Hi Lovelies and welcome to Wicca Now. As you may already know, Wicca Now is a place where Amaria and I write all about witchcraft, Wicca and magick. If your keen to browse the site why not check out our most recent posts on water magick and moon magick and or this post on why being a kitchen witch is awesome. Today I thought I’d write about something that many of you have been asking me about via our Instagram page, namely my recommendations for the best witchy books for beginners.
First of all, I’d really like to congratulate you on decided to learn about the Craft. This is the most important first step that any beginner witch can take and finding the right resources to get you started on your journey forms an essential part of the process. I remember when I first became interested in witchcraft and magick and I really felt drawn to witchy books and articles like a moth is drawn towards the flame.
In fact, even now I still feel instinctively drawn to witchy books and reading material. For me, lifelong learning forms an integral part of my practice of the Craft and I’m always excited to discover new ideas and inspirations. I’ve also discovered that even if a specific book or article doesn’t contain the exact information I was looking for, more often than not I’ll still find little nuggets of information to take with me. Often this collection of gathered information from a wide variety of sources has served me better than leaning too heavily on one book or resource.
I always make sure to take notes and keep a record of the books I’m reading as well as noting any tips and tricks I might find useful in my Book of Shadows. I’d definitely suggest you do the same as this is a wonderful way of integrating your learning journey within your overall practice of the Craft. There have been countless times when I’ve rediscovered a useful idea or tip that I had completely forgotten whilst browsing through my Book of Shadows and that’s exactly why it’s important that we document our journey.
Another point I’d like to make is that many times when searching for information or a witchy book to guide us a specific title will literally call out to us with a strong ‘read me’! If you feel drawn to a specific book or source of information, follow the calling. Your intuition is guiding you towards the perfect starting point.
Table of Contents
The Best Witchy Books For Beginners
The Best Witchy Books For Beginners #1 – Circe By Madelaine Miller
Although not technically a ‘witchy book’, I’m non-the-less recommending this book as a wonderful starting place for all those interested in witchcraft and magick. The book tells the tale of Circe, a greek witch and goddess who has been exiled to the isle of Aiaia.
Circe’s exile affords her the time to hone her craft and the story is filled with many powerful images of magick, female empowerment and witchy inspiration. The audiobook is beautifully narrated and one can’t help but be totally drawn into the story. I highly recommend this book for beginners curious about the world of mythology, witchcraft and magick for whom a more serious tome on the nature of witchcraft might prove to be a little overwhelming.
The Best Witchy Books For Beginners #2 – Waking the Witch by Pam Grossman
In ‘waking the witch’ Pam Grossman explores our fascination with witchcraft and why witchcraft is more relevant today than ever. Although I haven’t actually read this book myself it’s definitely at the top of my ‘to do’ list. The reason that I’m including it here is because of the incredible amount of positive comments we get about this book via our instagram page.
I think learning about the history of witchcraft is super important for any beginner witch and from what I’ve been told, waking the witch provides a great roadmap of witchcraft both past and present. I’ve also been told that the conversational tone of the book makes it enjoyable to read and really accessible for beginner witches.
The Best Witchy Books For Beginners #3 – The Modern Guide to Witchcraft: Your Complete Guide to Witches, Covens, and Spells
The modern guide to witchcraft is an excellent resource for beginner witches. The topics covered include:
- An explaination of witchcraft
- What magick is an how it can help you
- A history of witchcraft in the west
- The magickal universe in which we live
- The elements of the witches path
- The gods and goddesses
- Different types of witchcraft and witches
- Sacred space
- Altars and shrines
- The witches toolkit
- Plant magick
- Crystals and gemstones
The book also features a number of love, prosperity and success spells (all suitable for beginners) which can be found scattered throughout the final chapters of the book.
I like the fact that the modern guide to witchcraft is written in a conversational tone which makes it easy for beginners to follow. Key concepts like intention, meditation and intuition are also covered.
I think this is a great book for anyone looking to gain a broad overview of what witchcraft is and how magick works and definitely recommend it for beginner witches.
The Best Witchy Books For Beginners #4 – The Green Witch by Arin Murphy-Hiscock
Although ‘The Green Witch’ proclaims itself to be a manual on the ‘natural magick of herbs, flowers and essential oils’, I think it covers enough of the basics of witchcraft to make it useful as a general reference book about witchcraft for beginners and that’s why I’ve included it in my list of the best witchy books for beginners
Working with the natural world and the elements as well as the cycles of the moon is something that comes naturally to most witches and I think this book does a good job of covering the basics. Topics covered include:
- A Brief history of green witchcraft and how to embrace the power of the earth
- Embracing your own energy center including tips on how work with your own energy centers and how to create sacred spaces.
- How to attune yourself with nature
- Manifesting the power of the four seasons
- How to work with the energy of the earth including trees, flowers and stones
- How to keep a witches garden
- How to create and craft with green magick including a bunch of recipes for spell bags, herbal incense and dream pillows
- Natural healing
- Green witch kitchen recipes
I enjoyed the holistic approach offered by this book emmensly. In the words of the author, ‘Green witchcraft is not a practice seperate from ordinary life, like ritual magick for example, it is an all encompassing, total-emersion experience wherein all of life is a magickal experience’.
The Best Witchy Books For Beginners #5 – Psychic Witch A Metaphysical Guide to Meditation Magick Manifestation By Mat Auryn
Ok so truth be told this book might be a tiny bit too advanced for total newbies but for those of you already a little aquainted with witchcraft I think this makes a great read. Mat Auryn is a witch, professional phsychic, occult teacher and gifted story teller based in England.
