Beginner Witchcraft Resources

Everyone’s witchcraft journey is different, but we all have to start somewhere. While the show has tackled this topic before, I thought I would make a page to collect some basic beginner resources in one place. None of the links here are affiliate links, and I make no money from any of these recommendations.

This is an evolving list, and I may make changes over time.

Books

Look, most beginner witchcraft guides are going to be mostly book recs, and I am just as cliched as those other witches too. These are the four books I currently recommend that new witches have in their library.

Witches Among Us
by Thorn Mooney
ISBN: 978-0738777375

Witches Among Us is the introduction to the modern witchcraft movement I don’t think a lot of us realized we needed until Mooney wrote it. This is an excellent guide for anyone who just literally doesn’t know where to start and needs to get the lay of the land. Each section of the book includes recommendation for further reading including both scholarly and witchcraft sources. This is also an excellent book for helping non-witches understand what the hell is going on.

[ Amazon ]

Drawing Down the Moon (2006 Edition)
by Margot Adler
ISBN: 978-0143038191

The late Margot Adler’s Drawing Down the Moon is a history of the modern witchcraft movement, and this book will give you a solid foundation for understanding the history of the movement. While Mooney’s Witches Among Us helps establish where we are, this book will help show you where we’ve been. Importantly, this book will help build an understanding of the actual history of the movement, so when you inevitably pick up a other books or run across some influencer some time in the future it’ll be easier for you to know whether or not that person has a piss poor understanding of history or not.

[ Amazon ]

Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner
by Scott Cunningham
ISBN: 978-0875421186

I’ve always said that if you want to learn about British Traditional Wicca, you should go just directly talk to a British Traditional Wiccan. But if you’re looking to learn about Eclectic Wicca (which is what I practice), this is still the best book to start with. The book is very dated (Cunningham died a few years after this was published), so there are a lot of things that need to be read critically here. This is still a solid guide for starting out though, so I still recommend it.

This shouldn’t be the last book you read on the subject, but it’s a good first. If you’re not looking to learn about Wicca at all, you can skip this one obviously too.

[ Amazon ]

Grovedaughter Witchery
by Bree NicGarran
ISBN: 978-1541145788

Bree’s been a frequent guest on the show, but the reason that happened was that I loved this book first and invited her on because of it. Bree’s a secular witch, and Grovedaughter Witchery is a wonderful practical guide on how to get started with actual witchcraft.

While I’m a firm advocate for understanding history and the overall movement, sometimes you just want to do some witchy shit and this book will give you a foundation on where to start.

[ Amazon ]

Other Podcasts

Some folks aren’t readers, and I get that. Obviously I recommend you listen to this show, but that doesn’t mean my voice should be the only one you shove into your ear holes.

Hex Positive
Hosted by Bree NicGarran
Nerd & Tie Network

Okay, you should have guessed this was going to be recommended here. We’re on the same podcast network. Every month, join Bree for a discussion of secular witchcraft, with plenty of tips for witching on a budget, finding good resources, furthering your magical education, and keeping your common sense superpowers strong. While we sometimes cover the same topics, we come from very different angles.

Also Bree’s way more likely to invite a guest on and talk about something new or interesting, as opposed to me just raving like a mad person on my own most of the time.

[ Listen ]

This guide is a work in progress and will be expanded soon.