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First Degree Recommended Reading
By arrangement with Alibris, the titles below can be ordered from this website via secure server. Your purchases here help pay for AODA programs including this website. Click on the "Details and ordering info" link for any book to access price and availability information. Thank you for your patronage! Please note that some of these titles are out of print and used copies may not always be in stock. A few that are available are very expensive. Your local public library may be able to borrow these for you via interlibrary loan.
Please note: the books listed here were selected because they have been helpful to other Druids working with the subjects covered by the First Degree program. They embody many different viewpoints and approaches, and quite often disagree with one another. None of them should be taken on blind faith. (If you want something you can take on blind faith, Druidry is probably not what you're looking for.) Read, think, question, and draw your own conclusions. When in doubt, consult the nearest tree...
The Seven Spirals:
Recommended Reading for the Earth Path
Brown, Tom, Jr., Tom Brown's Field Guide to City and Suburban Survival (NY: Berkley, 1984). Details and ordering info
-----, Tom Brown's Field Guide to Nature Observation and Tracking (NY: Berkley, 1983). Details and ordering info
-----, Tom Brown's Field Guide to The Forgotten Wilderness (NY: Berkley, 1987). Details and ordering info
Charles Cook, Awakening To Nature (New York: Contemporary, 2001). Details and ordering info
Duane Elgin, Voluntary Simplicity (rev. ed. New York: William Morrow, 1993). Details and ordering info
Eugene Kinkead, Wildness is All Around Us: Notes of an Urban Naturalist (New York: Dutton, 1978). Details and ordering info
Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac (New York: Oxford University Press, 1949) Details and ordering info
Georgene Lockwood, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Simple Living (Indianapolis; Alpha Books, 2000). Details and ordering info
James Lovelock, Gaia: The Practical Science of Planetary Medicine (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000). Details and ordering info
Jim Nollman, Spiritual Ecology (New York: Bantam, 1990). Details and ordering info
Arthur Plotnik, The Urban Tree Book (New York: Three Rivers, 2000). Details and ordering info
Theodore Roszak, Where the Wasteland Ends (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1972). Details and ordering info
David Shi, The Simple Life: Plain Living and High Thinking in American Culture (New York: Oxford University Press, 1985). Details and ordering info
Henry David Thoreau, Walden and Other Writings (New York: Modern Library, 1992). Details and ordering info
Recommended Reading for the Sun Path
Janet and Colin Bord, Earth Rites (London: Granada, 1982). Details and ordering info
Marian Green, A Harvest of Festivals (London: Longman, 1980). Details and ordering info
Ellen Evert Hopman, A Druid's Herbal for the Sacred Earth Year (Rochester, VT: Destiny, 1995). Details and ordering info
Ronald Hutton, The Stations of the Sun (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996). Details and ordering info
John King, The Celtic Druids' Year (London: Blandford, 1994). Details and ordering info
Alexei Kondratiev, The Apple Branch: A Path to Celtic Ritual (Cork: Collins Press, 1998). Details and ordering info
Maire MacNeill, The Festival of Lughnasa (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1962). Details and ordering info
Margie McArthur, Wisdom of the Elements (Freedom, CA: Crossing Press, 1998). Details and ordering info
Claire Nahmad, Earth Magic (Rochester, VT: Destiny, 1994). Details and ordering info
Nigel Pennick, Practical Magic in the Northern Tradition (Wellingborough, Northants: Aquarian, 1989). Details and ordering info
Recommended Reading for the Moon Path
Books on Discursive Meditation
Adelaide Gardner, Meditation: A Practical Study (Wheaton, IL: Quest, 1968). Details and ordering info
William G. Gray, Western Inner Workings (York Beach, ME: Weiser, 1983). Details and ordering info
Manly Palmer Hall, Self-Unfoldment by Disciplines of Realization (Los Angeles: Philosophical Research Society, 1942). Details and ordering info
Gareth Knight, Occult Exercises and Practices (Albuquerque, NM: Sun Chalice, 1998). Details and ordering info
-----, The Practice of Ritual Magic (Albuquerque, NM: Sun Chalice, 1998). Details and ordering info
Mouni Sadhu, Concentration: A Guide to Mental Mastery (No. Hollywood, CA: Wilshire, 1959). Details and ordering info
-----, Meditation: An Outline for Practical Study (No. Hollywood, CA: Wilshire, 1967). Details and ordering info
Rudolf Steiner, How To Know Higher Worlds, tr. Christopher Bamford (Hudson, NY: Anthroposophic Press, 1994). Details and ordering info
-----, A Way of Self-Knowledge, tr. Christopher Bamford (Hudson, NY: Anthroposophic Press, 1999). Details and ordering info
