have been asked many times if I had a Scottish book list or if I could recommend some books on Scottish witchcraft. I never did get around to it before now, mainly because so many of the books are rare or out of print that I didn’t want such a list to be discouraging to the serious seeker. Luckily there are so many texts and bits of lore available online now that one can learn about Scottish folklore and witchcraft without emptying out one’s savings.
Much of lore woven into the “modern” folklore of Traditional Witchcraft, Wicca, and Ceremonial Magic originally comes from Scotland. Why Scotland? Because it was so well documented and was a very popular source of material for folklorists and historians. My husband and I both have Scoto-Scandinavian backgrounds so much of the simple every day folk magic we practice is Scottish in origin and I have an entire section of my book collection devoted to Scots folk magic, folk medicine, folklore, and witchcraft.
Much of the source material on Early Modern Witchcraft comes from Scotland due to extensive documents available from witch trials and folklorists. Though there are many books and documents available on Scottish folklore and folk magic, there is also some fakelore to be wary of which was written to create a false sense of cultural heritage and to stir up Scottish nationalism. The two most well known forgeries include The Poems of Ossian, a faked epic by James Macpherson in 1773, and D.A. Mackenzie’s mostly fictional Wonder Tales from Scottish Myth & Legend from 1917. Then there is the more modern, also mostly fictional, Scottish Witchcraft & Magic by Raymond Buckland. When researching, try to go for primary source materials or academic works that use the primary sources.
Upon conducting my own research I found that many of today’s Pagans believe Scottish mythology and lore to simply be a duplicate but localized version of the Irish, but I found Scotland to be rich in its own gods and spirits with a long history of belief in the fairy faith and animism that seem to pre-date any Pagan or Christian religions that have become layered on top of them.
ACADEMIC BOOKS
- A Source-Book of Scottish Witchcraft edited by Christina Larner [2005]
- Cunning Folk and Familiar Spirits: Shamanistic Visionary Traditions in Early Modern British Witchcraft and Magic by Emma Wilby [2006]
- Scottish Witches and Witch Hunters edited by Julian Goodare [2013]
- Visions of Isobel Gowdie:Magic, Witchcraft and Dark Shamanism in Seventeenth-Century Scotland by Emma Wilby [2010]
- Witchcraft and Belief in Early Modern Scotland edited by Julian Goodare, Lauren Martin, and Joyce Miller [2008]
- Witchcraft in Early Modern Scotland: James VI’s Demonology and the North Berwick Witches by Lawrence Normand and Gareth Roberts [2000]
CLASSIC BOOKS
- The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries by W.Y. Evans-Wentz [1911]
- The Fairy Tradition in Britain by Lewis Spence [1948] (best source material on Nicneven)
- The Gaelic Otherworld: John Gregorson Campbell’s Superstitions of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland and Witchcraft and Second Sight in the Highlands and Islands edited by Ronald Black [2012]
- Rowan Tree and Red Thread: A Scottish Witchcraft Miscellany of Tales, Legends & Ballads ; Together with a Description of the Witches’ Rites and Ceremonies by Thomas Davidson [1949]
- The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns, and Fairies by Robert Kirk (modern translation) [1691]
BOOKS FOR EVERYONE
- A New History of the Picts by Stuart McHardy [2011]
- The Book of the Cailleach: Stories of the Wise Woman Healer by Gearóid Ó Crualaoich [2006]
- On the Trail of Scotland’s Myths and Legends by Stuart McHardy [2005]
- Pagan Symbols of the Picts: The Symbology of Pre-Christian Belief by Stuart McHardy [2014]
- The Silver Bough v.I-V by F. Marian McNeill [1959+]
- Scottish Customs by Sheila Livingstone [2000]
- Scottish Customs from the Cradle to the Grave by Margaret Bennett [2004]
- Scottish Festivals by Sheila Livingstone [1998]
- Vision of the Cailleach: Exploring the Myths, Folklore and Legends of the pre-eminent Celtic Hag Goddess by Sorita d’Este and David Rankine [2008]
FOLK HERBALISM & FOLK MEDICINE
- Folk Tradition and Folk Medicine in Scotland: The Writings of David Rorie edited by David Buchan [1994]
- The Healing Power of Celtic Plants: Their History, Their Use, and the Scientific Evidence That They Work by Angela Paine [2006]
- Healing Threads: Traditional Medicines of the Highlands and Islands by Mary Beith [2004]
- The Scots Herbal: The Plant Lore of Scotland by Tess Darwin [1999]
- Scottish Herbs and Fairy Lore by Ellen Evert Hopman [2011]
E-BOOKS
- Carmina Gadelica vol. I-II by Alexander Carmichael [1900]
- English and Scottish Popular Ballads by Francis James Child [1882-1898]
- Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries by W.Y. Evans-Wentz [1911]
- Feuds of the Clans by Alexander MacGregor [1907]
- Folklore of Scottish Lochs and Springs by James M. MacKinley [1893]
- Folk Lore or Superstitious Beliefs in the West of Scotland Within this Century by James Napier [1879]
- Gaelic Incantations, Charms and Blessings of the Hebrides by William Mackenzie [1895]
- Notes on the Folklore of Northeast Scotland by Sir Walter Gregor [1881]
- Norse Influence on Celtic Scotland by George Henderson [1910]
- Popular Tales of the West Highlands v. I-IV by J.F. Campbell [1890]
- Scottish Charms and Amulets by George F. Black [190?]
- Scottish Fairy and Folktales by Sir George Douglas [1773]
- Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns, and Fairies (original wording) by Robert Kirk [1691]
LANGUAGE
- An Etymologcal Dictionary of the Scottish Language vol. I [1808]
- An Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language vol. II [1808]
- Dictionary of the Scots Language
POETRY
- Ballad of Tam Lin
- Ballad of Thomas the Rhymer
- Cailleach: The Hag of Beara by Leanne O’Sullivan [2009]
ONLINE RESOURCES
- The Deer in Scots Lore edited by Sarah Anne Lawless
- Orkneyjar (folklore and witchcraft of the Orkney Islands)
- Stuart McHardy (Scottish author, folklorist, historian, and storyteller)
- The Survey of Scottish Witchcraft