Reading

Guided reading

The initiatory training cycle of the Order of the Horse and the Moon involves guided reading. There are a large number of books available about Wicca, many of them general in nature. The Order of the Horse and the Moon practices a form of Wicca developed by Robert Cochrane and Doreen Valiente in 1964 – 66. This is the period where Valiente developed the Wiccan Rede. The members of Cochrane’s group produced a significant number of books, and these form the core of our reading list.

Wicca is broadly separated into two strands. The first of these is represented by books which are aimed at the ‘mass market’. Many of these are produced by companies like Lewellyn or Element which produce books which are of a general nature. These books are often fairly eclectic in nature. The second type of books are mainly for serious students of Wicca. The texts are more challenging, however they provide a more detailed understanding of the tradition. Most of these texts are built around particular lines of Wicca, in our case the Cochrane-Valiente line
Core texts
The core texts are the direct writings of Robert Cochrane
The Letters of Robert Cochrane by Evan John Jones and Michael Howard
Genuine Witchcraft is Revealed by John of Monomouth
The Roebuck in the Thicket, Evan John Jones and Michael Howard

Additional texts
The additional texts are the writings of those closely connected to Cochrane
Witchcraft, a tradition renewed by Evan John and Doreen Valiente
Sacred Mask, Sacred Dance by Evan John Jones

Traditional texts
This covers traditions which were important sources for Cochrane. These two sources are the horse and plough witch traditions and the water witch traditions.
The Wheel of the Wiccan Year by Gail Duff (plough witches)
Water Witches by Tony Steele (water witches)

The study of these texts should by combined with Internet research about Wicca.