It succeeds where many books have failed-fulfilling the longing for real Irish Witchcraft, while crafting the delicate balance between learning from the past and weaving a modern system based on truth and respect. Lora O'Brien is a genuine Irish Witch, making no claims of "fraudulent family traditions"-she is simply a woman who walks her path and shares her experiences, working closely with her heritage and land in a contemporary setting.Irish Witchcraft From an Irish Witch explores the past:Providing an investigation of the Witches' place in Irish mythology.Looking at Witchcraft and magic by examining the customs connected with the Sidhe.Examining historical evidence of the Witch trials that swept across the isle.And the present and beyond by:Working with Irish deities, landscapes, energies, and antiquities.Examining the wheel of the year, with its festivals, cycles, and seasons of Irish culture.Looking at ritual progression through a Witch's life: magical training, physical growth.Providing alternatives to the traditional stages of a child's life in modern Irish culture.

    While some are drawn to the idea of practicing in total secrecy and solitude, others crave a group of like-minded individuals to learn from and worship with. Those who seek a structured, traditional form of Wicca to follow are likely to benefit from coven membership. After all, this is how Wicca began-as a group-centered practice taking place within a gathering of Witches for the purpose of conducting ritual and magic. In fact, the coven was the vehicle for the rise of Wicca, first in Europe and then in the United States and beyond. There are covens practicing today whose members can trace their initiatory lineage back to the mid-20th century, and will continue carrying on their traditions well into this century and beyond. Yet coven life is not for everyone. Some people work best within the looser structures of Wiccan circles, which are more informal but still offer a sense of belonging to a spiritual community. These groups can be a great place to acquire knowledge and experience, while marking the important Wiccan holidays - the Sabbats and Esbats - with rituals and celebrations. Still others opt for solitary practice, either because there isn't a Wiccan community in their vicinity or because they simply like to chart their own course in a completely independent manner. Those who choose this solo path have the most freedom and flexibility, yet they also face a wider range of decisions to make. If you're going it alone, do you still want to follow a particular Wiccan tradition? If so, where can you find information about what to do, and how and when to do it? And what does it mean if you prefer to develop a more individualized approach to your practice? After all, Wicca has always been a continually evolving religion, so to adapt traditions according to your own intuition is actually a sort of tradition in and of itself! A Traveler's Guide to the World of Wicca As you can see, there are many ways to understand and experience the core essence of Wicca, and it may take awhile for you to discover where your individual journey begins. Finding Your Path, by best-selling author Lisa Chamberlain, was created as an orientation to these possibilities. In this book, you'll be introduced to the wide spectrum of contemporary Wiccan practice, with tips to help you make well-informed decisions about where you want your journey to take you:The role of the coven in the birth and rise of Wicca The benefits and potential drawbacks of belonging to a coven The differences between covens and circles The pros and cons of solitary practice The differences between traditional and eclectic practices Introductions to the most widely-practiced Wiccan traditions: Gardnerian, Alexandrian, and Dianic, as well as a handful of other, less common forms How to find your Wiccan community, should you desire to join one By the end of this guide, you will have a solid understanding of the amazing diversity of the Wiccan religion. You will also, ideally, have a clearer view of what your own next steps along the path will be! If you're ready to start your journey, scroll to the top of the page and select the buy button. Readers will also be treated to an exclusive free eBook!

    It does more than make one healthy, it creates lust and knowledge, ecstasy and mythological insight. In Witchcraft Medicine the authors take the reader on a journey that examines the women who mix the potions and become the healers; the legacy of Hecate; the demonization of nature's healing powers and sensuousness; the sorceress as shaman; and the plants associated with witches and devils. They explore important seasonal festivals and the plants associated with them, such as wolf's claw and calendula as herbs of the solstice and alder as an herb of the time of the dead--Samhain or Halloween. They also look at the history of forbidden medicine from the Inquisition to current drug laws, with an eye toward how the sacred plants of our forebears can be used once again.

    A High Priestess of Wicca and a third-degree Wiccan devote this custom-filled book to Brigid's Festival of Returning Light, an ancient holiday filled with hope.

    It speaks to something deep and primal within us-something we don't hear as often as we should.By exploring a variety of mysteries and traditions of trees, Whispers from the Woods helps readers get reacquainted with the natural world and find their place in the earth's rhythm. Covering more than just Celtic Ogham and tree calendars, this book includes meditation, shamanic journeys, feng shui, spellcraft, and ritual. In addition, it has a reference section with detailed information on fifty trees, which includes seasonal information, lore, powers, attributes, and more.Finalist for the Coalition of Visionary Resources Award for Best Wiccan/Pagan Book

    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.

    And you will Explore the Mysteries of Death and to Speak with the Dead.The Dark balances the Light. Do not fear it but equally embrace it.

    In this work, MacCulloch attempts to rebuild Celtic paganism and to guess at its inner spirit. He portrays the Celt as a seeker after God, linking himself by strong ties to the unseen and eager to conquer the unknown by religious rite and magic art. The earliest aspect of his religion was the cult of nature spirits and of life manifested in nature.