Ernest Wood, Concentration: An Approach to Meditation (Wheaton, IL: Quest, 1949). Details and ordering info
Books on Movement Meditation
Robert Chuckrow, Tai Chi Walking (Boston: YMAA, 2002). Details and ordering info
Kenneth Cohen, The Way of Qigong (New York: Ballantine, 1997). Details and ordering info
Thich Nhat Hanh, The Long Road Turns to Joy: A Guide To Walking Meditation (Berkeley, CA: Parallax Press, 1996). Details and ordering info
Lam Kam Chuen, The Way of Energy (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1991). Details and ordering info
Dan Millman, The Warrior Athlete (Walpole, NH: Stillpoint, 1994). Details and ordering info
Gabrielle Roth, Sweat Your Prayers: Movement as Spiritual Practice (New York: JP Tarcher, 1998). Details and ordering info
George N. Sheehan, Running & Being: The Total Experience (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1980). Details and ordering info
Koichi Tohei, Ki in Daily Life (Tokyo: Japan Publications, 1978). Details and ordering info
Yang Jwing-Ming, The Root of Chinese QiGong (Boston: YMAA, 1997). Details and ordering info
Recommended Reading for Spiral One: Poetry
John Hollander, Rhyme's Reason (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989). Details and ordering info
Judson Jerome, The Poet's Handbook (Cincinnati: Writers Digest, 1980). Details and ordering info
John Matthews, ed., The Bardic Source Book (London: Blandford, 1998). Details and ordering info
Robin Skelton, The Shapes of our Singing (Spokane, WA: Eastern Washington University Press, 2002). Details and ordering info
Susan G. Wooldridge, Poemcrazy (New York: Clarkson Potter, 1996). Details and ordering info
Recommended Reading for Spiral Two: Music
Madeline Bruser, The Art of Practicing: A Guide to Making Music from the Heart (New York: Bell Tower, 1996). Details and ordering info
Kay Gardner, Sounding the Inner Landscape (Stonington, ME: Caduceus, 1990). Details and ordering info
Joscelyn Godwin, Harmonies of Heaven and Earth: The Spiritual Dimensions of Music (Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions International, 1987). Details and ordering info
W. A. Mathieu, Harmonic Experience (Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions, 1997). Details and ordering info
O'Boyle, Sean, Ogam: The Poet's Secret (Dublin: Gilbert Dalton, 1980). Details and ordering info
Dane Rudhyar, The Magic of Tone and the Art of Music (Boulder, CO: Shambhala, 1982). Details and ordering info
R.J. Stewart, The Spiritual Dimension of Music (Rochester, VT: Destiny, 1987). Details and ordering info
Recommended Reading for Spiral Three: Divination
Books on Ogham
Robert Lee (Skip) Ellison, The Druid's Alphabet (n.p.: Earth Religions Press, 2003) Not yet available from Alibris
Nigel Jackson and Nigel Pennick, New Celtic Oracle (Chieveley, Berks: Capall Bann, 1997). Details and ordering info
Glennie Kindred, The Tree Ogham (Sherwood, Nottinghamshire: By the author, 1997). Details and ordering info
Caitlin Matthews, Celtic Wisdom Sticks: An Ogam Oracle (London: Connections, 2001). Details and ordering info
Paul Rhys Mountfort, Ogam: The Celtic Oracle of the Trees (Rochester, VT: Destiny, 2002). Details and ordering info
Liz and Colin Murray, The Celtic Tree Oracle (NY: St. Martin's, 1988). Details and ordering info
Nigel Pennick, Ogham and Coelbren (Chieveley, Berks.: Capall Bann, 2000). Details and ordering info
Edred Thorsson, The Book of Ogham (St. Paul: Llewellyn, 1994). Details and ordering info
Books on Other Methods of Divination
Philip and Stephanie Carr-Gomm, The Druid Animal Oracle (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1994). Details and ordering info
-----, The Druidcraft Tarot (London: Watkins, 2004). Details and ordering info
John Michael Greer, Earth Divination, Earth Magic (St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn, 1999). Details and ordering info
Nigel Pennick, The Complete Illustrated Guide to Runes (Shaftesbury: Element, 1999). Details and ordering info
-----, Games of the Gods (York Beach, ME: Weiser, 1989; also published as Secret Games of the Gods). Details and ordering info
Recommended Reading for Spiral Four: Healing
Judith Berger, Herbal Rituals (New York: St. Martins, 1998). Details and ordering info
Stephen Harrod Buhner, The Lost Language of Plants (White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green, 2002). Details and ordering info
Rosemary Gladstar, Herbal Healing for Women (New York: Fireside, 1993). Details and ordering info
James Green, The Herbal Medicine Makers Handbook (Freedom, CA: Crossing Press, 2000). Details and ordering info
-----, The Male Herbal (Freedom, CA: Crossing Press, 1991). Details and ordering info
Tammi Hartung, Growing 101 Herbs that Heal (Pownal, VT: Storey, 2000). Details and ordering info
Ellen Evert Hopman, A Druid's Herbal for the Sacred Earth Year (Rochester, VT: Destiny, 1995). Details and ordering info
-----, Tree Medicine, Tree Magic (Custer, WA: Phoenix, 1991). Details and ordering info
