Tips For Those Who Are Considering Witchcraft

Tips For Those Who Are Considering Witchcraft

Deciding to practice witchcraft and magick can be equally daunting and exciting.  Here are some tips about what to do if you are thinking about becoming a witch!

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First, a few things that you should NOT do:

1.    Do not do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable, period.  Trust your intuition, and always stay true to yourself.

2.    Do not do anything that puts you in danger.  This includes casting a spell without protection, or opening yourself to spirits before you know what you are doing.  This also includes running out in the middle of a storm to collect rain water, or agreeing to meet a witch that you met online, alone.  Use common sense in all matters of your craft; your safety and health, both physical and mental, must come first.

3.    Do not do anything that contradicts your own personal, spiritual, moral, ethical, or other beliefs.  Unless you plan on changing what you believe, just don’t do it.  It doesn’t matter if everybody and their familiar is doing something; if it doesn’t agree with you, walk away from it.

4.    Do not start actually practicing anything witchcraft-related until you have researched it.  Do not do a spell until you have a working understanding of magick, as well as all of the ingredients involved in the spell – even ones you intend to substitute (especially the ingredients that you intent to substitute, actually).

5.    Don’t take witchcraft lightly. Your craft doesn’t need to be all serious spells and spiderwebs, but you do need to have a healthy respect for the energies and powers that you will be working with.  You shouldn’t fear them - never work with anything that makes you afraid - but you should respect them.

6.    Don’t take your studies lightly. Put yourself through witch school. Research everything; ask yourself questions and give yourself homework.  Ask others questions and ask them to give you homework!  Be creative in your studies, but still take them seriously.  You don’t have to be hunched over spellbooks all day, but you should make an effort to at least mentally review your existing knowledge, on days that you can’t find the time for more.  

7.    Do not be afraid to ask questions or for help – but do not automatically assume that everybody actually knows the answer.  Most witches around here will do their best to answer your questions, but they’ll also usually straight tell you if they don’t know something themselves; you should respect that, whether or not they point you in the direction of somebody else.  On the other hand, if something sounds wrong, trust yourself and double check.  Get a second opinion, if need be.  

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Next, a few things that you should know before you enter the world of witchcraft:

1.    Witchcraft is real, and magick is real.  Whether or not you believe in it, it believes in you (as the saying goes).  Approaching magick as if you were cosplaying Harry Potter is an attractive but ultimately unwise idea.  Approaching magick as if you were learning to operate a highly beneficial but potentially dangerous piece of machinery – now, that is a wise idea.

2.    Witchcraft isn’t inherently evil, but neither is it inherently pure good.  Witchcraft is power, plain and simple.  It is what one chooses to do with that power that gives it such meaning, and even then, the concept of good and evil is an ethical and spiritual one, and thereby tends to vary from person to person, and from witch to witch.  You have to use your own morals to guide you.  The only type of magick that should be in your witchcraft is the magick you intentionally choose to put there.  On a related note: I personally don’t agree with classifying magick as ‘black magick’ or ‘white magick’, period – not because magick can’t have precise descriptors, but because there’s no need to use terms that have such negative racial undertones.  Light can be harmful and ‘evil’, while darkness can be protective and ‘good’. Your intentions aren’t “to do dark” or “to do light”, anyway.  Your intentions are “to do harm” or “to do healing”; your intentions are “to take away” or “to give”.

3.    Witchcraft is a personal practice. You do not need to follow any one specific path, spiritual or otherwise, in order to practice witchcraft.  There are many different types of witches, and many different types of magick.  If there is not one specific path that you feel is absolutely perfect for you, don’t choose one that feels ‘close enough’ – walk your own path and mold your witchcraft into something that is uniquely yours.  

4.    Witches worship in varying ways.  Some do not worship at all, and are purely secular witches.  Some are simply spiritual and do not follow one set path. Some are polytheists and worship many gods; some are monotheists and worship one.  Some are atheists and worship none!   Some are Wiccan.  Some are Christian.  Some are Satanists.  Some worship ancestors.  Some worship the stars.  Witchcraft is a personal practice, and should co-exist with all other aspects of your life.

5.    You don’t need a whole lot to get started.  Twigs can be used as wands; rock quartz can be used as a crystal.  Tea mixes contain herbs, and your spice cabinet is basically a magick cabinet.  Most of what is in your house can be used for magick, for that matter.  While it is definitely helpful to have the proper tools and ingredients when performing magick, it is possible to DIY your way through witchcraft until you can afford otherwise.  Also, it is probably smarter to wait a second before you run out and purchase anything, anyway.  As you learn more, you’ll start to see which tools you really need, which ingredients you’ll likely be using the most, which items really call out to you.  If you run out and buy everything that you see right away, you risk wasting money on things that just don’t work for you, or that you don’t even need.