    Davenport Adams (1828 – 91) established a reputation for himself as a popular science writer, translator and lexicographer. He also wrote several children's books. In this 1889 work, Adams gives a general introduction to alchemy in Europe and traces the development of magic and alchemy in England from the fourteenth century onwards. Initially the disciplines were persecuted by the Church and met with 'the prejudice of the vulgar', languishing throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.In Book 1 Adams portrays the English 'magicians' Roger Bacon, whom he considers to have been ahead of his contemporaries; John Dee and William Lilly, astrologists of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, respectively; and the English Rosicrucians. Book 2 is a historical account of witchcraft in England and Scotland, from the middle ages to the witch trials of the seventeenth century, and includes a chapter on witchcraft in literature. This edition contains both Book 1 and Book 2. Description from Cambridge University Press.This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

    A Book of Pagan Prayer provides the pagan community a comprehensive and thoughtful selection of prayers - and shows readers how they too can create their own. After an introduction on why to pray, author Ceisiwr Serith explores how to pray through words, posture, dance, and music. He explains how to prepare for and compose prayers, how to address and honor the deities, and how to conclude a prayer. Serith also answers important questions, such as: Why should pagans pray? Should prayers be spontaneous? What are offerings about? Is all this just trying to buy the gods off? Gathered from many traditions - including Celtic, Germanic, Egyptian, Greek, and Zoroastrian - this guide includes nearly 500 sample prayers organized by purpose: for the family and household; times of the day, month, and year; life passages; thanksgiving, grace, and petition; as well as litanies and mantras. Whether offering a blessing, celebrating new life, safeguarding travel, or honoring the seasons, readers will discover timeless pagan prayers for worship, spiritual connection, and personal relationship with the gods.

    This book is an introduction to the Morrigan and several related goddesses who share the title, including Badb and Macha. It combines solid academic information with personal experience in a way that is intended to dispel the confusion that often surrounds who this goddess was and is. The Morrigan is as active in the world today as she ever was in the past but answering her call means answering the challenge of finding her history and myth in a sea of misinformation, supposition, and hard-to-find ancient texts. Here in one place, all of her basic information has been collected along with personal experiences and advice from a long-time priestess dedicated to a goddess who bears the title Morrigan.

    Both the spiritual heritage of ancient runic lore and the practical steps we can take to draw on rune power are present in "A Handbook of Rune Magic." This complete book of rune instruction includes rune history and lore, its basis in metaphysical thought and mysticism, complete definitions of the 24 runes of the Elder Futhark, and the etymology, phonetic value and interpretation of each rune. The reader is shown how to perform chants and rituals using runic energy, how to sign and send runes, and given suggestions for runic meditation. The author's presentation of this powerful system is lucid and profound, and provides a valuable tool for spiritual transformation and self-development.

    In his sincere and gentle manner, Paul brings over 15 years experience as he writes about: the medicinal use of herbs, including illustrations of plants easily found in the wild; history and religious lore with specific background information on individual herbs; herb gathering and storage the magickal way; the herbalist as a magickal practitioner; incenses, oils, amulets, elixirs, balms and fluid condensers including detailed information on how to create them; herbs and their relationship with gemstones, etc.; herbal links with astrology and the tarot; rituals; the use of herbs in seasonal festivals, initiations, handfastings, purifications, etc. Over 50,000 sold!

    Then, in a dramatic change, described by scientists as 'the greatest riddle in human history', all the skills & qualities that we value most highly in ourselves appeared already fully formed, as tho bestowed on us by hidden powers. In Supernatural Hancock sets out to investigate this mysterious before-&-after moment & to discover the truth about the influences that gave birth to the modern mind. His quest takes him on a detective journey from the beautiful painted caves of prehistoric France, Spain & Italy to rock shelters in the mountains of S. Africa, where he finds extraordinary Stone Age art. He uncovers clues that lead him to the Amazon rainforest to drink the hallucinogen Ayahuasca with shamans, whose paintings contain images of 'super-natural beings' identical to the animal-human hybrids depicted in prehistoric caves. Hallucinogens such as mescaline also produce visionary encounters with exactly the same beings. Scientists at the cutting edge of consciousness research have begun to consider the possibility that such hallucinations may be real perceptions of other dimensions. Could the supernaturals 1st depicted in the painted caves be the ancient teachers of humankind? Could it be that human evolution isn't just the meaningless process Darwin identified, but something more purposive & intelligent that we've barely begun to understand?AcknowledgementsPart 1: Visions 1: Plant that enables men to see the dead 2: Greatest riddle of archeology 3: Vine of souls Part 2: Caves 4: Therianthropy5: Riddles of the caves6: Shabby academy 7: Searching for a Rosetta Stone8: Code in the mind 9: Serpents of the Drakensberg10: Wounded healer Part 3: Beings 11: Voyage into the supernatural 12: Shamans in the sky 13: Spirit love 14: Secret commonwealth15: Here is a thing that will carry me away16: Dancers between worlds Part 4: Codes 17: Turning in to channel DMT18: Amongst the machine elves19: Ancient teachers in our DNA?20: Hurricane in the junkyard Part 5: Religions 21: Hidden Shamans22: Flesh of the GodsPart 6: Mysteries 23: Doors leading to another world Appendices Critics & criticisms of David Lewis-Williams' Neuropsychological theory of rock & cave artPsilocybe semilanceata-a hallucinogenic mushroom native to Europe / Roy Watlng Interview with Rick StrassmanReferences Index

    It draws a map for today's Celtic quest, with the way of the pilgrim, honor of one's ancestors, and the language and culture. Exploring the Celtic universe-gods and goddesses, mythic heroes and warriors, wonderworkers, underworlds, and otherworlds-this manual also covers legends such as King Arthur, Merlin, and the Quest for the Holy Grail.