For Puck’s Sake https://www.patheos.com/blogs/matauryn/ Fri, 10 Dec 2021 22:48:34 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 How to Spot a Spiritual Impersonator Scam on Instagram (And What To Do) https://www.patheos.com/blogs/matauryn/2021/12/10/instagram-scam/ Fri, 10 Dec 2021 22:48:34 +0000 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/matauryn/?p=13181

If you’re part of the alternative spiritual community, I’m sure you’ve seen all the imposter account scams. Essentially, someone will clone an account of a high profile author, tarot reader, psychic, medium, witch, etc. They will mimic the bio and repost several of the same instagram photos. Once they’ve established their profile they will then proceed to go through their target’s follower list and begin following and messaging those people trying to offer them psychic readings, tarot readings, or magickal workings. Sometimes they will ask for payment first. Sometimes they will give a very poor cold reading and stop asking for payment before proceeding. (Cold readings are when you say a few flattering vague statements that anyone can relate to, posed as a psychic reading.) Once you’ve paid, they will block you.

When I got my first imposters it began occurring about once a couple months, then increased to monthly, then finally almost weekly. The only person I’m aware of who has been targeted more than I am is author and podcaster Theresa Reed known as The Tarot Lady on instagram. Both of us have had this eternal headache on instagram and both of us have thought about just deleting our accounts in general. Both of us have tried to get our accounts verified, which quickly shows that Instagram’s verification process is a scam. It claims to be there to help “figures well known in their communities” be verified as the real account and to help combat imposter accounts pretending to be them. Instagram has an obvious bias against authors in our spiritual genre regardless of how large our online following might be, how many books we write or sell, or how many public media mentions we receive (which is a criteria for verification.)

Without asking the legal questions of “why is Instagram allowing this to happen?” or if a class action lawsuit for identity theft and financial damages is possible, it’s clear that instagram doesn’t care about the safety of both the person being impersonated, and more importantly those being scammed. I’ve had several messages from folks telling me they have spent hundreds of dollars to accounts pretending to be me without receiving their readings. It’s also frustrating since our community has this historical stigma (which still exists) about psychic readings as well as spiritual and magickal services being scams, and this only furthers it by using the names and images of people trying to engage in ethical and moral services. After continually taking every action possible, I realized I should write this quick guide to help keep us all a bit safer by talking about what to do about these accounts on instagram. Throughout I’ve posted several (but not nearly all) of the accounts that have pretended to be my real instagram account.

Tips to Discern Imposter Accounts

If you’re uncertain about whether or not an account is really the person they’re pretending to be, here’s a list of things to consider:

What To Do If An Imposter Account Contacts or Follows You

What To Do If An Account Is Pretending To Be You

 

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]]> Review: Tarot For Kids https://www.patheos.com/blogs/matauryn/2021/11/28/review-tarot-for-kids/ Sun, 28 Nov 2021 23:18:28 +0000 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/matauryn/?p=13172

Tarot for Kids by Theresa Reed

If you use tarot, you most likely don’t need an introduction into who Theresa Reed is or her fantastic contributions to the tarot and alternative spirituality communities. Her latest release, Tarot for Kids deck, is as brilliant as it is adorable. Many of the cards were modified in this deck from their original darker forms to be more kid-friendly, but Theresa doesn’t lose sight of the symbolism itself. Examples include two of my favorite cards: The Lovers is The Best Friends and The Devil is The Bully. The Bully card has two goats ramming their heads against each other. The diversity of the figures in the deck is also impressive—definitely one of the more diverse decks I’ve seen. I couldn’t stop going “awww” as we went through it, and I legit felt a good warm feeling as I went through it, which is exactly what I would want in a deck for kids.

