Book picks similar to
The Druids by Ronald Hutton
history
druidry
non-fiction
pagan
The Magician's Companion: A Practical and Encyclopedic Guide to Magical and Religious Symbolism
Bill Whitcomb - 2002
Over thirty-five magical models are compared and discussed. Begins with an introduction to magic, including a program of study so you can use any of the ninety-one systems described. Reveals the secrets of alchemy, magical alphabets, the chakras, the Tree of Life, astrology, and much more. It makes the ancient magical systems accessible, understandable and useful to modern magicians.
Queering Your Craft: Witchcraft from the Margins
Cassandra Snow - 2020
Through creative and unique journal prompts, introspection, rituals, and spells, Snow achieves this beautifully, and herein lays the perfect guide for the queer witch to stand in their power and stand beside others; truly queering our craft with compassion and pride.” --Mat Auryn, author of
Psychic Witch: A Metaphysical Guide to Meditation, Magick, and Manifestation
Witchcraft has always belonged to the outsiders and outcasts in society, yet so much of the practice enforces and adheres to the same hierarchy we face in the world at large—a hierarchy that isolates and hurts those living beyond society’s binaries and boundaries. While there are books that address magick for resistance and queer myth, until now there has not been one that specifically addresses the practice of queer magick from an LGBTQ+ standpoint. Queering Your Craft combines queer aesthetic and culture (like DIY culture and an emphasis on chosen family over formal covens) with pagan and metaphysical spiritual practice in a way that is commonplace but has not been written about until now. This book covers the personal, the collective, and the political, and how deeply intertwined all three are in a magickal practice for those who are LGBTQ+.In this introduction to witchcraft, Snow presents why/how each concept is important to a queer craft, or how to approach it from a queer mindset. For example, conventional prayer, words, and symbols have always been problematic in a queer universe: How to make them work and still be true to yourself? The bulk of the book is about learning the craft. The latter portion is a grimoire of spells.While accessible to beginning witches, Queering Your Craft provides new and inspiring information for longtime practitioners interested in a pure and personal approach that avoids the baggage of history and stereotype.
Celtic Myths and Legends
T.W. Rolleston - 1911
W. Rolleston masterfully retells the great Celtic myths and illuminates the world that spawned them. Focusing principally on Irish myths, the book first takes up the history and religion of the Celts, the myths of the Irish invasion and the early Milesian kings.What follows is pure enchantment as you enter the timeless world of heroic tales centered around the Ulster king Conor mac Nessa and the Red Branch Order of chivalry (Ultonian cycle). These are followed by the tales of the Ossianic cycle, which center on the figure of Finn mac Cumhal, whose son Oisín (or Ossian) was a poet and warrior, and the traditional author of most of the tales. Next comes a summary of the Voyage of Maeldūn, a brilliant and curious piece of invention that exemplifies the genre of "wonder-voyages" — adventures purely in the region of romance, out of earthly space and time. Finally, the author recounts a selection of the myths and tales of the Cymry (Welsh).In these pages, readers will delight in the favorite and familiar tales of Cuchulain, King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, the Grail, Deirdre, and many more figures that haunt the shadowy, twilight world of Celtic legend. The magic of that world is further brought to life in more than 50 imaginative full-page illustrations by Stephen Reid, Arthur G. Bell, and the famed illustrator J. C. Leyendecker. Reprinted here in its first paperback edition, Celtic Myths and Legends also includes several helpful genealogical tables: Gods of the House of Dōn, Gods of the House of Llyr, and Arthur and His Kin, as well as a useful glossary.
The Hedge Witch's Way: Magical Spirituality for the Lone Spellcaster
Rae Beth - 2001
The hedge witch is a solitary witch and natural mystic who practises wildwood mysticism, so called because it is the knowledge at the root of the tree of witchcraft. Explained in detail are the witch's prayers, spell-casting and communication with spirits and faeries, including those spirits travelling in the three realms of the magical otherworld. The values and ethics of this most ancient tradition may surprise and delight with their blend of common sense, compassion and wildness. (It is not a spiritual way for conformists!) This book opens the door to all those who feel they are natural witches but are, as yet, uninstructed. The Hedge Witch's Way is a guide for witches of either gender - potential wisewomen or wisemen - that presents the faerie-led practices of our ancestors, in a modern-day context.
