The Yule Faeries A Winter Solstice Story

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THE YULE FAERIES - A Formal SOLSTICE Level (Construct Mysterious)

A Mass OF Miniature FAERIES HUDDLED IN THEIR Place of abode Vast Asleep THE Extraction OF A Tyrant OAK TREE. THEY WERE Safe and sound AND Balmy IN THEIR Sharply Copse Study Patterned In the same way as DANDELION Listed, BIRD Downward, AND Dehydrated MOSS.

Outside, THE Turn BLEW Nippy AND THE Blizzard K.O. Weakly Nap TO Exceed THE Secure. "I SAW THE SUN Ruler Now," THE FAERIE NAMED ROSE Supposed AS SHE PULLED HER MOSSY Unintelligible TIGHTER Pronounce HER. "HE LOOKED SO OLD AND Dozing AS HE WALKED OFF Command THE Forest. For example IS Deceitful In the same way as HIM?

"The effective oak supposed he's dying" answered Daffodil.

"Dying? Oh, what determination we do now?", Miniature Pasture Vegetation started to cry, "If the Sun Ruler dies, our fleeting trailing plant friends determination not rise. The Animals determination not come and sing over. Everything determination be winter for ever!" Bluish-purple, Dandelion and Better-quality Flower tried to solace their friend, but they were all very sad. As they huddled together, nearby was a blow on the insignificant right of entry.

"Create up, Faeries," called out a fussy exhaust. "Why are you hiding more accurately of joining us in our Solstice celebration?" Rose opened the right of entry and the fleeting fairy Brown Knobby pushed happening, shaking the glistening snowflakes off his beige video and hat.

"We are too sad to characteristic," Daffodil supposed wiping her eyes, "The Sun Ruler is dying, haven't you heard?"

"He is dead you asinine Faeries." Brown Knobby's splash dark eyes sparkled with laughter. "Now bustle, or we'll be at the rear for the celebration!"

"How can you be cheerful and laughing?!" Better-quality Flower fixed her fleeting sordid and frowned at the fairy. "If the Sun Ruler IS dead, it determination be winter interminably. We determination never see the Sun again!"

"Absurd fleeting child-Faeries." Brown Knobby grabbed Dandelion by the hand and pulled her to her feet. "Portray is a secret to the Formal Solstice. Don't you wish to know what it is?"

The Faeries looked at him in bombshell. "Secret?" they all supposed. "For example secret? We are unaided new fleeting Faeries, you asinine fairy. We've never been to a Solstice celebration in the past."

"Arrive and see. Arrive and see. Get your capes and come with me." Brown Knobby danced and jigged cry the room. "Race, Race, don't be slow! To the Dutiful Oak Brush through the snow!" He danced out of the right of entry and used up.

"For example did that fairy mean?" Rose asked as she gathered up her mantle of dry rose petals said together with cobwebs and with stripes with goose down.

"I don't know, but the Member of the aristocracy lives in the Dutiful Brush." Pasture Vegetation pulled on her hat.

"Perhaps if we go to see the God, She can clarify what Brown Knobby was spoken communication about".

The Faeries finished their comfortable fleeting home and trudged off through the flurry on the road to the sacred oak grove. The forest was dark with unaided the light of the Moon stimulating down through the lush fir undergrowth and empty space limbs of maple and hawthorn. It was very delicate for them to get through the flurry such as they were very, very modest. As they waded through the wet flurry and shivered in the frosty waft, they met a fox.

"In which are you goodbye, Faeries?" the fox asked.

"To the sacred grove," they answered, they were frosty and trembling.

"Escalate on my back and I determination chauffeur you nearby hasty."

The fox knelt down so the Faeries may possibly scramble up. Next he raced off through the dark.

"Listen!" Bluish-purple supposed as they neared the Brush of Dutiful plants. "Company is singing cheerful songs. A LOT of someones."

The refined music carried top-quality the frosty, still, moonlit air. It was the most refined music the Faeries had ever heard. The fox carried the Faeries dominance to the edge of the stone altar in the hub of the grove, as a consequence knelt down.

"Look!" supposed Better-quality Flower as they slid to the flurry sheathed foxhole. "Portray is the Maiden and the Blood relation and the OLD Chary Crone, and many other Miniature Citizens."

"They are all smiling and cheerful," supposed Bluish-purple as she looked cry at all the creatures.

"All the nature are within too," thought Dandelion. "Why are they all looking at the Mother?"

The Faeries stirred sooner to the three Ladies seated on the altar stone. The Blood relation said a group deduction in Her arms, smiling down at it. The Maiden reached down and took the Faeries warily in her Hands. She said them deduction to the Blood relation so they may possibly see what She said.

"A Baby!" the Faeries cried. " A new fleeting Baby! Broadcast how he glows!"

"He is the further Sun Ruler," supposed the Maiden smiling.

"But Brown Knobby and the old oak tree supposed the Sun Ruler was dead," the Faeries answered her. "How can this fleeting darling be the Sun King?"

"That is the effective secret of the Formal Solstice." The Old Chary One touched the baby's boldness with her furrowed hand. "Each one go out with the Sun Ruler must come to the sacred grove dressed in the darkest days of winter where he dies. I chauffeur his spirit to the Blood relation who gives him new life over. This is the way for all creatures, not quite good the Sun Ruler."

" You mean everything lives and dies and lives again? the Faeries looked down in ponder at the darling Sun Ruler, nestled in the arms of the Blood relation.

" Yes, Miniature Ones," answered the Old Chary Crone. "Portray is never an end to life. This is the effective mystical secret of the Formal Solstice."

The Faeries laughed such as they were so cheerful.

"I visualize the fleeting Sun Ruler prerequisite pin down gifts," supposed Rose. "I determination enactment him where the out of control roses sparkle in the early summer."

"And, I determination teach him to plea the birds and apply your mind to the songs of the waft," exclaimed Dandelion.

"Previously he is older and stronger, " supposed the Blood relation, "as a consequence the flowers determination sparkle at his insinuate, the birds determination return to sing their songs, and the air determination be newly baked from his breathe heavily, and winter determination be gone for a time. Next the Sun Ruler determination run and pick at with you in the forest."

The fleeting Faeries sang to the Teenager Sun Ruler, songs of the coming current, the amicable smelling flowers, the awkward bees, and all the secrets of the forest. And all the creatures within the sacred grove sang with them. Next the fox took them back to their comfortable home under the family tree of the vast oak tree where they dreamed wonderful dreams, waiting for the serenity of current and the fun they would pin down with the fleeting Sun Ruler.

The New Pearl Of Great Price

Book: The New Pearl Of Great Price by Janus Lacinius Therapus

A treatise concerning the treasure and most precious stone of the philosophers. Or the method and procedure of this divine art ; with observations drawn from the works of Arnoldus, Raymondus, Rhasis, Albertus, and Michael Scotus (1894)

THIS work casts out cruel disease from the human body, disease produced by malignant humours ; and thus you are preserved. It will teach you how to regain the beautiful flower of youth, and how to secure a green and placid old age. All this may be yours, by the favour of the gods. Poverty will be triumphantly put to flight ; your treasure-house will be filled ; you will be able to succour the needy,
and to render the sacrifice of praise to great Jupiter.

TWO features of special interest attach to the " Pearl of Great Price," as written by Bonus of Ferrara, and edited by Janus Lacinius. In the first place, it is one of the earliest works printed on alchemy, and the original is a very beautiful specimen of typography. Concerning the latter point, it is only necessary to say that it was issued from the press of Aldus, appearing in 1546, with the privilege of Pope Paul III. and the Senate of Venice for the space of ten years. This edition is, of course, exceedingly rare, and is highly prized by collectors. In the second place, it is a very clear, methodical, and well-reasoned treatise, comparing favourably in these respects with the bulk of alchemical literature. A reader who is unacquainted with alchemy will probably not appreciate these points,
but any one who, like the present editor, has had occasion to become widely familiar with Hermetic authors, will do honour to the lucidity of Bonus.

