We
have collected several titles from our own library and also ones in
our personal 'wish list.'
Earth-based religions and Craft-based beliefs are extremely popular
today.
We have and are, still incorporating much of what we have learned from
these authors in our own 'Spiritual Garden.'
Isaac
Bonewits defines Pagan as coming from the Latin paganus, meaning "civilian"
or "country dweller;"
used in ancient Rome to refer to those who were not part of the army,
or who were "hicks" and "bumpkins;"
later used by the Christians to refer to those who were not part of
the "armies of the Lord."
Now used as a general term for polytheistic religions and their members.
Neopaganism is a general term for a variety of "Aquarian Age"
movements
both organized and (usually) nonorganized,
which have attempted to revive or recreate various forms of beliefs
and practices
of the ancient Romans, Greeks, Slavs, Celts, Babylonians, Egyptians,
Native American, Mayan, Aztec, Inca, etc.
| This term can also be applied to the original inhabitants
and their current tribal descendants in Africa, Australia, Oceania,
Asia, and the Americas.
We
call ourselves "Flower Children" which we believe encompasses
it all within our "Spiritual Garden."
This bookstore is always magically evolving.
March 2009
Classic
Wiccan and Occult Books
Aleister
Crowley (1875-1947)
It should be noted that Crowley was one of the
first 'Westerners' to bring the teachings
of Yoga and Buddhism to the UK & USA during a time of strict formal
religious discipline.
He was the first to spend serious time and money investigating the mysteries
of the mind and the subconscious, using drugs (then legal) and meditation,
which was unheard of at that time (1900's).
Just as 'The Beatles' (Crowley appears on the front cover of Sgt Peppers
Lonely Hearst Club Band)
and many other 'Society changing' bands experimented with
mind altering drugs and alternative reality in the 1960's -
he also wrote about his experiences with painful truth
and applied his findings to the way we perceive existence.
Such people are rarely accepted by their social group.
Anyone who breaks with convention (and he broke many) will be reviled
and attract a certain amount of infamy.
To disregard him entirely is wrong. To worship him is also wrong.
His achievements create open debate on alternative religious belief
systems -
allowing people to question their own inherent faith and to explore
others.
His greatest achievement is not so much 'Magick',
but the fact that all spiritual belief should have the same overall
goal,
that of an infinite broader view of our own reality in life and death,
and to attempt to achieve this without the hindrance of
conditioned guilt/sin/love/hate/ego - as well as social/religious taboo's.
Crowley's books are NOT light reading!
They are all scholarly work that took decades to compile,
and a century to be brought-together in this format.
Magick:
Liber Aba : Book 4
by Aleister Crowley, Mary Desti, Leila Waddell, Hymenaeus Beta (Editor)
Book of Thoth
by Aleister Crowley, Frieda Harris
Thoth: Tarot
Deck
by Aleister Crowley
Understanding Aleister Crowley's Thoth Tarot
by Lon Milo Duquette
The Magick of
Aleister Crowley: A Handbook of the Rituals of Thelema
by Lon Milo Duquette
Do
What Thou Wilt : A Life of Aleister Crowley
by Lawrence Sutin
Perdurabo: The
Life of Aleister Crowley
by Richard Kaczynski
Transcendental
Magic: Its Doctrine and Ritual
by Eliphas Levi
Eliphas Levi,
Master of the Cabala, the Tarot and the Secret Doctrines
by Thomas A. Williams
History of Magic:
Including a Clear, and Precise Exposition of its Procedure, Rites and
Mysteries
by Eliphas Levi
Mysteries
of Magic: A Digest of the Writings of Eliphas Levi
by Arthur Edward Waite
Sybil
Leek (1923-1983)
Like
all true leaders and path cutters, Sybil Leek was always a bit controversial.
She made no apologies and was, so far as I am aware, anything but pretentious.
She presented her idea of the Craft as it was, based upon her life's
experience.
Her views were those of the old country Witch, simple, basic and no-nonsense.
Both long-time members as well as newcomers to the Craft would be well
served by
embracing the wisdom of this wonderful lady, who has now passed from
this world.
Her words and experiences can yet aid and counsel us in our own spiritual
quests,
whether those quests be within the Craft or on another path.
The writings of one such as Sybil Leek,
whether we choose to agree with them or not, are nothing less than a
treasure.
Sybil Leek -- to generations that name means many things, yet, in fact,
while many credit Gerald Gardener with the revitalisation of Wicca,
Sybil Leek was the one to really bring the neo-Pagan arts to the masses,
and to live her craft.
The Complete Art of Witchcraft,
in whatever condition you can find it, is also a great read,
and if anyone's got a copy of her book of Curses..purchase it!
Great witches never die, their words and actions live on and ensure
them a place in the halls of immortality.
-J.L.-
The
Complete Art of Witchcraft : Penetrating the Secrets of White Magic
by Sybil Leek
Diary
of a Witch
by Sybil Leek
Sybil
Leek on Exorcism: Driving out the Devils
by Sybil Leek
Sybil
Leek's Book of Curses
by Sybil Leek
Gerald
B. Gardner (1884-1964)
Gerald Brosseau Gardner
has been called the father of modern Wicca.
His published works are supposedly the teachings of a coven in which
he was a member--
teachings passed down by word of mouth since early pagan times.
Along with his written legacy, he was also the founder of the Museum
of Witchcraft.
Thought to be the father of modern witchcraft,
Gerald Gardner published The Meaning of Witchcraft in 1959,
not long after laws punishing witches were repealed.
It was the first sympathetic book written from the point of view of
a practicing witch.
"The meaning of witchcraft is to be found,
not in strange religious theories about God and Satan,
but in the deepest levels of the human mind,
the collective unconscious,
and the earliest developments of human society.
It is the deepness of the roots that has preserved the tree."
The Meaning of Witchcraft is an invaluable source book for witches today.
Chapters include:
• Witch’s Memories and Beliefs
• The Stone Age Origins of Witchcraft
• Druidism and the Aryan Celts
• Magic Thinking
• Curious Beliefs about Witches
• Signs and Symbols
• The Black Mass
• Some Allegations Examined
The
Meaning of Witchcraft
by Gerald Gardner
Witchcraft
Today
by Gerald B. Gardner
Gardner's
Book of Shadows
by Gerald B. Gardner, Robin B. May (Editor)
Gardner
Witchcraft Series
by Gerald B. Gardner
Israel Regardie (1907-1985)
777
And Other Qabalistic Writings of Aleister Crowley
by Israel Regardie
Ceremonial
Magic: A Guide to the Mechanisms of Ritual
by Israel Regardie
Foundations of Practical Magic:
An Introduction to Qabalistic, Magical and Meditative Techniques
by Israel Regardie
