373 lines
22 KiB
Plaintext
373 lines
22 KiB
Plaintext
|
||
An annotated bibliography for the class
|
||
|
||
W I T C H C R A F T
|
||
|
||
the Magic of Ancient Celtic Beliefs
|
||
in a Contemporary Society
|
||
|
||
===================================
|
||
|
||
|
||
The purpose of this listing is to help the novice sort out the reliable
|
||
from the sensational in the wealth of material that is now available on
|
||
Witchcraft. I have left out old historical treatices (records of the
|
||
Inquisition and such) which are of little value to the modern student, and
|
||
have concentrated instead on contemporary sources. This also yeilds a much
|
||
more objective perspective.
|
||
- Michael Nichols
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
THE TEXTS:
|
||
|
||
'Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans
|
||
in America Today' - 2nd ed. - by Margot Adler. Beacon Press trade paperback.
|
||
You may have already heard Margot's voice, as she was once hostess of
|
||
National Public Radio's news program, 'All Things Considered'. This book is
|
||
the end result of five years of research and interviews. (The 2nd edition is
|
||
an update published eight years after the original.) This landmark study
|
||
focuses on the rise of the Neo-Pagan movement (which includes Witchcraft, of
|
||
course) especially as it relates to the values and beliefs of the
|
||
counterculture of the mid-60's, hippies, flower children, et. al. It is the
|
||
single most comprehensive study of modern American Witchcraft in existence.
|
||
|
||
'What Witches Do: The Modern Coven Revealed' - 2nd ed. - by Stewart Farrar.
|
||
Phoenix trade paperback.
|
||
If Adler's book gives a comprehensive overview of modern American
|
||
Witchcraft, Farrar's is a complimentary look at traditional British
|
||
Witchcraft. Concentrating on the Alexandrian tradition (which is only
|
||
marginally different from Gardnerian, easily the largest Craft tradition
|
||
extant), Farrar lays stress on the actual working of Covens and the
|
||
integration of novice Witches into them. Also included is much of the
|
||
Gardnerian (via Alexandrian) Book of Shadows. So there is plenty here for
|
||
someone who wants to begin practice.
|
||
|
||
'The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess' by
|
||
Starhawk (pseud. for Miriam Simos). Harper & Row trade paperback.
|
||
This book shifts back to America again, this time with a slight emphasis
|
||
on feminist Witchcraft, arguably the fastest growing branch of the Craft.
|
||
Starhawk is herself High Priestess of two California Covens and her book is
|
||
insightful, genuine, and beautifully poetic. This overview also contains
|
||
specific instructions for Circles, chants, spells, invocations, creating
|
||
rituals and, in short, everything you need to get started. And it is a
|
||
delight to read.
|
||
|
||
'Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft' by Raymond Buckland. Llewellyn trade
|
||
paperback.
|
||
British-born Ray Buckland can, with some validity, be considered Gerald
|
||
Gardner's American successor. Not only did he introduce Gardnerian Witchcraft
|
||
to the United States, but he also founded his own tradition of the Craft,
|
||
called Seax (Saxon) Wicca, which has grown to worldwide practice. His early
|
||
books, like 'Witchcraft from the Inside', did much to dispel negative
|
||
stereotypes of Wicca in the 60's. And 'The Tree: Complete Book of Saxon
|
||
Witchcraft' remains one of the best published Books of Shadows to date. The
|
||
present volume has a practical orientation, with chapters set up as 'lessons',
|
||
covering every imaginable aspect of modern Wicca. The book is Traditionalist
|
||
in approach, making a nice counterpoint to works by Adler and Starhawk.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
OTHER SOURCES:
|
||
|
||
'A Witches' Bible, Compleat' by Janet & Stewart Farrar. Magickal Childe trade
|
||
paperback tandum edition of 'Eight Sabbats for Witches' and 'The Witches'
|
||
Way', respectively, also called 'A Witches' Bible, Vol 1 & 2'.
|
||
The first book is an examination of the festival Holidays of the Old
|
||
Religion - the Solstices and Equinoxes and the cross-quarter days - together
|
||
with the rich folk customs associated with them. The second book contains the
|
||
long-awaited remainder of the previously unpublished portions of the
|
||
Gardnerian Book of Shadows. In both of these books, the Farrars had the
|
||
invaluable help of Doreen Valiente, who actually wrote parts of the Gardnerian
|
||
liturgy. The three Farrar books taken together form the most complete system
|
||
of Witchcraft currently available. Their more recent book 'The Witches'
|
||
Goddess' focuses on the feminine archetype, and contains a gazetteer of
|
||
Goddesses that is mind-boggling in its thoroughness.
