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Book Review-Seasons of the Witch: Yule Journal by Lorianna Anderson, Illustrated by Giada Rose
Book Review Seasons of the Witch: Yule Journal By Lorianne Anderson, Illustrated by Giada Rose Publisher: Rockpool Publishing 208 Page Full-Color, Illustrated Paperback Release Date: October 7th, 2025 Seasons of the Witch: Yule Journal is a great exercise in witchy mindfulness-especially for those like myself who aren’t big fans of Winter and Yule/Christmas. This journal has an appeal to it, partially because of the artwork, which is beautiful, but also because it contains the greatest wisdom of all within it: yours. Whether animal medicines, such as Bear, Cardinal and Deer, are prompts to look within during the dark months, or encouraging things like decorating to be witchy rituals, this journal is…
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Weyland’s Whey 2025 Beaver Moon Column
Leave It to Beaver No, Pilgrim, the Beaver Moon wasn’t named after the old TV show. This moniker came from Algonquin Native American tribes and the American colonists, who were fond of nicknaming full moons based on hunting trends, weather conditions and farming routines. This one will also be another supermoon–no relation to Clark Kent–the biggest and brightest full moon of 2025. It will be the second supermoon of the year, followed by a third next month. Magically, it’s energy represents preparation, security and resourcefulness. It’s a good time to round up and protect what you’ll need to weather the winter. And not just physically. (I’m making up Sparkle’s Yule gift list…
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Art & Academia for October 2025
Here are a few of the art and academia pieces I was captivated by this past October. I tried to keep themes spooky and or witchy for Samhain/ Halloween! Science Nobel Prize for Chemistry 2025: Hermione’s Enchanted Handbag Some of you may have heard the Nobel Prize laureates in Chemistry, announced on October 8th, 2025, work was likened to Hermione’s enchanted handbag. The reality might not be quite as fantastical as the enchanted bag from the Harry Potter series, but it’s still pretty freaking cool. This year’s Nobel Prize went to Susumu Kitagawa, Richard Robson, and Omar Yaghi for their pioneering work on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs). MOFs are crystalline networks built by linking metal atoms with…
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Book Review-Earth Magic: A Grimoire of Nature Spells by Cheralyn Darcey
Book Review Earth Magic: A Grimoire of Nature Spells By Cheralyn Darcey Publisher: Rockpool Publishing 327 page, illustrated Hardcover Release Date: September 16th, 2025 Earth Magic: A Grimoire of Nature Spells is a beautifully illustrated, designed, and practical book of spells involving nature. Be it trees, flowers or herbs, this grimoire really does contain just about every (non-toxic) plant that would be common for witchcraft practitioners. The spells themselves are original to the author, with this book being a compilation of three of her previous spellbooks. I received my copy of this book a couple months ago and worked with it in the time leading up to this review. The spells…
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Book Review: Pagan Portals Nine’s a Charm
Title: Pagan Portals Nine’s a Charm: Herbs of the Anglo-Saxon Healing Poem Author: Martha Gray Publisher: Moon Books Release Date: August 1st, 2025 Pages: 144 pages There is so much packed into these 144 pages! History seekers, mythology revelers, herbalists, and healers all need to read this tome. Martha Gray wrote this while tending to her garden and cats. It couldn’t be more magical. I imagined books piled on her desk, herbs in bouquets upside down drying in the breeze while a magical candle burned spirit into her words. There is a robust Forward that sets the historical context for the book and the depth that it will explore. …
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Bloody Pawprints
The storm left streets wet and humming with leftover electricity. Down Booker Street, in the alley behind Dalrymple’s, where small bags changed hands under watchful eyes of neon, and blows were exchanged, a dark shape hunched by a dumpster. Gehenna’s fever dream palette—LED security lights mixed with bar signs, and the otherworldly glow that shrouded the city at night—traced a soft outline over the body. Black liquid that would be red in daylight oozed from the knife wound in its throat. Once again, the shape writhed. Something black and deformed tore at the air, its panicked wails might’ve been pitiful to the right ear. The thing lowered itself to the…
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Messages of the Mums: Reflections on Grief, Samhain, and Honoring the Departed
Hello friends, I hope you’re all doing well and staying warm during these last few days of spooky season. It’s cold where I live, as November’s soggy and cold climate approaches. I originally had an entirely different idea for a Samhain/Halloween piece, but life has a way of showing you what’s most important, and what you should share. I unexpectedly lost my oldest cat, Maxwell, who was only 5 years old, two and a half weeks ago, and my home and family has been reeling from that since. He was the heart and center of our family and household. Life has been difficult without him, to say the least. Grief…
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Weyland’s Whey Samhain 2025 Column
Samhain The online version of The Encyclopedia Britannica says that Samhain was originally held on November first by the ancient Celts. Hundreds of years later the Christian church stacked it’s own traditions onto Samhain. Pope Boniface IV established All Saints Day in the Seventh Century CE as a holy day. A century later the holiday was moved from May thirteenth to November first, probably as a Christian replacement for the pagan one. The night before the new Christian celebration turned into All Hallows Eve, eventually shortened to Halloween. In modern times neo-pagans and Wiccans have included Samhain onto the Wheel of the Year as one of the Greater Sabbats. Many…
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Interview of Si of Mandragora Magika
Bright Blessings, October 19 would have been my priest’s 74th birthday had he not crossed the veil. Being the crybaby that I am, I was weeping my eyes out, posting tearfully on my personal social media page about how much I miss him. Something told me to look up his name, include the word “Pagan” and our hometown on the search. Mandragora Magika came up- as a way to find Pagans. I believe my priest was telling me that he wanted me to list our group in our hometown, which I did, and I messaged Si, the page admin and creator to tell him so. I also asked if…
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Book Review: Tarot Card Companion
Title: Tarot Card Companion: Master the Art of Tarot Reading Author: Victoria Maxwell Publisher: Rockpool Publishing Release Date: August 12, 2025 Pages: 355 pages Victoria Maxwell packs a lot of information into “Tarot Card Companion: Master the Art of Tarot Reading.” Her deck, “Your First Tarot” was released along with this book, but is not part of this review. Because that deck closely follows the Rider-Waite-Smith deck, this guide can pair with any tarot deck based on that 78-card system. Each card has a two-page spread with a picture of the card and a description of its imagery, a short paragraph of key words and phrases, correspondences, meanings upright and…
