Category: Witch Library

What The Witch Is Reading – February 2026

Posted on by runa

This section of my blog is dedicated to spreading the love of reading and books and the people who make them happen. I would not be the Witch I am today without books. I owe an obscene amount of gratitude to all the makers of books out there. This is my way of giving back. I hope that something I pick up and review will guide you to acquire the next tome on your To Be Read stack.

Reading in the winter is one of the things I most enjoy. Snuggling up in my reading chair with my puppers, next to the fire and sipping tea whilst I work my way through a book is heavenly. As I mentioned in my last post, most of my reading has been dedicated to recent research I’m doing for an ongoing project while still doing my Witch Work and running a permaculture Covenstead. Those books won’t appear here as to not give the project away before it’s ready for its public. But I’m always reading. Since my last post, I have finished two books (I’m reading a total of 4 right now – what? I like variety!)

Scorpio Witch by Ivo Dominguez, Jr. and Zoë Howe

I would not call myself an astrologer. I only started deepening my astrology knowledge back in 2017, with a big increase in my application of it in my daily life and magical practice beginning during the pandemic. But even knowing enough to be dangerous allowed me to enjoy this book and learn more and solidify some of the knowledge that I have about the impact of a Scorpio Sun, which yours truly is. 

I saw myself in so much of the content for connecting more deeply with the Scorpionic aspects of holding this sun sign. I know what the stereotypes are – and Dominguez and Howe go beyond and provide great tips to lean into that power. This is done through clean, no-nonsense writing and the play off of Dominguez’s more professorial tone and Howe’s more rock-n-roll takes on things plays a nice yin and yang in the text. The reader is left more grounded yet invited to shake their Witch’s rattle. 

Howe details early that Scorpios are those lone wolf witches who are perfectly content with being a solitary practitioner, “…unless a very special group presents itself.” She continues the expose on Scorpio suns with, “… magical work is sacred and we, the Zodiac’s least trusting sign, have to feel certain before we allow ourselves to be vulnerable in the presence of others.” ON POINT, readers! 

The book also explores the different moon signs that a Scorpio sun might have and how you can use the sway of the lunar energy to balance the light and shadow within that Scorpio sun. 

Dominguez also explores the rising signs, so going into reading this, knowing your big three is a plus, but early in the book there are directions on how to find your sun, moon, and rising. The anointing oil instructions he provided in the book is dead-on Scorpio scent love. I’ve already created it and use it in my daily meditations when preparing my sacred space. 

The part of the book that I will return to often – this is a reference book to be sure, but not dry and stale, but something that will teach you over and over again – is the exercises, spells, and rituals included – many by other writers who hold that Scorpio Sun in their chart.

I would, however, like to purchase a copy where they didn’t use the script font in the section titled “Postcard from a Scorpio Witch” by Lisa Jade. Utterly difficult to read and feels inaccessible depending on the reader’s mood, lighting, and eyesight. But the way it presents definitely feels like someone writing you a postcard – or letter even as it’s a few pages long. So the design choice made sense. But, maybe a clearer script font would be more appropriate?

However, I’m already awaiting the arrival of two more in this astro-witch series. When they get to the top of the TBR pile, you’ll hear from me on those books, too.

Mountain Magic: Explore the Secrets of Old Time Witchcraft by Rebecca Beyer

In 2025, along with reclaiming spirit work, I also had the goal of learning more about the cultural and societal influences on my ancestors. These goals continue through 2026, and if you’ve not explored your ancestors’ lives as we recall them, I highly encourage it. 

My path to explore these ancestral influences led me to Mountain Magic. It was on a stand right by the cash register, so maybe a spontaneous purchase, but also someone nudging me on my elbow, saying, “read this.” A good few branches of my family tree begin and branch from Appalachia USA. Beyer’s knowledge of that is fairly well rounded. As I mentioned last month, Wild Witchcraft, also by Beyer, sits on my shelf and I referenced it in Magic In Your Cup. Beyer loves research, as I do, and so getting a second book by her didn’t take much thinking. 

Like so many Craft books, this one hosts all kinds of working recipes. The ones in this book were inspired or done by generations of Appalachian folk magic. There’s some things in the mix of what is presented in this book that may make even the most devoted of Witches raise an eyebrow. But again, this is an education in how our beloved dead perhaps saw and ‘worked’ the world. It was nice to see validation of the materia magica that continues in my own practice naturally, but new ones to try, especially as I try to work with Beloved Dead in my spirit work. 

