Suggested Reading Lists
Shadow Work/Protective Magick List
Back to Iseum of the Green World
For Beginning Students:
Adler, Margot: Drawing Down the Moon. (A survey of Paganism as of the 70’s, now obviously somewhat dated but still important historically.)
Alba, De-Anna: The Cauldron of Change. (Written from a Dianic perspective, but has a valuable analysis of how Wiccan ritual works.)
Aoumiel (Ann Moura): Green Witchcraft.
Bonewitz, Isaac: Real Magic. (Theory on how magick works.)
Buckland, Raymond: Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft.
Campanelli, Pauline and Dan: Altars, Groves, and Sanctuaries (Altars.) Ancient Ways. (Sabbats.)
Crowley, Aleister: Magick in Theory and Practice. (Theory and basic elements of magick, if you’re willing to wade through the Crowleyisms to find it.)
Cunningham, Scott: Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner. (A good primer, but the most "white bread" of the selections listed.) Earth Magic. (Elements and folk magic.)
DeGrandeis, Francesca: Be A Goddess! (Not just for women, actually: Francesca, like Starhawk [see below] trained in the Anderson Fairy Tradition, which we have found to be very compatible with us in many of its ideas and practices.)
DuQuette, Lon Milo: The Magick of Thelema. (Detailed discussion of banishing.)
Farrar, Janet and Stewart: What Witches Do. (Basic primer.) The Witches’ Goddess. (The Goddess.) (also, if you want lots to read at a slightly more advanced level, The Witches’ Bible.)
Fitch, Ed: A Grimoire of Shadows. Magical Rites from the Crystal Well. (Traditional-- the Grimoire was designed as an Outer Court teaching for potential Gardnerians--but more fey-friendly than has become the norm.)
Forrest, M. Isadora: Isis Magic. (an introduction to Isis, Mother of the Fellowship, with lots of rituals and tools.)
Galenorn, Yasmine: Embracing the Moon. (Her ideas, though sometimes unorthodox by "traditional" standards, are also very consistent with other natural [self- taught] fey witches.)
Graves, Robert: The White Goddess. (An important influence on the development of modern Wicca, although some of his theories are questionable, particularly where they concern the Celts.)
Grimassi, Raven: Italian Witchcraft (formerly Ways of the Strega. Although this is not our tradition, there is much of interest here.)
Green, Marian: A Witch Alone. (Especially good for those who cannot join the Lyceum and are learning on their own, but also valuable to students.)
Hopman, Ellen Evert and Lawrence Bond: People of the Earth. (Interviews with pagans from a wide variety of traditions. Gives a sense of what’s available.)
Hutton, Ronald: Triumph of the Moon. (An important exploration of the most likely real history of neo-paganism. Scholarly but very readable.)
Judith, Anodea: Wheels of Life. (Chakras.)
Leland, Charles: Aradia, The Gospel of the Witches. (Evidence of the survival of paganism in Italy; the origin of the Charge of the Goddess.)
McCoy, Edain: The Sabbats. Inside a Witch’s Coven.
Monaghan, Patricia: A Dictionary of Goddesses and Heroines. (The Goddess.)
Pennick, Nigel: A Pagan History of Europe. (Pagan history.)
RavenWolf, Silver: To Ride a Silver Broomstick.
Reed, Ellen Cannon: The Heart of Wicca. (Excellent thoughts for both beginners and priest/esses on why we do what we do.)
Robertson, Lady Olivia: all works. (the co-founder of the Fellowship, Lady Olivia has written many rituals for use by Fellowship members and groups. They are available to read online at the FOI Website. Information on buying print versions is also available at the site.)
Serith, Ceisiwr: The Pagan Family. (Family-oriented, but with good discussions of the Sabbats and other basics.)
Starhawk: The Spiral Dance.
Starhawk and Hilary Valentine: Twelve Wild Swans. (A rich, detailed working, using a folktale to develop the Craft on multiple levels. Beginners should start with the Elements Path.)
