THE WELL-READ WITCH
Carl McColman
The Career Press Essential Books for Your Magickal Library
THE WELL-READ WITCH
By Carl McColman
NEW PAGE BOOKS A division of The Career Press, Inc. Franklin Lakes, NJ Copyright © 2002 by Carl McColman All rights reserved under the Pan-American and International Copyright Conventions. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photo- copying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or hereafter invented, without written permission from the publisher, The Career Press. The Well-Read Witch Edited by Kristen Mohn Typeset by Eileen Dow Munson Cover design by Cheryl Cohan Finbow Printed in the U.S.A. by Book-mart Press To order this title, please call toll-free 1-800-CAREER-1 (NJ and Canada: 201-848-0310) to order using VISA or MasterCard, or for fur- ther information on books from Career Press.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
McColman, Carl. The well read witch : essential books for your magickal library / by Carl McColman p.cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-56414-530-1 1. Magic—Bibliography. I Title
Z6878.M3 M33 2001 [BF1611] 016.1334’3—dc21 2001044395 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Many people have provided help, advice, support, encour- agement, and (most important of all) recommendations of books to review. Thanks to Lord Athanor, Lord Dewrdrych, Nina L. Diamond, Diona, Lord Dorian, Cathryn Ellen, Judith Hawkins-Tillirson, David Herman, Lord Hermes, Gwen Knighton, Mike Lewis, Lady Magdalena, Lord Mikiel, Tom Murphy, Karen Price, Lady Ramona, Raven, Rayna, Lisa Roggow, Linda Roghaar, Pam Williams and Lord Ziggy Deucalion, and everyone at New Leaf Distributing, New Page Books, the House of Oak Spring, the Grove of the Unicorn, and the Earth Mystic Meditation Circle. Thanks to everyone who participated in my online survey at www.wellreadwitch.com, or who has taken the time to de- velop Wiccan Web sites with recommended readings lists, or posted Wiccan booklists on Amazon.com. There are too many of you to list by name, but I appreciate your love of books as well as your willingness to share your opinions. Heartfelt thanks to Dennis O’Connor, who, on a summer afternoon at Dumbarton Oaks in 1983, suggested I read Starhawk’s The Spiral Dance. That was a decisive moment in my journey to the Goddess. The Well-Read Witch is my tribute to that life-changing recommendation. Kudos to Lady Aurora Twilight, Lady Devayana Augusta, Numina, and Linda Sherer, who read early drafts of this book and offered many valuable suggestions. Special thanks to Francesca De Grandis for her thoughtful perspective on the relationship between oral tradition and the written word. Finally, my deepest thanks go to Lady Galadriel, who not only gave generously of her time by recommending books from her ex- tensive library, but also shared her thoughts on the role of the written word in Witchcraft and offered her comments on an early draft of this book. Of course, the warts that remain are my responsibility. This book is dedicated to the healing of the earth—and to everyone who has ever recommended a book they enjoy to a person they love. CONTENTS
1. Bell, Book, and Candle: 9 The Role of the Book in Witchcraft 2. Book of Shadows: 17 Oral Tradition and the Written Word 3. Discernment: 23 How to Figure Out Which Witch Books to Read (and Which Ones to Ignore) 4. How to Use This Book 29 5. For the Beginner: 35 A Brief Introduction to Wicca Part One: Discovering Wicca 43 6. Introductory Books on Wicca 45 7. Introductory Books on Paganism 53 8. Intermediate Wiccan Books 61 9. Advanced Wiccan Books 67 10. Wiccan Classics (Published Before 1979) 73
Part Two: The Elements of Wicca 79 11. The Goddess 81 12. The God (and Male Spirituality) 87 13. Mysticism and Meditation 93 14. Shamanism 99 15. Psychic Development 105 16. Magick 111 17. Divination 117 18. Ritual 125 19. Healing 131 20. Herbalism 137 21. Cycles of the Sun and Moon 143 22. Folklore 149 23. Mythology 155 24. The Inspiration of the Celts 161 25. The Inspiration of World Cultures 167 26. The Occult Tradition 173
Part Three: Wicca in the Real World 181 27. History for Witches 183 28. Science and Cosmology 189 29. Psychology and Community 195 30. The Body: Gender and Sexuality 203 31. The Earth: Nature, Ecology, and the Sacred Land 211 32. Kitchen Witchery: Gardening and the Home 217 33. The Arts and Personal Creativity 223 34. Fiction for Grownups 229 35. Fiction for Kids 235 36. Reference Books 243 37. The Well-Wired Witch 249 38. How to Find Books 255 (Especially When They’re Out of Print) Bibliography 259 Index 281 About the Author 287