Tarot Fellow
Living Wicca by Scott Cunningham Solitary Practitioner Guide
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Living Wicca by Scott Cunningham — the essential sequel to Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner, diving deeper into ethics, theology, self-dedication rituals, building a personal tradition, and developing a relationship with deity. Cunningham’s warm, accessible writing has guided millions of solitary witches. An indispensable second volume for any Wiccan library.
Description:Quick Specs
- Brand: Scott Cunningham / Llewellyn Publications
- Type: Paperback book
- Size: 9.2" x 6.2" x 0.6"
- Size/Quantity: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.6 inches, 208 pages
- Best for: Solitary Wiccan practice, ethics and theology, building a personal tradition
Living Wicca as the Necessary Sequel
Scott Cunningham's Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner introduced hundreds of thousands of readers to working alone outside a coven structure. Living Wicca, published by Llewellyn in 1993, picks up where that book ends. It assumes the reader already knows how to cast a circle and work basic spells, and it asks harder questions: What is your personal theology? How do you relate to deity? How do you build a tradition that is genuinely your own rather than an assembled imitation of someone else's coven practice? These are the questions that intermediate practitioners often struggle with after the first flush of learning ritual mechanics.
Cunningham approaches Wicca from a deeply personal rather than authoritative standpoint. He writes about deity as an individual relationship rather than a doctrinal requirement, and he explicitly gives readers permission to define their own practice within the broad ethical and spiritual framework of the Wiccan rede. This is the quality that makes the book as useful to eclectic practitioners today as it was when first published. Cunningham died in 1993, the same year Living Wicca came out, and the book retains the warmth and directness of all his Llewellyn work.
Ethics, Theology, and Building a Personal Wiccan Tradition
The book's three main sections cover developing a personal theology, creating rites and prayers, and creating a Wiccan tradition. The theology section addresses questions that beginners' books tend to avoid: What do Wiccans actually believe about the afterlife? How do you approach the divine when you do not connect with the traditional god-goddess polarity? Cunningham does not prescribe answers but models how to think through these questions as a practitioner rather than a consumer of pre-packaged belief systems.
The section on creating a tradition gives practical guidance on developing your own symbols, seasonal observances, and deity relationships without copying from an existing coven's Book of Shadows. This is directly useful for solitary practitioners who have moved past beginner rites and want their practice to reflect genuine personal experience. Cunningham's advice here ages well because it avoids trend-specific content in favor of enduring principles of practice development.
How to Use Living Wicca by Scott Cunningham
Getting the most from Cunningham's guide to building a personal Wiccan practice.
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Read the theology section first
Start with Part One on Wiccan theology before the ritual and tradition sections. Cunningham's questions about deity, ethics, and afterlife set up the rest of the book. Skipping to the practical sections means missing the reasoning behind it all.
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Journal your answers to the theology questions
Cunningham poses direct questions about your views on deity and ethics throughout the theology section. Write answers in a journal rather than reading past them. Revisiting those notes six months later shows how your practice has shifted and grown.
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Draft one original ritual using the framework
After reading the section on creating rites, write one original ritual using Cunningham's structural framework but your own imagery and language. This exercise is the actual practice the book teaches, not memorizing his sample texts verbatim.
The Tarot Fellow Standard
I keep Living Wicca in stock because it is the book that moves a practitioner from following instructions to building something personally meaningful. Cunningham's voice remains unmatched for accessible depth on ethics and theology. Browse my paganism and Wicca books for the full range of companion titles, and explore my altar supplies for the candles, tools, and ritual items a developing solitary practice requires.
Frequently Asked Questions
Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner is strongly recommended first. Living Wicca assumes basic familiarity with circle casting and the sabbats. Without that background, the theology and tradition-building chapters can be hard to apply well.
The first book covers ritual mechanics and spellwork for beginners. Living Wicca addresses theology, ethics, and building a personal tradition beyond the basics. It answers what to do after you know how to cast a circle and work a spell effectively.
It is well suited for eclectic practitioners. Cunningham argues against the idea that only coven-taught practice is valid. His approach to personal theology and tradition-building is designed for solitaries drawing from multiple sources and paths.
Living Wicca runs 208 pages in the Llewellyn paperback edition. Most readers work through it in two to four sittings. The theology section benefits from slow reading and note-taking, while the ritual sections are practical enough to revisit quickly.
