Witchcraft is a nature-based system of belief and practice which honours the Old Gods. It has roots in ancient Europe and is still practiced around the world today. Modern Witchcraft includes divination, casting spells, herbalism, worship and is for many a way of life.

Witches worship principally the Goddess of the Earth and Triple Moon and her consort, the Horned God; but all Gods and Goddesses, including those of other faiths are honoured as different aspects of the one Divine power.

A Witch strives to attune her/him self to the cycles of nature. Groups of women and men meet at full moons and at festival times to worship the Gods and to reawaken a sense of oneness with the nature, which has become lost in the frenzy of the modern world. By celebrating the forces of nature, in ourselves and in the world around us, we catch a glimpse of the origin of nature, contained within the world yet at the same time more than the world, expressed through time yet equally timeless.

Witches have a strong ecological awareness and sense of guardianship of the Earth. Since the Gods dwell within Nature, Witches believe that our planet is sacred and must be protected from the ravages of humankind. Witches also revere the wisdom of the past, believing there is much to learn from the myths and lore of our ancestors and that we can access these through ritual drama, poetry and song, and through living in harmony with the Earth and our fellow creatures.

The rites and practices of Witchcraft are not only always contacting the Divine outside us in Nature, but also a way of understanding and contacting the Divine within. The importance of the rites lies not only in their outward form, but in their inner symbolism and meaning.

Traditions Within Witchcraft

The way of the Witch is not a series of dogmatic precepts or beliefs administrated by a self sustaining hierarchical bureaucracy; rather, we believe that we each have within us the capacity to reach out and experience the Mystery - that ineffable oneness with Life and the Source of all Life.

There are many traditions within Witchcraft. In some Witchcraft is referred to Wicca, Wisecraft or the Way of the Wise. It is also called the Craft. Which emphasizes that it is a skill and technique which must be learned through hard work.

Some traditions have been handed down through families over generations. Others are more modern revivals. Some groups take their inspiration from the pre-Christian religions of certain ethnic groups (Celtic, Greek, Norse, Finno-ugric etc.); others from the work of modern witches - Gerald Gardner, Doreen Valiente, Alex Sanders, Starhawk; and others by seeking within themselves for inspiration and direction. In recent times, many women have turned to Witchcraft, finding in the role of the priestess an antidote to the lack of voice for women in the major world religions.

The different traditions in the Craft have more similarities than differences. To whatever tradition Witches belong they are united by a vision of the deity made manifest in nature: a vision that all seek to celebrate and penetrate more deeply.

The majority of S.A. Witches draw from many traditions and therefore practice an eclectic form of Witchcraft.

Many Witches meet in small groups or covens, which gives room for each individual to contribute to the efforts of the group by self knowledge and creative experimentation within the agreed group structure. Not all those who practice Witchcraft do so in groups. Some prefer to develop their own personal practice by drawing from published sources and their own inspiration.

The roots of Witchcraft are very old, coming down to modern times through a variety of channels across the world. Much was lost when indigenous religions encountered pressure from Christianity and went underground in order to survive. To follow the old Pagan religions became a capital offence, and even recording of these practices was risky.

The Pagan Mystery religions all but disappeared when the outer forms of the Pagan religion where suppressed and their traditions were no longer preserved. Parents handed some traditions on to children, but through the centuries parts were lost or changed and, of course, many new parts were created. These survivals, partly esoteric, through families and secret groups, and partly esoteric, through folk customs, have combined with research into the Old Ways to provide a rich foundation for the modern Craft.

Witches hold rituals according to the turning of the seasons, to the tides of the moon, and to personal needs. They observe eight major seasonal festivals called the Sabbats. Four are solar festivals - the equinoxes and solstices.

Four are Celtic festival

- SAMHAIN ( 30th April )
- IMBOLC ( 1st August )
- BELTAINE ( 31st October )
- LUGHNASADH ( 31st January )

( These dates are approximate, because we practice in the southern hemisphere and our seasons are different by six months. )

Witches usually also hold rituals known as 'esbats' at the full moon.

Where possible, rites are conducted outside in natural settings. By firelight and to the sound of drumming and chanting, Witches enact simple rites to celebrate the seasons and the gift of life.

If season, climate and location dictate the use of indoor ritual, often these are in people's homes. Some Witches keep a special room in the house in their house as a temple for their rites, but any place may be consecrated for ritual.