Stein, Diane: The Women’s Book of Healing. (Chakras, stones, and healing.)
Valiente, Doreen: Witchcraft for Tomorrow. An ABC of Witchcraft. The Rebirth of Witchcraft. (The first is a Craft primer; the second an encyclopedia of pagan tidbits; the third a discussion of the development of Wicca in this century. Doreen was a vital force in the development of modern Wicca.)
Walker, Barbara: The Women’s Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects. (Symbols. Some of the opinions, however, are to be taken with a grain of salt.)
Warren-Clarke, Ly: The Way of the Goddess. (Her Sabbats and elements are affected by living in the Southern Hemisphere; don’t be confused by this.)
Watson, Nancy B.: Practical Solitary Magic. (Principles of magic, ritual, and the elements. A good all-around magical primer.)
and any books on folklore and mythology of cultures that interest you.
Crowley, Patricia: Wicca. (A philosophical treatment of Wicca and its practices.)
Cunningham, Scott: Living Wicca. (An advancement of his previous book for solitaries, this one describes how to create or personalize traditions, including a discussion of how to handle the Wiccan Ordains as an eclectic and/or solitary.)
Dominguez, Ivo Jr: Castings. (An excellent experiment in alternative ways to cast sacred space. I got, or had reaffirmed, several interesting ideas from this one.)
Farrar, Janet and Stuart: The Witches' Bible. The Witches' God. (The former is another in-depth treatment of Wiccan tradition--Alexandrian in this case. It also includes discussion of some of the Wiccan Ordains. The latter is a survey of archetypes present in the Wiccan God, and a mini-encyclopedia of His names and forms.)
Fitch, Ed: A Grimoire of Shadows. (Originally conceived as an Outer Court teaching for Gardnerians, this book contains ideas seldom treated directly in other books, and contains many ideas for magical training.)
Galadriel, Lady: The New Wiccan Book of the Law. (A "modernized" set of Wiccan Ordains.)
Graves, Robert: The White Goddess. (Contains a detailed analysis of the Lay of Amergin, and the explanation of Graves' arrangement of the work into its present form.)
Greer, Mary: Tarot for Yourself. (Unusually open-ended, applicable to a variety of decks, and encouraging personal intuitive connection with the cards.)
Grimassi, Raven: Wiccan Mysteries. Hereditary Witchcraft. (Some very interesting thoughts. The latter contains some good tools, including a set of sigils for star and moon magick.)
Kelly, Aidan: Crafting the Art of Magick. (Contains Kelly's theories as to the origin of the Wiccan Ordains.)
Pennick, Nigel: Magical Alphabets. (Quite a wide selection of the buggers, with explanations of their histories and, where applicable, their special meanings.)
RavenWolf, Silver: To Stir a Magick Cauldron, To Light a Sacred Flame.
Reed, Ellen Cannon: The Heart of Wicca. (Excellent thoughts for both beginners and priest/esses on why we do what we do.)
Sheba, Lady: Book of Shadows or The Grimoire of Lady Sheba. (One of the few public sources for the Ordains, rules of Garnerian Craft.)
Starhawk: Truth or Dare.
Starhawk and Hilary Valentine: Twelve Wild Swans. (A rich, detailed working, using a folktale to develop the Craft on multiple levels. Advanced students and those doing shadow work will want to use the Inner Path.)
Telesco, Patricia: Advanced Wicca. (Not as detailed as one might like, perhaps, but still a good source of ideas for expanding personal practice.)
Underhill, Callia: Witch's Book of Divination.
books of mythology pertaining to the pantheon(s) most attractive to the student are also strongly recommended.
Beyerl, Paul: The Master Book of Herbalism.
Bloch, Douglas and Demetra George: Astrology for Yourself.
Brown, Simon: Practical Feng Shui.
