Somehow, on this blog, I’ve gotten it into my head to write reviews and suggestions on witchcraft books, but I don’t think I’ve ever explained my method or criteria when I read a book. I am hesitant to label this as a “how to”, as everyone reader will be looking at their own criteria, but consider this an example on what to look for when analyzing a book for use in your own practice.
There are good witchcraft books, abysmal witchcraft books, and everything in between. Whether or not a witchcraft book may actually help you is not the same as deciding if a book is a book is “good” or “bad”; it depends on why you’re reading, and what you’re reading it for.
In the past I made a post talking about why research is important. Half of witchcraft is research, like it or not. Now I’m here to provide a sort of guide on how to research information for your practice. Anybody can follow this, beginner or advanced.
Initial Thoughts
Think about what you want to research. What are you looking for exactly? If you want to research multiple topics, write them down or keep a note on your phone. Don’t stress yourself trying to research multiple topics at once. Research them one at a time, and don’t move on to the next topic until you feel comfortable with how much you’ve learned about the current one. Normally, I recommend for beginners to start with cleansing, protection, warding and banishing. Those are necessities, in my opinion.
Finding Resources
Google is free, so that is where y'all will start. Try looking up the topic you’re looking for (you may want to add “witchcraft” somewhere in your search, depending on the topic). You can find information on Tumblr, Instagram and other blog sites. You can also find information on Tiktok and Discord servers. This is the easiest way to find resources.
Books are the next thing to consider. I know some of you don’t like reading, aren’t in a living situation where you’d be safe buying occult related books or don’t have the money to buy books in abundance. I’ll be addressing multiple things regarding this.
I think a few reasons some people don’t want to buy books is because they don’t know what books give good information, they feel pressured to buy dozens of books or they aren’t confident in their ability to read. Here is the thing: research takes time. So does developing your craft. Don’t rush your studies for any reason. There is much for you to learn and practice, and that will always require time and patience. If you can buy a physical copy of the book, buy them one at a time. Wait for them to be on sale if you must. Just don’t overdo it by buying multiple books at once. Also, don’t buy a book without looking at the reviews and researching the author (will be talking about this more).
If you can’t afford physical copies of books, try finding pdf copies of books. There are websites that have pdf copies of books, and some Discord servers have libraries of pdf books. This is a more accessible way of finding and reading books. (I still strongly suggest trying to buy physical copies, though. Good authors deserve financial profits for the time and energy they put into writing books to share their knowledge.)
The final resource is people. There are many people online who practice witchcraft and magick. If the person is comfortable with answering questions, ask them (always check to see if they are comfortable with teaching on their social media first). Some practitioners have Discord servers or Patreons where they teach. Being able to talk to other practitioners about their craft and beliefs can be beneficial. That being said, don’t be a disrespectful bitch and demand to receive information from people on witchcraft. You aren’t entitled to know everything about a person’s craft, and not everybody wants to be a teacher on social media. Teaching can get exhausting. As I mentioned earlier, check and see if they are comfortable teaching on their social media accounts.
Checking for Red Flags
When researching for your craft, you will always want to check for red flags. There is a lot of bad information out there and you need to know how to spot it. Here is a link to my post about red flags in witchcraft and magic.
Cross Referencing
Cross referencing your sources is essential for a variety of reasons. Some sources will have good information that others don’t. One source may give a different perspective than another, and that doesn’t make one more reliable than another by default. If you looked at my post explaining red flags, you know why.
No matter who the person is or how highly they are spoken about, always look for more resources regarding the topic you are researching. See what other people have to say, even if their opinions are considered “unpopular”. Sometimes the people who have unpopular opinions can offer a valid perspective.
Consider the Mundane
Sometimes you don’t need to strictly think about something in a “witchy” manner. For a few topics, I would consider looking at things from a mundane or cultural perspective. For color correspondences, I like to look at how colors are viewed from a psychology standpoint. You may also want to consider a cultural perspective, too, because different cultures may view colors differently. For plant correspondences, I like to think about the medicinal uses for plants.
️Taking Notes
Whether it be physically writing all your notes or just typing them in a document, I would try to keep some sort of documentation on what you are learning. The initial notes would only be a rough draft of sorts, so don’t focus on making it look pretty. Focus on documenting the things you are learning, what seems to be most accurate, what seems to be questionable… Cross out information that you have found to be inaccurate. Circle something that inspired you or you want to look into deeper. Take note of where you are finding the information.
Coming to Your Own Conclusions
There are some things that are a little more set-in stone than others, but some things also require you to decide what you believe. Take all of the information you have learned and documented into consideration. Experiment with it. See what works for you and what doesn’t.
I am pretty sure that many of us are quite familiar with the amount of misinformation that gets its way around witchy spaces. I know I’ve fallen for misinformation several times, notably those darn correspondence lists, and I’ll probably fall for it again. And honestly, I think constantly yelling “use critical thinking skills!” is all well and good, but if you’ve been in the American public school system or in an evangelical sect of Christianity (or both), you know that isn’t taught to us in any meaningful way. What the hell does critical thinking even look like?
