Three authors immediately jump to mind; Gerald Gardner, Scott Cunningham and Raymond Buckland. Bear in mind that, I'm not a Wiccan, and the subject doesn't interest me a great deal; not have I even read these works because of that (though I've got a few Cunningham books in a pile somewhere, and a couple Buckland, I've simply never gotten round to reading them). As far as I can tell, Gerald Gardner's "Gardnerian Book of Shadows", Raymond Buckland's "Complete Book of Witchcraft", and Cunningham's "Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner" tend to be the "best of the bunch", so I'll suggest you start there. People with more experience and knowledge will be able to tell you a *lot* more than me, though. :-)
Scott Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs is a fantastic book! From front to back it has information about herbs and their magickal uses. I'm always referring back to it, as it is so helpful.
the books and authors mentioned above are good choices. remember though Wicca has a bunch of branches and variations. mentioned above Gerald Gardner founded the religion, and it's called Gardinian Wicca.
Scott Cunningham revolutionized the religion, up to that point it was believed only a true Wiccan was one who was initiated by another Wiccan. this got Scott to pose the question 'Who initiated the first Wiccan?' and he started writing for solitary practitioners of Wicca but more specifically Folk Magick. he's also an excellent choice for Herbalism, hands down.
Raymond Buckland trained under Gardner, then came back to America where he taught his own coven, in the 70's though he created his own variation called Seax Wicca, which is similar to Anglo-Saxon Paganism. his book Wicca for Life was the first book i read on the subject and i highly recommend it. He has another book Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft, while not precisely Wiccan, it is a great learning aid for those starting out.
on top of Gardnerian Wicca, you also have Alexandrian Wicca founded by Alex Sanders. [another student of Gardner] it's more eclectic than Gardnerian, with subtle differences, such as names, and less practitioners worship skyclad.
from their you have paths like Celtic Wicca, Christian Wicca, Circle Wicca, Dianic Wicca, Fae Wicca, and on and on and on. to start, stick with Buckland or Cunningham and take it from their. word of caution, Silver Ravenwolf is a controversial writer in the community, so i'd avoid her books at least until you've got some footing. possible exceptions though are To Ride a Silver Broomstick and Solitary Witch. as i said, draw your own conclusion, just be careful as i've met my share of people who were turned off of Wicca because of her books.
Some resources that I recommend for someone wanting to learn more about Wiccan include the following:
To start with, here are some books that I would suggest.
''A Witch Alone'' by Marian Green
''The Elements of Ritual'' by Deborah Lipp
''Witchcrafting'' by Phyllis Curott
''21st Century Wicca'' by Jennifer Hunter
''Before You Cast a Spell'' by Carl McColman
''When, Why...If'' by Robin Wood
''Practical Pagan'' by Dana Eilers
''Wicca; A Year and a Day'' by Timothy Roderick
"Wicca" by Thea Sabin
"The Heart of Wicca" by Ellen Cannon Reed
You can also find the recommended reading list that my coven uses at: http://www.tangledmoon.org/reading_list.htm
Here's some websites that you may find useful in helping you with questions.
http://www.tangledmoon.org (this is my own coven site.)
Hope this helps you get a good start on your studies. And feel free to ask me, or the others here on the board if you have any specific questions we can help you with.