One interesting thing happened whilst I was reading this book. I had just finished the section on using Witchballs for Protection. Now in my lineage, witchballs were decorative, often hollow, glass spheres hung in windows to do the same things the Appalachia Witchballs did – trap evil, spells, and ill fortune, protecting the household. In other cultures they can be called spirit balls or friendship balls. Again, I had just finished that section when my partner and I were off on errands. Part of that was dropping off a donation to a thrift charity shop. When we drop, we often pause to shop, too. Treasure hunting is one of our favorite pastimes. What did I find? But a huge, six-inch diameter Witchball featuring all my favorite colors, with a motive of waves through the center. I’m heavy in the water element in my Natal chart, and it was like my ancestors said, “Here, you need more wards. We found this for you and now you know more about how to employ it.” 

Another thing is that I found the same Abracadabra energy in Mountain Witch that also appears in Scorpio Witch. Given that Abracadabra has been part of magic for millenia is encouraging to see it worked from different Practitioners perspectives. Absolutely they use similar tools, but employed slightly different – something that is not unusual within different paths of the Craft. Beyer folk magic; Dominguez with a more Witch/Wicca/Pagan viewpoint. Both powerful magic speaks to different paths and sympathies. And that synchronicity was electric to discover in this month’s readings.  

Up Next:

I am reading more research I can’t reveal yet; but, you know I’m not just reading one book at a time. I picked up two books at my local library – both a little more secular subjects, but I followed my intuition again for book selection. The books are: 

Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present by Ruth Ben-Ghiat, and 

The Pursuits of Philosophy: An Introduction to the Life and Thought of David Hume by Annette C. Baier. 

I’m in the midst of writing a fiction short story, so heady non-fiction is the way to read for me now. However, sudden urges to hit the used book store may bring a different work to the next Bookish Witch post.

See you for the next post on What The Witch Is Reading. Thanks for reading and comment if you have any questions, anecdotes, or requests.

As you can see, I read a little of everything. I’m always curious about what others are reading. What book are you working through right now? Let me know that, too!

What The Witch Is Reading: Signs & Opting Out – January 2026

Posted on by runa
This section of my blog is dedicated to spreading the love of reading and books and the people who make them happen. I would not be the Witch I am today without books. I owe an obscene amount of gratitude to all the makers of books out there. This is my way of giving back. I hope that something I pick up and review will guide you to acquire the next tome on your To Be Read stack. 

Most of my reading has been dedicated in the last six months to research I’m doing for an ongoing project while still doing my Witch Work and running a permaculture Covenstead. Those books won’t appear here as to not give the project away before it’s ready for its public. But I’m always reading. This last month I finished two books even whilst dealing with all the HOLIDAZE shenanigans. Tell me if these are in your TBR pile or if after reading my review you want to add them to that nice Sunday stack.

Adventures in Opting Out: A Field Guide to Leading An Intentional Life by Cait Flanders.

As someone who has made it a mainstay of my life to live intentionally, and also spent a few years being a constant traveler, I was excited to get my hands on this tome. The author, Cait Flanders, wrote this one on the heels of her book, The Year of Less, which was its own adventure in living minimally. Opt Out doubles down on the lessons of The Year of Less and dives deeper into Flanders’ goal to build a more meaningful life focused on nature, connection, and personal values, which for her includes a heavy travel schedule.

The part of the text that really appealed to me is that when she first began to create the life she lives now, there were naysayers, lack of support, and huge hurdles mostly put in place by societal expectations. I felt that hard. Not having a permanent address is a big problem in the outer world. People not understanding why you’re doing something leads to lack of support. And people who think your choices somehow affect or make their life ‘less than’ will always stand in front and block your way.

“People will always make comments when you decide to live a counter-culture lifestyle. They will have even more to say if you struggle with it,” she wrote, after her first attempts at living the life she wanted did not go smoothly. Regardless, Flanders is successful in the end and navigates all of the pushback throughout the book. She uses a hiking as a metaphor for the journey of living intentionally that even if you’ve never even considered such a way to live, you can picture it in your mind as you read — the reader starts at the trailhead, and she takes them through the whole ‘hike’ of opting out that leads them to the great viewpoint at the end. The amount of uniqueness that came into Flanders’ life is then spilled on the page in practical guidance of how to apply the lessons she’s learned that readers can take and make deliberate choices in their own.

