S: You're listening to episode 11 advanced books and books for different types of witches. so we talked last week all about books for beginners, we had a 20 minute episode all about book recommendations for you and we are back again because we have even more recommendations and that's why we had to split it up otherwise you'd be listening to us one week for an hour just talking about book recommendation. so we split it up to make it a little easier to listen to, so we are going to like last week go over Tara's and I will jump in with mine, so let's just get started cause we've got a list to get through.
T: so I'm gonna start with an intermediate books. these books go a little more in depth into very specific topics but they don't, they're not for a particular path so much is there just kind of deep diving into specific items. so I actually had to ask Steph how to pronounce it so hopefully she let me not astray Llewellyn Sabbat essentials book series, it's by various authors. there's one book per sabbat. these books are really really nice if you want to know more about the sabbats. They have some information, each one has some information at the very beginning about the wheel of the year and then it kind of does a deep dive into the specific holiday. it talks about the old traditions behind each of the holidays, then it goes there's a section on new traditions and how people celebrate in modern era. it goes through a section on recipes ,which we all know I love, and it has very specific recipes for each holiday. they don't just say oh this make some bread, no it has how you do it, how you can decorate it what you need to do, how long it needs to bake, like a full recipe. but it also has suggestions on how to celebrate similar to, we talk real briefly in our Sabbat episodes about how you can celebrate and there's so many different ways you can. this has a complete section on what you can do for the specific holiday so it's not super general information, it's very specific but I like these so much. I haven't read all of them, I've read three of them so far. My goal for this year is to read each of them. they are by various authors so if you really like one and then don't like another one quite as much, they are they all have different voices, they're not all the same so to keep that in mind you're reading it. if you love one and you're like read this was great the next one is not gonna be the same. that was the hardest part for me when I was reading I was just like oh I love this voice I love the writing style this is such good information. they're all organize the same so they all have really good information because the different author some of the writing styles are different, and if you're like me and you wanna read them one after the other of the others it can throw you off.
Next up is again a series of books by various authors called the witches tool series and we have talked about why you don't need any tools when you're first getting started, but this goes into very specific information about specific tools. So if you're interested in learning more about whether you want a wand, Whether you want to use a book a shadow, whether a cauldrons for you, a broom, an athame, an altar, they have books for each of them. again it Can be, if you go right through the series and you read them all and you're like yes this is great kudos to you I have not read them all. I read the ones I'm interested in but there's so much knowledge and they're all really great and they do fit together. they are numbered .the numbers don't mean anything you don't have to read them in any order like I said I've only read the ones that I'm interested in and only about the tools that I am interested in using and incorporating my on my practice, but it's such a good resource because they go into such detail about the specific tools, how can you make it, how you can integrate it, and so I highly recommend this as you're finding your path. it's not as broad-based as the beginner books which is why I put it in intermediate but it's not quite as far in as the advanced book which I get to too. But yeah there's a broom book, a wand book, an athame, a mirror book, Book of shadows, cauldron and altar are all part of that series. and again they're by a variety of authors so I didn't list the authors here, but you can totally look up which ever book you're interested in and it'll tell you what authors helped in creating that particular number. So those are my intermediate suggestions and now I'm gonna get into the advanced section.
I say these are advanced only because I don't recommend these for the beginner witch. I recommend these for people that are more comfortable in the path that they are currently walking or going towards, and definitely when I make these recommendations, we already talk about what kind of witch I am but you're going to get like a duh based on these recommendations. So my first one is another book by Scott Cunningham I loved his solitary guide so much that I went out and read all of his other ones. There are a lot of specific titles out there, the only one I end up keeping however is his encyclopedia of magical herbs. if you do any herb craft or kitchen witchery, cottage witchery, hedge witchery, this book is phenomenal. it's very very useful and has both a traditional medicinal and cooking and magical uses for different herbs and it's laid out literally like an encyclopedia, so you see or you know what your herb is, you go to back and just find it look at it and then it has such in-depth knowledge I really really like it. I kept it for years and years. if you're not into magical herbs, he also has a book on crystal gems and metals which is has the same kind of encyclopedia in depth knowledge. I don't really use crystal gems or metal so I no longer have this book but again it is a good resource if that something you're interested in and then there's also he has an incense oils and brews version. I like this one but I just check it out when I need it from My local library because I don't feel the need to keep it. I just don't do enough work out of it to want to keep in my house and I'm not a minimalist like Steph, I just I think three books of witchcraft books is enough.
