A well-rounded introduction to Imbolc, this attractive book features rituals, recipes, lore, and correspondences. It includes hands-on information for modern celebrations, spells and divination, recipes and crafts, invocations and prayers, and more! Imbolc--also known as Brigid's Day--is a time to start making plans for the future, sowing the fields of the land as well as the mind. This guide to the history and modern celebration of Imbolc shows you how to perform rituals and magic to celebrate and work with the energy of the re-awakening earth.

    First published in 1993 but out of print for years, Our Troth is back in print, featuring updates and additions from its original compiler, Kveldulf Gundarsson, and from many other Heathen writers, all edited by well-known author Diana L. Paxson. Volume 2 covers the Heathen holy year, lore and rites for the major holidays, and ways to work Heathenry into every facet of life. It includes an extensive glossary and reading list for further study.

    • Includes charts of equinoxes and solstices, movable holy days, and monthly lunar phases through 2033 • First edition sold more than 30,000 copies Pagan rites and festivals are at the root of many traditional holidays in the Western world. Embracing a sensitivity we have lost, the Pagan traditions emphasize mystical spirituality, reverence for the feminine principle, and the links between people and the earth. This unique daybook contains a treasury of information about rituals and celebrations that have for centuries been associated with the changing seasons of the year. Included are the observances of the ancient Greek, Roman, Celtic, Anglo-Saxon, and Norse traditions, as well as Wiccan traditions and the worship of the Goddess. In The Pagan Book of Days the author provides details on auspicious and inauspicious days, holy days of ancient gods and goddesses, and the eight stations of the year (the solstices, equinoxes, and cross-quarter days). He also includes lunar and solar charts indicating dates of major Pagan celebrations from the year 2011 through 2033. Illustrations throughout depict images from the classical and northern European traditions. The Pagan Book of Days is an enlightening way to incorporate these ancient cultural and spiritual practices and awarenesses into your daily life.

    Twenty-five years in preparation, this unique, comprehensive sourcebook focuses on mythology anthropology, religion, and sexuality to uncover precisely what other encyclopedias leave out or misrepresent. The Woman's Encyclopedia presents the fascinating stories behind word origins, legends, superstitions, and customs. A browser's delight and an indispensable resource, it offers 1,350 entries on magic, witchcraft, fairies, elves, giants, goddesses, gods, and psychological anomalies such as demonic possession; the mystical meanings of sun, moon, earth, sea, time, and space; ideas of the soul, reincarnation, creation and doomsday; ancient and modern attitudes toward sex, prostitution, romance, rape, warfare, death and sin, and more.Tracing these concepts to their prepatriarchal origins, Barbara G. Walker explores a "thousand hidden pockets of history and custom in addition to the valuable material recovered by archaeologists, orientalists, and other scholars."Not only a compendium of fascinating lore and scholarship, The Woman's Encyclopedia is a revolutionary book that offers a rare opportunity for both women and men to see our cultural heritage in a fresh light, and draw upon the past for a more humane future.

    It draws on the latest findings in archaeology and history to explain the meanings of rituals, rites, auspices, and oracles, to describe the uses of temples and sacred ground, and to evoke the daily patterns of religious life and observance within the city of Rome and its environs. The text is usefully organized around major themes, such as the origins of Roman religion, the importance of the religious calendar, the structure of religious space, the forms of religious services and rituals, and the gods, priests, and core theologies that shaped religious observance. In addition to its clear and accessible presentation, Roman Religion includes quotations from primary sources, a chronology of religious and historical events from 750 B.C. to A.D. 494, a full glossary, and an annotated guide to further reading.

    An historical and human compendium, from original sources in the world's great libraries, describing the witches' sabbat and pact, incubi and succubi, eyewitness reports of trials, werewolves, and vampires, sexual relations with the devil, demoniacal possessions and exorcism, poltergeists, barbarous tortures, and the theological and legal theories of the inquisition, witchcraft, and demonology.Clarified by hundreds of illustrations, many reproduced for the first time in several centuries.

    It is a collection of essays, observations and rituals, and outlines LaVey's Satanic ideology. It contains the core principles of the Church of Satan and is considered the foundation of the philosophy and dogma that constitute LaVeyan Satanism.

     This is the epic story of how classical paganism, with its tolerance for many deities and beliefs, lost a centuries-long struggle with monotheism and its chauvinistic insistence on belief in one God. With his trademark blend of wit and scholarship, Kirsch traces the war of God against the gods from its roots in Ancient Egypt to its climax during the last stand of paganism the tumultuous fourth century, when two passionate, charismatic, and revolutionary Roman emperors, the Christian Constantine and the pagan Julian, changed the course of history and shaped the world we live in today.

    The selections are divided into three sections: the first is classical authors on the ancient celts - a huge selection including both the well known Herodotos, Plato, Aristotle, Livy, Diogenes Laertius, and Cicero - and the obscure-Pseudo-Scymnus, Lampridius, Vopsicus, Clement of Alexandria and Ptolemy I. The second is early Irish and Hiberno-Latin sources including early Irish dynastic poetry and numerous tales from the Ulster cycle and the third consists of Brittonic sources, mostly Welsh. This edition includes three new early Irish tales, translated by Mairin Ni Dhonnchadha: The Birth of Aed Slaine; Fingal Ronain, and the Story of Mis and Dubh Rois.