|
||
|
||
'Dreaming the Dark: Magic, Sex, & Politics' and 'Truth or Dare: Encounters
|
||
with Power, Authority, and Mystery' both by Starhawk. Beacon Press trade
|
||
paperback and Harper & Row hardback, respectively.
|
||
If we have gained new religious insights from Pagan and feminist
|
||
philosophy, how are we to incorporate those insights into our daily lives?
|
||
Starhawk, the author of one of our principal texts, pulls together a wide
|
||
range of materials to answer this question in two books as beautifully poetic
|
||
as her first. Some of these things have waited a long time to be said - and
|
||
they couldn't have been said better!
|
||
|
||
'The White Goddess' by Robert Graves. Farrar, Straus, & Giroux trade
|
||
paperback.
|
||
A rather weighty and yet poetic book, tracing the female deity of
|
||
Witchcraft - Goddess of Birth, Love, and Death; of the New, Full, and Old
|
||
Moon, worshipped under countless titles. Fascinating for the advanced
|
||
student. Know your Celtic mythology (particularly Welsh) before you start,
|
||
though! (If you need a quick intro to this book, check out the feature in the
|
||
Reviews SIG.)
|
||
|
||
'Witchcraft Today' and 'The Meaning of Witchcraft' by Gerald B. Gardner.
|
||
Magickal Childe trade paperbacks.
|
||
Gerald Gardner has the distinction of being the first practicing Witch to
|
||
write a book about Witchcraft. He was initiated into one of the surviving
|
||
traditional British Covens, and onto the tattered remnants of magic and ritual
|
||
inherited from them, he grafted elements of ceremonial magic. The synthesis
|
||
that emerged came to be called 'Gardnerian' Witchcraft, and it became the
|
||
major cause of the Witchcraft revival of the twentieth century. Because
|
||
Gardner was the first to deal with this material in written form, it sometimes
|
||
seems very disorganized, but its historical importance is immense
|
||
'An ABC of Witchcraft', 'Natural Magick', and 'Witchcraft for Tomorrow' all by
|
||
Doreen Valiente. Phoenix trade paperbacks.
|
||
British Witch Doreen Valiente is perhaps best known for her work with
|
||
Gerald Gardner in creating the Gardnerian canon of liturgy. However, in her
|
||
own books, she really shines as an amateur folklorist, managing to convey a
|
||
sense of Witchcraft as a folk religion, tied very much to the locality, the
|
||
land, and the oldest strains of folk wisdom and nature. Her sense of history
|
||
and tradition is rich and deep, and she often presents fascinating historical
|
||
tidbits about the Craft. From no other author can one gain such a rich sense
|
||
of heritage.
|
||
|
||
'A History of Witchcraft: Sorcerers, Heretics, & Pagans' by Jeffrey B.
|
||
Russell. Thames and Hudson trade paperback.
|
||
This book represents the approach of a gifted Cornell historian. Although
|
||
Russell doesn't always adequately cover modern sources, he has become famous
|
||
for his ability to integrate a sensible approach to the evidence of medieval
|
||
Witchcraft with an acceptance of modern Neo-Pagan Witchcraft.
|
||
|
||
'Magical Rites from the Crystal Well' by Ed Fitch. Llewellyn trade
|
||
paperback.
|
||
A book of rites, simple celebrations of land and water, wind and fire.
|
||
Rites of passage, seasonal celebrations, magical workings, healings, and many
|
||
more. Ed Fitch (one of the founders of Pagan Way) is truly in his element
|
||
here. And it is one of the most beautiful books on the Craft ever published.
|
||
The art work alone is worth the price of the book!
|
||
|
||
'A Book of Pagan Rituals' by Herman Slater. Weiser trade paperback.
|
||
Originally published in two volumes as the 'Pagan Way Rituals', this
|
||
extremely beautiful book is just what it says it is: a book of rituals. Not
|
||
authentic Wiccan rituals, but very nearly so, these rituals are often used by
|
||
Covens in the training of neophytes. Like a good Catholic missal, the words
|
||
are printed in 'sense lines' using BOLD PRINT (easier to read by candlelight).
|
||
Anyone who is at least part animist or nature-lover is going to cherish this
|
||
beautiful book.
|
||
|
||
'Celtic Heritage' by Alwyn and Brinley Rees. Thames and Hudson trade
|
||
paperback.
|
||
A good deal of modern Witchcraft can be traced to ancient Celtic sources.
