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The Modern Merlin’s Corner: Set: The Misunderstood God of Ancient Egypt
Why Set Matters in our Time Set, Sutekh, Seth; for Khemetic practitioners and those with an interest in Ancient Egypt, this name conjures up the fratricide of Osiris by his brother, whose name graces this very article. For those leaning on the Left Hand Path, he is the Pagan Adversarial God, who provokes change through harsh means. For me, personally, I view Set as much more than these limited definitions. Set is essential change, essential chaos. The Ancient Egyptians both feared and revered this deity of the dry, arid, desert, and for good reason. My personal experience with this Dark Lord is that, yes, he can turn things upside down, but usually,…
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Notes From the Apothecary: Caraway
Spring is in full swing for many in the northern hemisphere, yet we’re still weeks or even months away from having fruits and seeds to store. That’s why this is the season when many magical and medical herbalists reach for their store cupboards and the trusty dried herbs, fruits, seeds, and spices at their disposal. With that exact goal in mind, I’ve picked out one of my favourite cupboard spices for this issue of Notes from the Apothecary: Caraway, or Carum carvi. The Kitchen Garden Caraway, a member of the carrot family Apiaceae, is a biennial herb. This means it has a two-year growing cycle, and will often only seed…
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Learning Lunar: Moon Magic and Mystery
The Last Quarter Moon The last quarter or third quarter of the moon is the beginning of the end; the final phase before waning all the way to the new moon. In different traditions, it can mean letting go, allowing things to diminish, or even feeling energy diminish within yourself. It can also be the gentle illumination needed for certain types of inner workings, or the reminder that shadow work is an essential aspect of growth, for many. What Does Last Quarter Mean? The moon’s quarter refers to how far along in the cycle of the moon we are. It’s not a reference to shape, as both the first quarter…
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Book Review for Runes for the Green Witch
The Runes for the Green Witch An Herbal Grimoire By Nicolette Miele Published by Destiny Books Released date January 30th 2024 Contains 278 Pages This book has 24 chapters. Each chapter contains the Elder Futhark runes and their correspondences with plants, crystals, elements, deities, Moon phases, zodiacs, planets, tarot and chakras. For instance, chapter 15 talks about ELHAZ. It discusses the meaning of Elhaz, It was a beautiful poem, It stands for protection, Divine support and sanctuary. It also includes how to pronounce it, its history and translation. It then continues to talk about what its connected to like, there are 9 different correspondences of medical properties with plants and…
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Wishcraft Oracle Review
Wishcraft Oracle By Stacey Demarco Illustrated by Eliabeth Trethoff Published by Rockpool Publishing Published date November 1st 2023 There are 30 cards included and a 41 page booklet. Believe in the power of wishcraft. This is a very unique and inspiring deck. Everyone at one point of their lives have made wishes like when blowing out candles on their birthday cakes, blowing on dandelion seeds or even a shooting star. Oh these pictures on each card is absolutely beautiful. I have so many different oracle decks and honestly this is now one of my favorites. The images are magickal and breathtaking. Here are a few of the cards. They range…
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Weyland’s Whey, Beltane 2024
Weyland’s Whey Beltane for Old People The Beltane Sabbat is, among other things, a celebration of union betwixt and between masculine and feminine energies. This includes already established families (love and commitment) as well as the making of new ones (hubba hubba). Happy Anniversary, Sparkle It will never be long enough. But eight years is a good start. Feliz Cumpleanos, Delinquent Yeah, we celebrate our little dog’s birthday. Wanna make something of it? Music Review Keiko Matsui has made several absolutely incredible songs. Love and Nothing Less, from her Euphoria album, is my current favorite. Vocals by Lalah Hathaway and harmonica from Gregoire Maret. Sparkle and I needed a song we considered “ours”. …
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Witches Through History Grimoire And Oracle Deck
The Book and the deck are gorgeously illustrated. I love how the author/artist evokes a sense of folktale whimsy through both the book and deck with the individualistic and expressive artwork. Now to the book. Though well written and interesting, it was rather vague in certain areas. The biographies of the historical witches were well researched and presented in an engaging fashion, however. I would have liked to see him expand from the Eurocentric/American subjects he chose to include histories from multicultural settings. So we might learn history and archetypes from around the world and have a broader understanding of such. The author also has a good grasp on the…
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Weyland’s Whey
by Weyland Smith Wey’s Predictions (He’s been wrong about everything else!) Pagans–especially Wiccans–won’t like using AI to construct spells, help write how-tos, or do magickal research. An absence of flesh and blood humanity will be thought to taint the effectiveness of supernatural dealings, and many will avoid all use of AI in their shadow work. No real magick is possible in it, they’ll say. (Two flaws in this logic: just how human are the entities and forces we’re dealing with already? And aren’t these objections akin to believing you have to write out spells in longhand instead of using a keyboard to ensure success?) This trend won’t…
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Book Review – Pagan Portals – Frigg: Beloved Queen of Asgard by Ryan McClain
Book Review Pagan Portals – Frigg: Beloved Queen of Asgard by Ryan McClain Published by Moon Books 112 pages Publication date: February 1, 2024 Ryan McClain is back with his second book, Frigg: Beloved Queen of Asgard, published by Moon Books. Like his first book Abnoba: Celtic Goddess of the Wilds, his latest work is a deep dive into one goddess, exploring the origins, lore, roles and symbols, relationships with other gods and goddesses, and suggestions for those who wish to venerate the goddess. Frigg has been a large part of McClain’s practice for seven years and the book is a result of the studying he has done to incorporate…
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The Modern Merlin’s Corner: Transformative Magick With Astrology and Alchemy
My Dark Night of the Soul I think before I get along with my more practical explanation of what exactly I’m talking about here, I first need to explain why I chose to write this article, at this particular time. As an Astrologer, I firmly believe that humanity itself is on a threshold: evolve, or don’t. It sounds simple, but it’s much more complex, because we, as human beings, are more complex than duality of good vs. bad, or light vs. dark. The grey area is within us and around us. I mainly work in this grey area, believing that magick and spirituality are exactly what you make it. It…
