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.

    But the sources of our knowledge about these societies are relatively few, leaving the gods of the North shrouded in mystery. In compiling this dictionary Rudolf Simek has made the fullest possible use of the information available -Christian accounts, Eddic lays, the Elder Edda, runic inscriptions, Roman authors (especially Tacitus), votive stones, place names and archaeological discoveries. He has adhered throughout to a broad definition of mythology which presents the beliefs of the heathen Germanic tribes in their entirety: not only tales of the gods, but beings from lower levels of belief: elves, dwarfs and giants; the beginning and end of the world; the creation of man, death and the afterlife; cult, burial customs and magic - an entire history of Germanic religion. RUDOLF SIMEK is Professor of Medieval German and Scandinavian literature at the University of Bonn in Germany.

    "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.

    Based on a course in Paganism that the authors have taught for more than a decade, it is full of exercises, meditations, and discussion questions for group or individual study.This book presents the basic fundamentals of Paganism. It explores what Pagans are like; how the Pagan sacred year is arranged; what Pagans do in ritual; what magick is; and what Pagans believe about God, worship, human nature, and ethics.For those who are exploring their own spirituality, or who want a good book to give to non-Pagan family and friends A hands-on learning tool with magickal workings, meditations, discussion questions, and journal exercises Offers in-depth discussion of ethics and magick

    In it he shares profound Craft teachings that will transform your relationship with magick, and your work as a Witch. I wish I'd had access to this treasure earlier on my path."--Christopher Penczak, cofounder of the Temple of Witchcraft and author of the Plant Spirit FamiliarFor the first time in more than a decade, Grimassi introduces readers to a new system of witchcraft, one that draws upon the old ways and the old days. Rich with spells, rituals, and detailed illustrations of plant spirits, Grimassi dares readers to take the path that leads deep into the darkened woods--to traverse upon the Thorned Path.Meet the entities that dwell within the organic memory of the earth, the devas, the deities, the magical life force that lies within the wooded glen. Learn to work with these spirits, and use their wisdom to transform your life and your practice.

    With practical tips for incorporating Pagan spirituality into every aspect of life, To Walk a Pagan Path teaches readers how to:•Have a meaningful Pagan practice by following seven simple steps.•Develop a sacred calendar customized for your beliefs, lifestyle, and environment.•Make daily activities sacred with quick and easy rituals. Connect with the earth in a very real way by producing a portion of your own food—even if you live in an apartment!•Express Pagan spirituality through a variety of craft projects: candles, scrying mirrors, solar wreaths, recipes, and more.

    This encyclopedia aims to dispel such notions, with a comprehensive guide to witchcraft throughout history and around the world.

    Folklore expert Cory Thomas Hutcheson guides you to the crossroads of folk magic, where you'll learn about different practices and try them for yourself.This treasure trove of witchery features an enormous collection of stories, artifacts, rituals, and traditions. Explore chapters on magical heritage, divination, familiars, magical protection, and spirit communication. Discover the secrets of flying, gathering and creating magical supplies, living by the moon, working contemporary folk magic, and more. This book also provides brief profiles of significant folk magicians, healers, and seers, so you can both meet the practitioners and experience their craft. With New World Witchery, you'll create a unique roadmap to the folk magic all around you.

    In Grimoires: A History of Magic Books, Owen Davies illuminates the many fascinating forms these recondite books have taken and exactly what these books held. At their most benign, these repositories of forbidden knowledge revealed how to make powerful talismans and protective amulets, and provided charms and conjurations for healing illness, finding love, and warding off evil. But other books promised the power to control innocent victims, even to call up the devil. Davies traces the history of this remarkably resilient and adaptable genre, from the ancient Middle East to modern America, offering a new perspective on the fundamental developments of western civilization over the past two thousand years. Grimoires shows the influence magic and magical writing has had on the cultures of the world, richly demonstrating the role they have played in the spread of Christianity, the growth of literacy, and the influence of western traditions from colonial times to the present.

    The names Tiw, Woden, Thunor and Frig/Freo have been preserved in place names and in the days of the week. The old Gods and the festivals and rituals associated with them lived on after the 'official' conversion to Christianity. Eostre, the Goddess associated with Spring, is still with us as Easter. The Yuletide celebrations which marked the turning of the year were deep-rooted so they were Christianised to give us Christmas. Ing the god associated with regrowth and renewal was replaced with Christ. Much the same happened with rituals for bringing fertility to the earth, and with healing charms. The author sifts through royal genealogy, charms, verse and other sources to find clues to the names and attributes of the Gods and Goddesses of the early English.

