Tag: Dream Witchery

What The Witch Is Reading: 2024 Year In Review

Posted on by runa

I’m working through a tall stack of books on my nightstand this month, and will post a hearty monthly What The Witch Is Reading entry on those books soon. Today you get an overview of all the books I read last year and what I thought of them, and share my top favorites for the year. 

Laying my posts out all at once made me recognize that I was still very much in book-writing/editing/launching mode for Magic In Your Cup, and my consistency of reading was slowed and composing my posts even slower. My goal for this year is to consistently post each month and finish at least one whole book, since I’m starting the writing process all over again for my ::crosses fingers:: book two. I hope you’ll join me in this venture. If you don’t want to miss the Bookish Witch news, be sure to subscribe to my newsletter. 

My Top Reads of 2024

The Book That Stayed With Me The Most: Early in the year I read a book that has led me down some new pathways in my spirituality and connected me to ancestors I hadn’t realized. That book was Longing For Darkness: Tara and the Black Madonna by China Galland. As I noted in my post in February, the Black Madonna appeared to me in a dream a few years back. The book is making me think now, post 2024 election here in the USA, about the nonviolence in specifically Galland’s story, the Solidarity movement in Poland that she stumbled upon within her search for the Divine Mother and her own spiritual journey. Thanks to this book, I’m learning more about the little folk practices my Polish and other Slavic ancestors did that were adopted by the descendants that focused on assimilating as opposed to continuing their spiritual and/or magical practices. Longing For Darkness is the kind of book that continues to leave bits of its stories inside you as you walk your own journey in life. If you haven’t read this particular book, perhaps consider putting it on your list for 2025. 

The Book That Let Me Lean In: In the middle of the summer I was ripping through the book Alive With Spirits: The Path and Practice of Animistic Witchcraft by Althaea Sebastiani. This book’s guide to helping you deepen your own relationship with the Land, Departed Dead, and all manner of spiritual and physical relationships a Witch may have. Even if you’re a long-time Practitioner like myself, this book has such a great map to help you reinforce your own Practice, or even teach you a new thing or two. I loved all the reinforcement of what I knew to be a healthy practice and viewpoint on the Craft, that as a solitary practitioner isn’t always available. For that, I’m very grateful to the author and their book. If you do the work presented in the book, you’re absolutely going to rise up more powerfully in how you do your Practice. Don’t take my word for it, go read the book and do the work. 

The Book That Charged Up My Spellcraft: Of Blood and Bones: Working With Shadow Magick of the Dark Moon by Kate Freuler was a book I had listened to when it was first released and then again during my research for Magic In Your Cup. But I picked up the hard copy and read it through again, pausing to do some of the workings inside of it as I reviewed. As I mentioned in my post on this one (October 24), as a Witch that picks up snake skin, wasp nests, acorns, and animal bones to use in my spellcraft, this book felt like a sister grimoire that will remain on my shelf for many years to come. 

The Book That Showed Me A Different World: As a dreamworker myself, I am always gobbling up any books on dreams – magical or otherwise. But Elhoim Leafar’s book Dream Witchery: Folk Magic, Recipes & Spells From South America For Witches & Brujas showed me many new magical practices and beliefs around dreams that still intrigues me every time I see his name or pass the book on my shelf. The worldview here is so unique and ever fascinating. Even though my dream practice looks different, it was definitely refined after reading this one. Case in point, Leafar’s reiterating protection magic while doing so many of the workings in the book is a great reminder even for us Crones that any practice’s foundations need to be fortified regularly. I’m ever grateful for that message within the book. 

Below is a link to each one with a short vignette on what books/authors are covered in each post if you’re new around here and missed them the first time around. 

What The Witch Is Reading: February 2024

What The Witch Is Reading: May 2024

What The Witch Is Reading: July 2024

What The Witch Is Reading: September 2024

What The Witch Is Reading: October 2024

What The Witch Is Reading: November 2024

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: July 2024

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. 