Book of Shadows
Phyllis Curott - 1998
What they don't know is that when you discover the universe is full of magic, you fall in love with the world."When high-powered Manhattan lawyer Phyllis Curott began exploring Witchcraft, she discovered a spiritual movement that defied all stereotypes. Encountering neither satanic rites nor eccentric spinsters, she came to know a clandestine religion of the Goddess that had been forced into hiding over the course of history. Book of Shadows recounts Curott's remarkable initiation into Wicca (meaning "wise one") and shares her insights as a high priestess of an elegant, ancient spirituality that celebrates the magic of being alive.An Ivy-league graduate and promising lawyer, Curott was a typical young woman in her twenties, determined to forge a law career within the burgeoning, male-dominated music industry. But when she began having prophetic dreams and mysterious visions of ancient female figures and unfamiliar symbols, she discovered an unexpected world of magic and began searching for a rational explanation. When her friend Sophia--a practicing Witch--suggested having her cards read by a Wiccan High Priestess, Curott instinctively dismissed the idea, but then forced her natural skepticism aside on the chance that this age-old practice might help her understand the unusual occurrences in her life.Thus begins her journey into the magical world of Witchcraft, a religion originally practiced by priestesses, shamans, and healers that empowers our lives by working with the natural cycles of nature. Fascinated by this pre-Judeo-Christian religion that honors women as the embodiment of the Goddess and emphasizes respect and love for the natural world, Curott began attending a local coven's weekly circle to learn the sacred arts. Her Book of Shadows chronicles her ascent to the position of Wiccan High Priestess and her efforts to reconcile her newfound spirituality with her struggles as a woman rising through the ranks of the corporate world. Along the way, Curott relates the history of Witchcraft and shares many traditional Wiccan practices, such as casting a circle, drawing down the Goddess, harnessing the powers of the natural world, and casting spells for health, prosperity, and love.Engagingly written and rich with detailed rituals and techniques, this inspirational book traces a modern woman's spiritual journey into a realm of extraordinary experience and enlightenment. Book of Shadows provides us with the keys to discover an enchanted world of divine empowerment so as to unlock the power that lies within us all
The Provenance Press Guide to the Wiccan Year: A Year Round Guide to Spells, Rituals, and Holiday Celebrations
Judy Ann Nock - 2007
The handbook offers something for everyone: recipes, crafts, activities, spells, rituals, and meditations. In these pages, Wiccans will find several appropriate cyclic activities.Written to inspire and expand the practice as a reader moves through the eight sabbats, Nock provides the practitioner with:the astrological and astronomical influences that govern the seasonsmeditations that reflect timely themesrituals and crafts that anyone may enact in order to enhance spiritual expression.
Besom, Stang Sword: A Guide to Traditional Witchcraft, the Six-Fold Path the Hidden Landscape
Christopher Orapello - 2018
Regional traditional witchcraft teaches people to find their craft in their own backyards, in the uncultivated land or urban cityscape alike, and in their ancestors rather than in ancient foreign deities or in a neopagan-styled religious form of witchcraft. It's not about where you're from but where you are.The material in this book is adaptable to any region in which the practitioner lives. Although the lack of deity worship and holy days is a significant part of the authors' nonreligious approach, this book presents a complete system of practice utilizing ritual, chant, trance, the six paths of witchcraft as defined and explained by the text, and the practices associated with traditional witchcraft.
Pagan Portals - Your Faery Magic: Discover What It Means to Be Fey and Unlock Your Natural Power
Halo Quin - 2015
Once upon a time 'Fey' meant both the spirits of the natural world and the nature of those humans that were in touch with that magic in themselves; the seers, the spirit workers, the ones who walked between. This is your guide to finding that Fey magic which sings in your heart. Through this book you will meet your guide, visit faeryland, learn about the beings of the faery worlds and develop your own faery craft to work in harmony with the power and cycles of the earth by unlocking the nature of your Fey spirit. Time for you to become the Fey you truly are.
A Grimoire for Modern Cunning Folk: A Practical Guide to Witchcraft on the Crooked Path
Peter Paddon - 2010
until now.In this Book Peter Paddon - Magister of Briar Rose and host of the popular Crooked Path podcast - covers his particular path of Witchcraft from scratch. He goes over the basics of his personal Path, along with examples of alternatives from other traditions, covering philosophy, lore and practical techniques.The Crooked Path is a way of Crafting based on experiencing the Mysteries of Ancestors and the Sacred Landscape first-hand, and Peter guides the seeker through the basics with competence and humor.
A Deed Without a Name: Unearthing the Legacy of Traditional Witchcraft
Lee Morgan - 2013
A Deed Without a Name seeks to weave together some of this cutting-edge research with insider information and practical know-how. Utilising her own decades of experience in witchcraft and core-shamanism Lee Morgan pulls together information from trial records, folklore and modern testimonials to deepen our understanding of the ecstatic and visionary substrata of Traditional Witchcraft. Those who identify themselves as 'Traditional' tend to read a lot of scholarly texts on the subject and yet still there remains a vast gulf between this information and knowledgeably applying it in practice; this book aims to close that gap.
