Wicca The Complete Craft

Book: Wicca The Complete Craft by Dj Conway

It's hard to imagine a more comprehensive or well-written resource for students of Wicca than Wicca: The Complete Craft. D.J. Conway, whose earlier books include Moon Magick and The Celtic Dragon Tarot, speaks about the Wicca religion with seasoned authority, making this one of the best guidebooks on the market. She begins with an overview of Wicca, explaining its historical roots and dispelling common assumptions. For example, the practice of magic is not the focus of Wiccan Religion, just a sideline, she notes. Conway also possesses a strong voice of integrity. Unlike some fad-feeding authors, she discourages teens from becoming involved in Wiccan magic without the explicit approval of their parents. In fact, even advises teens to avoid the practice of magic altogether, since "the vast majority of teenagers lack the life experience or emotional maturity to deal correctly with the ethics involved with magic." This sort of ethical vigilance is carried throughout the book. Conway offers over 500 pages worth of lessons and rituals, including the making of a witch (expect to study at least a year and a day), developing psychic abilities, protection and self-defense, puberty rites, breaking spells, Astral Projection, magical herbs, and ritual tools. This is the book for beginners, and is certainly a respectable resource for more mature witches.

While this book certainly is not "the definitive" Wiccan book (as if there was such a thing), it certainly offers a wealth of information about this ancient religion. This book was mentioned to me as a great place to learn more about "the Craft," in fact the person who first told me about it called it a "Wiccan textbook." While someone not new to Wicca may find this book covers a lot of material mentioned elsewhere, someone new to this as I am will find this book fascinating.

What I liked about this book was that it provides a very nice overall reference to Wicca, which as someone new to this religion is something very important to me. There is a tremendous amount of information in this book, in fact at times it was almost overwhelming. Among areas covered are examples of rituals for various Sabats, handfasting, and Drawing Down the Moon and Sun, herbs, essential oils, candles, words and terms used in Wicca, pantheons of Gods and Goddesses of different cultures, nature spirits, and so on. Reading through this book gave me a sense that the information contained within it can be a source of "great power" if used correctly.

Popular pagan author D. J. Conway introduces readers to the religion of Wicca, or witchcraft, and dispels many common misconceptions about it. Conway offers a comprehensive overview of Wiccan philosophy and tenets and provides a useful primer for practicing Wicca as a spiritual guide. Wicca is an ancient nature religion that teaches respect for others as well as responsibility for one's actions. Conway emphasizes that it is not associated with cults, devil worship, or animal sacrifice. Wiccans believe in the sanctity of all life and recognize a dual deity, both a goddess and a god. Included are chapters on sacred space, ritual tools, holy days, meditations and visualizations, spells and the art of spell casting, as well as terms used in Wicca.

As I said before, this may not be "the one true Wiccan book," and those with some knowledge may already know most of what in here, but still I found it to be an excellent guide to Wicca.

Buy Dj Conway's book: Wicca The Complete Craft

Downloadable books (free):

Pino Longchild - Wicca Revealed A First Year Within The Craft
Reginald Scot - The Discoverie Of Witchcraft
Simon - The Complete Simon Necronomicon
Raymond Buckland - Bucklands Complete Book Of Witchcraft

Apollonius Of Tyana

Book: Apollonius Of Tyana by George Robert Stowe Mead

Apollonius of Tyana was a Greek Pythagorean philosopher and teacher. He hailed from the town of Tyana in the Roman province of Cappadocia in Asia Minor. He was roughly a contemporary of Jesus. At the age of 20 Apollonius began a five year silence, after the completion of this term of silence he traveled to Mesopotamia and Iran. After his death his name remained famous among Philosophers and occultists. To the student of the origins of Christianity there is naturally no period of Western history of greater interest and importance than the first century of our era; and yet how little comparatively is known about it of a really definite and reliable nature. If it be a subject of lasting regret that no non-Christian writer of the first century had sufficient intuition of the future to record even a line of information concerning the birth and growth of what was to be the religion of the Western world, equally disappointing is it to find so little definite information of the general social and religious conditions of the time.

Apollonius of Tyana had the myth and ambiance about him equal to and perhaps even approaching the level the other Jewish sage - Jesus of Nazareth. The reason Apollonius is important is because he is not as much talked about and discussed. He remained much of a mystery. He never managed to become a "son of God" or get crucified. He is not the subject of countless of movies and musicals and around Christmas time his name is not a household word. Exactly for this reason he is talked about for his message as a philosopher and not trivialized and commercialized to ad naseum. Apollonius remained a mystery man for his abilities and power to transcend much of the material world and to reach God's Consciousness. Apollonius was of course; attacked later much the same way the author and his Theosophical Society was attacked and called a charlatan. Read this book and decide yourself.

Download George Robert Stowe Mead's eBook: Apollonius Of Tyana

Free eBooks (Can Be Downloaded):

Austin Osman Spare - A Book Of Satyrs
Phil Hine - Aspects Of Tantra
George Robert Stowe Mead - Apollonius Of Tyana.pdf