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Cunningham's Book of Shadows: The Path of An American Traditionalist
Llewellyn is pleased to present a new Scott Cunningham book--a long-lost Book of Shadows. Discovered in a battered manila envelope, this previously unpublished manuscript was penned by Scott in the early 1980s. This rare book includes original spells, rituals, invocations, and an herbal grimoire. Featured in the design are Scott's actual hand-drawn signs, symbols, and runes.
More than twenty years after his passing, Scott Cunningham is still an iconic and highly regarded figure in the magical community. His books on Wicca are considered classics, and his writings continue to inspire and inform those new to the Craft.
More than twenty years after his passing, Scott Cunningham is still an iconic and highly regarded figure in the magical community. His books on Wicca are considered classics, and his writings continue to inspire and inform those new to the Craft.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published October 1, 2009
151 people are currently reading
1455 people want to read
About the author
Scott Cunningham
112 books1,313 followersScott Douglas Cunningham was an American writer. Cunningham is the author of several books on Wicca and various other alternative religious subjects.
His work Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner, is one of the most successful books on Wicca ever published; he was a friend of notable occultists and Wiccans such as Raymond Buckland, and was a member of the Serpent Stone Family, and received his Third Degree Initiation as a member of that coven.
His work Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner, is one of the most successful books on Wicca ever published; he was a friend of notable occultists and Wiccans such as Raymond Buckland, and was a member of the Serpent Stone Family, and received his Third Degree Initiation as a member of that coven.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
June 24, 2017
I'm pretty sure many people will be quick and incisive in dismissing a book such as this as "work of the devil", "abomination" and other such wonderful (insert irony) adjectives - given their own personal beliefs.
If that is your case dear goodreads associate, member of my own little friends list or not, please carry on, this isnt for you.
Having grown up the child of a catholic and an atheist (yes both can live a happy long life side by side), its safe enough to say that the chances of me "sticking" with one of either belief systems were slim!
And truth is, i was from very early on a curious child, always asking, always wanting to know, always reading and studying, fascinated by the multitude of religions that exist in the world - and that are so much more similar than what one may think at first.
Here what you have is, to put it perhaps too simply, what came in the beginning - Mother Nature - before MAN decided the "main" deity couldn't be a lady and turned her into a him (not in all religions, but in many of them for sure). NO i am not a feminist i assure you.
Although the content of this book is more closely related with what is the american way of viewing wicca, there are many ideas in here that are valid for anyone who believes in the principles defended by Cunningham, but also for all those souls out there that are curious and keep an open mind towards the learning and studying of the multitude of religious beliefs existing in our world today.
Personally i find this a very interesting book, with many things i learned from my grandmothers (both devout Catholics, but nonetheless firm believers in the benefits of herbs for one's health, for example), many things i have read about over the years and one or two new pieces of information that are definitely food for thought.
Are a curious inquisitive person who believes that, in order to form an opinion on a different way of seeing the world, one must read and ask questions about it? Then by all means take a peak, this is for you.
Happy Readings!
(p.s: some parts of this review of mine may end up appearing on my own review of THE FAITH CLUB).
If that is your case dear goodreads associate, member of my own little friends list or not, please carry on, this isnt for you.
Having grown up the child of a catholic and an atheist (yes both can live a happy long life side by side), its safe enough to say that the chances of me "sticking" with one of either belief systems were slim!
And truth is, i was from very early on a curious child, always asking, always wanting to know, always reading and studying, fascinated by the multitude of religions that exist in the world - and that are so much more similar than what one may think at first.
Here what you have is, to put it perhaps too simply, what came in the beginning - Mother Nature - before MAN decided the "main" deity couldn't be a lady and turned her into a him (not in all religions, but in many of them for sure). NO i am not a feminist i assure you.
Although the content of this book is more closely related with what is the american way of viewing wicca, there are many ideas in here that are valid for anyone who believes in the principles defended by Cunningham, but also for all those souls out there that are curious and keep an open mind towards the learning and studying of the multitude of religious beliefs existing in our world today.