Rituals are performed in a consecrated ritual space marked out as a circle. Within the sacred circle three main activities occur - the worship of the Gods, the practice of the magic, and the celebration of feasting.

At the major seasonal holidays the Sabbats, the myths of creation, birth, death and renewal are enacted. These are solemn mysteries but in craft ritual there is always a balance between 'mirth and reverence'.

When the worship, teaching or magical work is finished, the blessings of the Goddess and the God are called upon the food and drink which are shared by all. This is the beginning of the feasting. Dancing, singing and revelry are an important part of the festivals. Like our ancestors, we believe we share such ritual feasts, with our Gods. Thus a portion of food and wine or beer is always offered as a libation. Once the feasting is finished the circle is broken and becomes an ordinary space once more.

As well as worshipping the Gods, Witches also practice magic. Spell-casting is usually carried out at the esbats, the lunar festivals.

Witches believe that the Moon influences our psyche and magic is worked according to the phases of the Moon.

The types of magic performed include spells for healing and for helping people with their everyday life problems, and work towards the individual coven members' spiritual development. Whatever their purpose, all spells involve the channeling of energy to achieve positive results, Trance work, clairvoyance and scrying (reading images reflected from a mirror, crystal ball or other surface) are also commonplace.

Many Witches see themselves as protectors of the natural world and of the spirit of community in society, and direct their magic accordingly. Magic involves the conscious direction of our wills to accomplish a goal without direct manipulation of the material world. Results may occur through the use of subtle energies not yet recognized by physical science ( Occultists have found it amusing to note how the new science of quantum physics is discovering concepts which have long been the basis of magick: C. Summers & J. Vayne ), or alternatively through synchronicity: Carl Jung's term for 'meaningful coincidence'. Personal influence, group influence, or the influence of a deity may be invoked to assist in the magical work.

Whatever magic is done will change the magician in accordance with its aims.

Witches say that magic rebounds threefold upon its sender and are therefore careful to work magic only for positive ends.

Witches are thus also against the sacrificing of any animals or humans and these sacrifices play no part in modern Witchcraft.

The magical arts are also used by Witches as a profound spiritual discipline.

The aim of this magic is not transformation of the outer world, but transformation of the inner - spirit and the soul of the Witch.

Many traditions of Witchcraft practice rites of initiation which is designed to awaken us spiritually and to unite us with the divine centre within ourselves. The processes of initiation take us through a guided journey whose route has been well sign-posted by those who have gone before. This journey ends in what is the ultimate goal of all spiritual systems - unity with the Divine.

The Craft fosters the spiritual development of those who follow its paths through the practice of meditative techniques and through invocation, the inviting of the presence of the deity to manifest in the rites and possibly in a particular priest or priestess. Through invocation, we can achieve a deep state of consciousness in which we experience oneness with the Divine. Each Witch is a priestess or priest and is encouraged to develop within him or herself the intuitive wisdom and skill needed to channel the universal forces into a form suitable for communion with the ordinary human mind.

Through the practice of the magical arts, we begin to awaken the individual spirit, the 'upper' part of the soul or psyche, which is indeed the birthright of us all. This enables us to expand our consciousness and penetrate more deeply into the mysteries of Nature.

Magical Tools

Ritual implements or 'magical tools' are used in the rites to facilitate a mood, attitude or atmosphere, helping to achieve the psychic state necessary for the consecration of a circle or the working of magic.

The tools are part of a system of symbolism agreed upon by the participants, to assist them in their psychic passage through unfamiliar spaces. Such a system, akin to a map, is arbitrary and not absolute in meaning; it is a guide to a state which is ineffable and can be contacted most easily through poetry and 'starlight vision'.

Important symbols are the altar items which represent the elements: earth, air, fire, water. A Pentacle (a disc, usually of metal or wood) is often used to symbolize earth and its properties: stability, material wealth and practical affairs. A small dish of salt or earth can also be used. a thurible of incense, a bell or a sword can be used to represent air and its properties: communication, perspicacity and understanding. A candle or wand may be used to symbolize the qualities of fire: vitality, transmutation and energy. A chalice of water symbolizes that element and its properties: cleansing, regeneration and love.

Other tools important in some traditions are the cauldron, a symbol of the goddess and of creation, the besom or broomstick, which is used to cleanse the sacred space, and the stang - a forked staff used to represent the Horned god.