“The only thing I can guarantee is that … progress is never linear,” Flanders writes. “Your map won’t be a straight line — and you will be better for that.” The amount of evidence within this quick read to help you create your own map to an intentional life. If you live a life more esoterically as I do, this worldview of intentionality isn’t new; but, seeing how someone else walks this path was inspirational and provides a gentle, encouraging tone like when you meet a fellow hiker coming from the other direction on the trail and they let you know some good intel about the journey ahead. “hey, there’s a wash out after the last bend,” or other lessons so you are more prepared and supported to make such a leap to a more intentional life. No woo-woo in this book, but it’s not necessary at all. This quote has stuck with me since reading:

“A lot of us are hurting in our friendships and relationships because people cross our boundaries or don’t meet our needs in some way. But most of the time, we don’t tell people what we need. We just expect them to know or understand we are on a journey. Not only is is unfair to place an unspoken expectation on someone; it’s also unfair to assume that people will always understand what we are doing and why. People can see only as far for you as they see for themselves. So we have to remember that if people aren’t doing the same thing as us, they won’t automatically understand.”

Signs: The Secret Language of the Universe by Laura Lynne Jackson.

In 2025 I set about to reclaim some of the Spirit Work talents that I was born with but was suppressed as a child because they were summarily dismissed by the world around me. So when this book appeared before me, I took it as — you guessed it — a sign. Laura Lynne Jackson is a psychic medium and author of the book, The Light Between Us, a NYT best seller.

She very much details the energy of people, places and things. “Because we comprise energy, we also give off energy,” she writes. And that energy can be channeled to pay closer attention to the whispering patterns, repeated moments, and subtle disturbances that often pass us by in our hectic daily lives. Jackson bids the reader to treat the signs as a living dialogue between inner awareness and the outer world, asking what it means to recognize meaning in them without forcing it, as opposed to treating signs like an abstract superstition or fixed answer.

Like many Practitioners in the Craft, Jackson encourages discernment over certainty, curiosity over dogma, and a more intimate relationship with how insight actually arrives. The author also includes a central theme of the presence of our Beloved Dead and Those Who Came Before. Throughout the book this presence of the “Other Side,” as she terms it, is not distant or theatrical, but adjacent to our ordinary experiences, helping to bring symbols, timing, and resonance. If you’re a Witch, this is not new to you, but the approach by Jackson that this is a fact of life is refreshing.

The book is full of stories of people who asked for and received signs, and who received near divine intervention from their Spirit team — Jackson calls them your Team of Light. Many of them made me catch my breath and examine the signs that I likely missed from the Universe, my Beloved Dead, or just the collective energy that often can make things happen miraculously. If you have ancestral work in your Practice, some of the ‘asks’ that Jackson details Some of the language left me wanting for a deeper dive, but Jackson falls clearly in the ‘love and light’ crowd — not that it’s bad, but it’s a different foundation than this writer’s. But for people exploring spirit work, Jackson’s prose is conversational and story-focused.

The best part of the book was how such a universal language of signs can be interpreted differently and also the comfort in grief and confusion they can belay to the reader. It’s clear that Jackson wants to offer the reader a way to a sense of wonder in the midst of loss, turning grief into a path for deeper connection. It empowers the reader to go on their own journey to empower them to work with their own spiritual realm team. Love never ends is the author’s message, and it continues to impact our lives greatly. We just have to notice the signs.

Up Next:

I am still working through Scorpio Witch by Ivo Dominguez, Jr. & Zoe Howe, because I have to keep stopping and pondering the information inside of it. Anything with astrology in it sends me down a deeper rabbit hole, so I’m relishing this one a little longer.

I also picked up Mountain Witch by Rebecca Byer as part of a Yule haul recently. Her book Wild Witchcraft already sits on my shelf.

However, sudden urges to go book shopping may bring a different tome to the next Bookish Witch post.

See you for the next post on What The Witch Is Reading. Thanks for reading and comment if you have any questions, anecdotes, or requests.

As you can see, I read a little of everything. I’m always curious about what others are reading. What book are you working through right now? Let me know that, too!

What The Witch Is Reading – Taking Back the Magic – November 2025

Posted on by runa
This section of my blog is dedicated to spreading the love of reading and books and the people who make them happen. I would not be the Witch I am today without books. I owe an obscene amount of gratitude to all the makers of books out there. This is my way of giving back. I hope that something I pick up and review will guide you to acquire the next tome on your To Be Read stack. 

The hiatus of my book reviews is over. My deep appreciation for those who have returned to my humble Word Alchemy blog. Maybe you’ll find a new book to read here.

Just Finished:

Take Back The Magic: Conversations With The Unseen World by Perdita Finn, 2023

This book follows one woman’s journey along her spiritual path—a genre that seems to be showing up more and more in my TBR pile. Finn blends memoir, historical context, earth-centered spirituality, and intimate letters to her deceased father, with whom she shared a complex and deeply human relationship. (Truly—who among us doesn’t have complicated parental ties?) These letters alone make the book worth revisiting; they are raw, honest, and written with a clarity of soul that lingers.