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Lastly, here are the things that you DO need to do, no matter what:

o    Be true to yourself.  Do not compromise yourself or your beliefs.

o    Be safe.  Don’t do or use anything that you do not have a working knowledge of.

o    Be educated.  Never stop seeking out new knowledge; try to learn something new daily.

o    Use common sense.  Don’t get caught up in things; think before you take action.

o    Trust your intuition and instinct.  We often know more than we consciously realize.

o    Be creative.  Write the spell that you’ve been looking for.  See what is laying around the house that you can use for your witchcraft.  Be inventive!

o    Have patience.  Learning takes time; magick takes time; developing your craft takes time.

That’s it for the moment!  Tune in tomorrow for a post regarding more tips and information on what to do when you do decide to go ahead enter the world of witchcraft ^_^

~Tari

Dream Work Correspondences Masterpost

Crystals:

Agate: induces dreams, prevent nightmares

Albite: dreams, lucid dreaming, astral projection

Amethyst: vivid dreams, prevents insomnia, prevents nightmares, dream divination

Ametrine: helps to understand dreams

Angel Phantom Quartz: general dream work, lucid dreaming, angel communication, prevents nightmares

Angelite: astral projection

Benitoite: astral travel

Black Tourmaline: induces sleep, prevents nightmares

Blue Apatite: dreams that will help solve problems creatively, induce happy dreams

Blue Calcite: astral travel, induces dreams

Bustamite: induces dreams

Calcite: induces dreams

Chrysoprase: peaceful sleep, prevents nightmares

Clear Quartz: induce dreams, astral travel, dream recall, vivid dreams

Danburite: induces sleep, lucid dreaming

Dioptase: vivid dreams

Dream Quartz: dream enhancement, dream divination, healing dreams, prevents nightmares, past life work via dreams, dream manifestation, astral travel

Emerald: general dreamwork, prevents nightmares

Fluorite: protection during sleep, prevents nightmares, promotes deep sleep

Garnet: induces dreams

Goshenite: induces dreams

Green Jade: general dream work, dream divination, dream recall

Hemimorphite: entering the dream state, dream divination and visions, angel and spirit communication in sleep and dreams

Herkimer Diamond: general dream work, astral travel, induces dreams, vivid dreams, lucid dreaming, dream recall

Holley Blue Agate: general dreamwork

Iolite: aids with sleep disorders, induces sleep, astral projection

Jet: astral projection, protection in sleep

Labrodite: astral travel, vivid dreams, aids in dream interpretation

Lazulite: general dream work, astral travel, dream recall, lucid dreaming

Lepidolite: aids with sleep disorders, prevents nightmares, prevents confusion in dreams

Malachite: prevent nightmares, halts repeating nightmares, dream recall, induce sleep

Moldavite: entering dream state, dream messages, vivid dreams, enhancing dream work and dream spells, guidance through dreams

Moonstone: brings dreams, lucid dreaming, peaceful sleep, prevents insomnia

Muscovite: aids with sleep disorders, sleep inducement

Opal: astral travel, brings happy dreams

Peacock Obsidian: astral travel

Picture Jasper: general dream work, brings dreams of memories

Purple Jade: induces dreams

Prehnite: dreams, dream recall

Rhodizite: astral travel

Rhodonite: general dream work, lucid dreaming, helps with interpreting messages of dreams

Rose Quartz: prevents insomnia, pleasant dreams

Sapphire: astral travel, dream recall

Scolecite: induce sleep, dream recall, lucid dreaming, messages from dreams

Smoky Quartz: induces dreams, prevents nightmares

Sphene: dream recall

Stilbite: induces dreams

Sugilite: induces dreams

Tabular: astral travel

Zircon: induces sleep

Herbs:

African Dream Bean: lucid dreaming, spirit communication through dreams

Anise: prevents nightmares

Ash: prevents nightmares, dream divination

Ashwagandha: induce sleep

Bay: general dream work and spells, dream divination

Blue Lotus: prevents insomnia, induces sleep, lucid dreaming

Bracken: bright dreams with answers to problems, protection in sleep, prevents nightmares

Buchu: dream divination

*California Poppy: induces sleep, prevent insomnia

Clary Sage: vivid dreams, strange dreams

Cayenne: induces sleep, prevents nightmares

Cedar: prevents nightmares, strengthens psychic powers in sleep, protection when sleeping

Chamomile: induces calming sleep, prevents nightmares

Cinquefoil: brings restful sleep, dream divination

**Datura: lucid dreaming

Flax: prevents nightmares

Garlic: prevents nightmares, protection during sleep, induces sleep

Ginkgo Biloba: induce dreams, vivid dreams

**Heliotrope: dream divination

**Holly: dream divination

Huckleberry: make dreams come true

*Hyacinth: nightmare prevention, helps one to recover after a nightmare

Jasmine: restful sleep, pleasant dreams, induces sleep, induces dreams, dream divination

*Kava Kava: induces sleep (do not use if you have liver issues or on prescriptions!)

