Customer Reviews

Living Wicca: A Further Guide for the Solitary Practitioner (Llewellyn's Practical Magick Series)

5 star:		(71)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

When I read Scott Cunningham's "Wicca: A Guide For the Solitary Practitioner" I felt that there needed to be more. Something was missing. I picked up "Living Wicca" and found what was missing from the first book. Scott Cunningham goes over Prayer, gives some ideas on how to do a ritual when you don't have access to all you're tools (like in a hotel room while on a trip), basic ideas on forming your own tradition, and bringing Wicca into your everyday life. I loved reading this book and recommend it and its predecessor to anyone. I can't wait to read it again and again! This book should be required reading for everyone interested in Wicca.

This book addresses no well-defined audience. The writing style assumes Wiccan background knowledge that solitary Wiccan novices will not have (knowledge that this book and its predecessor do not provide). Yet this book's discussions are not very useful for experienced Wiccans. This book is disappointing compared to Mr. Cunningham's excellent first book "Wicca: A Guide For The Solitary Practitioner".

In this book Mr. Cunningham is careful (pp. xi, 87, 124, and 138) to state that he is assisting solitary Wiccans who lack access to Coven teaching resources. He also states that solitary Wiccans must carefully incorporate basic Wiccan principles into their worship. The reader wonders if Mr. Cunningham's first book was criticized for its free and open writing style.

Chapter 2, "Secrecy", strongly discusses a controversial Wiccan topic. Here Mr. Cunningham acknowledges past persecution of Wiccans, and discusses his own past dealings with non-Wiccans. He also discusses the role of secrecy in magical activities.

Chapters 3 through 7 deal with everyday Wiccan practices. Chapters 8 through 11 deal with Wiccan prayer and provide example prayers. These chapters' discussions are weak.

Chapter 12, "Magic and the Solitary Wiccan", deals with raising energy within the Circle and with directing it outside the Circle. This chapter's discussion relates primarily to Wiccan Coven members. Mr. Cunningham acknowledges (pg. 78) that the solitary Wiccans has few energy-raising options.

The remainder of this book addresses creating and documenting your own Wiccan tradition. Mr. Cunningham discusses the Wiccan Goddess and the God. His Wiccan God discussion assumes an alienation of affection not reflected in his first book or in other Wiccan literature. Mr. Cunningham also discusses ritual accessories, ritual design, and traditional Wiccan beliefs and rules (with example Sets). He discusses creating your own Book of Shadows. Mr. Cunningham ends with an excellent discussion concerning if and how One should teach Wiccan beliefs to others.

This book includes a comprehensive listing of Wiccan symbols (pg. 154). The book also includes a number of good and concise Suggested Reading lists (pp. 103, 125, 148, 180, and 185) and an excellent Annotated Bibliography.

Mr. Cunningham's first book allowed a Wiccan true novice to create a free and open Wiccan tradition. This book is organized similarly, but its discussions are incomplete and would confuse a Wiccan novice. In addition, this book so stresses Coven membership that Wiccan novices might question the validity of solitary worship, defeating the book's stated purpose.

I am grateful that Scott Cuningham has written so many wonderful books to assist us with our journey towards a focused and personal relationship with our spiritual Deities. I love books with indexes because I like to study the same subjects in many books all in one session. Most of Scott's books are indexed. This book has helped me develop a meaningful and comfortable circle-casting. I use both this book and "Wicca, a Guide for the Solitary Practitioner" the most of all the books I have. I believe that more study and knowledge by reading many books on the subject has helped me to develop my Wiccan practice in accord with my intuition. Scott promotes intuitive practice. The seasonal festivals are not complicated which I appreciate. I also use "Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic" quite often. Thank You, Scott for your contributions.

While this book doesn't break any huge new ground from his previous "Guide For The Solitary", I think Cunningham's intent was to, once the reader has digested this tome, have you decide if the Wiccan way is for you or not. Even considering buying it, the reader is obviously delving deeper into the subject matter, and Cunningham's prose, enticing in its simplicity and honesty, makes that decision-making process easier. I'd recommend this book to any almost-Wiccan deciding whether to take the final step, and dedicate yourself to it.