How is it almost August? I hope you’ve been busy with your nose in a book for at least part of this summer. June flew by and I was reading, reading, but having trouble keeping up to post this in June. So, this entry is a bit more than usual. But there were some very good books included, all of them pretty mind opening.. 

Recently Finished:

Dream Witchery: Folk Magic, Recipes & Spells From South America For Witches & Brujas by Elhoim Leafar. 

As a dreamworker myself I was excited to get my hands on this book. Leafar’s experience as an urban spiritual worker and the influence of his Craft from Venezuelan Brujos had me intrigued from the beginning of the text. The fact that he brought in other practitioners to lend more stories and perspectives to the book speaks to Leafar’s multiple esoteric backgrounds. Because of his upbringing and now living in the United States, he has a unique perspective on how mutable and cultural dreams and dreamwork can be. I found his voice refreshing. The way he weaves narrative into the dreamwork is inviting for the reader and leads you down a dream world path with ease. His stories about the symbolism in a dream for an American versus someone of Caribbean culture highlight why the remainder of the book’s pages show you how to create your dream practice and learn from the varied and powerful one that Leafar has. Included in the book are dozens upon dozens of spellcraft, rituals, recipes, and more all about dreams, the dreamer, and the dream world. Dream Witchery is a great reference book for aspiring dreamworkers, but at its foundation, there are years and generations full of dreamworkers held in its pages.

Alive with Spirits: The Path and Practice of Animistic Witchcraft by Althaea Sebastiani

Remember how I missed June’s edition of What The Witch Is Reading? That’s because not only was I busting butt healing the land, but I was reading this book, twice – back to back. And now I’m listening to it while pulling weeds in the garden, which I think the author might appreciate. For many becoming a Witch means stumbling through and learning bit by bit to create our Craft practice. However you’ve come to the Craft or even Animism, Sebastiani takes your hand in Alive With Spirits and shows you a customizable plan to walk deeper into a world filled with spirits and a deeper relationship with the Land. She details throughout the book that right relationships with the Land and Spirits help us be in right relationship with ourselves and other living people. Sebastani’s experience living this way comes through clearly in the book and grounds the reader – whether they be novice or elder – in five traits and seven skills of Witchcraft. As I mentioned, I have read it twice already and am listening to it a third time. This will be a book I recommend to any practitioner, especially because it’s clear that Sebastiani wants you to do the work and gives the reader exercises in each chapter to hone and expand their Craft and Practice, especially where relationships with Spirits are concerned. 

Relishing Longer:

Wild Soul Runes: Reawakening the Ancestral Feminine by Lara Veleda Vesta

Alive With Spirits likely would have been here last month under ‘relishing longer’ if I’d gotten to June’s edition since I re-read this. I’m not re-reading Wild Soul Runes, but rather ‘doing.’ The book features a week-by-week plan to deepen your relationship with the Runes. With 24 Runes, it will take me a bit to do this, but the Runes and I go way back, so I think this will be like a second honeymoon. 😉 As I mentioned in my May post, the inclusivity of this book is refreshing given that sometimes some close-minded individuals can attach themselves to these sacred divining tools. I especially enjoyed the feminine point of view and lens throughout the book. I’m going to work through all the exercises bit by bit and dive even deeper into my relationship with the Runes. 

Up Next:

Heal the Witch Wound: Reclaim Your magic and Step Into your Power by Celeste Larsen

I am about ⅔ way through this read and I just started a few days ago. Larsen however is uncovering things for me that I experienced but was unsure of its source. Be prepared to want to go down rabbit holes with your Witch Wound with this one. The history section can be rage-making if you haven’t heard some of the stories before – if you have heard them, you’ll be reminded there’s a lot of generational trauma we’re all healing – a Witch Wound just might be it for you, too. I’ll begin Part II next and that’s where Larsen contends the healing begins. Excited to read further. 