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Tarot For Kids by Theresa Reed is a perfect starter book and deck for kids interested in tarot. Reed writes engagingly and clearly, which will be accessible to children, and the book includes a description of the card meaning that is concise and simple to understand. The cards themselves are simple and colorful, and the book includes a range of topics that will provide kids with ways to think about and discuss the cards, such as what it means to be a good friend, how to deal with conflict, and how to make connections with others. This would also make a fantastic tool for children to begin connecting with their own emotions and experiences, reflect upon them, and vocalize their emotions and thoughts more clearly.

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]]> Review: The Eclectic Witch’s Book of Shadows https://www.patheos.com/blogs/matauryn/2021/11/25/review-the-eclectic-witchs-book-of-shadows/ Thu, 25 Nov 2021 18:48:30 +0000 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/matauryn/?p=13159

 

The Eclectic Witch’s Book of Shadows: Witchy Wisdom at your Fingertips by Deborah Blake is a great place to begin your journey as a witch and is an ideal companion for the seeker of the magickal path. It is an easy-to-follow guide that provides younger witches or those just starting to explore this path with simple but effective rituals and magickal workings by a witch who knows her witchery very well. Blake is well known for her friendly and approachable writing style, which creates a very welcoming atmosphere throughout all of her books, teaching in an easy-to-understand manner, this one included. The book offers a variety of invocations, magickal recipes, spells, and techniques for working with a variety of tools like candles, tarot cards, runes, and poppets. The book is well-organized and strikes the right balanced of information provided versus room to write or sketch as you advance in your skills and knowledge. The book is easy to follow, and the instructions are easy to understand, making it a fantastic introduction for the beginner. The book is also a great way to help those just beginning to explore their spirituality to build confidence and experience with their magick.

The book is a beautiful hardcover with full-color pages filled with artwork by the wonderfully talented Mickie Mueller, whose art style gives the book a charming, friendly, and magickal feeling throughout which compliments Blake’s writing style. There are several other “grimoires” and “book of shadows” on the market in this vein aimed at the newer witch, most of them full of information that is questionable at the least. So if you’re eyeing books like these, The Eclectic Witch’s Book of Shadows is the book that I would recommend above all the others in this category, purely for the level of reliable and factual information from an experienced witch such as Blake. Despite being aimed at those who might be newer on their path, the book is comprehensive in regards to the different areas of a witchcraft practice that it covers, helping the owner have all the necessary skills needed to comfortably jump-start their magick. This book would make a fantastic gift for someone completely new to the Craft, younger practitioners, witches who love beautiful books, or those who want to use this as a jumping point to learn how to create their own Book of Shadows.

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]]> Review: New World Witchery https://www.patheos.com/blogs/matauryn/2021/11/24/review-new-world-witchery/ Wed, 24 Nov 2021 15:46:56 +0000 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/matauryn/?p=13147

New World Witchery Cory Thomas Hutcheson

I was excited when I first found out that Cory was writing this book, as I knew it would be a passion project for him that he would put his heart into. He exceeded my expectations. It’s clear that Cory has a deep love for this subject and poured a great deal of himself into creating this book. As such, New World Witchery is a masterful compendium of North America’s folklore and folk magic traditions, including an extensive collection of spells, charms, and folk practices from all over the continent. The result is a unique opportunity for American readers to discover and learn about the magical traditions of their regions and that of others.

Bridging a scholarly historical approach with a “dirt under your nails” hands-on approach as a magical practitioner, Cory writes with a clear and accessible writing style that is fun to read. Throughout the book, he gives a rare glimpse into the magical workings of American culture through a wide lens, instead of focusing purely on one practice or one region like most. So whether you’re a beginner looking to learn about new magical practices or a seasoned practitioner wanting to expand your knowledge of the origins and history of the magical traditions of North America, New World Witchery: A Trove of North American Folk Magic is for you.