The awesome spectacle repeated in the pattern of the changing seasons still touches our lives. During the ages when people worked more closely with nature just to survive, the numinous power of this pattern had supreme recognition.

Rituals and festivals evolved to channel these transformations for the good of the community towards a good sowing and harvest, bountiful hunting and wise visions.

In common with many earlier cultures, most Witches consider the festival days to begin at sundown and to the end of the following sundown. Hence a Sabbat such as April eve ( Samhain ) runs through the day of May.

This is the end of the old year and the beginning of the new. It is the time when the barrier between the worlds is at its finest, the dark, silent time at the onset of Winter.

The days cease to grow shorter and the Sun Child is reborn. It is a time for present-giving, festivities and rejoicing. In our rites, we honour the Goddess as Mother and welcome her new-born son.

It is a time for turning inward to clear the way for personal spiritual rebirth. The feminine principle of inner power is manifest at the time of this.

Day and night are equal as Spring begins to quicken the environment with revived growth and new-born animals emerge to explore the world.

This is the Rite of the Goddess in Her aspect as Mother of all Living. As such it is considered Her time of Greatest Beauty. This Rite is the usual period for Handfastings to be held.

It is the time of melding of forces between male and female in Force as well as Form - the Festival of Spring.

In this, the longest day of the year, light and life are abundant. We focus outward, experiencing the joys of plenty, celebrating the fullness of the season.

This is the Ritual of the Greater Magic of the Goddess. The God of Light, pays homage to the Goddess. Its time of first fruits, being the time when the very first bit of grain from the harvest season can be baked into a loaf and shared.

This day sees light and dark again in equal balance, before the decent to the dark time. A harvest festival is held, thanking the Goddess for giving us enough sustenance to feed us through the winter.

We return to Samhain, our starting point, having journeyed the 'Wheel of the Year' with its eight spokes: the four major agricultural and pastoral festivals and the four minor solar festivals marking solstices and equinoxes.

For the Witch, the eight festivals are times for both celebration and communion with the powers of the Old Gods. They are times when the Gates between the Worlds are opened and the Gods join hand in hand with the dance of human life.

It is not surprising that many Craft festivals coincide with holidays of the Christian calendar. This is no accident. These points in the seasonal cycle were important community celebrations long before the advent of Christianity.

They remained largely unchanged, though in name they were re-dedicated to a Christian saint. This continuity in celebration over the millennia points to the deep spiritual truths which are celebrated at these times.

For Witches, the mystery of the seasons can never be reduced to a simple written dogma or codified as absolute teaching or creed. Witchcraft is a mystery religion, founded upon traditions which lead each initiate to seek a personal vision of the turning wheel of seasonal change. Each-Witch must make his or her own journey of understanding by celebrating the seasons and walking in the ways of nature.

For Witches, the cycles of the natural world reveal the hidden yet ever present mysteries of the Goddess and God. As Spring gives way to Summer, Autumn and Winter, so the Gods are revealed. The cycles of life and death, all these are the living body of the Divine.

Witchcraft has no 'creed' or statement of faith to which we must adhere; nor can Wicca be understood by the intellect alone. Books can provide insights into the Craft, but the true essence of our religion can be appreciated only by participating in the simple beauty of the rites. One of the most poetic parts of Wiccan ritual is that of the Great Mother Charge.

Q. Is Witchcraft a religion?

Yes, it involves a system of belief and practice and is for many a way of life.

Q. Is Witchcraft a "cult"?

No, a cult is academically understood to have a living leader and Witchcraft has no leader, living or dead. Most Witches come to the Craft through reading or communing with Nature and later finding like-minded groups. Witches tend to be highly individualistic.

Q. Do all Witches practice their religion the same way?

Yes and no. Wicca is a highly individual religion which contains a minimum of dogma and a maximum of choice. the only rule (though a stringent one, when you think about it) is : 'An it harm none, do as ye will'. Most traditions, however, share many similarities such as a reverence for Nature and the working of magic.

Q. Are Witches only women?

No, There are roughly equal numbers of women and men in the Craft, as the polarized working of Goddess and God is usually stressed in rituals. Some traditions, such as the Dianic, admit only women practitioners, just as others have only men. Most traditions admit both. A male Witch is simply called Witch, never a 'warlock'.

The word "Witch" has its roots in the Old English and means 'wise' "Warlock" is a derogatory term defined as someone who breaks their oath.

