How to Become a Witch: The Path of Nature, Spirit & Magick

by Amber K., Azrael Arynn K

Set forth on the Witch's path--this friendly introductory guide presents the key beliefs and practices of Witchcraft and offers step-by-step instruction on how to become a Witch. Best-selling authors Amber K and Azrael Arynn K have nearly fifty years of Craft experience between them. They've taught hundreds of students the basics of Witchcraft, and now they're offering readers the same clear, structured guidance here. This Witchcraft book teaches you everything you need to know about Craft essentials: --Ritual tools--Daily practices--Ethics--Spellcasting--Deepening your connection to nature--Divination and dreams--Sabbats and Esbats--The Wheel of the Year--Gods and Goddesses--Pentagrams and other Craft symbols--Training, initiation, and degrees You'll learn about Witchcraft as a way of life, how to locate a coven or work as a solitary, and--most importantly--how to grow magickally and spiritually.

Genres: Witchcraft, Wicca, Spirituality, Nonfiction, Paganism, Occult, Metaphysics

336 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2010

About the author

Amber K is an author of books about magick, Wicca and Neopaganism, and a third degree priestess of the Wiccan faith. She was initiated at the Temple of the Pagan Way in Chicago, Illinois and served on the Council of Elders there, and has taught the Craft throughout the United States and Europe for over 24 years. She has served as National First Officer of the Covenant of the Goddess for three terms, and is a founder of Our Lady of the Woods and the Ladywood Tradition of Wicca. She has worked with various Neopagan organizations such as Circle Sanctuary and the Re-Formed Congregation of the Goddess. She is currently is the Executive Director of Ardantane, a Wiccan/Pagan seminary is northern New Mexico.

She is handfasted to Azrael Arynn K, and has a son, Starfire, who is a Wiccan security officer. Amber’s interests include mountains and forests, dolphins, travel, science fiction, collecting large antique keys, art, reading, and all things magickal. Her role models include Doreen Valiente, Lao Tse, Xena the Warrior Princess, and Snoopy.

Reviews

[Samantha]

This should be called "How to Become A Wiccan." It is mostly Wiccan exclusive and it lumps the terms Wiccan, pagan and witch together. Good info for Wiccans, but the rest of us are left in the dark.

[Leah Hester]

Really enjoyed this more modern information and added knowledge. I really appreciate the insistence to understand the path you want to take and that this path is not for everyone- find your own, do it with love and respect, and live it. I've learned a lot and look forward to finding more.

[Priestess Enshrina]

This is an amazing introduction to the Craft. It gives several viewpoints from different pagan religions and schools of Magick. It is not preachy, just very informative.

[Kristy Marquez]

This is a pretty good 101 book with some great information. Easy to read and follow along.

[Nyra | lovelightfables]

3.5 ⭐️

[Kosjitov]

I found other more concise and less verbose books that could fill the role of Wicca 101. If you're looking for entertainment while you read, a feeling that the authors are more modern, I'd say this might be worth a gander. However, I'd like to point out that I disagree on a personal level with how Amber words spells (which sounds and supposedly acts like they have a fail safe). I do appreciate the fresh tone the book takes on a subject I've gone over on several other occasions.

If you are looking for an advanced Wicca book this is NOT going to be enjoyable for you, as it sails the same boring waters of most other 101 material. It's just a bigger book.

[Dawnrenae]

As far as books on Wicca, this may be one of my ALL time favorite authors! This book is definitely for beginners, that want to learn all the bright, white light sides of the "religion" that is witchcraft!
Amber and Azreal have created a beautiful book that teaches the newbie where to begin!
While I know this was published a minute ago, it never hurts to read some older stuff again! Moving on to the next book!
Brilliant! Thanks for helping me teach!!!

[Fenix Rose]

Another basic book about what Wicca and Witchcraft are and are not.
Fiction can give a poor view of what it is, what it means to be a witch.
Though fiction can be fun of course, it is important to know the truth
separate from teh fiction exaggerations.
Well written and clear this gives a great overview whether you are interested
in maybe taking this path or just want to know more.

[Leannear24]

this is a good book full of interesting and useful information
i would recomend this book
its in plain engilsh and tells you straight whats what

[Charlotte]

Had some good basic info, however continually pushed the Wicca agenda. This is a book for Wiccans not for any other branch of spiritual practice, and should be advertised as such (which it isn't).

