The Celtic Twilight: Faerie and Folklore
W.B. Yeats - 1893
Yeats took a particular interest in the tales' mythic and magical roots. The Celtic Twilight ventures into the eerie and puckish world of fairies, ghosts, and spirits. "This handful of dreams," as the author referred to it, first appeared in 1893, and its title refers to the pre-dawn hours, when the Druids performed their rituals. It consists of stories recounted to the poet by his friends, neighbors, and acquaintances. Yeats' faithful transcription of their narratives includes his own visionary experiences, appended to the storytellers' words as a form of commentary.
Ancient Ways: Reclaiming the Pagan Tradition (Llewellyn's Practical Magick Series)
Pauline Campanelli - 1991
In each culture, independent ways to honor the Goddess and God and watch the turning of the wheel of the year have developed. In "Ancient Ways" by Pauline Campanelli, you will learn many of those ideas and techniques, enhancing your magick and your ties to Pagan ancestors. The book follows the flow of growth in the world that is linked to the Pagan festivals. It begins with Imbolc (February 2) and continues with the solstices and equinoxes, as well as the cross-quarter holidays such as Lammas, Samhain, and Yule. Each festival has a chapter dedicated to it, and each chapter is filled with folklore, history, and traditions that will make your heart sing. For example, in the section on Samhain (October 31) you'll learn about traditional Halloween party favors and how to use a tambourine to help contact spirits. You'll discover information about cats and why they became associated with Witches. You'll also learn where the association of this festival with bats and owls came from. And of course the book explains the pumpkin and the Jack-o'-lantern. There's even a recipe for pumpkin bread. "Ancient Ways" explains how this holiday is actually considered the third or final harvest. You'll learn how apples are involved with the holiday and how they can be used for healing. Other topics here include how to use a pendulum, channeling, and mediumship; a brief history of important dates in Witchcraft; and how to use magick mirrors and crystal balls. This type of information is included in every chapter of this book. You'll also learn charms and spells, numerology and folk arts, as well as traditional myths and legends. With this book you will expand your knowledge of Paganism and enhance and add to your practices. It is a book you will use again and again.
Shaman Pathways - The Druid Shaman: Exploring the Celtic Otherworld
Danu Forest - 2014
It covers topics such as how to attain and work with guides and allies, understanding the spirit realm and interaction with spirits of all kinds, accessing powers of place, traveling the world tree and working with the seven directions and exploring and navigating within the Celtic Otherworld. With practical techniques, exercises and core skills, The Druid Shaman can be used as a practical manual as well as a valuable resource for practicing shamans and druids as well as those new to the subject.
The Witches' God
Janet Farrar - 1989
Part I covers the many concepts of the God examined, including: His faces throughout history; The Son/Lover God; The Vegetation God; The War God; The Anti-God; and more Part II gives a close look at 12 individual gods of history with an appropriate invoking ritual for each. Part III presents a comprehensive dictionary of over 1000 gods from many world cultures, past and present. The Farrars are among the best-known authors on the Craft, and in The Witches' God have written what is likely to become the standard work on the masculine god aspect. Over 30,000 sold!
Fairy Witchcraft
Morgan Daimler - 2014
Yet the path is still there, waiting for those who are ready to seek it out. This is a guidebook for those seeking a path that combines modern neopagan witchcraft with the older Celtic Fairy Faith. Topics include basic beliefs and practices, holidays, tools, altar set up, and theology, with the intent of giving the seeker a solid grounding in the basics of modern Fairy Witchcraft.