Making Magic: Weaving Together the Everyday and the Extraordinary
Briana Saussy - 2019
"We all have a deep capacity to make magic . . . . . . and to do it as easily as we breathe or open our eyes. This is not a matter of belief. You can discover your own capacity for magic in your own direct experience." —Briana Saussy When you think of magic, do you imagine something supernatural, extraordinary, or beyond your everyday reality? Many of us are drawn to magic because we think there’s something "out there" that can bring enchantment and wonder back into our lives. Yet there’s a secret to real magic: the extraordinary is much closer than you may think. With Making Magic, expert teacher Briana Saussy invites you to discover a practice of magic that will bring a new depth and power to each moment, act, and choice of your life. Through teaching stories, wisdom from a wide variety of world traditions, and no-nonsense practices you can easily weave into your daily routine, Briana will help you reconnect with the wild and creative force of magic that is always around and within you, waiting for you to remember. As you explore this path of transformation, you’ll discover resources of magic that permeate your life, including: • Doors and thresholds—ways we "cross between worlds" • Communication—creating magic with your voice, body, intentions, and relationships • Holy helpers—ancestors, angels, saints, and spirit beings who guide and support you • Water and washing—access the revitalizing energy of water when you drink or bathe • Textiles and threads—how to loosen, mend, or bind up supportive energies • Candles and fire—elemental power to bring light to darkness and burn away what no longer serves you • Kitchen magic—using food to nourish your whole self and reconnect you with nature • Talismans—infuse your beloved objects with sacred purpose and supportive power "Magic is the most real part of any ‘real life’—the spark illuminating the authentic core of every experience," writes Briana Saussy. If you are ready to enter a world that is ripe with possibility and rediscover the electric wildness of your life, here is an essential resource for Making Magic as only you can.
The Crooked Path: An Introduction to Traditional Witchcraft
Kelden - 2020
Within these pages discover a wealth of hands-on tips and techniques to begin your journey into the realm of Traditional Witchcraft. Learn to weave a powerful personal practice that is informed by folklore and grounded in your own location and natural landscape. Along the way you will find valuable information regarding the tools, rituals, and spells of this fascinating tradition, together with lessons on connecting with deities, familiar spirits, ancestors, and the spirits of place. With supportive advice and encouragement, Kelden provides everything you need to successfully navigate your own path, helping you master even advanced practices such as hedge-crossing as you transform your day-today experience into a life filled with magic and spirit.
The Circle Within: Creating a Wiccan Spiritual Tradition
Dianne Sylvan - 2003
The first section is a thoughtful examination of Wiccan ethics and philosophy that explores how to truly live Wicca. The second section includes devotional prayers and rituals that provide inspiration for group or solitary practice.Topics in this Wicca book include: cultivating an ongoing personal relationship with deity, ethics and standards of behavior, concepts of sacred space, elements of a daily practice, tuning into the Wheel of the Year and the elements, and creating meaningful personal Pagan rituals.Move beyond the basics of Wicca and enter the sacred space of the circle within.
The Witch's Altar: The Craft, Lore & Magick of Sacred Space
Jason Mankey - 2018
The Witch's Altar is an in-depth exploration of altars for covens and solo practitioners. From building and maintaining your altar to exploring the use of mobile and hidden altars, this book offers advice, techniques, and fun for Witches of all ages and skill levels.Learn about the altar's role in history and mythology. Personalize your altar with candles, crystals, sacred tools, magickal objects, statues, pentacles, and symbols. Explore how different altar locations may affect your practice, and discover new ideas for elemental, seasonal, and outdoor altars, as well as altars for the dead. The Witch's Altar also includes fascinating contributions from leading writers, including Jenya T. Beachy, Lilith Dorsey, Lon Milo DuQuette, Angus McMahan, Louis Martini�, Lupa, Gwion Raven, Natalie Zaman, Andrieh Vitimus, and many more. Filled with spells, recipes, and tips, this book provides everything you need to help you create the altar of your magickal dreams.
Green Witchcraft: A Practical Guide to Discovering the Magic of Plants, Herbs, Crystals, and Beyond
Paige Vanderbeck - 2020
Open yourself up to everything from growing herbs and plants for magic and medicine, to honoring the spirits of trees and animals, and using crystals for power and healing.Put natural magic into practice, with spells and rituals that harness the natural, plentiful energy and power of herbs, plants, stones, crystals, wood, and more. Green Witchcraft makes it easy, with practical tips and instructions on everything from using honeysuckle to attract wealth, quartz to direct energy, and moonlight for cleansing your tools.Inside Green Witchcraft you’ll find:
Anyone can be a witch—Expand your witch library with this craft book that will empower both new witches and experienced practitioners.
Creating a green space—Your home is a sanctuary. Learn how to arrange your space to serve as a place of green power and a source of your magical energy.
Real witchcraft—Learn what words like “magic” and “energy” really mean to witches, and some of the common misconceptions about magic and the people who believe in it.
Discover the power of the natural world with hands-on spells for green witches.