Sarah McMenomy
Sarah McMenomy is a visionary artist, author, and witch. Pulling inspiration from trance states, dreams, auras, psychedelia, and the natural world, she weaves together themes of nature and the occult in her artwork and writing. She has created art and written for books, magazines, games, and more, as well as producing digital fine art prints and acrylic paintings. She is the creator of The Entanglement Tarot, a hex-shaped occult Tarot deck designed for spell-craft. She is co-runner of Pagan Pages, for which she also writes articles and book reviews, and she also publishes art on her Portfolio site and other work on her Tumblr.
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Book Review – Journeys with Plant Spirits by Emma Farrell
Book Review Journeys with Plant Spirits by Emma Farrell Published by Bear & Company 288 pages Publication date: October 26, 2021 In part one of Journeys with Plant Spirits, Emma Farrell delves into several broad spiritual and supernatural topics that are shared by many shamanic traditions, such as healing wounds from past lives and navigating shamanic journeys through the upper, middle, lower, and other worlds. This introduction takes a primarily animistic view of the plant spirits, with a heavy emphasis on using intuitive practices like meditation to connect to the spirits of the plants. While many of these notions are now well-trod traditional pathways of plant spirit medicine…
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Book Review – Healing Plants of Greek Myth by Angela Paine
Book Review Healing Plants of Greek Myth by Angela Paine Published by Moon Books 348 pages Publication date: April 29, 2022 Angela Paine’s Healing Plants of Greek Myth has a wonderfully focused subject area which it sticks to very well: exploring the plants which play roles in ancient Greek mythology, especially those which had medicinal use. It’s useful to note that unknown and potentially fictional plants do not make an appearance here; moly, for example, is not explored at all. The book starts with a detailed introduction to the central deities, heroes, and stories of Greek mythology, as well as a lovely description of the author’s visit to…
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Book Review – The Poison Path Herbal: Baneful Herbs, Medicinal Nightshades, and Ritual Entheogens by Coby Michael
Book Review The Poison Path Herbal: Baneful Herbs, Medicinal Nightshades, and Ritual Entheogens by Coby Michael Published by Park Street Press 256 pages Publication date: October 26, 2021 Despite the abundance of herbal literature available today, it’s still hard to find accurate information on those plants whose physiological effects are dangerous and potent. It’s easy to see why: many authors don’t want to assume any responsibility for what readers might do with this information, nor do publishers. And so, instead of tackling the challenge these plants present, they write them off entirely, give them the label “poison,” and only explore their attributes in order to identify and…
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Book Review – The Big Book of Magical Incense by Sara L. Mastros
Book Review The Big Book of Magical Incense by Sara L. Mastros Published by Weiser Books 281 pages Publication date: December 1, 2021 If you haven’t made your own incense before, you might not be aware that the art of making and using incense can be as complex and expressive as any other magical art. Part herbalism, part ritual, and part intuition, incense-making is an art that I didn’t know I needed to engage with until I read this book. “The Big Book of Magical Incense” is a well-researched and thorough book that takes a deep dive into incense mixing and making. The first part of the…
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Book Review – Psychedelic Cannabis: Therapeutic Methods and Unique Blends to Treat Trauma and Transform Consciousness by Daniel McQueen
Book Review Psychedelic Cannabis: Therapeutic Methods and Unique Blends to Treat Trauma and Transform Consciousness by Daniel McQueen Published by Park Street Press 240 pages Publication date: September 28, 2021 “Psychedelic Cannabis: Therapeutic Methods and Unique Blends to Treat Trauma and Transform Consciousness” starts with an impassioned plea from Daniel McQueen: the world is in trouble and trauma is killing us. If we want to save our planet, we need to heal our personal and ancestral trauma, and learn to work together. In Part One, McQueen introduces cannabis and summarizes why it’s such an important useful plant ally for trauma…
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Book Review – Spark Magic: 50 Ways to Find Your Power by Chronicle Books
Book Review Spark Magic 50 Ways to Find Your Power by Chronicle Books Chronicle Books 50 cardboard matchsticks “Spark Magic” isn’t a book, but an odd little novelty item intended to inspire the imagination. Although it might have easily been a deck of cards or a book of suggestions, “Spark Magic” comes in the form of a box of fifty cardboard sticks shaped like matches that don’t light, but instead, have short, pithy suggestions for introducing and manifesting magic in your life. The design and execution of the box is charming and shiny, and suggests something mystical inside; the matches themselves are cute and well-made. The suggestions…
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DVD Review – Mythic Journeys Directed & Written by Steven Boe and Whitney Boe
DVD Review Mythic Journeys Directed & Written by Steven Boe and Whitney Boe Stars Mark Hamill, Tim Curry, Lance Henriksen Imaginal Cells FilmWorks 1h 33min “Mythic Journeys” is an odd movie: half documentary, half claymation mythical narrative, this film explores all sorts of mythical narratives, and the role of mythology in modern media and society. It explores these themes by contemplating the hero’s journey in many different cultural traditions and speaking to many different mythologists, paying homage to Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung along the way. It feels a bit like two different movies, as it goes back and forth between documentary material that includes interviews with Deepak…
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Book Review – Moon Bath: Bathing Rituals + Recipes for Relaxation + Vitality by Dakota Hills and Sierra Brashear
Book Review Moon Bath Bathing Rituals + Recipes for Relaxation + Vitality by Dakota Hills and Sierra Brashear Chronicle Books 167 Pages “Moon Bath: Bathing Rituals + Recipes for Relaxation + Vitality” is a book with a simple goal, which is thoroughly explored: its two authors, Dakota Hills and Sierra Brashear, have formulated a set of bath-centered rituals for every phase and season of the moon, thereby turning a mundane task into something truly magical ? even though it is done many, many times over the course of the year. By exploring the New, Waxing, Waning, and Full moon through sixteen individual combinations of moon phases and seasons, the…
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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…
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‘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…