Personally i find this a very interesting book, with many things i learned from my grandmothers (both devout Catholics, but nonetheless firm believers in the benefits of herbs for one's health, for example), many things i have read about over the years and one or two new pieces of information that are definitely food for thought.
Are a curious inquisitive person who believes that, in order to form an opinion on a different way of seeing the world, one must read and ask questions about it? Then by all means take a peak, this is for you.
Happy Readings!
(p.s: some parts of this review of mine may end up appearing on my own review of THE FAITH CLUB).
April 23, 2020
Difficulty Level: Beginner
It was written for beginner Wiccans, but not complete beginners. It assumes you knows the basics.
This was an unpublished (later posthumously published) Book of Shadows that Cunningham gave to his acolytes before he became an author. It differs from Gerald Gardner, Doreen Valiente, Raymond Buckland, and the Farrars in that it was written to reflect American values. That is, this take on Gardnerian Wicca is less hierarchical, more about equality, less focused on ceremonial magick, and has more emphasis on working with nature. He felt there should be no barrier to entry when it comes to sharing a spiritual connection with nature.
Also, throughout his books he talks about doing magick in daylight and warm climates (ex. beaches) more than his English counterparts, because he grew up in San Diego and the Laguna Mountains of California.
Although Cunningham's later works would be focused on solitary practitioners, this book is a traditional Book of Shadows, meaning it's a coven's book (written in the traditional Wiccan Book of Shadows format) that was passed on to each coven member.
This Book of Shadows has some explanations under the topics, but not all of them. To be more user-friendly, the editor uses passages from Cunningham's published books as introductions to various topics. They're clearly marked, so you can see which parts weren't in the original text.
It starts out kind of weird because it jumps right into the liturgy and rituals. At first, I thought it was a a devotional. However, it later gets into things we associate more with a Book of Shadows nowadays like anointing oil formulas, incense formulas, and dream pillow formulas. The reason for this weird layout is because Wiccan Books of Shadows have traditionally always been arranged this way. For info on how to order the topics in your Book of Shadows, see Cunningham's book Living Wicca.
The liturgy is written in the standard Wiccan style that Doreen Valiente (and to a lesser extent, Aleister Crowley and Gerald Gardner) created - flowery language with a lot of similes, metaphors, and symbolism. He also wrote that way in the Book of Shadows section of his book A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner. This lovely liturgy what this book contributes to Cunningham's body of work.
It was written for beginner Wiccans, but not complete beginners. It assumes you knows the basics.
This was an unpublished (later posthumously published) Book of Shadows that Cunningham gave to his acolytes before he became an author. It differs from Gerald Gardner, Doreen Valiente, Raymond Buckland, and the Farrars in that it was written to reflect American values. That is, this take on Gardnerian Wicca is less hierarchical, more about equality, less focused on ceremonial magick, and has more emphasis on working with nature. He felt there should be no barrier to entry when it comes to sharing a spiritual connection with nature.
Also, throughout his books he talks about doing magick in daylight and warm climates (ex. beaches) more than his English counterparts, because he grew up in San Diego and the Laguna Mountains of California.
Although Cunningham's later works would be focused on solitary practitioners, this book is a traditional Book of Shadows, meaning it's a coven's book (written in the traditional Wiccan Book of Shadows format) that was passed on to each coven member.
This Book of Shadows has some explanations under the topics, but not all of them. To be more user-friendly, the editor uses passages from Cunningham's published books as introductions to various topics. They're clearly marked, so you can see which parts weren't in the original text.
It starts out kind of weird because it jumps right into the liturgy and rituals. At first, I thought it was a a devotional. However, it later gets into things we associate more with a Book of Shadows nowadays like anointing oil formulas, incense formulas, and dream pillow formulas. The reason for this weird layout is because Wiccan Books of Shadows have traditionally always been arranged this way. For info on how to order the topics in your Book of Shadows, see Cunningham's book Living Wicca.