Concerning" the adept himself, no biographical materials whatsoever are forthcoming, nor, as in most other cases, is there even a legend to fall back on. He is supposed to have been a native of Lombardy, and to have performed his alchemical labours at Pola, a maritime town of Istria, about 1330. He is sometimes described as Bonus of Ferraria,* and on this and other grounds Tiraboschi't identifies him with the "monk Ferarius".

This work attacks Lenglet du Fresnoy, the historian of alchemy, as an inexact writer, but Tiraboschi had no acquaintance whatsoever with alchemy, and does not seem to have read the Authors whom he endeavours to identify. Imaginative persons might, perhaps, be more inclined to question the equivocal name of Janus, the Calabrian Minorite Friar, and to suspect that his master Bonus was possibly his alter ego.

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Solitary Wicca For Life Complete Guide To Mastering The Craft On Your Own

Book: Solitary Wicca For Life Complete Guide To Mastering The Craft On Your Own by Arin Murphy Hiscock

If you prefer a solitary approach to worship and Witchcraft, this is the book for you. You need sound guidance and tools as you work alone to deepen your knowledge and strengthen your abilities.

Author Arin Murphy-Hiscock provides you with everything you need to take your spiritual practice to the next level. Solitary Wicca for Life encourages you to reach beyond the ordinary and create a unique path of worship, using techniques that go further than other texts:

- Advanced Circle Casting-advanced techniques and applications, plus methods for creating sacred space when a circle isn't necessary
- Enriching Ritual-tools and techniques that bring new depth to personal practice, including sacred drama, masks, ritual garb, and symbols
- Crafting Liturgy-Wiccan ritual defined stage by stage, as well as guidelines for writing invocations, prayers, meditations, and personalized rituals for esbats, sabbats, rites of passage, and more
- Drawing Down Deities-invoking deities for guidance, communion, worship, etc.
- Growing as a Solitary Wiccan-the means by which you'll enhance your spiritual growth and reach out to the world at large.

Solitary Wicca for Life is the essential reference handbook you need to reach deeper, go farther, and strengthen your solitary path-one day at a time.

I read lots of Wicca 101 books, especially those that seem to be aimed at the Solitary Practitioner. With many of them, I will find some points that I think the average solitary practitioner may relate to, or that someone, somewhere, will relate to. Many times, however, the material does not "click" with my own personal beliefs, or they do not take the "Traditional Path" when it comes to Wicca, but rather they are "Wiccanish". This is OK for someone else, but not necessarily for me. But I do not judge by my standards alone, but rather the viewpoint that everyone needs material that will relate to them personally.

Reading this book, however, there was more material here that I found I agreed with, related to and found to be "Traditional" with a Solitary spin than other books of this kind. And this, to me, was a big plus.

Ms. Murphy-Hiscock has taken Wicca back to the roots and explores adaptation to the Solitary way of practice. This is a Wicca 101 book, so it makes a good first handbook for the average new Solitary practitioner and yet, it provides some material that the advanced practitioner may want to review because of its accuracy, to augment their Wiccan practice, to add elements of the Traditional or just because it is well written and has much to ponder and contemplate.

I especially enjoyed her overview of Wicca Origins, and her separation of Traditional Wicca from the Eclectic practices that Wicca has evolved into. She covers well the Tenets of Wicca, discusses common metaphors and myths and separates some of the more widely accepted but none the less mistaken beliefs and practices that have crept into modern Wicca. She gives you a good idea of how to go back to the beginning, re-examine the issues and maybe take away a better representation of what it is that Wicca is really all about.

Arin Murphy-Hiscock has been a practicing Wiccan for ten years, five of those years as a solitary practitioner. She is the series editor of the For Life series and the author of Power Spellcraft for Life: The Art of Crafting and Casting for Positive Change. She lives in Montreal, Canada.

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The Sword Of Moses An Ancient Hebrew Aramaic Book Of Magic

Book: The Sword Of Moses An Ancient Hebrew Aramaic Book Of Magic by Moses Gaster

Sword of Moses (originaly SEPHER REZIAL HEMELAK - The Book of the Angel Rezial) - RARE 19th century edition was printed in Yozefof in 1873, it is a tall hardback with a GORGEOUS recent Fine binding, leather spine (rich Harmatan goat) on marbled boards, THE TEXT IS COMPLETELY IN HEBREW , with lovely decorative border on title page, there are a few tiny wormholes, also four pages are trimmed at bottom (which does not affect the text at all), otherwise an unusually Nice copy, extremely attractive, tight recent binding, one full page plate plus several diagrams of ancient Hebrew talismans.

This is the famous magical Hebrew grimoire text, sometime called The Sefer Razial or Raziel, and according to Hebrew legend, the Sepher Raziel was presented to Adam in the Garden of Eden, given by the hand of God and delivered by the angel Rezial. The myth suggests that this is the first book ever written, and of direct divine provenance. A diverse compendium of ancient Hebrew magical lore, this book was quite possibly the original source for later, traditional literature on angelic hierarchy, astrology, Qabalah and Gematria. Moses Gaster mentions this in his introduction to the Sword of Moses (1896) suggesting that the Sepher Rezial could be a primary source for many magic and qabalistic books of the Middle Ages. Sepher Rezial Hemelach is a compilation of five books, being The Book of the Vestment, The Book of the Great Rezial, The Holy Names, The Book of the Mysteries (Sepher HaRazim), and The Book of the Signs of the Zodiac. It includes extensive explanatory text on the holy names of God, the divisions of Heaven and Hell, the names and hierarchy of the angels and spirits, as well as symbolic intepretations of both the Book of Genesis and Sepher Yetzirah. It also includes material on astronomy, astrology, Gematria and various magical talismans, most notably those used for protection during childbirth.

Of interest to students of the occult, kabbalah ( qabala - qabalah ) and ritual magic, also the works of Arthur Edward Waite, Eliphas Levi and Aleister Crowley.

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Sefer Ha Zohar Idra Zuta Qadusha Lesser Holy Assembly

Book: Sefer Ha Zohar Idra Zuta Qadusha Lesser Holy Assembly by Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai

Idra Zuta Qadusha (Lesser Holy Assembly), or simply Idra Zuta - the next layer of the core of the five-volume mystical exegesis Sefer HaZohar.

The Sefer HaZohar (Book of Splendor, often referred to simply as "the Zohar") is a five-volume mystical exegesis written in Rashi Aramaic on the five books of the Torah. Like the Sefer Yetzirah, the date and original author of the Zohar are subjects for academic debate. Many qabalistic scholars, such as Gershom Scholem, believe the Zohar to be a new work produced by Moses De Leon, circa 1250 CE in Spain.Scholem, Gershom. Kabbalah, Keter Publishing, Jerusalem, 1974. Others believe that it was dictated by its pivotal figure Rabbi Shimeon Ben Yochai to his son Rabbi Abba in the first century CE, while they and their group of rabbis hid in caves for thirteen years in Piquin, Israel to avoid Roman persecution. Hence, there are also those who would take the intermediary position that De Leon redacted and published a work that had a much earlier time of origin.

The Sefer HaZohar is central to Kabbala that has influenced all mystical movements within Judaism. Many Kabbalists invest it with a sanctity normally accorded only to the Torah and the Talmud. Written mostly in Aramaic, it is believed to be mainly the work of Moses de Leon. The main part of the Zohar provides a mystical and symbolic interpretation of biblical texts, especially the Torah, the book of Ruth, and the Song of Solomon. Other sections deal with the mystery of creation, the problem of evil, and the cosmic significance of prayer and good deeds.

The text of the Zohar is presented as a series of dialogues among a group of rabbis. These rabbis were the embodiments of the various Sefiroth (spheres) on the Tree of Life (see Diagram). Hence, the "flavor" of the respective Sefirah (sphere) colors each rabbi's remarks and questions. Like the Sefer Yetzirah, the Zohar has its own distinct set of names for the Sefiroth, most of which come from the Sefer HaShmoth, and are later echoed in the Torah and Ketuvim (Writings). Those names may be described as various qualities of the Divine, such as Wisdom, Beauty, Glory, and Mercy. The Zoharic names for the Sefiroth are the most commonly known and used among all types of Qabalists.

