Recommended Reading List

[Lore Lux]

Frail Appetite

Can anyone make a book recommendation for learning about herbs' purposes.

The Master Book of Herbalism by Paul Beyerl

I could tell that Paul has put a lot of time and love into researching and writting about herbs.  

[TeaDidikai]

Fan+asmagoric

Frail Appetite

Can anyone make a book recommendation for learning about herbs' purposes.

The Master Book of Herbalism by Paul Beyerl

I could tell that Paul has put a lot of time and love into researching and writting about herbs.

He has another one too that i think I recommended to Frail in another thread.

I really like A Compendium of Herbal Magick as well.  

[PurpleDragonsGems]

Uniflame

Frail Appetite

Can anyone make a book recommendation for learning about herbs' purposes.

Scott cunningham has a book out about herbs. Its very useful but I forgot the exact name of that one.

And I agree on 12 wilde swans. I love that book.

Cunningham's Encyclopeida of Magical Herbs  

[too2sweet]

Quote:

Anything with Starhawk is worth reading. She has a few books out, and they are all good. From new to the path to years behind.

Starhawk's work should definately be on the White list. "The Spiral Dance" is one of my favorites - a lot of good information and written in a way that is easy to put into practical use.  

[Haloquine]

too2sweet

Quote:

Anything with Starhawk is worth reading. She has a few books out, and they are all good. From new to the path to years behind.

Starhawk's work should definately be on the White list. "The Spiral Dance" is one of my favorites - a lot of good information and written in a way that is easy to put into practical use.

I agree with this. The first post still has Spiral Dance on the Grey list which I think is problematic. Spiral Dance was a seminal work on Goddess Magic. It has much in the way of practical workings, is both good for the beginning Witch and for understanding how feminism has impacted on Goddess Spirituality. Its best to get the most recent edition as she has added copious notes explaining how her opinion has evolved over time and why. It has a strong emphasis on personal development and responsibility and is a good reflection of the Reclaiming tradition's roots. One problem people within the tradition have mentioned is that she doesn't necessarily fully credit co-founders for their ideas/input, but I don't think that is deliberate where it does occur (its very easy to forget who said what exactly from a venture a few years ago, many things in Reclaiming have been integrated with no-one being sure who added them first!) and it doesn't detract from the information presented.

Evolutionary Witchcraft by T. Thorn Coyle is one of my favourite practical books. It is about the Anderson's Feri Tradition (not Fey necessarily) which developed before Wicca but has incorporated parts of it. Her book is heavy on the practical. It does use the Feri mythology/cosmology but there are a lot of exercises in it that you can take without using the mythology and is, again, very heavy on personal development and developing strong skills. I don't think its a book for complete beginners though. And I'm biased because of my Feri connections. Reclaiming was, in its initial form, heavily influenced by Feri, although it has grown and evolved into its own path. (I'm involved in both paths.)

 

[SmartBoyAlex]

May I suggest The Poetic Edda?As far as germanic paganism it's the oldest literature.  

[Ethermus Prime]

I have a recommendation for the Reading list:

The Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution
by P. D. Ouspensky  

[Ethermus Prime]

No? No input on my suggestion. Rook are Sad now!!!  

[Ethermus Prime]

Wizards first rule....and the whole Sword of Truth Series.


Omagawd!  

[Ainwyn]

A couple books and a couple comments:

Apple Branch by Alexei Kondratiev is a must read for anyone interested in Celtic religions, especially Celtic recon. Be aware that he's very acedemic, so it won't be the easiest read in the world, and is something to take in pieces, but it's definitely worth it! He also has several essays up on various websites, so I'd recomment googling him.

For fiction, His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman. This is what Golden Compass is based on, and is probably the best set of books I've read since I read Lord of the Rings. Incredibly beautiful, deep books. The fact that you can both love and loath almost any character in the series really endears it to me smile

Edain McCoy and Douglas Monroe should both be on the blacklist. McCoy's book on faeries is probably the best general introduction you can find on faeries right now, Witta and Celtic Myth and Magick are probably the reason we have Celtic Wicca now, and I don't think I can forgive her for that.

And for those who don't believe in the extent of Buckland's racism and arrogance, read this review of his book Gypsy Witchcraft and Magic

Quote:

Kevin T. Filan
Disclaimer: I am not Rom, but I have done a bit of research on the subject. I welcome comments or corrections from anyone who knows more than I do... I suspect they will have seen many of the same errors I saw, and probably point out a few that I missed.
First of all: many people consider the word "Gypsy" to be an ethnic slur. I doubt that Llewellyn would have released "Secret Magic of the Coons," "Dago Spells for All Occasions" or "********* Witchcraft." As a self-proclaimed "Half-Romany," I'm surprised that Buckland didn't know that.

