read bits of this conversation between the anon and @eewee in the tags, and it does sound a bit like both parties might have some misconceptions. If, as was said, you’re interested in looking into the history of witchcraft, Wicca, alchemy, and other occult traditions, I recommend the following sources. And yes, this is cribbed from my giant annobib, but I’m putting it here for brevity’s sake.

Triumph of the Moon, by Ronald Hutton. An inside no-holds-barred look at the history of Wicca and Modern paganism. Highly recommended. This is sort of the book that fluffbunnies don’t want you to read. Gives insight into Gardner and how he did what he did, how Wicca was founded, and it’s relationship to Thelema and earlier occult traditions.

The Place of Enchantment, by Alex Owen. This is a purely historical text that documents the occult revival within the context of Modernity. I remember it being very good, but please realize I haven’t really picked it up much since graduating.

Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, by Judika Illes. This book is huge and chock-full of information. It’ll explain in easy-to-understand language how the concept has developed throughout time, why witches do what they do, and different types of witches.

The Weiser Field Guide to Witches, by Judika Illes. This gives an excellent look at the historical lore concerning witches, from the perspective of a witch herself. It’s kind of tongue-in-cheek, but it does have some information that won’t be found elsewhere.

Witches, Werewolves and Fairies, by Claude Lecouteux. It can be hard to find scholarly works on these phenomena that are affordable, but here’s one I personally enjoyed. It details many accounts of witchcraft experiences by both pagans and Christians in earlier times, and gives a good description of the concept of the astral double, the architecture of the soul, and other topics throughout history.

Recommended Reading

dianaandpansson:

A list of books I recommend. THIS LIST WILL CONSISTENTLY CHANGE. The books are listed in no particular order, although they are fairly decently categorized and anything in italics is one I prefer highly for one reason or another. Clearly there are many books that should be on this list, which I have not had enough experience with to list, but more will come.

* – means the text has a fair amount of discredited or unreliable information.

*REFERENCE* – means the text should be read only for its context rather than its information. Most if not all of the information is unreliable.

Practical Witchcraft and Magic

Witches’ Potions and Spells by Kathryn Paulsen (1971)

Crone’s Book of Charms and Spells by Valerie Worth (2002)

Crone’s Book of Magical Words by Valerie Worth (2002)

The Galdrabok (16th and 17th centuries)

The Greek Magical Papyri translated by Hanz Dieter Betz in (1986)

Hermetic Magic: The Postmodern Papyrus of Abaris by Stephen E. Flowers (2009) [I haven’t studied his history in depth so * the first half of the book but the practice is a good base on the PGM]

Pow-Wows: or Long Lost Friend by John George Hoffman (1820)

Nummits and Crummits: Devonshire customs, characteristics and folklore by Sarah Hewett (1900)

Carmina Gadelica" (Vol. I & II) by Alexander Carmichael (1900)

*Grimoire of Arthur Gauntlet edited by David Rankine (2011)

Gaelic Charms, Incantations, and Blessings Among the Hebrides by William Mackenzie (1895)

 

Witchcraft History and Witch Trials

The Night Battles by Carlo Ginzburg (1966)

Under the Devil’s Spell by Matteo Duni (2007)

Cunning-folk and Familiar Spirits by Emma Wilby (2006)

The Confession of Isobel Gowdie (1662)

Witchcraft and Magic in the Nordic Middle Ages by Stephen A. Mitchell (2011)

Irish Witchcraft and Demonology by St, John D. Seymour (1913)

Thinking With Demons by Stuart Clark (1999)

Ecstasies: Deciphering the Witches’ Sabbath by Carlo Ginzburg (1989)

*Neopolitan Witchcraft by J.B. Andrews (1897)

Ancient Criminal Trials In Scotland compiled by Robert Pitcairn (1833)

Witchcraft, Healing, and Vernacular Magic in Italy by Sabina Magliocco (2004)

Arcana Mundi: Magic and the Occult in Greek and Roman Worlds, Georg Luck  (1985)

Religion and the Decline of Magic by Keith Thomas (1971)

Witchcraft and Inquisition in Early Modern Venice by Jonathan Seitz (2011)

The Creation and Sacrifice of Witches in Classic Maya Society by Lisa J. Lucero and Sherry A. Gibbs (2007)

Paganism, Folklore, Witch Stories:

The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles by Ronald Hutton (1993)

Superstitions and Folk Remedies by Charles Dillon (2001)

The World of the Druids by Miranda Green (1997)

*The Golden Bough by Sir James Frazer (1890)

The Kalevala compiled by Elias Lönnrot (1888)

Táin Bó Cúalnge or the Cattle Raid of Cooley (apx. 12th century)

The Silver Bullet: and Other American Witch Stories edited by Hubert J. Davis (1975)

Icelandic Folktales and Legends by Jacqueline Simpson (1972)

Witchcraft in the Central Balkans I: Characteristics of Witches T. P. Vukanović (1989)

Myths and Legends of Our Own Land by Charles M. Skinner (1896)

*Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of Ireland by Lady Francesca Speranza Wilde (1887)

Sami Mythology and Folk Medcine

by Aage Solbakk

Teutonic Myth and Legend

by Donald A. Mackenzie (1912)

The Key of Gold: 23 Czech Folk Tales

by Joseph Baudis (1922)

Witchcraft in Early North America

by Alison Games (2010)



Shamans, Witches, and Maya Priests

by Krystyna Deuss (2013)

Contemporary Witchcraft and Magic

*Mastering Witchcraft: A Practical Guide for Witches, Warlocks, and Covens by Paul Huson (1970)

Triumph of the Moon by Ronald Hutton (2001)

Trials of the Moon [a criticism of the former] by Ben Whitmore (2010)

Witchcraft Today by Gerald Gardner (1954)

Witchcraft for Tomorrow by Doreen Valiente (1978)

*The Meaning of Witchcraft by Gerald Gardner (1959)

Magick in Theory and Practice by Aleister Crowley (1976)

*REFERENCE* Aradia: Gospel of the Witches by Charles Leland (1899)

*REFERENCE* The Witch Cult in Western Europe by Margaret Murray (1921)

Liber Nul and Psychonaut by Peter J. Carroll (1987)

American Conjure and Hoodoo

Mules and Men by Zora Neale Hurston (1935)

Drums and Shadows managed by Mary Granger (1940)

Hoodoo In America by Zora Neale Hurston (1931)

 

Herbs

The Magical and Ritual Uses of Herbs by Richard Alan Miller (1983)

Medieval to Early-Modern Texts

Discoverie of Witchcraft – Reginald Scot (1584)

The Poetic Edda (~13th Century)

The Prose Edda (~13th Century)

The Black Pullet (La Poule Noire) (appx. 18th century) 

The Greater Key of Solomon (14th or 15th century)

The Lemegeton (17th century)

The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spencer (1596)

The Malleus Maleficarum by Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger (1487)