Finn is a natural medium, connected both to ancestral presences and the spirits of the Land, and that resonance came through powerfully. The narrative is personal, but the wisdom within offers readers guidance on cultivating their own relationships with the unseen world—whether with beloved dead, ancestral lineages, or the wider spiritual currents that move through the world. She uses the most vulnerable moments of her own life to illuminate a very real, tangible path toward ancestral reverence and the reclamation of the magic we forget is woven through our lives as souls returning again and again.

For readers already sensing the presence of the otherworld or seeking affirmation of their own intuitive relationship with the dead, this book may feel like a long-awaited validation. One of its strongest messages is that relationships may be healed—even after death. Finn shows how the perspective of the Dead expands beyond ego and limitation, making them ready and willing to assist us. We only need to open the door, rebuild the connection, and ask.

If you’re exploring how to cultivate a relationship with the Ancestors, understand soul bonds that return across lifetimes, or explore how spirit shows itself with or without the visitation of the Great Mother, this is the kind of book you may devour in a single sitting

Talking To The Dead: Kate and Maggie Fox and the Rise of Spiritualism by Barbara Weisberg, 2004

Part history and part biography, this book traces the rise of American Spiritualism through the lives of two of its most iconic early figures. Weisberg does not shy away from examining how the political, social, and cultural currents of the time shaped both the believers and the skeptics surrounding the famous “rapping sisters.” The narrative situates Spiritualism within the broader awakening of the mid-nineteenth century, illustrating its intersections with women’s suffrage, abolition, the Civil War, and the sweeping changes brought on by industrialization.

Notable figures—Horace Greeley, Mary Todd Lincoln, and others—appear throughout the narrative, grounding the story in historical reality while showcasing the depth of the author’s research. Many details feel newly unearthed, offering modern readers glimpses into a spiritual movement that was once both feared and revered.

Did the Fox sisters truly speak to the dead? Weisberg leaves room for interpretation, inviting readers to sit with the ambiguity rather than delivering a simple verdict. Contemporary spirit-workers may recognize a familiar pattern: the dominant culture’s need to dismiss or diminish anything belonging to the unseen realms. There are moments where the pacing slows under the weight of historical detail, but this density is also part of the book’s strength—it preserves a record of a time when the veil between worlds seemed thinner, and a nation was listening.

Up Next:

I am doing some research for a client right now, so much of my reading time is going towards that. However, in the To Be Read (TBR) pile I have: 

Scorpio Witch by Ivo Dominguez, Jr. & Zoe Howe

Spiritual Cleansing by Draja Mickaharic

See you for the next post on What The Witch Is Reading. Thanks for reading and comment if you have any questions, anecdotes, or requests.

As you can see, I read a little of everything. I’m always curious about what others are reading. What book are you working through right now? Let’s talk about books! Comment below. If you have a book you think I should read, let me know that, too!

What The Witch Is Reading – Feb/March 2025

Posted on by runa

This section of my blog is dedicated to spreading the love of reading and books and the people who make them happen. I would not be the Witch I am today without books. I owe an obscene amount of gratitude to all the makers of books out there. This is my way of giving back. I hope that something I pick up and review will guide you to acquire the next tome on your To Be Read stack. 

February flew by with a flurry of whiplash from our current political climate. I continue reading books as a way to resist the shift to fascism within my country of origin – although apparently that’s up for review, too. So here it is the beginning of March and I missed a February post – actually I didn’t miss it, I just became distracted with :: gestures about wildly :: and FORGOT TO POST IT! The political rages is real. However many more words were written over on my Patreon about how to provide pest control for the species of Nazis America is dealing with now. 

Recently Finished:

Blackthorn’s Protection Magic: A Witch’s Guide to Mental & Physical Self Defense by Amy Blackthorn.

Blackthorn really wants the reader to understand where they stand in the world of magic before proceeding and that kind of expectation is something I deeply support. Like many Craft books, it might be wise to bring a notebook and pen to your reading sessions. There are many questions to answer as you make your way through Protection Magic. Big fan of chapter 5 – gardening for protection and if you ever get a chance to visit Villa Westwyk, you’ll see all the protection plants here. Blackthorn’s physical security background made this a triple threat book because it covers mental, physical, and magical protection. Bad ass, in my book. This is a book I’m likely to refer to repeatedly when crafting Protection spellcraft, wards, and the like. 

