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Book Review-Pagan Portals: Venezuelan Folklore: Spirits and Legends of the Dead by Alan U. Dalul
Book Review Pagan Portals: Venezuelan Folklore: Spirits and Legends of the Dead By Alan U. Dalul Publisher: Moon Books 96 Page E-Book Release Date: January 1st, 2025 Another Pagan Portals Book to add to my collection! This particular entry into this wonderful series of booklets concerns Venezuelan folklore, specifically centered around death, spirits and the supernatural. Through my studies of folklore and mythology of many different cultures, I’ve found that a lot of our legends tend to overlap. Venezuelan Folklore adds to the wealth of knowledge out there about Latin American spirituality, folklore and folk practices and beliefs. Aside from being a fascinating examination of these subjects, it also seems to be…
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Crows Take Care Of Crows
I pressed my toes into the damp earth and leaned back, letting the sun bathe my pale face. Blue eyes—Crow eyes—can’t handle the bright sun. I closed them and watched the back of my eyelids turn the color of pomegranate. Sunflakes settled all around me, and a river of deep green slid beneath the trees. This is where I come to think. Somewhere in the lush canopy above, a mourning dove cried. This will ruin your life, Mara. I rubbed my stomach, which wouldn’t be flat anymore by winter. I wanted to be the first of five to finish high school. Those plans died in the back seat of Tim’s…
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Book Review, 2025 Astrology Diary by Patsy Bennett
Book Review 2025 Astrology Diary by Patsy Bennett Publisher: Rockpool Publishing 140 page paperback Release date: July 17th, 2024 What I like best about this handy little tome is it doesn’t presuppose the reader has detailed familiarity with astrological interpretations. So there’s an eight page “How to Use This Diary” section in the front, immediately followed by a two page chart of Northern Hemisphere (natch) moon phases for 2025. Every astrological sign is acknowledged and explained as it arrives on the calendar. There are sun sign forecasts, eclipse and supermoon tips and even mercury retrograde suggestions. The black and white illustrations and page edgings throughout…
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Interview-The Modern Merlin Talks with Coby Michael, Author of The Poison Path Herbal and The Poison Path Grimoire
In this interview, The Modern Merlin speaks with Coby Michael, the author of The Poison Path Herbal and The Poison Path Grimoire, and proprietor of The Poisoner’s Apothecary. For those looking for a review of Coby’s latest book, The Poison Path Grimoire, click here. Coby Michael is an occult herbalist and magical practitioner who teaches about the ritual use of poisonous and psychoactive plants. He is the author of The Poison Path Herbal and coauthor of Leo Witch. He owns and operates The Poisoner’s Apothecary, an online shop and education resource for those interested in the Poison Path and Dark Herbalism. He lives in St. Petersburg, Florida. You can find the link to his website below: The Poisoner’s Apothecary …
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Wonderfully Wiccan with Derrick Land – January 2025: Spiritual Family: Traditions, Covens and Community
Bright blessings everyone and happy 2025! I’m super excited to be a new columnist here at PaganPages.org and look forward to sharing my experiences with you fine folks. I live in Texas, and we are experiencing our “winter” right now, which is basically a week or two of temperatures that are right around freezing. We might even get a touch of snow! I know for Northerners that’s nothing, but for us down South, any kind of freeze is chaotic. Seriously, businesses and schools shut down. It’s a whole thing. For me personally, I love the colder temperatures and the longer nights! I often joke that I have reverse SAD (Seasonal…
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Book Review-Healing Plants of Renaissance Florence : The Development of Herbal Medicine in Florence by Angela Paine
Book Review Healing Plants of Renaissance Florence: The Development of Herbal Medicine in Florence By Angela Paine Publisher: Moon Books 296 Page E-Book Release Date: January 1st, 2025 Healing Plants of Renaissance Florence by Angela Paine is a fascinating exploration of the foundations and history of herbalism in renaissance Florence, as well as its applications that are known to be accurate. The information within is not only interesting for those with an interest in medicinal herbalism, and its history and development, but also those seeking to find potential homeopathic and natural remedies to everyday things like flatulence, stomach ache, cold & cough, fever and other issues. The herbs contained within this…
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Book Review-Voudon Gnosticism: An Introduction to the Rites & Practices by Frater Vameri
Book Review Voudon Gnosticism: An Introduction to the Rites & Practices By Frater Vameri Publisher: Destiny Books 152 Page E-Book Release Date: July 9th, 2024 While taking a break for the Solstice and dealing with illness, I’ve had time to request & read numerous books, and this is one of the requests I was given to review! How I wish I had this book about 7 years ago when I first purchased The Voudon Gnostic Workbook of which I’ve owned several copies as I would attempt to work it, get frustrated due to lack of understanding (usually with cosmology and methodology) as I’m not exactly privy to all of the OTO material, only…
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Book Review – Queering the Runes by Siri Vincent Plouff
Book Review Queering the Runes: Reclaiming Ancestral Wisdom in Rune Magic & Mythology by Siri Vincent Plouff Publisher: Weiser Books 240 Pages Release Date: September 4, 2024 On the author’s website, Queering the Runes is described as a “…love letter to the runes, the gods, and the people who follow the Nordic path.” The book is promoted as an alternative approach to learning the runes, combining personal gnosis and academic research. Importantly, this approach is inclusive to anyone regardless of their gender identity, perhaps making it one of the first widely available resources to queer and trans individuals and communities — while still wholly relevant to literally anyone else, too.…
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News and Notes from the Editor-January 2025: The Devil in the Details
Hello all, I’m finally getting back into my usual groove after battling illness for a few weeks. That time away allowed me time to go inward, and also allowed me to read a book that was on my personal reading list, that I hadn’t received to review. That book, Magic at the Crossroads: The Devil in Modern Witchcraft by Kate Freuler inspired many days of sleuthing on the internet researching subjects such as the Satanic Panic (the main topic of this article) as well as similar topics like the Temple of Set, LaVeyan Satanism, Dr. Michael Aquino and the like. Along with Magic at the Crossroads, a book that I’ve reviewed, Song of the…
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A Word Re-Enchanted January 2025
The Gregorian calendar has once again turned over and the start of a new year has begun. Change is a constant aspect of the seasons and time moves steadily forward. Here on the Big Island of Hawaii however things progress along pretty normal timelines. The seasons do not really exist and so tracking things like winter, spring, summer and fall are completely different. That being said even January has an impact as people look towards the newly unfolding year. Many people drawing on the fire ignited by the energy of the new year have started resolutions and sadly some have already ceased them and an estimated 43% will drop them…