And then next up is the hearth witches compendium, magical and natural living for every day it's by Anna Franklin. I thought this book was phenomenal. it's not a super easy read but it flows so nicely and she has a lot of knowledge in here and the first part is a lot of general knowledge about the hearth craft and how you can incorporate it day to day and what is included and then the second part maybe the second 2/3 the book is actually a lot more detailed knowledge not quite an encyclopedia but she gives you a lot of references, ways to incorporate, and then she gives you ways to not only incorporate into your life but how to get more in-depth knowledge either locally or other books or she has a lot of recommendations in there as well.
this one I actually just finished and I liked it so much I went and bought it - the hearth witches kitchen herbal: culinary herbs for magic beauty and health by Anna Franklin. I love this. this goes through everything that people generally keep in their kitchen cabinets anyway and how you can use it in magic. how you can use it for beauty, how you can use it in just to cook healthy meals for your family. I loved it I am not gonna lie some of the things in here I did not have my kitchen and I went and bought. As you can tell I use a lot of herbs in my hearth craft, in my practice.
It kind of funny because when I was looking for advanced books I would like to add there was this one and this one and this one, but these are the three that I have read last year, the encyclopedia magical herbs I've actually had for two decades but the other two are newer and obviously I'm really liking her right now, they're by the same author, but yeah if you at all want to test out your kitchen craft, I highly recommend the kitchen herbal, it's really really fascinating and I almost guarantee if you do any cooking at home, you have like half those things already in your cupboard. and so she's really interesting to read about how you can incorporate craft into using them in different ways. at least for me because I'm a big old another cook nerd.
Another book that I'm going to recommend, I haven't finished it yet, it's Cottage Witchery by Ellen Dugan. I'm really liking this book. it's a little different for me just because it's on a slightly different path but it really resonates with some of my practice and it's just interesting to see how other people incorporate specific things that I've never thought of or I'm never going to do to be honest, but it's interesting to see how other people use things that I use every day but in their own practice it may have a completely different twist or in this one, I just think it's really interesting to read because it's not my practice exactl, and I probably won't keep it just because I won't need to reference it again and again. it might be one of my library books where I just check it out when I do it a reference specific section but I keep. but I am enjoying it.
S: Well let me jump in to my list then. Mine are not necessarily advanced books, But they are very specific is kind of what I went with for my list. so the first one that I'm going to recommend is called Be Your Own astrologer by Joanna waters and my sister-in-law just got me this for Christmas as a fun, like I know you love the stuff kind of gift, so I went into it just thinking it would be like a cute little a coffee table book, it's like a square shap, it's blue, and I thought it would just be more like you know, something fun because it's sold at urban outfitters, so I didn't have super high expectations but it's actually packed with a ton of information. and obviously I know already like, I love astrology and zodiac things but it's actually packed with a ton of information that I can confirm through years of practice is correct. So I was really excited about it and it Has all the astrology for the different signs but it also is very like zodiac base but it also talks about like the planets and it's not just like oh you're your sun sign like my sun sign is Scorpio, but it actually talks about the houses, your rising sign, your Venus, mercury, like all of those things and it's completely fascinating, and I was like about to overwrite it but I think it's great if you are interested in astrology that's a good resource.