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]]> Review: Anatomy of a Witch https://www.patheos.com/blogs/matauryn/2021/10/28/review-anatomy-of-a-witch/ Thu, 28 Oct 2021 22:35:38 +0000 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/matauryn/?p=13141

I find myself very grateful to be alive at the same time as Laura Tempest Zakroff. It’s hard for me not to gush about her work, but she is indeed one of my favorite witchcraft authors of all time, and this book is another example of why. Anatomy of a Witch: A Map to the Magical Body explores the embodiment of the witch, both literally and figuratively, giving a symbolic anatomy for the reader to work with energetically and physically to connect deeper with themselves, their power, the mysteries of witchcraft, and more importantly, the Universe around them. Using meditations, energy exercises, rituals, sigils, journaling prompts, and tarot references, Tempest weaves a fantastic reality map to explore that doesn’t disappoint.

While many religions and spiritual traditions aim to deny the body or view it as an obstacle of temptation to overcome, witchcraft tends to be a path that embraces the opposite. Tempest explores how the physical body and physical existence is not only a holy vessel for the witch but a map to spiritual aspects of ourselves and tools for connection with the greater metaphysical reality. Tempest writes with the insight and groundedness of a modern-day Doreen Valiente, the creativity and passion of a modern-day Rosaleen Norton, and the poetic language, artistic style, and wisdom that is uniquely her own. Anatomy of a Witch is a fantastic contribution to the field of witchcraft study regardless of which tradition, path, or eclectic style you embrace when using the word “Witch.” Like all of her work, I highly recommend this book for any witch of any experience level.

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]]> Review: The Witch’s Path https://www.patheos.com/blogs/matauryn/2021/10/28/review-the-witchs-path/ Thu, 28 Oct 2021 22:01:21 +0000 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/matauryn/?p=13133

I really enjoyed Thorn Mooney’s first book Traditional Wicca, but I absolutely love The Witch’s Path: Advancing Your Craft at Every Level. Mooney has such a friendly, approachable, relatable, and charming writing style, which I greatly admire. While seekers and beginners can enjoy this book and get a lot out of it, I feel it’s ideally more suitable for someone already on the path of witchcraft that has found themselves in a rut or overwhelmed with difficulties within the witchcraft and pagan community. Anyone who has been practicing witchcraft for years with seriousness is bound to find themselves feeling uninspired, burned out, and unconnected from their Craft at some point on the path. With complete transparency, Mooney shares her struggles with this and, more importantly, provides insight into how she overcame it in hopes that you can too, when you are up against these roadblocks.

Regardless of whether you view your Craft as spirituality or religion, The Witch’s Path shows that there is indeed depth to the Craft. To discover these answers, Mooney shows that this depth and “advanced” witchcraft is there if we are earnestly looking for it. She encourages us to approach this path with reverence regardless of if we relate to it as a religion or spirituality, not treat it as something to dabble in with the sole intent of self-service or as an aesthetic to serve our egos while also suggesting we keep it in balance with not overextending ourselves to others to our own detriment. This book is inspiring, honest, and level-headed while remaining supportive, understanding, and urging the reader to discover their own answers without ever being condescending.

The Witch’s Path isn’t a book of just spells and rituals. This is a book about reigniting the spark, passion, enthusiasm, connection, and awe of a witch’s Craft – which is much more crucial if we are going to have our magick and spellcasting be effective and treat this as our spiritual life path. You aren’t necessarily getting training on “how to be a witch” or “how to cast spells.” What you are getting is something much more valuable, the wisdom of years of experience of a sincere practitioner within the Craft regarding some of the most difficult challenges the witch is bound to confront, which is rarely if ever discussed in other books. I don’t see eye to eye with every witchcraft book, though I can appreciate and find stuff that I can resonate with inside almost all of them. That being said, I’m amazed by how similar Mooney’s perspectives on most topics within the book are to my own, which I feel can often be rare for me. This book is definitely a great addition to my library, and I’m sure it’s one I will come back to re-read periodically.

