Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Aaron Leitch, author of several books, including Secrets of the Magickal Grimoires, The Angelical Language Volume I and Volume II, and his new Essential Enochian Grimoire. There is a lot to be said for the mysterious and romantic nature of the old grimoires—such as the the Lemegeton, Key of Solomon, Abramelin, etc. Their pages are filled with ancient and powerful magickal formulae, the secrets of conjuring demons and calling down angels, and magickal talismans for every conceivable purpose. They represent a deep and complex occult tradition, drawing from the spirit lore, astrology, and alchemy of their day to address the problems of

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Catherine Dowling, author of Radical Awareness. Compassion flows from spiritual experiences. When our awareness expands into the realm of spirit and we experience union with life/the universe, we can feel bathed and held in unconditional love. That love is unconditional because criticism has given way to compassion. And it feels amazing. It can be hard to sustain that level of self-compassion in daily life. We can become accustomed to thinking that being stern and self-critical will make us perform better, achieve more, even be better people. Sometimes we think a good dose of self-criticism will make us kinder to others. The opposite is

  Image: Death from Llewellyn's Classic Tarot One of the wonderful things about tarot is that, if one wishes, it can provide a lifetime of learning. Working with the cards in readings and in personal reflection, our understanding of the cards deepens. The tapestry of our belief system becomes more complex, more nuanced. Sometimes we learn or experience things that cause us to rip former threads of understanding from our tapestry (often this is connected with Tower experiences, which tend to change fundamentals of our belief systems). For me, I’ve noticed changes in my own understanding and interpretation of the Death card. When I first began learning the cards, I talked

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="561"] Image via www.washingtontimes.com[/caption] Winter hasn't even begun, and already Mother Nature has been pummeling most of the United States with unseasonable cold and early snow storms. As of this morning, the giant storm that brought lake-effect snow to the Buffalo, New York area had left at least 6 feet (!!) of snow in its wake, and is being blamed for five deaths already. To add insult to injury, another storm is on the way, expected to bring an additional 2-3 feet of snow. I'm strictly a Midwest girl, having lived part of my life in Wisconsin and part in Minnesota. I'm hardened to the cold and—having gone from house to house in a