The body of the five volumes of the Zohar emanates from a core of three extraordinary texts. The innermost layer and heart of the Zohar is a small text called the Sifra Detzniyutha (Book of THAT Which is Concealed). This book contains the single greatest exposition on the negatively existent Mysterious Unknown (called Ayn, and also "The NOT") among all written works of the Mystical Qabalah. The next layer of the core of the Zohar is a text called Idra Rabba Qadusha (Greater Holy Assembly), or simply Idra Rabba; and the third layer of the core is called Idra Zuta Qadusha (Lesser Holy Assembly), or simply Idra Zuta. The Idra Rabba and Idra Zuta expand greatly upon the anthropomorphic allusions introduced in the Sifra Detzniyutha. The "Greater Holy Assembly" is the entire Tree of ten Sefiroth. The "Lesser Holy Assembly" is the upper seven Sefiroth only.

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The Red Book Of Appin

Book: The Red Book Of Appin by Medieval Grimoires

Translated by Scarabaeus, but the date of the original manuscript is unknown. The Grimoire, primarily a dark Grimoire, is in two parts. The first part concerns the requirements to become an adept who follows a wizard (evil spirit) who initiates the adept into the secrets of the book. The second part of the book introduces Superior Demons and evil spirits together with their seals and invocations.

“Some say that The Red Book had been dictated by Vlad Tepes himself to some monk Kirill. If it is so or not, we cannot say, but the devil-worshipping of the great romanian general is an unquestionable fact, which no serious black adept can deny. It is well known that this document, enwrapped in blood-red leather of some unknown creature (according to rumors , that was one of lower demons, invoked by Vlad specially for this purpose), was kept by the english merchant Joseph Appin (from this comes the title of the book), who died in 1689 and bequeathed to bury it together with him.

Having accomplished their father`s behest, two of his sons afterwards digged his grave out in order to get the access to the source of terrible transcendent knowledge, but found no book there. It is possible that the book had been stolen by some offspiring of Vlad, and since then it was imparted from father to son until the year 1869, when it got into the hands of the Hungarian secret community , which afterwards turned to one of branches of the Great Black Lodge under the abbreviation A.C.C. The copy had been imparted to the Pontiphic of the Lodge Johan Kellenheim in 1901 and translated to polish and German.

The further destinity of the original is unknown. It`s written in the purest version of the enochian language, in comparison with which the language of John Dee is just a pitiable senseless murmuring, and not with enochian symbols but with latin letters, which confirms the version of writing it by the monk, unfamiliar with the Heavenly Language.” If you play with these rituals, you will get burned severely. Before attempting any form of magick, know the theory. Information is Power, please handle it with care.

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The Sacred Magic Of Abramelin The Mage Book 3

Book: The Sacred Magic Of Abramelin The Mage Book 3 by Abramelin The Mage

Volume III of The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage.

The Book of Abramelin tells the story of an Egyptian mage named Abramelin, or Abra-Melin, who taught a system of magic to Abraham of Worms, a German Jew presumed to have lived from c.1362 - c.1458. The system of magic from this book regained popularity in the 19th and 20th centuries due to the efforts of Mathers' translation, The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, its import within the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, and later within the mystical system of Thelema (created in 1904 by Aleister Crowley).

Unfortunately, Mathers used the least-reliable manuscript copy as the basis for his translation, and it contains many errors and omissions. The later English translation by Georg Dehn and Steven Guth, based on the earliest and most complete sources, is more scholarly and comprehensive. Dehn attributed authorship of The Book of Abramelin to Rabbi Yaakov Moelin (Hebrew ca. 1365–1427), a German Jewish Talmudist.

Structure of the book

The grimoire is framed as a sort of epistolary novel or autobiography in which Abraham of Worms describes his journey from Germany to Egypt and reveals Abramelin's magical and Kabbalistic secrets to his son Lamech. Internally the text dates itself to the year 1458.

The story involves Abraham of Worms passing his magical and Kabbalistic secrets on to his son, and tells how he acquired his knowledge. Abraham recounts how he found Abramelin The Mage living in the desert outside an Egyptian town, Arachi or Araki, which borders the Nile. Abramelin's home sat atop a small hill surrounded by trees. He was an Egyptian mage and taught a powerful form of Kabbalistic magic to Abraham. He was a "venerable aged man", and very courteous and kind. He discussed nothing but "the Fear of God", leading a well-regulated life, and the evils of the "acquisition of riches and goods."

Abramelin extracted a promise from Abraham that he would give up his "false dogmas" and live "in the Way and Law of the Lord." He then gave Abraham two manuscript books to copy for himself, asking for ten gold florins, which he took with the intention of distributing to seventy-two poor persons in Arachi. Upon his return fifteen days later, after having disposed of the payment money, Abramelin extracted an oath from Abraham to "serve and fear" the Lord, and to "live and die in His most Holy Law." After this, Abramelin gave Abraham the "Divine Science" and "True Magic" embedded within the two manuscripts, which he was to follow and give to only those whom he knew well.

Origin of the manuscript

The book exists in the form of six manuscripts and an early printed edition. The provenance of the text has not been definitively identified. The earliest manuscripts are two versions that date from about 1608, are written in German and are now found in Wolfenbuttel Another two manuscripts are in Dresden, and date from about 1700 and 1750 respectively.

The first printed version, also in German, dates to 1725 and was printed in Cologne by Peter Hammer. A partial copy in Hebrew is found in the Bodleian Library in Oxford, and dates from around 1740. A manuscript copy existed in French in the Bibliotheque de l'Arsenal in Paris, an institution founded in 1797. The French copy has since disappeared, but is available on microfilm.

All German copies of the text consist of four books: an autobiographical account of the travels of Abraham of Worms to Egypt, a book of assorted materials from the corpus of the practical Kabbalah (including some which is duplicated in the German-Jewish grimoire called "The Sixth and 7th Books of Moses") and the two books of magic given by Abramelin to Abraham. The well-known English translation by S.L. MacGregor Mathers from the French Manuscript in Paris contains only three of the four books. The Hebrew version in Oxford is limited to Book One, without reference to the further books.

Of all the extant sources, the German manuscripts in Wolfenbuttel and Dresden are taken by scholars to be the authoritative texts. According to respected Kabbalah scholar Gershom Scholem, the Hebrew version in Oxford was translated into Hebrew from German. An analysis of the spelling and language usage in the French manuscript indicates that it dates to the 18th century, and that it was also likely copied from a German original. Although the author quotes from the Jewish Book of Psalms, the version given is not from the Hebrew; rather, it is from the Latin Vulgate, a translation of the Bible employed by Roman Catholics at that time.

The German esoteric scholar Georg Dehn has argued that the author of The Book of Abramelin was Rabbi Yaakov Moelin (Hebrew 1365–1427), a German Jewish Talmudist and posek (authority on Jewish law). (ref Georg Dehn, The Book of Abramelin: A New Translation, transl. by Steven Guth, Ibis Publishing, 2006)

Magic word squares

The practical magic of Abramelin (found in both Book III of the French text, and Book IV of the German original) centers around a set of talismans composed of magic word squares. These are similar to traditional magic squares, though the latter are usually composed of numbers, while Abramelin's squares contain letters. Commonly word squares are used as puzzles or as teaching aids for students. In the context of Abramelin, the focus becomes mystical—so that each square should contain words or names that relate to the magical goal of the square. A parallel is found in the famous Sator Arepo Tenet Opera Rotas word square, an altered version of which is also found among Abramelin's squares.

For example, a square entitled "To walk under water for as long as you want" contains the word MAIAM, the Hebrew and Arabic word for "water". A square for recovering treasures of jewelry begins with the word TIPHARAH (a variant of Tiferet), which can mean "golden ring" in Hebrew and is also the name of the sphere of "Beauty" on the Kabbalistic Tree of Life.

