Learning how to cast a circle, work magick, compile a Book of Shadows, and honor the God and Goddess on esbats and sabbats can be exhilarating. But once you've mastered the basics of Witchcraft comes the real challenge of living your faith every moment of every day. Living as a Witch is knowing that you are the magick.Advanced Witchcraft doesn't contain any Wicca 101 information--it assumes that you're already familiar with the nuts and bolts of the Craft. Instead, this book challenges you to think critically about your beliefs and practices, what they mean to you, how they've changed, and where you're going. Along the way you'll also learn many techniques for intermediate and advanced Witches, including:Meeting your shadow Advanced warding and psychic self-defense Power animals, familiars, and shapeshifters Working the labyrinth and the maze Advanced tree spirituality Advanced augury and divination Magick and ritual using the fine arts of storytelling, dance, music, art, and drama The art of Wishcraft Spirits and lost souls Banishing and closing portals The healing arts

    It means challenging the assumptions of mainstream society and strengthening your relationships with the gods, the universe, your community, and your self. The Path of Paganism provides practical advice and support for honoring your values and living an authentic Pagan life in mainstream Western culture.Discover tips for establishing or deepening a regular practice. Explore how your spirituality can help you deal with life's inevitable hardships. Learn the basics of leadership roles and other steps to take as you gain experience and move into more advanced practices. With questions for contemplation as well as rituals to help you integrate new concepts, this book guides you through a profoundly meaningful way of life.Praise: "This is an absolute gem of a book! John's love of his Pagan path fills this book with incredible enthusiasm and confidence . . . I would recommend this book to beginners and experienced practitioners alike. Both will find many pearls of wisdom within these pages. Highly recommended."--Damh the Bard

    From the moment she introduces a group of self-professed vampires, who challenge her as to whether she is a victim, she sweeps us into some seriously cobwebby corners of the American psyche. Impeccably researched and filled with details on the prevalence of magic throughout American history, the book could be ponderous and freaky, but that Wicker's delightfully self-abnegating tone never allows. When she attends a ritual in Salem, Massachusetts, where historic witch-burning is the basis of a profitable commercial cult, her over-the-top costume makes it hard for her even to walk. Offered a chance for some good mojo to spice up her sex life, she decides to let well enough alone. Wicker never mocks the magicians' and witches' beliefs or their sometimes-extreme personal habits but rather constantly seeks the reasons for belief and the context for personal choice.

    and the witches, hobgoblins and wizards of whom the masses lived in mortal fear.Michelet draws flaming word pictures of the witch hunts, the Black Masses, the reign of Satan, and the weird rites of the damned. Here is the age of unbridled pleasure and sensuality, of luxury beyond imagination and squalor beyond endurance. Here is the time when a girl might be accused of witchcraft merely if she were young and pretty and did not survive the test of immersion in water or boiling oil. Here is the day of beatings, floggings, tortures and summary decapitations.Encyclopedia Britannica called the book, "The most important work on medieval superstition yet written." It is indeed one of the great works on the Age of Darkness.

    North America was settled by people with distinct religious, political, and ethnographic characteristics, creating regional cultures that have been at odds with one another ever since. Subsequent immigrants didn't confront or assimilate into an "American" or "Canadian" culture, but rather into one of the eleven distinct regional ones that spread over the continent each staking out mutually exclusive territory.In American Nations, Colin Woodard leads us on a journey through the history of our fractured continent, and the rivalries and alliances between its component nations, which conform to neither state nor international boundaries. He illustrates and explains why "American" values vary sharply from one region to another. Woodard reveals how intranational differences have played a pivotal role at every point in the continent's history, from the American Revolution and the Civil War to the tumultuous sixties and the "blue county/red county" maps of recent presidential elections. American Nations is a revolutionary and revelatory take on America's myriad identities and how the conflicts between them have shaped our past and are molding our future.

    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

    They can be cast during a crisis or to help prevent one, to protect loved ones, to welcome new beginnings, to heal from grief, or to find strength. Feminist, easy-to-do, and accessible, this is the perfect guide for anyone looking to live an inspired life. Whether you're working with the earth, journaling for self-growth, healing with tinctures or crystals, meditating through grief, brewing, enchanting, or communing with your coven, Light Magic for Dark Times will help you tap into your inner witch in times of need.

