Reddit reviews Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft (Llewellyn's Practical Magick)
We found 23 Reddit comments about Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft (Llewellyn's Practical Magick). Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft (Llewellyn's Practical Magick) [Paperback] Raymond Buckland (Author) Complete Book of Witchcraft (Llewellyn's Practical Magick) - BRAND NEW from Hibiscus Express
Here are some good “starter” books to go through. Starter in the sense that they give a good overview of generalized modern western Witchcraft along with a basis for Wicca is that so interest you. It also has some supplementary guides for those interested in alchemy, mirror work, spirit work and the like.
Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft and Buckland's Book of Spirit Communications are good books for getting a decent understanding of what could be (subjectively speaking) considered “traditional” witchcraft. I myself am NOT a fan of the Llewellyn branch of magick, as it is heavily based around forming structured groups and covens and much of the information seems more ceremonial than anything. That being said, these books give a great basic rundown into alot of different styles and tools you will most likely be using or want to use.
Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner is great if you want to go down the Wicca path AND it’s made specifically for solitary practitioners along with having some of Scott Cunninghams own spells in it as well.
Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs is a good rundown of many common and uncommon reagents used in witchcraft along with their metaphysical uses. Reader's Digest Magic and Medicine of Plants despite the name is a more practical and scientifically written book on the historical and medicinal used of many N. American plants.
Inside the Mirror Box: Spells and Theory for All Practitioners was actually written by a friend of mine. His book gives alot of information on actual spellwork, along with a large selection of Mirror Box spells and a short section on other uses for mirrors (such as divination).
And finally the Encyclopedia of Spirits is a great reference guide for those of us who want to work with specific entities. The author covers the full gamut of spirits and deities from the ancient gods to christian saints and archangels to lesser known spirits.
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When working with new folks, I always say that they should set themselves some kind of super loose "curriculum". This can be hard for someone who is self-teaching because they don't know what there is to learn, but it isn't impossible.
What I recommend is that you get one of the books out there that are arranged into chapters and written like a workbook. These books are formatted in such a way that you could just follow along reading it each day and it will provide you with exercises to try. Promise to yourself that you will do each and every exercise in the book you choose. What this will mean is that you will add actual practice into your work since a lot of those exercises will ask you to go and do something. The hope is that this will jump start you into having your own steam to run on.
A few recommendations are:
I'd say today I'm a non-denominational Pagan. I am a member of OBOD, but there are no seed groves near me and I tend to do my own thing anyway.
The Buckland book I'm talking about is this one. It's a good beginner book for Wicca. So, Traditional Wiccans in a tradition like... say Gardinarian for example. They all have 'rules' they follow like how they call the Watchtowers (directions). They often work via a lineage, like some traditions wouldn't call you official unless you can say which coven trained you. If you wanted to be a true Gardinarian you'd have to find a Gardinarian coven and do the work to get initiated and educated to the point where you could become a HP/HPS and start your own, and that takes years. The diversity comes from the flexibility within the tradition, some traditions allow for more flexibility than others.
And then came the advent of books. Back in the day (60's-70's) you could only get into Wicca by knowing people and getting involved with a Coven. Books of Shadows were never published, and they were heavy on the secrecy. To readers digest history, stuff kinda started changing in the 60's and 70's as more books started to get published, rather in tandem with the cultural revolution at the time. Dianic Wicca and other lady-centric wiccan traditions in tandem with the Feminist movement played a big part in making Wicca more visible to the general public. Stuff began changing in general. People tired of the old school flogging and ritual binding and long drawn out initiations and the ever so very hetero centric 'must have male/female' stuff the old school Wiccan covens had, people began to break off.
Shit really got going in the 80's as more books began to be published about Wicca, and many had solo practitioners in mind. Authors like Scott Cunningham, Raymond Buckland, and others were all people who once were in a Trad coven who broke off and started their own groups or focused on providing info for Solitary Wiccans. Others like Starhawk, Z Budapest, Selena Fox, and many more started their own traditions without coming to Wicca via an old school tradition (seemingly). They were self taught via study through academia or came to it via the Feminist movement or through personal research.
