Reddit reviews Mastering Witchcraft: A Practical Guide for Witches, Warlocks & Covens

Hello fellow South Texan. Witchcraft can cast a pretty wide net, so it really depends on what you're interested in. Since you're here instead of /r/Wicca, I'm going to assume you're looking more for folkish practices than religious practices, and living where you are opens you up to a wide array of influences, particularly those of the more magical aspects of Mexican Catholicism.

Ireland and the UK are rife with magical lore, so you'll often see people drawing from that. Some prefer a more medieval approach (I've got a soft spot for that), and use the diabolic imagery in a fun way. Others prefer to take in the lore of what's around them (the best approach, in my opinion; power is always greatest beneath your feet) and adapt it into their own practice.

As far as how to start, I generally recommend Huson's Mastering Witchcraft. Certainly cheesy in places, and as with most things you should take it with a grain of salt, but as far as techniques go it is a solid place to begin (assuming, again, that you aren't looking for Wicca). A good practical foundation can only help you.

After that, it's really a matter of figuring out what calls to you and following it. I disliked being here for the longest time, but as I began to follow the threads of the spirits I found more and more that what works best for me is intimately connected to the land around me. Hopefully you'll discover the same thing!

1. The use of sorcery, fascination, or communion with spirits. E'erybody loves Vasago.
   
2. Nope. It DOES involve magic, but magick, with a k, is a term used in Thelema. You're not ready for that... also Thelema is one of those styles of magic that is tied really, really heavily into some pretty obscure philosophy and you have to be able to read Crowley's work without falling asleep. As for the occult... that's a pretty wide umbrella term. Occult itself means hidden (think occult fecal blood), so while magic itself is an occult practice, the occult is not, by definition, inherently magical.
   
3. Well... yeah. I mean, you've got ceremonial tools. A lot of these you can hide, but bowls filled with ashes and blessed daggers... man it's hard to rationalize those when you stumble across them. Luckily you can use a wooden dowel to replace an athame.
   
4. Mastering Witchcraft by Paul Huson. I always recommend this book. It's very informative, gives a shit load of additional resources, and most importantly it's not in any way about Wicca. This is firmly a book about witchcraft, spirits, and magic of all shades. Unlike a lot of books, especially those penned by and for Wiccans, this book doesn't shy away from the darker side of things. If you really want to get into witchcraft it is crucial for you to know what black magic is and why it's black. Otherwise you'll be going forward with an incomplete understanding.
   
   You can buy a lot of Paul Huson's works on amazon.
   
   I know somebody already suggested Chris Penczak, he's a pretty good resource as well. Depending on the type of craft you want to get into you can also delve, eventually, into some of Aleister Crowley's work. Really the only thing I can think to warn you away from, off the top of my head, is Silver Ravenwolf. She's ... honestly Ravenwolf is one of the single worst resources a young witch could go with. Until you know how to filter the bullshit and Ravenwolfiness (no, you'll understand what I mean by that one day) from her work she's not worth spending money on, let alone reading.