The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer

From the author of Braiding Sweetgrass and Gathering Moss comes another title that seems destined for more in my own life, as getting more serviceberries here at Villa Westwyk is a goal. Kimmerer is known as a great teacher and her approach to storytelling and distilling science into magic made learning all about natural wealth distributions and the idea that all flourishing is mutual. In a world where the rich cannot be satisfied, I can see this book helping folx realign ‘enough’ in their lives. Given my permaculture background, Kimmerer speaks to my soul when she writes, “the Maples who gave their leaves to the soil, the countless invertebrates and microbes who exchanged nutrients and energy to build the humus in which a Serviceberry seed could take root, the Cedar Waxwing who dropped the seed, the sun, the rain, the early spring flies who pollinated the flowers, the farmer who wielded the shovel to tenderly settle the seedlings.” Kimmerer is a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation and her indigenous understanding of people as partners and equal beings demonstrates the network of relationships that the Earth’s survival –and all its inhabitants – depends on. But each time I give a bucket of berries to my neighbor, I’m going to give a nod to this book and its mission to shift the never-satisfied environment of capitalism and shift into a gift economy. Such a changed economy will value things like reciprocity, community, and sustainability. This book is tiny but powerful. 

Relishing Longer:

On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From The Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder

Many folx have been reaching for this book again after the November 2024 Presidential election in the United States. I read this back in 2017 when it first came out and democracy was being attacked then. It’s still being attacked and it felt like an act of resistance to re-read this and having the first Trump presidency in the rearview (and the Pandemic) as a new ruler to measure the lessons Snyder presents in this book. Snyder lays out how fragile democracy is and how we can (and dare I say, must) defend our freedoms. Each lesson is a directive for that defense, such as “Establish a Private Life” or “Be as courageous as you can,” as well as the well-known “Do Not Comply In Advance.” We can change the structure of the situation we are living in right now and the instruction manual exists in this little, yet powerful book. 

Up Next:

As you can see, I read a little of everything. I’m always curious about what others are reading. What book are you working through right now? Let’s talk about books! Comment below. If you have a book you think I should read, let me know that, too!

Meatless Monday & The Witch (11-6-23)

Posted on by runa

My family has been practicing Meatless Monday for as long as I can remember. My parents practiced it; their parents did; and so on. As a big history nerd I knew how it started, but over time it’s morphed into something I think the wider Witch community might revisit. 

When the United States finally entered into World War I, much of the European landscape that was once flourishing farms were battlefields, and many of its male, head-of-household farmers were either dead or serving as soldiers. Surviving elders, women, and children did what they could, but anyone can tell you that a freshly sown crop run down by military tanks isn’t going to sprout well. American soldiers were affected by the food crisis once they began arriving in Europe to fight. 

Under the direction of Herbert Hoover, the then U.S. Food Administration began its “Food Will Win The War – Produce It!” campaign. This was done in an effort to keep Americans from having to move to a ‘rations’ system as was necessary in Europe during the war as well as to support our soldiers overseas. Citizens from the Atlantic to the Pacific were asked to cut back on meat, fat, sugar, and wheat and participate in what was then termed ‘Meatless Tuesdays and Wheatless Wednesdays.” No meat on Tuesday, No wheat on Wednesday. 

In November of 1917 in New York City, the city’s hotels managed to save nearly 100 tons of meat. That November, also, more than 11 million American households signed a pledge to take part in this effort. They pledged to buy food with thought, to cook it with care, to serve just enough, to save what would keep, to eat what would spoil, and to know that home-grown is best. 

Rations eventually were necessary when it came to sugar, butter, and oils, but the country embraced eating fresh fruits and vegetables, since none of that could be shipped overseas. Liberty (and/or War) gardens, which would morph into Victory gardens, began to take hold. You could eat rye bread (no wheat, you see) with fresh tomatoes and sour cream and be helping the soldiers and citizens in Europe. 

These efforts were mimicked again during World War II quickly – the last war had not been that long before. Given the history of how producing food helped in WWI, American citizens quickly mobilized to turn every space around their homes into food production. 

Post World War II, Meatless Tuesday morphed into the more recognizable and alliterative form of Meatless Monday. At the turn of the century, it was not spurred by war, but rather by public health campaigns to embrace a more plant-based diet. For my family, it was all about the grocery budget. And even though my family was not Catholic, and outside of the season of Lent, we only ate fish on Fridays. Again, it was a budget thing (and honestly, likely helped the meal planner on the daily conundrum of ‘what’s for dinner, mom?”)

Today, it serves all the purposes that you could think of from meal planning ease, health, cost, and environmental impact. As a Witch, I want all these things in my life: a softer impact on Mama Earth, extra dollars in my wallet, a focus on healthier foods (especially home produced), and knowing what direction to plan a meal. If we incorporated such a practice into the way we walk in the Craft, we could help save 133 gallons of water with each meatless meal and reduce our carbon footprint by 8 pounds each time you participate. But the opportunity to make Magic on Meatless Monday cannot be discounted. I have found it a simple way to expand my own practice as a Witch. 