I'm sure I'm in a minority here but here's my $.02... I made the mistake of reading this book AFTER 2 months of reading Wiccan 101 books. What does a publishing company do when a book sells like hot cakes? Take what was edited out of the first book and release it as a sequel with "more information". This book has little valuable information that you couldn't get in more detail from books like 'The Craft' by Dorothy Morrison, and 'To ride a Silver Broomstick' by Silver Ravenwolf. If that was the eagerly awaited sequal to Wicca: Guide for the Solitary Practitioner, then I'm not impressed. It was full of general information that should have been in the first book to begin with.

What aggravated me the most(and I see it's endemic of a lot of Wicca 101 books) is that whenever Mr. Cunningham would bring up an interesting subject or there'd be a prelude to something that you might not have read in any other book, there'd be this cop-out clause "these mysteries will be revealed to you in due course". One might think that everything practical to magic literally falls out of the sky during meditation, in which case, what's the point in buying these books?

Read this book and/or the preceding one if you have never read a book on general Wicca or you need literature written in a 6th grade format. If you have been reading for some time, don't get suckered into buying it. There really is nothing new or in depth in these pages.

The only reason why I didn't give a 1 rating is that the writer is a respected author...but as this is my first book by him, I'm very disappointed. Hopefully 'Earth Magic' will be better...

This book was very instructive when I first began my exploration of Wicca. As it suggests, I read it after Cunningham's "Guide for the Solitary Practitioner." This book has a little overlap with the first one, but for the most part, it picks up where the other left off. You will essentially learn how to make your own tradition in Wicca. Cunningham recognizes that many of us are solitaries and that we may not feel comfortable being bound to worship in the way a particular coven or individual dictates. For many of us, this is what helped drive us away from "mainstream" organized religion. Thus, in this book, you will learn some of the traditions of Wicca, the meanings behind certain rituals, elements, etc. Upon learning these things, you are encouraged to take in and, if you like, modify the traditions to your particular comfort level or ability -- e.g., it's difficult to hold a rite on a mountain top if you live in a high-rise apartment in NYC. To be sure, this is an introduction. Should a student of the Craft want more detail and is ready to move on, I would recommend Eileen Holland's recent publication, "The Wicca Handbook" and Raven Grimassi's superb award-winning book, "The Wiccan Mysteries." Both are excellent sources of information in your study of the Craft.

Cunningham is a very talented author, and Living Wicca is one of his greatest books. It is devoted to the Solitary Practitioner, helping the individual to create your own tradition, develop your relationship with the God/dess, ritual design, create your Book of Shadows, and even perform a self-initiation. There is a great chapter on Wiccan beliefs and "rules" that translate the Laws of the Ordains into plain language that is much more accessible to the beginner. At the end of this book, you will have a greater understanding of the everyday practices of Wicca, as well as a deeper connection with the God/dess

In this follow up to his very successful handbook "Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner", Scott Cunningham expanded on his original material and gave the solitary practitioner more information, more material to build on and further encouragement to practice as they are inspired by their Deities.

The book opens with a "Note to Traditional Wiccans". His original book, published in 1988, seemed to threaten many Traditionalists. This book, published in 1996, has a note to let them know that he never intended to attack their ideas or ideals, but rather he meant his books to be general access to those who are not part of Traditions, covens or to those who do not have access to traditional training.

This book is broken into three sections; learning, practice and your own tradition. Scott advances the solitary path and gives guidance to those who want to pursue their spirituality even further.

The first section, learning, contains the secret tool of self-teaching: Study, thought, prayer and experimentation. He is careful to explain that no two people learn the same way, and that we should experiment with the learning process, using hands on experience in determining how we best learn and how we should proceed with our studies. He uses his usual "Scott Cunningham" style of simply stating his material, making it easy for anyone to follow as he progresses. There is a discussion on secrecy in our practice, "Should I do it while I'm sick?" and the taking of magical names. Much of this will sound too easy or very unimportant, but Scott Cunningham seems to anticipate the questions of the inexperienced practitioner who does not have the benefit of someone to ask these questions. There is no stupid question. And this is the approach Scott takes.