The liturgy is written in the standard Wiccan style that Doreen Valiente (and to a lesser extent, Aleister Crowley and Gerald Gardner) created - flowery language with a lot of similes, metaphors, and symbolism. He also wrote that way in the Book of Shadows section of his book A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner. This lovely liturgy what this book contributes to Cunningham's body of work.
September 10, 2015
I was a little hesitant to buy this book at first because the title threw me off somewhat--I didn't want to buy and read someone's personal Book of Shadows. However, while on a recent trip to Salem, I stumbled upon this book and I decided to peek inside the cover. When I read that it was a found manuscript that he had meant to publish, I went ahead and got it, and I'm so glad that I did. This book is an absolute treasure trove of ideas and correspondences that I will be referencing for a long, long time. I loved how they used excerpts from Scott's other books to tie everything together, and the appendices with stories about his life were incredibly touching. I highly recommend this book.
March 28, 2012
What was I thinking buying this? I should have remembered that it was authors like him that were responsible for me leaving Wicca. Actually I'm not even mad at him. 1. He is dead. 2. A lot of this book is quotes from his old books 3. What's from his actual Book of Shadows isn't what annoyed me.
I don't have the book with me right now. Anyways he brought up the burning times and how the "Wicca" suffered then. There were no "Wicca" back then. Yes he said "Wicca" instead of Wiccans. Anyways, Wicca is a modern religion. That doesn't make it any less of a religion. The people that were persecuted during the "burning times" were Christian and to call them Wiccan is spitting on their grave, because it goes against what they believe in.
On the bright side I think this book might come in handy with all of the correspondences, but then again maybe not. I already had that stuff on hand.
Oh I will be buying his encyclopedia of magical herbs. I miss that book.
I don't have the book with me right now. Anyways he brought up the burning times and how the "Wicca" suffered then. There were no "Wicca" back then. Yes he said "Wicca" instead of Wiccans. Anyways, Wicca is a modern religion. That doesn't make it any less of a religion. The people that were persecuted during the "burning times" were Christian and to call them Wiccan is spitting on their grave, because it goes against what they believe in.
On the bright side I think this book might come in handy with all of the correspondences, but then again maybe not. I already had that stuff on hand.
Oh I will be buying his encyclopedia of magical herbs. I miss that book.
March 22, 2010
How amazing to be blessed with a book almost twenty years after the man who penned it has passed from this life. To see snippets from his personal notes, his typewritten pages with handwritten asides, is to feel like I'm connecting with the man who brought me my religion. Wicca today wouldn't be what it is without his contributions! Having spent the entirety of my Wiccan path believing I would never be graced with another Cunningham book, it was a rush of elation to hear this Book of Shadows would be published. I thank the Goddess for this final gift from Scott; it's a great collection of rituals, recipes, and basic information on the religion.
March 17, 2013
Anyone who practices magic or wicca, this is an excellent boook for you to read. Scott Cunningham was very thorough when writing this book.
The information contained in this book, along with the history & instructions are detailed and easy to understand.
The lore, spells, & recipes are not overwhelming.
I completely enjoyed reading this book. And to this day I look information up in it. And I would highly recommend it.
February 8, 2010
This is a wonderful book. It is a great guide to learning and understanding Wicca. I had a lot of questions, and still do but this has helped. The ideas and beliefs are so amazing. I am so glad that this book was given to me by a wonderful friend, it is a book that I will cherish. Everyday I go back to it, to read and reread. Everyday you learn more.
December 6, 2009
I am so thankful Llewellyn published this. I have read all of Scott Cunningham's books and this one I feel is so special since they include copies of personally typed and written pages from Scott. Wonderful book!!
January 1, 2016
This is what a book of shadows should be. It is a good resource to have and gives you a good idea of what Cunningham knew and where his ideas came from. It also has a really good bibliography and sort of compiles some of his other books.
