Best of
Esoterica

2020

What Type of Witch Are You?: A Handbook of Over Thirty Types of Witchcraft for New Witches (White Witch Academy Textbook 1)


Julie Wilder - 2020
    You are—that is, you are if you want to be. You are inherently powerful. You were plopped down on this big, beautiful planet with a whole bunch of natural abilities, desires, and—I’m just going to say it—magical powers. Maybe you’ve known you were a witch for awhile, or maybe you are brand new to this whole witchcraft thing. Either way, this book is meant to introduce you to over thirty different types of witches and show you where you fit in! Each entry breaks down what each type of witch is, what kind of magic they typically practice, and what their greatest strengths are. Many witches find that they are a unique combination of these types, and this versatility will allow them to explore a variety of magical paths throughout their lives. You change—so will your witchcraft. That’s why this book includes exercises to pinpoint what kind of magic you gravitate toward by looking at things like where you live, what you do for fun, and even what TV shows you watch. There’s also a section with simple spells created to show you what kind of witch you are using magical tools like tarot cards, candle magic, and crystal magic. You are a living, growing, magical being, and these spells and exercises will give you the tools you need to keep you thriving as you explore your witchcraft.What Type of Witch Are You: A Handbook of Over Thirty Types of Witchcraft for New Witches is an approachable, inclusive, witchy guide designed to open your mind to the many forms of magic that exist, and to give you actionable tools to get you started on your magical journey of self discovery. It doesn’t matter if you’re a lunar witch, a tech witch, or a combination of every sort of witch in this book—you are totally welcome to get in on this witch life. Are you ready to discover your inner-witch? Order What Type of Witch Are You?, the first book in the White Witch Academy Textbook Series.

Angels and Archangels: The Western Path to Enlightenment


Damien Echols - 2020
    “They don't care what religion we subscribe to. The angels are here to help us grow, evolve, and reach our full potential.” With Angels and Archangels, this bestselling author combines his unique blend of hard-won experience and scholarship to create a breakthrough guide to understanding what angels are, how they make themselves available, and magickal practices to invoke their power to transform your life.Damien Echols has helped ignite a wave of new interest in magick—the Western path of spiritual growth and awakening. Here Echols clears away the cultural confusion and misrepresentation of angels to provide a lucid and practical set of tools for working with these timeless forces for divine wisdom and healing power.When Echols was wrongly convicted of murder as part of the West Memphis Three case, he had every reason to reject angels as being part of the dogma his persecutors wielded against him. “Never in a million years did I think that one day I would have a passion for the subject of angels,” he says. “Yet these days, nearly every act of magick I perform involves evoking angels. Because angel magick works. Always. I've never found any other form of magick that comes close.”

A Spell in the Wild: A Year (and Six Centuries) of Magic


Alice Tarbuck - 2020
    We can see them, emerging shadowy, from the corners of the past: mad, glamorous, difficult, strange. They haunt the footnotes of history - from medieval witches burning at the stake to the lurid glamour of the 1970s witchcraft revival.But they are moving out of history, too. Witches are back. They’re feminist, independent, invested in self-care and care for the world.They are here, because they must be needed…‘In A Spell in the Wild, Alice Tarbuck explores what it means to be a witch today. Where ‘witch’ was once a dangerous - and often deadly - accusation, it is now a proud self-definition. And as the world becomes ever more complicated and we face ecological, political, social and global health crises, witchcraft is experiencing a resurgence.Magic is back. Alice describes what she practises as ‘intersectional, accessible’ witchcraft - it’s about the magic you can find in an overgrown snicket or a sixth floor stairwell; whatever your gender; whether you’re able to climb a mountain or can’t leave the house. Month by month, Alice walks us through everyday magic for extraordinary times.

