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

Living Wicca is Scott Cunningham's follow-up to Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner, and it is the more interesting of the two. Where the first book teaches the basics, this one takes up the harder question: what do you do once you know them, and no coven is coming to tell you.

It has sold well over two hundred thousand copies, which is not nothing for a book about self-initiation.

Key Features of Living Wicca

For the solitary practitioner. Cunningham's central conviction was that a person can practice alone, legitimately, without lineage or coven, and this is the book that argues it.

Building your own practice. Creating rituals and symbols, keeping a book of shadows, self-initiation, magical names, and the question of secrecy.

120 Wiccan symbols. A reference section alongside the philosophy.

Product Details

• Author: Scott Cunningham
• Publisher: Llewellyn Publications, Practical Magick series
• The sequel to Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner
• SKU: BLIVWIC

The Spiritual Significance

Cunningham's influence on modern Wicca is difficult to overstate, and it rests almost entirely on one argument: that a solitary practitioner, self-taught and self-initiated, is a real witch. Before him the assumption in most traditions was that initiation came through a coven and a lineage, and that without it you were reading books rather than practicing. He said otherwise, clearly and kindly, and a great many people's practice exists because of it.

He is also the source most often cited in this shop's own correspondence work, and the reason we leave fields blank when he does not list them. He died in 1993, at forty-seven. The books are what he left.

How To Use Living Wicca

1. Read the first book first, if you have not. This one assumes the basics.
2. Work through the self-initiation material slowly rather than rushing it.
3. Start the book of shadows he describes, and keep it honestly.
4. Build your own rituals from the principles rather than copying his.
5. Keep it on the working shelf. It is the sort of book people return to.

Pairs Well With

• Magical Herbalism by Scott Cunningham: his herb work, the standard reference.
• Llewellyn's Complete Book of Correspondences: the reference for the system he uses.
• Blank Journal: the book of shadows he tells you to keep.
• White Chime Candles, Set of 20: the all-purpose candle for the workings.
• White Sage Smudge Stick: to clear the space you set up.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need the first book?

It helps a great deal. Living Wicca is the sequel and assumes you have the basics.

What is it actually about?

Building your own practice without a coven: creating rituals and symbols, keeping a book of shadows, self-initiation, magical names, and secrecy.

Can you really initiate yourself?

Cunningham said yes, and that argument is the reason the book matters. Some traditions disagree, and it is worth knowing that they do.

Is it dated?

It was written in the early nineties and reads like it in places. The core argument has aged well.

Who was Scott Cunningham?

One of the most widely read writers in modern Wicca, whose herb and correspondence references are still standard. He died in 1993 at forty-seven.