Anyway, lots of history to unpack and I barely scraped any of it. Eclectic Wicca is just a Wiccan group that pulls from many sources and also makes up some of their own stuff, like rituals and whatever. All of this diversity stems from the lack of dogma, and IMO Wicca has a basic structure that's easy to learn, but can be complex and flexible. Celtic Holidays can be replaced with Roman, Strega (Italian), Germanic, etc. ones. The Rede can and often is rewritten to reflect the person/s values in the group, and the basic system of circle casting with the watchtowers can be replaced with winds or directions or animals.
What is good about it is it can grow and change as you do. That's why there's so much diversity, people change and they change their practice, and the traditions are so people can stick together if they want to.
If that makes sense.
Try out Uncle Bucky's Big Blue Book
https://www.amazon.com/Bucklands-Complete-Witchcraft-Llewellyns-Practical/dp/0875420508
Male Wiccan here. I hear you bud, it was something I struggled to find when I was starting as well. Then I discovered Raymond Buckland's big blue book. He also wrote a similar book focused on solo practitioners and I read both and found the big blue book to be a little more interesting and still helps solo practitioners. He's a great writer and very informative. He writes a little more scholarly as well which I loved. I found most writers on Wicca were a little more passionate then informative. Here's a link to the Amazon page but I've seen this book in most metaphysical shops.
https://www.amazon.ca/dp/0875420508/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_JxkoDbDRWQYDC
I recently fell into the Occult world as well. A was given a deck of tarot cards. It was the Rider-Waite deck. I started reading about it and a spark lit. Now I am consuming everything I can get my hands on.
I like MindandMagick as well. Also, I found this video on the Hermetic Principles very helpful and well explained.
As for reading, I have started reading the Liber Null by Peter Carroll and Condensed Chaos by Phil Hine. Recommend both if you're interested in Chaos Magick.
Some of the seminal works on Wicca are Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner. by Scott Cunningham and Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft by Raymond Buckland.
Good luck on your journey. Personally, I am starting small by working on my meditation, mindfulness and single-pointed thought. Also, studying the tarot a few cards at a time.
Bucklands Complete Book of Witchcraft
can answer some of your questions! I found it easy to read and it answered a lot of the questions I had about the Craft.
Cunningham's Wicca for the Solitary Practitioner, Janet and Steward Farrah's A Witches Bible Compleat, Marian Green's A Witch Alone, Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft are all decent intro books IMO.
You can also find a "buttoad of Wiccan/Pagan/Magic E-books" in this thread
My advice is to read everything you can about it. Some books are better than others, some authors know what they're talking about whereas others are full of it, but not everyone agrees on who's "right." So, just read them all and realize that some may be great sources whereas some books ought to be taken with a grain of salt. Make on your own decisions on what is or isn't correct.
Buckland's book is huge and essentially reads like an encyclopedia. You might not subscribe to a subset of the material, but it's great to get ideas.
I can attest that Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham is a good read. That might have been the one you read. Also, Wicca for Beginners is pretty good if you're still looking for intro material.
I've also found Full Contact Magick to be useful, though there isn't really anything about altars in there.
