Sarah McMenomy
Sarah McMenomy is an artist and witch. Her craft incorporates herbalism, spellwork, trance, divination, auras, and more. Her work can be found at https://sarahmcmenomy.tumblr.com
Book Review – The Witch’s Guide to Ritual: Spells, Incantations and Inspired Ideas for an Enchanted Life by Cerridwen Greenleaf
Book Review The Witch’s Guide to Ritual Spells, Incantations and Inspired Ideas for an Enchanted Life by Cerridwen Greenleaf 344 Pages “The Witch’s Guide to Ritual” is a surprisingly ambitious book which seeks to catalogue and discuss the use and place of witchcraft in rituals of all kinds. With such a broad subject as ritual, the scope of this book has been tailored: it’s intended for intermediate practitioners, so there isn’t a lot of introductory information about witchcraft in general, and the subject is approached very pragmatically, without too many frills or explanations for beginners. The book is broadly cross-cultural, and discusses many Eastern traditions, but expresses a…
‘The Grief Ritual’ A Ritual and Interview with Bernadette Pleasant, Somatic Healer and Creator of the Emotional Institute
‘The Grief Ritual’ A Ritual and Interview with Bernadette Pleasant, Somatic Healer and Creator of the Emotional Institute It’s almost two o’clock on a sunny Sunday afternoon, and I’m lying on my back on the floor of my stepson’s empty room, sobbing uncontrollably. My feet rest on the carpet and as I feel the fibers between my toes, I remind myself to let it all go: tension, pain, sorrow — everything I don’t want to burden others with, and everything I shouldn’t carry myself. I feel it melt away from my body and into the earth, flowing off of my body like water, lightening me with every shaking…
Book Review – Plant Magic for the Beginner Witch: An Herbalist’s Guide to Heal, Protect and Manifest by Ally Sands
Book Review Plant Magic for the Beginner Witch An Herbalist’s Guide to Heal, Protect and Manifest by Ally Sands 192 Pages “Plant Magic for the Beginner Witch” is a collection of herb-based magical spells for protection, love, abundance, healing, and personal power. Each spell is laid out like a recipe, with the ingredients on one side and a ritual for the spell on the facing page. In addition, there is a short summary of the herbs discussed in each chapter, and their associations. The herbs discussed are mostly traditional European herbs, and are easily grown or bought at any herb store, while the associations are based in European…
Book Review – The Ultimate Guide to Witchcraft: A Modern-Day Guide to Making Magick by Anjou Kiernan
Book Review The Ultimate Guide to Witchcraft A Modern-Day Guide to Making Magick by Anjou Kiernan 192 Pages “The Ultimate Guide to Witchcraft” is a beautiful and substantial book of full-color (and sometimes full-page) photographs, detailed and thoughtful charts and diagrams, and clearly expressed, well-thought-out explanations of basic witchcraft systems, ritual, and practice. Its focus is to be an introduction to beginner witchcraft, but it’s one which more experienced witches may enjoy enough to use as a reference as some of the diagrams are particularly pleasantly-designed and easy to use. While none of these craft practices is explored in very great depth, the book offers fairly involved summaries…
Book Review – Plants of the Gods: Their Sacred, Healing, and Hallucinogenic Powers (Revised and Expanded Edition) by Richard Evans Schultes, Albert Hofmann, & Christian Rätsch
Book Review Plants of the Gods Their Sacred, Healing, and Hallucinogenic Powers (Revised and Expanded Edition) by Richard Evans Schultes, Albert Hofmann, & Christian Rätsch 208 Pages “Plants of the Gods” is a beautiful, extensive book that takes a look at the pharmacological wonders of the plant and fungus kingdoms, and their sacred and religious use by indigenous peoples throughout the world. To students of psychedelic pharmacology, each of these three authors is considered a luminary in his own right; in “Plants of the Gods,” Schultes, Hofmann, and Rätsch combine their knowledge into a pharmacopoeia that weaves together magical, medicinal, and ritual uses of well-known entheogenic plants with…