Combine all of the above with a little Magic? And you have a weekly touchstone, something mindful to focus on besides capitalism on Mondays. Does it mean you have to add Magic to every meatless meal you make? As I’ve written to you multiple times now, absolutely not. But, if you set a goal to do it once a month, I’m sure you’ll recognize the powerfulness of this simple ritual. Yes, Meatless Monday can be a ritual (Or Fish Fridays, if you prefer). That’s the wonderful thing about being a Witch. Many of our paths are very ‘choose your own adventure.’ You may choose this or not. I offer it only as an option and to show you how it’s blessed my own life. 

When I craft a Meatless Monday menu, (say that five items fast), I try to keep it very plant-forward. I try to avoid only doing things like pasta – especially with cheese – because dairy can be a crutch when it comes to eating more plant-based, e.g. meatless. This is where my seasonal focus also is easily highlighted. Don’t know what to cook? Visit your local food co-op or farmer’s market and buy what’s in season. Right now it’s squash, brassicas, and mushrooms. As always you can check the correspondences of the foods you love and what you want to bring into your life, as a way to decide what to make. Whether you use seasonal or magical energies to lead the way, it’s a powerful tool. 

Over on my Patreon is a Meatless Monday working to help bring health, wealth, and the wisdom to do what we can to help this ecosystem which we are all a part of, as well as, save a little emotional energy along the way. Monday = no meat. Open up your magical kitchen! You can easily do this once a month and then work up to once a week.

Come join my Patreon and learn all kinds of magical ways to be, know and do, and meet some fellow kindred witchy souls. Saving some money, upping your veggie intake, and feeling good when Monday ends is just a bonus.  

A Spiritual Team of Horses: Working with Ehwaz & News

Posted on by runa

It’s been 10 months since I started working with Ehwaz. In that 10 months, my understanding of this Rune is deepening. My shorthand as described in the illustration above for this Rune has helped me kick start myself again when the outside world made things feel too hard to do much more. It was like a little team of horses was inside my solar plexus pulling me forward.

That said, I’m not a horse person. My interactions with them have always been fraught with a bucket of nerves. They are huge creatures and their size alone often gives me pause. Even though I’ve had very little instruction when it comes to those animals, I’m very aware that one wrong move could spook them and spell disaster for either me or the horse. The latter of which would make my heart break even more. But to feel like there is a spiritual team of horses pulling me forward towards my goals is an interesting metaphor to reflect on.

Ehwaz (ᛖ) looks like a mirror image of Laguz (ᛚ), which pricks my curiosity. Laguz is the fluidity of our life force. Ehwaz is duality and movement. So it makes sense to me that two Laguz put together would make Ehwaz. Fluid implies movement. A force of life creates development. They are together and apart. As above, so below. As within, so without. From that thought I moved forward in my connection to this spiritual tool.

The ‘E’ and the ‘L’ in the Elder Futhark are far apart when we put Western sensibilities on it. In my daily rune castings, which you can find on Instagram and Twitter daily — Monday through Friday — I explain the Runes’ Elder Futhark connection – its alphabet quality, if you will, this has little bearing on the spiritual or energetic meaning of it. Yet, it is a part of it. Much like many Witches have a deep spiritual life, but their spiritual life and ‘Muggle’ life may not intersect much outside of being part of the same Witch’s life.

All of the above to say that dissecting the energy of this Rune has provided even further meaning for me. Huzzah, as that was the point of choosing a Rune of the Year. How that showed up thus far (I still have some weeks before I’ll start this exercise all over again), has been enlightening, to say the least. For instance, when I didn’t want to send out my writing for consideration, I would do my meditation on the Rune (yes, I’m meditating on it near daily) and suddenly I’d have some inspiration or motivation to push a piece to be finished or send something off. Ehwaz is known as the Rune of gradual development and since January things have gradually developed, but that development has felt enormous. My client list for my services and magical goods has firmed up to a strong foundation and I’m moving towards having my goods on just my site (mostly). I have a new mystical writing group that has been such a blessing. We’ve progressed to have so many stars in our meals (meaning the food on our plate comes from right here). I’m not as frazzled when spirits knock on my psychic door unexpectedly. And if you’ve read this far you’re finding out that I am under contract to write a book! Woot! More on that in the weeks to come.

The year has been a slow and steady climb towards reaching my goals, which I often say is what being a Witch is about: always improving.

