Books for thought?(List updated again)

[Artistic Genocide]

Hullo!~

So I'm new, and have a few questions about what you guys think about some authors out there. I own several books by these individuals.

UPDATED!
NEW:
D.J. Conway
Ted Andrews
Starhawk

NEWER:
Laeticia Valverde
Jane struthers
Judith Millidge
John Nelson
John Magnus
Edain McCoy(This one should be interesting)

What are your opinions on these authors? Good/bad/meh?
What've you heard about them?
What are some books you would recommend for beginners?
Good authors you like?
thanks!
-Artistic Genocide  

[Violet Song jat Shariff]

Artistic Genocide

Hullo!~

So I'm new, and have a few questions about what you guys think about some authors out there. I own several books by these individuals.

Cummingham

He's alright. He should be read with a grain of salt though. I feel like he focuses too much on the "white light" aspect of things.
And his constant insistence of "o no wun kan tel u u kant b wikkin" is really annoying >< It's annoying to have to reiterate all the time to newbie Pagans that just because Uncle Scotty said that Wicca is open to everyone, doesn't actually mean it is.

Quote:

Buckland

He's considered an oath-breaker by I think most of the Wica. I would approach with caution.

Quote:

Ann Moura(Aoumiel)

I haven't heard of her.

Quote:

Dion Fortune

She seems to be a good author.  

[Artistic Genocide]

@ Violet- O.o'
whoa.
Thanks for the advice!
question though,
what are some books you would recommend?
^_^  

[Violet Song jat Shariff]

Artistic Genocide

@ Violet- O.o'
whoa.
Thanks for the advice!
question though,
what are some books you would recommend?
^_^

Depends on what you're interested in learning about 3nodding .  

[Artistic Genocide]

Violet Song jat Shariff

Artistic Genocide

@ Violet- O.o'
whoa.
Thanks for the advice!
question though,
what are some books you would recommend?
^_^

Depends on what you're interested in learning about 3nodding .

hmm...
well, a good start would be Wicca in general,
though Roman/Greek Recon has peeked my interest. =3  

[Violet Song jat Shariff]

This is a reading list that was put together by an Alexandrian HPS and what she usually assigns to her neophytes:

scorplett

Author: Scorplett
Title: My Suggested Reading list

WICCA ORIENTED AND BY REAL WICCAN AUTHORS
The Alex Sanders Lectures – Alex Sanders
Witchcraft Today – Gerald Gardner
The Meaning of Witchcraft – Gerald Gardner
A Witches Bible (or ‘What Witches Do and Eight Sabbat’s for Witches) – Stewart Farrar
Wicca- The Old in the New Age – Vivienne Crowley
Charge of the Goddess - Doreen Valiente
Circle of Fire – Sorita D'Este
Lid off the Cauldron – Patricia Crowther
Rebirth of Witchcraft – Doreen Valiente
Dancing with Witches – Lois Bourne
Religion Without Beliefs – Fred Lammond


NEO-PAGANISM AND ECLECTIC WITCHCRAFT
Witchcraft for Tomorrow – Doreen Valiente
Witchcrafting – Phillis Currot
Elements of Ritual – Deborah Lipp
Spiral Dance – Starhawk
Drawing Down the Moon – Margot Adler
Magical Rites from the Crystal Well - Ed Fitch
Coven Craft: Witchcraft for Three or More - Amber K
Ethics and the Craft - John J. Coughlin
The Truth About Witchcraft - Hanz Holzer
The Paganism Reader - Chas Clifton

TRADITIONAL WITCHCRAFT
Mastering Witchcraft – Paul Huson
Conversations with a Witch – Lois Bourne
The Forge of Tubal Cain - Ann Finnin
The Crooked Path Journal (Various Contributors)
Hedge Rider - Eric de Vries
Sorgitzak: Old Forest Craft - Veronica Cummer


ACADEMIC HISTORIES OF WICCA AND WITCHCRAFT
Triumph of The Moon – Ronald Hutton
Wiccan Roots: Gerald Gardner and the Modern Witchcraft Revival (also as: Gerald Gardner and the Cauldron of Inspiration: An Investigation into the Sources of Gardnerian Witchcraft)– Philip Heselton
Her Hidden Children: The Rise of Wicca And Paganism in America - Chas S. Clifton
The Pickengill Papers-The Origin of the Gardnerian Craft - W.E. Liddell
WITCHCRAFT AND MAGIC IN EUROPE: (a 6 Volume series), edited by Bengt Ankarloo and Stuart Clark
Vol 1 Biblical and Pagan Societies
Vol 2 Ancient Greece and Rome
Vol 3 The Middle Ages
Vol 4 The Period of the Witch Trials
Vol 5 The 18th & 19th Centuries
Vol 6 The 20th Century
Early Modern Witches: Witchcraft Cases in Contemporary Writing Edited by Marion Gibson