There is a section that addresses Self-Initiation. Again this is brought up because of the controversies that came about from his first book. Scott tries to clarify what he means by "Self-initiation" as he took a lot of flack from the Traditional Wiccans on this. However, in true Cunningham style, he manages to make it very clear what he means, and though it seems redundant to place this in the second book, he does so, and includes another short ritual which can be easily adapted to make it your own.

Scott goes into the "Wiccan Mysteries" in this book as well. This material was once taboo to discuss outside the coven or tradition. Scott took up that challenge, in order that the Solitary Practitioner could add these to their practice, to make the spirituality deeper and have a better connection with their Deities. Discussion of reincarnation, the realization that the God and Goddess are part of us just as we are of them, that there is joy in every event that life has to offer and that mysteries are not really mysteries but self realizations make this section a real eye opener. And it is all discussed in delightfully simple and beautiful language.

There is also discussion on incorporating Wicca into our everyday life, how we see "Karma" and the "Three Fold Law" and how magic fits into all of this. There is an explanation of the Wiccan Rede "Harm None..."

From study comes practice. Scott looks at prayer, what it is and how to make it effective. He gives examples of prayer and chants, rites of thanks, simple Wiccan rites, creating the circle and raising energy. All essential parts of our practice simply discussed and laid out so you can just pick up the book and go.

The last part discusses creating a tradition for you. Following the model of Traditional Wicca, Scott suggests how you can keep to the basic aspects that comprise the path of Wicca while molding it into a practice that speaks specifically to your personal spiritual needs.

He is careful to discuss that there are basics that comprise the religion of Wicca, but there are also elements that allow the practitioner to bend the framework a bit so it meets the their needs. This is key to Wicca; it can evolve as we evolve, always addressing the practitioner, yet remaining in a form that is easily recognizable as Wicca.

Scott carefully goes over these elements, showing where you can pull things to make the traditions specifically yours, yet having it remain always identifiable as Wicca. Discussions include Deity Concepts, tools, ritual designs, beliefs and rules. Some of these sections include Suggested Reading lists, or tables of correspondences to aid you in your choices. There is further discussion on Wiccan Symbols, Books of Shadow, and passing on your tradition. There is also a chapter on Living Wicca; walking the walk as well as talking the talk. The book concludes with a glossary and a bibliography.

What Scott Cunningham started to do in his first book is continued in this second. The path of the Solitary Practitioner, in the Tradition of Scott Cunningham, is developed even further, giving the practitioner more food for thought, more direction and additional instruction in how to live as a Wiccan in today's world. The book is a good follow up to the first and is again a book that has been lovingly dog-eared and held dear by those who follow the Solitary path. boudica

I have just started down the Wiccan path and a friend of mine suggested that I picked up Cunningham's "Living Wicca." Let me tell you it was the best advice my friend has given me in sometime. Not only is "Living Wicca" and easy read... I actually enjoyed reading it. I can't tell you when the last time I actually laughed aloud when reading a book before "Living Wicca," but this book certainly made me laugh.
Cunningham mixes serious talk with humor, and does a good job at it. "Living Wicca" is a essential for us solitaries just starting out and getting familiar with Wicca. For those who are more experienced with Wicca you may find this book elementary. However, the intended audience is for the beginning solitary wiccan, not one who is experienced. So if you are a wiccan just starting down the goddess path... this book will make a very nice addition to your library.

Living Wicca is first and foremost a sequel. People have accused it of being unclear and referring to unexplained concepts, but Cunningham does state that he expects readers to understand basic concepts before reading it.

It covers more religious aspects of Wicca: prayer and the right attitude, beginning your own tradition, deity concepts, offerings and simple rites away from home. It's an expansion on the first book.

However, there are a couple of things which would have improved it no end. The section on simple rites, which was a major pointer for me buying this book, is rather vague and doesn't give specific ideas and suggestions as I hoped it would. There is a lot of focus on prayer, but the overall impression given in some sections is rather more judgemental than the first book. It gives you the idea that this is a response to criticism as well as an expansion on ideas.

This is a good book on religious Wicca, aimed at people with some knowledge and experience. Read, enjoy and expand on it, but don't be put off by it.