The Following list is taken from the Witches & Warlocks FB page. (This is Christian Day's group)
Witches and Warlocks Recommended Reading List
This is a collection of books recommended by our admins and participants in the group. Books must be approved by the admins so if you'd like to see one added to the last, please post it in the comments at the bottom of this list and, if it's something we think is appropriate, we'll add it! We provide links to Amazon so folks can read more about the book but we encourage you to shop at your local occult shop whenever possible! :)
BEGINNER'S WITCHCRAFT BOOKS
Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft
by Raymond Buckland
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0875420508
Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America
by Margot Adler
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0143038192
Grimoire of the Thorn-Blooded Witch: Mastering the Five Arts of Old World Witchery
by Raven Grimassi
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1578635500
The Inner Temple of Witchcraft: Magick, Meditation and Psychic Development
by Christopher Penczak
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0738702765
The Kybalion: The Definitive Edition
by William Walker Atkinson (Three Initiates)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1585428744
Lid Off the Cauldron: A Wicca Handbook
by Patricia Crowther
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1861630328
Mastering Witchcraft
by Paul Huson
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0595420060
Natural Magic
by Doreen Valiente
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0919345808
Natural Witchery: Intuitive, Personal & Practical Magick
by Ellen Dugan
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0738709220
Old World Witchcraft: Ancient Ways for Modern Days
by Raven Grimassi
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1578635055
The Outer Temple of Witchcraft: Circles, Spells and Rituals
by Christopher Penczak
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0738705314
Power of the Witch: The Earth, the Moon, and the Magical Path to Enlightenment
by Laurie Cabot
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0385301898
Solitary Witch: The Ultimate Book of Shadows for the New Generation
by Silver RavenWolf
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0738703192
Spirit of the Witch: Religion & Spirituality in Contemporary Witchcraft
by Raven Grimassi
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0738703389
Witch: A Magickal Journey
by Fiona Horne
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0007121326
Witchcraft for Tomorrow
by Doreen Valiente
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0709052448
Witchcraft Today
by Gerald Gardner
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0806525932
The Witches' Craft: The Roots of Witchcraft & Magical Transformation
by Raven Grimassi
http://www.amazon.com/dp/073870265X
The Witching Way of the Hollow Hill
by Robin Artisson
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982031882
WITCHCRAFT HISTORY AND RESOURCE BOOKS
Aradia or The Gospel of the Witches
by Charles Godfrey Leland
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982432356
Encyclopedia of Mystics, Saints & Sages: A Guide to Asking for Protection, Wealth, Happiness, and Everything Else!
by Judika Illes
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0062009575
The Encyclopedia of Witches, Witchcraft and Wicca
by Rosemary Ellen Guiley
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0816071047
Etruscan Roman Remains
by Charles Godfrey Leland
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1494302519
The God of the Witches
by Margaret Murray
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0195012704
The Weiser Field Guide to Witches, The: From Hexes to Hermione Granger, From Salem to the Land of Oz
by Judika Illes
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1578634792
ADVANCED BOOKS ON WITCHCRAFT AND MAGIC
Blood Sorcery Bible Volume 1: Rituals in Necromancy
by Sorceress Cagliastro
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1935150812
The Deep Heart of Witchcraft: Expanding the Core of Magickal Practice
by David Salisbury
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1780999208
Teen Spirit Wicca
by David Salisbury
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1782790594
Enchantment: The Witch's Art of Manipulation by Gesture, Gaze and Glamour
by Peter Paddon
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1936922517
Initiation into Hermetics
by Franz Bardon
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1885928122
Letters from the Devil's Forest: An Anthology of Writings on Traditional Witchcraft, Spiritual Ecology and Provenance Traditionalism
by Robin Artisson
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1500796360
Magical Use of Thought Forms: A Proven System of Mental & Spiritual Empowerment
by Dolores Ashcroft-Nowick and J.H. Brennan
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1567180841
Magick in Theory and Practice
by Aleister Crowley
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1500380679
The Plant Spirit Familiar
by Christopher Penczak
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982774311
Protection and Reversal Magick
