My First Witchy Book

By ComfyMom

It was 1981. I was 13 years old. I had money from my summer job at a concession stand and there was a new mall only 20 miles away. There was a Waldenbooks in that mall & I spent most of my salary there. My parents let me buy whatever books I wanted, with no restrictions, or even any oversight. One day I bought a book called “Earth Power” by Scott Cunningham. I didn’t know it then but it would be the first of over 100 witchy books I would own.

Earth Power is still published today. It is a book of simple spells, charms and methods of divination. It was very appealing to a 13 year old girl. I bought it because it had spells & charms in it to bring love into your life. I poured over that book. I read it and reread it, memorizing the various things you could do to divine who your lover would be, to attract a lover, and to keep a lover. I was also very interested in the money spells and when I was sick I performed the health spells and carried the appropriate charms for warding off illness. They were simple things; easy, quick actions, many the outgrowth of superstition. A love spell was to tie an article of their clothing with one of your own to keep your relationship thriving and happy. The rain, rain go away chant everyone knows was included as a weather charm. It was very basic and made it very easy to grasp the idea that you can make things happen with your will.

I was not a witch then. I was just a 13 year old girl who wanted a boyfriend & was ready to try anything to get one. I was a good Catholic girl who saw no difference between lighting a candle and chanting the ‘bring love into your life’ spell and lighting a candle and saying a novena to Mary. To this day my initial reaction to any emotional need is a desire to light a candle. I played with it for a year or so and then gave up. My results were sporadic. I did find an after school job, which brought in money, but the health stuff never seemed to work and I wouldn’t have an actual boyfriend until I was 19.

But it did plant the seed. Years later, when I was disillusioned with my faith and looking for something else to fulfill my spiritual needs I came across that book and I discovered Scott Cunningham had other books too, including Wicca for the Solitary Practitioner. It was my initial exposure and continues to influence my feelings about spellcraft.

Earth Power set my feet on this path and I’ve never lost the feeling that spells should be simple, that anything can be a charm or used for divination if the intent is there. Magick is within you and the ways you make it manifest can be as simple as tying two socks together to keep your relationship close.