*Kanna: prevents nightmares

Lady’s Slipper: induces sleep, prevents nightmares

Lavender: induces sleep, prevents insomnia

Lemon Balm: induces sleep, refreshing sleep, prevents nightmares

Lemon Verbena: dreamless sleep, dream suppression

Lemongrass: dream inducement

Magnolia Bark: induces sleep

**Mandrake: sleep inducement, protection during sleep, dream divination

Marigold: dream divination, protection from dream magick and spells

*Mexican Dream Herb: clearer dreams, dream memory, lucid dreaming

Mimosa: dream divination

**Mistletoe: prevent nightmares, prevent insomnia

*Morning Glory: prevent nightmares

Mugwort: dream divination, astral projection, lucid dreaming, psychic and spiritual dreams

Mullein: prevents nightmares, protection during sleep, keeps nocturnal demons at bay

Mustard Seed: prevents nightmares

Onion: dream divination, protection during sleep

Passionflower: sleep inducement, calm dreams

Peony: protects from nocturnal demons notably incubi

Peppermint: dream divination, induces sleep

*Poppy Seeds: vivid dreams, induces sleep

Purslane: prevent reoccurring nightmares, keep away nocturnal spirits

Rose: induces dreams of love, dream divination in terms of romance and love

Rosemary: prevent nightmares, protection during sleep, past life work in dreams

Sage: peaceful calm dreams, helaing in dreams, prevents nightmares

Siberian Ginseng: induces sleep, prevents nightmares

*Skullcap: prevents nightmares

St. John’s Wort: dream divination in terms of love

*Tobacco: prevents nightmares

Valerian Root: lucid dreaming, sleep inducement, dream recall

Vervain: prevents nightmares, dream divination

Wild Asparagus: dream inducement, lucid dreaming, flight in sleep, astral travel

Wood Betony: prevent nightmares, protection during sleep

Yarrow: dream divination

**poisonous, do not eat!

*potentially toxic or dangerous, use with caution!

Foods:

Almonds: induces sleep[, induces dreams

Banana: induces sleep, promotes painless sleep, induces sleep

Blueberries: induces dreams

Cherry: induces dreams, induces sleep

Chicken: induces dreams, lucid dreams

Dairy Products: induces sleep

Eggs: induces dreams

Halibut: induces sleep

Kale: induces sleep

Kidney Beans: lucid dreaming

Lamb: lucid dreaming

Lettuce: induces sleep

Oats/Oatmeal: induces dreams

Passion Fruit: induces sleep, prevents insomnia

Pistachios: induces sleep

Pretzels: induces sleep

Pumpkin Seeds: lucid dreaming

Red Radish: vivid dreams

Shrimp: vivid dreams, induces dreams

Soy Sauce: induces dreams

Soybeans: lucid dreaming

Sunflower Seeds: vivid dreams

Tofu (cooked): lucid dreaming

Tomato: induces sleep

Tuna: induces sleep

Turkey: induces sleep, induces dreams, lucid dreaming

Rice: Induces sleep

Salmon: Induces sleep

Animals:

Bat: dreaming

Beavers: subconscious thoughts, dreams

Groundhog: heightens dreams and states of mind

Leopard: communication in dreams, movement in dreams, sensitivity of the unconscious mind

Lizard: “Dream Walker”; dream messages, represents the dream realm

Lynx: insight of dreams, unconscious knowledge, dream interpretation

Mink: understanding your dreams while dreaming

Owl: messages through dreams, astral projection

Spiders: prevents nightmares, wards off evil and harm during sleep

Swan: dream interpretation, dream recall

Essential Oils:

Anise: induces sleep

Catnip: vivid dreams

Cedarwood: vivid dreams

Cinnamon: vivid dreams

Clove: induces sleep

Clary Sage: induces sleep

Eucalyptus: vivid dreams

Helichrysum: prevents insomnia, induces dreams

Jasmine: induces dreams

Junipher: vivid dreams

Lavender: induces dreams, lucid dreaming

Lemon Balm: vivid dreams

Mugwort: lucid dreaming, astral projection

Nutmeg: vivid dreams

Orange: vivid dreams

Palo Santo: induces sleep

Patchouli: lucid dreaming

Peppermint: vivid dreams

Rose: induces sleep, lucid dreaming, dreams related to love

Rosemary: vivid dreams

Sandalwood: induces sleep

Yarrow: vivid dreams

Ylang Ylang: vivid dreams

Incense:

Ambergris: induces dreams

Bay: dream divination, brings visions

Cedar: prevents nightmares

Dittany of Crete: astral projection

Jasmine: dream divination, astral projection

Lavender: induces sleep

Opium: dream divination, lucid dreaming, induces dreams, induces sleep, dream spells of all kinds

Passionflower: induces sleep

Rose: dream divination

Rosemary: induces sleep, pleasant dreams, prevents nightmares

Sandalwood: astral projection

*Burn incense with caution please. Burn it before going to bed and make sure it is extinguished before you go to sleep for safety reasons.*

Metals:

Silver: prevent nightmares, protection during sleep, induces dreams, psychic dreams, visions, dream divination

Colors:

Blue: astral projection

Indigo: dream divination

Silver: dreams

Yellow: dream divination, creative vivid dreams

Rose and Almond Oil

This is easy peasy..

- pick roses - allow any moisture to dry - sterilise dark jar with boiling water - dry jar - squash rose petals into jar - cover with oil - pop on the lid - leave to infuse for 2/3 weeks

…and TA-DA you have yourself a vitamin rich skin soothing facial oil!

Metro Magick by Lorne Cross (2016) - Review

This is a short book, with just 88 pages, so I’ll try to keep this review relatively short as well. Not only is it pretty slim, it’s also smallish enough to easily fit into your bag or backpack or whatever without taking up much space. I personally love to take books with me when I’m out and about, but sometimes these magick tomes can be rather big and heavy. Anyway, I also think this paperback looks stealthy and undercover enough to be read out in public (if that is a concern of yours), on a train, a bus, subway, or cafe without causing suspicion by non-practitioners. 

First of all I’ll say that I really enjoyed Metro Magick. I used to live in the city and have done my fair share of city magick in my time there. And while I am currently living in a small town (village actually) in the country side, that is only a temporary relocation and hopefully I will get back to the big city life sooner or later. I’ve been feeling particularly stuck lately, so I discovered this weird little book just at the perfect period of my life, and it has made me dream of the concrete jungle once again.

The book itself has no writing on the spine, which could prove to be annoying if you have an extensive esoteric library, making it difficult to locate. I’m sure I’m not the only one having problems with disappearing books. Sometimes they seem to have a life of their own, hiding away but also showing up just at the right moment. Yeah, books can be strange. 

I think this might be some sort of print on demand release, or perhaps some other self small print run release, but the actual quality of the book itself is very good. In addition, there is some weird sentence structures here and there, and a lack of proof reading and editing, so it appears a little clunky in some places, but it’s not too bad. Information is still excellent and the points comes across.

It does mention his other book Occult Magick, so perhaps some of this material would benefit from reading that one first, especially if you’re new to these kinds of things it would prove to be helpful, as this is not a beginners manual.  

There is about 9+ spells and/or variations of spells in here, if memory serves me right that is… Thankfully they are given in such a way that it makes it easy to adapt and modify them for your own use, which is always a nice thing. There’s also some cool ideas for magical tools in here too, like using your drivers licence as a wand for instance!

All in all, I highly recommend this for my fellow urban witchcraft and magick practitioners. It’s a quick and fun read, with heaps of inspiration and ideas for you to play with and/or customise for your own modern magical practice.

Here’s a handful of bonus books that you might want to check out if this is your cup of tea magick:

City Magick by Christopher Penczak (2001) Post-Modern Magick by Seth (2004) Postmodern Magic: The Art of Magick in the Information Age by Patrick Dunn (2005)

Nightmare Curse

What you need: -square piece of paper -scissors (optional) -pen or pencil, I’d recommend red -a paper cup, toilet paper tube, or something disposable Recommended ingredients (you can taylor these to your own needs): -dirt -bugs or cobwebs -dead or rotten anything (plants, bugs, food) -blood, spit

Instructions: 1. Create a heart, either by cutting the paper into a heart shape, or looking up some origami 2. Write the victims name in the middle, you can write a sigil here if you want too 3. Leave this out overnight and channel all you your negitive energy into it 4. You can skip this step, but next I “drowned” it and envisioned them having nightmares of drowning 5. Next your going to want to envision things that they will have nightmares about while you do the next couple of steps. Rip the paper to shreds so that they may dream of animals tearing them apart 6. Put the paper shreds into your container. Pour the dirt on the so they will think of suffication amd claustrophobia 7. Put the bug or spiderweb in so they may dream of swarms of spiders or maggots eating them 8. Put in the rotten or dead plant, pr whatever you chose, so they may think lf death 9. I happened to have a stone that absorbed my bad dreams, so I put it in there to release them unto the victim 10. Next, close and crush the container so they will not escape 11. Finally, throw this in a trash can do they are doomed to be surrounded bye filth, alone, and surrounded by darkness. You may want to take out the trash after this

[Revised 2/17] Books for Witches, Diviners and Spellcasters

Hi, everyone. A while back (a long time ago, actually), I started an annotated bibliography on books about witchcraft and magick, and I’ve updated it once (last November). 

