Books & Texts¶

This page is a living list

Add to it whenever you find something worth recommending.

The Craft & Wicca¶

Hutton, Ronald. The Triumph of the Moon (1999) -- the definitive academic history of modern pagan witchcraft. Hutton traces the roots of Wicca through Victorian occultism, Romantic poetry, and folk magic with rigorous scholarship and genuine affection for his subject. Essential reading.
Valiente, Doreen. The Rebirth of Witchcraft (1989) -- a first-hand account from one of Wicca's most important figures. Valiente was Gerald Gardner's High Priestess and rewrote much of the Wiccan liturgy. This is history told by someone who made it.
Leland, Charles Godfrey. Aradia, or the Gospel of the Witches (1899) -- see our notes
Pazzaglini, Mario & Dina. Aradia: A New Translation (1999) -- critical edition with fresh translation from the Italian, including scholarly commentary on the text's authenticity and significance
Farrar, Janet & Stewart. A Witches' Bible: The Complete Witches' Handbook (1984) -- combines Eight Sabbats for Witches and The Witches' Way into a comprehensive guide to Wiccan practice, including detailed rituals for all eight sabbats on the Wheel of the Year
Wilby, Emma. Cunning Folk and Familiar Spirits (2005) -- explores the shamanic and visionary dimensions of early modern English witchcraft, arguing that the familiar spirit tradition has deep parallels with shamanic helping spirits worldwide

Doughty, Caitlin. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes (2014) -- memoir of working in a crematory; funny, honest, and essential. The book that launched the death-positive movement
Doughty, Caitlin. From Here to Eternity (2017) -- death practices from around the world, from open-air cremation in Crestone, Colorado to the turning of the bones in Madagascar
Doughty, Caitlin. Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? (2019) -- answers to questions about death that children (and adults) actually ask. Illustrated, irreverent, and surprisingly moving
Harris, Mark. Grave Matters (2007) -- a guide to green burial and alternatives to conventional funerals
Roach, Mary. Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers (2003) -- what happens to bodies after death, told with dark humour. Covers everything from medical cadavers to human composting
Jalland, Pat. Death in the Victorian Family (1996) -- scholarly study of Victorian mourning culture, drawing on letters, diaries, and personal papers
Mitford, Jessica. The American Way of Death Revisited (1998) -- the classic exposé of the American funeral industry, updated from the 1963 original. Scathing, witty, and still relevant

Hatsis, Thomas. The Witches' Ointment (2015) -- the most thorough modern account of flying ointments and their pharmacology, tracing the tradition from medieval sources through to modern analysis
Stewart, Amy. Wicked Plants (2009) -- accessible and entertaining guide to dangerous flora, illustrated throughout
Müller-Ebeling, Claudia; Rätsch, Christian; Storl, Wolf-Dieter. Witchcraft Medicine: Healing Arts, Shamanic Practices, and Forbidden Plants (2003) -- ethnobotanical study of plants in magical practice, covering the nightshades, flying ointments, and the intersection of herbalism and shamanism
Grieve, Mrs M. A Modern Herbal (1931) -- comprehensive reference to the medicinal, culinary, and folkloric uses of over 800 plants. Available in full at botanical.com. Invaluable for anyone interested in the poison garden tradition

Harley, Timothy. Moon Lore (1885) -- see our notes
Briggs, Katharine. A Dictionary of Fairies (1976) -- comprehensive reference on fairy folklore, including entries on the Black Dog, the Banshee, and many of the creatures discussed in Animals as Omens of Death
Lecouteux, Claude. Phantom Armies of the Night (2011) -- wild hunts, ghostly processions, and the folklore of the restless dead. Connects to the Odin/Wild Hunt material in Psychopomps
Hutton, Ronald. The Stations of the Sun: A History of the Ritual Year in Britain (1996) -- the definitive scholarly account of British seasonal festivals, including Samhain, Beltane, and the rest of the calendar
Danaher, Kevin. The Year in Ireland: Irish Calendar Customs (1972) -- detailed account of Irish seasonal observances, rich with first-hand accounts and local variation
McNeill, F. Marian. The Silver Bough (1957--1968) -- four-volume study of Scottish folklore and festivals. Thorough, affectionate, and beautifully written
Waring, Philippa. A Dictionary of Omens and Superstitions (1978) -- comprehensive reference for British folk beliefs, useful alongside the death omens page
Gregory, Lady Augusta. Visions and Beliefs in the West of Ireland (1920) -- includes a chapter on Biddy Early and other healers, collected from people who knew her. W.B. Yeats wrote the introduction

Waite, Arthur Edward. The Pictorial Key to the Tarot (1910) -- Waite designed the Rider-Waite-Smith deck (with artist Pamela Colman Smith) and this is his guide to its symbolism. Foundational for anyone interested in tarot
Greer, Mary K. Tarot for Your Self (1984) -- practical guide to using tarot as a tool for self-understanding rather than fortune-telling. Warm, thoughtful, and non-dogmatic
Regardie, Israel. The Golden Dawn (1937) -- comprehensive account of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn's rituals and teachings, including their approach to scrying, tarot, and ceremonial divination

Villars, Abbe de. The Comte de Gabalis (1670) -- see our notes
Agrippa von Nettesheim. De Occulta Philosophia -- foundational text of Western occultism; Black Letter Press has a new translation in multiple volumes
Principe, Lawrence. The Secrets of Alchemy (2013) -- accessible scholarly introduction to the history of alchemy, from Egyptian metallurgy through to Newton's secret notebooks
Linden, Stanton. The Alchemy Reader: From Hermes Trismegistus to Isaac Newton (2003) -- primary source anthology, useful for anyone who wants to read the alchemists in their own words

Davies, Owen. Popular Magic: Cunning-folk in English History (2007) -- the leading scholarly account of the cunning folk tradition in England, covering their services, their clients, and their persecution
Braude, Ann. Radical Spirits: Spiritualism and Women's Rights in Nineteenth-Century America (2001) -- the definitive account of the link between spiritualism and feminism
Stuart, Nancy Rubin. The Reluctant Spiritualist: The Life of Maggie Fox (2005) -- biography of the elder Fox sister, tracing the arc from the Hydesville rappings to her public confession
Simpson, Jacqueline & Roud, Steve. A Dictionary of English Folklore (2000) -- Oxford reference covering sin-eaters, corpse roads, telling the bees, and hundreds of other traditions
Ryan, Meda. Biddy Early: The Wise Woman of Clare -- the most detailed account of Biddy's life, drawn from oral history and local records