32 books like Cunningham's Encyclopedia Series

This is an amazing and ambitious book. I had it sitting on my shelf for a while before I read it. One day I wanted to look something up, opened to the middle, and got totally sucked in. It’s so thoughtful, I was completely absorbed. Mankey explores ideas about witchcraft that people just don’t discuss.

Despite shelves out there being full of books on the subject, there are so many things people don’t seem to think about. But Jason Mankey is thinking, and that inspires me. I love his willingness to experiment and to talk about witchcraft in a personal way. It’s almost a diary of his own experiences, while at the same time being useful for any reader. I love this book!

I don’t think I knew, at least consciously, that magic and witchcraft needed to be revisited from a woman’s perspective until I read this book. It was so influential on my thinking! Williams takes on unspoken assumptions that underlie many of the theology, ritual, and ideas in magic and witchcraft, and she reconsiders ritual in that light.

I love that she is scholarly but explains everything simply and straightforwardly. I love that she cares about the impact of magic and witchcraft on us as human beings. 

I honestly think this is the most important book on witchcraft and Wicca in the past twenty years. It is absolutely groundbreaking. I have been a witch for forty years, and even so, I feel like I learned so much about the Goddess by reading this book; I feel like it changed me.

Almost every book on witchcraft talks about the Goddess, and at last, here she is, knowable in a brand new way. 

Thorn Mooney blows me away because she’s both an academic, studying witchcraft, and a practitioner. She’s also totally accessible. I never feel, reading Thorn, that she’s talking over me; she’s the opposite of stuffy.

Thorn Mooney is one of the best representatives of the new generation of witches, and she knows her stuff!

This book is, hands-down, one of my top “Stranded on a Desert Island” books. Why? Let me count the ways! For one, the author himself is a walking encyclopedia—trust me, I’ve spent time with him! John-Michael is also a practicing Druid and is a member of various occult orders and fraternal lodges. Basically, he’s a genius.

I adore this monumental book’s approachability and depth of knowledge. The information is academic but easy to read. Regardless of a person’s mystical, metaphysical, or occult leanings, there’s a rabbit hole of wisdom waiting to be uncovered. The investigation of one topic quickly leads to another. In fact, I’ve found myself (on numerous occasions) researching one occult term, only to realize that hours had passed; studying one fascinating entry led to another, and another, and another!

This is an indispensable book for spiritual seekers of all ages and all varieties. Without question, I’ll continue… show more.

Nothing compares to this book when it comes to esoteric wisdom of the animal kingdom. Animals are all around us and can appear in various forms: physically (often as familiars), in dreams (often as omens), and by way of synchronicity, such as finding feathers, bones, or carcasses. The world of Witchcraft has always been tied to the animal realm because animals are living extensions of Mother Nature herself.

Being a metaphysical encyclopedia about animal medicine, this is where it’s at! Its faunal associations were compiled from both Indigenous wisdom and modern interpretations, spanning time and culture, to craft this rightfully best-selling gem. Although the amazing author was both Native American and a practicing occultist, I love the fact that this book is not written exclusively for Witches. The accessibility of this book is remarkable and is a lifelong asset for Pagans and mystical folks of all stripes.

This is a brilliant scholarly examination of the Neopagan movement. What differentiates this book from other Witchy titles is that, although Ms. Adler was, in fact, a Pagan herself, this is not a “how-to” book. Instead, the author uses her background in anthropology, journalism, and historical academia to offer much-needed perspectives.

I was fortunate to have met the author at a large Neopagan convention called PantheaCon back in 2008, where I expressed profound gratitude for this book and for her poignant journalism. Not only was she an incredible journalist for NPR (National Public Radio), but her book was imperative in my early years of realizing and recognizing myself as a natural Witch. During my early Pagan studies, this book helped offer me a well-rounded approach to the Craft, even having influenced my future calling to pursue a degree in cultural anthropology!

There’s no doubt about it: this is an incredible “forever book” for Witches of all ages. This compendium has guided every single one of my Witchy years from teenagehood onward, and I still discover something new with every read. Drawing on the Irish authors’ training in Alexandrian Wicca, which developed shortly after Gerald Gardner and Doreen Valiente developed the Wiccan religion itself, this book journeys across cultures, traditions, and magickal practices, both old and new.

Although the book is a product of the 70s, it was incredibly progressive back then and certainly continues to be. Also, keep in mind that the terms Wicca and Witchcraft, in a Western Pagan context, were synonymous at the time. I find this book’s information (and accompanying photographs throughout) both timeless and perpetually invaluable!

I love the way Elena Avila’s book taught about the practices of Mexican curanderismo through storytelling. It was a nice introduction to a practice that, to me, was intuitive.

It was exciting to realize curanderismo was something I was predestined to do. It also gave me the language able to describe and process experiences like susto and soul loss. 

I have used this book to make self-assessments and as a tool for self-reflection. This Queen Afuja gives many entry points into different healing modalities and the various ailments that we might be feeling physically, spiritually, and energetically.

I love the way this book approaches healing because it’s very holistic and takes our entire selves into account when choosing where to begin our spiritual wellness journey.