I wanted to make a couple of notes about the books I have listed on my profile, and they should be fairly common sense.  First off, not all of those books can be read and understood by beginners just starting out in the Craft.  Hell, when you're starting out you may find different books altogether.  The important key to all newcomers is to read EVERYTHING.  Browse all the different websites, check out books from the library (though local experience has taught me that Pagan books are rarely available), and purchase cheap used books in stores or online.  In the end, you will decide what works best for you, though I have come up with a fairly solid list which will at least point you in the right direction.

For beginners, I very highly recommend Scott Cunningham, Doreen Valiente, Marian Green and Starhawk.  Their books are very easy to understand and never fail to open the door to something different.  Cunningham's books especially make good reference points in the future, even after your chosen path has evolved.  Eileen Holland also makes a fair choice for beginners, but much of her work needs to be taken with a grain of salt and can seem very closeminded at times after you've become more advanced in the Craft.

Specific titles that must be read for beginners include "Drawing Down the Moon" by Margot Adler, and "Aradia:  Gospel of the Witches" by Charles G. Leland.  "Aradia" is the book that partially inspired what is now known as Wicca, and "Drawing..." does a good job of showing you how far the Pagan community has spread over the years.  This book was first published in 1979 and is still just as relevant today.  Future fans of Aleister Crowley will typically choose "The Book of the Law" as their first read, most likely because of it's size and wide availability.  No matter what faith you belong to, this little book will open your eyes, trust me.  One good title recommended for those who are still searching for their path (and is one I've bought for a few of my friends) is "The Mist-Filled Path" by Frank MacEowen.

Janet and Stewart Farrar are recommended for people who consider themselves "intermediate", who have been studying the Craft for at least one year.  Their books draw on the more formal classical traditions of Wicca, primarily Alexandrian, and their "Witches Bible" pretty much contains everything you need to know about real Wicca & Witchcraft.  Aleister Crowley is regarded as one of the greatest magicians who ever lived, and while his books have much to teach us, his complex body of work is not for everyone.  Christopher Penczak is a fair author with some good books out for everyone to learn from, though he seems to be a better fit for the gay/bisexual crowd.

 

Authors to Avoid:

(Before I go on to list the names of authors that should be avoided, let me stress that a lot of these authors did get lucky once or twice.  They published the books that garnered their good reputations in the beginning, some are still considered highly regarded despite their inflated egos, but since then have not lived up to their previous works and have even gone so low as to publish unresearched subject matter.  Do not necessarily avoid these people at all costs...but know that there are much better Pagan authors out there who will teach you something more substantial.)

Fiona Horne - She's our modern day "Hollywood Witch", the one who is usually called to represent the Wicca community on TV with disastrous results.  She is easy to look at for sure, which is probably the main reason why TV execs pick her for their shows, but her lack of real knowledge and near-"fluff bunny" attitude does a horrible job of painting a positive role model for young women.  A few years back, she was one of the mods on the reality show "Mad Mad House" in which she pranced around wearing barely any clothes, seduced one of the male contestants (and possibly one of the other mods) and was generally very two-faced; and some of her book titles include "Bewitch a Man:  How to Find Him and Keep Him Under Your Spell", "Witchin':  A Handbook for Teenage Witches" and "Magickal Sex:  A Witch's Guide to Beds, Knobs and Broomsticks".  Judging from everything I have seen and read, she gives Wiccans and Witches a bad name and is the only one I urge you to avoid at all cost.  Read this article for even more reasons to avoid her.

Silver Ravenwolf is someone that a lot of people can't stand.  Read this article to find out an idea why.  It pretty much sums up my own opinions about her.

The books of Edain McCoy & D.J. Conway take subjects with potential and makes them into generic products.  Though a couple of their books are of some interest, there are some like McCoy's "Witta:  An Irish Pagan Tradition" which is just plain laughable and Conway's "Norse Magic" and "Celtic Magic" that is pretty much just regular beginners Wicca with international names inserted into the mix to give off the illusion of a difference.  They're not really THAT bad, you could pick much worse...but then again there isn't anything to them.  They're "safe" and harmless.

