Scott Cunningham

Cunningham's classic introduction to Wicca is about how to live life magically, spiritually, and wholly attuned with nature. It is a book of sense and common sense, not only about magick, but about religion and one of the most critical issues of today: how to achieve the much needed and wholesome relationship with our Earth. Cunningham presents Wicca as it is today: a gentle, Earth-oriented religion dedicated to the Goddess and God. Wicca also includes Scott Cunningham's own Book of Shadows and updated appendices of periodicals and occult suppliers.

A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner

Wicca

Provides an overview of the earth-oriented religion, featuring solitary rituals for the Esbats and Sabbats, exercises to help develop magical proficiency, spells, and recipes.

Colton Ray

An interesting look at an interesting way of life/religion. I like the focus on nature and the individualistic approach to things. I also like how there are few set rules or mandates and no formal worship. It's basically DIY spirituality, which is nice if you're so inclined. It's not something I'm going to go all in for, and plenty of it's just really goofy. However, it's a very well written book despite its age, and a neat look into this misunderstood belief system.

Fiona Coffey

So I know this book is widely considered to be one of the best books on Wicca (and witchcraft in general) ever written, and I don’t necessarily disagree but I did want to point out a few things. 

Firstly, I want to acknowledge that this book was written a while ago. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it’s outdated, but it does pretty much stick to a “one goddess, one god” formula, though a lot of Wiccans worship multiple goddesses and gods. I am also not Wiccan, I’m an eclectic pagan witch (who happens to enjoy a lot of aspects of Wicca, but I wouldn’t say that it is my entire craft) so that could be part of why that didn’t sit 100% with me. 

I think this book is a perfect overview of Wicca specifically, and I especially loved Cunningham’s invocations and book of shadows section. My only real complaint is that the book assumes that you have access to nature, such as a tall cliff, and a secluded forest (among other things) and the way it is written sort of implies that if you can’t access those things you’re doing it wrong. Yes Wicca is a nature based religion, but that doesn’t mean that if you live in the city you can’t be a witch. I found myself feeling disappointed that I couldn’t do all of the spells because I can’t practice outside and don’t have direct access to nature-y areas. Of course you should follow certain rules, but that shouldn’t mean that you can’t practice Wicca unless you have all of the perfect tools and the perfect outdoors area to do it in. 

All in all I actually enjoyed the book, especially the correspondences and reference sections, and I think that I might enjoy Cunningham’s other books more than this one. This is a very good basis to build off of, I just want complete beginners to know that you can make your craft your own, don’t forget to read books by multiple authors to get different perspectives, and you don’t have to do everything the exact way one author says you should. It’s okay to pick and choose what resonates with you.

La Wicca, de Scott Cunningham, est considéré connue le meilleur livre sur la tradition ancestrale de la magie blanche. Avec pédagogie, l'auteur nous initie tout d'abord aux principes, aux déités, aux rituels et aux outils qui permettent de se relier magiquement et spirituellement aux énergies de la Terre. Ensuite, pour le volet pratique de la Wicca, des exercices à base de visualisation et de méditation ainsi que des techniques magiques, faciles à réaliser, sont proposés. La dernière partie contient le précieux Livre des ombres, de l'auteur, avec des invocations et des informations essentielles sur les herbes, les huiles, les encens, les cristaux, les runes, etc. Un manuel complet et pratique de magie sacrée érigée en art de vivre.

Guide de pratique individuelle

La Wicca

Jurassic Jones

VF : J'ai trouvé ce livre instructif sur certains point de la Wicca, on a tout les éléments essentiels pour un débutant. Malgré tout j'ai trouvé que certaines choses étaient trop "extrême" ou un peu trop contradictoire dans les convictions et les besoins matériaux. J'ai parfois été en désaccord sur certains point mais cela reste une belle introduction à la Wicca pour les novices par contre ne pas tout prendre au pied de la lettre.

VO : I found this book informative on some point of Wicca, so you have all the essentials for a beginner. Despite everything I found that some things were too "extreme" or a little too contradictory in beliefs and material needs. I have sometimes disagreed on some point but it is still a nice introduction to Wicca for novices on the other hand do not take everything literally.

Wicca A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner

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