 

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]]> Review: The Horned God of the Witches https://www.patheos.com/blogs/matauryn/2021/08/31/review-the-horned-god-of-the-witches/ Tue, 31 Aug 2021 21:48:13 +0000 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/matauryn/?p=13106

Horned God of the Witches by Jason Mankey

Jason Mankey leaves no stone unturned in his quest to uncover the Horned God of the Witches, as he follows the hoof-prints around the world from prehistory to ancient pagan religions to modern witchcraft, comparing similarities and contrasting differences. This fascinating book is well-researched, respectful, and inclusive, regardless of your theism. The Horned God of the Witches is the best book you can get your hands on for learning about the history of Pan, Cernunnos, Lucifer, the Witchfather, and many more all in one place. More importantly, Mankey shows how to create a genuine connection to and a personal magickal relationship with them through various meditations, rituals, and exercises throughout so that you can raise the horns in your own life.

Jason Mankey is one of those authors where each book is progressively better than the last in my opinion. Mankey is one of the best researchers in Paganism and Witchcraft, but what makes him stand out in this regard is he’s a participant of those worlds while also discerning about its history, not simply an outsider studying it, or a practitioner who is attempting to reshape history to fit his beliefs. The Horned God of the Witches is a topic close to Jason’s heart, and it’s obvious when you read the book. I would be hard-pressed to think of someone more fitting to write a book on this. Before this book, the closest you could get to these topics as a cohesive whole was The Witches’ God by Janet & Stewart Farrar published in the late ‘80s. Since then, our understanding of history has changed, and unlike that book, Jason’s focus isn’t solely on a Wiccan view, it’s much broader than that, but can help you gain a better understanding of the Wiccan deity as well. 

There’s a few reviews on Amazon for the Horned God of the Witches that are extremely reactionary and misleading. One review says Mankey “apologizes for being (of) European (descent).” That’s absolutely not true, and doesn’t do so anywhere in the book. There’s a review that complains that Jason apologizes for not taking the scope of the book outside of European pagan religions and traditions. Jason acknowledges that Horned deities exist outside of Europe such as Hindu ones, but that they aren’t necessarily the focus of this book as it relates to the European rooted witchcraft traditions and their predecessors and influences. I’m not sure why mentioning that they exist outside of Europe is making folks uncomfortable. Another hilarious one states Jason incorrectly promotes the Horned God as having influences which include the Devil – and while this may make you uncomfortable, Jason provides all the historical receipts and quotes within the book. One only need to pick up any non-Wiccan Witchcraft Trad book throughout time to find the title of “The Devil” often used for the Horned God. 

The final complaint people are leaving is saying the Horned God is ONLY male and not non-binary or female. Again, I’m sorry if this makes you uncomfortable, but Jason lays out all the historical examples and information within the book itself. He’s not inventing this stuff out of thin air. The book is not trying to be “woke”, as some disgruntled folks are saying, but rather there’s information and history that people intentionally refuse to look at because it makes them uncomfortable due to their own personal biases. So if you want to totally have your own biases confirmed to keep your understanding limited, skip this book. If you want to learn a wide historical understanding and connect with the Horned God and other Horned deities, The Horned God of the Witches is the best book you can get on the subject. 

 

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]]> Review: Do I Have To Wear Black? https://www.patheos.com/blogs/matauryn/2021/08/26/review-do-i-have-to-wear-black/ Thu, 26 Aug 2021 20:40:26 +0000 https://admin.patheos.com/blogs/matauryn/?p=13099

Do I Have to Wear Black?: Rituals, Customs & Funerary Etiquette for Modern Pagans

Do I Have to Wear Black?: Rituals, Customs & Funerary Etiquette for Modern Pagans by Mortellus is a highly uncommon book demonstrating the author’s experience, expertise, and knowledge of death as both a practicing Pagan and a mortician. This background gives the author a unique perspective on the topic of death, straddling both the spiritual and mundane aspects of death; primarily those of us left behind when a loved one passes. Mortellus provides various rituals and etiquette procedures for last rites, wakes, funerals, and disposing of remains for different paths under the big umbrella of Paganism (and alternative spiritualities and religions of the magickal flavor), including; British Traditional Wicca, Crypto-Paganism, Discordianism, Druidry, Eclectic Wicca, Heathenry, Hellenism, Kemetism, and Thelema. Mortellus treats the reader as intelligent and never speaks down to you in their writing, which is refreshing in itself.

