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Book Review – Allow Me to Introduce: An Insider’s Guide to the Occult by Lon Milo DuQuette
Book Review Allow Me to Introduce: An Insider’s Guide to the Occult by Lon Milo DuQuette Publisher: Weiser Books 216 Pages Publication Date: February 1, 2020 Allow Me to Introduce… a most intriguing title. Indeed, this is a proper title for this book. Here, you have a collection of writings on many different occult topics. Mr. DuQuette has collected various introductions that he has penned for books, and has placed them here in this edition. There are many topics he has written about in these book introductions which include: Qabalah, Tarot, Thelemic Magic, Enochian Magic, and Masonry. These brief introductions give an overview of the author’s experiences with…
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Video Book Review – Anton LaVey and The Church of Satan: Infernal Wisdom from the Devil’s Den by Carl Abrahamsson
Video Book Review Anton LaVey and The Church of Satan: Infernal Wisdom from the Devil’s Den by Carl Abrahamsson Publisher: Inner Traditions 367 Pages Publication date: March 8, 2022 Bright Blessings! Published by Inner Traditions in 2022, this brand new book is a grand 367 pages chock full of history, interviews with people such a Kenneth Anger, Blanche Barton, and Fr. Peter Gilmore, and musings about the “Infernal” Anton LaVey (1930-1997.) The book reads as a tribute to LaVey for his contributions to the counterculture ands the creation of Satanism, which has liberated many from the confines of soulless religion that sought to trap the soul. He worked to…
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Book and Deck Review – Womanrunes by Shekhinah Mountainwater and Molly and Mark Remer
Book and Deck Review Womanrunes by Shekhinah Mountainwater and Molly and Mark Remer Publisher: Brigid’s Grove Publication Date: August 2018 [2nd Edition] 208 pages Shekhinah Mountainwater was a foremother of Goddess spirituality, working as a priestess with women’s circles from the 1970s until her death in 2007. On Summer Solstice in 1987, in “a state of enchantment,” she created a system of forty-one female-identified symbols for divination and personal growth, and in 1991, introducing them in her book “Ariadne’s Thread.” In 2012, Molly Remer stumbled upon Womanrunes and fell in love. She began sharing them in her groups, using them in a variety of projects. When many women…
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Book Review – Hoodoo Justice Magic by Miss Aida
Book Review Hoodoo Justice Magic by Miss Aida Publisher: Weiser Books Publication Date: November 10, 2021 288 pages I have always been interested in Hoodoo, Voodoo, and other types of folk magic from around the world. This book covers spells, recipes, various rituals, and twenty-seven prayers for people that are afraid to perform actual spell-work. It also covers the ethics of performing the spell-work. Are you justified in what you are doing? Do these people actually deserve what you are sending out to them? In the beginning, Miss Aida goes over how our ancestors performed spell-work to exact revenge on those that did them wrong, as well as…
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Book Review – Shamanic Creativity: Free the Imagination with Rituals, Energy Work, & Spirit Journeying
Book Review Shamanic Creativity: Free the Imagination with Rituals, Energy Work, & Spirit Journeying by Evelyn C. Rysdyk Published by Destiny Books 256 pages Publication date: January 25, 2022 I have been on an Evelyn Rysdyk reading binge in the last few months. In the April 2022 edition of Pagan Pages, I reviewed her book, co-written with Bhola Banstola, The Nepalese Shamanic Path. I was lucky enough to have another of her books on hand to review – Shamanic Creativity: Free the Imagination with Rituals, Energy and Spirit Journeying. Working from her underlying worldview of shamanic practice, Rysdyk shows us how to examine our relationship to the fear…
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Book Review – Witch, Please: Empowerment and Enlightenment for the Modern Mystic by Victoria Maxwell
Book Review Witch, Please: Empowerment and Enlightenment for the Modern Mystic by Victoria Maxwell Published by Red Wheel208 Pages Published: March 2022 “When we start getting into magical work we often get so carried away with the magic, connection to spirit and high- vibe feelings that we forget to ground ourselves in the here and now. But grounding is incredibly important. If we don’t stay grounded, our magic has nowhere to anchor itself. We can try to manifest amazing things in our lives, but if we aren’t present in our own bodies and in our own lives, that magic has nowhere to go. Or sometimes what happens is…
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Book Review – My Pocket Self-Care: Anytime Activities to Refresh Your Mind, Body, and Spirit by Adams Media
Book Review My Pocket Self-Care: Anytime Activities to Refresh Your Mind, Body, and Spirit by Adams Media Published by Simon & Schuster 176 pages Publication date: December 8, 2020 This cute little book is an excellent addition to my library of self-care books. It covers the body, mind and spirit, rather than just one of those topics like some books I own. I think it’s great how it is small enough that I could just throw it in my purse and have it easily at hand. In fact, it lived in my purse as I was reading and reviewing it. Now it lives on my nightstand for quick…
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Book Review – Once Around the Sun: Stories, Crafts, and Recipes to Celebrate the Sacred Earth Year by Ellen Evert Hopman
Book Review Once Around the Sun: Stories, Crafts, and Recipes to Celebrate the Sacred Earth Year Written by Ellen Evert Hopman Illustrated by Lauren Mills Publisher: Destiny Books Publication Date: May 3, 2022 160 pages Once Around the Sun: Stories, Crafts, and Recipes to Celebrate the Sacred Earth Year is an illustrated collection of tales with related activities celebrating eight Pagan festivals and the changing seasons. Each is beautifully done, with an illustration, an original story based on a traditional folktale meant to be read aloud, and crafts, recipes, and activities that relate to the story. Ellen Evert Hopman identifies as a follower of the Earth religion, known…
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Book Review – Journeys with Plant Spirits by Emma Farrell
Book Review Journeys with Plant Spirits by Emma Farrell Published by Bear & Company 288 pages Publication date: October 26, 2021 In part one of Journeys with Plant Spirits, Emma Farrell delves into several broad spiritual and supernatural topics that are shared by many shamanic traditions, such as healing wounds from past lives and navigating shamanic journeys through the upper, middle, lower, and other worlds. This introduction takes a primarily animistic view of the plant spirits, with a heavy emphasis on using intuitive practices like meditation to connect to the spirits of the plants. While many of these notions are now well-trod traditional pathways of plant spirit medicine…
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Book Review – The Way of Abundance and Joy: The Shamanic Teachings of don Alberto Taxo by Shirley Blancke
Book Review The Way of Abundance and Joy: The Shamanic Teachings of don Alberto Taxo by Shirley Blancke Publisher: Destiny Books Publication Date: February 15, 2022 272 pages Sharing ancient Andean shamanic wisdom and practices with people in the United States for more than 20 years, don Alberto Taxo explains, “So those who have the qualities of the power of the Eagle need to develop a bit more the power of the Condor: perception, intuition, feeling, flowing. And those who have developed Condor power a lot and lack the Eagle power need to cultivate qualities of logic.” Recognized as a master yachak (a shaman of the elements), don…
