Baroja, Julio Caro, O.N.V. Glendinning, trans. The World of the Witches. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1965.
A history of witchcraft, with a section about witchcraft in the Basque contry. This guy (a Spanish anthropologist) has an interesting perspective.
Chumbley, Andrew D. The Azoëtia: A Grimoire of the Sabbatic Craft. Xoanon Publishers.
I really like this book. Its written mostly in poetry, and is really cryptic. Its certainly not a book for beginners, and not a book that you just read--you swim in it. Its also pretty hard to find. But a lot of useful information is found in its pages. I used this book for the poetry and some of the format of my Athamé consecration ritual.
Chumbley, Andrew D. Qutub
An even stranger journey into Chumbley's world of poetry. It has some very useful notes at the end.
Cunningham, Scott. Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs. St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications, 1985.
This book, despite its fluffy author, is useful and comprehensive. Unfortunately the author only uses "good" magick, so much information about hexes and such is ommitted. I used this book to get the scientific names of many of the plants, as well as other names they are called by and planetary, god, and gender correspondence. I can't be too critical of this book, since I used it so much.
Gardner, Gerald B. Meaning of Witchcraft. Lakemont: Magickal Childe, 1982.
See what Gardner had to say.
Hall, Nicholas. Chaos and Sorcery. This one is really hard to find; the first edition was limited to 300 copies. But I've heard that a second edition is coming out soon. It really doesn't have much to do with witchcraft, but sorcery and witchcraft are quite related. This is an excellent book and is extremely practical.
Hole, Christina. Witchcraft in England. London: B. T. Batsford Ltd., 1947.
A history of witchcraft in England, using lots of individual stories of witches--including Edward IV. "Bells, Books, Candles, Witches' Sabbaths, Fertility Rites, Witch Hunts, and other manifestations of the Black Arts that held England spellbound for centuries."
Hughes, Pennethorne. Witchcraft. Middlesex: Penguin Books, 1969.
The author calls this a "historian's book." You won't find instructions for spells or "how to be a witch" in this book--instead you will find a well-researched historical account of the witch cult. I recommend this book.
Huson, Paul, ed. The Coffee Table Book of Witchcraft and Demonology. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1973.
I get such a kick out of this. Every witch absolutely must have a copy of this on their coffee table.
Huson, Paul. Mastering Witchcraft. New York: Perigee Books, 1970.
This is one of my favorites. Its chock full of incense recipes and other uses of herbs. And its a great introduction to witchcraft, as well. I used this book for some of the poetry and format of my Athamé consecration ritual.
Jackson, Nigel. Call of the Horned Piper. Freshfields: Capall Bann Publishing, 1994.
This is a wonderful book that deals with many aspects of traditional witchcraft from the point of view of a practitioner. Especially interesting are sections on the Sabbat, Toad-lore, and Broomsticks. He deals much with the link between witchcraft and shamanism. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in traditional witchcraft.
Jackson, Nigel. Masks of Misrule: The Horned God and His Cult in Europe. Freshfields: Capall Bann Publishing, 1996.
This book gives an extremely detailed account of the horned god. This information is invaluable to a student of the craft. The horned god has often been ignored and looked over and this book will give the reader a deeper insight into the nature of witchcraft.
Leland, Charles G. Aradia: Gospel of the Witches. Hong Kong: Phoenix Publishing Inc., 1996.
A book full of poetry and Italian Witchcraft (Strega). This book was first published in 1899 and has since become a sort of classic. The Wiccans take their Rede from this book, leaving out some important parts. I highly recommend it and its pretty easy to find.
Marwick, Max, ed. Witchcraft and Sorcery. Middlesex: Penguin Books, 1970.
When you look for books about witchcraft, you find a lot like this. This is a collection of articles by anthropologists. Often these are one of the best places to get reliable information. The problem is that these books are not written with the student of witchcraft even vaguely in mind. You have to wade through the scholarly stuff to find the gems but I promise, they are there.
Miller, Richard Alan. The Magical and Ritual Use of Herbs. Rochester: Destiny Books, 1993.
This book is great for straightforward information about herbs that alter the state of consciousness. You should definately check out this book if you're interested in Nutmeg, Morning Glory Seeds, Datura and the like.
Middleton, John, ed. Magic, Witchcraft and Curing. Garden City: The Natural History Press, 1967.
Another collection of articles by anthropologists.
Paulsen, Kathryn. The Complete Book of Magic and Witchcraft. Middlesex: Penguin Books, 1980.
This book is hilariously cheesy at times, but actually contains a good bit of useful information. According to the cover, its an "up to date practitioner's manual of magic, witchcraft and sorcery--with all the ancient and modern recipes, spells, and incantations essential to the black arts!"
Russell, Jeffrey B. A History of Witchcraft: Sorcerers, Heretics and Pagans. London: Thames and Hudson Ltd., 1980.
Another history of witchcraft. This one stands out because it is full of beautiful illustrations. It spends more time on modern witchcraft than most other histories do.
Schultes, Richard Evans and Albert Hofmann. Plants of the Gods: Their Sacred, Healing, and Hallucinogenic Powers. Rochester, Vermont: Healing Arts Press, 1992.
Great book. Its well-researched, useful and interesting.
Summers, Montague. The History of Witchcraft and Demonology. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul Ltd., 1969.
The author states that in this book, he shows "the witch as she really was--an evil liver; a social pest and parasite; the devotee of a loathly and obscene creed; an adept at poisoning, blackmail, and other creeping crimes; a member of a powerful secret organization inimical to Church and State; a blasphemer in word and deed; swaying the villagers by terror and superstition; a charlatan and a quack sometimes; a bawd; an abortionist; the dark counsellor of lewd court ladies and adulterous gallants; a minister to vice and inconceivable corruption; battening upon the filth and foulest passions of the age." That about sums it up. This book is well-researched and can be useful but you have to get around his nasty Christian bias. Note that this guy also translated the Malleus Maleficarum.
Summers, Montague, trans. Malleus Maleficarum. London: Bracken Books, 1996.
This is the classic--the big source book that helped the nasty Christians hunt down and kill "witches." Reading this book will help you realize how insane people can be. Sometimes its so frightening that I get shivers.
Tarostar. The Witch's Spellcraft. Toluca Lake, CA: International Imports, 1986.
This is a fun little book full of spells. Different incense recipes and such are given in some of the spells. If you are having trouble coming up with your own spells, this book could be really useful. (But what is the deal with the author's name? Tarostar???)