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Abramelin The Mage - The Sacred Magic Of Abramelin The Mage Book 3

Everyday Moon Magic Spells And Rituals For Abundant Living

Book: Everyday Moon Magic Spells And Rituals For Abundant Living by Dorothy Morrison

I've read a couple other Moon books, but this one is by far the best. Why? Because Ms. Morrison (much like another of my favorite authors, Patricia Telesco) has a certain and very special way of making things simple, accessable and right to the point without talking down to the reader, getting lost in Craft mumbo-jumbo or making things harder than they really need to be as I've seen so many times by other authors. There are no lectures, power trips or mind-numbing lists of hard-to-find ingredients here; no lofty words or flowery rituals. In fact, you probably already have many of the ingredients she mentions. This book is practical, useful, wonderfully organized and chock full of Moon facts, spells, rituals and other worthy and interesting tidbits that can indeed be used every day. I found it a fast read, which is good -this way I can get right into things :) If you've been disappointed, bored or overwhelmed by other Moon Magic books, give this one a try. Simply put, this book is a pleasure to read, use and own; it's one I'm sure I'll refer to often. I'm keeing this right next to my much-loved copy of Everyday Magic and will likely be following up with her companion book, Everyday Sun Magic.

That magical, mystical, glorious Moon-invite Her power into your life every day, from fixing your computer to blessing your pets. You'll learn how each Moon phase affects your spellwork, including the seldom-discussed energies of the true Blue Moon, the Black Moon, the void-of-course moon, and the lunar eclipse. Follow the Moon as She traverses each sign of the zodiac, and discover how each astrological phase affects magic, mundane events, and gardening-and how your personal Moon sign affects your magical work. Includes more than 140 modernized spells, chants, and rituals, along with Esbat celebrations for the Full Moon.

Dorothy Morrison has put together in this book a wonderful primer that is chock full of moon lore, moon mystery and moon magic. And because of all the bits of information collected here, even the experienced practitioner will read through this book and come away scratching their head saying "I didn't know that!"

Ms. Morrison includes in this book some of the history of moon lore and moon cycles. Included are bits of 'old sayings' and superstitions as well as names of the monthly moons and what they mean. She reviews the moon phases and effects. Ms. Morrison also discusses astrological terms referencing the moon and what they actually mean. For those who are not familiar or don't remember or are not sure, this section alone is worth the price of the book. Then she takes it a step further by explaining how these references apply in relationship to our magic and our lives. Times and cycles for ritual, magic and spells are also discussed and examined. Empowering moon rituals filled with positive affirmations for the building of personal self esteem, which Ms. Morrison is so good at writing, are here for you to incorporate into your own ritual material. And, of course, no book by Dorothy Morrison would be complete without a whole section of her wonderful spells.

As usual, Dorothy takes all this and puts it into a book that shows you, step by step, how to work this into your everyday life, making it a practical as well as informative book. There is so much more here that I've not included in this review because it would take pages to write about. Needless to say, Ms. Morrison has been thorough in her research. There is a table of contents to help you find what you are looking for as well as a bibliography. Add to that her easy to read format and no nonsense approach to teaching, and you have a winner here.


This is a book that should be considered when you are in the store looking for something practical, informative and just plain good to read and add to your library.

Originally from Texas, Dorothy Morrison now lives the magical life in Maine with her family. Dorothy is a member of the Pagan Poets Society and a charter member of M.A.G.I.C., a magical writers and artists organization. Dorothy is a Wiccan High Priestess of the Georgian Tradition, and has been an avid practitioner of the ancient arts for more than twenty years. She founded the Coven of the Crystal Garden in 1986, and spent many years teaching the Craft of Wicca to students both in the United States and in Australia. A former state championship archer and bow hunter, Dorothys current interests include Tarot work, magical herbalism, stonework, and computer networking.Dorothys work has been published in many journals and magazines, including Circle Network News, SageWoman, and Crone Chronicles. She is the author of the acclaimed Everyday Magic, Magical Needlework, In Praise of the Crone, Yule, Bud, Blossom & Leaf: The Magical Herb Gardeners Handbook, The Craft, and The Craft Companion, among other works..

Buy Dorothy Morrison's book: Everyday Moon Magic Spells And Rituals For Abundant Living

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The 8th Book Of Moses

Book: The 8th Book Of Moses by Ancient Grimoires

The Eighth Book of Moses, a magical treatise that otherwise has nothing to do with Moses and which is found in Greek Magical Papyrus (PGM) xiii in two versions. The end of this papyrus also mentions the "Hidden Book of Moses Concerning the Great Name," which may be another lost Moses work.

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The Secret Grimoire Of Turiel

Book: The Secret Grimoire Of Turiel by Medieval Grimoires

Turiel in the Book of Enoch

Turiel in later translations was the 18th Watcher of the 20 leaders of the 200 fallen angels that are mentioned in an ancient work called the Book of Enoch. The name is believed to originate from tuwr, el (God) meaning "rock of God". The translation taken from Michael Knibbs work on the Ethiopic Book of Enoch is "Mountain of God" or "Rock of God".

Grimoire of Turiel

There is a grimoire called "The Secret Grimoire of Turiel" in which the magician is given instructions on how to contact Turiel. It was believed to have been written in about 1518, but may have been copied from something older. It came to light in 1927 after being sold to Marius Malchus in Spain by a defrocked priest and was then translated into English from the original Latin. However, since Turiel is only previously mentioned in the Book of Enoch, it is unlikely that Turiel would have been known in the west before the rediscovery of the Book of Enoch in the early 17th century. No version previous of 1927 has been brought to the public.

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Moon Eclipses

A lunar eclipse occurs whenever the moon passes through some portion of the Earth’s shadow. This can only occur when the Sun, Earth and Moon are aligned exactly, or very closely, with the Earth in the middle. As such there is always a Full Moon on the night of a lunar eclipse. Every year there are at least two partial lunar eclipses, while total eclipses are much less common. The type and length of an eclipse depends upon the moon’s location relative to its orbit of the earth. As of writing this article the most recent total eclipse occurred on the 21st February 2008. The next eclipse, allbeit a partial one, will occur on the 16th August 2008. The next total eclipse is due on the 21st December 2010. Unlike a solar eclipse, which can only be seen from a number of small areas around the world, a lunar eclipse can be seen from anywhere on the night side of the Earth.

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Everyday Magic Spells And Rituals For Modern Living

Book: Everyday Magic Spells And Rituals For Modern Living by Dorothy Morrison

Is it time for a change? Is it time to improve your life with a better job, a happier home, or more romance? Then you need Everyday Magic by Dorothy Morrison! This is magic for modern Wiccans, and for everyone regardless of their religious affiliation. It is filled with hundreds of spells, chants, rituals, charms and formulas for incenses and oils. Every one is tested and powerful yet easy to use.

Everyday Magic is a well written book and it fit into my everyday living just as if it had been written for me personally. The modern day methods of dealing with the "old ways" of the craft amazed me. To go to a thrift store and pick up a cheap blender instead of trying to do so many herbal blends with the mortar. I was so mermerized with so many of Dorothy's modern gimmicks. Being able to improvise has always been big with me, Dorothy seems to do the same in her book.

Sure, there are spells for romance and prosperity. Those are as important today as they were a thousand years ago. But this book also presents magic that deals with today's problems. Speed up your computer's modem. Make sure your luggage arrives safely; ease labor pains; free yourself from anger; find a parking spot. These are all things we need and that you can do by following the simple instructions in this book!

One of the roadblocks to successful magical workings that many people face is finding the proper oils and incenses. Morrison's solution: Make them yourself! But don't use the old techniques that take hours, days, or even weeks to accomplish. Instead, you'll learn how to use common appliances such as a drip coffee maker, a blender, and a crock pot to create your own powerful incenses, oils, washes, brews, and more. What a practical timesaver!

