Recommended Reading List

A classic since its intial publication in 1970 some might say its dated now (and it is), however it still stands as a practical and pragmatic guide. Plenty of spells, divination and guides on protection and counter magick and vengeance and attack.

A combination of two previously published texts Eight Sabbats for Witches 1981 and The Witches’ Way 1984 this is a now comprehensive work that brings both together in one hefty tome. You’ll find this on most Traditional Initiate bookshelves and in most neo-Wiccan’s libraries as well. It’s dated now, and care may be taken to remember when it was first published, howeer it’s still a relevant text.

Published in 1959 not long after laws punishing witches were repealed in Britain, it was the first sympathetic book written from the point of view of a practicing witch. The Meaning of Witchcraft is still an invaluable source book for witches today. Chapters include: Witch’s Memories and Beliefs, The Stone Age Origins of Witchcraft, Druidism and the Aryan Celts, Magic Thinking, Curious Beliefs about Witches, Signs and Symbols, and The Black Mass. Will give any new practitioner some insight into what Gardner was like and what the world of Wicca was like in the late 50’s.

Vivianne Crowley’s text delves into the core beliefs, rituals, and practices of Wicca, making it an invaluable resource for novices and experienced practitioners alike. Particularly interesting if you’re into Jungian analysis and symbology.

In this concise and important treatise Michael Howard delineates between various modern neo-pagan Wiccan traditions, cunning folk traditions, heathen folk or the ‘pagani,’ and an assortment of ritual magicians and pathworkers in order to present a ‘gramarye’ distinctly for those who aspire to the ‘Old Craft.’ The seasonal rituals are based on traditional witchcraft and folklore sources and have been specially written for this book.

The mid-twentieth century saw the birth of popular occultism in Europe and the New World, including an interest in witchcraft. Chief among these was Wicca, a recension of ceremonial magic and nature worship advanced by Gerald Gardner and Alex Sanders, now widely regarded as a religion. However, lesser-known streams of the witch-current thrived the shadows, having older historical roots, and linked to a body of practice – witch-bottles, knotted cord spells, curses, exorcisms, sexual magic, and charms ranging from the conjuration of angels to protection for livestock and hearth. This is Traditional Witchcraft, whose origin in part lies with the sorcery of the cunning-folk of Britain and Colonial America. Eschewing the popular occult limelight, its perpetuation as a mystery-cult continues as a largely closed group of initiates. Now revised and expanded, the second edition of CHILDREN OF CAIN is the definitive history of Traditional Witchcraft and its key operatives in Britain and the United States, and is based on over forty years of research and private collaboration with practitioners of this mysterious form of folk magic.