Do I have to Wear Black? also touches on the more emotionally challenging areas of death that we encounter, such as the death of our pets, saying goodbye, unexpected deaths, suicides, and the death of a child, including miscarriages and abortions. Despite these tough topics, Mortellus writes with a caring and understanding tone, and above everything stays respectful and reverent of the seriousness of death, which is greatly appreciated. Mortellus provides tons of ingenious spells and rituals to help with grieving processes and honoring our beloved dead. The book is extremely insightful on subjects we don’t always want to confront but will eventually be forced to. Mortellus’ practical advice alone is worth the price of entry. However, the rituals, spells, and exercises throughout the book make it an invaluable resource for not solely pagan religious clergy, but also for anyone who has ever experienced loss or wants to be prepared for it.

 

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]]> Review: The Four Elements of the Wise https://www.patheos.com/blogs/matauryn/2021/08/24/review-four-elements-of-the-wise/ Tue, 24 Aug 2021 09:19:13 +0000 https://www.patheos.com/blogs/matauryn/?p=13088

Four Elements of the Wise by Ivo Dominguez Jr.

Most books on the subject of the elements provide only a superficial understanding of these forces that serve as a cornerstone of magick. Ivo Dominguez Jr., a modern master of the magickal mystery traditions, remedies this in his brilliant and much needed book, The Four Elements of the Wise: Working with the Magickal Powers of Earth, Air, Water, Fire. If you seek to deepen your relationship with the elements beyond introductory level books, connect with the elemental spirits, tune into the sub-elements of each element, and have a nuanced understanding of the subtle differences of the fifth elements of Ether, Spirit, Quintessence, then The Four Elements of the Wise will greatly enhance your mastery of these universal energies.

There’s a reason Ivo Dominguez Jr. is one of my favorite occult writers of all time, and this book is a prime example of it. The Four Elements of the Wise is brilliant in its depth while maintaining an easy-to-understand explanation of that depth. Ivo remedies the misunderstanding that the elements are simply the water in a cup, the flame from a candle, a clump of earth, or a gentle breeze, but that these are symbolic physical representations of the elements. He writes that he “was also taught that if you were wise, you would see past the surface of things and see that the Elements exist beyond the physical plane as well. It was also a reminder that a map is not the territory, and a statue is not a deity, though it is useful to have proxies and representations.” By comparing and contrasting the teachings on the elements of various cultures and traditions around the world, while doing so in a respectful, non-appropriative way, along with his own genius insights, experience, and observations; Ivo helps us gain a complete image of what these universal energies are, how they function, and how we can work with them for a richer magickal experience and practice. I highly recommend this book, as I do any and every book by this author.

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]]> The Titanic Women of Llewellyn https://www.patheos.com/blogs/matauryn/2021/08/21/the-titanic-women-of-llewellyn/ Sat, 21 Aug 2021 19:46:30 +0000 https://admin.patheos.com/blogs/matauryn/?p=13043

Image Credit: Maksym Chornii | Standard License

Publishers Weekly recently did an amazing overview of the history of Llewellyn’ as the oldest independently owned occult publishing company in the world. It highlighted their 120 years in publishing starting with astrologer Llewellyn George’s founding of the company in 1901 to now. The article had a great picture of Carl Weschcke, who took over Llewellyn from Llewellyn George upon his passing, with an image of Raymond Buckland and Scott Cunningham on each side of him. It highlighted a lot of their huge hits throughout its history with titans like Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner (1989) by Scott Cunningham; Animal Speak: The Spiritual & Magical Powers of Creatures Great & Small (1993) by Ted Andrews; and Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life Between Lives (1994) by Michael Newton. The article then led up to mentioning my book Psychic Witch: A Metaphysical Guide to Meditation, Magick & Manifestation (2020) by Mat Auryn.