And saving time in today's world is what this book is all about. Of course, if the spells, charms, rituals and techniques weren't practical and effective, saving time would be meaningless. Well, what you'll learn here is powerful -- and is presented by a woman who has been a Witch for more than 20 years and taught on two continents!

Dorothy Morrison has a daring point of view that magic is not just compatible with technology--the two can actually help one another. Since technology has made our lives more productive, surely it can enhance our magic too. (Have you ever thought of making your herbal infusions in an automatic-drip coffeemaker?) Technological assistance with magic is only part of the story. Morrison has filled a grimoire with charms that protect from car trouble and ensure the safe and timely arrival of luggage while traveling, and spells to keep a computer from crashing, which makes life in the 20th century a little less harrowing. Rather than fighting the progress of the electronic age, Morrison has tapped into the wealth it has to offer, and she shares her discoveries with anyone adventurous enough to try them.

The spells and rituals in here are all based on today's available materials. Trying to find something called dragon's blood was not easy for me. In this book, Dorothy makes it all so simple and still so effective. Spells of interest to the modern twentieth century housemate and businessperson. Spells and rituals that make so much sense and are so easily adaptable for my and others active lives.

I recommend, as I have many times, reading this book. I have read many and find this one to my liking on a high rating of "Way to go, Dorothy Morrison"
Excellent book and will keep an eye and ear open of reports of others from D. Morrison. Age, gender, and type of path are not even a stoppage point here. For all and then some.

Buy Dorothy Morrison's book: Everyday Magic Spells And Rituals For Modern Living

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The Golden Bough A Study Of Magic And Religion

Book: The Golden Bough A Study Of Magic And Religion by Sir James George Frazer

The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion is a wide-ranging, comparative study of mythology and religion, written by Scottish anthropologist Sir James George Frazer (1854–1941). It first was published in two volumes in 1890; the third edition, published 1906–15, comprised twelve volumes. It was aimed at a broad literate audience raised on tales as told in such publications as Thomas Bulfinch's The Age of Fable, or Stories of Gods and Heroes (1855). It offered a modernist approach to discussing religion, treating it dispassionately as a cultural phenomenon rather than from a theological perspective. The impact of The Golden Bough on contemporary European literature was substantial.

The book scandalized the British public upon its first publication, because it included the Christian story of Jesus in its comparative study, thus inviting an agnostic reading of the Lamb of God as a relic of a pagan religion. Frazer removed his analysis of the Crucifixion to a speculative appendix for the third edition, and it was entirely missing from the single-volume abridged edition.

Its influence on the emerging discipline of anthropology was pervasive and undeniable. For example, Bronislaw Malinowski, stricken with tuberculosis shortly after receiving his doctorate in physics and mathematics, read Frazer's work in the original English to distract himself from his illness. "No sooner had I read this great work than I became immersed in it and enslaved by it. I realized then that anthropology, as presented by Sir James Frazer, is a great science, worthy of as much devotion as any of her elder and more exact studies and I became bound to the service of Frazerian anthropology."

Despite whatever controversy the work may have generated, and its critical reception amongst other scholars, The Golden Bough had a tremendous effect on the literature of the period. Robert Graves adapted Frazer's concept of the dying king who is sacrificed for the good of the kingdom to the romantic idea of the poet's necessary suffering for the sake of his Muse-Goddess in his Frazer-esque book on poetry, rituals, and myths, The White Goddess, which was published in 1948. William Butler Yeats makes reference to it in his poem, "Sailing to Byzantium." H. P. Lovecraft mentions the book in his short story "The Call of Cthulhu." T. S. Eliot acknowledged indebtedness to Frazer in his first note to his poem The Waste Land. William Carlos Williams references it as well in Book Two, part two, of his extended poem in five books, Paterson. James Joyce, Ernest Hemingway, D. H. Lawrence, Aleister Crowley, Ezra Pound, Mary Renault, Joseph Campbell, Naomi Mitchison (in her The Corn King and the Spring Queen), and Camille Paglia are but a few authors deeply influenced by The Golden Bough. Its literary impact has given it continued life, even as its direct influence in anthropology has waned.

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The Art Of Hypnotism Self Hypnosis And Hypnotizing Others

Many years ago I went to a Hypnotist to learn the Art. He taught me how to hypnotize myself and others. It is actually an easy process involving very little study and practice. You must remember.... not everyone can be hypnotized. Some people are so wrapped up in their thoughts of every day worries that they can not simply concentrate. In order to be hypnotized... you must be able to relax and clear your mind just the same as you would during meditation..
I would suggest trying it on yourself before trying it on others. Here are the steps to hypnotizing yourself....

1. Sit on a couch in the upright position and close your eyes and your arms at your side or in your lap. Do not move around. Just sit there and relax for a minute.

2. Clear your mind of all thoughts. How do you do this?.... simply imagine a big Dumpster or a very large metal box on your mental screen. Then see it open and put all your thoughts and worries in it one by one.... bills... your lovelife.... problems.... your children.... your job... everything you can think of. Then close the lid and lock it! Then push it off your mental screen.

3. Now sit there quietly with no thoughts for a minute. When you are ready to start... do not forget to tell yourself as you go through each part of the body that you are becoming more and more relaxed as you go. YOU MUST TELL YOURSELF THIS!

4. Now... start with your head.... imagine every part of your head relaxing... start with your eyes.... then go to your ears.... the mouth... all your facial muscles. spend time with each part to make sure it is fully relaxed.

5. Now go to your neck and do the same.

6. Now go to your whole chest and stomach region and start with your heart... slow it down and make it at peace. Relax all you chest muscles and then your stomach area.

7. Now relax your arms feeling them going limp. Relax every muscle in your arms one by one including your fingers.

8. Next go to the groin area and relax all the muscle there.

9. Now it is time to do your legs.... start with the thighs and work your way down to the feet relaxing each and every toe.

By this time you should be like a big lump of silly putty... totally relaxed and and at peace. Now here comes the fun part. This is where you will get to hypnotize yourself and see if it really works.....

1. Site there with you arms in you lap and or at your side and tell yourself that your right arm is getting very light. It is getting very, very light. Keep telling yourself this and feel how it is getting lighter. Tell yourself that it is getting so light that is is staring to raise up off your lap. Feel it it getting light as you keep telling yourself this and feel it raising up off you lap. It is getting lighter by the second and it is raising up higher and higher until it is up in the air.

2. Once you have achieved this and your arm is up in the air you may tell yourself it is getting heavy again and lower it to your lap. You will now tell yourself that you will awaken fully refreshed with energy and a clear mind.

3. Open your eyes and evaluate what you have done. Write down your experience in your magical journal. If you did not have success... try again later that day and keep trying until you are satisfied. If it never works for you.... you may be one of those who cannot be hypnotized.

Now.... this method can be used on someone else. Try it on your best friend... except you are the one who will be telling them to relax each part of their body. Then do the arm raising stunt with them and see if it works. Remember.... as you go through each part of the body with them... tell them they are getting more and more relaxed and sleepy. If this works then you can try more difficult things like making them do funny things...

Remember... DO NOT MAKE PEOPLE DO THINGS THAT WILL HURT THEM OR OTHERS!

You can also use this method to remember things and program yourself to lose weight or study better or what ever you so choose!

If you have been successful.... Congratulations! You now know how to Hypnotize!

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The Persian Mystics Jalaluddin Rumi

Book: The Persian Mystics Jalaluddin Rumi by Frederick Hadland Davis

Rumi (1207-1273) was a Persian jurist and theologian best known for being perhaps the finest of all Sufi poets. His writings have been widely translated and remain especially popular in Iran, Afghanistan, and Tajikistan. Though written from a Sufi perspective, Rumi's poems on spiritual growth-here collected and edited by F. Hadland Davis and first published in 1907-cross all cultural and Religious bounds, and can still be heard today in many secular and religious settings.

