books on wicca

Adler, Margot: Drawing Down the MoonMargot Adler, author of the always-enlightening Drawing Down the Moon, appeared on Nevada's KNPR talking about how modern Paganism and Wicca have spread. You can listen to the podcast by clicking here and scrolling past the bit on Super Staph Infections. Also appearing in the program was history professor Candace Kant, discussing the mainstreaming of Paganism and Wicca. Definitely worth listening to if you've got a few minutes to spare
Buckland, Raymond: Complete Book of Witchcraft

Cunningham, Scott: Wicca - A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner

The late Scott Cunningham wrote a number of books before his untimely death, but Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner
Curott, Phyllis: Witch Crafting
Eilers, Dana: Pagans and the Law - Understand Your Rights
Farrar, Janet & Stewart: The Witches' Bible

Gardner, Gerald: Witchcraft Today

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Gerald Gardner is the founder of modern Wicca as we know it, and of course of the Gardnerian tradition. His book Witchcraft Today is a worthy read, however, for seekers on any Pagan path. He discusses paganism in Europe, as well as the so-called "witch cult", and goes on to demonstrate how many of history's notable names are connected, one way or another, to what we know today as witchcraft. Although some of the statements in Witchcraft Today should be taken with a grain of salt -- after all, Gardner was a folklorist and that shines through in his writing -- it's still one of the foundations that contemporary Wicca is based on. For its historical value, few things beat this book.

Hutton, Ronald: Triumph of the Moon

Triumph of the Moon is a book about Pagans by a non-Pagan, and Hutton, a highly respected professor, does an excellent job. This book looks at the emergence of contemporary Pagan religions, and how they not only evolved from the Pagan societies of the past, but also owe heavily to 19th-century poets and scholars. In fact, Hutton points out that a good deal of what we consider "ancient" Pagan practice can be attributed to the novelists and romantics of the late Edwardian and early Victorian era. Despite his status as a scholar, Hutton's breezy wit makes this a refreshing read, and you'll learn far more than you ever expected to about today's Pagan religions.

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Morrison, Dorothy: The Craft - A Witch's Book of Shadows

Russell, Jeffrey: A History of Witchcraft

Historian Jeffrey Russell presents an analysis of witchcraft in an historical context, from the early days of Medieval Europe, through the witch craze of the Renaissance, and up into modern times. Russell doesn't bother trying to fluff up the history to make it more palatable to today's Wiccans, and takes a look at three different kinds of witchcraft -- sorcery, diabolical witchcraft, and modern witchcraft. A noted religious historian, Russell manages to make an entertaining yet informative read, as well as accepting that witchcraft in and of itself can in fact be a religion.