the next one on my list is crystals: the modern guide to crystal healing by Julia Vandoren and I talked about this in the last episode about liking pretty books and this is a complete Instagram aesthetic book. it is it is gray and pale pink with rose gold writing, a complete Instagram coffee table book, but I'm not sorry about it. When you open it, one page is the crystal, a beautiful photo and then the other page is the description of everything. It's big, it's a big book, tons of information. Go into it you know like your last one thinking that it's just like a coffee table book, you can take the basics but it actually has it one of information about crystals, and it has so many different ones in there not just like the basic top 20 that everybody talks about it it has the whole the whole list, and it's beautiful book at but also spot on with the information that's contained in it and I love crystals way more than Tara does. So this one is more up my alley but yes if you are interested in getting into crystals, learning about their different properties, learning about using them for healing, this is actually a great book for that.
the next two on my list, grouping them together they are both by Arin Murphy-Hiscock and they are called the Green witch and the house witch. these have also made the round on Instagram, they're relatively recent releases, but that does not mean that you should discount them. they're really good they're very easy readsand there are also ones that flow like the story you know flows through it so you could sit down and read them to cover to cover rather than it being an encyclopedia. and the reason I didn't put them in with beginner books is because they are very specific. the house witch one is my favorite obviously, Tara and I are both hearth witches, so that ne contained a ton of great information but the Green witch one is also very interesting because you incorporate a lot of green witchcraft in hearth witchcraft so if you know the typical types of witches that you find, the green which is very common, it's all about what you'd expect - using nature and you can incorporate in our hearth witchcraft because you can have your own gardens ,use that in your kitchen use the herbs and things so those two kind of cross over, so I really like both of these books because there is a ton of information in there. But each one goes specifically into that craft and that type of witchcraft, and I really like that. It's a good resource to have, good things to know but I would, I wouldn't start there because you don't want to get bogged down into one type of witchcraft if you're not really even sure which direction your practice is going to take but once you practice more and you kind of know, it's a good read.
T: and having said that you don't wanna start there, don't be afraid to read a bunch of the in-depth stuff if it's interesting, even if you happen to find your practice ,if anything grab your attentions, explore it why not.
S: Next up in my list is a complete guide to fairies and magical beings by Cassandra Eason and I love this one. this is if you've never, you don't really know anything about the faw and you want to learn more about fairy rituals, working with Fae, folklore in history, this is a really good one to start with because it's easy to read, it's not like an encyclopedia but it Still contains a ton of great information.
T: it also even if you're not interested in the Fae per se if you're at all history buff it goes into a lot of the history behind how they originated and the stories and the myths, and it's really interesting to read even if you're not into fae magic.
S: The next one on my list is Hedge Witchcraft by Rae Beth and this is definitely the best book to read if you're interested in hedge witchcraft. it is wicca based but the information is still solid and a lot of hedge witchcraft is Wicca based today and if you remember from when we talked about a typical types of witches you can find, hedge witchcraft is it just that. they walk the hedge between the physical world and spiritual world, so they do a lot of spirit work and this book is really interesting, it's actually written in letter form, so it's like the author writing and receiving letters from people who are interesting in learning about hedge witchcraft, so I think it's super interesting the way that it's set up, which makes it fun to read. Yeah it's it's super interesting it's got tons of good information, but yes it would be the one to read if you want to know more about hedge witchcraft.
the next one on my list and another one I love, sticks, stones, roots and bones by Stephanie Rose Bird. so this is a super interesting look into the practice of hoodoo including the history, folktales, spirits, Energies. Hoodoo is not the same as voodoo. Hoodoo is American, it's the practice that originated with enslaved Africans in like low country South Carolina, like this is totally going to date me because I feel like many people who are listening have never heard of it, they're too young to know what it is but there used to be a TV show called Gullah Gullah Island. And I'm just going to throw this out there that Gullah Gullah Island is hoodoo. They didn't Really practice hoodoo on this children's television but that's like where it where it is from. Anyway, so voodoo is in the Caribbean islands and it's in Louisiana and voodoo is a closed religion and hoodoo is not although it's traditionally came from that area and from enslaved Africans that, it's not a close religion, it's a practice and it differs from voodoo in a couple of ways but one main way is that hoodoo has a lot of Christian influences, which voodoo does not. But I think the practice of hoodoo is really interesting, so this is a really good look at the history and folktales of where it came from And then also a look at kind of what you do in hoodoo practice, which is a lot of um making dollies and doing a lot of spirit work, incense, creating charms and talismen and things like that, I find that all very interesting.
