• Reviews

    Book Review-Pagan Portals: Sulis: Solar Goddess of the Spring Waters by Rachel Patterson

    Book Review Pagan Portals: Sulis: Solar Goddess of the Spring Waters By Rachel Patterson Publisher: Moon Books 106 page E-Book Release Date: October 1st, 2024 Pagan Portals: Sulis is a continuation of one of my favorite booklet series for Pagans, and on a goddess that is getting more attention and her mysteries are once again  being unearthed. Sulis is a goddess I got to know back in 2020 during the pandemic, and since she has appeared and reappeared at seemingly sporadic times in my life. Not much is known about her compared to other Celtic goddesses such as Rhiannon or The Morrigan, and much evidence of her worship has been lost…

  • Reviews

    Deck Review-The Westwood Tarot by Yasmeen Westwood, Written by Kalliope

    Deck Review The Westwood Tarot By Yasmeen Westwood, Written by Kalliope Publisher: Red Feather 78 card Gilded Tarot Deck with Full Color 254 page Guidebook, all come in a magnetically sealed decorative box shaped like a book Release Date: September 28th, 2024 The Westwood Tarot is your traditional 78 card Tarot deck, but is filled with colorful, vibrant and whimsical illustrations for each card. Instead of people gracing the card images, animals do, deepening their meaning and wisdom in readings. I have long been open to use of animal symbolism, omens and the like in divination, having practiced augury for some time now. To combine the wisdom of the animal and…

  • Gods & Goddesses

    Good God!: Cernunnos

    Meet the Gods: Cernunnos Merry meet. Cernunnos is one of the Ancient Ones, as old as the earth. A nature and fertility god, he is said to have been born of the All Mother Anu, working his magic in the wildwood as the first humans on earth came to be. He was part of evolution, seen “as a shape-shifting, shamanic god of the Hunt” in prehistoric times, according to the article, “Cernunnos – Ancient Celtic God” by J. M. Reinbold. His image was painted on cave walls and carved into cliffs. People dressed in skins, bones and feathers danced to communicate with him. They still do a dance in his…

  • This Month's Holiday

    The Modern Merlin’s Corner: Samhain 2024 Special Edition

    Welcome to a day filled with frights, ghosts, spirits and spooky vibes. This is Halloween. This is Samhain. A sacred day of honoring our dead, our ancestors, and helping the dead with unfinished business move on. This is a time to celebrate the cycle of life, death and rebirth. It’s a time to cast witcheries; protective and baneful; beneficent and malevolent alike. Let your inner Witch out, because it’s our season! The Dead Roam Among Us As I write this, an eerie, cool, yet warm, wind blows, making leaves fall all around. It’s the breath of the spirits coming to visit us, whether with good intent or ill. This Samhain…

  • Monthly Columns

    Weyland’s Whey, Samhain 2024 Column

    For Your Deliberation Samhain is my favorite Sabbat!  I observe it (in my own ways) from the day after Mabon until the morning of All Hallows.  Enjoy! VOTE That!  That!!  Dude Looks Like a Cyborg!!! These days when I step out the door, I have a glucose sensor glued to my arm, a Fitbit on my wrist and a cell phone with more gadgets in it than Batman’s utility belt!  Better living through electronics! Granny One Dylan came home.  As he started up the stairs to his apartment, he noticed a new Halloween decoration his landlady had put out near the foot of the stairs: an old crone doll in…

  • Reviews

    Book Review-The Moon Apothecary: Rituals and Recipes for the Lunar Phases by Lorriane Anderson

    Book Review The Moon Apothecary: Rituals and Recipes for the Lunar Phases By Lorriane Anderson Publisher: Rockpool Publishing 265 Hardcover with Full Color Pages & Illustrations Release Date: October 1st, 2024 The Moon Apothecary is an absolutely beautiful, full color hardcover that will exceed the expectations of any Green Witch, or any Witch in general, really. It’s a complete grimoire of self care based on the lunar phases, giving crystal, herb and essential oil correspondences, self-care rituals and recipes for tinctures, salves, lotions, teas and so much more. If you want to get yourself more in tune with the Moon and her phases, and also take steps towards self care (in a witchy…

  • Reviews

    Book Review-Owl Magick: Explore Our Fascinating Connections with These Birds Through Folklore and Magickal Traditions by Rieka Moonsong

    Book Review Owl Magick: Explore Our Fascinating Connections with These Birds Through Folklore and Magickal Traditions By Rieka Moonsong Publisher: Rock Point 159 Page Hardcover Release Date: September 10th, 2024 Do you love owls? I love owls! They symbolize wisdom, intuition, the mind/intellect, and the mysticism of the night. They’re the 2nd most commonly known witch’s familiar after the cat. Do you want to learn more about owls, their magick, deities associated with them, and the like? Look no further, as Owl Magick delivers all of this and more! Packed with spells, rituals, invocations and meditations, Owl Magick will teach you about owls-their anatomy, abilities, and their magickal capabilities. While we can’t (or usually…

  • Reviews

    Book Review-Jim Morrison, Secret Teacher of the Occult: A Journey to the Otherside by Paul Wyld

    Book Review Jim Morrison, Secret Teacher of the Occult: A Journey to the Otherside By Paul Wyld Publisher: Inner Traditions 256 page E-Book Release Date: September 10th, 2024 Jim Morrison, Secret Teacher of the Occult: A Journey to the Otherside by Paul Wyld is a fascinating look into Jim Morrison’s life, and his exploration of the Occult and Hermetic mysteries, coinciding with his musical career and well-known use of psychedelics and other drugs. The book covers Morrison’s life from early childhood, his adolescent and college years, where he began experimenting with LSD, and his career with The Doors and the numerous debacles thrown his way by the Establishment through law enforcement…

  • Fiction

    Cat’s in the Crisper

    Cat’s in the Crisper by Weyland Smith   Syn flew back from the Halloween Convention in Massachusetts straight to Mom’s apartment.  She’d been watching Syn’s old cat, Midnight, while she was gone, and Syn was anxious to retrieve him.   Mom’s words of greeting were, “The cat’s in the crisper.”   It took Syn a second tocatchon: “What?”   “Your cat.  He didn’t wake up yesterday.  I didn’t want to spoil your party, so I put him in the freezer until you got back.”   “Oh.”   “Can you take him tonight?  He’s kind of creeping me out there in the fridge next to my food.”   “Uh, sure.”  Syn…

  • Reviews

    Deck Review-The Vedic Tarot: East Meets West by Dwina Murphy-Gibb

    Deck Review The Vedic Tarot: East Meets West By Dwina Murphy-Gibb Publisher: Red Feather Mind Body Spirit 81 Card Tarot Deck with full color, 287 page guidebook. All come in a magnetically enclosed, sturdy box Release Date: September 28th, 2024 The Vedic Tarot: East Meets West by Dwina Murphy-Gibb is an exquisitely illustrated Tarot deck that is the ultimate fusion of Eastern Philosophy and Western Esoteric Wisdom via the Tarot. In this 81 card deck, so many nuggets of wisdom are given, as these stunning cards not only feature Tarot symbolism, but also wisdom from Hinduism and the Vedas, as well as Hebrew Qabalistic correspondences, and, my favorite part, the Celtic…