Four decades ago, two men, Herman Slater and Ed Buczynski, started a small occult store in New York City called "The Warlock Shop." They were at the right place at the right time offering what people wanted. Eventually they outgrew their location and moved, renaming their shop "Magickal Childe." They put out a wonderfully strange and complete catalog, in tabloid format, offering everything from the strangest herbs to "Aleister Crowley's altar" (well, I think it was a night table from the last place he lived and that might have served as an altar). The owners eventually went in separate ways, and Slater kept the store. It was many years later that I finally met "Horrible Herman," and

Back in 1973 I was living in Encinitas, part of "North County" of San Diego, California. My good friend, Lori C., insisted that we should go to an exclusive showing of a new movie called "The Wicca Man." I didn't know anything about the movie, but I liked spending time with her, so I picked her up and we drove over to the Ken theater on Adams Ave. There was a long line of people waiting to see a movie that was actually named The Wicker Man. Most of the people were dressed in black and wearing silver jewelry. For me, the movie was spellbinding. It actually had two plots. The superficial plot was of a deeply religious (Christian) British police officer who learned of a missing young

Why is it magical people are so interested in the Tarot? There are numerous forms of divination. Currently, I'm beginning to study palmistry. Here are a few great resources if you're interested: You Can Read Palms by Richard Webster Instant Palm Reader by Linda Domin Palmistry Quick & Easy by Peter Hazel Palm Reading for Beginners by Richard Webster and The Hand from A to Z by Judith Hipskind There is a good reason for palmistry's popularity: you don't need any props. You don't need cards or runes, tea leaves or crystal balls. All you need is your hands. But it's not the Tarot. For magicians, the Tarot has far more uses than divination. The great occultist, Eliphas Levi,

No, I don't mean the Batman. He was called the "Dark Knight." But I am talking about some similarities to the Batman. He had to deal with issues arising from watching his parents' senseless murder. He wants to follow a path that will prevent others from having to deal with the issues he did. In fact, he becomes so obsessed with his path that he becomes the archetypal loner, pushing away not just friends, but even companionship. He's like the Hermit of the Tarot, a shining light if others will follow. Few will. When most people start on a spiritual path, especially a non-traditional one such as the path of magick, it usually starts as a relatively minor interest. Eventually, that