The God and Goddess
   Triple Goddess
   Horned God
   Goddess Worship
   Historical Deities
Wiccan Rede
The Law of Return
Magic and Spellcasting
The Circle
The Pentagram
Organization
Book of Shadows
The Elements
Working Tools
Wheel of the Year
Craft Names

Frederic Lamond, Fifty Years of Wicca
Frederic Lamond is an almost unique position to write this book, as he was a member of Gerald Gardner's coven. He has first hand experience as to both what Gardner actually taught and what the other coven members thought of the teachings. He has watched Wicca evolve over the past 50 years, and he has more than enough experience to describe his own viewpoints of the subject, both good and bad.

Fifty Years of Wicca is, at its heart, a personal story, focused on Lamond's own outlooks and experiences. Once a reader is past needing Wicca 101 reading materials, this is a very useful approach. After all, Wicca does not provide revelation from without. Rather it is a path for revelation from within. We learn from each person's experiences, knowing we are not required to emulate them yet often can take notes from them.

Some Traditionalists have complained that this book "tells Eclectics what they want to hear." The adjective "Huttonesque" has also been employed to describe it in reference to Wiccan historian Ronald Hutton. Lamond is very clear about the history of Wicca, stating that everyone in the coven knew the practices dated back no further than the late 19th century, and Gardner was awkward concerning this fact when he spoke about mythological ancient Wiccan times. I cannot for the life of me, however, imagine why the Traditionalist Lamond would lie to appeal to Eclectics, nor does it seem plausible to me that he would not know the opinions of those in his own coven.

I particularly value Lamond's covering of various Traditional practices, how they have evolved over time and why some of them have disappeared or become less prominent. He spends a great amount of time on both the Great Rite and Drawing Down the Moon, covering information almost completely whitewashed from texts available today. It paints a very clear picture of how bastardized some versions of these practices have become and how, at least from Traditional viewpoints, some common practices are largely empty of original meaning and function.

Laura Wildman, What's Your Wicca I.Q.?
This was an enjoyably surprising find. This book asks tests the reader's knowledge of just about every aspect possible aspect of Wiccan studies, from ritual to (real!) history to correspondences. Questions range from basic to advanced, truly offering a challenge to anyone. It's a great way to find out where your strengths and weaknesses lie, as well as encouraging you if you're a solitary wondering if you're on the right track.

Explanations are provided with most answers. They are not lengthy - that would take several books to reasonably accomplish - but they do help the reader understand why the answer is what it is. If the answer given isn't enough on its own, it's at least enough to send the reader in the right direction concerning what they should be looking up elsewhere (or asking their teacher).

Finally, I find the book simply a pleasure to read. Because its in the format of a quiz, a tremendous amount of information is packed into this one book. The details that Wildman find so important keep me interested, and her straightforward style of writing is easy to follow and understand.

John Michael Greer, A World Full of Gods: An Inquiry into Polytheism
Anyone sick and tired of pagan how-to books will find Greer’s A World Full of Gods a delightful read. Rather than laying out beliefs step-by-step, Greer presents an in-depth and mature discussion of the draws of polytheism and gives logical and theological reasons why people familiar with monotheism may still choose polytheism as their belief of choice.

Greer goes beyond the common understanding of the pagan community – that we pray to gods to get stuff - and discusses instead the much more complex reciprocal relationship many polytheists have with their gods. Worship and religion is not just about pleasing the higher powers to get what we want or avoid smiting. Rather it is recognition through giving of what has been granted in the past and will be provided in the future.

A World Full of Gods is a survey work addressing in the broadest sense all polytheists, although the focus is on modern Western pagans and, to a lesser extent, the cultures that most strongly influence them. When Greer wishes to speak only of Wicca or Druidry or Asatru, he clearly states it, but most of the book addresses the polytheistic outlook in general. Thus, this is a perfectly appropriate read for a wide Neopagan audience.

Monotheists might also find the book useful in trying to better understand the reasoning behind polytheism. However, Greer does devote a considerable amount of time arguing against monotheism, which might turn off non-likeminded readers. Nevertheless, it remains an excellent, well thought out and well written investigation into polytheism that will make a worthy addition to a serious Neopagan’s bookshelf.

Thea Sabin, Wicca for Beginners
I'm not sure a book on Wicca has ever been given a more appropriate title. Wicca for Beginners delivers exactly what it promises: truly introductory material for those just beginning to investigate Wicca. It makes no presumptions about what the reader knows, and it doesn't get ahead of itself.

It's meant to be more informative than instructive, which is an approach sorely lacking in available materials today. While there are various basic exercises to assist in understanding, Sabin is far more interested in explaining basic premises and beliefs - the kind of information that will be foundational for Wiccan students as they move on to other books and more complex understandings of Wicca.

Sabin also generally avoids specific ritual. She sometimes gives some examples of phrasings, and she gives some basic outlines for practices, but she steers clear from concrete instructions telling you how many times to turn around or what incense you have to burn. Those details can all come later. Right now a reader needs to understand the bare basics, and this book is superb in delivering it.