Raymond Buckland is the founder of Seax Wicca, and someone you'd expect to have a better reputation with the good books he has written.  To many people he does come highly recommended (along with what is notoriously known as the Big Blue Book), but several other of his books make the same mistake as McCoy & Conway by taking the basic concepts and practices of Wicca and inserting international names, in his case he does this with the Gypsys, the Scots and the Saxons.  Ego is also something which has brought Mr. Buckland down in the eyes of some of his fellow Wiccans and Witches.

As for Laurie Cabot...well, again read this article for a better explanation than I can give you at the moment.  The webmaster of "Wicca For the Rest of Us" has done it again!

So...that about covers it.  Good luck in your search for better Pagan books...I hope I helped.

I apologize for the delay.  MySpace and Facebook are pretty much where I've been, and will continue to be.  I still use Yahoo 360, but only as my writing blog where I have my 10 most recent poems up for view and critique.

So whats new?  I published a second book, titled "A Candlelit World" back in May of this year.  It was a joint effort with my best friend Mandy that was in the making for nine years.  That's a LONG time to write a book, especially one as short as this turned out to be...only 161 pages!  But I promise, there's a lot packed into those pages.  I'll try and post a little mini-storefront for my books on my profile while I'm here, so you can take a look, but if that doesn't work, here is the link to my official bookstore.  Aside from that, everything is the same...still single, still working and living in the same places, still frustrated and still searching.  I've lost two family members this year, one of which I was very close to and it's been taking some time to live with it without feeling too much pain.

My path has done a bit of evolving, into the realm of Hoodoo and folk magic, and further away from traditional Witchcraft and Wicca.  I also find New Orleans Voodoo to be very fascinating, though I'd probably make a very poor mambo.  I am looking into doing more spellwork and redesigning my altar, as it has been sorely unused and is gathering dust.  I still call myself a Wild Witch...after all, what defines "wild" worse than being predictable?  I've been getting more into the uses of candles and oils as important tools to my craft, and my library has grown considerably...but I have moved into a phase where my time is spent elsewhere, perhaps because I am content with where I am and what I know in the spiritual sense, or else I am unsure what my next step will be.

So yep, that is pretty much my update.  I hope everyone is well, and I will try and update my page here as best as I can.

I did a tarot reading on a new person in my life. Who knows what the future has in store, but it has potential.  Needless to say, I felt I needed to see what the cards had to say about him, and this is what I learned.  The deck I used was the Robin Wood deck, and if anyone has any interpretations of their own to share, or if you agree with mine, please feel free to leave your comments here.

 

I use a spread of my own creation (not saying that it is a thoroughly original spread, but it is original to me anyway).  The nine cards are dealt in three triangle-shaped groups of three cards each.  The significance of the groups differ according to the sort of reading I am doing, and most of the time the cards are accurate.  Sometimes I add a tenth card to use as "The Final Word", which is self-explanatory.

 

 

1st Group: The person on the outside
10 of Wands (rev)
Page of Cups (rev)
Knight of Pentacles


2nd Group: The person on the inside
7 of Wands (rev)
7 of Swords (rev)
The Devil (rev)


3rd Group: Future
Wheel of Fortune
The Hanged Man (rev)
Ace of Wands


Final Word: 8 of Swords (rev)



The first group shows to me a person with a shady history of "passing the buck", deception, selfishness and poor relationships. The upright Knight of Pentacles shows that despite this, the subject in question has evolved into a better person, if not the opposite of what they used to be.

In the second group, the cards here are clear signs that the subject has indeed "mended his ways", especially the reversed Devil and 7 of Swords card. The 7 of Wands shows signs of hesitancy towards action, anxiety...and considering the Wand is the symbol of fire, I am only guessing that this anxiety/hesitation feeling is towards issues regarding strength, courage or passion.

In the third group is where I am having trouble. The Wheel of Fortune and Ace of Wands both are great cards, but the reversed Hanged Man seems to throw a monkey wrench in the middle of it, like when things are looking good something stupid/pointless will happen.

There are hints of new beginnings and release in a few places here, in the third group and also in the "final word" card, which is all about release from fears and new beginnings.