Second: the reason many Rom travelled from place to place was not because of their wild, nomadic spirits or their psychic connection with nature: it was because the authorities kept running them out of town. ("Gypsy Hunts" were part of European history as late as the 19th century; an 1835 roster for one German hunt lists "a Gypsy mother and her suckling babe" among the kills). Playing up to the "noble savage" image is degrading to a people who have been among Europe's most persecuted for centuries, and whose struggles continue to this day.

Third: the "Sex Magic" chapter is a complete abomination. Buckland plays yet another riff on the "noble savage" -- the idea that Rom are given to "free love." (He even claims that many Rom children have their first sexual experiences with their siblings... just like in Appalachia. No, I'm not making this up). In fact, the Rom have numerous taboos concerning sexuality and virginity is cherished and expected of a new bride. Buckland doesn't mention this, or the stringent menstruation taboos -- was he afraid of a backlash from Pagans who didn't want to hear about "repressive, sex negative cultures," or was he so busy trying to pimp the myths that he ignored the reality?

The only good thing about this book is the bibliography which Buckland helpfully includes: it's a pity he didn't actually read many of the works which he cites.

He probably assumed that people who'd buy his book had never done any kind of research on the Rom, that's the only way I can think he believed he could get away with that book.  

[Taliah]

The first educational book that introduced me into this world was:

--The Wiccan Bible by Anne-Marie Gallaher.
This was a big book of brief (but informative) explainations of general knowledge wicca (i.e. Rede, God/Goddess, Maiden mother crone cycle, the solstices and moon calendar, basic spells, the four elements, solitary vs. coven, etc.)

Then, my boyfriend and I found this wonderful guy:

--Wicca, and Living Wicca by Scott Cunningham
We both really liked his style and his openess to everything not being set in stone or "everything must be this way" attitude. It was very informative and inspiring, and I look back on them from time to time.

My boyfriend read a book of Raymond Buckland, but I've barely glanced at it really, and I can't recall the name. However, the front and back covers tried to appeal to Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings fans as a potential audience.... and it came across more as trying to make money rather than treating it as a religion or belief system. I personally didn't care for it, but he seemed to like it (when it was actually being informative).

That's more or less the extension of my reading on Wicca. It's hard to spend 10-15 dollars on a book that may just be crap when it could go in the gas tank... gonk But this reading list helps a lot ^^ so I may have new drive to find these books  

[Ainwyn]

Try finding books at your library. Generally, if they don't have what you need, they can get it sent in. That way, you can read through a book and see if it's something you'd want to use again before buying it. I wish I'd done that when I was younger... so much wasted money because B&N tends to stock popular instead of informative when it comes to their "New Age" section *shakes head*  

[TeaDidikai]

Taliah

The first educational book that introduced me into this world was:

--The Wiccan Bible by Anne-Marie Gallaher.
This was a big book of brief (but informative) explainations of general knowledge wicca (i.e. Rede, God/Goddess, Maiden mother crone cycle, the solstices and moon calendar, basic spells, the four elements, solitary vs. coven, etc.)

Then, my boyfriend and I found this wonderful guy:

--Wicca, and Living Wicca by Scott Cunningham
We both really liked his style and his openess to everything not being set in stone or "everything must be this way" attitude. It was very informative and inspiring, and I look back on them from time to time.

These two are fair explanations of Eclectic Neo-Paganism, but they aren't Wica.

Quote:

My boyfriend read a book of Raymond Buckland, but I've barely glanced at it really, and I can't recall the name. However, the front and back covers tried to appeal to Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings fans as a potential audience.... and it came across more as trying to make money rather than treating it as a religion or belief system. I personally didn't care for it, but he seemed to like it (when it was actually being informative).

Buckland isn't a good source. He cites debunked anthropology and makes stuff up to make himself seem more important.  

[shades of sylk]

I'm rather fond of Robin Wood's book When, Why...If. It's primarily mentioned as a tool for developing personal ethics and while I'm not sure if I agree with that description 100%, it's an extremely helpful book (for me) in terms of developing an honest self-assessment of where I stand and what that means for decision making in my life. It's not necessarily even Pagan specific, although it's probably most useful for the eclectic Pagan who is just starting to develop what that means to them.  

[TeaDidikai]

shades of sylk

I'm rather fond of Robin Wood's book When, Why...If. It's primarily mentioned as a tool for developing personal ethics and while I'm not sure if I agree with that description 100%, it's an extremely helpful book (for me) in terms of developing an honest self-assessment of where I stand and what that means for decision making in my life. It's not necessarily even Pagan specific, although it's probably most useful for the eclectic Pagan who is just starting to develop what that means to them.

What issues do you take with that description?