Q. Do Witches have a "Bible"?

No. A bible is considered to be a book containing absolute truth for that religion. Witches are inspired by many sources, but none are considered to be definitive. Witchcraft is a Pagan folk-religion of personal experience rather than transmitted revelation.

A Witch may keep a "Book of Shadows" which is more like an individual's workbook or journal -- meaningful to the person who keeps it – containing rituals, discoveries, spells, poetry, herb lore, etc. Covens may keep a similar group book. There is no one document taken by all Wiccans as authoritative, as in Judaism, Christianity, or Islam. The "Book of Shadows" is so called because the rites within it are but a 'shadow' of the personal experience they represent.

Q. Do Witches cast spells?

Yes, Since a commonly-held belief is that what is sent out is returned to the sender threefold, Witches tend to be very careful with spells. A spell is a formula, or series of steps, to direct the will to a desired end. Energy is drawn from the earth, concentrated, and sent out into the world. It is believed that with proper training and intent, human minds and hearts are fully capable of performing all the magic and miracles they are ever likely to need, through the use of natural psychic power. Spell work is governed by the Witchcraft Rede: "An it harm none, do as ye will".

Q. Do Witches worship naked?

Some do, while others wear robes or everyday clothes. Nakedness is typical of Mystery religions. Naked initiates as shown in Roman murals from the early centuries of our era, long after people generally wore clothes at all times. Nakedness symbolizes the true self, laid bare before the Gods, and it is believed by Witches to facilitate the transfer of vital power. Like Naturist and Native peoples worldwide, Witches do not find nakedness - 'being skyclad' -shameful.

Q. What place does sex have in your rituals ?

Sex is seen in a positive rather than negative light, an expression of the great creative polarity of Goddess and God, the equal and opposite forces of Nature. It should take place only between consenting adults. Rape, child abuse, ritual mutilation and other forms of sexual coercion - of which Witches are often accused by the media and those with over-active imagination - violate the Witches' ethic of 'An it harm none, do as ye will', and form no part of the craft.

Q. With the bad mental image people get at the mention of Witch and Witchcraft, why do you still use these names?

Virtually every religion can look back into the dark (and recent) corners of history and find a period when it was held in disrepute. Some religions were accused of crimes through ignorance and malice (e.g. Medieval Christians were sure that Jews ate Christian babies). Other religions face prejudice because their practices are different from those of their accusers (e.g. the Mormons for their polygamy). Others defame each other for being on the opposite side of some power struggle -- consider the many incidents from the Crusades through the Inquisition to current affairs in nations such as Ireland or Iran.

Just because a group was or is persecuted and maligned is not a reason for it to change its name. The practices of prejudice and scape-goating seem to be universal human pastimes, and we have had our share of being victimized. Some Witches see the use of them an act of reclaiming.

Q. Do Witches worship the Devil?

Absolutely not. The concept of "the devil", the personification of a supreme spirit of evil and unrighteousness, is a creation of Middle Eastern thought which is fundamental to some religions of that region, including Zoroastrianism, Christianity and Islam. As such, it postdates Pagan religion.

Worship of this being as "Satan" is a practice of profaning Christian symbolism and is thus a Christian heresy rather than a Pagan religion. The gods of Wicca are in no way connected with Satanic practice. Most Witches do not even believe Satan exists, and certainly do not worship him. Historically, the gods of an older religion are often branded as the devils of a newer one in order to promote conversion.

Q. Are you Satanists?

No. To be a Satanist, one must believe in Satan. Witches do not believe in Satan, as such. The popular image of the goat-hooved, pointy-horned devil is a deliberate corruption by the early missionary church of the European Pagan Horned God, who has been depicted in Greece as Pan, and in ancient Gaul as Cernunnos (who is pictured having a stag's antlers). Making indigenous gods into evil beings was the early church's most reliable method of gaining converts. Some missionary Christian groups continue the practice to this day, in areas that have retained their old religions.

Our Horned God is neither evil nor a source of evil; He is the energy of nature, of plant and animal life, which energy manifests for people in music and dance, intoxication and ecstasy, and all joyous activities, including lovemaking.

Q. Do you do Black Magic?

No. Some of us do not even recognize "black" or "white" Magic; Magic is Magic, and what its nature is depends on how we use it. Remember that we try to temper all our Magic by the Rede.

Q. How do you see the Goddess?

As the immanent life force, as Mother Nature, the Earth, the Cosmos, the interconnectedness of all life.