Brigitte Mars, Natural First Aid (Pownal, VT: Storey, 1999). Details and ordering info
Nancy and Michael Phillips, The Village Herbalist (White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green, 2001). Details and ordering info
Matthew Wood, The Book of Herbal Wisdom: Using Plants as Medicines (Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic, 1997). Details and ordering info
Recommended Reading for Spiral Five: Magic
Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki, The Ritual Magic Workbook (York Beach, ME: Weiser, 1998). Details and ordering info
Franz Bardon, Initiation into Hermetics (Kettig uber Koblenz, Germany: Osiris, 1962). Details and ordering info
W.E. Butler, Apprenticed to Magic (Wellingborough, Northants.: Aquarian, 1962). Details and ordering info
-----, How to Read the Aura, Practice Psychometry, Telepathy, and Clairvoyance (Rochester, VT: Destiny, 1987). Details and ordering info
John Michael Greer, Natural Magic (St. Paul: Llewellyn, 2000). Details and ordering info
Gareth Knight, Occult Exercises and Practices (Albuquerque, NM: Sun Chalice, 1998). Details and ordering info
-----, The Practice of Ritual Magic (Albuquerque, NM: Sun Chalice, 1998). Details and ordering info
Margie McArthur, Wisdom of the Elements (Freedom, CA: Crossing Press, 1998). Details and ordering info
Robin Skelton, Spellcraft (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1978). Details and ordering info
R.J. Stewart, The UnderWorld Initiation (Wellingborough, Northamptonshire: Aquarian, 1985). Details and ordering info
Recommended Reading for Spiral Six: Sacred Geometry
Critchlow, Keith, Time Stands Still: New Light on Megalithic Science (NY: St. Martins, 1982). Details and ordering info
Gyorgy Doczi, The Power of Limits (Boston, 1994: Shambhala, 1994). Details and ordering info
Matila Ghyka, The Geometry of Art and Life (NY: Dover, 1977). Details and ordering info
Jay Hambidge, The Elements of Dynamic Symmetry (New York: Dover, 1967). Details and ordering info
S.K. Heninger, Jr., Touches of Sweet Harmony: Pythagorean Cosmology and Renaissance Poetics (San Marino, CA: Huntington Library, 1974). Details and ordering info
George L. Hersey, Architecture and Geometry in the Age of the Baroque (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000). Details and ordering info
H.E. Huntley, The Divine Proportion (New York: Dover, 1970). Details and ordering info
Robert Lawlor, Sacred Geometry: Philosophy and Practice (London: Thames and Hudson, 1982). Details and ordering info
Miranda Lundy, Sacred Geometry (Presteigne, Wales: Wooden Books, 2002) Details and ordering info
John Michell, The Dimensions of Paradise (London: Harper and Row, 1988). Details and ordering info
Richard Padovan, Proportion: Science, Philosophy, Architecture (London: Spon, 2001). Details and ordering info
Recommended Reading for Spiral Seven: Earth Mysteries
Keith Critchlow, Time Stands Still: New Light on Megalithic Science (NY: St. Martins, 1982). Details and ordering info
Paul Devereux and Ian Thomson, The Ley Hunter's Companion (London: Thames & Hudson, 1979). Details and ordering info
J. Havelock Fidler, Ley Lines: Their Nature and Properties (Wellingborough: Turnstone, 1983). Details and ordering info
Tom Graves, Needles of Stone (London: Turnstone, 1978). Details and ordering info
Francis Hitching, Earth Magic (NY: William Morrow, 1977). Details and ordering info
MacLean, Gordon, A Field Guide to Dowsing (Danville, VT: American Society of Dowsers, 1976). Details and ordering info
John Michell, The Dimensions of Paradise (London: Thames & Hudson, 1988. Details and ordering info
-----, The Earth Spirit: Its Ways, Shrines and Mysteries (NY: Crossroad, 1975). Details and ordering info
-----, The New View Over Atlantis (London: Thames & Hudson, 1983; revision of The View Over Atlantis). Details and ordering info
North, John, Stonehenge: A New Interpretation of Prehistoric Man and the Cosmos (New York: Free Press, 1996). Details and ordering info
Nigel Pennick, The Ancient Science of Geomancy (London: Thames and Hudson, 1979). Details and ordering info
-----, and Paul Devereaux, Lines on the Landscape (London: Robert Hale, 1989). Details and ordering info
Chuck Pettis, Secrets of Sacred Space (St. Paul: Llewellyn, 1999). Details and ordering info
Mike Pitts, Hengeworld (London: Century, 2000). Details and ordering info
Francis Pryor, Seahenge: New Discoveries in Prehistoric Britain (London: HarperCollins, 2001). Details and ordering info
Rob Roy, Stone Circles: A Modern Builder's Guide to the Megalithic Revival (White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green, 1999). Details and ordering info
Michael Salvatore Trento, The Search for Lost America (Chicago: Contemporary Books, 1978). Details and ordering info
Guy Underwood, The Pattern of the Past (NY: Abelard-Schumann, 1973). Details and ordering info
Alfred Watkins, The Ley Hunter's Manual (repr. Wellingborough: Turnstone, 1983). Details and ordering info
-----, The Old Straight Track (London: Methuen, 1925). Details and ordering info