Since then, I’d been keeping a list of things I need to add to it, but didn’t get around to actually reworking and updating the list a second time until today. Largely because I can’t really go outside much today because of the smog. But anyways, here it is. I’ve also included divination-related books in this version, whereas previously they were separate.

I hope you find something on here that suits your fancy! Happy reading! Also, yes, I do want to do more book reviews on this blog, so if you’d like a longer review of one of the books listed below, let me know and I can write one.

For Absolute Beginners

Encyclopedia of Witchcraft, by Judika Illes. Even better than the Weiser Field Guide to Witches - this book is huge and chock-full of information. It’ll explain in easy-to-understand language how the concept has developed throughout time, why witches do what they do, and different types of witches.

The Weiser Field Guide to Witches, by Judika Illes. This gives an excellent look at the historical lore concerning witches, from the perspective of a witch herself. It’s kind of tongue-in-cheek, but it does have some information that won’t be found elsewhere.

The Modern Guide to Witchcraft, by Skye Alexander. Great book for those who’re really absolute beginners and are wondering what witchcraft is all about. Skye takes a very postmodern, utilitarian, and unfailingly honest approach, and it’s geared towards those of almost any belief system.

Grimoire for the Apprentice Wizard, by Oberon Zell-Ravenheart. Attractively packaged and readible for almost all ages, this is a great (mostly) non-denominational look at the foundations of magical practice. It’s extremely detailed. Some of it only applies to Zell’s own tradition, but it’s quite useful, anyways.

Basic Techniques

Protection and Reversal Magick, by Jason Miller. This gets a little woo-woo at times, but he gives good advice on how to avoid serious problems that can come up as you begin to practice. Take with a grain of salt, though - some of this has the potential to make you feel paranoid.

City Magick, by Christopher Penczak. If you’re at all interested in tech witchery, or just want to practice magick within an urban setting, do check this out. It is by far the best look at the subject I’ve seen, and his discussion of urban tutelary spirits is worth the price alone.

Power Spellcraft for Life, by Arin Murphy-Hiscock. Nicely done, quite secular book providing basic beginner information regarding writing original spells and workings. It does fall prey to the trap of just listing correspondences with little information at times, but also contains a great deal of detail about ritual timing, raising power, and other topics essential for the beginner.

Sorcerer’s Secrets, by Jason Miller. This is a decent volume that describes a lot of techniques you don’t usually see in books, such as gesture and gaze-based magick. Be warned that Miller writes extensively about manipulative techniques, but it’s useful theory regardless of how you put it into practice.

Witch’s Bag of Tricks, by Melanie Marquis. This is not recommended for beginners, because the whole point of this book is to help existing practitioners refine and improve their already-established techniques. It’s got some novel ideas in it, and I like the author’s approach to symbolism in spellcasting.

Direct Magick (Energy Work)

The Un-Spell Book, by Mya Om. This non-denominational guide to working with magical forces is filled with useful exercises that go beyond the author’s previous work. I recommend reading this after reading Energy Essentials.

Instant Magick, by Christopher Penczak. Excellent beginner’s guide for those who don’t have access to a lot of fancy tools or prefer to work without them. This book won’t instantly teach you magick, but it will help even a seasoned practitioner find quicker, less-complicated ways of achieving results.

Energy Essentials for Witches and Spellcasters, by Mya Om. Though I balk at the use of the term “energy” to describe magical forces, this book is worth a look. It’s a bit like a workbook, with various exercises. Expect a lot of pseudoscience, though, and there are many religious references, but the techniques are solid.

Hedgewitchery and Astral Travel

Ecstatic Witchcraft, by Gede Parma. This is actually probably my favorite book on this subject, even though hedgeriding is only a part of what the book discusses. The only bad thing I can really say about this book is that it’s really not recommended for beginners, and it’s helpful to have the basics of visualization already mastered (for example) before doing the exercises Parma recommends.

By Land, Sky and Sea, by Gede Parma. This book goes into even greater details regarding different ways of conceptualizing the cosmology of hedgeriding, and I find it a very refreshing book that appreciatively draws from a number of different perspectives while grounding itself, so to speak, with the overarching metaphor of land, sky, and sea as the three worlds.