I feel that activation of energies of my inner Fetch, meaning the divine within (some refer to Fetch as the guardian within). When before I may not have had the trust in myself to move forward, Ehwaz comes in and reminds me that I have already overcome so much and stepping forward is easier than I perceive.

So although I’m not a horse person, I have a team of spiritual horses inside of me, lead by Ehwaz and driven by my inner Fetch. It’s been a thrilling gallop through the year towards new levels of creation, connection, and curation, the latter of which was my word for the year. More on that next week.

In the meantime, I need to saddle up and go write that book. 😉

Blessings,

ᚱᚢᚾᚨ ᛏᚱᛟᚤ

Book Review: Air Magic by Astrea Taylor

Posted on by runa
Air Magic by Astrea Taylor, part of the Elements of Witchcraft series. Released, April 2021 by Llewellyn Books.

I was instantly drawn to this book, Air Magic by Astrea Taylor, when I learned about it, because Air Magic is something so unusual to me. In my own craft practice I work Earth, Water, and Fire Magic often. But beyond incense and feathers, Air Magic was an enigma. This book clarified so much.

So when I saw that Taylor had authored the book, I was happy to dive right in, getting a special autographed release of it as well. I had already read her previous work, “Intuitive Witchcraft” which was such a great guide to what many of us in the Craft are truly practicing and a book I regularly recommend to my fellow pagans. Air Magic arrived with a sweet note, book mark and Air Magic stickers. It was an added bonus that really helped put me in the mood to learn all about Air Magic. And learn I did. Like did you realize that birthday candles on a cake are Air Magic. Of course, duh! But I never thought of it in regards to Air Magic. Fire, Earth, yes. But, it is also Air, as detailed in this book. And when you think about, it, yes. That fire cannot mold the ingredients into cake or light the candles without its fuel: Air. Make a wish, Witch.

Special bonus reminders of Air Magic accompanied the special autographed edition of this book during its inaugural release.

Air Magic is the second book in a series of the Elements of Witchcraft. It not only digs deep all that encompasses Air Magic, but even gives you meditations, rituals, and spells to begin your understanding of Air Magic and incorporating it into your personal practice. It also featured one of my other favorite Witches, Laura Tempest Zakroff. Taylor takes us through not only the history and mythos of Air Magic but also where Air Magic is aligned with animals, crystals, deities, and more. I was thrilled to learn that one of the trees on my property is aligned with Air Magic specifically with the Norse traditions. It will now become the place of my Freyja altar.

But the practical parts of how the reader can use Air Magic in their own practice is the most dynamic part of the book, so earns a top shelf placement in my bookshelf. I appreciate that some of the practical information, the how-to if you will, leans on the simple. Simple, everyday Magic is something that even novice Witches can begin to put into their lives. But there is more in depth rituals as well for those who feel best doing something more formal and detailed. I especially like the Air Magic for travel. And as I deepen my connection to Air Magic, I’ll be using the meditation she outlined in order to get in touch with the element of air.

Before reading this book, Air Magic felt so foreign. Taylor’s Air Magic lifts away the caul of Air Magic and spotlights its interwovenness in our every day lives and easy ways to incorporate it. Packed with deep references, you could easily grab tome after tome from the book’s bibliography and go down an Air Magic rabbit hole if you like. This Scorpio appreciates anything well researched. This book also revealed places where the Air element was way more active in my own practice. Praying Mantis familiar, anyone?

This book is a great blessing to learn about Air Magic.

Lastly, the fact that the word Magic is used in its typical sense – minus the K – in this book also spoke to me. If you’ve been here a bit, you know my feelings on Magic with a K.

Even as a Crone, practicing the Craft is all about learning. Books are the best way to get there, in my opinion. Air Magic is certainly a cornerstone to unravel the mysteries of Air Magic and presented in a clear, practical, and engaging way. If you find yourself drawn to Air Magic you need to add this book to your Witch Library. I’m glad I did.

Book Review: The Witches Almanac – An Anthology of Half a Century of Collected Magical Lore

Posted on by runa
A curious addition to any Witch Library.

The 50 Year Anniversary Edition of The Witches Almanac – An Anthology of Half of Century of Collected Magical Lore by Andrew Theitic and published in July 2020 by Wtiches’ Almanac, Ltd. is a collection of a “best of” from the editions of this almanac since 1971. There is articles on everything from making charms, fire gazing, the evil eye, the legend of so many of the stories that include witches, crystals, herbalism, deities, honestly, you named it. It even includes some old advertisements aimed at the pagan community.