Q. Do Witches fly on brooms?

No. Brooms were (in rural Europe) and sometimes still are ridden astride in ceremonies. In one such ceremony, people ran through the fields astride a broom to coax the grain to grow, or participants would leap over a broom, telling the grain to grow to the height of the highest leaping. Uninformed observations of such ceremonies could lead to tales of flying on brooms.

Q. Do you pray? Who do you pray to?

Some Witches pray (in the popular sense of the word), some don't. Some Witches regularly meditate on the deities of their choice; some only invoke deities to empower a ritual or work of Magic.

As to who or what?

example, A.E. Waite is the person who introduced the symbol into the Tarot deck, replacing the traditional suit of Coins.

- The use of the "inverted" pentagram to denote evil is a quite recent usage, and first appears in the works of Eliphas Levi. He is also the source of the "goat's head" glyph. Before this, neither orientation had evil connotations per se.

- The modern pagan movement picked up the pentagram as part of a general borrowing from earlier "occult" usage, and Wicca in particular has taken it up as an explicit denotational symbol, similar to the cross, the Thor's hammer, and so on. It, among others represent the four elements and spirit.

- In Egypt the five-pointed star represented the underground womb.

- To the pagan Celts, the pentagram was particularly associated with Morrigan, the underground goddess.

- To Hermetic magicians (and many others now), the five-pointed star represented Man in the Microcosm, with his head at the top, hands out to the sides, and legs below. His genitalia were in the center of the pentagram.

- In ancient Greece, the Pythagoreans called this symbol the Pentalpha, since it is five capital 'A' figures interlaced.

There are a lot of pagans out here that use an inverted pentagram as a banishing/grounding pentagram that aren't involved in satanism at all. Both the upright and inverted pentagram are tools and nothing more. They are symbols of a way that ritual and magick and energy are moved. How each person or group of people chooses to *use* such symbols is the key issue. If you use an inverted pentagram for "Evil Magic" then it is the energy that you focus and the direction that you choose that makes them "evil" in symbology.

Q What were the Burning Times?

The Burning Times is the name used by many modern Witches and Pagans for the era of the Inquisition, and of the other Witch hunts (including Salem) which sprang from it. During that time, many women and some men were persecuted for practices objectionable to the Church, especially Witchcraft.

The Malleus Maleficarum was a guide on how to torture accused Witches into confessing to whatever they were accused of. At the height of the persecutions, entire towns were left with only one or two women in them, and to this day no one knows for sure how many people were brutally murdered during this craze.

As is often the case, this horror sprang from fear and misinformation – most of the people who were arrested, tortured and killed were not Witches of any sort, but simply people who had gotten on the wrong side of someone who had the local magistrate's ear, or who somehow didn't fit in (particularly beautiful or ugly women, widows who had wealth or owned land, the handicapped and retarded, and even overly intelligent people are all examples of those who became primary targets of this persecution).

Although discrimination still exists against Witches and Pagans, we now enjoy comparative freedom of religious practice after those dark times. But this time is considered a very important event by most Witches and Pagans (comparable to the atrocities and devastation perpetrated during the Holocaust), one that should never be forgotten, and many do active public education work to assure as best they can that it will never happen again.

A group of Witch, traditionally limited to thirteen members or less, who meet together on a regular basis to celebrate the festivals and to work magic.

Another name for Witchcraft.

A religion which stresses the co-inference of spirit and matter, which seeks personal spiritual experience as a fulfillment of the material world, and enjoins its followers to live in harmony with the Earth and all living things.

A minor coven meeting, usually held at the Full and/or New Moon.

The art of bringing about change in the material world, or within the consciousness of the practitioner, through the use of will and subtle mental energies, aligned with the Divine forces of the universe.

An ineffable truth or experience available only to subjective processes. Usually brings with it a sense of awe, spiritual love and completion.

A religion of personal experience, usually entered only by initiation, which aims at direct contact with deity, rather than at the harmony, accordance with or obedience to deity enjoined by the exoteric, public religion which contains it. Other examples: Sufiism in Islam, Tantra in Hinduism and Buddhism, the Chassidim in Judaism.

From the Latin, 'hidden or secret': the study of hidden or secret knowledge. Generally used for magical societies, but occult societies include American college fraternities, the Freemasons, the Rosicrucians and indeed every 'closed' psychotherapy group.

