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Book Review-Witches: A Compendium by Judika Illes
Book Review Witches: A Compendium By Judika Illes Publisher: Weiser Books 235 Page E-Book Release Date: October 7th. 2024 Witches: A Compendium is another novice-friendly book on the Craft, this time exploring Witchcraft from all perspectives: from Wicca, Traditional Craft, Voodoo, Vodou and other practices, this book is all-inclusive, covering even different traditions within Wicca and Neo-Pagan Witchcraft. Famous and infamous women, witches and magickal persons are covered, as are magickal tools, animal familiars, crafts, spells and more! At the end of the book, Illes gives a section where you can find out if you, too, are a witch. This book was a refreshing break in my reading, as beginner materials…
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Book Review-A Witch Alone: 13 Moons to Master Natural Magic by Marian Green
Book Review A Witch Alone: 13 Moons to Master Natural Magic By Marian Green Publisher: Weiser Books 202 Page E-Book Release Date: February 3rd, 2025 A Witch Alone: 13 Moons to Master Natural Magic is a contemporary manual on solitary Witchcraft for the beginner. A Witch Alone covers everything a novice witch needs to know; anything from the Sabbats, Lunar Phases, Gods & Goddesses, and more are covered in this tome. Although the author states that this type of witchcraft is “traditional” don’t confuse that for what we call Traditional Witchcraft in America; rather, what’s referred to is a classic version of Wicca, which in the UK, where it started, is what’s…
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Entheogens for the New Gen-February 2025: Terpene Magick!
Hello friends! I hope everyone is having an easier time in terms of success-Jupiter went direct yesterday. That aside, I have a special topic in store this month. Before we get into the meat and bones, I think I should explain first what exactly terpenes are, what they do, and how they work, on physical, mental and spiritual levels. Without getting too scientific about it, terpenes are what give different cannabis strains their unique flavor, their unique heritage as it’s called in the cannabis business, to then breed new strains. Terpenes work on all levels of existence, and I’m about to give away a huge cannabis witch secret: this is why cannabis is revered world-round…
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Weyland’s Whey, February 10th,2025 Storm Moon, Snake and Familiar Column
Full Moon in Leo Upcoming Wednesday February 12th is the Storm Moon, so called by North American Algonquian tribes due to the heavy snows and violent weather that often accompany it. This full moon will be in Leo, which signals possible surprises and the unexpected. (I’m spending a lot of time hiding under the couch so far this year. Sheesh!) I’ll tell you how everything works out next month! For Your Deliberation When is a new pet too young to start training as her owner’s familiar? In our latest Roundtable discussion, Townies Hershey and Crystal weigh in. Wey: Okay, the only way this conversation is going to make any sense is…
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A World Re-Enchanted February 2025
“It is said by the Eldar that in water there lives yet the echo of the Music of the Ainur more than in any substance that is in this Earth; and many of the Children of Ilúvatar hearken still unsated to the voices of the Sea, and yet know not for what they listen.” R. R. Tolkien The elemental focus for this month based on the Elven lore of Arda is Water. As the above quote shows for the Elves of Arda water is a powerful force holding extensive wisdom and knowledge from the past. The Teleri or coastal Elves are most deeply connected to the ocean primarily and…
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Book Review-Crystals for Psychic Self Defense: 145 Gemstones for Banishing, Binding, and Magickal Protection by Nicholas Pearson
Book Review Crystals for Psychic Self Defense: 145 Gemstones for Banishing, Binding, and Magickal Protection By Nicholas Pearson Publisher: Destiny Books 340 page E-Book Release Date: January 7th, 2025 Crystals for Psychic Self Defense: 145 Gemstones for Banishing, Binding and Magickal Protection is a wonderful addition to anyone’s library, especially if they, like myself and so many others, work with crystals and gemstones for a myriad of reasons, especially self defense from magickal and psychic attack. As the world continues hitting hard, we as magickal folks must sometimes hit back. I’ve used crystals since the onset of my magickal and spiritual journey, and protection with them is one area I…
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The Modern Merlin’s Corner-February 2025: Embodying the Divine Masculine in a Toxic Masculine Society
Hello, and welcome to February! I hope everyone who celebrates had a wonderful, and inspiring, Imbolc. We’re currently seeing the effects of toxic masculinity in our society-especially if you live in USA. Our leadership, to be blunt, embodies everything that the masculine energy has to offer in its shadow: greed, hatred, bigotry, intolerance, and more. While there are many who support this cult of personality surrounding the “FOTUS”, I believe there are many more who are opposed to him, including within the United States. As a male leftist, pagan, witch, sorcerer and mystic, embodying the masculine comes with a sort of taboo these days; many see anything masculine as simply…
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Book Review-At The Borders of the Wondrous & Magical: Nature Spirits, Shapeshifters, and the Undead in the Never Ending Middle Ages by Claude Lecouteux
Book Review At The Borders of the Wondrous & Magical: Nature Spirits, Shapeshifters, and the Undead in the Never Ending Middle Ages By Claude Lecouteux Publisher: Inner Traditions 273 Page E-Book Release Date: January 7th, 2025 At The Borders of the Wondroud & Magical: Nature Spirits, Shapeshifters, and the Undead in the Never Ending Middle Ages is another wonderful addition to the body of Claude Lecouteux’s work, compiling folklore, magic, grimoires and more from many different periods of history, from more Archaic periods, to the Modern period, specifically as they spread throughout Europe. This book encapsulates a fascinating examination of spirits-where they be of land, of the dead, or something else…
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Cody’s Column: Connecting with Your Spirits
We made it through our first full moon in January and still no snow. Now it is February, and we received snow on Imbolc. The forest is still not asleep by any means. The tree spirits seem talkative along the well-worn paths. Bird chatter is ever present and today I even came across a squirrel chirping in a cedar tree near the banks of the Magic Skagit River. I drew runes in the wet sand and got Nauthiz, the rune of need for my actions to take this month. This will be my jumping off point when I speak with the spirits of the land as well as the tree…
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Weyland’s Whey February 2nd, 2025 Imbolc and Contest Results Column
Imbolc A Sabbat, Imbolc observes the halfway mark between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. It happens while the sun is in Aquarius, which is linked to humanitarianism, innovation and forward thinking (and can we sure use a lot more of that right around now!). So Imbolc’s ideal for dreaming, planning and setting long term goals. And this year, Neptune will start moving into Aries–which hasn’t happened since the 1870s. This heralds a shift from introspection to courage, initiation and the origination of spiritual ideals. Shifts in ideologies and social movements may occur, as well as more self expression and consideration of personal relationships. (That’s my cue to hide under the couch…