Book Review – The Serenity Passport: A World Tour of Peaceful Living in 30 Words by Megan C. Hayes, Illustrated by Amelia Flower
Book Review The Serenity Passport A World Tour of Peaceful Living in 30 Words by Megan C. Hayes Illustrated by Amelia Flower 143 Pages “The Serenity Passport” by Megan Hayes is a broad survey of practices from many different cultures around the globe, all of which focus on serenity. The book is divided up into five chapters: “Focus and Awareness,” which discusses mindful, meditative practices; “Body and Wellness,” which discusses movement-based practices, breathing exercises, and health; “Habits and Rituals,” which explores different ways to bring serenity into your daily life or incorporate them into your existing rituals, such as bathing or heating; “Rest and Relaxation,” which explores ways…
Book Review – Psychedlic Mysteries of the Feminine Edited by Maria Papaspyrou, Chiara Baldini & David Luke
In “Psychedelic Mysteries of the Feminine,” a diverse group of authors, artists, historians, scientists, ecologists, herbalists, shamans, poets, doctors, lawyers, and therapists deliver an interdisciplinary message of hope and healing for our traumatized and increasingly poisoned world. This book is a well-balanced collection of essays which draw on a large number of original sources and academia to explore the history of feminine themes in the tradition and usage of psychedelic pharmaka, from beer and cannabis to ayahuasca and LSD. The psychological narrative of the book includes discussion of Jungian archetypes of women as earth mother, goddess, medicine woman, and more, as well as exploration into what psychedelics can teach us…
Book Review – Finding Your Higher Self: Your Guide to Cannabis for Self-Care by Sophie Saint Thomas
Book Review Finding Your Higher Self Your Guide to Cannabis for Self-Care by Sophie Saint Thomas 223 Pages Almost a blog in book form, “Finding Your Higher Self: Your Guide to Cannabis for Self-Care” is a book which asks the same question that “Enhancement Smoker” Jon Stewart did in “Half Baked”: did you ever do the stuff you normally do… but on weeeeed? In the spirit of Saint Thomas’ central message — to take care of yourself and use cannabis’ relaxing properties to make your everyday activities more pleasant — I’m writing this review while stoned. The introduction to “Finding Your Higher Self” has a short…
Book Review – The Ayahuasca Test Pilot’s Handbook by Chris Kilham
Book ReviewThe Ayahuasca Test Pilot’s Handbookby Chris Kilham230 Pages “The Ayahuasca Test Pilot’s Handbook” by Chris Kilham is a small but information-packed book perfectly sized for travel and guidance. While the Ayahuasca experience is clearly immense and varied, Kilham focuses on traditional use and the rituals surrounding Ayahuascero shamanism, and creates a book that tells you just about everything that you’ll need to know if you’re planning to travel to Iquitos (or a nearby region) for an Ayahuasca ceremony. What this book won’t tell you is how to make your own brew, how to dose, where to source ingredients, or much else that would help you prepare Ayahuasca at home;…
Book Review – Magic Medicine: A Trip Through the Intoxicating History and Modern-Day Use of Psychedelic Plants and Substances by Cody Johnson
Book ReviewMagic MedicineA Trip Through the Intoxicating History and Modern-Day Use of Psychedelic Plants and Substancesby Cody Johnson323 pp Cody Johnson’s “Magic Medicine” lives up to its subtitle, “A trip through the intoxicating history and modern-day use of psychedelic plants and substances.” More politics, history, and anecdote than chemistry or medicine, this book contains twenty-three chapters which profile a diverse number of substances: the 2C-B and the 2C family, 5-MEO-DMT, Ayahuasca, DMT, DOM and the DOX family, LSD, Morning glory, Peyote, Psilocybin mushrooms, San Pedro, Yopo and Vilma beans, MDA, MDMA, DXM, Ketamine, Nitrous Oxide, Salvia, Amanita Muscaria, Cannabis, Dipt, fish and sea sponges, Iboga, and Mad Honey. Over…