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Book Review – Dancing with Raven and Bear: A Book of Earth Medicine and Animal Magic by Sonja Grace
Book Review Dancing with Raven and Bear: A Book of Earth Medicine and Animal Magic by Sonja Grace 144 Pages Drawing on both her Native American (Hopi) heritage and her Norwegian upbringing, Sonja Grace presents 18 original wisdom stories about Earth Medicine and animal magic. In them she’s woven ancient teachings and everyday practical applications such as grounding, mending a broken heart and dream interpretation. Each chapter is a tale, followed by an explanation of the magic and medicine of Raven, Bear and Earth. Ancient teachings are interwoven with descriptions of such practices as smudging and energizing water for healing. Grace shows parallels between Norse mythology and Native…
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Book Review – The Big Book of Tarot: How to Interpret the Cards and Work with Tarot Spreads for Personal Growth by Joan Bunning
Book Review The Big Book of Tarot: How to Interpret the Cards and Work with Tarot Spreads for Personal Growth by Joan Bunning 368 page The Big Book of Tarot: How to Interpret the Cards and Work with Tarot Spreads for Personal Growth by Joan Bunning published in 2019 by Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC, 65 Parker Street, Suite 7, Newburyport, MA 01950. This is a huge 8½ inch by 10 inch soft cover book with a glossy color illustration on the front cover and book description on the back cover. There are 357 pages with a nice large, easy-to-read typeface on white paper. Bunning has a website that contains…
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Seeing the Signs
Review of The Power Deck: The Cards of Wisdom and Guidebook by Lynn V. Andrews Back in the 1980’s, when I was searching for a way out of my depression and drug addiction, I found what was then called “Women’s Spirituality”. Having been raised Catholic, I was of course well aware of the female aspect in religion – the Virgin Mary and all the various female saints – and I always had a strong devotion to the Holy Mother. However, the Nicene Creed recited at all Masses demanded that I “believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth”, not the Mother of that God,…
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Book Review -Pagan Portals Series: Sun Magic by Rachel Patterson
Book Review Pagan Portals Series: Sun Magic by Rachel Patterson “I think sometimes as a witch the moon tends to get pride of place and the sun perhaps takes a back seat? But it is an incredibly powerful source of natural energy and magic.” 1. Sun Magic by Rachel Patterson provides a fresh perspective on putting the Sun and solar energies into the same place of interest and mystery that the moon has typically held in practicing the craft. The book reads easily and is parceled out into bite-size pieces. The contents read like a table of correspondences for the sun and each chapter is only a few…
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Notes from the Apothecary
Notes from the Apothecary: Hyacinth The hyacinth is a flowering plant which grows from a bulb. It has beautiful clusters of fragrant flowers and is very popular during the holiday season and spring. This easy to grow plant has a wealth of history and mythology, and could bring a touch of magic into your home as well as a blast of floral colour and fragrance. The Kitchen Garden Hyacinths are poisonous so aren’t grown for culinary purposes. They contain oxalic acid, a compound that causes skin irritation externally. If taken internally it can cause: Damage to mucous membranes Damage to respiratory tract Wheezing Shortness of breath Laryngitis Inflammation…
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Card Deck Review – The Spells Deck: 78 Charms, Remedies, and Rituals for the Modern Mystic by Cat Cabral, Illustrated by Kim Knoll
Card Deck Review The Spells Deck: 78 Charms, Remedies, and Rituals for the Modern Mystic by Cat Cabral, Illustrated by Kim Knoll Combining an oracle deck and a book of spells is this box of 78 cards divided into eight categories and offering wisdom, rituals and remedies intended to be “a witch’s divination tool and an all-levels guide to rituals, spells, and recipes for magical occasions and intentions.” The deck can be used to carry out a specific intention, such as seeking inspiration or deflecting negativity, by selecting an appropriate card for that purpose. It can also provide daily direction or inspiration by choosing a card at random.…
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The Road to Runes
The Road to Runes: Pocket Advisor App Review Runes are a complex divination system based on ancient Germanic letters. They are most famously associated with Norse myths and legends and Asatru spirituality. Can these runes possibly work in a digital format? I’m not averse to digital divination, a form of technomancy, if you will. I’ve found some tarot apps quite useful. An I-Ching app I tried once was particularly good. This makes sense as that divination system is all about numbers at its heart. But what about runes? Do the messages from the runes come from deep within ourselves? Then any tool which helps us focus could be useful.…
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Book Review – Unicorn Magic: Awaken to Mystical Energy & Embrace Your Personal Power by Tess Whitehurst
Book Review Unicorn Magic: Awaken to Mystical Energy & Embrace Your Personal Power by Tess Whitehurst 288 pages Ok, so I will admit that when I first got this book, before I even started reading it, I was afraid this was for the much younger crowd. But, after reading the book, I found that Mx. Whitehurst wrote it for 7th grade and above. Mx. Whitehurst has written a lovely book for those of us who see the Unicorn as Magickal, Divine, or Inspirational. I have been a lover of Unicorns and their playfulness (they belong in the fae realm after all) since I was a child. I carry…
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Learning Lenormand
Review Diana Clark’s Gaelic Lenormand Deck & Companion Guide I received this magical deck several months ago but several issues got in the way of my sitting down and writing a review of it – health issues, family issues – but I have been working with it and using it on a daily basis this entire time and I have to say that I LOVE THIS DECK. Especially now that I’m watching “Outlander” on Netflix – and reading the books by Diana Galbadon – so these cards provide the perfect imagery for where my head is right now. No – you won’t see pictures of the exquisite Caitriona Balfe, who…
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Beyond Belief: Trees
(Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash) By the time you read this I will have had my first spot on British national radio. Specifically, the Beyond Belief radio show for BBC Radio 4. American readers, you may be able to get this online! The show was about the religious and spiritual significance of trees, from the perspective of different faiths. I was one of three experts recruited to debate and discuss the topic. So, how did this come about? Well, I was lucky enough that one of my esteemed colleagues from the Pagan Federation pointed me in the direction of a particular post on Facebook. It was from the…