Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Michael Furie, author of Supermarket Magic, Spellcasting for Beginners, Spellcasting: Beyond the Basics, and the new Witch's Book of Potions. Though a bubbling cauldron filled with herbs and liquid releasing fragrant steam into the air is a potent stereotype of witchcraft, it does not seem to be a large part of modern practice. The cauldron, while still a valued magical implement of a great many witches, has shifted from being a practical cooking pot and potion-brewing vessel to more symbolic uses. Acting as a censer, fire pit, or spell receptacle are all perfectly appropriate and powerful functions of a witch's cauldron; I'm not speaking

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Michael Furie, author of Supermarket Magic, Spellcasting for Beginners, and the new Spellcasting: Beyond the Basics. When discussing the subject of spiritual or magical purification with other members of the Pagan community, I've noticed that two main points of view usually dominate the conversations: those that faithfully complete the now-standard steps of cleansing/purification prior to every ritual and those that deem it as entirely unnecessary. For those that do not feel a need for the cleansing, the most frequent statement I have heard is something to the effect of, "Since we view the earth as sacred, it seems silly to 'purify' the

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Michael Furie, author of the new Spellcasting for Beginners. It’s true, we need money, but it’s important to remember that it has no inherent value. Money is man-made and only has value because we agree that it does. There’s no such thing as “money energy” to call upon in magic. We instead have to focus on growth, abundance, and good fortune. We can draw upon energy of the Earth, Sun, and Jupiter as well. The Earth energy is that of growth and is foundational. It is a good idea to utilize Earth energy when money is vitally needed. The Sun’s energy is tuned to abundance and is ideal for building upon money you already have such as

(Readers: this is Part Three of a 3-part article. Click on these links for Part One and Part Two.) Fall 2012 This brings us up to books that have just released this month or the last couple months. Hot off the presses. Go find them in your local bookstores! Faery Craft – the ultimate gift for anyone who loves faery art, faery fiction, and of course, faery reality. This book offers everything from a wealth of tips to communicating with faeries to a full treatment of the faery-loving lifestyle, including festivals, magazines, and more. There are great interviews with writers like Charles de Lint, artists like Brian and Wendy Froud, musicians like S.J. Tucker, and the book is crammed