• Reviews

    Book Review – A Modern Guide to Charles Godfrey Leland’s Gospel of the Witches-Aradia by Craig Spencer

    Book Review A Modern Guide to Charles Godfrey Leland’s Gospel of the Witches-Aradia by Craig Spencer 240 Pages     A Modern Guide to Charles Godfrey Leland’s Gospel of the Witches-Aradia by Craig Spencer is a fresh version of timeless material first published in 1899. Mr. Spencer had his work cut out for him in updating this classic by Charles Godfrey Leland that gives the view of Italian Folk magic as told to him by hereditary Italian witches. The book is separated into two parts. Part One: The Gospel and the Revelations, contains the sections of Leland’s original work with the “Revelations” offered by the author as commentary. Part Two:…

  • Reviews

    Book Review – Crystals: The Modern Guide to Crystal Healing by Yulia Van Doren

    Book Review Crystals The Modern Guide to Crystal Healing by Yulia Van Doren 144 Pages     I was lucky enough to get a copy of “Crystals- the Modern Guide to Crystal Healing” by Yulia Van Doren, Goldirocks.co. Photography by Erika Raxworthy. This book was published by Quadrille and is 143 pages long. It’s available for purchase now. The first 37 pages of this book give a ton of useful information for beginners. Some of the information covered include: How crystals work Crystal collecting Cleansing Charging & Programming crystals How to use crystals in your everyday life Chakras Essential Rockstar crystals. There is a lot of very sound advice and…

  • Reviews

    Book Review – Modern Wicca: Beliefs and Traditions for Contemporary Life by Rowan Morgana

    Book Review Modern Wicca Beliefs and Traditions for Contemporary Life by Rowan Morgana 170 Pages I have never thought of Wicca as “modern”. In fact, back in the mid-to-late 1980’s, when I first began to explore this religion – and its co-religions Paganism, Heathenism, Druidism, and various forms of Witchcraft – it was routinely called “the Old Religion”. After reading books by scholars like Margaret Murray, Merlin Stone and Monica Sj??, among others, it made perfect sense to me that the ancients revered a great goddess over all and the rise of a patriarchal society gradually changed this to where the god ruled alongside the goddess but eventually took over…

  • Spells & Rituals

    Earth Protection Spell an Excerpt from the Book ‘Modern Wicca: Beliefs and Traditions for Contemporary Life’ by Rowan Morgana

    Earth Protection Spell Excerpt from the Book ‘Modern Wicca: Beliefs and Traditions for Contemporary Life by Rowan Morgana       Intention: To invite the elemental Earth spirits to live in your garden to protect and nurture it. Protecting a small part of your own garden counts toward the greater good of protecting and healing Earth. If every- one takes care of their little corner of land, a wave of Earth-healing may begin. This spell is best done under the light of the full moon.         What You’ll Need: 1 very large stone Dried lavender and thyme Gold, red, blue and green ribbons each about 12 inches…

  • Reviews

    Book Review – Pagan Portals: What is Modern Witchcraft?

    Book ReviewPagan Portals: What is Modern Witchcraft?Anthology 96 Pages   “What is Modern Witchcraft?” is an anthology written by some of today’s top pagan writers. It covers subjects from Modern Solitary Witchcraft, Modern Witchcraft and the Role of Activism, Cyber Witches, Kitchen Witchcraft, Old Craft for New Generation 21st-Century Witches, and a Celtic Perspective. Morgan Daimler is the person they chose to open this book; I find her writing to be well-thought-out and well researched. Ms. Daimler’s writing makes her seem very approachable. I would love to attend a seminar where she is speaking. Annette George, Philip J Kessler, & Amy Ravenson, all talk about cyber witchcraft, as well as…

  • Reviews

    Book Review – The Only Tarot Book You’ll Ever Need: A Modern Guide to the Cards, Spreads, and Secrets of Tarot by Skye Alexander and Mary Shannon

    Book Review The Only Tarot Book You’ll Ever Need A Modern Guide to the Cards, Spreads, and Secrets of Tarot by Skye Alexander and Mary Shannon 272 Pages     The Only Tarot Book You’ll Ever Need: A Modern Guide to the Cards, Spreads, and Secrets of Tarot, by Skye Alexander and Mary Shannon, published in 2019 by Adams Media, an Imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc, 57 Littlefield Street, Avon, Massachusetts 02322. This is a 7 inch by 9 1/8 inch softcover book with a matte finish front cover in turquoise, red and cream containing the title of the book and some Tarot-based symbols, and a description of the…

  • Reviews

    Book Review – Keeping Her Keys: An Introduction to Hekate’s Modern Witchcraft by Cyndi Brannen

    Book Review Keeping Her Keys An Introduction to Hekate’s Modern Witchcraft by Cyndi Brannen 272 Pages   It feels right to write this review in November (for December’s PaganPagesOrg), a month when Hekate is celebrated by many. Cyndi Brannen’s Keeping her Keys is an introduction to Modern Hekatean Witchcraft. It’s not just a book, but a workable course which leads to the possibility of self-initiation. One of my favourite things about this book is the “You do you” attitude. Although there are guides to how to do the work and how to connect with Hekate, there is no authoritarian overbearing message of exactly how to go about this. This book…

  • Monthly Columns

    Modern Yuletide Tales

      **This is an excerpt from my first book, A Modern Celt: Seeking the Ancestors. The Winter Solstice has always been an incredibly magical time for me, despite not being (as far as we know) typically a Celtic festival. Here are some of my more mysterious experiences during the shortest day and longest night.   My most precious memories of the winter solstice all seem to be of going to a specific lakeside on the longest night. I remember it always feels later in the day than it is, because despite it only being early evening it is already pitch black, and once you move away from the roads there…

  • Reviews

    Review of the Book ‘Waking the Witch’ & Interview with Author Pam Grossman

    Waking the Witchby Pam Grossman 304 Pages   Waking the Witch by Pam Grossman has a decidedly different “feel” than most of the books currently on the market about Witches, Witchcraft and what it means to be a Witch in the 21st century. Her academic background of a degree in cultural anthropology with minors in art history, creative writing and comparative religion has served her well in crafting a book that is beautifully woven with very thorough research and on point references that are easily recognizable by anyone reading. Waking the Witch begins with the traditional Introduction, is separated into eight (8) chapters and ends with the “Afterwyrd”, a purposeful…

  • Reviews

    Book Review – Magic Medicine: A Trip Through the Intoxicating History and Modern-Day Use of Psychedelic Plants and Substances by Cody Johnson

    Book ReviewMagic MedicineA Trip Through the Intoxicating History and Modern-Day Use of Psychedelic Plants and Substancesby Cody Johnson323 pp   Cody Johnson’s “Magic Medicine” lives up to its subtitle, “A trip through the intoxicating history and modern-day use of psychedelic plants and substances.” More politics, history, and anecdote than chemistry or medicine, this book contains twenty-three chapters which profile a diverse number of substances: the 2C-B and the 2C family, 5-MEO-DMT, Ayahuasca, DMT, DOM and the DOX family, LSD, Morning glory, Peyote, Psilocybin mushrooms, San Pedro, Yopo and Vilma beans, MDA, MDMA, DXM, Ketamine, Nitrous Oxide, Salvia, Amanita Muscaria, Cannabis, Dipt, fish and sea sponges, Iboga, and Mad Honey. Over…