Pagan Portals - Loki: Trickster and Transformer


Dagulf Loptson - 2020
    Far from being just a villain or a prankster, Loki is a god who brings necessary change into the world, transcends boundaries, and shines light on hidden truth. In this book, you will be introduced to Loki and the many masks he wears: whether he appears as the bringer of enlightenment, the traveling companion of the gods, or the ender of worlds. This is also an accessible guide to building a devotional practice with the trickster, where you will learn new ways to honor this often misunderstood deity. Open the door to Loki's mysteries, and prepare to laugh, be challenged, and potentially change your life. Pagan Portals - Loki is a bold and necessary look at the Trickster God of the Norse. The author deftly weaves together academic material and personal experience to give the reader a guide not only to better understand this often maligned deity but also to connect directly to him. An unflinching appraisal that offers a great deal of insight into Loki. Morgan Daimler author of Pagan - Portals Odin and Pagan Portals - Thor.

Alchemy Unveiled: Self-Initiation into the Western Mystery Tradition


Steve Seven - 2020
    But there is also a deeper level of meaning beneath the surface, where psychological processes are represented by the material symbols. The action of turning base metal into gold can be read as an analogy; a road map for self-awareness and self-realization. This has been variously called enlightenment, wholeness, salvation, etc. It is this focus that is emphasized with the qualification: 'Spiritual Alchemy'.The present work is a modern rendering of some of the classic symbols and procedures into a unique working model for use by the contemporary magical practitioner."Working at the intersection of spiritual experience and depth psychology, this book is a practical resource to help you on your Journey back to your Soul.

Practical Magic for Beginners: Exercises, Rituals, and Spells for the New Mystic


Maggie Haseman - 2020
    Practical Magic for Beginners is a simple, yet extensive reference that teaches you about conscious conjuring using a wide range of tools, techniques, disciplines, and elements.Whether you’re interested in chakras, astrology, talismans, dreams, or anything in between, you’ll find what you’re looking for. Discover entry-level remedies, recipes, and spells, and learn about plant magic, herbal cures for common ailments, spiritual cleansing, and more.Practical Magic for Beginners includes:Magic 101—Explore the uses of beginner-friendly magical elements like auras, crystals, divination, and more.Your own pace—This practical magic book is indexed into four parts so you can open to any page and easily find the exact spell you’re looking for.Amazing application—Learn about these magical tools and how to apply them to various arenas of your everyday life.Discover how to make magical, positive changes in your life with Practical Magic for Beginners.

Llewellyn's 2021 Sabbats Almanac: Samhain 2020 to Mabon 2021


Suzanne RessTess Whitehurst - 2020
    Featuring some of the best writers in the Witch and Pagan community, Llewellyn's 2021 Sabbats Almanac shares articles that provide new perspectives on each sabbat, complete with hands-on rituals and activities to help deepen your practice and sense of the sacred. Discover different types of flowers for Litha and what they attract to your life. Explore toasting rituals for Mabon from around the world. Learn how to reach your full potential with powerful Yule traditions. Make a wide variety of sabbat treats, from pumpkin pie to mimosas and milkshakes. With this almanac's impressive collection of articles, crafts, and spells, your year will be filled with amazing celebrations and wonderful memories.

A Practical Guide for Witches: Spells, Rituals, and Magic for an Enchanted Life


Ylva Mara Radziszewski - 2020
    A Practical Guide for Witches is a simple but comprehensive reference to guide you through using witchcraft in all aspects of your life. It’s a solid foundation of knowledge and wisdom that empowers your practice to grow.Inside you’ll find approachable spells, nourishing rituals, and encouraging advice that can help all witches channel their energy into everything from blessing house plants, to soothing a broken heart, lighting candles for protection, and attracting good luck.This powerful guide for witches is:Truly practical—No matter where you are on your path, this book draws on all types of witchcraft to help you tap into the enchantment of daily life.Find your roots—Explore a brief history of witches and an introduction to magical practices like manifestations, setting intentions, the phases of the moon, and building altars to the seasons.Magic for all areas of life—Use your craft to strengthen your health, happiness, relationships, career, and beyond.Awaken your power and infuse magic into everything you do with A Practical Guide for Witches.

Outside the Charmed Circle: Exploring Gender & Sexuality in Magical Practice


Misha Magdalene - 2020
    It is designed to support you as you awaken to who you are, deepen your magical practice, and walk through the Pagan world. Author Misha Magdalene provides hands-on meditations, prompts, and magical workings to help you explore your identity as it intersects with your spiritual practice. With thoughtful insights on embodiment, consent, and Eros, as well as explorations of self-esteem, ability, disability, and your feelings about your body, this book helps those in the LGBTQIA+ community and their allies engage with a wide range of identities in a magical setting.