A Druid's Herbal for the Sacred Earth Year
Ellen Evert Hopman - 1994
A Druid’s Herbal shows the reader how to use herbs when creating rituals to celebrate festivals and significant life passages such as births, house blessings, weddings, funerals, and naming ceremonies. Drawing on extensive research and a deep personal experience with Pagan traditions, Ellen Evert Hopman explores the history and folklore surrounding the eight major Celtic festivals: Samhain, Winter Solstice, Imbolc, Spring Equinox, Beltaine, Summer Solstice, Lugnasad, and Fall Equinox. Included in each discussion are complete instructions on the medicinal and magical uses of the herbs associated with each celebration. Using these Celtic traditions as examples, the author suggests ways to incorporate the symbolic and magical power of herbs into personal rituals that honor all phases of life from childbirth to last rites. Also included are chapters on how to prepare herbal tinctures, salves, and poultices; herbs used by the Druids; herbal alchemy and the planets; and the relationships between herbs and sacred places. Filled with practical information and imaginative suggestions for using herbs for healing, ceremony, and magic, this book is an indispensable and comprehensive guide to age-old herbal practices. A master herbalist, psychotherapist, and lay homeopath, Ellen Hopman is the author of Tree Medicine, Tree Magic and the video Gifts of the Healing Earth, and co-author of People of the Earth: The New Pagans.
The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation, Including the Demotic Spells, Volume 1
Hans Dieter Betz - 1986
to the fifth century A.D. Containing a fresh translation of the Greek papyri, as well as Coptic and Demotic texts, this new translation has been brought up to date and is now the most comprehensive collection of this literature, and the first ever in English.The Greek Magical Papyri in Transition is an invaluable resource for scholars in a wide variety of fields, from the history of religions to the classical languages and literatures, and it will fascinate those with a general interest in the occult and the history of magic."One of the major achievements of classical and related scholarship over the last decade."—Ioan P. Culianu, Journal for the Study of Judaism"The enormous value of this new volume lies in the fact that these texts will now be available to a much wider audience of readers, including historians or religion, anthropologists, and psychologists."—John G. Gager, Journal of Religion"[This book] shows care, skill and zest. . . . Any worker in the field will welcome this sterling performance."—Peter Parsons, Times Literary Supplement
Earth, Air, Fire & Water: More Techniques of Natural Magic
Scott Cunningham - 1997
Born of the earth, possessing inherent power, they await only our touch and intention to bring their magical qualities to life.The four elements are powerful magical tools. Using their energies, we can transform ourselves, our lives, and our world. This much-loved, classic guide offers more than seventy-five spells, rites, and simple rituals you can perform using the marvelous powers of the natural world.Scott Cunningham was a greatly respected teacher and one of the most influential members of the modern Craft movement. A practitioner of elemental magic for twenty years, he wrote more than fifty books, including the seminal Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner.
Horns of Power: Manifestations of the Horned God
Sorita d'Este - 2008
Our ancestors often envisaged their gods as anthropomorphic beings who encapsulated this wild essence. Today the gods of the bull, the ram, the goat and the stag still hold tremendous power and are invoked at rituals by a new priesthood who continue to seek the wildness of nature and the inspiration that it holds. These deities transcend the safe and known boundaries of human structure, sometimes even luring us across the threshold of the known into the unknown worlds beyond. This unique anthology brings together the work of more than twenty people, including that of dedicated scholars and modern day mystics. Through their written and artistic contributions they illustrate some of the many manifestations of the Horned God. A true cornucopia of both insightful and well researched essays takes us from the well known Celtic Cernunnos and the legend of Herne the Hunter, to the goat-footed Greek Pan, the lesser known Slavic Veles and Egyptian Khnum. Horned serpents, unicorns, the tale of the Battle of the Bulls in the Irish Tain Bo Cuailnge, the Welsh Gwyn Ap Nudd and the faery Puck are all also considered. Then a wild hunt as we journey with the mystics who share their own experiences of the gods of the wildwood and untamed beasts. Each story is as different as the person who experienced it - and each illustrating in its own unique way a Horned God who is wild, unpredictable, loving - and at heart a trickster. For those who wish to dare a bit more than others, visionary meditation journeys to explore the mysteries of Cernunnos and Gwyn Ap Nudd are included. Horns of power would of course be nothing without the horns of beauty of the feminine divine, and in the final section of this anthology the reader is presented with works exploring horned goddesses, such as the lunar horned Hekate, Selene and Artemis and the antlered Elen. Whether through the mysteries of their existence, the vast scope of their influence or the endurance of their survival through to the modern day, each contribution provides a window into the wonders and mystery of the enduring magick of the horned gods."
