These books available for sale here	These two books Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner and Living Wicca are probably my choice for the best of the best.  Scott Cunningham opened the doors for each person to be able to find their own Spiritual Path of Wicca.   This is what the Wiccan Movement is all about today.  They really should combine these books into one volume someday. See my article on Scott Cunningham. Read a review on Solitary Practitioner HERE! Read a review on Living Wicca HERE!
	Sybil Leek did give us the "Tenets of Witchcraft" in her book The Complete Art of Witchcraft.  This is an out of print book, so if you can find it in a used bookshop, grab it.  There is alot here to dogear and reference.
	Dorothy Morrison has a  classic in this book Everyday Magic.  She brings being a witch into the present day. This book has practical, common sense and plain English instructions for being as magical as you will let yourself be.  I put it in the top ten cause its a wonderfully written and well presented book.
	A wonderful look at the origins of the present day Neo-Pagan Movement, and a book that is constantly updated is Drawing Down the Moon by Margot Adler.  While it is a text book, which means it can be slow in parts, it is the definitive book on the movement and a must read for all pagans.
	The Practical Pagan : Common Sense Guidelines for Modern Practitioners by Dana Eilers Pagans and the Law – Understand Your Rights by Dana D. Eilers Finally, a book that deals with the realities of being pagan in a mundane world. For those not familiar with Dana Eilers, she is a witch, she is a lawyer.  She has worked for legal council for such groups as WARD, AREN and WADL.  She has put in "years" of voluntary time to various Pagan/Witch/Wiccan groups as legal council as well as just time spent helping bring order to a chaotic situation. Her book does the same thing.  While we are all aware of our spiritual paths, we do encounter legal entanglements that may or may not be of our own making. In those things that we mess up for ourselves. Ms. Eilers offers advice and council as to how to unmake those messes and avoid them in the future. Much of it is common sense, hence the name of the book. In those cases where our problems may be because of the religious path we choose to follow and are being either discriminated against or denied our rights, Ms. Eilers has placed chapter and verse of the law at our fingertips, to enable us to understand, in plain English (my goodness, a lawyer who speaks plain English, how unique and so definitely Pagan!) what our options are, where to seek council and material to provide any legal representative we may choose to aid us.  Yes, this is a must have on your library shelf!!!!  I would love to have several copies I could give away to some of the people I meet everyday in the pagan world, just so I pass along the common sense some people don't use that the Goddess gave them. If nothing else, give this book a serious read.  Ask at your local libraries and make sure they get a copy and keep it in stock.  It is a much needed book in our community and will prove to be a valuable tool to the community over the years.  Thank you Dana! For Dana's new book, please see this link: Pagans and the Law – Understand Your Rights
	Patricia Monaghan is a teacher, and an expert on Goddess Myth and Lore as well as a respected member of our community.  Her book The Goddess Path is an excellent resource for finding the Goddess within each of us.
	Yasmine Galenorn is a wonderful writer and her book Trancing the Witches Wheel is probably her best.  This book offers guided meditations on the Wheel of the Year and is another excellent resource
!	Wheel of the Year by Pauline Campanelli and illustrated by her husband Dan Campanelli.  This is just a wonderful book, and besides the great writing, the illustrations are the best.  A tribute to the writing capabilities of the late Pauline Campanelli, who, with her husband, was also a great artist.  She will be missed.
	Wiccan Warrior by Kerr Cuhulain is a great book about the other side of Wicca, the side of the Warrior.  Kerr looks at the practical side of being involved in daily life from the aspect of one who is a Police Officer and also applies this to everyday life.
This book available for sale here	Everyone needs an Encyclopedia and the one for the Pagan is Raven Grimassi's Encyclopedia of Wicca & Witchcraft.  This book covers not only the Gods/Goddesses and tools and Sabbats and history, it covers the people, the movers and shakers and offers good solid information about all.  A handy reference book and a good choice.