By focusing on very rudimentary beliefs, I hope that Sabin's book is also useful for people still trying to figure out if Wicca is for them. If these beliefs simply don't make sense to a reader, that should be taken a very strong hint that Wicca is perhaps not the religion for them. That will certainly spare someone the wasted effort of memorizing a bunch of rituals only to find finally find out that the rituals are based on ideas he or she doesn't agree with or are addressed to beings to whom they have no relationship.

Elen Hawke and Martin White, eds., Spellcaster: Seven Ways to Effective Magic

Instead, Spellcaster describes several different approaches to magical practice and theory. There is some instructional approach to it, but much of the information comes from the authors' own experiences. This may not be so helpful for the true beginner in magic, but it is a welcome approach for readers who have moved beyond the basics. The authors understand that the complexities of magic cannot be taught in the same way that we teach math, with clear cut steps to follow and results to be expected.

The numerous contributing authors give vastly different and often contradictory approaches to magic, and no attempt it made to reconcile those differences. While magic frequently involves a sizable amount of creativity, it also involves paradigms, and just because both paradigms can be functional does not mean that all of their elements can be interchangeable.

Frater U.: D.:, High Magic
This is perhaps the hardest book I've ever attempted to review, and the task is complicated by the fact that I write these reviews from a distinctly Wiccan point of view for a primarily Wiccan audience, while this book is completely unrelated to Wicca. Please keep this in mind.

Frater U.D. is clearly well educated in magical theory, particularly ceremonial magic. The benefit is a book so dense that you simply cannot read it quickly. Topics are divided into small chapters, most involving exercises that may take weeks or months to perfect. For those looking to go beyond the 101-style books, this is certainly a valuable resource.

However, the author states repeatedly that this book is, in fact, for beginners, yet he is so well-versed in his topic that he sometimes seems to forget at what level beginners really are. The book generally nevertheless works, although the reader may find it frustrating when the author diverges onto tangential topics of which the reader knows nothing.

Wiccan readers will also have to be willing to tolerate ethics very different from their own in reading this book, as well as the author's general disdain for religion in general. He attempts to soften his blow by describing how useful religions are and how humanity seems inevitably drawn to them, but he nevertheless makes it clear that they are ultimately extraneous, and that what we call gods are merely forces we have decided to name. That is his right, and I do not criticize this book or its author on this account - I'm merely warning the majority of my own readers.

My one serious concern with this book is the author's explanation that when we imagine various visualizations long enough, our subconscious will eventually be able to perceive these things in actuality. This may be true, but it also starkly resembles brainwashing, and I find it concerning that someone would teach this as a basic magical principle without any warning of possible ramifications.

Finally, I had some minor problems with the diagrams provided. The visualized pentagrams for the various Rituals of the Pentagram not only do not always correspond with what I've previously learned (which may be the effect of my differing background or even previously bad information) but also do not always seem to reflect the author's own descriptions of the logic behind their construction.

Overall, however, I was tremendously pleased with this book. It is well researched, thorough, in-depth, and generally well explained. It contains plenty of exercises, but it also provides sound explanation and theory behind them so that readers may eventually branch out into their own distinct forms of practice instead of remaining slaves to book rituals.

Ellen Cannon Reed, The Heart of Wicca: Wise Words from a Crone on the Path
I'll let an excerpt from the Introduction speak for itself:

I'm painfully aware that some Wiccans see every Goddess as a Moon Goddess, whatever the mythology may say to the contrary. I am aware that many Wiccans only see two deities, and all others as faces of those two. I am aware that a lot of people don't understand the difference between myth and fiction, nor do they understand what myths truly are. And I am horribly aware that a lot of Wiccans are crystal-hugging, air-headed vegenazis who believe (at high volume) that their way is the way all pagans should be.¹

Reed makes it clear that she cannot determine who calls themselves Wiccan. At the same time, however, she very frankly voices her personal opinion. And yet, this is not a book on how other Wiccans do or do not measure up. This is a heartfelt book on her own path of Wicca (while she may criticize some Wiccans, she certainly doesn't think her path is the only Wiccan path) in the hopes that readers might come to find a deeper meaning in our religion instead of focusing on outward shows.

Really, my only complaint with this book is that it's too short: a mere 127 pages. I've been eagerly awaiting more books from Reed, but alas, it is not to be. Reed passed away in October of 2003 after battling leukemia.

Joyce & River Higgenbotham, Pagan Spirituality: A Guide to Personal Transformation

Pagan Spirituality promotes no particular outlook but instead studies a variety of religious outlooks from a psychological perspective. Instead of differentiating between Wiccans and Asatruar, for example, the Higgenbothams differentiate between those who take myth as literal truth, those who see religion as handed down from on high, and so on. They are careful to highlight the pros and cons of every stage of religious development and also remind us that many people generally exist in many stages at once, depending upon which facet of their religion of which you are speaking.