Mat believes that ‘psychic power and magickal powers are our birthrights’ and that ’embracing your power and path as a psychic being can be the most rewarding experience a witch can have in his or her lifetime’.
This book is Mat’s attempt to break free of the traditional gatekeepers who are deemed to have kept the knowledge contained within this book secret and thereby make it freely available to all.
Topics covered included:
- Meditation and relaxation
- Tuning in
- Extrasensory perception
- Purification and shielding
- The triple souls of the witch
- The lower self and the shadow
- The higher self and true will
- Flames of the witches souls
- Between the worlds
- Elemental forces
- Terrestial energy
- Celestial energy
- Multidimensional manifestation
The book also includes a selection of magickal tips and tricks as well as a bunch of excercises designed to help get you in tune with your psychic abilities.
The Best Witchy Books For Beginners #6 – Bewitching the Elements: A Guide to Empowering Yourself Through Earth, Air, Fire, Water, and Spirit By Gabriela Herstik.
In her book ‘Bewitching the Elements’ Gabriela Herstik teaches beginner witches how to channel ancient wisdom in the modern age. She defines a witch as someone who lives in tune with the natural cycles of the earth, the cosmos and oneself. She believes that magick is energy + action + intention and that magick has the power to help us to live in this world powerfully, consciously and intentionally.
By viewing magick and witchcraft as an ever-evolving practice, Gabriela attempts to redefine what witchcraft and being a witch might mean within a modern context.
The book covers tarot, meditation, and crystals, chakras, herbs,even fashion and the way that Gabriela pours all of her knowledge and wisdom into the text makes this an excellent read for baby witches looking for an accessible place to get started with witchcraft.
The Best Witchy Books For Beginners #7 – The Witch’s Book of Self-Care: Magical Ways to Pamper, Soothe, and Care for Your Body and Spirit By Arin Murphy-Hiscock
“Taking care of your energy, your emotional health, your physical health, and your mental health are all essential undertakings—and can all be enhanced with magic. Being your best self is part of what makes the world a better place” – Arin Murphy-Hiscock.
In this book, Arin Murphy-Hiscock takes us on a magickal journey of witchy self-care. With topics such as the importance of being authentic, creative visualisation and mediation being covered in the first chapter, Arin then moves on to centering and grounding and creating sacred space.
The second chaper covers emotional and mental self-care with vision boards, affirmations, morning rituals and the importance of journaling being discussed. In this chaper Arin also includes spells against stress and tips on organisation and planning.
Chapter three covers physical self-care. Here Arin shares some of her favourite witchy recipes, how to make magickal water bottles and discusses the benefits of herbal teas.
Chapter four covers spiritual self-care. In this chaper Arin teaches us how to connect with deities, work with spirit animals and outlines daily rituals which can help us to find alignment with our own spiritual source.
Chapter five covers household self-care. Here you’ll learn how to energetically balance your home space, how to purify and cleanse as well as the basics of protecting the energy of your home.
I love the conversational way in which this book is written the cute tips and tricks littered throughout and the accessible way in which Arin teaches fuses witchcraft and self-care. A must-read for baby witches.
The Best Witchy Books For Beginners #8 – The Witch’s Book of Shadows: The Craft, Lore & Magick of the Witch’s Grimoire By Jason Mankey
I’ve included this book in my list of the best witchy books for beginners’ because I think that knowing how to work with and keep a Book of Shadows is an essential part of successful witchcraft and something every beginner witch should learn.
A methodical approach in terms of record keeping can go a long way in terms of helping us to understand our own practice of the Craft. This is why a well kept and regularily updated Book of Shadows is so important.
In this book Jason Mankey covers various topics all around the Book of Shadows including:
- Different types of Book of Shadows
- How to put together and make your own Book of Shadows
- A brief history of magickal books, symbols and words
- What to put in your Book of Shadows
- Goddesses and Gods of the books
- The Book of Shadows in ritual
- Cleansing and consecrating your Book of Shadows
- New frontiers and modern interpretations of the Book of Shadows
If your interested in starting your own Book of Shadows (something I definitely recommend) this book makes a great resource
The Best Witchy Books For Beginners #9 – Witchery: Embrace the Witch Within By Juliet Diaz
Embrace the Witch Within is one of the best witchy books for beginners in my opinion. In it, Juliet Diaz covers the basics of magick, how to cultivate a magickal attitude, the art of self-love and how to unleash your power.
Further chapters delve into meditation, manifestation, the seasons and the phases of the moon. A big portion of the book is dedicated to herbal magick which makes this book a wonderful resource for those of you interested in green witchery.
There’s also a smattering of cute potions, spells and rituals which are totally suitable for beginner witches scattered throughout the book. My favourite potions and spells detailed in the book include a rosemary love oil, a basil purification spray and a spearmint moon water manifestation tea!
The Best Witchy Books For Beginners #10 – The Door to Witchcraft: A New Witch’s Guide to History, Traditions, and Modern-Day Spells By Tonya A. Brown
The Door to Witchcraft makes it on to my list of the best witchy books for beginners on account of its conversational style and the ease with which the auther manages to delve into a complex topic without being pushy or overbearing.
The core practices and beliefs of witchcraft are outlined in a simple manner and there’s also a wonderful section of spells included. The core tenant of the book revolves around a self-reflected style of learning with a strong bais towards beginner witches and those just curious about the Craft.
So lovelies, that concludes my roundup of the best witchy books for beginners. I hope I’ve inspired you to start your own journey into the magickal world of witchcraft and like always, Blessed Be.
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