Cornett, Larry: "Nature Spirit Magic."
Cunningham, Scott: any of his natural magic/stone/herb books.
Daniels, Estelle: Astrological Magic.
Dolfyn: Crystal Wisdom.
Greer, John Michael: Natural Magic.
Guttman, Ariel and Kenneth Johnson: Mythic Astrology.
Hopman, Ellen Evert: A Druid's Herbal.
Morwyn: Green Magic.
Pettis, Chuck: Secrets of Sacred Space.
Valiente, Doreen: Natural Magic.
Watson, Nancy B: Practical Solitary Magic.
Weinstein, Marion: Positive Magic.
Witches' Almanac: Magic Charms from A to Z.
Wong, Eva: Feng Shui.
(Also includes the study of music in magick. This is the hardest single category for which to find books that reflect our particular approach. None of these are quite representative, but several are rather good in their own ways.)
Andrews, Ted: Healing Sounds. (A very basic primer in these ideas, but useful for those to whom they are totally new.)
Blamires, Steve: The Irish Celtic Magical Tradition and Glamoury.
Briggs, Katharine: An Encyclopedia of Fairies.
Evans-Wentz, W.Y.: The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries.
Froud, Brian: Faeries and Good Faeries, Bad Faeries.
Gardner, Kay: Sounding the Inner Landscape.
James, Catrin: Celtic Faery Shamanism.
Kirk, Robert: The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns, and Fairies.
Matthews, Caitlin: Singing the Soul Back Home.
Matthews, John: The Celtic Shaman.
Mynne, Hugh: The Faerie Way.
Rose, Carol: Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns and Goblins.
Stewart, RJ: most of his books apply, particularly The Living World of Faery and Earth Light.
optional fiction authors:
Gael Baudino
C.J. Cherryh
Charles de Lint
J.R.R. Tolkien
Shadow Work and Protective Magick:
Dominguez, Ivo: "Advanced Grounding Techniques: Coping with Adverse Responses to Ritual." Available on the Web.
Fortune, Dion: Psychic Self-Defense.
Hall, Judy: The Art of Psychic Protection.
Huson, Paul: Mastering Witchcraft. (Largely for reference: we do NOT recommend the majority of spells listed here, on ethical grounds. Caveat emptor!)
Ingerman, Sandra: Soul Retrieval.
Jade: Protection Charms and Spells.
Moura, Ann: Green Witchcraft II.
Pickards, Marcia: The Psychic Self-Defense Personal Training Manual.
RavenWolf, Silver: HexCraft (now called American Folk Magick). Magical Emergency articles from Llewellyn's Magical Almanacs.
Roderick, Timothy: Dark Moon Mysteries.
Sagan, Samuel, M.D.: Entity Possession.
Starck, Marcia and Gynne Stern: The Dark Goddess.
Starhawk and Hilary Valentine: Twelve Wild Swans. (A rich, detailed working, using a folktale to develop the Craft on multiple levels. Advanced students and those doing shadow work will want to use the Inner Path.)
Amber K: Covencraft.
Blacksun: The Spell of Making.
Campanelli, Dan and Pauline: Rites of Passage.
Clifton, Chas, ed: Witchcraft Today: Modern Rites of Passage.
Harrow, Judy: Wicca Covens. Also her series of articles on clergy counseling, available on the Web.
McArthur, Margie: WiccaCraft for Families.
McCoy, Edain: In A Witch's Coven.
Medbh-Mara, Aeron: Life-Rites.
Reclaiming Collective with Starhawk: The Pagan Book of Living and Dying.
Serith, Ceiswr: The Pagan Family.
Starhawk: Dreaming the Dark.
Starhawk and Hilary Valentine: Twelve Wild Swans. (A rich, detailed working, using a folktale to develop the Craft on multiple levels. Those training for clergy will be most interested in the Outer Path.)
Trungpa, Chonyam: Spiritual Materialism.