The Golden Bough" describes our ancestors' primitive methods of worship, sex practices, strange rituals and festivals. Disproving the popular thought that primitive life was simple, this monumental survey shows that savage man was enmeshed in a tangle of magic, taboos, and superstitions. Revealed here is the evolution of man from savagery to civilization, from the modification of his weird and often bloodthirsty customs to the entry of lasting moral, ethical, and spiritual values.

    This powerful handbook teaches the fundamentals of raising, sensing, and directing energy with simple, focused training.Sharing colorful stories from her own magickal practice, author Mya Om addresses the most common reasons why spells don't work and gives helpful tips on how to rewrite or recast them so they do work.This engaging guide is filled with a variety of fun exercises you can use to develop your own spellcasting skills, from learning to sense your own energy to performing mirror magick.

    Pat Monaghan has studied and taught many integrated studies in poetry, science, mythology, feminist spirituality, environmental studies, chaos theory, and religion. All of these disciplines inform her writing, but none distract from the poetic story-telling or the mystical lore she encounters and then conveys. Her journey takes her to a churchyard with a fountain representing St. Bridget, perhaps a Christian representation of the Celtic goddess of water, fire, and transformation, called Brigit. Monaghan describes spiral petroglyphs and ancient sacred caves, bogs and woods where fairies have played their tricks on humans, and water falls that became sacred spots. The stories instruct and teach, as Monaghan points to ways that these myths still reveal the truths of human life, and the contradictions of love and hate, mother and seductress, harmony and struggle that are embodied in women’s lives — in all of human existence.

    Experienced witches will deepen and enrich their practices by connecting more fully to traditional magics from hundreds of years in the past.Learn how to: -Master ecstatic methods of spirit-flight described in witch-lore-Celebrate the turning of the seasons with traditional rituals-Cultivate closer relationships with nature spirits and personal familiars-Work powerful traditional charms, such as the witches' ladder, the poppet, and blessing/cursing by gesture-Discern the magical properties of herbs and plants without relying on tables from books-Augur practical guidance from the spirit world-utilize old craft incantations, remedies, and recipes-Connect with the Old Ones, the ancestors of Folk Witchcraft-Experience shapeshifting into various animal spirit forms-Craft herbal unguents, oils, powders, tinctures, and infusions-Interpret incantations, charms, and sigils received from your own familiar spirits-Research and hone your own lore and grimoire-sourced magical practicesWith over 50 rituals, charms, and exercises, Folk Witchcraft offers a refreshingly simple approach to the craft that is non-dogmatic, flexible, and rewarding as a personal spiritual practice

    Drawing on shamanic practices from the world over, SHAMANISM AS A SPIRITUAL PRACTICE FOR DAILY LIFE addresses the needs of contemporary people who yearn to deepen their own innate mystical sensibilities. This inspirational book shows how to develop a personal spiritual practice by blending elements of shamanism with inherited traditions and current religious commitments. Contents include: The central role of power animals and spirit teachers.Visionary techniques for exploring the extraordinary in everyday life.Elements of childhood spirituality including songs, secret hiding places, power spots, and imaginary power figures.A journey to an ancestral shaman to recover lost knowledge.

    Prepare to embark on a spiritual journey unlike anything you've ever known! Faery Craft is a comprehensive guide to the modern Faery lifestyle and an essential handbook to human-faerie relations. Brimming with practical and spiritual advice, you'll discover how to use Faery magick, create altars, and find a Faery ally. Learn about proper etiquette, find your unique gifts, use the Faery zodiac, explore Faery festivals around the globe, and much more.Enjoy nearly 200 beautiful photographs alongside original art, poetry, and meditations, as well as interviews with renowned Faery authors, artists, and musicians. R. J. Stewart, John and Caitl�n Matthews, Brian and Wendy Froud, Linda Ravenscroft, S. J. Tucker, and Charles de Lint are all featured in this glittering introduction to the fae and the people who love them.Praise: This book shows us that to connect with Faery is to connect not only with nature, spirit, and the world around us, but perhaps most of all to ourselves.--Wendy and Brian Froud, authors of The Heart of FaerieFaery Craft opens doors into other worlds and allows its readers to pass though them and experience the wonders beyond...This is a tremendous book.--John Matthews, author of The Sidhe and How To See FaeriesCarding invites you to find the real power in the woods and forgotten ways.--Caitl�n Matthews, author of Celtic Visions and Singing the Soul Back Home

    What is interesting, here, is that all of the above and more are contained in one work, instead of separately. Speaking of everything from fortune telling to folk healing, the Book of Forbidden Knowledge is perhaps better classed as a modern grimoire than most contemporary works of similar origin; the paper covers of any of a number of competing Victorian and Edwardian era titles.