Faery Wicca, Book 1: Theory and Magick, a Book of Shadows and Lights (The Ancient Oral Faery Tradition of Ireland) (Bk.1)
Kisma Stepanich - 1998
Gain a comprehensive understanding of this old folk faith's beliefs, history and practices. Explore the Celtic pantheon, Celtic division of the year, and the fairies of the Tuatha De Danann and their descendants. Discover the magickal symbols and alphabets used to encode the teachings of the Mysteries, create a Celtic Shield and much more.
Fire in the Head: Shamanism and the Celtic Spirit
Tom Cowan - 1993
Tom Cowan has pursued this theme in a lyrical cross-cultural exploration of shamanism and the Celtic imagination that examines the myths and tales of the ancient Celtic poets and storytellers, and outlines techniques used to access the shaman's world.Tom Cowan is the author of 'How to Top Into Your Own Genius' and coauthor of 'Power of the Witch and Love Magic'."An engrossing, intelligent, and shamanically well-informed work that is an important gift to all those Westerners seeking a knowledge of Celtic shamanism"MICHAEL HARNER, PH. D., author of 'The Way of the Shaman'"An important and fascinating work on Celtic shamanism. Highly recommended"SERGE KAHILI KING, author of 'Urban Shaman'"A fascinating and entertaining study…(illuminating) glimpses of an original Celtic shamanism that appears in British and Irish folklore and literary remains. 'Fire in the Head' also offers an account of Celtic supernaturalism in general, and unveils the mysterious background of certain folk heroes, such as Robin Hood"AKE HULTKRANTZ, author of 'Native Religions of North America'"A remarkable exploration of shamanism (using) cross-cultural myths to explain the history and roots of the Celtic spirit"SANDRA INGERMAN, author of 'Soul Retrieval: Mending the Fragmented Self'
The Faeries' Oracle
Brian Froud - 2000
The Faeries' Oracle calls on sylphs, pans, gnomes -- and, of course, faeries -- to lead you on a delightful journey of adventure, discovery, and enlightenment that will illuminate the future and heal the heart and soul. This beautifully designed divination set contains everything you will need to explore this mysterious realm, including:-A complete deck of 66 radiant cards by Brian Froud featuring goblins, moon dancers, pixies, boggarts, and other faery folk we first met in Good Faeries/Bad Faeries-208-page illustrated book with text by Jessica Macbeth, which will show you how to read the cards of The Faeries' Oracle, with particular instruction on personally connecting to and communicating with the faeries
To Ride a Silver Broomstick: New Generation Witchcraft
Silver RavenWolf - 1994
"To Ride a Silver Broomstick" presents both the science and religion of Witchcraft so you can become an active participant while growing at your own pace. This book is ideal for anyone, regardless of religious background: male or female, young or old, beginners and initiates.
Avalon Within: A Sacred Journey of Myth, Mystery and Inner Wisdom
Jhenah Telyndru - 2010
Connect with the Goddesses of Avalon through guided journeys and powerful rituals. Explore Glastonbury's Sacred Landscape with eight pages of gorgeous color photographs. Develop legendary Avalonian skills--such as the Sight and the art of Glamour--to heal wounds of the soul and unlock the sacred wisdom at the core of your being.Drawing on Celtic mythology, Arthurian legend, and Druidic lore and exploring the way of the priestess as alluded to in Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon, the Avalonian path empowers women everywhere to transform their lives by seeking the Goddess and the Sovereign self within.
The Book of the Law
Aleister Crowley - 1904
Allegedly dictated to Crowley in Cairo, Egypt between noon and 1 pm on three successive days in April 1904, the Book of the Law is the source book and key for Crowley's philosophy and/or religion, Thelema.