Good Witchin’ Books

New to the witch life and / or wanting to expand your spiritual knowhow, but not sure what to start with on the bookshelf? Looking for a list of recommended books for witches? Here are some suggestions!

You do not really need more than one book in each segment, if that segment interests you. Book collections can grow over a lifetime. I’d recommend specifically choosing one or two books on witchcraft as your “must haves” to begin.

This list is formed from my personal collection of books I’ve gained a lot of value from over the years. Based on my personal experience, I can recommend them as great reads. There are tons of new authors out there who I haven’t read – so this is by no means a ‘be-all-end-all’ definitive list.

To choose your own books, I recommend doing a search of the book title you’re interested in, and reading the reviews over a few sites (like Goodreads and Amazon) to give you a better feel for what it’s like.

Ok, let’s begin!

RECOMMENDED BOOKS FOR WICCA & WITCHCRAFT

Anything by SCOTT CUNNINGHAM is generally great & worth your moolah. For starting out, check out “Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner” and “Earth Power”.

• Getting to grips with the Wheel of the Year, “Earthtime, Moontime” by Annette Hinshaw. (I quote her book in my article “The Calendar of Moons” on the Info Hub)
• For a uniquely African perspective, “Dancing Under An African Moon” by Donna Darkwolf
• “A Witches Bible” by Steward Farrar
• “Green Spirituality” – Rosa Romani
• “Wicca” – Vivianne Crowley
• For a deep dive into Creator energies, “God/Goddess” – A.J. Drew / Patricia Telesco
• Silver Ravenwolf – “Solitary Witch” or “To Ride A Silver Broomstick”or “To Stir A Magick Cauldron” are all great options
• And of course no witch reading list would be complete without the penultimate “Bucklands Complete Book of Witchcraft“

RECOMMENDED BOOKS FOR CRYSTALS!

So my top 3 reference books (bearing in mind I’ve been doing this for over a decade so these are a little old) are Judy Hall’s “The Crystal Bible”, Robert Simmons “The Book of Stones” and Melody’s “Love Is In The Earth” (I’m not sure that one’s even still in print, you might need to hunt some second hand stores to find it). These three books represent the epitome of printed reference books for crystal knowledge – *in my limited opinion*. Here’s a full list of crystal books / authors I love and can recommend:

• Anything by Judy Hall, specifically her encyclopedia type books, make excellent quick references.
• Robert Simmons “The Book of Stones”, more of a deep dive on each crystal.
• Philip Permutt is a great, easy to read author, try “The Crystal Healer”
• Scott Cunningham makes the list, of course, with his “Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic”
• Hibiscus Moon approaches crystals with a touch of science, check out “Crystal Grids – How & Why They Work”. Also have a look at her website, it’s loaded with awesome info hibiscusmooncrystalacademy.com
• This one is super great if you are rock obsessed like me, and look at rocks wherever you go. Bruce Cairncross’s “Field Guide to Rocks & Minerals of Southern Africa” is brilliant. Take it on a road trip and you’ll never look at a hill the same way 😉

And then of course there are LOTS of new authors bringing out amazing new information – our bookshop is always adding new titles that we think look good!

RECOMMENDED BOOKS FOR ASTROLOGY

My personal recommendations include:

• Yasmin Boland is a new favourite – I use her Moonology diary (based on the Moonology book) and follow her weekly updates. Check out her website for tons of useful astrology tools moonology.com
• We also like to listen to Pam Gregory’s YouTube posts.

RECOMMENDED BOOKS FOR HERBAL MAGICK

• “The Green Witch” – Arin Murphy-Hiscock
• “The Charmed Garden” – Diane Morgan
• Anything by Margaret Roberts, especially “Indigenous Plants of South Africa” and “100 Edible & Healing Flowers” for real hands on, SA based plant healing.
• “Medicinal Plants of South Africa” – B Van Wyk, B Van Oudtshoorn, N Gericke for a lovely deep dive and wide spectrum.
• Of course Cunningham’s “Encyclopedia of Magickal Herbs” must make the list for an excellent magick reference book.

MORE GREAT READS FOR WITCHES

Here are a few more of my favourite books and recommendations for various witchy subjects:

• “A Witch’s Guide To Psychic Healing” – Gavin & Yvonne Frost
• “Everyday Rituals & Ceremonies” – Lorna St Aubyn
• “Spells, Charms, Talismans & Amulets” – Pamela Ball
• “Talismans & Amulets” – Felicitas H. Nelson
• “Sigil Witchery”- Lara Zakroff
• “Practical Candleburning Rituals” – Raymond Buckland
• “How to See & Read The Human Aura” – Judith Collins
• “Elemental Encyclopedia of 20,000 Dreams” – Theresa Cheung
• “Elemental Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells” – Judika Illes
• “Animal Speak” – Ted Andrews
• “The Druid Animal Oracle” – Philip Carr-Gomm
• “Initiation Into Numerology” – Johann Heyss
• “A Witch’s Guide to Faery Folk” – Edain McCoy
• “The Chakra Experience” – Patricia Mercier
• “Llewellyn’s Complete Book of Correspondences” – Sandra Kynes