    This bestselling classic is both an unparalleled reference on the practices and philosophies of Witchcraft and a guide to the life-affirming ways in which readers can turn to the Goddess to deepen their sense of personal pride, develop their inner power, and integrate mind, body, and spirit. Starhawk's brilliant, comprehensive overview of the growth, suppression, and modern-day re-emergence of Wicca as a Goddess-worshipping religion has left an indelible mark on the feminist spiritual consciousness.In a new introduction, Starhawk reveals the ways in which Goddess religion and the practice of ritual have adapted and developed over the last twenty years, and she reflects on the ways in which these changes have influenced and enhanced her original ideas. In the face of an ever-changing world, this invaluable spiritual guidebook is more relevant than ever.

     For most Pagans of any denomination, Yule is a high holy season. The ancient festival was a 12 daylong celebration beginning on the eve of the Winter Solstice (known to most Pagans as Yule) and ending at the new calendar year. This celebration was so important in ancient times that it was converted by the Christians to the 12 Days of Christmas. Many Pagans, especially those devoted to the Norse and Anglo Saxon Gods and Goddesses try to find some way to keep these 12 days, yet many are unsure exactly how to celebrate. Social media blows up in the weeks leading up to the Solstice with questions like: How do you celebrate? What do you do exactly? What activities, what rituals, what prayers and celebrations? For the past several years I have been working on this guide in an attempt to answer some of those questions for my own family and for others. This guide is a result of creating family traditions for this special and most sacred (not to mention FUN!) time of year. I put it all together into one little, handy and easy to follow guide, so that you and your family can celebrate the 12 Days of Yule together, with a little inspiration from what our family has been doing. Please enjoy!

    In The Sabbats, Edain McCoy reveals the eight major holidays of this faith and the many ways in which they are celebrated.There are two basic types of holidays. The first come at the Solstices and Equinoxes. The others divide the time between those dates in two, resulting in eight major holidays or Sabbats with approximately the same amount of days between them. The balance, here, gives the appearance of spokes in a wheel, so this cycle is commonly called the Wheel of the Year.The holidays represent two things. First, the harvest cycle. Each holiday represents a time in the growth of crops. From planting to growth, from harvesting to letting the lands lie fallow in the cold winter, the festivals follow the agricultural cycles of ancient times. However, they also represent the eternal love of the God and Goddess, following the God's birth from the Goddess and his death before she gives birth to him again. This also follows the pattern of the Sun which moves from warm and high in the sky to cold and low in the sky.The book is filled with ways you can follow the Wheel of the Year, whether you work with a coven, with your family, or by yourself. You will learn the secrets of ritual construction and handicrafts appropriate to each of the festivals. You will also learn recipes for traditional foods for each holiday and even songs appropriate to the Sabbats.This is a wonderful, joyous book filled with color, information, and wisdom. If you are involved with Paganism in any way, this book is a must for your studies and practices. This book functions as both a resource and as a practical manual for the celebration of the holidays. Get your copy today.

    In this volume I have followed one line only of anthropological enquiry, the survival of an indigenous European cult and the interaction between it and the exotic religion which finally overwhelmed it. I have traced the worship of the Horned God onwards through the centuries from the Paleolithic prototypes, and I have shown that the survival of the cult was due to the survival of the races who adored that god, for this belief could not have held its own against the invasions of other peoples and religions unless a stratum of the population were strong enough to keep it alive...Dr Margaret Alice Murray

    Enter the world of folklore, myth, and magic. Discover binding spells and banishing spells, spells for love, luck, wealth, power, spiritual protection, physical healing, and enhanced fertility drawn from Earth’s every corner and spanning 5,000 years og magical history. In The Encyclopedia Of 5,000 Spells: The Ultimate Reference Book for the Magical Arts, independent scholar, educator and author of several books of folklore, folkways, and mythology Judika Illes enables the reader to enter the world of folklore, myth and magic with binding spells and banishing spells, spells for love, luck, wealth, and power, as well as spells for spiritual protection, physical healing, and enhanced fertility drawn from Earth's every corner and spanning 5,000 years of magical history.