While it was a huge honor to be mentioned in Publishers Weekly and included as part of Llewellyn’s modern history, there’s something glaringly obvious with this list – it only mentions men. While each of these authors had huge success for Llewellyn, thus majorly impacting the history of witchcraft, paganism and spiritual subcultures, the omission of women authors left me a bit uncomfortable. Not purely for inclusive reasons, but because these female authors were just as important, just as successful, and had just as big of an impact on Llewellyn and our history as these male authors. How on earth could a titan like Silver Ravenwolf not be in this article? While I’m sure the author of the article didn’t intentionally exclude women, this is nothing out of the ordinary. Women are often overlooked for their male peers regardless of which industry it is, or how well they perform compared to their male counterparts.

So I reached out to Bill Kraus, who took over Llewellyn from Carl Weschcke upon his passing, and asked for a list of the all-time best-selling authors for Llewellyn who were women, to give them a moment of recognition as well. So here, are the Titanic Women of Llewellyn (listed in no particular order) and some of their titles with the publishing company:

Silver Ravenwolf

Silver RavenWolf (Pennsylvania) is a nationally recognized leader and elder of Wicca, and her writing has been instrumental in guiding the future of one of the fastest-growing faiths in America today. The author of many books, she has been interviewed by The New York Times, Newsweek Magazine, and the Wall Street Journal, and her work has been featured in numerous publications, including Bust Magazine, the Baltimore Sun, the St. Petersburg Times, the National Review, Publishers Weekly, Body & Soul Magazine, and Teen Lit Magazine. Her titles include the bestselling Solitary Witch, To Ride A Silver Broomstick, To Stir A Magick Cauldron, To Light A Sacred Flame, The Witching Hour, among many others.

DJ Conway

A native of the Pacific Northwest, D.J. Conway (1939 – 2019) studied the occult fields for over 35 years. Her quest for knowledge covered Paganism, Wicca, New Age, and Eastern philosophies as well as history, the magical arts, mythology, and folklore. Conway wrote more than 20 nonfiction books, including Celtic Magic, Dancing with Dragons, Mystical Dragon Magic,  Animal Magick, The Celtic Dragon Tarot Kit, and many more*.*

Ann Moura

Ann Moura has been a practitioner of Green Witchcraft for over forty years. She holds both a BA and an MA in history. Moura lives in Florida, where she runs her own metaphysical store, presents public rituals, and teaches classes on the Craft. Her books include Green Witchcraft, Grimoire for the Green Witch, Mansions of the Moon for the Green Witch, Green Magic, The Green Witch Tarot, and many more.

Edain McCoy

Edain McCoy became a self-initiated Witch in 1981 and was an active part of the Pagan community since her formal initiation into a large San Antonio coven in 1983. Edain had researched alternative spiritualities since her teens, when she was first introduced to Kabbalah. Since that time, she studied a variety of magickal paths. An alumnus of the University of Texas with a BA in history, she was affiliated with several professional writer’s organizations and occasionally presented workshops on magickal topics or worked individually with students who wished to study Witchcraft. Edain was the author of over fifteen books, including Celtic Myth & Magick, Bewitchments, Enchantments, *Sabbats, and Advanced Witchcraft.*Edain Mccoy passed away in 2019.

Dorothy Morrison

Dorothy Morrison is a member of the Pagan Poet’s Society and a charter member of M.A.G.I.C., a magical writer’s and artist’s organization. Dorothy is a Wiccan High Priestess of the Georgian Tradition, and has been an avid practitioner of the ancient arts for more than forty 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. Dorothy’s bestselling books include The Craft, Everyday Magic, Everyday Moon Magic, Everyday Sun Magic, The Craft Companion, and many others.