The Temple of Shamanic Witchcraft, by Christopher Penczak. Penczak is usually a pretty mixed bag, and this book is no exception. It gives a lot of good practical information and a very in-depth exploration of the three worlds (a useful concept), but it’s primarily framed by Wicca, so it might not resonate with those of other faiths and particularly those who aren’t pagan at all.

Ascension Magick, by Christopher Penczak. There’s a chapter or two in this that address alternate ways of conceptualizing the architecture of reality, and it’s pretty helpful for a hedgerider. Beyond that, this book is mostly about ceremonial magick, but it’s a (mostly) good book. Certain parts (such as the bit about UFOs) are a little off, in my opinion.

The Shamanic Witch, by Gail Wood. This book is really best suited for someone who practices Wicca and, besides the background info and cosmological descriptions, is really only useful in the context of that tradition. If you’re Wiccan or willing to pick around a lot of Wiccan-talk, though, this is a good foundation.

Witches, Werewolves and Fairies, by Claude Lecouteux. It can be hard to find scholarly works on these phenomena that are affordable, but here’s one I personally enjoyed. It details many accounts of journeying experienced by both pagans and Christians in earlier times, and gives a good description of the concept of the astral double, the architecture of the soul, and other topics throughout history.

Betwixt and Between, by Storm Faerywolf. This book is mostly a guide to the Feri tradition of witchcraft, but while I myself don’t practice that, those who do seem to know a lot about hedgeriding! The book has several chapters on the subject and is highly recommended for this reason.

The Psychic Energy Codex, by Michelle Belanger. A lot of people have strong opinions about this author, but this is book actually provides a lot of good information about so-called “energy work” which can be a step in the right direction for those wanting to ride the hedge.

Psychic Dreamwalking, by Michelle Belanger. In this book, Belanger discusses, essentially, how to use your non-waking life as a vehicle to for journeying, and while I myself don’t usually dreamwalk, much of what she says applies to hedgeriding in other states, too.

Hedge Riding and Hedge Witchcraft, by Harmonia Saille. I only mention these two in order to say that they’re best avoided. Saille tries to give a comprehensive look at the phenomenon, but it’s poorly-written and overly New Age. The negative reviews of them on Amazon really cover the problems with these book in more detail than I ever could.

Magical Writing, Words, and Symbols

Dictionary of Ancient Magic Words and Spells, by Claude Lecouteux. Mostly a historical text, this book isn’t exactly practical or terribly useful. It is, nevertheless, incredibly interesting. It’s a bit difficult to navigate, but worth a glance.

Composing Magick, by Elizabeth Barrette. A very general, but well-done, look at writing in a magical context. Some of the ritual templates are slightly specific to religious witchcraft traditions, but most information is widely applicable.

Crafting Magick with Pen and Ink, by Susan Pesnecker. Focuses both on the physical act of writing as a magical act, and the mental state associated with it. Highly recommended

The Modern Witchcraft Grimoire, by Skye Alexander. This book is for those who want to create their own grimoire. It gives fairly good advice for doing so, as well as providing hints and tricks for spellcasting and useful correspondences.

General Concepts

Planetary Magick, by Melita Denning and Osborne Phillips. If you want to work with the planets at all, particularly in a highly ritualized context, I recommend this book. It’s large, comprehensive and gives a good foundation beyond what you find in general astrology books.

Practical Planetary Magick, by Sorita d’Este and David Rankine. Shorter than I would have liked, but a useful reference to have on your shelf, with excellent tables and appendices in the back. The meditations are also quite useful.

Practical Elemental Magick, by Sorita d’Este and David Rankine. Should be read alongside the other book by this pair. Comprehensive guide to working with the elements in a ritualized fashion. Not as accessible to newbies as Lipp’s book, but good for seasoned practitioners.

The Way of Four, by Deborah Lipp. Though mostly geared towards Wiccans, I found this author’s in-depth treatment of the four elements highly fascinating. I will note that it’s probably best to get the print version of this book, as it contains exercises and quizzes.

Ingredients and Correspondences

The Herbal Alchemist’s Handbook, by Karen Harrison. I cannot praise this book enough for its concise and well-formulated approach to astrology, herbs, and magick as a whole.

The Weiser Concise Guide to Herbal Magick, by Judith Hawkins-Tillirson. This is excellent for anyone who’s interested in any kind of magick. Yes, the focus is generally herbs, but there’s a lot to be learned here about Kabbalah and other correspondence systems, as well.

Mixing Essential Oils for Magic, by Sandra Kynes. Fills a very difficult gap in published knowledge regarding the use of essential oils by discussing, in great detail, how scents interact with each other and how to create a formula that’s not only palatable, but evocative.

Dunwich’s Guide to Gemstone Sorcery, by Gerina Dunwich. Given the New Age fascination with all things shiny, it was quite a chore to sort through the myriad crystal books to find something with good information. While far from perfect and not exactly devoid of fluff, this book does give a level of detail about the lore surrounding gemstones not seen in many other texts.