by Jason Miller
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1564148793
Psychic Self-Defense
by Dion Fortune
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1578635098
The Ritual Magic Workbook: A Practical Course of Self-Initiation
by Dolores Ashcroft-Norwicki
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1578630452
The Roebuck in the Thicket: An Anthology of the Robert Cochrane Witchcraft Tradition
by Evan John Jones, Robert Cochrane and Michael Howard
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1861631553
The Satanic Witch
by Anton Szandor LaVey
http://www.amazon.com/Satanic-Witch-Anton-Szandor-LaVey/dp/0922915849
Shadow Magick Compendium: Exploring Darker Aspects of Magickal Spirituality
by Raven Digitalis
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003VS0N5K
The Tree of Enchantment: Ancient Wisdom and Magic Practices of the Faery Tradition
by Orion Foxwood
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1578634075
The Underworld Initiation: A journey towards psychic transformation
by R.J. Stewart
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1892137038
HERBALISM, CANDLES, INCENSE, OILS, FORMULARIES, AND STONES
A Compendium of Herbal Magic
by Paul Beyerl
http://www.amazon.com/dp/091934545X
Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs
by Scott Cunningham
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0875421229
The Enchanted Candle: Crafting and Casting Magickal Light
by Lady Rhea
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0806525789
The Enchanted Formulary: Blending Magickal Oils for Love, Prosperity, and Healing
by Lady Maeve Rhea
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0806527048
Incense: Crafting and Use of Magickal Scents
by Carl F. Neal
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0738703362
Magickal Formulary Spellbook Book 1
by Herman Slater
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0939708000
Magickal Formulary Spellbook: Book II
by Herman Slater
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0939708108
SPELLCASTING AND SPELLBOOKS
Crone's Book of Charms & Spells
by Valerie Worth
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1567188117
Crone's Book of Magical Words
by Valerie Worth
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1567188257
Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells
by Judika Illes
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0061711233
Everyday Magic: Spells & Rituals for Modern Living
by Dorothy Morrison
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1567184693
Pure Magic: A Complete Course in Spellcasting
by Judika Illes
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1578633915
Utterly Wicked: Curses, Hexes & Other Unsavory Notions
by Dorothy Morrison
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0979453313
The Voodoo Hoodoo Spellbook
by Denise Alvarado
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1578635136
The Voodoo Doll Spellbook: A Compendium of Ancient and Contemporary Spells and Rituals
by Denise Alvarado
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1578635543
THE ANCESTORS AND WORKING WITH THE DEAD
The Cauldron of Memory: Retrieving Ancestral Knowledge & Wisdom
by Raven Grimassi
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0738715751
The Mighty Dead
by Christopher Penczak
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0982774370
Speak with the Dead: Seven Methods for Spirit Communication
by Konstantinos
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0738705225
The Witches' Book of the Dead
by Christian Day
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1578635063
_____
TAROT
78 Degrees of Wisdom
by Rachel Pollack
http://www.amazon.com/dp/157863408
I'd recommend reading this if you want to get into wicca.
https://www.amazon.com/Bucklands-Complete-Witchcraft-Llewellyns-Practical/dp/0875420508
I have nothing against Cunningham, but I've found Buckland's books to be more informative. He explains things very well and it's less of "You HAVE to do it this way" than a lot of writers out there.
As a personal answer to altars and names, I've never felt that an altar has to be setup any particular way. I change the layout of mine depending on what I'm doing and the time of year, the only things that remain constant are my incense dish, atheme, spell book, and three dishes for salt, water, and libations.
As far as a witch name, I've never found a purpose for it. I used one in a previous coven I belonged to and found that even though everyone would call me by it I'd completely forget they were talking to me until they got my attention with my real name.
Buy some books on the subject, Is recommend some history books on the subject rather than book that have spells and what not. I bought the big blue which is a work book that goes over everything in general and it has been very helpful thus far.
https://www.amazon.com/Bucklands-Complete-Witchcraft-Llewellyns-Practical/dp/0875420508
Hey 22yr old Canadian guy – I’m sorry you are going thru some tuff times right now. Are you ok?
You have been a witch before which is why you are so interested in it still. It is a part of your life you will not be able to escape. Once you walk in the way – there is nothing like it and it is somewhat impossible to breath without it.
