Recommended Reading

A listing of recommended reading:

Beginner: 
"Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner" - Scott Cunningham
(Google Books)

"Living Wicca: A Further Guide for the Solitary Practitioner" - Scott Cunningham
(Google Books)

"Wicca for Beginners" - Thea Sabin

"The Complete Idiot's Guide to Wicca and Witchcraft" (any edition) - Katherine Gleason and Denise Zimmerman

Advanced: (Not necessarily recommended for beginners)
"Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft" - Raymond Buckland

"WitchCrafting" - Phyllis Curott

"The Element Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells" - Judika Iiles

"Book of Shadows" - Scott Cunningham

Christian Perspective
"Wicca's Charm" - Catherine Sanders

Further Reading:
"Aradia: Gospel of the Witches" - Charles Leland

"Natural Magic" - Pamela J. Ball

Spirituality:
"Pagan Scriptures" - Charles Baize & Nolan Reichle
(Online PDF)

Herbalism:
"Magic and Medicine of Plants" - Reader's Digest Publication

"Healing Spirit of Plants" - Claire G. Harvey and Amanda Cochrane

"Traditional Herbal Remedies: An Illustrated A-Z Guide" - Michael Howard

"Nicolas Culpeper's Complete Herbal" - Nicolas Culpeper
(Online Reference)

Recommended Books:
*Note, these books are recommended by other reputed practitioners, but I have yet to read them

"The Inner Temple of Witchcraft" - Christopher Penczak

"The Outer Temple of Witchcraft" - Christopher Penczak






Authors to avoid:

I don't really tell people they shouldn't read certain books. I figure people should read what they want and form their own opinion. However, there are some authors I would recommend people avoid.

Silver Ravenwolf
My view on this author could be quite lengthy, but in a brief nutshell, judging from many of her books that I've read and seen recommended by others,
-her knowledge of history is questionable, if not shoddy
-her lineage (of which she boasts) has not been verified
-her animosity towards...certain religions seeps into her pages can be a negative influence to young, impressionable readers
-she treats her readers with condescension which I believe is rather rude of someone who is trying to be a "teacher"
-she continuously interchanges terms that have nothing to do with each other (i.e. Wicca and Witchcraft)

On my scale of 1-10 on whether or not to read her, I'd have to say she is a 1. By all means, if someone wants to read her, that's perfectly fine, but one should do so with a grain of salt. She does have some interesting ideas in ways of spells and such, but I wouldn't rely on her for accurate information in regards to education




...more recommendations to come