Real Alchemy, by Robert Allen Bartlett. Excellent book, lots of history and detail. There’s a strong focus on tradition within the text, yet the author is quite accommodating of his audience and describes alternate methods that work better in a modern context.

Spagyrics, by Manfred M. Junius. With a highly-developed academic tone and attention to detail, this book is a meaty look at traditional alchemy. I recommend this more for intermediate practitioners due to the sheer density of information.

Spellbooks

The Goodly Spellbook, by Dixie Deerman and Steve Rasmussen. The title sounds horribly fluffy, but this is a hidden gem. It explains obscure concepts like alternative alphabets and potential uses of musical notes, as well as plant lore and other bits and pieces. Definitely worth checking out. It’s way more than just “a book of spells.”

Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells, by Judika Illes. The title sounds trite to some, but it delivers. This book has spells from almost every culture and spiritual philosophy, as well as a very detailed formulary. I read it when I’m bored sometimes, too, just because I always learn some tidbit from it.

Book of Spells, by Nicola Pulford. In most editions, this book is absolutely gorgeous and describes spellcasting traditions from a variety of perspectives and traditions. Recommended for those who already understand the basics, as this book jumps straight into spellcasting and gives only a small amount of information about how things work.

Ceremonial Magick

Modern Magick, by Donald Michael Kraig. I received this as a gift several years ago. It is essentially a workbook meant to be completed slowly, step by step, and while the format will not appeal to everyone, it’s a good easy-to-read introduction to ceremonial magick.

Familiar Spirits, by Donald Tyson. Though geared towards ceremonialists, any practitioner can likely learn a thing or two from Tyson’s interesting stroll through the whys and wherefores of spirit work and thoughtform creation. This is by far the best book I’ve seen on the topic of familiar spirits.

Secrets of High Magick, by Francis Melville. The most recent edition of this (the one I own) is lavishly-illustrated and full of rudimentary, yet useful information. He stresses the basics of ceremonial practice, and his writing style is very accessible. Highly recommended for absolute beginners.

My Life With The Spirits, by Lon Milo DuQuette. This is a memoir of a ceremonial magician, but it gives a good look at the magickal mindset in a highly developed form from someone who’s experienced quite a lot. I have major issues with DuQuette’s approach to Qabalah, but his memoirs are worth a read.

Chaos Magick

Liber Null and Psychonaut, by Peter Carroll. Classic book of chaos magick. I consider it required reading for almost anyone interested in the occult. Even if you have no love for chaos magick, do give it a read, just to understand how influential Carroll is, and why.

Hands-On Chaos Magic, by Andrieh Vitimus. Knowing some of the people involved in the creation of this book, I’m a bit biased towards it. That said, even if I didn’t know them, I would still recommend it. It’s especially interesting to read alongside Liber Null and Psychonautin order to see how the chaos “current” has developed over the years.

Pop Culture Magic 2.0 by Taylor Ellwood. There aren’t a lot of books on using pop culture symbolism in magick, but this one is nearly perfect. The author writes in a highly erudite, literate fashion, while still being accessible to newbies. Many useful resources cited, as well, so prepare to branch off a bit while reading it.

History-Related

Triumph of the Moon, by Ronald Hutton. An inside no-holds-barred look at the history of Wicca and Modern paganism. Highly recommended. This is sort of the book that fluffbunnies don’t want you to read.

Book of Lies: The Disinformation Guide to Magick and the Occult, by Richard Metzger. Lots of facts and history of magick in the context of Postmodernity. This is different from the Crowley text of the same name, which I wouldn’t recommend unless you want to focus on his tradition.

The Place of Enchantment, by Alex Owen. This is a purely historical text that documents the occult revival within the context of Modernity. I remember it being very good, but please realize I haven’t really picked it up much since graduating, and it might just have served my mindset at the time.

Tarot

The Book of Thoth, by Aleister Crowley. Make sure you actually own (or have access to pictures of) the Thoth deck before you dive into this. By far one of the best books on Tarot ever published. The prose is often dense and purple, but in this one book, Crowley teaches so much about Tarot and it’s connection to the Western Mystery Tradition. I can’t really say much more - it must be experienced.

The Pictorial Key to the Tarot, by Arthur Edward Waite. I recommend this book because it is a classic and was introductory for many older readers. It will teach you to read and gives insight into the methodology behind the Waite-Smith deck specifically, particularly his use of what are essentially parables and why he does this. Do not expect too much esoteric information, but read it anyways.

