If you’d like to delve deeper into the topics in this book, there are plenty of great places to turn for more information. One good place to look for additional reading is the bibliography, and I’ve also included a list to get you started. What is presented here only scratches the surface of the information available, but these books are great gateways to learn even more.
If ritual practices interest you, there are many wonderful books that more deeply explore not only how rituals and magickal tools are used but how they are created. One of the most popular books of all time on this topic is Scott Cunningham’s amazing little book Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner (Llewellyn, 1988). For more rituals and the stories behind them, you might enjoy Patricia Montley’s In Nature’s Honor: Myths and Rituals Celebrating the Earth (Skinner House, 2005). For a more encyclopedic view of rituals tools and their use, my book The Magick Toolbox: The Ultimate Compendium for Choosing and Using Ritual Implements and Magickal Tools (Weiser, 2004) is a good starting place for learning basic and advanced techniques as well as making your own tools.
If divination interests you, Cunningham’s Divination for Beginners: Reading the Past, Present & Future (Llewellyn, 2003) is a fantastic starting place. P. Scott Hollander’s Tarot for Beginners: An Easy Guide to Understanding & Interpreting the Tarot (Llewellyn, 1995) will introduce you to divination through the tarot. If astrology holds your interest, Magickal Astrology: Understanding Your Place in the Cosmos (Career Press, 2008) by Skye Alexander is a good starting place.
If the goddess Brigid interests you, there are many books to give you a deeper look into one of the central deities of Celtic belief. Michelle Skye’s Goddess Alive: Inviting Celtic & Norse Goddess Into Your Life (Llewellyn, 2007), Celtic Goddess: Warriors, Virgins and Mothers by Miranda Green (George Braziller, 1995), and Alexei Kondratiev’s The Apple Branch: A Path to Celtic Ritual (Citadel, 2003) can all guide you along Brigid’s sacred path.
If the celebration of Neopagan sabbats interests you, the first place to look would be the other books in this series. Like this one, each book explores a different sabbat in ancient as well as modern times. The books in this series are an excellent introduction to the meaning and practices around all eight sabbats.
Many books explore all the sabbats in a single volume. Although books of this type won’t provide the depth of information that the individual books of this series do, they do illustrate how the wheel of the year brings all the sabbats together. Edain McCoy’s The Sabbats: A New Approach to Living the Old Ways (Llewellyn, 1998) and Celebrating the Seasons of Life: Samhain to Ostara by Ashleen O’Gaea (Career Press, 2009) can give you that “big picture” view of the sabbats and their relationships. I also have to mention Ellen Dugan’s Seasons of Witchery: Celebrating the Sabbats with the Garden Witch (Llewellyn, 2012), which is a new favorite of mine.
If the lives of ancient peoples and their beliefs interest you, check out any books by Joseph Campbell, such as The Power of Myth (Anchor, 1991) for a classic look. For a different perspective, try Goddess: Myths of the Female Divine by David Leeming and Jake Page (Oxford University Press, 1994). For a truly academic look, but written by renowned Pagan professor Dr. Ronald Hutton, read The Pagan Religions of the Ancient British Isles: Their Nature and Legacy (Wiley-Blackwell, 1993).
If history interests you, there are some excellent books about the history of the Neopagan movement, and some foundational books that actually form that history available. Starhawk’s The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess (HarperOne, 1979) is one of the foundational texts of modern Paganism. Margot Adler’s Drawing Down the Moon: Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America (Viking Press, 1979) documents the early history of the Neopagan movement in America. Dr. Hutton has written on this topic as well in his book The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft (Oxford, 2001).
I can’t begin to list all of the many wonderful books about gardening currently in print, but if you are new to gardening and interested in learning, you might start with The New Western Garden Book: The Ultimate Gardening Guide (Oxmoor House, 2012) or Trowel and Error: Over 700 Tips, Remedies and Shortcuts for the Gardener (Workman Publishing Company, 2002). Gardening is an industry unto itself, and the books on the topic are seemingly endless. These books serve new and seasoned gardeners alike, and they will help you decide what areas to study next.
There are some wonderful books out there about “crafting for the Craft.” Bewitching Cross Stitch by Joan Elliott (David & Charles, 2008) is one of many books that let your hands create fun craft items. One of my all-time favorite crafting books is Scott Cunningham and David Harrington’s Spell Crafts: Creating Magical Objects (Llewellyn, 1994). Just reading that book has often inspired me to create original craft items in addition to the projects in the book. Another craft that has been written about exhaustively is cooking. I won’t pretend to steer you through the enormous world of books about cooking, but if Craft cooking interests you, look for a copy of Cait Johnson’s Witch in the Kitchen: Magical Cooking for All Seasons (Destiny Books, 2001). If you want to learn all the mechanical details of every type of cooking imaginable, I would suggest the beloved ancient tome of American cooking, The Joy of Cooking by Irma Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker, in its many, many editions (first published by Scribner, 1931).