10 Authors Every Wiccan Should Read

Top 10 Authors You Need To Read. The following people are
some of the most well-known authors in the fields of magic,

same year and spent some time building their group. They
were handfasted in 1972 and legally married a few years

the occult, Paganism and Wicca. While not everyone agrees
with everything these authors have written, reading their

later. Stewart wrote a book entitled What Witches Do, and
became a vocal proponent of Wicca.

work will give you a greater understanding of the history of
Paganism and Wicca in the modern era. Although this isn't a

In the mid-seventies Stewart and Janet left Britain and

comprehensive list, it's a good starting point for anyone
who's interested in reading more about Wicca and Paganism.

moved to Ireland, forming a new coven and collaborating on
several books which have become staples for modern pagans.

1. Adler, Margot

6. Gardner, Gerald Brousseau

Margot Adler is a highly respected columnist and journalist

An initiate of Aleister Crowley, in 1949, Gerald Gardner

for National Public Radio. In 1979 she joined NPR as a
reporter, and covered controversial topics such as the right

published the novel High Magic's Aid, which was in fact not
really a novel but a disguised version of Gardner's Book of

to die and the death penalty in America. Later on she became
a Harvard fellow.

Shadows. A few years later, Gardner met Doreen Valiente and
initiated her into his coven. Valiente revamped Gardner's

In the eighties Adler covered a number of diverse topics –

Book of Shadows, eliminated much of the Crowleyan influence,
and worked together with him to create a huge body of work

from making a documentary about AIDS patients in San
Francisco to reporting on the Winter Olympics in Calgary and

that became the foundation of the Gardnerian tradition. In
1963, Gardner met Raymond Buckland, and Gardner's HPs, Lady

Sarajevo. She occasionally pops up as a guest commentator on
shows like "All Things Considered", which is a staple for

Olwen, initiated Buckland into the Craft. Gerald Gardner
died of a heart attack in 1964.

NPR listeners, and is the host of the network's "Justice
Talking".

7. Leek, Sybil

2. Buckland, Raymond

According to Sybil herself, she was born in 1922 in

Raymond Buckland is one of the greatest living influences on

Staffordshire, into a family of hereditary witches (reports
from around the time of her death say she was actually born

in 1917). She claimed to trace her mother’s family of
witches back to the time of William the Conqueror. Leek was

developed a correspondence with Gerald Gardner himself. He
was initiated in Scotland in 1963.

initiated into witchcraft in France. She later joined her
family near the New Forest, and then spent a year living

After leaving the Gardnerian tradition, Buckland formed

with the Gypsies, who welcomed her as one of their own.
Later in life, Sybil Leek became publicly known as a witch,

Seax-Wica, based on the culture of the Saxons. He spent
several years teaching and training other witches through

and traveled the world giving talks and interviews about the
subject before settling down in America.

the Seax-Wica Seminary, and eventually turned to solitary
practice. Many people credit his work with getting Wiccans

8. Leland, Charles G.

"out of the broom closet".

Leland was a folklorist who wrote several books about

3. Cunningham, Scott

English Gypsies. His early years were spent in America, and
legend has it that shortly after his birth an old family

The late Scott Cunningham is probably second only to Ray
Buckland when it comes to the volume of information he has

nurse performed a ritual upon him, which was to bring him
good fortune and that he would become a scholar and wizard.

published on Wicca and witchcraft. As a college student in
San Diego Scott developed an interest in herbs, and his

In addition to collecting exotic occult objects, Leland was
a prolific writer and produced over fifty books during his

first book, Magickal Herbalism, was published by Llewellyn
in 1982. It has since become known as one of the definitive

lifetime, some of which influenced Gerald Gardener and
Doreen Valiente. He died in 1903, before completing the bulk

works on the use of herbal correspondences in magick and
witchcraft.

of his work on Italian Witchcraft.

In 1990, Scott Cunningham became ill on a lecture tour, and

9. Murray, Margaret

his health gradually deteriorated. Although he went home and
continued to write more books, he eventually passed away in

Margaret Murray was an anthropologist who became well known
for her theory of a pre-Christian European religion.

1993.

Margaret became recognized as a competent Egyptologist and
folklorist and was influenced by works such as James

4. Curott, Phyllis

Frazer’s Golden Bough. After evaluating the records of the
European witch trials, she published The Witch Cult in

Phyllis Curott obtained her law degree from NYU’s School
of Law, and has worked as an attorney with a focus on civil

Western Europe, in which she posited that witchcraft was far
older than the middle ages, that it had in fact been a

liberties, which she continues to do today. She was one of
the founding members of the Religious Liberties Lawyers

religion of its own, existing long before the Christian
Church came along. Many of her theories have since been

Network, which provides legal assistance and resources for
cases stemming from First Amendment religious issues.

debunked by scholars, but her work is still noteworthy.

She was initiated into Wicca in 1985, after many years of

10. Starhawk

studying Goddess traditions. Her first book was published in
1998. In addition to writing, she has spoken around the

Starhawk is the founder of the Reclaiming Tradition of
Wicca, and an environmental activist. In addition to writing

world about such matters as religious freedom and the rights
of women.

numerous books about Paganism such as The Spiral Dance, she
is also the author of several speculative fiction books. She

5. Farrar, Stewart and Janet

is also co-author of Circle Round, a must-have for anyone
raising kids in pagan traditions. Originally born Miriam

Janet and Stewart Farrar met in 1970, when twenty-year-old

Simos, Starhawk has worked as a consultant on a number of
films, but spends most of her time writing and working for

Janet was initiated into the coven of Alex Sanders. Stewart
had been initiated into the Sanders' coven early in 1970.

environmental and feminist causes. She travels regularly,
teaching others about caring for the earth and global