6 Witchcraft Magic Books You Need to Read
This article is a list of six books about magic.
With the recent surge in popularity of witchcraft, the market has been flooded with books about magic.
These can vary in quality…
Quite a lot actually.
It can be difficult to find books that are actually good.
Especially, when people are being published based on the size of their social media following, rather than the merit of their experience!
I’ve read a ton of occult books over the years.
Literally, to the point of burnout.
I got really tired of reading the same things over and over again.
So, I took a HUGE witchy book break (we’re talking six years or so). I’ve only just started dipping my toe back into the swirling bookish occult waters.
This list exists because I enjoy seeing book recommendations from other practitioners.
I can guarantee these books aren’t poorly written cash grabs, with no experience behind them.
They’re books about magic that I think are worth your (precious) time.
Obviously, mileage may vary.
Enjoy!
1. THE BROKE WITCH
Keywords
Budget
Modern
Witchcraft
What’s it about?
The real witch’s guide to getting back to basics on a budget. The Broke Witch is the guide to spellcraft and connection the way it was intended.
My Opinion
Out of the books on this list, this is my most recent read.
It came out in 2024, so you know it’s got its finger on the proverbial witchy pulse.
The Broke Witch is the deinfluencing guide you need right now.
I particularly enjoyed Deborah Castellano’s conversational, fairy tale prose. Her ideas around practising magic in a pared back, simple, but effective way really resonated with me.
I loved her simmer pot recipes, because who doesn’t love a simmer pot?
Highly recommend this one for new witches, as well as seasoned practitioners that have probably accumulated too much witchy shit.
The Broke Witch is perfect for anyone looking for a fresh, contemporary guide to getting back to basics.
Quote
The Broke Witch is the guide to spellcraft and connection the way it was intended to be practiced; with your mind, heart, and spirit, and not your credit card.
2. the Chaos Protocols
Keywords
Ancestors
Spirit model
Success magic
What’s it about?
Discover how to wage a mind war that will keep you moving toward what you truly desire.
The Chaos Protocols helps you act on the belief that your life matters and you’re not going to let something as trifling as the apocalypse get in the way.
My Opinion
Chaos Protocols is a success magic guide, designed to help you navigate through the netherworld of today’s hellscape capitalist economy.
It’s kthonic, spirit focused and kind of amoral at times.
It’s giving ‘chaos is a ladder’.
This is a book a return to again and again. It’s packed with interesting titbits and spellbinding rituals.
The chapter on ancestral veneration and sigils are worth the price of admission alone.
Gordon White (the author) hosts the Rune Soup podcast, which is also great.
Chaos Protocols is perfect for giving you a new perspective on success magic.
Quote
There is no greater defence against the grim, uncompromising wasteland of the late capitalist world than the unshakeable awareness that it will end and you will not.
3. City Witchery
Keywords
Modern
Spirit model
Urban witchcraft
What’s it about?
City Witchery is a magical intuitive guide to living intentionally in an urban environment.
My Opinion
City Witchery is a book I devoured very recently. It has a modern, poetic vibe which contrasts with older occult books.
I really appreciate books that drag magic into the 21st century.
Don’t get me wrong, I really value tradition. But I’m a double Gemini (sun and rising). So, I also love modernising stuff.
This book actually hits a sweet spot of being very progressive and fresh, whilst also being rather animist and oldy worldy.
My favourite chapter in this book is about apartment magic.
I don’t live in a flat (or a city), but let me tell you, British houses are small. Thus, I’m fairly tight for space despite being a minimalist.
I enjoyed the authors suggestions around portable altars and planning housework around the magical moon cycle.
City Witchery is a powerful reminder that manmade environments are potent vessels of the natural and spirit world.
Quote
If making magic is a tool for influencing events, creating from intention, and alchemising ideas into realities, then a city is surely a witch’s muse.
4. Condensed Chaos
Keywords
Chaos magic
Informative
Psychology
What’s it about?
Condensed Chaos provides an accessible introduction to chaos magic.
Learn how to effect change around you, and stop living as a helpless cog in some clockwork universe.
My Opinion
This book is a mind-bending introduction to chaos magic. Phil Hine is pretty big on the chaos magic scene; he knows his stuff.
Condensed Chaos delves into a lot of radical ideas you don’t see in standard witchy books.
I read this book quite a few years ago and it’s left an indelible mark on my magical practice.
I particularly like the section explaining the models of magic, which I think are pretty invaluable for any practitioner to understand.
Condensed Chaos is perfect for anyone looking to broaden their approach to magic.
Quote
Magick is a doorway through which we step into mystery, wildness, and immanence.
5. The Practical Art of Divine Magic
Keywords
Greco-Roman
Spirit model
Theurgy
What’s it about?
Divine Magic revives, restores, and reinvents theurgy for a contemporary Pagan or magical practitioner.
My Opinion
Divine Magic is an intermediate magic book, focused solely on Neo-Platonism and theurgy.
It’s philosophical and a little academic.
I really enjoyed the various practices and still often refer back to them.
Divine Magic is perfect for anyone trying to deepen their connection with deity.
Quote
The Renaissance had such a well-developed Neoplatonic view of the world that it was almost an assumption about reality, as obvious to the thinkers of that time as gravity is to us.
6. Psychic Witch
Keywords
Beginners
Energy model
Witchcraft
What’s it about?
Psychic Witch explores the relationship between psychic ability and magic.
Expertly, interweaving them to create a strong foundation for a successful magical practice.
My Opinion
Psychic Witch is another book that I’ve re-read multiple times.
The book’s strength is its exercises.
It’s brimming with visualisation exercises around grounding, centring and visualisation-based magic.
Aphantasia types will struggle with a lot of the exercises in this book.
However, Mat Auryn’s second book Mastering Magick has suggestions for people who struggle with visualisation or have aphantasia.
If you don’t have aphantasia but your mind’s eye is about as blurry as a Saturday night after too many shots.
Practising the exercises in this book regularly will definitely help you to improve.
Also, if you’re not a frequent reader of fiction; reading novels regularly (daily) can really help.
I’m blessed (cursed?!) with a vivid imagination. Which I managed to retain from childhood partly through a reluctance to grow up and an obsession with books.
Psychic Witch is perfect for anyone looking to improve basic magic skills.
Quote
The psychic witch lives in a state of enchantment, seeing all things as magickal and understanding that the universe is composed of endless possibilities and potential.