    She's heard all the questions and misconceptions that can confuse newcomers (and sometimes more experienced readers, too). Kitchen Table Tarot was written as a guide for anyone looking for no-nonsense lessons with a warm, friendly, and knowledgeable teacher.Join Melissa as she shares straightforward guidance on decks, spreads, card meanings, and symbols. Filled with real-life examples and personal explanations of what it's like to read the cards, this book tells it like it is and provides the information you need to read with confidence.

    It brings together essays, prose and artwork from more than fifty remarkable contributors from all over the world. Their stories and revelations are challenging, their visions and determination in exploring the mysteries are inspirational, and their enthusiasm for the Goddess of the Crossroads is truly entrancing and sometimes highly infectious. Hekate is a Goddess of great antiquity. She is primordial, powerful and sometimes animalistic - and yet, she is also sophisticated, modern and capable of adapting to different cultures. She is the Torchbearer, the Cosmic World Soul, the Guide and Companion. She is Mistress of the Restless Dead, who rules over the Heavens Earth and Sea. She is the Keybearer and so much more. Her devotees today, as throughout the ages, include philosophers, poets, sorcerers, theurgists, witches, root-cutters, enchantresses and ordinary people. In her introduction, the author and priestess Sorita d'Este brings together an exciting wealth of material on the history and development of how the goddess Hekate has been seen through the ages. As well as a fascinating discussion of her possible origins and mythological connections, the introduction also includes a timeline providing glimpses into her portrayal through the ages, with extracts from literature and examples of amulets, coins and art. The spectrum of material covered in this anthology is as diverse as the forms of Hekate herself, emphasising her role as lightbearer, keybearer, initiatrix, world soul, child's nurse, mistress of crossroads and serpent mysteries. Her devotees describe her role in traditional witchcraft and initiatory Wicca, healing and paganism, her approachability through her angels and trance oracles, her assistance in overcoming traumas and helping the dead continue their journeys. From the reestablishment of the ancient worship of the great mother goddess as Hekate in Thrace (Bulgaria) to meteorites and pilgrimages, Hekate's presence around the world and beyond is vividly described and illustrated by her torchbearers.

    A Marvelous Blend of Memoir, Folk Wisdom, and Afro-American Beliefs.Actress, storyteller, and priestess Luisah Teish dramatically re-creates centuries-old African-American traditions with music, memoir, and folk wisdom.

    This ancient oracular practice has been rediscovered in the twentieth century as we try to simplify our complicated existence.A Practical Guide to the Runes provides in a concise manner:• Complete descriptions of the 25 runes in divination• Four rune layouts• Instructions for making runes and accessories• Meanings and uses of the runes in magick• Step-by-step guidelines in carving runes and creating talismans• Charging of talismans• Differences between bindrunes and runescriptsTake charge of your life to make the choices and changes you desire.

    Get help with dream divination from Sleeping Beauty. Ask Cinderella to make your wishes come true. Real magic lies at the core of fairy tales we all know and love. In exploring the origins of these age-old stories, you'll uncover their connection to fairy creatures.

    Every aspect of esoteric doctrine and practice is exhaustively dealt with and every authority cited.

    In The Encyclopedia of Magickal Ingredients she provides beginner and experienced practitioners of spellcasting with a quick, easy, and accurate guide to the magickal powers and properties of herbs, spices, flowers, vegetables, fruits, metals, and colors -- more than 500 ingredients in all. With this info at your fingertips, you can craft spells for specific desires or needs -- whether it's love, luck, fertility, or even next month's rent! Written with passion for the craft and a deep understanding of the needs of modern-day Wiccans, The Encyclopedia of Magickal Ingredients is an indispensable addition to every occult library and an essential reference for all with the gift of magick.

    Now, with a new introduction and full-color artwork, this passionate and important text shows even more clearly that the religion of the Goddess—which is tied to the cycles of women’s bodies, the seasons, the phases of the moon, and the fertility of the earth—was the original religion of all humanity.