The Persian Mystics: Jalalu'd-din Rumi includes selections from some of Rumi's most famous works, the "Divani Shamsi Tabriz" and the "Masnavi," as well as passages on his life and work, and the origin and nature of Sufism.

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How And Why I Became A Witch

I created this lens to allow others to peek into the life of a typical American witch, what we do, what we are and basic beliefs. I certainly do not speak for other witches, their beliefs or opinions. We are all individuals just like anyone else. I am trying to explain (not defend) witchcraft, some facts about real witches, discuss "wanna-be witches," black and white magick, and more. I also feature recommended products, tools, music, links of interest and other information. To learn how to perform your own spells, whether you're a witch or not (it doesn't matter) visit this guide to spellcrafting for witches or non-witches.
I am a solitary witch. I am not Wiccan, per se. I have a few different beliefs but many are similar to Wicca. I really don't label myself into any particular denomination but the closest to any would be Traditional. It has taken me several years to truly believe I am most likely a Natural Witch. This doesn't make me bad or good, it just makes me who I am. This is who I was born to be.

Please feel free to question, comment or share your own stories in the comment section. Recommend your own witch, pagan or spiritual links there, too. I'd love to hear from you, witch or non-witch!

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Witch Hunts Today

Few people are aware that witch-hunts still claim thousands of lives every year, especially in the countries of sub-Saharan Africa, and above all in South Africa.

Witch-hunts in South Africa have become "a national scourge," according to Phumele Ntombele-Nzimande of the country's Commission on Gender Equality. (Quoted in Gilbert Lewthwaite, "South Africans go on witch hunts," Baltimore Sun, September 27, 1998.) The phenomenon is centered in the country's poverty-stricken Northern Province, where "legislators counted 204 witchcraft-related killings [from 1985-95] ... Police counted 312 for the same period. Everybody agreed both numbers were gross underestimates." (Neely Tucker, "Season of the Witch Haunts Africa," The Toronto Star, August 1, 1999.) In 1996 The Observer (UK) reported that "the precise statistics are not known, but the deaths from witch-burning episodes number in the hundreds each year and the trend appears to be on the rise." (David Beresford, "Ancient superstitions, fear of witches cast spell on new nation," reprinted in The Ottawa Citizen, June 18, 1996.)

As with its European predecessor, witch-hunting in South Africa is closely tied not only to prevailing superstitions, but to socio-economic pressures, natural disasters, and personal jealousies. In the Northern Province, "among the poorly educated rural residents, traditional healers and clairvoyants claiming supernatural powers hold broad sway. And hunger, poverty, and unemployment can create jealousies that can quickly turn to anger and vengeance." (Lewthwaite, "South Africans go on witch hunts.") Likewise, Peter Alexander reports that "In a region of intense poverty and little education, villagers are quick to blame any adverse act of fate on black magic." These traditional tendencies have been exacerbated by a recent hysteria (extending to Kenya and Zimbabwe) over the very real phenomenon of "ritual killings related to witchcraft," which "include the removal of organs and limbs from the victims -- the genitals, hands or the head, all of which are believed to bring good luck." (Alexander, "'Witches' get protection from superstitious mobs," The Daily Telegraph, May 26, 1997.) Such ritual murders often bring "retribution" against innocents accused of witchcraft.

The intensity of the persecution and vigilantism in South Africa has reached such levels that no fewer than ten villages have been established in the Northern Province, populated exclusively by accused "witches" whose lives are at risk in their home communities. One such settlement, Helena, counted among its residents 62-year-old Esther Rasesemola, who "was accused in 1990 of being a witch after lightning struck her village":

A group of people visited the Inkanga [village witch-doctor] to see who was responsible. When they returned, it was my brother-in-law who told the rest of the village that I was responsible. He owed me money and I think he did it to get rid of me because he did not want to pay the money back. People in the village became convinced I was a witch. They came to my house at night and burnt it down and took all my belongings. Then they put me in a truck and drove me to a deserted place and dropped me off with my husband and my three children. They told me never to come back to the village or they would kill me. My husband died two years after we were expelled. My children have gone away and now I have nothing. I don't believe in witchcraft. It is just superstitious belief. (Quoted in Alexander, "'Witches' get protection.")

Gilbert Lewthwaite of the Baltimore Sun described the case of Violet Dangale, a 42-year-old woman who "was driven from her home 30 months ago by relatives and neighbours who accused her of being a witch growing rich from the work of zombies, as the 'living dead' are known." Now she was "penniless and in fear for her life," living in Tshilamba, another of the refuges for accused witches. Her "main accuser was her uncle. He first accused her father of using zombies to enrich himself. Then he turned on her, suggesting that she enjoyed her share of the family's wealth through witchcraft. ... As the accusations and threats grew stronger, the Dangale family fled their homes in Dzimauli." "They said I was a witch," Dangale told Lewthwaite. "I don't know anything about witchcraft. I don't believe in zombies. Since I was born, I never saw a zombie." (Lewthwaite, "South Africans go on witch hunts.")

Both of these women were luckier than 65-year-old Linah Seabi, "a sorghum beer brewer ... [who] was charged with killing an elderly woman with a poisonous potion. More than 200 villagers stormed Seabi's house in late May [1991], beat her and burned her to death with straw thatch from the roof of her house." (Nina Shapiro, "Wave of witch hunts sweeps South African countryside," The Toronto Star, September 19, 1991.) In December 1998, "Francina Sebatsana, 75, and Desia Mamafa, 55 ... were burned to death on pyres of wood in the village of Wydhoek," in the Northern Province, for alleged witchcraft. "Eleven men, ages 21 to 50" were charged with her murder. (Lewthwaite, "South Africans go on witch hunts.")

The gendering of the European witch-hunts appears to be closely duplicated in the South African case. As the above accounts suggest, "traditionally, it is women who are accused of witchcraft" (Alexander, "'Witches' get police protection"). Especially vulnerable are "defenceless elderly women, against whom the actions are taken without resistance," according to Northern Province Premier Ngoako Ramatlhodi. "That women most often are the victims of witch hunts stems from attitudes toward gender," writes Nina Shapiro of The Toronto Star:

"In our culture, men go out in the afternoon, women remain in the home," said Russell Molefe, a local journalist. People believe women sit at home concocting potions, he said. Older women are suspected, according to Lebowa police lieutenant Mohlabi Tlomatsana, simply because they are alive. "People will think 'Why has she not died? Probably because she is a witch.'" (Shapiro, "Wave of witch hunts.")

However, as in the European case-study, "these days almost a third of victims of men" (Alexander, "'Witches' get police protection.") Nonetheless, approximately 30 percent of accused witches are male -- reflecting men's prominence as nangas, or traditional healers. Anton La Guardia describes the case of "Credo Mutwa, southern Africa's best-known practising healer ... [who] said he had been accosted by a mob and stabbed several times. He lay bleeding on the ground and waited helplessly to die as his assailants poured petrol and prepared to set it alight. Mr. Mutwa ... said he was saved by the same superstition which was about to claim his life. 'A young man shouted, "His ghost will haunt you." They vanished, leaving me like a fish on dry land.'" (La Guardia, "South Africa's non-political witch-hunts," The Daily Telegraph, September 9, 1998.)

As in all these campaigns, it is difficult to assign particular responsibility for fuelling the anti-witch hysteria. Although they may themselves be accused of witchcraft, it is also generally the nangas who are called upon to point out "suspicious" persons who can be accused as witches: according to one South African police sergeant, "Generally, if people believe there is a witch in their village, they will consult the [witch-doctor]. He or she will then 'sniff out' the witch. The person who is accused will then be killed or ordered to leave the village." (Alexander, "'Witches' get police protection.") Village males usually carry out the murders and other acts of terrorism. But as in the European case-study, patterns of gossip and rumour are central to the process -- and to shielding the perpetrators from justice. South African police inspector Matome Mamabolo reports: "If someone is accused of murdering a witch, the community tends to support them by supplying money for an advocate when the case comes to court. There is a solidarity there -- after all, that person is accused of ridding the village of a witch." (Quoted in Alexander, "'Witches' get police protection.")

