>Do you guys have some titles of good,
  >current books on Wicca and witchcraft
  >that you'd recommend? Don't do a lot
  >of research, but if a few pop into
  >your heads, please let me know; I'm
  >doing that section of books in our
  >library (lots of fun!) and would love
  >input from Those In The Know.

While I can't claim to be one of "Those In The Know", I have done quite a bit of reading on the subject, and was glad to send the following reply...

Like Christianity, and most other religions, Wicca is divided into into numerous different "denominations". In Wicca, they are usually called "traditions". Bickering and backstabbing between traditions does take place, but unlike Christianity, we don't kill people over it. Instead, it usually takes the form "my lineage goes back further, so I am somehow more authentic a witch than you are."

I chose the word "lineage" carefully. Some Wiccans put a lot of ego into "I was initiated into the Craft by Fred, who was initiated by Ethel, who was initiated by Gerald himself!"

"Tradition" and "lineage" are more likely to be issues when Wiccans band together. There are also those who practice Wicca without joining groups. They are considered "solitaries" or "solitary practicioners".

By now, you are asking, "Why didn't D---- get this e-mail? All I wanted was a few titles!" It's important for a couple of reasons: Wicca is a "mystery religion", involving levels of initiation, each of which confers additional knowledge. As such, the details of each tradition is a closely guarded secret, until such a time that you reach the next initiation level and are given the new knowledge. Publishing a mass-marked book kinda ruins the whole thing.

As a result of this, published books take several forms:

• Books that contain common boilerplate stuff, but doesn't spill all the secrets. Sometimes considered "outer court" training manuals.
  • "The Spiral Dance", by Starhawk
  • "Pagan Rituals III", by Herman Slater
• Books detailing synthetic traditions.
  • "The Tree - The Complete Book of Saxon Witchcraft", by Raymond Buckland
  • "A Grimoire of Shadows", by Ed Fitch
• Books containing Wicca-compatible magical material. The material is often newly-created and makes no claims of lineage. Usually, it doesn't say much about traditions. They are usually recipe books, spell collections, and generic rituals.
  • "Wheel of the Year: Living the Magickal Life", by Pauline Campanelli
  • "Ancient Ways: Reclaiming Pagan Traditions", by Pauline Campanelli
  • "Magical Rites from the Crystal Well", by Ed Fitch
  • "Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practicioner", by Scott Cunningham
  • "The Magic in Food", by Scott Cunningham
  • "The Magickal Formulary", by Herman Slater
  • "Practical Candle Burning", by Raymond Buckland
• Books that purport to tell all, written by renegades.
  • "A Witches Bible", by Janet & Stewart Farrar (2 volumes)
  • "Buckland's Complete Book Of Witchcraft", by Raymond Buckland

In addition, Wiccans often draw from books on anthropology, herbalism, folklore, mythology, astrology, shamanism, fortune-telling, other religions, and Ceremonial Magic.

In order to help your patrons, you really need to know why they want books on Wicca. Here are some types of readers:

• "I don't feel comfortable with established religions, and think that Wicca might be what I feel inside."
  • "Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practicioner", by Scott Cunningham
  • "Wheel of the Year: Living the Magickal Life", by Pauline Campanelli
  • "Ancient Ways: Reclaiming Pagan Traditions", by Pauline Campanelli
  • "Teen Witch: Wicca for a New Generation", by Silver Ravenwolf
• "I want to cast spells". Sigh. There are altogether too many people who use religion to grasp for what they want. They pray to Jesus, and if He doesn't give them a Mercedes, they turn to anything else they think will help. Sigh. Any occult store will tell you that the top-selling spells are those to attract love and money. Editorial over. I guess you have to serve them, too. Almost all of the named books contain at least a few spells.
  • "The Magickal Formulary", by Herman Slater
  • "Practical Candle Burning", by Raymond Buckland
• "I am a Wiccan, and need source material to create a ritual to celebrate Spring". Cool!
  • "Magical Rites from the Crystal Well", by Ed Fitch
  • "Wheel of the Year: Living the Magickal Life", by Pauline Campanelli
  • "Ancient Ways: Reclaiming Pagan Traditions", by Pauline Campanelli
• "I have learned a little about Witchcraft and want to start a Coven".
  • "The Tree - The Complete Book of Saxon Witchcraft", by Raymond Buckland
  • "A Grimoire of Shadows", by Ed Fitch
  • "Buckland's Complete Book Of Witchcraft", by Raymond Buckland
• "I'm a Christian and want to know what those Witches are up to!"
  • "Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practicioner", by Scott Cunningham
• "My daughter is reading witch books! Help!"
  • "Teen Witch: Wicca for a New Generation", by Silver Ravenwolf

As for the Wicca section in your library, you should give it closer attention than other sections. That collection can be considered controversial, and such books are often defaced, mutilated, or outright stolen in order to stifle interested persons from reading them. A friend of mine, just for interest, checked his local library, and of roughly 20 books in the catalog, only one was on the shelf, and it was stuffed with flyers about turning to Jesus.

Please let us know if there is anything else we can do to help. Maybe next time D---- will answer and it will consume less bandwidth.

Blessed be!

- Dennis

• The first two books written by Campanelli are priceless. My copy of their third book is temporarily missing, so I can't flip through it, but I don't recall liking it quite as much. I didn't list it here.
• Silver Ravenwolf is a fine, relatively new, author. I have enjoyed every one of her books that I have seen.
• Notice that "Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practicioner" and "Teen Witch: Wicca for a New Generation" are recommended for both those who are considering Wicca as a religion and those who don't want to practice it, but are curious about it.

Thank you for visiting. Your comments are welcome.
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