I recommend Uncle Buck - https://www.amazon.com/Bucklands-Complete-Witchcraft-Llewellyns-Practical/dp/0875420508
Uhmmm it is a super dry read – SUPER DRY – but has historical strengths and lets you know where the movement is now in this lifetime.
I sense you should focus on your connections – like HDMI cables – we are always attached. You can travel back up and visit the (what I call ) The great mother or the pool (land of the dead – resting souls). You will learn from those guides more than you can learn from me. Your advanced – very much so – and you have memories of your time as a witch… You can see yourself – feel yourself – performing feats that a Cowen would say is impossible… not seeing ghosts – you know what I mean.
You have already flexed these muscles – so the further you go the faster you’ll go so much more than most. Guides will be there with you – helping you along the way. Calling a teacher will be difficult at first for you – you will need to raise you energy a lot more in order to meet them half way as your guides are very very high – they vibrate at a higher vibration than most.
There are no limits to this – I sense you know this – like a toddler we test the boundaries of our playpen – so we do again. You can heal with a touch, you can harm with a thought – uhg I have stories – You can do anything – as you are allowed to as you have set for yourself prior to being born. You have a purpose. You know it – what is it?
You can start with the big blue book of Buckland.
This: https://www.amazon.com/Bucklands-Complete-Witchcraft-Llewellyns-Practical/dp/0875420508/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511354981&sr=8-1&keywords=bucklands+complete+book+of+witchcraft
It's not a tedious lecture. I'm not a book worm and i've read it completely in short time. Finished that you will now the pretty pretty basics. Then you can search for people that are into Wicca. But watch for red flags. If someone coherces you to do something sexual, that's probably not what you're looking for.
Have a nice path!. Probably in some years from now you'll be a fully fledged witch!. Your question was the first step!.
I asked google, she knows everything.
https://www.amazon.com/Bucklands-Complete-Witchcraft-Llewellyns-Practical/dp/0875420508
The best books on witchcraft I know of are Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft and Cunningham's Wicca guide. Keep in mind, there are different flavors of Wicca, and it actually incorporates a decent amount of ritual.
Alternatively, I can't recommend Christopher Penczak enough, his writing is easy to understand, he knows his stuff, and he doesn't push particular deities or belief systems as superior to others.
I understand that Raymond Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft includes exercises at the end of each chapter. Maybe that would help?
I suggest Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft for a more serious, non-fiction look at magick. That's where I started when I was into this stuff, and it was a pretty good introduction.
Go buy this: Bucklands Complete Guide to Witchcraft
That's not just Wicca, that's Wicca with a collection of random woo. It sounds like she's scared of something and grasping at random straws.
I recommend finding one of those books on Wicca that are just about nature worship, it will contain some random, low cost, rituals they call spells but that's a million times better than trying to buy spells from a scammer.
Here's one here: https://www.amazon.com/Bucklands-Complete-Witchcraft-Llewellyns-Practical/dp/0875420508
I've actually read that one and it emphasizes that a person must do it all themselves (if you do spellcasting for money then it will "turn on you"). The book focuses more on the nature stuff, so you'll have to put up with some incense and plants, maybe a cat or dog, but nothing really major.
If you handle this right and don't try to push her from it too hard, it should be a passing phase that will last a few years. Just try to keep her grounded and see if you can find what's really scaring or bothering her right now.
This is kind of the de-facto "starter" book in my experience.
Ooh, a threefer.
But in terms of crazy things that happened at work in real life.. I worked for a time as a security guard with a security firm. I tended to be the one who filled in for others when they didn't show up for a shift. So I got moved around a lot. This one time, I got put on the strangest job.. sit in my car all night, alone, unsupervised, in front of a florist's shop, and check the temperature gauge on a refrigeration truck, in the days before mother's day. I had a job that literally only existed because of a bad thermostat.
I worked that job right up til Mother's Day.. and the owner of the shop was so impressed with my 'sitting in the car, drawing, listening to the radio' all night, that he said if I ever needed a job, to call him.