Much the same pattern is evident in Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Kenya, although the gender of the victims may be more even. In August 1999, Paul Harris of the Sunday Telegraph reported that

Lynch mobs have killed hundreds of Tanzanians whom they accuse of witchcraft as black magic hysteria sweeps East Africa. Most of the usually elderly victims have been beaten or burnt to death by gangs of youths. Some old women have been singled out simply because they have red eyes -- regarded as a sign of sorcery by their assailants. The condition is actually caused by years of toiling in smoky kitchens cooking family meals. ... Police say 357 suspected witches have been killed in the past 18 months, but the Ministry of Home Affairs believes that the true figure is much higher. A departmental survey said as many as 5,000 people were lynched between 1994 and 1998. (Paul Harris, "Hundreds burnt to death in Tanzanian witch-hunt," Sunday Telegraph, August 22, 1999.)

In Zimbabwe, as in neighbouring South Africa, the witch-hunts also seem closely related to "the black market demand for human body parts, which are used in making evil potions." The upsurge in such practices, the ritual murders they require, and the vengefulness that results against accused "witches," are all linked to the country's precipitous economic decline. "It's obvious the cause is economic," says Gordon Chavanduka, head of the Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers Association (which counts 50,000 members). "The worse the economy gets, the more political tension there is in society, the more frustrated and frightened people get. They turn to witchcraft to gain riches or to hurt their enemies." (Neely Tucker, "Season of the witch haunts Africa," The Toronto Star, August 1, 1999.)

In the Kenyan case, as was also true in a handful of European countries, the witch-hunts appear predominantly to target males. A British sociologist, J.F.M. Middleton, records the conviction of the Lugbara tribe of Kenya that

a witch is a man [emphasis added] who perverts a mystical power of kinship for his own selfish ends and is therefore an evil person. Witches in general are given both physical and moral attributes: a witch has greyish skin, red eyes, a physical deformity; he may travel about upside down; he is bad tempered, secretive, petty and jealous; he is thought to practice incest and cannibalism. The distinction between witchcraft, a mystical activity, and sorcery, the use of material objects, was widespread in eastern Africa, Dr. Middleton said. When, as in Lugbara, the basic principles of organization were unilineal descent and seniority by generation it would be expected that men were believed to practise witchcraft, whereas women should have the less important role of sorcerer. ("How to recognize witches," The Times [UK], September 5, 1997.)

In Kenya in 1993, killings among the Gusii tribe were occurring at the rate of one a week. "In most cases ... village mobs several hundred strong locked the victims inside thatch-roof houses and set them on fire. ... According to tribal elders, the Gusii have always executed people found to be witches. Sanslaus Anunda, a 99-year-old tribal elder, said that during his youth, villagers had a foolproof method for determining guilt. The most respected men in the community would call a meeting. Next, they would smear local herbs on the hands of the suspect and that of a second, innocent man [emphasis added]. Both men would be ordered to dip their hands into a pot of boiling water, then return in five days. If the suspect was a witch, burns would appear on his hands. However, Anunda insists, the innocent man's hands would remain unscarred." (Tammerlin Drummong, "Kenya: Dozens die in witch hunts," The Ottawa Citizen, August 28, 1993.)

A trend of predominantly male victimization may also be evident in West Africa, where a bizarre wave of accusations of "penis-snatching" has come to light. The Reuters news agency reported in 1996 that "eight men in Accra, Ghana, were accused of using witchcraft to snatch penises. Their motivation was allegedly to return the sexual organs in return for cash. Mobs attacked them ... two died and six were seriously injured. The police examined all the alleged victims and found their genitals intact. ... [But] the 'victims' believed that sorcerers only had to touch them to make the genitals shrink or disappear completely." ("'Witches' steal penises in Ghana," Reuters dispatch, January 17, 1996.) D. Trull reported in 1997 that "the killings of alleged 'penis snatchers'" had been reported "along the west coast from Cameroon to Nigeria." (See Trull, "Witches Protection Program".)

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Witch Hunting Panic And Torture

Witch-hunting could be endemic or epidemic. Its dynamics varied. Small panics (fewer than 20 victims) tended to occur in villages worried about maleficium. Their victims were often poor, obnoxious persons whose removal the rest of the community applauded.

If small panics fed on long-smoldering fears about neighbors, large ones exploded without warning, killing people of all classes and conditions and rupturing social bonds. The worst examples of this were in Germany, where unlimited use of torture (in defiance of imperial law) produced an ever-expanding wave of denunciations. To object was to court death.

Large witch-panics started with the usual obscure suspects and worked up the social scale to prosperous citizens, reputable matrons, high-ranking clerics, town officials, and even judges. The longer a panic lasted, the higher was the proportion of male and wealthy victims.

According to the Dutch Jesuit Cornelius van Loos, confiscations from suspected witches in large panics could "coin gold and silver from human blood," Youngsters were legally old enough to burn as soon as they could distinguish "gold from an apple." Children as young as nine were burned in Wurzburg, including the bishop's nephew, and boys ages three and four were imprisoned as Satan's catamites.

Some of the German trials were marred by collusion, bribes, and rape. Unspeakable tortures were routine -- 17 different kinds were authorized by "the Saxon lawgiver," Benedikt Carpzov, during the 17th century. Confessing "without torture" in Germany meant without torture that drew blood. Nearly all who underwent this broke, even the blameless.

Yet witches sometimes did turn themselves in and confess spontaneously, the equivalent of today's "suicide by police." The same melancholy, frustration, and despair that they claimed had driven them into the devil's arms brought them willingly to the stake. They had apparently come to believe the wish-fulfillment fantasies of pleasure and revenge enacted in the theaters of their minds. Nevertheless, they still hoped to save their souls through pain.

A few brave men spoke up for justice. In 1563, Johann Weyer, a Protestant court physician, drew attention to the cruelty of the trials and the mental incompetence of many of the accused. English country gentleman Reginald Scot mocked witchcraft as popish nonsense in 1584. In 1631, the Jesuit Friedrich von Spec, confessor to witches burned at Mainz, proclaimed them innocent victims. Van Loos, witness to the horrors of witchcraft trials at Trier, had his manuscript confiscated in 1592 before it could be published and was himself imprisoned and banished.

Ironically, a Spanish inquisitor named Alonso Salazar y Frias mounted the most dramatic challenge to witch-hunting. In 1609, a panic among French Basques in the western Pyrenees on the Bay of Biscay spilled over into the Navarra region in Spain, where six accused witches went to the stake. But Salazar, who had been a judge in that trial, became skeptical as the panic widened to engulf 1,800 suspects, 1,500 of them children. Basque witches' confessions included such incredible details as familiars in the form of costumed toads that child-witches herded with little crooks during sabbats.

Salazar cross-checked testimony, had supposed magic substances tested, and applied logic to conclude that the alleged witches were simply an artifact of witch-hunting. "There were neither witches nor bewitched until they were talked and written about," he reported in 1610. With stubborn practice, Salazar wrested a decision from his superiors that freed the accused in 1614. The Spanish Inquisition never executed another witch; nor did it permit secular authorities to do so after an outbreak in Catalonia that saw more than 300 witches hanged between 1616 and 1619. What could have erupted into Europe's worst witch-panic was extinguished by one man.


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Max Heindel - Teachings Of An Initiate
Richard Johnson - The Zodiac Stellar Stories
Stephen William Hawking - Space And Time Warps

Witch Hunting Multitude Of Myths

Historians have now realized that witch-hunting was not primarily a medieval phenomenon. It peaked in the 17th century, during the rationalist age of Descartes, Newton, and St. Vincent de Paul. Persecuting suspected witches was not an elite plot against the poor; not was practicing witchcraft a mode of peasant resistance. Catholics and Protestants hunted witches with comparable vigor. Church and state alike tried and executed them. It took more than pure Reason to end the witch craze.