Originally from the Latin 'paganus', meaning a country dweller; later a term of mild abuse used by urban Christians for provincials who still worshipped the old Classical pantheon. Now used for a follower of an earth religion. Neo-Paganism: a group of modern earth religions. Practices are derived from pre-Christian Paganism, often with input from their own contemporary theologians.

One of the eight major seasonal festivals which occur at approximately equal intervals throughout the year, timed by the solstices and equinoxes, observed by all Pagans and Witches.

A widely accepted name in many Craft traditions for the religion of Witchcraft. The term Old English in origin, but the exact derivation is obscure. The plural Wiccan has come to be used as a singular noun, plural Wiccans, as an alternative to 'Witch', 'Witches'.

A magical and mystical religion including diverse traditions derived from many cultural sources. Current traditions includes Gardnerian, Alexandrian, Hereditary, Traditional, Celtic, Dianic and Shamanic.

Some people come to the Craft from Witch families, having been raised in one of the long-standing family traditions, or from parents who are members of one of the Craft revivals.

Others come to the Craft having had psychic and mystical experiences. They may come from other religious backgrounds, or from no religion at all; but often they will have felt since early childhood that they were Witches.

Others discover the Craft through chance contact with a Witch, from reading a book or article, or from a television programme.

By whatever route people come, they tend to share a common experience of feeling as though they have arrived 'home'. they experience a sense of déjà vu when they read the rituals and learning the Craft is really a relearning, a remembering of something buried deep within their psyche.

If you are interested in finding out more about the Craft, you are recommended to first read some of the books on the Introductory Reading List and to obtain some Craft magazines. These will give you an idea of whether this is the right path for you.

Many Witches prefer to follow their path alone. They seek to commune with Nature in her woods and fields and to work the ways of the Wise Woman or Cunning Man. While they may seek an individual teacher, they do not feel the need to join a coven. For those drawn to the solitary path, Marian Green's and Rae Beth's books are recommended.

If you decide to join a coven, this may require persistence. Witchcraft is not a missionary religion and does not proselytize. It is more difficult to find Wicca or Craft groups than to contact most religions. However, Witches believe that anyone who sincerely seeks contact with the Craft will be drawn to the right source. The Way of the Wise is a hard one.

Despite what you might have read else where, Witchcraft does not provide a means to gain magical power over others, a cloak for sex-orgies, or a carte blanche for an amoral way of life. Witches face considerable ignorant prejudice, while the requirement to 'harm none' is a demanding one. Thus, no bona fide coven will consider admitting anyone until it is absolutely satisfied that the individual is right for the Craft and the Craft is right for the individual.

Also covens will not initiate anyone under eighteen; unless perhaps they are part of a family tradition. For those who become interested in Witchcraft in their teens, there may be a long wait before they can pursue their chosen path. It is not necessary to complete a course to become a Witch, and indeed having a certificate does not make you a Witch, but neither does simply calling yourself a Witch.

There are reputable organisations which run conferences, study groups and can provide contact with covens and groups. Some Witches organize discussion groups or teach classes, at which people may form their own opinions about whether The Craft is for them. There are also periodicals and networks through which a seeker can make contact with the larger Craft community. (At this time these resources are new and as yet undeveloped in S.A.).

The method of entering a coven will depend on the tradition. In many traditions, entry is through an initiation ceremony. Sometimes this can happen relatively quickly, but traditionally at least a year and a day must expire before a new Witch is admitted and a longer training period may be required.

Joining a coven is about finding a group of people with whom you feel compatible. The Wiccan Ethic is 'An it harm none, do as ye will'; but as in all religions, unscrupulous people may masquerade as spiritual teachers in order to exploit others.

Use your common sense when choosing a coven, just you would when choosing any group of people with whom to work and be friends; specially if you are young and inexperienced in the ways of the world. It is better to be a solo Witch than to try and join a group where you do not trust or feel in harmony with its members.

Drawing down the moon - Margot Adler
(A comprehensive book on modern Paganism in the U.S.A. )

Spiral Dance - Starhawk
(Inspirational, feminist academic guide to Witchcraft.

What Witches Do - Stewart Farrar

The Witches' Way - Janet & Stewart Farrer

Spell and How They Work - Janet & Stewart Farrer

Wicca - Viviane Crowley

The Way of the Goddess - Ly Warren-Clarke
(Solitary Witchcraft )

Hedge Witch - Rae Beth
(Solitary )