The Higgenbothams also describe these states in terms of natural development, likening the stages to human development. Those who view the world as revolving around themselves (such as believing that they can command the actions of gods) are therefore in a very low stage of development, similar to that of young children, such as those who think that by closing their eyes no one else can see them. Of course, this involves a judgment call, but their judgments are always explained in detail and generally make sense.

They emphasize that all of us must go through the lower stages at some point - no one is born into the highest levels of understanding. Furthermore, they stress that reaching the "top" of their scale should absolutely not be the goal in anyone's personal spiritual development. The purpose of this book is to better understand our own outlooks as well as those around us. The scale of stages is not so much worse to better as it is simple to complex - and complex is not always better.

Scott Cunningham, Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner and Living Wicca: A Further Guide for the Solitary Practitioner
Wait a minute, the Anti-Bunny just suggested who?

Cunningham is considered by many to be extremely Fluffy Bunny. He was one of the authors instrumental in the proliferation of the idea that Wicca can encompass just about everything. He has also become known as the author most likely to be quoted by someone who's only read book and thinks they're an expert, although that's not Cunningham's fault.

These books are very simplistic, but for a reason: they are for beginners. They are definitely not to be taken as the definitive book on Wicca (no book should), but they are a solid base from which to work. And while he's fairly white-lighter - he suggests that his readers not even deal with deities associated with death or destruction, for instance - he's at least setting down a strong moral base. The reader isn't required to follow every word he says.

Many of his detractors also tend to conveniently forget that they started with Cunningham's books too.

Janet and Stewart Farrar, A Witches' Bible: The Complete Witches' Handbook
This was originally published as two books, Eight Sabbats for Witches and The Witches' Way. It's a wonderful introduction to Wicca, providing all of the usual Wicca 101 information but with far more explanation than the average publication. It also includes some basics that no longer even get much mention in Wicca books, such as the scourge. In addition, in includes the Farrars' and Doreen Valiente's attempt to assemble a complete Gardnerian Book of Shadows (which nowadays you can get off the Internet).

Unfortunately, Wicca is still being toted as the Old Religion in this early 80s publication. Far more grating, however, is the frequent assertions that Wicca is Celtic - a claim that has never had sound historical basis.

Phyllis Curott, Witch Crafting: A Spiritual Guide to Making Magic
While I disagree with her belief that the essence of magic is love, I find this book otherwise sensible and practical. Not only does she address both the spiritual and magical sides of Wicca, she presents the integral entwining of the two in a clear, straightforward manner. She also has a laudable take on the Threefold Law, which she has termed the Boomerang Whammy Rule.

Curott has lost respect in the eyes of some Wiccans because of a rather asinine protest she made concerning the The Blair Witch Project when it hit theatres a few years ago: “The Blair Witch Project makes witches out to be evil hags who want to kill children. This fictitious movie puts real witches at risk... I asked [the co-director] to put a disclaimer in his film like the one director Francis Ford Coppola added to The Godfather, essentially saying that this film does not represent the lifestyles of that community.”² Since the fictitious Blair Witch supposedly lived two centuries ago, one is left wondering what community she is defending. Her website also clearly proclaims Wicca and Witchcraft to be the same thing. What shall we protest next, The Wizard of Oz?

Christopher Penczak, Sons of the Goddess: A Young Man's Guide to Wicca
While this book is one of very few to specifically address men within Wicca, it in no way distances itself from women. Indeed, in my opinion, there is no information in this book that a woman would find less useful than a man, although the information may resonate with them in different ways. For instance, an entire chapter is devoted to mythological mothers and sons. Penczak expects men to identify with the son figures, but the lessons to be learned from those myths are just as pertinent to women. The book also targets a younger crowd - this is the Young Man's Guide to Wicca, after all - but it refrains from dumbing down its topics, making this an enjoyable read for people of all ages.

The first few chapters are enchanting, speaking maturely about myth, symbolism, and responsibility within Wicca. He also eloquently addresses the problem of the insta-witch mentality not by waggling his finger at us but by relating his own early experiences within Wicca, which he admits included a "give me spells now!" mentality. By explaining his early mistakes and failures, he hopes to illustrate why such attitudes and approaches are unhealthy and ultimately unhelpful.

Finally, the later chapters devolve into unhelpful generalizations. For example, Penczak provides an entire chapter on meditation, but doesn't really explain how to do enter a meditative state to begin with. The end is then padded with basic Wicca 101 material - the Sabbats, spells, circle casting, etc. I'm left with the impression that he started with a good topic but either ran out of solid material or grew bored with it halfway through the manuscript. In short, his good material is excellent, but I'm left wanting a lot more of it.

Amber Laine Fisher, Philosophy of Wicca
Just what it claims to be, This book avoids the how-to approach and focuses on the author's personal theology and philosophy. Fisher delves into the meaning behind some of Wiccan beliefs as well as offering a very personal look at deity. Unfortunately, Fisher is prone to rather grandiose claims, such as the fact that pantheism is a central tenet of Wicca. The majority of Wiccans that I know are not pantheists, I'm not a pantheist, and neither was Gardner. It may be an acceptable form of Wicca, but it certainly isn't a central or universal belief.