Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner
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- Create Date：2021-10-17 08:55:08
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Scott Cunningham
- ISBN：0875421180
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Summary
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。
Reviews
emily
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as a non wiccan i think this is a pretty good extremely light explanation of wicca。 the other books on witchcraft i’ve read gave a lot of information that was not what i wanted it。 really good basic stuff here。 not good if you want a lot of details on lore and traditions but if you just want the basics then i recommend
Rimege
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nice book about wicca！ :）
Chiara
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Muy completo， buena introducción al mundo wicca。
Nicole Bondarek
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Some useful parts but the rest was like swallowing broken glass
Amanda Silberzahn
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This book had some interesting info and I liked it much better than Buckland’s。 If you’re between the two， go with this one。
Anna Katherina
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Realistically speaking， it's not unproblematic by any means。 It's very much clearly outdated in a lot of regards， and has numerous issues- such as， for example， his definition and use of Shamanism， the use of the G*psy slur， some outdated research， and questionable claims， etc; politically， we've moved beyond many of these things （or at least tried to） for the sake of cultural respect， improved archeological evidence， and many other reasons。 In that regard， of course， as with my suggestion for a Realistically speaking， it's not unproblematic by any means。 It's very much clearly outdated in a lot of regards， and has numerous issues- such as， for example， his definition and use of Shamanism， the use of the G*psy slur， some outdated research， and questionable claims， etc; politically， we've moved beyond many of these things （or at least tried to） for the sake of cultural respect， improved archeological evidence， and many other reasons。 In that regard， of course， as with my suggestion for all Neopagan materials， you definitely need to be reading this book alongside updated academically inclined materials that give you accurate history， etc。If you can get past these errors and issues， however？ On the surface， it actually holds up surprisingly well compared to other texts of its era （that being the late 90's and early 00's） that I've read。。。 And， sadly， even to most modern texts I've been reading as of late。 Especially， actually， to most modern texts I've been reading; many of which have all of the same problems and more， but little of the intellectualism with which Cunningham rights or even shows his topic in general。To get into that， tput its virtues simply: It's free from a surprising majority of the pseudohistory， anti-Christian bias， and other issues that still continue to plague today's modern texts。 It also lacks the childish petulance， and contains a refreshing level of intellectualism and nuance that other texts continue to lack even today。 There's a gentle encouragement about not worrying if everything is perfect， while still emphasizing that things are done for a reason that drives home the fact that these reasons are what make a tradition， without being overbearing or stuffy。 And， my true love， of course， is that there's an impressive bibliography， reference， and index; though plenty of these texts are likewise out of date by now， the fact they were included at all is lovely- especially when this is still an annoying rarity among modern authors （and when they are included， they're typically circle-jerking they're own work or other equally useless Llewellyn books）。It's also integral to remember while reading it that though he calls it Wicca throughout the book， what he's talking about in the book isn't Wicca proper。 What this more correctly is， is one of the first emergent books to outline what would become NeoWicca based on what Wiccan information isn't oathbound and can therefore be shared to some regard with outsiders; Traditional Wicca， even today， still remains a coven based， initiatory mystery religious system with a strict lineage and vetting system。 Which means no vettable and lineaged coven， no oathbound initiation， then not Wiccan- and that's the sad fact of the matter。 That doesn't make NeoWicca itself a lesser or derogatory path by any means （especially not as one of the largest of its derivative faiths today）。 But it is integral to remember that they are two very different paths and to update your language， understanding， and expectations accordingly as you rad this text- just as you would with any other outdated source。 Petulantly throwing a fit and pretending otherwise as most seem to do is simply childishness。Otherwise， though。。。 For as old as it is？ I feel like it genuinely remains a fairly solid beginner's text in numerous regards。 Firstly for anyone who seeks to follow the NeoWicca faith specifically， who doesn't have access to Covens of any type， but still wants a solid， quick-and-dirty entry point; and potentially for those Neopagan beginners looking for a solid foundation to start building some kind of an actual working / active practice on， since it does provide a sort of structural foundation that's easy to modify at will while ignoring what you don't need。It's certainly better than recommending Silver Ravenwolf or any of her modern students and their continuations of her tripe （yes， I'm still complaining about Arin Murphy-Hiscock。 No， I will not stop）。 。。。more
Delia
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3。5 It's a good book if you want to start to explore Wicca， but I found it a bit repetitive when explaining some concepts。 3。5 It's a good book if you want to start to explore Wicca， but I found it a bit repetitive when explaining some concepts。 。。。more
Bruna Gabriele
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Eu amei o livro， por mais que algumas partes não tenham me tocado tanto。 Me ajudou a ter uma noção do que quero ter contato na bruxaria， e no que admiro， mas não consigo me imaginar seguindo。
Geena
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Very good for a beginner wanting to know more
Candice
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A great introduction。 Biased but only as needed and not claiming anything as perfect。
Renae Cannon
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Out of all the books on paganism I've read， I found this the most helpful。 Out of all the books on paganism I've read， I found this the most helpful。 。。。more
Evergreen Expansion