    The workbook formats includes exam questions at the end of each lesson, so you can build a permanent record of your spiritual and magical training.

    What is certain is that this 1899 classic has become a foundational document of modern Wicca and neopaganism. Leland claimed his "witch informant," a fortune-teller named Maddalena, supplied him with the secret writings that he translated and combined with his research on Italian pagan tradition to create a gospel of pagan belief and practice. Here, in the story of the goddess Aradia, who came to Earth to champion oppressed peasants in their fight against their feudal overlords and the Catholic Church, are the chants, prayers, spells, and rituals that have become the centerpieces of contemporary pagan faiths. American journalist and folklorist CHARLES GODFREY LELAND (1824-1903) was editor of Continental Monthly during the Civil War and coined the term emancipation as an alternative to abolition, but he is best remembered for his books on ethnography, folklore, and language, including The Gypsies (1882), The Hundred Riddles of the Fairy Bellaria (1892), and Unpublished Legends of Virgil (1899).

    As you’d expect from Daniel McCoy, the creator of the enduringly popular website Norse Mythology for Smart People, it’s written to scholarly standards, but in a simple, clear, and entertaining style that’s easy to understand and a pleasure to read. It includes gripping retellings of no less than 34 epic Norse myths – more than any other book in the field – while also providing an equally comprehensive overview of the fascinating Viking religion of which Norse mythology was a part. You’ll learn about the Vikings’ gods and goddesses, their concept of fate, their views on the afterlife, their moral code, how they thought the universe was structured, how they practiced their religion, the role that magic played in their lives, and much more. With its inclusion of the latest groundbreaking research in the field, The Viking Spirit is the ultimate introduction to the timeless splendor of Norse mythology and religion for the 21st Century.

    Martin's (1993) Language: English

    In fact, the English word “rune” comes to us from the Norse word runa, which means “a secret,” or “to whisper.” As symbols, the runes mean little to the untrained eye, yet the magical energies they activate can be used for positive, impactful change in your everyday life. But what are runes, exactly? On the surface level, runes are the characters in a writing system used by the ancient Germanic peoples of Europe. But unlike our modern letters, the runic symbols had been used for magical purposes long before they were fashioned into an alphabet. This is known from runic inscriptions found on ancient artifacts as well as Germanic myth and lore handed down over the centuries. Indeed, those who work with the runes today are taking part in an age-old magical tradition established by our Northern European pagan ancestors. In Runes for Beginners, best-selling author Lisa Chamberlain shines the light on these ancient symbols, showing you how to discover and utilize their unique magical energies. With both an eye toward tradition and a multicultural spirit, Lisa combines an appreciation for the Germanic roots of the runes with a more eclectic Neopagan approach. Unlike many other books on the topic, Runes for Beginners is completely accessible to those with no experience in Northern European magical traditions, yet it doesn’t ignore those traditions altogether. You will emerge from this guide with a basic understanding of the runes’ role in ancient Germanic paganism, as well as a solid foundation of knowledge to build your own runic practice, regardless of your religious or spiritual path. Foundations in Runic Magic and Divination The runes represent various aspects of the human experience of the Universe—both tangible and intangible. Each runic symbol embodies a natural force, or type of energy, which the rune worker can attune to and then manipulate in various ways. Runes can be sent out into the Universe to manifest a magical goal, or they can be used to consult with the unseen realms about a situation at hand. In Runes for Beginners, you’ll learn all you need to know to start working with runes, including: The history of the runes and their role within the framework of the Germanic magical worldview The origins of runic wisdom in Norse mythology An overview of the Elder Futhark, the oldest-known runic alphabet and most widely used rune system in contemporary Neopaganism Basic techniques of rune magic, including rune scripts, bind runes, and creating runic talismans How to make your own runes Instructions for traditional rune-casting as well as contemporary rune spreads Tips for successful divination The divinatory meanings and magical uses of each rune in the Elder Futhark A suggested reading list for further exploring the runes and the magical and spiritual traditions of the ancient Germanic peoples Detailed tables of correspondence for a handy condensed magical and divinatory guide By the end of this guide, you will have a working knowledge of the runes that will enable you to use them with confidence in magic and divination.

    "She is warrior, queen, death omen, mother, murderer, lover, spy, conspirator, faery, shape-shifter, healer, and sometimes the living earth itself. A captivating contradiction: a demonic female who both haunts and heals; benevolent in one moment, ghastly the next, and kind the moment after that.”The Morrigan is one of Pagan Ireland’s most famous—and notorious—goddesses. Her name translated as “phantom queen” or “great queen,” the Morrigan is famous for being a goddess of war, witchcraft and death, protection and retribution. This book also explores her patronage of motherhood, healing, shapeshifting, and the land. Classified among the Sidhe (fairies), the Morrigan dates back at least to Ireland’s Iron Age, but she is as modern as she is ancient―enjoying a growing contemporary and global following.Author Courtney Weber provides a guide for the modern devotee of this complex, mysterious goddess that encompasses practical veneration with modern devotionals, entwined with traditional lore and Irish-Celtic history.