Astrology for Relationships: Your Complete Compatibility Guide to Friends, Lovers, Family, and Colleagues


Jake Register - 2020
    It is an inclusive, progressive approach to bonding that addresses compatibility across a spectrum of potential pairings.Look beyond the traditional sun-sign focused, traditionally perceived pairings to also explore relationship compatibility among moon and ascendant/rising signs. Well-organized and comprehensive, Astrology for Relationships explores compatibility across a range of association types, including romantic partnerships, friends and family, and colleagues. It is written in a way that anyone, regardless of gender and sexual orientation, can read and feel included.Inside Astrology for Relationships you’ll find:Beginner to advanced―Whether you are new to astrology or well versed, it’s a perfect resource for people at all stages of their quest for astrological insight.More than just sun signs―Explore more complex astrological compatibilities, including those based on moon signs and ascendant/rising signs.All-inclusive―This guide was written to include all gender identities and sexual orientations, so no one is left out.Build your understanding of relationship-based astrology with the most comprehensive and inclusive resource under the stars.

Psychedelics and Spirituality: The Sacred Use of LSD, Psilocybin, and MDMA for Human Transformation


Thomas B. Roberts - 2020
    Yet there exist powerful sacraments to help us directly experience the sacred, to help us seek out the meaning of being human and our place in the universe, and to help us see the sacred in the world that surrounds us. In this book, more than 25 spiritual leaders, scientists, and psychedelic visionaries examine how we can return to the primary spiritual encounters at the basis of all religions through the guided use of psychedelics. With contributions by Albert Hofmann, Huston Smith, Stanislav Grof, Charles Tart, Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin, Brother David Steindl-Rast, Myron Stolaroff, and many others, this book explores protocols for ceremonial and spiritual use of psychedelics, including LSD, psilocybin, ayahuasca, and MDMA, and the challenges of transforming entheogenic insights into enduring change. It examines psychoactive sacraments in the Bible, myths surrounding the use of LSD, and the transformative ayahuasca rituals of Santo Daime. The book also includes personal accounts of Walter Pahnke’s Good Friday Experiment as well as a 25-year follow-up with its participants. Dispelling fears of inauthentic spirituality, addiction, and ill-prepared encounters with the holy, this book reveals the potential of psychedelics as catalysts for spiritual development, a path through which faith can directly encounter God’s power, and the beginning of a new religious era based on personal spiritual experience.

The Toad in Magic, Sorcery and Mid-wifery: An occult history of the toad in symbolism, ritual, healing, folk-lore and witchcraft


Steve Seven - 2020
    it is available at the Spiritual Instinct Press website.

The Life and Legacy of Theophrastus of Eresos: Including his poem on the divine art of alchemy with a commentary


Steve Seven - 2020
    The blame for this lies with the history and legacy of the Classical tradition. Of his extensive original catalog only a few scientific writings and his famous "Characteres ethici" were preserved, along with a certain number of fragments. As with his mentor, Aristotle, his universal scope of interests provided an important foundation to Theophrastus' alchemical genius. Especially his attention to the natural sciences. Although Theophrastus is a neglected name in the modern field of philosophy, he is well-known in the botanical sciences and is often considered the "father of botany" for his works on plants. He is also the first scholar to have seriously studied tree and wood science and his treatise "On Stones" is considered to be the first methodical study of minerology. Another of Theoprastus' firsts was to manufacture white lead which was used as a pigment and cosmetic. One of his more interesting alchemical experiments lead to his discovery that Mercury “ ... is made by pounding cinnabar with vinegar in a copper mortar with a copper pestle.” According to this unusual recipe, one can make a metal without heat and smelting. He was also the first known writer to mention the pearl and the touchstone. This latter being used to test the quality of gold. Theophrastus was a leading figure of his day in the development of the physical aspects of alchemy and the transformation of base metals. However, his poem on the sacred art, (attributed to have come to us via the hand of the 7th century philosopher Stephanos) is a lengthy symbolic and philosophical treatise on the spiritual development and transformation of the individual.