I would not classify this as a reference book, but there are some very interesting reference materials within it, making it a read that will likely allow any Witch of any level to learn something.

I think this is a book I might keep at the tub side, the coffee table, or near anywhere you might need to just sit and just read whenever. It’s not a book to read cover to cover, although I did to produce this review. Whatever type of Witch or pantheon you follow, you’ll likely learn something reading it. There are also interviews and articles about the folks that have been behind the Almanac for so long, some of them in memoriam. It also might be an interesting book for which to do some bibliomancy/stichomancy divination.

The book includes some interesting illustrations, especially where some of the vintage advertisements are concerned, creating another point of interest as you peruse the book.

One of the vintage ads found in this 50th Anniversary Witches’ Almanac.

It doesn’t just include things from the past, there are many issues covered in the book that are in the conscious collective now like Climate Change and Transgender Rights.

If you are interested in the stories, beliefs, and practices that have been written about for the last 50 years. Everything from the Eye of Horus, the Queen of Shades, or all about The Old Apple Tree, you will find interest in this book. It’s definitely a curiosity as opposed to a well-indexed reference guide. But, I’m sure each and every Witch out there will find something new to learn in that.

Book Review: By Rust of Nail & Prick of Thorn (The Theory & Practice of Effective Home Warding)

Posted on by runa
Even though it’s new to my library, By Rust of Nail & Prick of Thorn: The Theory & Practice of Effective Home Warding by Althaea Sebastiani is already a well-referenced tome in my collection.

Home warding has been central to my practice for many years and within weeks of moving into a new place, I found this book, rather by accident — an internet post by some stranger put it in my sights. And I’m so glad for that serendipity. I only know a few warding things that were taught to me through the years by older witches, and all I use without fail; but, I was interested to learn more. Enter this book by Althaea Sebastiani, By Rust of Nail & Prick of Thorn… Written for both emerging and long-time practitioner of the craft or just those seeking more alignment in their sacred space, the book explains what warding is, why it’s done, and then how to do it. Simple. Perfect.

The thing I appreciate the most about this book is that it is clearly no-nonsense. It’s clear reading through it that this author knows her stuff and offers no apology for it. I love the clean, clear writing style and practical application part — you know the actually doing of the wardings in all their varieties, including valuable advice about the where, how, and whys of warding.

Sebastiani covers charms, chimes, plants, powders, and so much more. I was especially in love with her section on Spirits, since this aligns with my personal practice quite well. There is even a section on Emergency Warding.

The only criticism I would offer of this book is that I would have loved even more detail. It’s a “read it in a weekend and take notes” tome, which is great for keeping in your Witchy Reference Shelf; I just wanted a bit more. I’d love to see a re-release with how the author applies these wards in her own home, as she is a traveling soul, as I once was. I’m such a visual learner that seeing images of Statuary, Sigils, or Stones in action — or any of the other ward types — would be even more enlightening. Regardless, I highly recommend this book. I have zero doubt it will be one you refer to often and use all year in your Craft practice.

One of my go-to wards, Chicken-Foot- Scratch Back Ward, which although not would fall under the Charms section of Sebastiani’s book.

Book Review: The Oath – A Heathen Poet’s Journey

Posted on by runa
Helping to Rebuild My Witchy Library is this Pagan Poetry Book: The Oath – A Heathen Poet’s Journey.

Not every book in your Witchy Library has to be some reference on spells and rituals or divination how-tos. Sometimes you need something that feeds your mind and spirit all at the same time. Emerging Poet, Jason Ralls, inaugural release of The Oath – A Heathen Poet’s Journey does just that. Through poetry he expresses a spiritual journey that wanders from curiosity into the depths of love and loyalty. Although its subject matter explores the author’s relationship with the Norse gods, the journey of belief holds inspiration for all Pagan hearts.

It’s not a large tome, but features three acts detailed by nine poems, from following Idunn, to Ran, to Hel, to Balder, and Tyr, to Freyja, and to the Mad King himself, Odin. You can feel the writer’s movement from not really knowing the gods, to professing his creed of belief and service. I found reading it outside was deeply inspiring as well as healing. It’s slim profile fits in a day pack for hiking and re-reading when you pause to take in the view and rest before returning back to the modern world. These poems seem to connect the ancestral world and its inhabitants to the now.

On the back cover of the book, the author warns that the book is more than poetry and that between the words is a liminal space to be aware of when diving into the text. I agree there is a spirit and presence in this book that spoke to me and gave me pause to find my own journey to the deities that are calling to me.

If you’re looking for a inspirational book for your Pagan heart, I highly recommend this one.

~Runa

This book is a perfect companion for a day spent in the forest.