The next book is Tarot by Hay House. this is my go to Tarot book for learning how to read Tarot, what you're looking at in the cards, it's like no nonsense, so there's no like pretty pictures or anything, it just like dives right ahead. it's based on the rider Waite deck but most decks today are based on the rider waite imagery so if you have a deck, and I do have one a deck that is completely on its own and not based on rider waite, so this book isn't helpful for that, but since most decks are based on that this book is extremely helpful if you've never read tarot before and really want to get into it, just learning about the different cards, going into the specific cards and numbers And suits and things like that and it also goes into how they interact with each other and they the different imagery that you find on each one to help you read because that's kind of what Taror is is looking at the big picture of like the cards in front of you how they interact together, what different images mean. so one card is not going to have the same meaning across-the-board every time you pull it for every person, not how it works. so this is such a good resource if you want to learn how to read tarot.
T: and I highly recommend that even if you decide Tarot is not for you ,cause I'm not good at it I'm not good at interpreting it, it's still really good knowledge to have just kind of has a baseline on understanding a lot of things in other areas of the craft.
S: the next one on my list the power of mercury by Leslie McGuirk. I added this to the list because all things mercury retrograde are so popular when it happens. like everybody likes to blame things on mercury retrograd but I don't think everybody completely understands what that means or just how powerful this particular planet is. so this book covers so much information and not just about the retrograde but also about mercury in general how it interacts in like the various houses of your astrology, so this is even more in depth than the be your own astrologer book that I recommended you, this is just about mercury. but yes you like about people blaming their forgetfulness and like everything else is a great book for you to read figure out why.
T: so I have not read this book but I should because I love sending Steph Memes about how everything is wrong because mercury retrograde.
S: People love to blame everything wrong on mercury retrograde, which I don't blame them but you should read this in so you know why.
And the very last one on my list kind of goes Along with stick stones roots and bones and this one is the voodoo hoodoo spell book by Denise Alvarado. so this is more as the title suggests spell book, where as the other one was you know more history and thing. so we mentioned before that voodoo is a closed religion so if you have not been initiated into it you can't really know how to practice it. so you can't really make a voodoo doll and expect it to be correct like that's that's not going to work but you can make dollies and poppets and sachets that's what they talk about in this voodoo hoodoo spell book which I, there a lot of aspects of hoodoo that I really like to make your only floor washing, like that we'll get into the house cleansing, as hearth witches we really like home cleansing, but how to make an actual floor wash, that's a hoodoo thing, and it goes into a lot of like Appalachian magic and things like that so I really like this one too. This is more, I put it into not only a deep dive into hoodoo, but as a more advanced book because this is like spell work, we talked about before with beginner books that not a lot of them include spells in it or they include very beginner spells, this one you really need to know what you're doing before you dive into it. But if that's something that interests you and you've been practicing then that is a great resource.
T: as you can probably tell from our recommendations foundation is important to us, we love foundation.
S: that is everything that I have on my list how about you Tara?
T: well I do have more that I could recommend but not on the official list and we've almost at 30 minutes so I think I'm going to wrap it up here.
S: if you have read anything on our list let us know, if you have anything that you particularly want to recommend to other people please leave us a voicemail because we are able to play them on the next episode.
That is all we have for you this week we will see you next week for episode 12 which is all about Ostara.
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