Seventy-Eight Degrees of Wisdom, by Rachel Pollack. This is the epitome of a good modern Tarot book and is really one of the first ones I’d recommend for someone looking for an accessible book on Tarot in a modern context. Very dense in information and history, yet altogether worth it. You’ll want highlighters nearby for this one!

Tarot for a New Generation, by Janina Renée. This is essentially a book for children and teenagers, but I do recommend it for them, specifically, because it is well-written, easy to understand, and helpful to absolute beginners.

Secrets of the Waite-Smith Tarot, by Marcus Katz and Tali Goodwin. This book focuses just on the history, symbolism, and creative process of the Waite-Smith deck. It gives you an inside line on just what Pixie Smith was thinking when painting specific scenes, and is a great look at her life’s work, as well.

The Tarot: History, Symbolism, and Divination, by Robert M. Place. This book will not teach you to read Tarot, but does give an actual, accurate portrait of the history of the phenomena, which is incredibly important and useful. Know your history.

Understanding Aleister Crowley’s Thoth Tarot, by Lon Milo DuQuette. I hesitate to recommend DuQuette due to issues I have with his approach to Qabalah, but many people ask me for a beginner book for the Thoth Tarot specifically, and this is the closest I’ve come to finding one. I recommend reading this alongside, and not instead of, Crowley’s Book of Thoth.

The Back in Time Tarot, by Janet Boyer. This is more for the intermediate reader, and the entire book details a single, extremely useful technique for familiarizing yourself with the cards, namely by framing past events in terms of how they might appear in a spread.

Lenormand

The Essential Lenormand, by Rana George. This was not the first Lenormand book I picked up, but it was the most influential and intense. Ms. George writes in a personable, touching fashion and brings the concepts of the system home by relating them to life experiences in a way rarely seen. She is one of those authors I literally go all “fangirl” over.

Learning Lenormand, by Marcus Katz and Tali Goodwin. This is one of the better beginner books on Lenormand. I’m not going to lie - it isn’t as good as Rana George’s, but it definitely is worth reading if you’re completely new to the system. It’s very accessible, where some of the books I’ll be listing later in this can seem intimidating, or so I’ve been told.

Lenormand: Thirty-Six Cards, by Andy Boroveshengra. This book is intense, but in a different way than Ms. George’s. Expect to be inundated with information and techniques. Another one of those where you really need to take notes or highlight while reading, and read it multiple times.

Secrets of the Lenormand Oracle, by Sylvie Steinbach. This book is organized in a novel and useful fashion by topic, and gives specific techniques for readings on love, money, spirituality, and other topics. Highly recommended, and I tend to use it as a reference book nowadays, looking things up as needed.

The Complete Lenormand Oracle Handbook, by Caitlyn Matthews. Not for the beginner, nor the faint at heart, this one details a lot of what, to me, seem to be more advanced approaches and techniques. I use this book a lot, and I think anyone else will enjoy it, too. Good information on the connection between Lenormand and traditional playing cards, too.

Cartomancy with Lenormand and the Tarot, by Patrick Dunn. This is more of a special topic book, and best read after you’ve got some familiarity with both Tarot and Lenormand. It’s all about using them in tandem and the synergy between them.

Astrology

The Luminaries, by Liz Greene. I could really recommend anything by this author, but she’s written so much, and this book is a particularly important one. It focuses entirely on the Sun and Moon in astrology, and gives a good look at why the luminaries need to have a special place in your understanding.

The Weiser Concise Guide to Practical Astrology, by Priscilla Costello. This is focused, as you might expect, on actual interpretation of charts and less on theory, but it gives a good background on that, too. Was quite helpful in my attempts to interpret @xepsurah‘s unusual natal chart.

The Complete Book of Astrology, by Kris Brandt Riske. Very beginner, and very light on intellect, heavy on intuition. A great introduction, but I would not suggest it as the only book you read if you’re really interested in the subject.

Tasseography

Tea Leaf Reading for Beginners, by Caroline Dow. There are only a few books within Llewellyn’s immensely popular “For Beginners” series that I would recommend, and this is one of them. The symbol glossary (which makes up the bulk of the book) is the most useful part.

Tea Cup Reading, by Sasha Fenton. This book goes into some detail (quite a bit, actually) about the history of tea and coffee, and, better yet, how to prepare them in the traditional fashion! A lot of traditional lore is described, as well.

Scrying, etc.

Scrying for Beginners, by Donald Tyson. This is really a surprise find, as I don’t usually expect much from this series, by Tyson knows his history and goes far beyond simple exercises for scrying. He is a bit biased towards mirror and crystal-gazing techniques, but does discuss other methods.

Psychic Development for Beginners, by William Hewitt. Readable, and offers some very practical developmental exercises for those wishing to hone extrasensory abilities. Be prepared to sort through a lot of woo, though.