|
||
This book, based in comparative religion, mythology, and anthropology, gives
|
||
one a clear picture of the Celtic world-view. Drawn mainly from Ireland and
|
||
Wales, the study focuses on the interplay of Light and Darkness, Day and
|
||
Night, Summer and Winter, and all the seasonal myths and rituals that make up
|
||
the great Celtic yearly cycle.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
OTHER USEFUL BOOKS:
|
||
|
||
|
||
'The Politics of Women's Spirituality: Essays on the Rise of Spiritualist
|
||
Power Within the Feminist Movement' by Charlene Spretnak. Doubleday trade
|
||
paperback.
|
||
A huge (and, one is tempted to say, the definitive) anthology of feminist
|
||
and Pagan theology. Many familiar authors here: Starhawk, Weinstein, Daly,
|
||
et. al. Subjects range from Amazons to the ethics of magic. A real bargain!
|
||
|
||
'Sex in History' by Reay Tannahill. Stein & Day trade paperback.
|
||
It has often been said that Witchcraft grew out of an earlier 'fertility
|
||
religion' and, although 'fertility' is probably the wrong word here, it is
|
||
undeniable that the history of Witichcraft is irrevocably bound up with the
|
||
history of sexuality. Like Tantrists and many others in the East, Witches
|
||
tend to view sex as sacramental. Since this is quite contrary to the
|
||
prevailing attitudes of our own culture, it may be helpful to understand how
|
||
our culture acquired such negative ideas about sex in the first place. Ms.
|
||
Tannahill's unique landmark study will not only answer this question but also
|
||
indicate the many options other cultures throughout history have chosen.
|
||
|
||
'When God Was A Woman' by Merlin Stone. Harcourt, Brace, & Jovanovich trade
|
||
paperback.
|
||
At the foundations of the religion of Witchcraft is the religion of the
|
||
Goddess. Ms. Stone's book is an archeological tour-de-force of that religion,
|
||
which is found at the beginnings of virtually every known culture (yes, even
|
||
the Judeo-Christian culture). In this book, one learns about the worship of
|
||
Astarte, Isis, Ishtar, and many others. Also recommended is her 'Ancient
|
||
Mirrors of Womanhood'. Both are splendid books!
|
||
|
||
'A Different Heaven and Earth' by Sheila D. Collins. Judson Press trade
|
||
paperback.
|
||
By one of the leading feminist theologians of our day, this book asks what
|
||
are the psychological and social implications of worshipping a male deity
|
||
exclusively, while ignoring the feminine principle in religion. This is one
|
||
of the most influencial books I've read in the last ten years. It changed my
|
||
way of thinking (for the better) and I dare say it will change yours.
|
||
|
||
'The Way of Wyrd' by Brian Bates. Harper & Row hardback.
|
||
What Carlos Castaneda did for Native American tradition, this author does
|
||
for ancient Pagan Anglo-Saxon tradition. Subtitled 'The Book of a Sorcerer's
|
||
Apprentice' and based on authentic manuscripts found in the British Museum, it
|
||
is the chronicle of a young Christian monk sent into the wilds beyond Mercia
|
||
in 674 to record the heresies (beliefs) of the Pagans. He is lucky to have as
|
||
his guide the Anglo-Saxon shaman Wulf. Throughout this documentary novel, the
|
||
Christian and Pagan beliefs are juxtaposed for a better understanding of both.
|
||
Not since 'The Mists of Avalon' has a book accomplished this task so neatly.
|
||
|
||
'Positive Magic' - revised edition - by Marion Weinstein. Phoenix
|
||
Publications trade paperback.
|
||
Although a book about how to use magic to change your life could be
|
||
extremely tedious, this one is far from it. While it is true that Marion uses
|
||
a simple and direct style of writing, it is used on such difficult and subtle
|
||
questions as the ethics of magic. She draws upon her own experiences to
|
||
create a book that is truely positive. If I had to recommend one book on
|
||
magic, this would be it!
|
||
|
||
'Earth Power' by Scott Cunningham. Llewellyn trade paperback.
|
||
Scott is arguably the strongest of the young writers in the immensely
|
||
popular 'Llewellyn's Practical Magick Series'. This is, in fact, a book of
|
||
spells. Practical, down-to-earth, useful, everyday, garden-variety spells.
|
||
It is the only such book in this bibliography. Although I do not recommend a
|
||
'cookbook' approach to magic, this book will be extremely helpful when used as
|
||
a guide for creating your own spells. Also, Scott concentrates on 'natural'
|
||
or 'folk' magic, as opposed to 'ritual' or 'ceremonial' magic. This is the
|
||
type of magic (involving Sun, Moon, stars, trees, rocks, springs, etc.) that
|
||
is the natural heritage of Witchcraft. An excellent starting-place for the
|
||
novice spell-wright. His many other books, especially 'The Magical
|
||
Household', are all highly recommended.
