In this book Mr. Cunningham is careful (pp. xi, 87, 124, and 138) to state that he is assisting solitary Wiccans who lack access to Coven teaching resources. He also states that solitary Wiccans must carefully incorporate basic Wiccan principles into their worship. The reader wonders if Mr. Cunningham's first book was criticized for its free and open writing style.

Chapter 2, "Secrecy", strongly discusses a controversial Wiccan topic. Here Mr. Cunningham acknowledges past persecution of Wiccans, and discusses his own past dealings with non-Wiccans. He also discusses the role of secrecy in magical activities.

Chapters 3 through 7 deal with everyday Wiccan practices. Chapters 8 through 11 deal with Wiccan prayer and provide example prayers. These chapters' discussions are weak.

Chapter 12, "Magic and the Solitary Wiccan", deals with raising energy within the Circle and with directing it outside the Circle. This chapter's discussion relates primarily to Wiccan Coven members. Mr. Cunningham acknowledges (pg. 78) that the solitary Wiccans has few energy-raising options.

The remainder of this book addresses creating and documenting your own Wiccan tradition. Mr. Cunningham discusses the Wiccan Goddess and the God. His Wiccan God discussion assumes an alienation of affection not reflected in his first book or in other Wiccan literature. Mr. Cunningham also discusses ritual accessories, ritual design, and traditional Wiccan beliefs and rules (with example Sets). He discusses creating your own Book of Shadows. Mr. Cunningham ends with an excellent discussion concerning if and how One should teach Wiccan beliefs to others.

This book includes a comprehensive listing of Wiccan symbols (pg. 154). The book also includes a number of good and concise Suggested Reading lists (pp. 103, 125, 148, 180, and 185) and an excellent Annotated Bibliography.

Mr. Cunningham's first book allowed a Wiccan true novice to create a free and open Wiccan tradition. This book is organized similarly, but its discussions are incomplete and would confuse a Wiccan novice. In addition, this book so stresses Coven membership that Wiccan novices might question the validity of solitary worship, defeating the book's stated purpose.


Essential to Solitary Wiccans..........   December 15, 2001
 87 out of 93 found this review helpful

........if you enjoyed Cunningham's "Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner", you'll love "Living Wicca", a guide for solitaries which further brings Wicca into our everyday lives and experience.

Cunningham further delves into the topics of learning (tools, secrecy, self-initiation, Mysteries, and everyday Wiccan spirituality) and practicing (prayers and chants, offerings, rites, magic, deities) Wicca and to establishing your own traditions (from ritual design, to the Book of Shadows, adopting beliefs and rules). This book, like the first, is really for beginners like myself and reflects the "newer" Wicca and not the Old Ways or any particular modern Wiccan path. This allows the solitary practitioner to be more eclectic while still holding onto basic Wiccan traditions, albeit not strictly.

I particularly enjoyed Cunningham's ideas for bringing Wicca into my daily life.........those long stretches that occur between the esbats and sabbats. His ideas for daily prayers make Wiccan expression a regular, daily experience. I also like his practical ideas for enhancing spirituality: gardening, volunteering time, meditating, etc. Cunningham shows us how to add to our rituals with our own ideas that are meaningful to us, making Wicca a more personal experience. He also shows us how to better write our Book of Shadows, by adding in basic beliefs and rules as well as our own rituals and magic.

This book is also one that I can see drawing beginners into Wicca, helping them love their new religion (as has happened to me) and thus compelling them to delve much further into it, be it by exploring more about more modernized versions of Wicca, by seeking out the Old Ways and our origins, by searching for a coven and a teacher or all of the above. I highly recommend this book to eager beginners who are just learning about Wicca and just starting to practice.


Buy this book!   April 26, 2000
 31 out of 32 found this review helpful

When I read Scott Cunningham's "Wicca: A Guide For the Solitary Practitioner" I felt that there needed to be more. Something was missing. I picked up "Living Wicca" and found what was missing from the first book. Scott Cunningham goes over Prayer, gives some ideas on how to do a ritual when you don't have access to all you're tools (like in a hotel room while on a trip), basic ideas on forming your own tradition, and bringing Wicca into your everyday life. I loved reading this book and recommend it and its predecessor to anyone. I can't wait to read it again and again! This book should be required reading for everyone interested in Wicca.


Living Wicca, a Further Guide for the Solitary Practitioner   February 4, 2000
 16 out of 16 found this review helpful

I am grateful that Scott Cuningham has written so many wonderful books to assist us with our journey towards a focused and personal relationship with our spiritual Deities. I love books with indexes because I like to study the same subjects in many books all in one session. Most of Scott's books are indexed. This book has helped me develop a meaningful and comfortable circle-casting. I use both this book and "Wicca, a Guide for the Solitary Practitioner" the most of all the books I have. I believe that more study and knowledge by reading many books on the subject has helped me to develop my Wiccan practice in accord with my intuition. Scott promotes intuitive practice. The seasonal festivals are not complicated which I appreciate. I also use "Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic" quite often. Thank You, Scott for your contributions.


Excellent book for the beginner   August 2, 2000
 14 out of 15 found this review helpful

This book was very instructive when I first began my exploration of Wicca. As it suggests, I read it after Cunningham's "Guide for the Solitary Practitioner." This book has a little overlap with the first one, but for the most part, it picks up where the other left off. You will essentially learn how to make your own tradition in Wicca. Cunningham recognizes that many of us are solitaries and that we may not feel comfortable being bound to worship in the way a particular coven or individual dictates. For many of us, this is what helped drive us away from "mainstream" organized religion. Thus, in this book, you will learn some of the traditions of Wicca, the meanings behind certain rituals, elements, etc. Upon learning these things, you are encouraged to take in and, if you like, modify the traditions to your particular comfort level or ability -- e.g., it's difficult to hold a rite on a mountain top if you live in a high-rise apartment in NYC. To be sure, this is an introduction. Should a student of the Craft want more detail and is ready to move on, I would recommend Eileen Holland's recent publication, "The Wicca Handbook" and Raven Grimassi's superb award-winning book, "The Wiccan Mysteries." Both are excellent sources of information in your study of the Craft.