May 8, 2010
this is probably one of the better books from scott cunningham
September 4, 2022
This is as close to a Book of Shadows that we will get from Scott Cunningham. If you’re hoping for a lot of new information, you’ll be disappointed. A majority of this book is excerpts from his other works. The rest of the book is rituals aimed at a coven setting, correspondences, and recipes. A lot of these I wonder if they are found in his other published works. The sections of this book written by friends and family are endearing. Had Cunningham had the chance to actually work on this project up to publication, I think it could’ve been a wonderful resource. However, the constant use of his other works shows this wasn’t remotely close to publication. If you loved Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner, you’ll likely get a lot from this book as it goes a bit deeper with his various bits of information not included in that book.
August 12, 2019
This was an interesting book however it is not something I'd recommended for a beginner or someone just looking for information. It is not very comprehensive but more like an example of how a Book of Shadows could be constructed/formatted - in one of the appendices a friend of the author said it was basically what the author use to use for teaching correspondence. I do recommend Cunningham's other books which are more formal and expansive with explanations. The parts I liked most were the appendices and the forward, personal notes from friends and family about the author.
November 24, 2018
The first half of the book is full of Wiccan dogma and ceremonial information, which doesn’t interest me at all, but I’ll keep it for the latter half, which has recipes, spells and information about components.
February 19, 2019
Like all of Scott's books, this is a must have. It is wonderful to read his actual notes, as well as Scott's own illustrations. This is most definitely a book to just pick up and browse through, and one I shall continue to read.
November 7, 2021
It really is fascinating how all beliefs and traditions are so similar. Why does religion persist in being a separator when we all want basically the same thing? This book gave me a lot of great information into what the label of being a Wiccan actually means. The more you know…
December 16, 2023
The Cunningham Book of Shadows is really an extension of his spell works and things that he goes over in his solitary practitioner books and is even a branch of Wicca or witchcraft known as Cunningham witchcraft and definitely worth having just for the faunt of information
January 20, 2024
Some good and foundational information. However, as a queer, non-binary witch, the gendered parts were a bit rough. I would recommend this to someone just starting in witchcraft or someone who wants a basic knowledge of such.
November 10, 2018
AS always great reference material...but very Wiccan based as far as rituals go.
January 22, 2020
More then what I thought it would be...
July 16, 2021
One of my favorite books on the craft. Got the copy on my cell but I will get the paperback. There’s many things to keep always marked. Beautiful and easy book
September 19, 2021
Excellent book. Lots and lots of useful info.
November 18, 2021
Informative. Well organized. Focus on a dif diety than mine but can easily be adapted. American author so to take into consideration.
December 18, 2024
A very good jumping off point for starting a Grimoire of your own. Educational and encouraged the curious reader to explore more within certain topics.
April 4, 2025
Very useful book
August 20, 2016
I did not love this book. I remember getting really excited for it to come out but once I had it, I felt like I was just re-reading all of Scott's other books. Llewellyn claims that a manuscript was found containing this book, but I have my suspicions that this is just a modge podge of Cunningham's greater works. If you are wanting to read something by Scott Cunningham, I would not recommend picking up this book of shadows. He has many other much more informative and enjoyable books out there.
May 21, 2016
Cunningham will always have my heart. He was the one who first inspired me to dive into my roots, think deeper and gave me wonderful tools to continue to grow within the Craft. Cunningham makes his knowledge easy to understand, simple, pure and peaceful. This book has bits and pieces to start your never ending journey. It's a great guide for you to gather ideas to create your own Book of Shadows.
December 24, 2010
I actually snagged this book a while ago, but apparently didn't catch it in adding to GoodReads. Wandered through it today. Not so much detailed reading, as it's literally his/a Book of Shadows and meant to be gotten in and out of fairly easily. Good book, somewhat redundant to his other books.
July 4, 2015
Embora seja um livro essencialmente composto por partes de outros livros do autor, os assuntos estão muito bem encaixados e tem novas informações muito úteis.
É interessante que tenham deixado as folhas escritas pela máquina de escrever.
Recomendo.
É interessante que tenham deixado as folhas escritas pela máquina de escrever.
Recomendo.
July 30, 2022
This book, as almost everything on Cunningham's work, is just a mash up of a bunch of indigenous practices with a light coat of "wiccanism". Cultural appropriation with not a single drop of shame, AS USUAL in this kind of book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews