Scott Cunningham: The Path Taken: Honoring the Life and Legacy of a Wiccan Trailblazer
Scott Cunningham: The Path Taken: Honoring the Life and Legacy of a Wiccan Trailblazer
Weiser Books 2023
Scott Cunningham was a visionary, and the effect of his words reverberates eternally throughout the magical world. There are few witches, whether nascent newcomers or those who have always been, that do not know his name. Even if you can’t pinpoint it, his work has influenced all of our Paths. Scott was born on June 27th, 1956 and he died on March 28th, 1993. His life taken during the peak of the AIDs epidemic, spanning one of the most radically transformative periods in human history. When technology was moving faster than human consciousness could keep up, he stood grounded, rooted in the ways of the natural world, branches reaching high into the realm of spirit. His work, spread the seeds of inspiration around the world bringing new ideas to the “Old Ways.”
“Scott radically transformed this spiritual tradition and the way it is practiced today. Scott Cunningham made Wicca and witchcraft accessible in a way it had not been previously.” -Judika Illes, editor
Scott Cunningham: The Path Taken was published by Weiser Books in 2023 and was written by his sister Christine Cunningham Ashworth with foreword by Mat Auryn. An important contribution to the life and work of this trailblazer. It is full of anecdotes from various leading voices in the modern magical community including Amy Blackthorn, James Divine, Nicholas Pearson, Jaymi Elford and more. The book is a heartfelt collection of memories from Cunningham’s childhood, adult life and work as a magical practitioner told through the voice of his younger sister Christine Cunningham Ashworth. It had me crying before I finished the preface.
In addition to being an influential part of the modern witchcraft movement, Scott Cunningham was and continues to be a queer icon, and I can’t help but hear him cheering us on from beyond the veil. It is no secret that the modern magical community is full of individuals from the queer community and we owe it to voices like his that we have a safer space to be who we are. Cunningham’s identity was something that was kept out of his professional life while he was alive, and he grew up in a time when it was still a dangerous thing to be gay for many reasons.
I can’t help to recognize the parallels between Scott and myself, also being a gay witchy plant person. I am getting close to the age that he was when he passed away and I can only imagine the sense of urgency and work remaining to be done before it was too late. Had he survived the AIDs epidemic and continued his work, I can only imagine where we would be as a community today, but his surviving work is no less monumental. Perhaps more so for being such a young visionary. The age difference between Scott and his sister Christine is the same as me and my sisters, both magical forces in their own right. I can only hope to leave behind such a legacy.
This book doesn’t require my endorsement, nor does anyone need reminded of the importance of the work of Scott Cunningham. He is one of our elders, among the Mighty Dead still guiding our magical work from beyond. To know his work is to know our history as modern magical practitioners.
Author Christine Cunningham Ashworth is part of a family of authors, and has made important contributions to the divination and witchcraft communities. She writes a regular column for The Cartomancer Magazine, and speaks regularly at divination conferences.
You can find out more about her at mysticalmagic.me or Christine-ashworth.com and follow @christineashworth
Other titles by and about Scott Cunningham include:
Earth Power, 1983
Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs, 1985
Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner, 1988
Whispers of the Moon: The Life and Work of Scott Cunningham (biography) by David Harrington and deTraci Regula, 1997
Cunningham’s Book of Shadows: The Path of an American Traditionalist, 2009