So, I have something that might be able to help. This can also lead you to help research things for yourself in regards to paganism or witchcraft (or both), determine your own personal beliefs and more fully find what craft is meant for you, without just taking a bunch of books at their absolute face value. I find it really helps with my anxiety over not being able to really articulate what I’m saying about a thing - because I more fully understand WHY I believe the things I do, I have less trouble handling discussing it in a critical manner.
There’s a few key things to keep in mind when reading a text, witchy, pagan or otherwise. Now, a lack of answer for one of these things doesn’t inherently make them “invalid”, but it does give you something you can dig into further to make that choice for yourself. As a witch, that is kind of your job - your power is your own, and you really should be making your own decisions on things. So, when you’re reading a book, you can take a pause and consider:
What is the author discussing, and what is their conclusion? If a witchy author is talking about The Burning Times, what statement are they making about it? Do they believe this was an actual historical event? You’ll usually know very quickly because in my personal experience, anyone who doesn’t believe in the Burning Times (myself included), are very passionate about how we feel about this particular bit of misinformation.
What reasons do they have for making this conclusion? You can consider what the overall narrative is. For instance, if the author is vehemently against the story of the Burning Times as historical fact, their reasoning might be that they are a historian working against misinformation. The author may be arguing against the overarching issues of whitewashing within neopagan circles. If the author is making a statement in regards to the Burning Times being true, perhaps their reasoning is to invoke a narrative of continual, ancestral oppression against one singular unbroken group. You may need to real the whole of the book to really get an idea as to what the author is writing all of this “for”.
What assumptions are they making in coming to this conclusion? Assumptions are things that we understand to be just kind of universally true, and there is kind of a problem with this in a lot of witchy circles. For instance, there is a problem within the pagan community of making the assumption that because their experience with organized religion was Christianity, the things that took place within their sect of Christianity are true for not only all sects, but other monotheistic religions as well. Conversely, there is the assumption that the “rule of three” is universal, when it is not the absolute law of the universe and is a specifically Wiccan thing. And even then that’s debatable, but there are witches out there with a better understanding of that than I do and we’re not here for that argument. The point is, it’s important to know what is fact, and what is assumed.
Are there any informal logical fallacies present? Thiiiis is a big one, because there are a lot of ways of presenting an argument that tricks you into thinking the point being made is legit, but it really doesn’t do anything to present concrete evidence towards the argument being actually true. This is your ad hominem attacks, your strawman arguments, your slippery slopes and false dichotomies. There’s a lot to be on the lookout for here’s a good link to a basic kind of rundown of several: https://thebestschools.org/magazine/15-logical-fallacies-know/
How true is the evidence presented, if at all? This is very important. There is such a thing as UPG, which stands for unverified personal gnosis - it is your own personal experience in regards to your own singular interaction with a spirit or deity of some variety. This happens in witchy spaces all the time, but it’s important to understand that UPG is not evidence. It should not be presented as fact or evidence, and it should not be taken as absolute fact or evidence. You can subscribe to UPG all you like, just understand that it is UPG. Back to our Burning Times example, actual concrete evidence would be in the form of primary sources from the time, secondary sources, historical analysis by experts in that particular field of study, etc., and it must match the actual claim being made. Yeah, there were witch hunts, that’s true. But the narrative of the Burning Times as a continuous thing that specifically targeted “real” pagans and witches is not backed up by evidence.
Every author is a human being. Human beings have biases, have their reasons for doing things a certain way, their own rituals and beliefs and faiths. You can’t always trust that someone is writing something with your best interests at heart, or that they themselves aren’t stuck in thought processes that they’ve been manipulated into. Some of the best recruiters are the True Believers, after all, but that doesn’t mean what they say is infallible. Witchiness, pagan-ness, spirituality and enlightenment do not make a person any less human.
I don’t recommend that stab the poppet directly through the front of the eyes - this doesn’t fit with the spell’s mechanism of action. It is best to slide the needle in the back so that it pokes out of the eye in the front, for reasons that may be rather obvious. Be careful using St. John’s Wort if you are taking psychiatric medication, though this shouldn’t be much of an issue if you’re not consuming it (and in this spell, you aren’t). Still, if you want to explore this herb, use caution.
So give Your servant an understanding mind and a hearing heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and bad. For who is able to judge and rule this Your great people? [James 1:5.] It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. God said to him, Because you have asked this and have not asked for long life or for riches, nor for the lives of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to recognize what is just and right, Behold, I have done as you asked. I have given you a wise, discerning mind, so that no one before you was your equal, nor shall any arise after you equal to you. I have also given you what you have not asked, both riches and honor, so that there shall not be any among the kings equal to you all your days. And if you will go My way, keep My statutes and My commandments as your father David did, then I will lengthen your days.
a lot of emphasis is placed on discerning whether or not certain events are really “signs” from the gods or not, and that’s absolutely important, but it’s also okay to just see the divine in things. whether something is really directed at your or not, the gods are everywhere. that thunderstorm may not have been personally sent from zeus to you, but that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t him at all. i see sparrows all the time not because of some divine portent but because they live all over my neighborhood, but they always remind me of aphrodite. seeing the divine in the everyday is a beautiful thing.
