Living Wicca: A Further Guide for the Solitary Practitioner

206 Pages·5.161 MB·English

by  Scott Cunningham

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"Oncewe've learnedthebasicsofWiccan
beliefsandpractices,livingourreligion
is,logically,thenextstep. Howweallowit to
affectourlivesiscompletelyup to us.
"I've written this bookasa guide not only
toWiccanpractice,butto Wiccanlife.Still,
itscontentsaremerelyideasandsuggestions.
Eachofushas to find the perfectpath. May
theGoddessandGodassistyouinthisquest."
ScottCunningham,
1956--1993
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
S
cottCunninghamwasborninRoyalOak,Michigan
J
on une27,1956.HelearnedaboutWiccawhile still
inhighschoolandpracticedelementalmagicfortwenty
years. He experienced, researched, then wrote about
whathelearnedinhismagicaltraining.Hethenrewrote
it,asmanytimes asittook, togetitrightbyhishighstan,
dards. Scott is credited with writing more than thirty
books (bothfiction andnon-fiction). His style issimple
and direct. He passed from this incarnation on March
28,1993,buthiswork andhiswordsliveon.
L_
LLEWELLYN'S PRACTICAL MAGICK SERIES
Living Wlcca
A FURTHER GUIDE FOR THE
SOLITARY PRACTITIONER
SCOTT CUNNINGHAM
1997
Llewellyn Publications
St. Paul, MN 55164~0383, U.S.A.
Living Wicca. Copyright © 1993 Scott Cunningham. All
rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No
part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner
whatsoever without written permission from Llewellyn Publi
cations except in the caseofbriefquotations embodied in crit
ical articles and reviews.
Cover Art: Robin Wood
Cover Design: Chris Wells
Book Design: Kelly Bell
FIRST EDITION
Seventh Printing, 1997
Library of Congress Cataloging..in..Publications Data
Cunningham, Scott, 1956- 1993
Livingwicca : afurther guideforthe solitarypractitioner/
Scott Cunningham.
p. em. - (Llewellyn'spractical magick series)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-87542-184-9
1.\Vitchcraft. 2. Magic. 3. RituaL 1. TItle. II. Series.
BF1566.C84 1993
133.4'3-dc20 93-24673
CIP
Llewellyn Publications
A Division ofLlewellyn Worldwide, Ltd.
P.o. Box 64383, St. Paul, MN 55164-0383
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A NotetoTraditionalWiccans xi
Introduction xiii
PART I: LEARNING
Chapter1:ToolsofLearning 3
Chapter2: Secrecy......................................................... 15
Chapter3: ShouldIDoItWhileI'mSick? 23
Chapter4: MagicalNames 29
Chapter5: Self-Initiation 33
Chapter6: TheWiccanMysteries 39
Chapter7: EverydayWicca 45
PART 2: PRACTICE
Chapter8: EffectivePrayer 53
Chapter9:DailyPrayersandChants 63
Chapter10: PrayersandRitesofThanksandOffering 67
Chapter11: SimpleWiccanRites 73
Chapter12:MagicandSolitaryWiccan 77
ix
PART 3: YOUR OWN TRADITION
Chapter13:CreatingaNewPath 85
Chapter14: DeityConcepts 89
Chapter15: Tools,Altars, DressandRitualJewelry I05
Chapter16:RitualDesignPart1 I I3
Chapter17:RitualDesignPart2 I27
Chapter18: Beliefs I35
Chapter19:Rules I39
Chapter20: WiccanSymbols I5 I
Chapter21: TheBookofShadows.................................. I8I
Chapter22: Teaching(WideningtheCircle) I87
Chapter23: LivingWicca I95
Glossary I97
AnnotatedBibliography 207
Index 2 I5
x
A NOTE TO
'TRADITIONAL' WICCANS
T
hisbook, afurtherguideforSolitarypractitionersofWicca, isn't an
attackonconventionalWicca, Wiccan traditions, covensor usual
trainingprocedures. Itwaswritten(aswasitspredecessor) forthosewith
out access to conventional Wicca, Wiccan traditions, covens or usual
trainingprocedures.
SomewillseethisbookasaninsulttotheirformofWicca,soIrepeat:this
isa guide for Solitarypractitionerswho have no accessto your form of
Wicca.ThisinnowaylessensitoranyotherWiccantradition.
Read with an open mind and remember the time when you, too,
wereseeking.
xi
INTRODUCTION
T
hisbookconsistsoffurtherinstructionsfortheSolitaryWiccanPrac
titioner.Itassumesthatthereaderhasgainedsomeexperienceinour
religionand,thus,doesn'tstopto defineeveryspecializedtermandritual
reference.Foraquickreview,checktheglossary.
PartIofthisbookcontainsessaysonavarietyoftopicofimportanceor
interesttoSolitaryWiccans.PartIIisacollectionofdailyprayersandritualsof
offeringandthanks,togetherwithguidestoeffectiveprayerandmagic.PartIII
isarecommendedsystemforcreatingyourownWiccantradition.
This bookhas beenwrittenwith a single premise: thatWicca isan
openreligion.AllcancomebeforethealtarandworshiptheGoddessand
God,whetheraloneorinthecompanyofothers;initiatedornot.Wiccais
availabletoallinterestedpeople.
LivingWiccahasbeenwrittenforthosewhohavebecomeenchanted
by the moonshining through trees; who have begun to investigate the
sublimeworldthatliesoutbeyondthefabricofdailylife,andwhostandin
smoke-shroudedcircles,raisingalofttheirhandstogreettheGoddessand
God as the candles flicker on the altar. It's writtenfor those ofus who,
throughchoiceor circumstance, meetwithSilverLadyandtheHorned
Godalone.
ReadersofWicca: A Guidefor theSolitary Practitionerasked me to
writeanother, similarwork, becauseso littleWiccanwriting isaimedat
thesolitarypractitioner.Ihopethatthis bookfillsatleastpartofthis need.
Untilnexttime, I'llsayBlessedBe.
ScottCunningham
LaMesa,CA
July10,1992
xiii
PART ONE:
LEARNING