Recommendations based on "Llewellyn's 2017 Sabbats Almanac Samhain 2016 to Mabon 2017"

Exploring the mystery, wisdom, and power of the dark phase of the moon's cycle--a lunar-based model for moving through the dark times in our lives with understanding, consciousness, and faith in renewal. The moon's dark phase has traditionally been a time of fear and superstition, a time associated with death and isolation. The mythical embodiment of these fears is the Dark Goddess. Known around the world by many names--Lilith, Kali, Hecate, and Morgana--the archetypal Dark Goddess represents death, sexuality, and the unconscious--the little understood, often feared aspects of life. Demetra George combines psychological, mythical, and spiritual perspective on the shadowy, feminine symbolism of the dark moon to reclaim the darkness from oppressive, fear-based images. George offers rites for rebirth and transformation that teach us to tap into the power of our dark times, maximizing the potential for renewal inherent in our inevitable periods of loss, depression, and anger.

Whether you’re an out-and-proud witch in progress, or a witch in the broom closet, this spellbinding beginner’s book will teach you how to discover the natural magick within you, and use it to thrive!Natural magick is all about working in harmony with your environment, harnessing the power of nature to unlock your inner magickal potential.From foraging and using herbs in spells, to using sun or moonlight in cleansing rituals to understanding the changing of the seasons and their impact on your powers, this book is an invaluable guide to anyone interested in exploring natural magick.This magick has the power to transform your relationship with yourself, the people around you, and the natural world. Featuring introductions to everything you need to know to get started in your Craft, this is the ultimate guide that you will want to return to again and again as you develop your practice, and discover how magical Witchcraft is as a form of self-care.Including tried-and-true tips and tricks taken from The Witch of the Forest’s personal grimoire, learn about: How to build a budget-friendly practice using only simple tools and ingredients in your cupboards The witch’s wheel of the year Spellcraft Candle magick Herbs and foraging Divination, such as tarot, scrying and pendulum dowsing Creating your own sigils A witch’s relationship to the moon, sky and nature How to practice witchcraft discretely in the broomcloset ... and much more!Suitable for every type of witch and witchling – green, house, eclectic, solitary, or undecided! – this book also includes a pendulum board that you can remove to help answer all your questions.If you are a witch in the broom closet, simply remove the jacket from this book or download as an ebook for more discreet reading.Ground yourself in your magick, and embrace the simpler, but just as powerful side of the modern witching hour!The Witch of the Forest’s Guide to… series are a collection of guides for different areas of witchcraft, focusing on the relationship between magic, the natural world and the self.

Learn the secrets of The Witch of the Forest in this stunning follow-up to Natural Magick, and channel the elemental forces which are all around you to master the practice of earth magick.Earth magick is all about understanding the elements which govern the world around us, connecting with the Earth and using its powers to thrive. From using the four elements – fire, air, water and earth – in spells, to learning about the powers of crystals and mastering the art of divination, this book will teach you everything you know about this ancient form of magick.Discover how to use simple witchcraft to boost your wellbeing, keep yourself grounded in the 21st century, and connect to your own natural ‘seasons’ in your life as well as in your craft.Perfect for budding beginners new to the spellbinding world of witchcraft, learn about: Casting a circle and ritual basics, Crystals and their magickal properties and uses, Divination techniques such as using runes and divination dice, Connecting with the energies of the four seasons, the four elements, and harnessing their power, Connecting to your own natural ‘seasons’ in your life through your craft, Reconnecting with your craft after a break, Caring for your magickal energy if you're an empath, or are feeling drained, Embracing your darker energies, and using shadow work for personal growth and transformation, Wellbeing techniques for witches to help you manage your energy... and more!Suitable for every type of witch and witchling – including those practicing in the broom closet – this book also includes a runes board on the back of the jacket that you can remove to help answer all your questions.The Earth is bursting with magickal energies and lessons to be learnt, and connecting with these can help your relationship with yourself, the people around you, and the natural world, blossom. Discover how to use witchcraft to connect more deeply with yourself, and and learn from the Earth how to bloom and thrive at your own pace!The Witch of the Forest’s Guide to… series are a collection of guides to different areas of witchcraft, focusing on the relationship between magic, the natural world and the self. Each book discusses completely different elements of the natural world, and Earth Magick is full of techniques not mentioned in Natural Magick.

Discover the benefits of nontheistic Satanism, the dynamic religion taking the world by storm! Get started with this comprehensive, easy-to-understand guide to modern Satanic practice by an experienced Satanic insider.Drawing on her years of leadership in The Satanic Temple (now with over 300,000 members worldwide), award-winning author Lilith Starr demystifies the rapidly-growing Satanic religion based on compassion, reason, and justice and provides a clear road map for building Satanic practice. Learn to tap into your own power, create your own unique, meaningful religious practice, stand up against tyranny and oppression, and find a supportive Satanic community that accepts you just as you are. With a Foreword by Lucien Greaves, Co-Founder of The Satanic Temple. Learn about: The benefits of religion without superstition The narrative of Satan as revolutionary hero The Seven Tenets' system of humanitarian ethics Reclaiming the power of the Outcast The origin and meaning of Satanic symbols The role of nontheistic Satanic ritual (and how to create your own rituals) Developing self-compassion and self-empowerment Coming out to friends and family as a Satanist Taking action against tyranny and injustice Finding your local Satanic community This extensive guide to modern Satanism also includes a collection of Satanic ritual scripts, a number of in-depth interviews with practicing Satanists, and a section on Satanic holidays. Perfect for beginners and Satanic sophisticates alike!