Ancestral Whispers: A Guide to Building Ancestral Veneration Practices by Ben Stimpson. 

This book has been patiently waiting in my TBR pile for me to crack it open. I adore its title because I often hear my ancestors whispering. This book came highly recommended to me by several people, so I’m curious to see how Stimpson approaches all there is with this wide subject matter. 

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 books! Comment below. If you have a book you think I should read, let me know that, too!

What The Witch Is Reading: May 2024

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. 

March was insanely busy for work (huzzah for editing jobs!) and April’s Mercury Retrograde – on the heels of another eclipse – felt like I was re-reading the same page every day. Although, I wasn’t. I am moving through a couple of different texts and audiobooks right now. But I didn’t have any of them finished until now. Hopefully, my goal to post one of these once a month will groove forward with no problems from this point on in my ‘What the Witch Is Reading’ posts. 

This brings me to the point of posting today – even if you read slowly, you’re still reading. Even if you’re listening to a book – you’re still reading. You’re allowing yourself to be lost in a story, to explore a world – even just in your mind – you are still doing it. Through books – no matter their format – we gain access to a vast repository of knowledge, ideas, and perspectives that expand our understanding – of the world, ourselves, and each other. More importantly, it exposes us to diverse cultures, experiences, and viewpoints. Reading nurtures empathy because we begin to understand others better. Although so many of us use it as a leisure activity – reading is a fundamental skill for success in all areas of life. 

Embrace reading in all its forms and enrich your life in countless ways.

Perhaps you’d like to take a chance on one of these books. 

Recently Finished:

Longing For Darkness: Tara and the Black Madonna by China Galland

As I mentioned in February’s post, the Black Madonna appeared to me in a dream a few years back. She still visits me often in that space. Other than some statutory and art frequented within many of my ancestral homes and some of my travels, I did not know much about this particular symbol of the Divine Mother. What I did learn is why perhaps the dream appeared to me – my Polish ancestors coming in to connect me with this energy. Since Galland was there during the rise of Solidarity, it gave me a peek into a historic thing that happened that I only saw as a young adult from way over in the United States.

As Galland points out in the story, Solidarity completely ignored the usual revolutionary process with its choice of nonviolence. Within her journey, the author also accounts for how a woman seeking the Divine Mother has even more battles to overcome. I was surprised by some of the blockers to women, especially those seeking to be leaders in Zen Buddhism. Galland’s deep spiritual search has the reader feeling the ache she has to find Tara. Anyone seeking the path to any feminine deity will find inspiration in Galland’s vulnerability within the prose. Additionally, she gives the reader an amazing peek into many different cultures and their journeys to the goddess. Thanks to this book, which I adored and will likely re-read at some point, I’m considering a pilgrimage to ancestral lands that held the spirit of the goddess close. 

Reading Now:

Wild Soul Runes: Reawakening the Ancestral Feminine by Lara Veleda Vesta

This book was a gift from a friend who knows my frustration with accessing spiritual literature about the tools I use in my Craft, particularly Runes, that are not colored by racism and bigotry. I don’t know why the Nazis love my lineage’s heathenry, but they do. I always laugh when I see that because do they even know Odin? Talk about Patron of Drag Queens. I’ve worked through about more than half of the book and there is a more witchy and inclusive viewpoint, even going so far as to note respectful practice on colonized land. She’s provided poetry, exercises, and multiple translations regarding the background of the Runes and the language around them. More to come after I finish.

Up Next:

Dream Witchery: Folk Magic, Recipes & Spells from South America for Witches & Brujas by Elhoim Leafar 

As a dreamworker myself I’m very excited to dive into this book. Truth be told I’m already working a bit through it and I’m fascinated by Leafar’s childhood in South America surrounded by magical practitioners. Already some beliefs and rituals are super interesting and make me feel like I’m on a solo expedition to uncover hidden magic. Can’t wait to dive in deeper. 

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 books!