 

	Z. Budapest is the Modern Mother of American Dianic Wicca here in the United States, and though I am not Dianic in my path, I do feel that  Summoning the Fates is a good look at her path.  Also, there is the less of the Fates here, which I feel is a good lesson for everyone to learn.  Give this one a read.  It is a powerful personal empowerment book.
This book available for sale here	The Green Witchcraft books by Ann Moura are a good selection of books on a path that many feel is the definitive path for witches.  While you may not always agree with all that is in these books, there is alot of basics and good common sense advice here that is worth gleaning from these books.  Great material and worth reading.  I have the link to the first book here, you can find the rest.
	Some people may be surprised at my inclusion of this book by Ellen Cannon Reed, but I have to say this book by her is probably the best on the subject.  A die hard traditionalist, Ellen writes about what she knows best in The Heart of Wicca.  A book for those who are traditionalists or who want to see how traditional Wicca works.  While there are some things that Ellen and I do not agree on, there is good material and food for though in here.
	I love this book by Ted Andrews.  Animal Speak is about the associations that animals have on our everyday life.  What does this bird mean, or what does this animal have to say to me.  I run into some strange situations with animals these days, and I find there are words of wisdom in what they have to say.  This book helps sort out the meanings of the messages.  A good reference book.
.	Doreen Valiente has many books she has written - but I particularly liked this one the best.  The Rebirth of Witchcraft is a history of Witchcraft, and gives us a glimpse of what it was like for Doreen at that stage of Witchcrafts development.  This title is out of print, there are used copied every once in a while, and if you find it in the used bookstore, grab it.
	Having enjoyed a class by Mr. Dominguez, and finding the material he covered to be of great interest, I followed up by purchasing a copy of his book, Castings: The Creation of Sacred Space. Let me first say I found the content to be extremely well written, in easy to understand concepts. It's rare when a teacher can take such complex material and make it so easy to get the concepts across to the average reader. The material covered in his book is not simple, but he does have a special way of making it understandable. Mr. Dominguez came across to me as a first class teacher. Castings covers exactly that, Casting the Circle which we all know so well. Mr. Dominguez covers the basics first, of centering, grounding and building a place within yourself and without to cast your Circle. The meditative exercises are well constructed and provide a good strong basis to work from. Mr. Dominguez then proceeds to examine what a Circle is, from the theory to the Spiritual reality. Mr. Dominguez explores with the reader the concept of time, space and realities. I found this part of the book to be one of the best explained concepts on Circle Castings I have ever read. Mr. Dominguez also provides the reader with exercises which are again well written, providing clear instruction and easy direction. There is also a section on Pentacles and their use as magical symbols. Again, well explained, with clear and concise definition. Finally, Mr. Dominguez offers other types of Castings that do not follow the traditional Circle method. For those who have studied for a while, you may be aware there are other Casting methods, and might even have run into a teacher who may have known one or two. Mr. Dominguez presents us with 7 variations, again with the clear instruction and well written direction. He discusses their uses, limitations, interactions with other castings and recommendations for mastering their uses. Mr. Dominguez is Wiccan and the aspects of his Circle casting are Wiccan in flavor. He does, however, show the similarities between various Spiritual Paths and how they relate to each other. I guess you can say I am impressed with Mr. Dominguez and his ability to relate such material without being over my head and unintelligible. This book is a pleasure to read on a topic that can be difficult and dry and almost unbearable in the hands of a lesser teacher.

Not on my list to recommend!

With all the great books out there, or good books that have been written by various authors, you have to ask yourself....  Why did so and so write this?  You can take my word on it, or you can go out and see for yourself....

