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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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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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Book Review – The Magic of Seeds by Clare Gogerty, Illustrated by Prudence Rogers
Book Review The Magic of Seeds: The Nature-Lover’s Guide to Growing Garden Flowers and Herbs From Seed by Clare Gogerty, Illustrated by Prudence Rogers Publisher: David & Charles 144 Pages Release Date: March 28, 2023 Regular Pagan Pages visitors will know that my love of plants is no secret. So, getting the chance to review any flora-related book is a win, in my opinion. This volume from Clare Gogerty with superb illustrations by Prudence Rogers is a gem, both a riveting read and a useful reference book. The Magic of Seeds is about growing your own plants for magical and practical purposes — after all, most magic is a pretty…
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Scary, Strange and Mythical Encounters: A Paranormal, Folklore & Mythology Column-December 2024: Introduction and Friday the 13th
Happy Friday the 13th! I’m so excited to start one of my new columns, and on Friday the 13th no less! How perfect for a Paranormal Column! Before I get into the content of my article, which I promise is themed for this Friday the 13th, and we will look at lore, legends, and myths as well as possible Pagan basis for the current superstitions and beliefs surrounding this magickal day. Before we get into the fun that I have in store for you, I want to explain what this column will be, and why I chose to tackle these subjects, both separately and apart. Stay with me, as it’s…
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Book Review-Enchanted Tales: Magical Fairy Tales from Around the World, written by Laura Sampson, illustrated by Quang and Lien
Photo Credits: Stock Photo of Enchanted Tales, courtesy of publisher Enchanted Tales: Magical Fairy Tales from Around the World written by Laura Sampson, and illustrated by Quang and Lien, is a 95 page book, published by Running Press Kids Publishing, of which I received an e-book copy. This is a beautifully illustrated kids’ book, filled with fairy tales, folklore and myths from various regions of the world. If you’ve been looking for a diverse book of kids’ fairy tales, either for them to read themselves, or be read to, this book is worth consideration, especially. for those looking to keep our lore, collectively, as humans, alive and well in the next generations.…
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Book Review – The Magic of Mushrooms: Fungi in Folklore, Superstition, and Traditional Medicine by Sandra Lawrence
Book Review The Magic of Mushrooms by Sandra Lawrence Publisher: Welbeck Publishing 208 Pages Release Date: August 9, 2022 The world of fungi is a bit of an odd area; even amongst botanists, mushrooms are often viewed and treated with skepticism and concern. Mushrooms can be difficult to identify properly, and there are many members of the fungus kingdom which are dangerous to ingest, to the point of death. In addition to this, many people simply don’t like mushrooms, or don’t like engaging with the damp, wet, weird conditions in which mushrooms flourish. Perhaps it is for these reasons that mycophiles are often seen as being…
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Book Review – Kitchen Witch: Food, Folklore, and Fairy Tale by Sarah Robinson
Book Review Kitchen Witch: Food, Folklore, and Fairy Tale by Sarah Robinson Published by Womancraft Publishing March 18, 2022 275 pages I’m reading an advanced “review” e-book copy of this fabulous book and I am telling you right now that as soon as I see it in hard-copy, I am buying it! I’m old school – I like my literature between in old-fashioned book form, so I can curl on my couch and get all comfy-cozy as I read, but even on an annoying screen, I couldn’t put this book down. Believe me, no matter how you like to read your books, Kitchen Witch: Food, Folklore and Fairy…
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Notes from the Apothecary
Notes from the Apothecary: Clover Clover is also called trefoil, literally “three-leaves”, and grows in most places around the world. Although many clover plants look similar, there are around 300 species of Trifolium and they’re in the same plant family as peas. Both the round, joyful flowers and the iconic triplet of small, round leaves have a ton of folklore around them – and some surprising modern research, too. The Kitchen Garden Red and white clover are the most common where I live, and often pop up in lawns without any encouragement from gardeners. As well as being a fantastic food source for bees and other insects,…
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Notes from the Apothecary
Notes from the Apothecary: Stinging Nettles Called nettles, stinging nettles, or common nettle, this jagged-leafed plant is a hardy little medicine cabinet packed with folklore and magic. Urtica Dioica is the scientific name for the most commonly recognised species, and it’s found all over the world in hedgerows, woodlands, and anywhere where there is space for it to grow. Gardeners may hate nettles for stinging their fingers unexpectedly when weeding, and anyone who has been out hiking in shorts knows what a nettle sting on the leg feels like! But these feisty and fierce “weeds” have more uses than you would imagine, and can easily be forgiven for…
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Bees in Folklore, Religion, and Superstition
This is an adapted extract of a video I did recently for Pagan Aid to help raise awareness of their campaign to raise money for Bees for Development, an organisation that helps some of the poorest communities in the world create livelihoods through beekeeping. You can view the original video here. There are over 250 species of bee in the UK and around 4,000 native species in the United States. Even humble bumblebees have at least 24 separate species, from orange and black red-tailed bumblebees to the classic white, yellow, and black tree bumblebees. However, it’s the honeybee that gets the most attention, generally, when it comes to…