HISTORICAL WITCHCRAFT TEXTS
Malleaus Mallifacarum
The White Goddess – Graves
The new Golden Bough – Frazer
Aradia: Gospel of the Witches – Leyland
A Witchcult in Western Europe – Murray

REFERANCE TEXTS
ABC of Witchcraft – Doreen Valiente
The Witches God – Farrar
The Witches Goddess – Farrar
Spells to Change Your Life - Lois Bourne
Spells and how they work – Farrar

PSYCHOLOGY TEXTS (i.e Lots of Jung!)
Man and His Symbols – Carl Jung
The Undiscovered Self - Carl G. Jung
The Archetypes and The Collective Unconscious - Carl G. Jung
Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle - Carl G. Jung
Psychology and Religion (The Terry Lectures Series) - Carl G. Jung

BIOGRAPHIES
King of the Witches – June Johns
Fire Child: The Life & Magic of Maxine Sanders 'Witch Queen' - Maxine Sanders
Fifty Years of Wicca – Frederic Lammond
Diary of a Witch - Sybil Leek
Gerald Gardner: Witch - Jack L Bracelin
High Priestess – Patricia Crowther
Witch Amongst Us – Lois Bourne
Witches Speak – Aronld and Patricia Crowther [RARE BOOK]

CEREMONIAL MAGICK AND OCCULT/MYSTICISM TEXTS
Magick in theory and practice – Crowley
The Kabbalah unveiled – Mathers
The Tree of Life: An Illustrated Study in Magic - Israel Regardie
The Training & Work of an Initiate - Dion Fortune

FICTION
Sea Priestess - Dion Fortune
High Magic’s Aid – Scire (Gerald Gardner)
Witches Were For Hanging (Paperback) FICTION – Patricia Crowther


OPEN SOURCE
There are a fair few books that are available open source if you don't mind reading off a computer screen! Some of them might be a little heavy going for the beginner, but they are all classic texts on Wicca and Witchcraft

The Golden Bough
by Sir James George Frazer
http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/frazer/index.htm

The Witch-Cult in Western Europe
by Margaret Alice Murray
http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/wcwe/index.htm

Aradia; Gospel of the Witches
by Charles G. Leland
http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/aradia/index.htm

Etruscan Roman Remains in Popular Tradition
by Charles Godfrey Leland
http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/err/index.htm

Letters on Demonology and Witchcraft
by Sir Walter Scott
http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/scott/index.htm

The Sorceress (La Sorcière) by Jules Michelet
translation by Afred Richard Allinson
http://www.sacred-texts.com/pag/sor/index.htm

Witchcraft Today (PDF) - by Gerald Gardner
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/wisewoman/WiccaWitchcraftToday.pdf

The Meaning of Witchcraft - Gerald Gardner
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/wisewoman/TheMeaningofWitchcraft.doc

High Magics Aid - A 'fictional' book by Gerald Gardner
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/wisewoman/HighMagicsAid.doc

Gerald Gardner: Witch - attributed to Jack Bracelin but actually written by Idries Shah http://homepage.ntlworld.com/wisewoman/GeraldGardnerWitch[1].rtf

God of the Witches (PDF) - by Dr Margaret Murray,
http://www.thewica.co.uk/godwitch.pdf

The following are some rare and out of print books by the Crowthers.

The Secrets of Ancient Witchcraft With the Witches Tarot by Arnold Crowther (Hardcover - Jun 1974)

Witchcraft in Yorkshire by Patricia Crowther (Unknown Binding - 1973)

From Stagecraft to Witchcraft: The Early Years of a High Priestess by Patricia Crowther

The Zodiac Experience: Initiation Through the Twelve Signs – Patricia Crowther

For the Greeks at least, I'm uncertain as to which bodies of lore are considered more correct than others, but there is the Theoi Project that you'll probably find useful.  