	The Wiccan Rede - Couplets of the Law, Teachings, and Enchantments by Mark Ventimiglia If you want to read some of the things Mr. Ventimiglia has to say about his ideas on what Wicca is and what Wiccan's should be, then go up to the Amazon link (above) and read my review.  Most of my review is quoted from his book, in his own words.  There were more items I wanted to include, but Amland (Amazon) editors are fickle and do not always allow certain topics on the reviews. My biggest beef with this book is Mr. Ventimiglia took a poem and has interpreted it as "law".  He does not mention that this came from a 1975 Green Egg magazine submission, but does seem to insinuate that this is an ancient work that needs to be interpreted so you can understand it better.  And his interpretations are that you can't be gay (pg 125), you must be a vegetarian (pg 32) and you probably have way too much of everything for your own good (pg 160), to name a few. For those of you who do not have a dictionary, a "Rede" is a suggestion, a counsel, an advice.  It is not a law.  Next.... A student of Raymond Buckland, he has a ULC Doctorate and is ordained by ULC (so? 3 minutes on line, and you can be one too) which he seems to think is important.  He has also been disowned by his own Tradition. Not worth the money, time or effort.
	5 Easy Steps to Becoming a Witch by Gilly Sergiev This is a silly book. Just from the title alone, it should tell you that. You don't become anything in 5 steps. Reading the contents, it appears that all you need is a God/Goddess or a Guardian Angel (ummm... that's a concept that doesn't seem too witchy), a witchy appearance, a set of witchy tools, some spells and some mystical specialties. I almost stopped there. But I read through this book. The author attempts to boil down being a witch into its basics. The book is probably meant to be a pocket guide, but the thought of taking a life style and selling it as easy to achieve in 5 steps is ludicrous. A pocket book does not replace learning to live a life style. The size of the book seems to be skimpy as well, and its pricey. If you want something "cute" for that witch in your life, get her a broom. But if you are looking for something with real meat and potatoes in it, this is not the book. Stocking stuffer maybe, if you are feeling really extravagant. Otherwise, move into something a bit more serious.
	Silver Ravenwolf's Teen Witch Kit : Everything You Need to Make Magick by Silver Ravenwolf, Natasha Melhuish (Illustrator) Teen Witch Kit - is this necessary? I do realize that if Llewellyn and Silver Ravenwolf didn't put this together then someone else would have, but I do think Llewellyn should have passed on this one. What really disappointed me was not all the doo dads included in the package. It was the contents of the book. It was basically a brief rehash of Silver Ravenwolf's "Teen Witch", and a "how to" use the little doo dads included in the box. It is sold as a "All You Need To Know" on a path that is more than just spells and playing witch. Nothing here was on the real basics of the path of Wicca or WitchCraft. If you are a Silver Ravenwolf fan, nothing I say could stop you from purchasing this. But there are some far better places to spend your cash.
	The Wiccan Spell Kit by Sirona Knight CopyCat Award.  Book is pure fluff, contents are mostly lists of meanings and associations.  Poor binding and cheap paper.  Kit contains a stone with an engraved/gold painted pentacle (the one I got was actually nice looking), a tiny sage smudge stick, tumbled quartz crystal, a vial of lavendar oil (actually, not bad oil) and a teny, tiny witch's broom (it will take you all night to sweep your circle with this).  While there have been some books by Ms. Knight worth having, this item is not.
	Zodiac Manager : An Astrological Expose of Everyone in the Office by J. T. Ford The title seems to say it best "An Astrological Expose of Everyone in the Office" and it should be taken with a large grain of salt.  This is not the ultimate book in deciding someone's working capabilities, though it tries to make itself out to be.  And it is not the essential Evil HR Directors hiring handbook, though it seems to be pointing in that direction. While interesting to read, seems to be placing itself as a substitute for making personal judgements of a person based on experiences.  Beware of the interview where you find this book on the HR Director's desk.
	Nocturnal Witchcraft : Magick After Dark by Konstantinos Opening phrases like "Mysteries of the Dark" and "Craft of the Night" almost suggests this book is about Vampires or Goths.  Everything in this book corresponds or responds to "black and silver". I almost hear Bella saying "Children of the Night, how I love to hear them sing".   This coming from an author who has discussed vampirism on "Ricki Lake" and been interviewed in the book "Piercing the Darkness: Undercover with Vampires in America Today".  While alot of the material here is 101 Wicca in the study of Moon Cycles material (both full and dark moons)  and would be good for the beginner, I found that Konstantinos is trying to repackage this as a separate path, and selling it as "Night Magic".    The basics are here if you want.  But I feel it is out of context.   Those who follow the Dark of the Night also walk in the Light of Day.