|
||
|
||
'The Medium, the Mystic, and the Physicist' and 'Alternate Realities' by
|
||
Lawrence LeShan. Ballantine paperbacks.
|
||
Dr. LeShan does not deal with magic or Witchcraft per se, but what he has
|
||
to say about the nature of the cosmos is magical indeed. He is an
|
||
3 MINUTES REMAINING!
|
||
|
||
experimental psychologist, an Esalen veteran, director of ESP research,
|
||
psychic healing, and other projects. His is a synthesis of philosophy,
|
||
parapsychology, and Einsteinian physics. His other books, especially 'How To
|
||
Meditate' (Bantam paperback), are also of great value.
|
||
|
||
'Seth Speaks' and 'The Seth Material' by Jane Roberts. Bantam paperbacks.
|
||
Yet another startlingly clear (albeit less scientific) look at
|
||
metaphysics. This is probably the cream of the crop of all modern mediumistic
|
||
data: Seth is the communicant, and the late Jane Roberts is the medium. The
|
||
other 'Seth' books are also of value.
|
||
|
||
'Psychic Exploration: A Challenge for Science' by Edgar Mitchell, edited by
|
||
John White. Putnam trade paperback.
|
||
This anthology serves as an excellent introduction to the scientific field
|
||
of parapsychology. Each chapter is an extensive review article on laboratory
|
||
work carried out in one particular sub-genre of the field: telepathy,
|
||
clairvoyance, precognition, psychokinesis, OOBE's, apparitions & hauntings,
|
||
etc. These excellent articles will bring you up-to-date on virtually
|
||
everything that is currently known about the topic in question. Other
|
||
chapters deal with the history of the discipline, social & psychological
|
||
implications, military applications, etc. This book could open the mind of
|
||
the severest skeptic. But at the same time, it could serve as a necessary
|
||
check on those too-credulous souls who have a tendency to 'believe
|
||
everything'.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
BOOKS ON RELATED SUBJECTS:
|
||
|
||
ASTROLOGY: For the absolute beginner, 'Chart Your Own Horoscope' by Ursula
|
||
Lewis. Pinnacle paperback. The find-at-a-glance tables and charts are worth
|
||
their weight in gold. For the more advanced students, Michael Meyer's 'A
|
||
Handbook for the Humanistic Astrologer' is highly recommended for its
|
||
'humanistic' (a la Dane Rudyar) approach. If you want to really learn to do
|
||
astrology, try 'The Only Way To Learn Astrology, Vol I-IV' by March & McEvers.
|
||
Books by Linda Goodman, Grant Lewi, Ronald Davison, and Liz Greene are also
|
||
recommended.
|
||
|
||
TAROT: 'Secrets of the Tarot' by Barbara Walker is the best of the newest
|
||
books on Tarot. You may know Barbara as the author of the amazing 'Woman's
|
||
Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets'. Bill Butler's 'Dictionary of the Tarot'
|
||
is a wonderful reference book which encompasses works by such authors as Case,
|
||
Crowley, Douglas, Gray, Huson, Kaplan, Mathers, Papus, Waite, et. al.
|
||
|
||
ESP: Any and all books by J. B. and Louisa Rhine, Gertrude Schmeidler, Thelma
|
||
Moss, Charles Tart, D. Scott Rogo, J. G. Pratt, Raynor Johnson and Lawrence
|
||
LeShan would be highly recommended.
|
||
|
||
PALMISTRY: 'The Palmistry Workbook' by N. Altman is clearly the leader here.
|
||
The book actually has hand-prints, not just line drawings!
|
||
|
||
GHOSTS: Firstly, I'd recommend 'An Experience of Phantoms' and 'The
|
||
Poltergeist Experience' both by D. Scott Rogo (Penguin paperbacks), who is a
|
||
kind of historian of psychical research. Also, 'The Poltergeist' by William
|
||
Roll, director of the Psychical Research Foundation, and this country's
|
||
leading authority on ghosts. And most importantly, 'Conjuring Up Phillip' by
|
||
Iris M. Owen, the account of a group of Canadian researchers who 'created' a
|
||
ghost! This last title is now out of print, but if you can find one in a used
|
||
book store, it's well worth it.
|
||
SURVIVAL: 'At the Hour of Death' by Karlis Osis is exceptional. Books by
|
||
Elizabeth Kubler-Ross are adequate, but not as good. And, if you can find it,
|
||
the out-of-print 'Life Is Forever' by Susy Smith is perhaps the best
|
||
introduction.
