Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham

I have this book Ruth. I agree its great for anyone who just wants a basic overview and to better acquaint themselves with Witchcraft. It also demonstrates how to partake in ritual alone which seems to confuse many. They always assume you MUST join a coven. Nope. Not the case. Its just certain Witches prefer the comradery and it can enhance certain spell work. Its also social and people are social creatures of course.

Yes, and even if you belong to a coven, every witch is first a solitary and knows how to do what she needs to do on her own.

Or HIS own,wink.

I stand corrected.

Thank you very much Ruth.

I just ordered it along with two other books by the same author:

"Earth Power", and "Earth, Wind, Fire, and Water".

I've always been a pantheist at heart my entire life. But in a special unique kind of way. Having read some of the long-winded reviews for the book you've suggested I find that they are truly speaking in terms that I can identify with.

I've been looking for a way to better ritualize the power of God into my life. And I have absolutely no problem viewing God as a Goddess.

In fact, the idea that God would have female characteristics only makes sense since she is the creator.

I wish I had been brought up as a Wiccan (or pantheist in general). It's clear to me that Wiccans have a much deeper respect for nature and their fellow man than some of the other religions that view God as a cold-hearted authoritarian with no interest in the physical world at all.

That has never made sense to me from day one. The doctrine claims that God created the world and saw that it was GOOD, and then all it does the whole rest of the way through the doctrine is denounce physical creation as though it is BAD.

What a self-conflicted philosophy!

Ok, my apologies. It's not my intent to spark a debate of philosophies, but truly Wicca seems to appreciate creation and recognize that the earth is GOOD! Creation is of God, not against God!

And that I can embrace with an open and pure heart.

Blessed Be!

I'm looking forward to learning incantations as 'prayers'.

I'm learning to compose music and I've been drawn to the gregorian chants of the medival church. Although I don't care for their words. Just the dorian mode chant melodies.

So I'm thinking about composing my own dorian mode chants for wicca incantations.

I'm also pleased to see that Mr. Cunningham offers in his book how to create new and individual incantations. (not unlike prayer really)

I can clearly see now that my the religion I had been taught from childhood truly doesn't even begin to understand Wicca. I think Wicca can truly be the highest form of praise to our creator.

Although, I must confess that I haven't heard all the details yet. So I guess owl have to wait until I've read the whole book.

You're very welcome. You really can't go wrong with anything written by Scott Cunningham. From there you will decide where you want to go and what you want to learn.

I love Gregorian chant. I was a very devout Catholic for several years before finding Wicca and attended a traditional Catholic church where they only offered the Tridentine Latin Mass. I loved the music and the chanting and the ritual. Very beautiful.

Yes please, let's not discourage me right off the bat just because I'm not a bytchy Wytchy.

Another Abra you might like is "Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America Today" by Margot Adler. It was written back in 1979 but dont let that scare you. Its a good historical overview and is interesting. You can use it to look things up etc...

I'm considering which language to use for the melodic chants.

I was originally thinking Latin, but more recently I've been thinking about using the Elvin language.

Have you ever heard the song I wrote in Elvish? It's called "Leah's Revenge". It's not a chant. Just a song.

http://www.csonline.net/designer/ideas/leah.htm

Sounds good.

Owl soak up these one's I've just ordered first.

Wow. James, is it? That was beautiful. Thank you for sharing.

Oh yeah, I didnt mean buy it. Its more of an overview of Neo Paganism. You could probably even find it in a library. No need to purchase it. There are actually some books in public libraries about Wicca and other forms of Pagan spirituality which kind of shocked me. Im surprised no one has complained. They were even in Religion section.

According to the libraries here where I live they don't put them on the shelves because they are stolen so frequently. I don't know if that's true or not. It may be. The subject matter often attracts teens who might be more likely to steal the books rather than just buy or borrow.

It could be Christian Fundamentalists who are taking the books out and burning them at the stake.

I live in a strange town. It's both conservative (the locals), and fairly liberal because it's a college town.

The college library will carry anything.

But the local library is a bit strange. I went in there to find a book on tarot and I couldn't find anything on their computer catalog so I asked the librarian, she gave me a strange look and said, "nooooooo". Almost like as if that would be taboo or something.

I wasn't looking for books on Wicca at that time, just tarot which really isn't Wicca I don't think, but it may be used by some Wiccans as a divination tool.

Anyway owl try it again for books on Wicca.

Hmm. Thats interesting. Are you able to ask for them behind the desk or no? That's kind of defeatist. There are plenty of books that could be stolen from libraries. People can also check out books and just never return them. I would be a little suspicious of that theft explanation as being the reason they are not out on the shelves. Do you live in a conservative area? Generally in the religion section of public libraries, you will find EVERYTHING meaning Buddhism, Witchcraft, the works. But if they are going to target one, the occult would be the most likely for them to attempt to censor.

There are male Witches and Pagans of course. There is a MAJOR component of the male involved with Wicca specifically. Just do a search for "horned God"

The Great Horned God
The consort of the Goddess and symbol of male energy in the form of the divine, The Horned God reigns. He is the lord of the woodlands, the hunt and animals. He provides for the tribe through the hunt and is honored or rewarded for his deed by being permitted to copulate with the Goddess through the Great Rite.

The Horned God is is the lord of life, death and the underworld. And is the Sun to the Goddess' Moon. He alternates with the Goddess in ruling over the fertility cycle of birth, death and rebirth. He is born at the winter solstice, unites with the Goddess in marriage at Bealtaine, and dies at the summer solstice to bring fertility to the land as the Sacred King.

He is not just a Celtic representation of the God, nor does he solely belong to Wicca, as he has been associated with many deities throughout the world.

* Cernunnos, The Celtic God of fertility, animals and the underworld.
* Herne The Hunter, a specter of Britain.
* Pan the Greek god of the woodlands,
* Janus the Roman god of good beings.
* Tammuz and Damuzi, the son, lover and consorts to Ishtar and Inanna.
* Osiris, the Egyptian Lord of the underworld.
* Dionysus, the Greek god of vegetation and vine.
* The Green Man, the lord of vegetation and the woodlands.

Thank you.

Here's another one I wrote. Again it's not Gregorian, but it's a very simple, almost monotone, harmony.

It's a song to the Goddess of fire.

http://www.csonline.net/designer/ideas/candle.htm

Yes, you can ask for them at the desk. It's a pretty conservative town here. It is very tolerant of other religions but the occult and witchcraft are definitely not accepted by the majority here.

I think just the term "occult" scares the crap out of people in general. Many just have bad associations with it and Hollywood and movies dont help either. Sure films like "Practical Magic" and "The Witches of Eastwick" were fine but primarily people are just scared of anything mystical or mysterious. Or else they just associate it ALL with Satan worship.