[Artistic Genocide]

oh wow!
OO
thank you!
big, big list!

question, how likely is it that a barns and nobel or a Boarders would carry any of these?  

[Violet Song jat Shariff]

I haven't had much luck with my local Borders carrying these. And the B&N here is even worse sad
I would just go straight to amazon.com or eBay to find these books TBH.

You *MIGHT* be able to find "Spiral Dance," "Drawing Down the Moon," and possibly "A Witches' Bible" at Borders or B&N, but I wouldn't hold my breath.  

[Sanguina Cruenta]

I've had a flick through that Vivienne Crowley book - it's very good, although there's a touch of soft polytheism (although it's very interesting because it's particularly select: not every goddess is an aspect of the Goddess, etc) and there's a bit of Murray's influence, but it's well written and quite interesting.

I like Cunningham's writing style because he's terribly humble about it. He's wrong, often, but terribly humble wink And he asks you to question why you do things, which is good. But he seems paranoid about the "dark" or whatever and he's really into his self-initiation which is silly. Deborah Lipp, who is a Wiccan proper and is on Amber and Jet, was apparently quite close to him and terribly fond of him and defends him despite his faults - not his information so much but the validity of his own religion and the spirit with which he wrote.

Buckland I've only read bits of. I dislike his style, and his information annoys me in ways I can't quite explain, but actually there are some interesting bits of ritual in his BBB, and some chants, so if you're working on your own rituals you may want to check it out.

I got out one of Ann Moura's books from the library. Her introduction was mostly her bitching about Wicca, which she apparently didn't properly understand, and then the content of her books was too influenced by ceremonialism which I found rather amusing given her anti-Wicca stance. I got bored with her bullshit and took it back to the library. A lot of people like her, but I just didn't see the point, you know?

Never read Dion Fortune. I hear she's quite good but there are some Christian influences. I can't recall whether it's because she was a Christian witch or because she was trying to reduce possible prejudice or reaction from community by having a heavy Christian influence in her group.  

[Artistic Genocide]

hmmm...
The problem with ordering on line is the parents. Unless i can be sure it gets here before 3p.m.-4p.m. on weekdays, and get it before they get to it, then They'll just take it and hide it from me until i stop looking, then they'll throw it away. -_-

If you order from Boarders or B&N, is there an option to pick it up at the store, or does it get delivered to your home?

And thank you for your input Sanguina!=^_^=
Is there any books you'd recommend that aren't on the list that Violet gave me? =3  

[Sanguina Cruenta]

Nothing springs to mind at present, really. There's a book called "Hellenismos Today" by Timothy Jay Alexander that may or may not be good, but is one of few books on Hellenismos out there so could be worth a look. If I think of anything I'll let you know.

Oh, for future reference, things "pique" your interest wink  

[Artistic Genocide]

Sanguina Cruenta

Nothing springs to mind at present, really. There's a book called "Hellenismos Today" by Timothy Jay Alexander that may or may not be good, but is one of few books on Hellenismos out there so could be worth a look. If I think of anything I'll let you know.

Oh, for future reference, things "pique" your interest wink

Lmao!
thank you for the correction.xD
sounds interesting. Might look into that book.=3
Any websites i could add to my list?  

[Violet Song jat Shariff]

Artistic Genocide

hmmm...
The problem with ordering on line is the parents. Unless i can be sure it gets here before 3p.m.-4p.m. on weekdays, and get it before they get to it, then They'll just take it and hide it from me until i stop looking, then they'll throw it away. -_-

If you order from Boarders or B&N, is there an option to pick it up at the store, or does it get delivered to your home?

I'm pretty sure they have the option for in-store pick up.

San-chan: I know Buckland also cites himself as a source in some of his books; might that contribute to the dislike as well?  

[Sanguina Cruenta]

Artistic Genocide

Sanguina Cruenta

Nothing springs to mind at present, really. There's a book called "Hellenismos Today" by Timothy Jay Alexander that may or may not be good, but is one of few books on Hellenismos out there so could be worth a look. If I think of anything I'll let you know.

Oh, for future reference, things "pique" your interest wink

Lmao!
thank you for the correction.xD
sounds interesting. Might look into that book.=3
Any websites i could add to my list?

This one is really good. This site has some interesting essays.  

[Artistic Genocide]

Buckland citing himself may be an issue.>_>'
and thank you Sanguina!
you've both been a great help.^_^