He argues that, while formal religious affiliation may be waning, spiritual practices remain relevant because they can cultivate bonds to the self, others, the natural world, and the transcendent. Ter Kuile explains the significance of a variety of religious practices, including pilgrimage, prayer, and meditation, and proposes ways to capture their significance through everyday activities ("anything can become a spiritual practice--gardening, painting, singing, snuggling, sitting") by focusing on intention, attention, and repetition. This approach leads to inventive explorations of social trends; for instance, the famously cultish appeal of the Crossfit fitness program is explained in terms of vulnerability and community. In ter Kuile's understanding, religious traditions are "inherently creative" and therefore good starting points for considering personalized, meaningful spiritual practices.

    Learn how to find an ethical teacher; how to strengthen magick through a healthy lifestyle; how to prepare for rituals; how to raise, channel and ground magical power and more.

    Americans all, they were among the famous figures whose paths intertwined with the mystical and esoteric movement broadly known as the occult. Brought over from the Old World and spread throughout the New by some of the most obscure but gifted men and women of early U.S. history, this “hidden wisdom” transformed the spiritual life of the still-young nation and, through it, much of the Western world.Yet the story of the American occult has remained largely untold. Now a leading writer on the subject of alternative spirituality brings it out of the shadows. Here is a rich, fascinating, and colorful history of a religious revolution and an epic of offbeat history. From the meaning of the symbols on the one-dollar bill to the origins of the Ouija board, Occult America briskly sweeps from the nation’s earliest days to the birth of the New Age era and traces many people and episodes, including:•The spirit medium who became America’s first female religious leader in 1776 •The supernatural passions that marked the career of Mormon prophet Joseph Smith •The rural Sunday-school teacher whose clairvoyant visions instigated the dawn of the New Age •The prominence of mind-power mysticism in the black-nationalist politics of Marcus Garvey•The Idaho druggist whose mail-order mystical religion ranked as the eighth-largest faith in the world during the Great Depression Here, too, are America’s homegrown religious movements, from transcendentalism to spiritualism to Christian Science to the positive-thinking philosophy that continues to exert such a powerful pull on the public today. A feast for believers in alternative spirituality, an eye-opener for anyone curious about the unknown byroads of American history, Occult America is an engaging, long-overdue portrait of one nation, under many gods, whose revolutionary influence is still being felt in every corner of the globe.

    Where does each symbol come from and what does it mean? Learn about Native American hunting symbols, secret alphabets, and coded message. Find out the true meanings of Indian murdras, the Masonic compass, the Eye of Horus, the Caduceus, and hundreds of other ancient signs. Loaded with over a thousand lush images, this comprehensive sourcebook has everthing you need to unlock the secrets of the symboles of our world.

    Hand drawn in her detailed and emotionally evocative style, The Wild Unknown Animal Spirit Deck and Guidebook is a work of art that explores the mysteries of the natural world and the animal kingdom. Each of the 63 gorgeous oracle cards captures a stunning portrait of creatures both real and mythical.Divided into five suits structured by the five yogic elements that make up all living things—Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Ether—The Wild Unknown Animal Spirit Deck and Guidebook includes creatures that roam the field and forest, swim in the oceans and rivers, inhabit deserts and grasslands, and soar through the sky. The Ether suit holds the seven spirit cards, and represents the seven chakras of the subtle body.From the Peacock who symbolizes inner beauty and reminds us to practice self-acceptance to the playful Dolphin who indicates a profound blessing is headed our way, each animal has been carefully selected for its symbolic potency and the lesson at the core of its nature. Kim’s powerful animal archetypes offer insight into relationships, personalities, behaviors and tendencies and can be used alone or alongside The Wild Unknown Tarot to add an additional layer of depth to readings.The 200-page hand-lettered, fully illustrated guidebook offers grounded, easy to understand explanations of the cards, a detailed look at the many spreads, practices, and concepts that power the Animal Spirit deck, and deep insight into how each animal helps illuminate our contradictions, our complex natures, and the endless mystery of who we are.Packaged in a highly designed keepsake box with a beautiful lifting ribbon, The Wild Unknown Animal Spirit Deck and Guidebook celebrates the hidden wisdom of the creatures that inhabit our world and beyond, and reveals how we are all connected in the complex and wondrous web of life.

