Tying All the Readings and Viewings Together for You!

Hi, Everyone, 

Have you been enjoying the books?  I hope so.  I'm going to string all the readings together for you here just to make sure you get all you can out of them from within the parameters of the course and beyond.

I. Required: Cunningham, Scott  Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner 

I choose this book because i think it is written in an accessible and enjoyable manner. Pedagogically, it is a very good introduction to the religion of Wicca.  Wicca, as you now know, means "wise one," and Wicca is a New Age religion, cobbled together from Pagan traditions of the past.  It is a nature-based religion that observes the cycles of the natural world.  The God and Goddess are simply human-derived understandings of the dual forces of the Divine.

·       Booth, Mark  The Secret History of the World
         This book gives a very thorough history of the theologies and secret teachings that are expressed in all world religions throughout the Ages.

The suggested supplements were chosen with these ideas in mind:

·       Jong, Erica  Witches
       This book gives a very good accounting of the perception of Witches in the eyes of the normative culture and society.  This book also has some breathtaking artwork in it.  Beautiful.  Inspiring, i hope.
 

·       Konstantanos  Nocturnal Witchcraft
        This book is a good illustration of one of the subgroups of Wicca that have arisen in the past forty years.  Other types of Wicca include Goth Craft, Green Witchery, and Ocean Witchery.
   

• Buckland, Raymond Buckland’s Complete Guide to Witchcraft

 This book is the King of all Textbooks on the religion of Wicca.  It is also useful because while Cunningham wrote for the solitary Witch, the Complete Guide explores Covens as the standard for the Wiccan religion.


II.  Required,· Andrews, Ted  Animal Speak  

This book was chosen to introduce you to the idea of Nature Spirits and Animal Spirits.  Animals are the other conscious beings on Earth, and it would behoove us to understand how they understand Nature.  So much there to enrich your life.

Also, as Wicca rests on the theories of Energy, and as such, Animal Energy is a natural tie-in. 


III. Required,· Ruiz, The Four Agreements 

I primarily chose this book because even though it seems quite simple, it has such life-transforming power, and it is my hope that the Light will come into your life through the wisdom of this book.

Furthermore, you will find that the fundamental teachings of most world religions are echoed in the Four Agreements, and vice versa.  So much of this course is meant to illustrate the common narrative threads and echoes of the true human nature are timeless and universal.

Finally, The Four Agreements are relatable to the teachings of Wicca as well.    

Suggested·   Ruiz, The Fifth Agreement

This was recommended just in case you want to continue your learning of this Toltec Philosophy.

IV.   Required,· Taschen, Alchemy

This book was chosen for its deeply beautiful and historic artworks. Wow, it's so beautiful. Just turning its thick, glossy pages is a deeply aesthetic experience that few can appreciate properly.\

  Furthermore, Alchemy is a Philosophy, also equally relatable to Wicca and The Secret History as well as general world theologies.  

Plus, alchemy is fun to know.  It's a secret, thriving art for the initiated. It's a collection of mythologies and misunderstandings.  It's a method for living life.  Combine the philosophy of Alchemy with the Four Agreements and you may have just stumbled upon your life's purpose.  I thought it would be cool to learn about that.  

Related suggested books:

• Ackerman, Diane  The Alchemy of Mind   Wow, this book is just an amazing, mind-opening read.
• Zukav, Gary   The Dancing Wu-Li Masters Again, Wow, this book is just an amazing, mind-opening read.  It's especially good for people who enjoy math, physics, or philosophy.

Suggested Non-Fiction Readings and Documentary Films

    

·       Dawkins, Richard  The God Delusion

·       Hitchens, Christopher God is Not Great

·       Hitchens, Christopher  The Missionary Position

·       Sagan, Carl   The Demon-Haunted World

·       Schermer, Michael, Ted Talk:  Why People Believe Weird Things

This grouping of readings and viewings is a look at atheism.  We use atheism as a tool to get a perspective about the nature of consciousness without the filter of religion.  This gives us a multi-dimensional understanding about the nature of religion, deity, and the human heart.

·       Richard Francis, Judge Sewall’s Apology
The Pendle Witch Child, Documentary available on YouTube 

·       Kraemer, Heinrich Malleus Maleficarum (suggested for reference)
·       Summers, Montague. The History of Witchcraft (suggested for reference)


This grouping of readings and viewings include the core texts of the study of the Witch in world history, the Witches' Holocaust, and other historically significant events that evolve from the same core human experiences.

Sewell's Apology is a fascinating story about the fallout of the post- Salem Witch Trials. It is a true 'heroic' story of an unlikable, cowardly man who faced down his fear in the public eye.  This is a perspective you won't from an ordinary Salem Witch Trials course.

The Pendle Witch Child is not only a stunningly visionary documentary, but it also documents a tale of a family of "Witches" in an age when people truly believed witches were a real threat.  This is especially good because it is also relatable to modern-day witch burnings that take place in Africa every year. 

AND FURTHERMORE:

·       Morrow, James The Last Witchfinder (suggested, Fiction, highly recommended)
  
This is a fictional story that is based on the life of the actual Pendle Witch child, but only people who study this stuff like you do know that, which is a very small percentage of the world population indeed.