Nor were witches secret pagans serving an ancient Triple Goddess and Horned God, as the neopagans claim. In fact, no witch was ever executed for worshipping a pagan deity. Matilda Gage's estimate of nine million women burned is more than 200 times the best current estimate of 30,000 to 50,000 killed during the 400 years from 1400 to 1800 -- a large number but no Holocaust. And it wasn't all a burning time. Witches were hanged, strangled, and beheaded as well. Witch-hunting was not woman-hunting: At least 20 percent of all suspected witches were male. Midwives were not especially targeted; nor were witches liquidated as obstacles to professionalized medicine and mechanistic science.

This revised set of facts should not entirely comfort Catholics, however. Catholics have been misled -- at times deliberately misled -- about the Church's role in the witch-hunts by apologists eager to present the Church as innocent of witches' blood so as to refute the Enlightenment theory that witch-burning was almost entirely a Catholic phenomenon. Catholics should know that the thinking that set the great witch-hunt in motion was developed by Catholic clerics before the Reformation.

But the great witch-hunt was nonetheless remarkably slow in coming. Many cultures around the world believed for millennia -- and still believe -- in witches. In typical folklore, past and present, witches are night-flying evildoers who inflict harm on others by supernatural means, such as curses, the evil eye, and magic substances. Witchcraft is usually thought of as an innate power, unlike sorcery, whose magical spells must be learned. What Christianity uniquely added to those traditional beliefs was Satan. God's enemies were said to join Satan's band of demons through a pact and worship him at monstrous bacchanals called "sabbats," where they parodied the liturgy.

The Church inherited Roman and Germanic laws regarding maleficent magic, laws that treated witchcraft as a crime. But to St. Augustine, concrete witchcraft consisted of idolatry and illusion rather than harm to others. Following Augustine, an Anonymous ninth-century text, Canon Episcopi, became part of the Church's canon law, declaring that belief in the reality of night-flying witches was heresy because there was no such thing as an actual witch. Although the idolatry and heresy associated with witchcraft resided only in the will, not in actual deeds, they were nevertheless sinful, Augustine wrote. Punishment was in order -- but not burning.

The High Middle Ages of the twelfth and 13th centuries saw the bloody suppression of heretics, notably the Cathars in Provence. Measures against Jews, magicians, and sexual deviants also grew harsher. These groups were associated with a stereotyped set of blasphemies, orgies, and outrages, including infanticide and cannibalism. Starting in 1232, the papal Inquisition dispatched roving specialists to detect and punish heretics outside existing legal systems.

Then, the idea that witchcraft was a reality rather than a heretical illusion suddenly made a comeback. The inquisitors who had cut their teeth on heretics were devouring accused witches as well by the end of the Middle Ages. This was not simply a matter of shifting scapegoats to suit market demand. In a society that feared supernatural menaces working through human conspiracies, the sinister folk figure of the esoterically schooled magician apparently fused with that of the petty village wise-woman or cunning man to create the new phenomenon of the diabolical witch.

After the first wisps of this change in the late 14th century, the flames burst forth around 1425 in the Savoy region, in what is now southeast France, and in the canton of Valais in Switzerland, near the borders of France and Italy. About 500 more witch trials followed before the Reformation began in 1517.

Books You Might Enjoy:

Richard Alan Miller - The Magical And Ritual Use Of Herbs
Edna Kenton - The Book Of Earths
Michael Johnstone - The Ultimate Encyclopedia Of Spells

Spells For The Solitary Witch

Book: Spells For The Solitary Witch by Eileen Holland

This book "Spells for the Solitary Witch" focuses on spells and spell work specifically for the Solitary Practitioner. Clear and easy to follow, Spells for the Solitary Witch explains how to prepare and cast spells 87 spells in all together with the materials needed for each spell and the incantations to say that will ensure the best results. Tailored to the needs of solitary witches, Holland suggests alternatives to hard-to-find ingredients, as well as directions about where to find specific ingredients crucial to a spells success.

Written by a solitary witch and Wiccan priestess herself, Spells For The Solitary Witch is a simple walkthrough of ways to release hidden power for health, wellness, emotional enrichiment, and environmental harmony. Chapters discuss magick and its applications in love, life enhancement, and problem solving, as well as magickal candle gardens, tea potions, and more. Detailed instructions, specific incantations, detailed how-to's down to where one can easily obtain sesame oil or Tiger Balm, and much more make Spells For The Solitary Witch ideal for novice and experienced spellcasters alike.

Again we are presented with Ms. Holland's easy to read and follow style of writing. She lays her book out according to the kind of spells you may want to do, and lists her spells according to what you want to accomplish when working your spells.

I have to say her opening section, entitled :Before you Begin" is exceptional in explaining basic spellwork, what it is, what is magic, ethics when working magic, personal responsibility and terminology. This is an excellent reference on it's own and should be suggested to all beginning spellworkers as a point of essential reference. I wish Ms. Holland would have expanded this section, as she did it so well, but it does stand on it's own as a very good overview.

The sections on actual spellworking are divided into seven chapters, covering "Inner Work, "Goals, Hopes, Wishes", "Love", "Life Enhancement", "Problem Solving", "Magickal Candle Gardens", and "Tea Potions".

Each section has a selection of spells for various situations. Under "Inner Work" we find spells for acceptance, getting over it, even personal power talisman, a tool for building self-confidence. Each spell has complete instructions and directions on how to use the spells for each intent. A list of needs is followed by preparation and the actual spell working, which may include an incantation, ritual, and sometimes an "afterward" or review of what should be the focus and how you should react to the spellworking. With the Talisman, she discusses creating these talisman, the proper signs for you, day workings and Correspondences, and all you would need to know to create and use a personal talisman.

Going forward into the various chapters, each chapter contains spells referencing the chapter title. In "Goals, Hopes, Wishes" we have spells for goals you wish to reach, spells for special wishes, interview charms; all with discussions on your intents to what you want to achieve and how to work the spell.

The "Love" section has workings for personal enhancement, to bring love into your life. The "Life Enhancement" chapter has spells for home blessings, abundance, fertility, joy, and protection to name a few. "Problem Solving" covers dealing with major mistakes, fearsome problems, problematic persons and hard times.

What I note in her spells is that when a spell calls for a "potion" as in her Tragedy Potion (for someone who has just encountered a tragedy in their life and you offer them this potion to help calm nerves and help them center and balance) the ingredients are noted and the appropriate cautions are given. In this case, she gives a recipe for a hot cup of cocoa, with some oil of peppermint. She notes "Note: this potion isn't for you if you are lactose-intolerant, allergic to chocolate or peppermint or have any medical reason that precludes its use." Wise words from a wise witch.

The book contains many notes of wisdom. "Magickal Candle Gardens" focuses on candle magic to assist persons in need. The garden is built indoors, containing candles arranged for your specific purpose and using candles of specific shapes and size depending on the needs. After going over the plans and the layout, it looks to be something even I would consider as a special magical working, being attractive, practical and very especially magical.

The last chapter is about "Tea Potions" specifically, and again, contains potions to work on yourself for specific situations you may encounter, such as personal health, luck, creativity and success to name a few. She works some of the potions with runes, others with chant. The only note I have here is that she did not repeat her good advice about being allergic to certain herbs, as most of these teas are herbal in their base. Please use your own digression when preparing these teas and if allergic, then look for a substitute.

Eileen Holland is a solitary eclectic witch, a Wiccan priestess who calls her path Goddess Wicca. She is the author of several books about magick and witchcraft, including Spells for the Solitary Witch and the best-selling The Wicca Handbook. Eileen is the webmaster of www.open-sesame.com, a popular long-running Wiccan web-site. She lives in upstate New York.

Buy Eileen Holland's book: Spells For The Solitary Witch

Downloadable books (free):

Anonymous - Welcome To The Secrets Of The Root Witch
Scott Cunningham - Wicca A Guide For The Solitary Practitioner
Shanddaramon - Self Initiation For The Solitary Witch