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Let me lead by saying this is my first formal introduction to Wiccan texts， also it bears mentioning I’m not approaching this book from a practitioner perspective， instead as a way of gaining insight into Wiccan beliefs and with a genuine desire to understand the Wiccan practice。A big problem I have with this book is that a lot of concepts are simply stated， not elaborated on or developed in any significant way。For me as much as it’s stressed Wicca is supposedly a choose your own adventure， “wha Let me lead by saying this is my first formal introduction to Wiccan texts， also it bears mentioning I’m not approaching this book from a practitioner perspective， instead as a way of gaining insight into Wiccan beliefs and with a genuine desire to understand the Wiccan practice。A big problem I have with this book is that a lot of concepts are simply stated， not elaborated on or developed in any significant way。For me as much as it’s stressed Wicca is supposedly a choose your own adventure， “what works for you is best” religion， this works against it by making it all seem a bit flat and nebulous。That being said， this book is invaluable if you’re trying to get a deeper understanding of what a Wiccan is and what it is exactly they practice。I also don’t doubt that some of the rituals mentioned in the book will definitely obtain results。For me the focus on commercialisation is a little off putting （there’s a whole section of the book dedicated to Wiccan and neo pagan resources， magazines etc）I came away from this book feeling as though it seems to be representative of a religion geared more towards aesthetics than obtaining practical magical results。Your mileage obviously will vary a great deal， as with everything there is no size fits all， and with magick I believe this is doubly so the case。Therefore my final impression of Wicca from reading this book is that it will legitimately give you a good entrance viewpoint for magical study， how long you choose to adopt this singular viewpoint is up to you。I have no doubt the author is intelligent and he’s surely capable of creating an easygoing and relaxed writing style which makes the book easy to read。Simply， I have an issue with the lack of spiritual meat and potatoes in this book。I’m unsure as to how many of my issues with this book are solely due to the author's perspective or if these issues are deeply intertwined with Wicca as a whole。 。。。more
Jeferson C。 Costa
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3。5
Jenna Victoria
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Great for beginners wiccans。 Delves into philosophy as well as basic altar tools and ritual。 I disagree with some of the points made。 Then again， I myself am not Wiccan so ofc I don’t agree with everything
Beth Hunt
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I have always enjoyed reading about religion and spirituality of all sorts。 I read this book as a teenager and wanted to revisit it as an adult and I’m so glad I did！ Wicca is such a gentle spiritual practice with a deep respect for the natural world at its core。 Being a person who feels much more spiritually connected when out in nature， this resonates with me and is what drew me to read about Wicca as a younger person。 The only criticism that I have for this book is that I feel that it goes mo I have always enjoyed reading about religion and spirituality of all sorts。 I read this book as a teenager and wanted to revisit it as an adult and I’m so glad I did！ Wicca is such a gentle spiritual practice with a deep respect for the natural world at its core。 Being a person who feels much more spiritually connected when out in nature， this resonates with me and is what drew me to read about Wicca as a younger person。 The only criticism that I have for this book is that I feel that it goes more in depth regarding ritual， but less so when it comes to history and beliefs。 I do realize that Wicca is a neopagan religion which is based upon older pagan beliefs and practices， but I feel that more information on those beliefs would strengthen this work considerably。 However， it is indeed an introductory book and does present Wicca in a very approachable， start-where-you-are way which is its purpose。 。。。more
Emma
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An informative book that helped me gain a better understanding on Wicca and what it is and isn’t。 Although in the end I didn’t follow a Wiccan/Magickal path， I was glad to have read this book as it was straightforward and easy to read。 To anyone wanting to explore Wicca， I would recommend this book。
Christina
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I love his approach and the way he teaches。 Not pushy or trying to scare you。 Just good solid information
Zorenna
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This was a good starter book but that's about it。 It did not encompass anything that every other starter book did not also encompass。 Bonus points for it being easy to read。 This was a good starter book but that's about it。 It did not encompass anything that every other starter book did not also encompass。 Bonus points for it being easy to read。 。。。more
fairy
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even if you aren’t wiccan i highly recommend this book because it gives you good information and helps you see different types of craft！
Cordelia Coen
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A quality primer in wiccan thought and practices， if a little dated。 Something as a non-wiccan I will appreciate having around to reference and go back to various sections when i think they might be interesting or insightful。
Tiffany Summitt
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I love his perspective and the fact that he lays everything out without the strict nature you find in other books。 He's very forthcoming about making it your own and not letting the parts of stricter practices that may be uncomfortable stop you。 I love his perspective and the fact that he lays everything out without the strict nature you find in other books。 He's very forthcoming about making it your own and not letting the parts of stricter practices that may be uncomfortable stop you。 。。。more
Alaina Rae Riera
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If you're looking to start your wiccan path， Anything by Scott Cunningham is the way to go。 This book has helped me immensely If you're looking to start your wiccan path， Anything by Scott Cunningham is the way to go。 This book has helped me immensely 。。。more
Keith Moore
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Interesting stuff。 I'm no expert， so I can't vouch for the accuracy of the information presented， but I enjoyed listening to this audio book。 Interesting stuff。 I'm no expert， so I can't vouch for the accuracy of the information presented， but I enjoyed listening to this audio book。 。。。more
Meghan Fears
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Not bad， but not hugely informative
Eret
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Le premier livre sur la Wicca que j’aie lu。 Très simple à comprendre et très instructif。 Un classique。
Erika Dale
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I found this book helpful， there was some good info included。 I am not sure if Wicca is the the route for me personally but glad I read it anyway。 I specifically enjoyed the part about runes， I will be looking more into those。
Krista
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Un buen libro para empezar en el camino wicca🦋
☆⋱ Magic Cat ⋱☆
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Buon libro base per chi vuole curiosare nel mondo Wicca
Natalia
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It's a really good book if you want to start with this religion。 As always Scott is a very friendly teacher for the beginners， at least in the theory。。。 I can't say the same thing in the practice It's a really good book if you want to start with this religion。 As always Scott is a very friendly teacher for the beginners， at least in the theory。。。 I can't say the same thing in the practice 。。。more
Kristin
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