    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

    Psychoanalyst Jean Bolen's career soared in the early 1980s when Goddesses in Everywoman was published. Thousands of women readers became fascinated with identifying their own inner goddesses and using these archetypes to guide themselves to greater self–esteem, creativity, and happiness.Bolen's radical idea was that just as women used to be unconscious of the powerful effects that cultural stereotypes had on them, they were also unconscious of powerful archetypal forces within them that influence what they do and how they feel, and which account for major differences among them. Bolen believes that an understanding of these inner patterns and their interrelationships offers reassuring, true–to–life alternatives that take women far beyond such restrictive dichotomies as masculine/feminine, mother/lover, careerist/housewife. And she demonstrates in this book how understanding them can provide the key to self–knowledge and wholeness.Dr. Bolen introduced these patterns in the guise of seven archetypal goddesses, or personality types, with whom all women could identify, from the autonomous Artemis and the cool Athena to the nurturing Demeter and the creative Aphrodite, and explains how to decide which to cultivate and which to overcome, and how to tap the power of these enduring archetypes to become a better "heroine" in one's own life story.

    True high magic is the art (and science) of using little-known or long-forgotten forces and objects from nature to achieve benevolent changes in the individual's consciousness or in the surrounding physical environment. It encompasses a wide array of doctrines and techniques, including the conjuring of spirits and nonhuman entities, ritual divination, the making and consecration of wands, swords, and talismans, and exploration of other universes. The essence of high magic has been captured in this handsomely bound book. The author gives instructions for making a magic altar and creating tools of magic. He also gives basic instruction in divination methods that include geomancy, I-Ching, and tarot cards. He goes on to explain the pentagram, the hexagram, the ritual of the rose cross, and advanced techniques that are intended to invoke deities. Here is practical, lucid instruction in the methods of self-initiation to a wide array of occult traditions.

    In the tradition of natural witchcraft, Healing Magic, 10th Anniversary Edition presents step-by-step instructions for conducting earth-centered rituals, preparing herbal remedies, and casting spells to enchant and heal as well as advice on cooking everyday meals incorporating health-enhancing herbs and home remedies.   • Find out how to reconnect with the earth and draw on its energy • Interact with the power of the seven chakras of the body • Build an altar • Make use of moon magic and women's wisdom • Prepare herbal infusions and baths • Work with the medicine wheel • Cast spells for love and wealth   No matter what your beliefs, this guidebook will open your heart and mind to everyday magic and the joys of living in tune with the energies of nature.  Table of Contents Foreword by Susun S. Weed, author of the Wise Woman Herbal series Introduction 1. Reconnecting with the Earth 2. Engaging Mystery 3. Moon Magic and Women's Wisdom 4. Herbal Magic 5. The Medicine Wheel of Magic 6. Spells 7. Rituals Epilogue: A Final Story Afterword

    Whether your intention is magical or medicinal, specially blended essential oils can enrich your life with their mystical, energizing, and transformative power.Within this one-of-a-kind portable apothecary, learn to select and mix 67 essential oils for a myriad of magical, medicinal, and spiritual applications. Spanning every purpose from inner calm and romance to healing and energy work to prayer and spellcraft, all 1,200 recipes are arranged alphabetically to make it easy to find precisely what you need.Step by step, Celeste Rayne Heldstab also shows how to create your own blends for spells, rituals, and remedies. Amp up their potency with correspondences for the elements, day of the week, time of day, Moon phase, astrological sign, herbs, and gemstones.Protection for house & home Love & passion Career & finances Dreamwork & meditation Beauty & skin care Fatigue, headaches, & other common ailments Praise: Celeste skillfully demystifies the process of using and blending oils by providing lucid, detailed, and easy-to-read instructions while emphasizing the magical power inherent in plants.--Judika Illes, author of The Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells