Book ReviewMoon Powerlunar rituals for connecting with your inner goddessby Simone Butler Published by Quarto Publishing GroupPages: 208 Where the Moon appears in your birth chart* determines your emotional nature. Your moon sign indicates what makes you feel secure and what wisdom you’ve accumulated during past lives. In “Moon Power: lunar rituals for connecting with your inner goddess,” Simone Butler provides information about the moon in each astrological sign. “Identifying and honoring your lunar nature helps you feel comfortable in your skin,” she states in the book where she helps women connect with their primal, feminine, moon power. My moon is in Scorpio and I devoured the 14 pages allotted…

Book Review The Green Witch: Your Complete Guide to the Natural Magic of Herbs, Flowers, Essential Oils and More by Arin Murphy-Hiscock Published by Adams Media Copyright 2017 Pages: 235 If you are starting down the path of a green witch, you will appreciate this complete introduction to the natural magic of herbs, flowers, essential oils, gems and more. This book is a slightly edited version of her book, “The Way of the Green Witch: Rituals, Spells, and Practices to Bring You Back to Nature,” published in 2006, also by Adams Media. The information is easily understood and put into practice. Arin Murphy-Hiscock describes the path of a green witch…

Book Review Son of Chicken Qabalah: Rabbi Lamed Ben Clifford’s (Mostly Painless) Practical Qabalah Course by Lon Milo DuQuette Published by Weiser Books Copyright November 2018 Pages: 235 This book is a sequel to “Chicken Qabalah” published in 1997. The prologue states this book can stand alone, but it was written assuming the reader has read the first book or is at least “generally familiar with the elementary Qabalistic principles included in that work.” It is a work of fiction about the teachings of the controversial Rabbi Lamed Ben Clifford from the first book, who is finally determined to be dead 21 years after his unexplained disappearance. His unorthodox teachings…

Meet the Gods: Eros Merry meet. With the Hallmark holiday, Valentine’s Day, falling in February, it is fitting to turn to lusty Eros, the Greek god of sensual love and primal desire. The word erotic comes from his name. In some tellings, he is the son of Aphrodite, the goddess of sensual love and beauty, and Ares, the god of war, or of Aphrodite and Zeus, the king of the gods, or of Hermes, the divine messenger of the gods, according to Britannica. Others say he is a primordial god, the son of Chaos, the emptiness of the universe. Later depictions show him not as an adult male, but as…

Book Review “Italian Folk Magic: Rue’s Kitchen Witchery” by Mary-Grace Fahrun Publisher: Weiser Books Published: Paperback, 2018 Pages: 122 Published: Paperback, 2018 I am of Sicilian descent, as well as German, so I was drawn to this book to learn more about the practices of the country from which my mother’s parents came. By recording oral history, Mary-Grace Fahrun shares what she learned about customs and traditions from the matriarchs of her family. It started by collecting recipes and folk remedies. They came with stories, superstitions, incantations and prayers. She began Rue’s Kitchen to preserve these customs and practices as well as those of Italians of all faiths all over…

Magic for Material Merry meet. When my body weight was fluctuating, I found myself buying most all my ritual wear at thrift stores and consignment shops. One way I used to make some of the velvet pieces more special to me was to emboss them with magickal symbols. While many different types of velvet work, those with the most nap give the most striking results. Some velour fabrics work as well. Rubber stamps are very easy to use. Cork and the large, thin erasers are two other materials you can use. You might experiment with others. Place the front side of the fabric face down on the shape you wish…

Meet the Gods: The Wise Men Merry meet. This month’s column is not about gods. Rather it’s about saints, or, more correctly, magi, the pagan astrologers who came to worship Jesus. The word magic came from magi because they dabbled in the dark arts and were referred to as sorcerers, wizards and magicians. Tradition refers to three wise men, but nowhere is a specific number stated; in Eastern Christianity often there are twelve. They came “from the east,” which most likely is now Iran. That means they could have traveled more than 800 miles. The Christmas story has them arriving twelve days later, but some traditions have the visit occurring…

Go a Wassailing The ancient tradition of wassailing has pagan origins intended to bless the coming year’s orchards’ crops and protect them from evil spirits. Later, wassailers went from door to door, singing and drinking to the health of their neighbors. Wassail was the alcoholic beverage of choice. There are many traditional carols that are clearly for Christians, but there are a growing number of songs appropriate for pagans celebrating Yule. Some are original songs by pagan and wiccan musicians honoring the winter solstice; others are new lyrics set to old standards. Here is a sampling that you might enjoy this winter. “Santa Claus is Pagan Too” by Emerald Rose…

Yule Ritual   Merry meet. Below is a Yule ritual written for a group, which can easily be modified to be done as a solitary. Read through, making note of what to gather and how to set it up. The altar can be a candle on the floor, or raised up in the center on a small table. Traditional colors for altar cloths are gold, silver, red, green and white. SET UP: Set up your altar with seasonal botanicals, directional candles. Designate a place for guests to put coats and, if desired, shoes Arrange so that before people enter the ritual space they can place their cares and woes in…

Meet the Gods: Mithras, the Pagan Christ Child   (This figure of the Persian god Mithras is at the National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C.)   Merry meet. Mithras, god of the sun in ancient Rome, was born around the winter solstice and experienced a resurrection around the spring equinox. The ancient Persian-Roman religion called Mithraism thrived before Christianity, dating back some 4,000 years. It gains attention because the similarities between his story and that of Jesus are numerous. He was born of the virgin Anahita on December 25. He was, according to an article on truthbeknown. com by Acharya S. and D.M. Murdock, “wrapped in swaddling clothes, placed in…