Beyond the darkness of winter, there is an oasis of light and warmth on the journey from solstice to spring. Known as Candlemas, Imbolg, Brigantia, or Lupercus, it is a hope-filled celebration held in early February to welcome the returning light and the promise of spring. Candlemas sheds light on the origins, lore, and customs of this ancient holy day with:Myths and stories: Brigit the Goddess, Brigid the Saint, and her meaning today Candlemas magick and divination: flame scrying, hearthside divination, candle magick, and protection magick Late winter goodies and feasts: Brede's Braid Bread, Guiness Stew, Bubble and Squeak, Mulled Cider or Wine February festivals and traditions: rituals for purification, blessings, and renewal, from the Irish, British, Scots, Welsh, Norwegian, Greek, Roman, and Chinese cultures Seasonal crafts and games: Brigid's crosses or sun wheels, "Begging for Biddy," and a Brigit corn dolly

This is the definitive celebration and exploration of all facets of witchcraft, serving as a complete reference book but also as a source of entertainment and general interest. Contents: * Judika Illes explores the history, folklore, spirituality, and mythology of witchcraft. Wicca will be discussed, but the focus will not to limited to Wicca. As with Element Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells, this book's focus will be cross-cultural and will span the centuries right up to the present day and popular culture. * Meet mythic witches, modern witches, sacred goddess witches, even demon witches, male and female witches, witches from all over the globe. * Includes a miscellany of facts including magic spells, rituals, potions, recipes, celebrations, traditions, and much more. * This is a reference book that appeals to both insiders and outsiders; that is of appeal to those who adhere to the tenets of some form of witchcraft, as well as those general interest readers interested in folklore, mythology and history.

Enter the world of folklore, myth, and magic.Discover binding spells and banishing spells, spells for love, luck, wealth, power, spiritual protection, physical healing, and enhanced fertility drawn from Earth’s every corner and spanning 5,000 years og magical history.In The Encyclopedia Of 5,000 Spells: The Ultimate Reference Book for the Magical Arts, independent scholar, educator and author of several books of folklore, folkways, and mythology Judika Illes enables the reader to enter the world of folklore, myth and magic with binding spells and banishing spells, spells for love, luck, wealth, and power, as well as spells for spiritual protection, physical healing, and enhanced fertility drawn from Earth's every corner and spanning 5,000 years of magical history.

The beloved literary iconoclast delivers a fresh twenty-first century primer on tarot that can be used with any deck. While tarot has gone mainstream with a diverse range of tarot decks widely available, there has been no equally mainstream guide to the tarot—one that can be applied to any deck—until now. Infused with beloved iconoclastic author Michelle Tea’s unique insight, inviting pop sensibility, and wicked humor, Modern Tarot is a fascinating journey through the cards that teaches how to use this tradition to connect with our higher selves. Whether you’re a committed seeker or a digital-age skeptic—or perhaps a little of both—Tea’s essential guide opens the power of tarot to you. Modern Tarot doesn’t require you to believe in the supernatural or narrowly focus on the tarot as a divination tool. Tea instead provides incisive descriptions of each of the 78 cards in the tarot system—each illustrated in the charmingly offbeat style of cartoonist Amanda Verwey—and introduces specially designed card-based rituals that can be used with any deck to guide you on a path toward radical growth and self-improvement. Tea reveals how tarot offers moments of deep, transformative connection—an affirming, spiritual experience that is gentle, individual, and aspirational. Grounded in Tea’s twenty-five years of tarot wisdom and her abiding love of the cards, and featuring 78 black and white illustrations throughout, Modern Tarot is the ultimate introduction to the tradition of the tarot for millennial readers.

A humorous handbook for witches, providing instruction in areas such as spells, superstitions, recipes, gardening, and glamour.

Imagining the Witch explores emotions, gender, and selfhood through the lens of witch-trials in early modern Germany. Witch-trials were clearly a gendered phenomenon, but witchcraft was not a uniquely female crime. While women constituted approximately three quarters of those tried for witchcraft in the Holy Roman Empire, a significant minority were men. Witchcraft was also a crime of unbridled passion: it centred on the notion that one person's emotions could have tangible and deadly physical consequences. Yet it is also true that not all suspicions of witchcraft led to a formal accusation, and not all witch-trials led to the stake. Indeed, just over half the total number put on trial for witchcraft in early modern Europe were executed. In order to understand how early modern people imagined the witch, we must first begin to understand how people understood themselves and each other; this can help us to understand how the witch could be a member of the community, living alongside their accusers, yet inspire such visceral fear. Through an examination of case studies of witch-trials that took place in the early modern Lutheran duchy of Württemberg in southwestern Germany, Laura Kounine examines how the community, church, and the agents of the law sought to identify the witch, and the ways in which ordinary men and women fought for their lives in an attempt to avoid the stake. The study further explores the visual and intellectual imagination of witchcraft in this period in order to piece together why witchcraft could be aligned with such strong female stereotypes on the one hand, but also be imagined as a crime that could be committed by any human, whether young or old, male or female. By moving beyond stereotypes of the witch, Imagining the Witch argues that understandings of what constituted witchcraft and the 'witch' appear far more contested and unstable than has previously been suggested. It also suggests new ways of thinking about early modern selfhood which moves beyond teleological arguments about the development of the 'modern' self. Indeed, it is the trial process itself that created the conditions for a diverse range of people to reflect on, and give meaning, to emotions, gender, and the self in early modern Lutheran Germany.