That being said, there were some good explanations, and the indexes in the back with the correlations and resources were very solid and helpful.

[Rubia Vargas]

It’s really a “how to become a wiccan”, however it was very useful for me like a nom wiccan, I really recommend this book as a begginer’s book. Actually I prefer this one in counterpart to the Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham.

[Sara-Ann Poirier]

focuses only on Wicca and basically says those to practice traditional witchcraft are invalid and says some nasty things about those who use baneful magic. There are some good basics but it got really preachy at the end about choosing Wicca as the only witchy path.

[Violet]

That was a good book. A good introduction for anyone who doesn't know much about the topic - it answers many basic, practical questions and was enjoyable to read.

[Hannah McNally]

2.5

[A. J]

I've been reading a lot of books with Witchcraft throughout the year, and this book was recommended to me by a lot of people.

Somewhere between Practical Magic, and a more advanced book on Witchcraft, I found that How To Become A Witch to be a knowledgeable and easy to read book. Though it wasn't as helpful for me, because I've been researching this a lot, this book is perfect for beginners.  Overall I found it to be a little more serious and in depth than Practical Magic, but I think I would recommend these two books to different personality types, rather than saying one is better than the other. 

Here are some things that I really loved from How To Become A Witch. 

Right off the bat this book gives a detailed breathing and grounding exercise that I found to be very helpful and beautiful. It also breaks down the elements and their coordinating signs in the same chapter.  A few chapters later Amber K talks about what Witchcraft is and isn't and the core beliefs you will find across the board.  Each chapter in this book had something I found useful or helpful, even though I would say I'm no longer a beginner Witch. And that's what I loved most about this book, it can be for all stages of Witchcraft. 

I also found that this book gave me the hints I needed on what I should study next, and that was the most helpful thing of all. From here I know I'll look more into divination, tea leaf reading, tarot and how to live a more green life. 

In the end I gave this book 4 stars and I recommend it to anyone who is looking into the Craft. 

[Audrey Raj]

I honestly have no idea how to rate this book. I don’t if it’s because this is a non-fiction book or if it’s because the information hasn’t sunk in yet. It was a slower read than what I’m used to and held my attention the whole through, but because it’s supposed to be informative and just not a structure of non-fiction I’m used to reading from, I can’t accurately rate it. What can say about my reading experience is that you can tell the authors know what they’re talking about and if you approach it with an open mind, you’ll learn so much about Wicca and Witchcraft. It really helps explain a lot of those stereotypes we have about witches because we don’t understand them, but as Newt Scamander says “I can’t admire a group of people whose first instinct when they encounter anything they don’t understand is to kill it.” Whether you have intentions of becoming a witch, or like myself, you’re just curious about other religions, you can still benefit from this book’s knowledge and learn a lot about yourself.

[Amanda Johnson]

For a long time I wanted to learn about magick and to become a witch. Due to family at the time, I was unable to explore what it meant to be a witch and what all that entails. With the support of my spouse, I was able to finally explore what it means.

This was the first book that I had picked up. While this is more Wicca then Witchcraft, I learned so much from this book!
I have a hard time reading what I call "text books". Something that isn't fantasy is hard for me to typically read. In typical "text books", how the information is formatted is hard for me to retain and grasp due to how much content is in the text. This book however was formatted in such a way that it was easy for me to retain and read. In my mind, it was very laid back pace.
The pictures in the book were a nice added tough that my brain appreciated!

Overall, if you are beginning your journey or want to learn some basics about Wiccan and Witchcraft this is the place to start.

[Ann]

Very informative. Felt at times as if I were reading a textbook, not a bad thing to get information from. Still, took a while to read because I kept taking breaks to read other things. It didn't hold my attention, but I kept coming back to it. Lots of resources at the end.

[Lyn]

I found the information provided enjoyable to read and some parts about wiccan fascinating although there were some parts of the book that is repetitive and became boring. I realize the author probably felt the more it was explained the easier it would be for the average reader.

[Chy]

Just added this one to my Kindle. Will review more later after reading.

[Jan]

A lot of info

[Mab Ryan]

If you want a beginning book on Wicca or Witchcraft, this is the one to go with.

[Natasha]

Heavily Wiccan and also has some pretty biased opinions about women's rights. If you are just starting out and this is your first book, grab something else because this is far too one sided.

[M.J. Mandoki]

It was an excellent book. I recommend it to all spiritually inspired people with an open mind.

[Araminta Matthews]

More of the same.