Deborah Blake

Deborah Blake is a Wiccan high priestess and leader of the eclectic group Blue Moon Circle. She manages the Artisans’ Guild, a not-for-profit artists’ cooperative shop, and works as a tarot reader and energy healer. Deborah is the author and cocreator of many books and decks, including Everyday Witch Tarot, Everyday Witchcraft, A Year and a Day of Everyday Witchcraft, The Witch’s Broom, and The Little Book of Cat Magic.

Laura Tempest Zakroff

Laura Tempest Zakroff is a professional artist, author, dancer, designer, and Modern Traditional Witch. She holds a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and her myth-inspired artwork has received awards and honors worldwide. Laura blogs for Patheos as “A Modern Traditional Witch,” for Witches & Pagans magazine as “Fine Art Witchery,” and contributes to The Witches’ Almanac. She is the author of several bestselling books, including Sigil Witchery, Weave the Liminal, Anatomy of a Witch, and The Witch’s Cauldron. She is also the creator of the bestselling Liminal Spirits Oracle.

Thea Sabin

Thea Sabin is a professional editor and writer whose work has appeared in numerous publications, both pagan and non-pagan, and is a former newspaper astrology columnist. A practicing Wiccan since her teens, the author received formal training in a British Traditional path and currently she and her husband run a coven of the same tradition. Sabin holds a Masters Degree in Education, is an avid organic gardener and lover of Hong Kong gangster movies. She makes her home in the Pacific Northwest. Her books include Wicca for Beginners and A Teaching Handbook for Wiccans and Pagans.

Ellen Dugan

Ellen Dugan is the award-winning author of fifteen books, and is known as the “Garden Witch”. A psychic-clairvoyant, she has been a practicing Witch for over thirty years. Well known for her candor and humor, she is a Master Gardener, and is the High Priestess of her Coven in the St. Louis area. Ellen teaches classes both online and across the country on Witchery, Psychic Protection, and Magick. She has contributed articles for over twelve years to Llewellyn’s Magical Almanac, Witches Datebook, Sabbat Almanac, and Witches Calendar. Her books include Cottage Witchery, Garden Witchery, Natural Witchery, Garden Witch’s Herbal,  the Witches Tarot Deck and many more.

Lisa Peschel

Lisa Peschel was an artist, writer, and Wiccan. There’s not much of an author bio to be found of her online, and she recently passed away last year. Her bestselling A Practical Guide to the Runes: Their Uses in Divination and Magick has sold well over 150,000 copies since it’s release in 1989.

Barbara Moore

Barbara Moore has studied and read tarot since the early 1990s. She wrote the bestselling Tarot for Beginners and more than a dozen other books including Tarot Spreads, and Your Tarot Your Way. She has contributed to many bestselling tarot kits, including Mystical Manga Tarot and Shadowscapes Tarot. Barbara also works with clients and leads retreats and workshops all over the world.

Cyndi Dale

Cyndi Dale is an internationally renowned author, speaker, healer, and business consultant. She is president of Life Systems Services, through which she has conducted over 65,000 client sessions and presented training classes throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas. Cyndi is the author of more than twenty-five books, including Llewellyn’s Complete Book of Chakra Healing, The Complete Book of Chakra Healing, The Spiritual Power of Empathy, and Energy Healing for Trauma, Stress & Chronic Illness.

Anodea Judith

Anodea Judith, PhD is the founder and director of Sacred Centers, and a groundbreaking thinker, writer, and spiritual teacher. Her passion for the realization of untapped human potential matches her concern for humanity’s impending crises—her fervent wish is that we “wake up in time.” She holds Masters and Doctoral degrees in Psychology and Human Health, with lifelong studies of alternative medicine, yoga, mythology, history, sociology, systems theory, and mystic spirituality. Her Llewellyn books include Wheels of Life, and Anodea Judith’s Chakra Yoga.

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