|
||
|
||
OUT-OF-THE-BODY EXPERIENCES: 'Journeys Out of the Body' and 'Far Journeys'
|
||
both by Robert A. Monroe. The narative of a much-researched psychic, the only
|
||
one of its kind. Also, 'Astral Projection' by Oliver Fox, and any early works
|
||
by Sylvan Muldoon and Hereward Carrington, if you can find them.
|
||
|
||
MEDIUMSHIP: Firstly, the 'Seth' books by Jane Roberts, listed above. Any and
|
||
all books by Eileen Garrett. Plus, 'Here, Mr. Splitfoot' by Robert Sommerlot,
|
||
'Singer in the Shadows' by Irving Litvag, and 'She Spoke to the Dead' by Susy
|
||
Smith.
|
||
|
||
CABALISM: Introductory works include 'The Magician: His Training and Work'
|
||
and 'Magick: Its Ritual, Power, and Purpose' both by W. E. Butler. Later,
|
||
works by Dion Fortune and Aleister Crowley (definately not for the novice).
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
BOOKS OF LORE & MYTHOLOGY:
|
||
|
||
'The Mists of Avalon' by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Ballantine trade paperback.
|
||
This Arthurian fantasy novel, which reached the N.Y. Times best-seller
|
||
list, is truly superlative. It is narrated by Morgan le Fay and so we finally
|
||
understand that strange antipathy that exists between her and Arthur. The
|
||
religious and philosophical conflict between the Old Religion and the newer
|
||
one of Christianity is beautifully portrayed. An excellent choice.
|
||
|
||
The Prydain Chronicles of Lloyd Alexander, a pentology on Dell paperbacks:
|
||
'The Book of Three', 'The Black Cauldron', 'The Castle of Llyr', 'Taran
|
||
Wanderer', and 'The High King'.
|
||
These award-winning children's fantasies are based on ancient Welsh
|
||
mythology. Alexander admits that the two authors who most influenced him were
|
||
J. R. R. Tolkien and T. H. White. The books are also the basis of the recent
|
||
animation feature from Disney studios. I'm often asked about pagan books to
|
||
recommend for children. These are them.
|
||
|
||
The Deryni Chronicles of Katherine Kurtz: 'Deryni Rising', 'Deryni Checkmate',
|
||
'High Deryni', 'Camber of Culdi', 'Saint Camber', Camber the Heretic', 'The
|
||
Bishop's Heir', 'The King's Justice' and 'The Quest for Saint Camber', all
|
||
Ballantine paperbacks.
|
||
Set in the landscape of ancient Wales, the Deryni are a race with magical
|
||
powers which must fight for its life against a medieval Church Militant.
|
||
Kahterine is someone who knows what magic is all about.
|
||
|
||
'The Once and Future King' and 'The Book of Merlyn' both by T. H. White.
|
||
Berkely paperbacks.
|
||
Sparkling books, and my own personal favorites. The final crystalization
|
||
of centuries of Arhturian romance. The books on which 'Camelot' was based.
|
||
|
||
'The Weirdstone of Brisingamen', 'The Moon of Gomrath', 'Elidor', and 'The Owl
|
||
Service' by Alan Garner. All Ballantine paperbacks.
|
||
Garner is one of the best British fantasy authors, with a superb sense of
|
||
local 'color' and folklore. The first two (related) titles are in the heroic
|
||
quest mold, the third is a story about the four 'hallows' of Arthurian
|
||
legends, and the fourth is an eerie modern re-creation of the fourth branch of
|
||
the 'Mabinogi'.
|
||
|
||
'A Wizard of Earhtsea', 'The Tombs of Atuan', and 'The Farthest Shore' by
|
||
Ursula K. LeGuin. A trilogy on Bantam paperbacks.
|
||
This is the chronicle of a young boy who is an apprentice mage. LeGuin, a
|
||
leading science fiction and fantasy author, has some fascinating things to say
|
||
about the light side and dark side of magic, and how they're related. And she
|
||
says it very well, indeed.
|
||
|
||
'Lammas Night' by Katherine Kurtz. Ballantine paperback.
|
||
In this case, the author of the important Deryni fantasies turns her
|
||
attention to a historical setting: England in World War II. There is a
|
||
long-standing tradition that Hitler's thwarted plans for invading England owed
|
||
a certain something to the many Covens throughout Britain who combined their
|
||
efforts to stop him. There is even a hint that the Royal Family itself was
|
||
involved. Ms. Kurtz's historical research is, of course, impeccable.
|
||
|
||
|
||
|