Wicca

Even though Raymond Buckland’s Witchcraft From the Inside was written in 1971, the subject matter is still relevant today. Witchcraft From The Inside allows readers to get a bird’s eye view of not only what life is like as a member of a Wiccan or Neo-Pagan coven, but also goes in-depth about the history of Wicca and Witchcraft as well. From Gerald Garner to Z.Budapest’s work with Dianic Wicca, no stone is left unturned as Buckland describes the movers and shakers of the ‘40s,‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s that have left their mark, for better or worse, on the modern-day Pagan movement.

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Although many religions like to bicker with one another over whose religion is “the right one” and whose version of God (or the Gods) is the “real one,” Lucinda Vardey’s God In All Worlds: An Anthology of Contemporary Spiritual Writing highlights all the best parts of many, if not all, of the world’s religions.

While the anthology does include bits and pieces from the Bible, the Dalai Lama, Mother Theresa, and Krishnamurti, it also includes the works of poets such as Allen Ginsberg and Maya Angelou. From Hinduism to Judaism and even Pagan beliefs such as Wicca, each of the 22 pages allows readers to adventure forth on their spiritual path. They’ll get a chance to delve into the depths of meditation, the power of mythology, and spiritual figures. All of the selections, whether it is from Martin Luther King Jr. or Albert Einstein, will give readers a new appreciation for spirituality and the world around them.

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Raymond Buckland, who has been called the “father of witchcraft” and has long been a revered figure in the Pagan community, has briefly turned away from writing about spirit communications, Wicca, witchcraft, and divination for a walk down the Victorian side. His new novel Cursed in the Act takes the “father of vampires,” a.k.a. Bram Stoker himself, and re-imagines him as a cross between Supernatural’s Sam and Dean Winchester with a bit of Sherlock Holmes thrown in for good measure.

It is 1881-era London, and after a famous actor is poisoned on stage while his understudy’s killed the night after the incident, stage manager Harry Rivers and his boss Bram Stoker must team up to discover who sabotaged the actor and why. Although they discover that Mr. Irving has a long list of enemies, many whom would happily see him dead, the dynamic duo soon discover that the perpetrator has turned to magic to wreak havoc on the play and shut it down. As Irving and Stoker fight to save Mr. Irving from supernatural mischief, they soon become the new target for the nefarious magician.

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Whether your religion is one of the monotheistic “Big Three” or some flavor of Paganism, honoring your ancestors is usually a pretty important part of one’s belief system. However, even in some Pagan religions, people’s lives become hectic and they’re so absorbed in the mundane events of their daily lives that they often forget to light a candle for grandma in front of their ancestor altar.

Christian Day’s The Witches Book of the Dead smashes that complacency to smithereens, and he makes a point to tell readers flat-out that “if you honor your ancestors, they will honor you!” In other words, that means if you’re consistent with saying a prayer for your grandma or lighting a candle for your great-grandpa in front of your ancestor altar, when the time comes and you really need something like a new job or a new apartment and you ask them for help, they will be more inclined to nudge things around so that you do succeed in getting that promotion or finding your dream home.

Day also portrays the idea of necromancy in a new light. While some people may think of dastardly black magic, he uses both myths and historical research to point out that before the word was demonized, it simply meant the art of talking to your departed grandma or other go-to ancestor.

From learning to be more aware of the spirits around you to setting up an ancestor altar in your house, The Witches Book of the Dead will fascinate readers no matter what their religious views are. While this book isn’t for everyone,  if occult topics are your guilty pleasure, then Day’s guide will be right up your alley!