    In the only book written solely on this ancient Pagan festival, you'll explore the evolution of the May Pole and various folklore characters connected to May Day celebrations. Raven Grimassi reveals the history behind the revelry, and shows you how to welcome this sacred season of fertility, growth, and gain with:   -May Day magick and divination: Beltane spells to attract money, success, love, and serenity; scrying with a bowl or glass -Beltane goodies: Quick May Wine, Bacchus Pudding, May Serpent Cake, May Wreath Cake -Seasonal crafts: Maypole centerpiece, May wreath and garland, pentacle hair braids, May Day basket -Springtime rituals and traditions: the Maypole dance, May doll, the Mummer's Play, Beltane fires, May King and Queen -Myths, fairy and flower lore: Green Man, Jack-in-the-Green, Dusio, Hobby Horse; elves, trolls and fairies; spring flowers and their correspondences This well-researched book corrects many of the common misconceptions associated with May Day, and will help you appreciate the spirituality and connection to Nature that are intimate elements of May Day Celebrations. Welcome the season of fertility, flowers, and fairies with Beltane: Springtime Rituals, Lore & Celebration.

    'Traditional Witchcraft for Urban Living' deals with the constant barrage of psychic problems that confront the urban witch on a daily basis.

    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.

    Diana Paxson, author of historical novels and short stories on themes from Norse and Celtic mythology was clearly seized, somewhat to her own surprise. She here beautifully re-tells some classic stories from this mythic complex and relates how they are reflected in the ceremonial practices of the contemporary Neo-Pagan revival. I recommend it highly." --Ralph Metzner, Ph.D., author of The Well of Remembrance

    There are still witches who whisper upon tied knots to curse or heal, sorceresses who shapeshift into animals or household objects, magicians who cast spells for love or good fortune, and common folk who seek their aid for daily problems big and small. Sharing the extensive knowledge she inherited from her mother and grandmother, including spells of the “Old Believers” previously unknown to outsiders, Natasha Helvin explores in detail the folk history and practice of Russian sorcery and Eastern Slavic magical rites, offering a rich compendium of more than 300 spells, incantations, charms, and practical rituals for love, relationships, career success, protection, healing, divination, averting the evil eye, communicating with spirits and ancestors, and a host of other life challenges and daily situations, with complete step-by-step instructions to ensure your magical goals are realized. She explains how this tradition has only a thin Christian veneer over its pagan origins and how the Slavic pagan gods and goddesses acquired new lives as the saints of the Eastern Orthodox Church. She details how the magical energy for these spells and rituals is drawn from the forces of nature, revealing specific places of power in the natural world as well as the profound power of graveyards and churches for casting spells. She explores the creation of amulets and talismans, the importance of icons, and the proper recital of magical language and actions during spells, as well as how one becomes a witch or sorceress. Offering a close examination of these two-thousand-year-old occult practices, Helvin also includes Slavic folk advice, adapted for the modern era. Revealing what it means to be a Slavic witch or sorceress, and how this vocation pervades all aspects of life, she shows that each of us has magic within that we can use to take control of our own destiny.

    Orion Foxwood offers a primer on the real magic and techniques of Southern root magic, knowledge he learned first-hand growing up in rural Appalachia.Foxwood explains magical techniques including:Spirit SightWorking by the Signs (the ability to synchronize work such as farming, fertility of humans and animals, orcharding)ConjuringFaith HealingSettling the Light (candle magic)Doctoring the Root (the ability to use herbs, roots, stones, or animal parts--bones, claws, fur, etc. for magic or the clearing, cleansing, and blessing of the spirit of a person, also known as his or her root)Praying or Dreaming True (Blessings of spirit/God to a person, place, or thing as well as prophetic or predictive dreaming)Blessing or CursingThe Candle and the Crossroads shows how to create magic in today’s world with the old ways and traditions of Appalachia.

    Discover the history, folklore and scientific evidence surrounding all psychic phenomena - from poltergeists, mediums, and haunted places, to clairvoyance, astrology, and teleportation. Lift the veil on a world of supernatural mysteries, ghost stories and methods of divinitation... and discover if you might be psychic yourself. With information to intrigue and fascinate both believer and sceptic, this is an indispensable map of the psychic world.

    The definitive scholarly account on witchcraft, demonology, diabolic possession and modern spiritualism.