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The Witches’ Ointment The Secret History of Psychedelic Magic By Thomas Hatsis This is a fascinating and unique offering! And a book I will definitely recommend to others, especially colleagues and students. It is well-researched and written in a scholarly yet very accessible way. In this book the author Thomas Hatsis embarks on a quest to research and tell the (until now largely) untold story of a magical substance called “witches’ ointment.” In this book you will also encounter other names for this mysterious concoction. Along the way he provides a detailed, thought-provoking account of witchcraft, magic and the use of hallucinogenic herbs. This book is underpinned with many footnotes…

Learning the Lenormand I can’t remember when I became interested in Lenormand cards. In the past thirty years, I have mainly focused on Tarot cards but my search for original and artistic decks lead me to many different kinds of cards – Oracle cards, vintage playing cards, and of course, Lenormand cards. I was immediately attracted to Lenormand cards because of what I saw as the combination of playing card imagery with pictorial symbolism. At the time, I thought that it was the marriage of playing cards and the Tarot. But that’s not what the Lenormand is. They have absolutely nothing to do with the Tarot, other than being a…

Meet the Gods: Vishnu   (art by Samantha Sullivan)   Merry meet. Vishnu (pronounced Vish-nuu) is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is one of the Hindu trinity along with Brahma and Shiva. Brahma is the creator of the universe; Vishnu is the preserver, protector and keeper of the universe; Shiva is the destroyer. It is said that during troubled times when the world is threatened by evil and chaos, Vishnu returns to restore righteousness. So far, he has reincarnated nine times: Matsya (fish), Kurma (tortoise), Varaha (boar), Narasimha (half lion, half man), Vamana (dwarf sage with the ability to grow), Parasurama (fierce man/hunter), Rama (greatest warrior/perfect man), Krishna…

    Just in time for Halloween, Nikki Wardwell Sleath self-published “You Might Be a Witch.” It provides a simple overview of the Craft, defining what modern day witches think and what they practice, dispelling myths along the way. In the first half of the 103-page book, she talks about her own life, going from a child with no magickal exposure to a woman in her 40s who is the founder and High Priestess of the Society of Witchcraft and Old Magick. The second half of the book covers such topics as the general belief systems of a witch, the ethics of magick and how to speak to skeptics. It…

Notes from the Apothecary: Nasturtium     My seven year old suggested this beautiful flower for November’s Apothecary notes. He planted some seeds towards the end of summer, and despite us worrying that it was a little late for our reasonably cool climate, they flourished, and I have seen many more across my home town this month, trailing out of gardens like fire tipped vines.   Confusingly, the Latin name nasturtium refers to a type of watercress. Whilst delicious, I am going to ignore the watercress in favour of tropaeolum, the plant we commonly refer to as nasturtium. The plant originated in South America, and was imported to Mediterranean Europe…

To Protect the Witches Home “We will set to work on that” said Hansel, “and have a good meal. I will eat a bit of the roof, and though, Gretel, canst eat some of the window, it will taste sweet.” Hansel reached up above, and broke off a little of the roof to try how it tasted, and Gretel leaned against the window and nibbled at the panes. Then a soft voice cried from the room. “Nibble, nibble gnaw, Who is nibbling at my little house?” The children answered, “The wind, the wind, The heaven-born wind,” and went on eating without disturbing themselves…. From Hansel and Gretel—Grimm’s Complete Fairy Tale…

At this time of looking back, memories and retrospect I want to share a wonderful experience I had a few years ago. I received an intriguing invitation: a workshop in making a death mask on Samhain with a small group! I didn’t have to think long and decided I’d definitely want to be there. We ended up being with 6 ‘wyld & wicked women’! Some had met each other before. At the time I only knew the hostess beforehand, so I had the privilege to get to know 4 wonderful women. First we had dinner at a beautiful Samhain-decorated table. We had a very yummy salad, delicious pasta with pesto…

Growing Herbs for Thanksgiving Every year at Thanksgiving time, many people scramble to try and find fresh herbs to use for their Thanksgiving recipes. You find them in the store, in those little plastic clam shells, kind of dry and wilted. The volatile oils have deteriorated, and while they taste better than the dried version, you are not getting the best flavor. Growing fresh herbs is so easy, why not do it yourself this year? I’m going to separate them into growing groups. Certain herbs enjoy like growing conditions, and you will save time and have more successful plants if you either grow them in these groups or by themselves.…

(The Secret Gathering fine art print is available by Francesca Rizzato at FrancescaRizzatoart on etsy.)   One story we Pagans like to tell about ourselves is that we have a balanced world view, honouring the dark as well as the light, acknowledging that both are part of life. But is this actually true? If you stop and think about it, as we move around the Wheel of the Year we seem to focus much more on celebrating the light than the dark. At Yule we celebrate the rebirth of the sun, and the fact that from now on the light will return. At Imbolc we celebrate with candles the lengthening days. At the…

Talking to the Spirits: Personal Gnosis in Pagan Religion  by Kenaz Filan &, Raven Kaldera  This book by Filan and Kaldera explores the value of (so called) UPG and PCPG in Neo-Pagan traditions and in reconstructionist work done to recover ancestral faiths and religions. When I first came across the abbreviation UPG years ago, I assumed it meant “Unique Personal Gnosis”. That was optimistic! In reality it is an abbreviation for “Unverified Personal Gnosis” – in plain English: information you receive from the spirits that has not been backed up (at this time) by lore or the findings of other people. In contrast PCPG means: Peer Corroborated Personal Gnosis and this refers to…