(this is especially aimed at those who live on or near the Oregon coast, but read on anyway even if you aren't)



Okay.  Y'all have known from the get-go that I am a Witch.  Anyone who actually knows me in person knows that my experience with fellow Pagans is a bit limited, with one or sometimes two trips to the Garden a year which allows me to mingle with people from all over the state and beyond...and also the one Pagan shop that is close enough to where I am free to drive over when I have money to spend, which is Belsian Sands Oracle, located over at the Aquarium Village in South Beach.  I love this store more than any other places around here, though I am not able to come as often as I'd like but I try to make up for it in the money I spend.

Well, today in my visit, I was shocked with two surprises.  First off, when I checked in on that crystal ball...you know, the one that Steel was selling for half price since it was scratched up...turned out she still hadn't sold it yet, so she up and gave it to me for free!  I was floored.  To top that, she sold me a holder for it for a dollar!  This is a big crystal ball...it's as big around as a small child's head and weighs about ten pounds.  The scratches don't affect the clarity much when held at the right angle.  The original price for it was $45 and Steel was selling it for twenty bucks.  I wanted to buy it at my last visit but I was pretty much broke, and Scott had also talked about buying it before too.  So here it is now, sitting on top of my computer in front of my little celtic knot lamp until I can make a more proper home for it...for the total cost of a buck.  That never happens...not to me or to anyone I've ever known.  That goes to show you how generous and wonderful a person like Steel is, and how rare someone like her is.

The other surprise I got was that Steel is contemplating on closing the store down.  There are quite a few months where business is rather bad, plus other reasons.  I was thrown...NO WAY!  This is the only Pagan store in the area that I know of...the only other one is Ancient Light, which is ten miles away in Seal Rock and I don't enjoy heading down to that town for any reason.  I've always sensed bad juju there...not sure if that's the right term for it, but there ya go.

I told her that if she did close down Belsian Sands...I didn't know what I'd do.  It's true...I don't.  Sure, you can buy crystals, candles and incense anywhere...but this stuff is the real thing.  Hand made/poured/cut from local artists, a lot of wonderful treasures are found there.  It is my favorite place to go for new stones and crystals.  The prices there for the most part are unbeatable.  There is a variety of books, tarot decks, art, stained glass pieces, jewelry, homemade spirit boards, handdipped candles, homemade soap, statuary...even clothes and of course crystals and incense.

I suppose if you asked me what Belsian Sands has that other Pagan stores don't, what is the difference between them and for example, the much-missed Rosebud & Fish from Salem.  There isn't much of a difference, really...except it is one of the few places around here on the Oregon coast where anybody can enter, everybody of all faiths is welcome, and for those seeking other Pagans will find the "real thing" there.

I don't know about you guys...but I do not want this place to disappear.  I say to Hell with those people in this town who try to run places like this out of business.  To Hell with them!  It's their Hell anyway...they can burn in it, as the saying goes!  I laugh at those parents who bring their families inside the store then quickly turn their kids around and head them right back outside as soon as they realize what sort of store it is.  I wonder how often that does happen.

Some may look down on someone like me or a store like Belsian Sands...but we have every right to be here too.

So this is a job I've taken upon myself to try and help spread the word about this store.  I don't work there and never have, but as a loyal customer I feel it is my duty to try and help.  I apologize for the shameless plug here, but forgive me for wanting to tell everyone I can about one of my favorite places in the world.

Who lives in the Newport area, or at least wouldn't mind the drive?  Who likes to light candles, burn incense and collect beautiful crystals?  Who likes to decorate their home with various curios and knick-knacks...wall tapestries, cute signs or local artwork?  You couldn't find better stuff anywhere else, or nicer people.


The Belsian Sands Oracle Website

Please spread the word.

 

Lets not let this store fade away like so many others have in the past.  Tell everyone you know, and especially stop by and let Steel know how much you enjoy the store and would hate to see it go.  With enough support and awareness spread, maybe we can save it.  I'll be back there tomorrow to buy something else there and to offer my service as a possible part-time volunteer.  I'll do anything I can to help.

You are certain to find the store open on Fridays and Saturdays.
Please stop by and check it out.  I can think of six people right away who would benefit from a visit there...you know who you are!  Stop procrastinating and just head over there.  Every little bit helps, even if it's just a few bucks.

I am posting a copy of this blog at the following websites:  MySpace, CovenSpace, The Forest Pagan Community, MysticWicks, Yahoo 360, OccultForums and anywhere else I can think of.  Do yourself (and the local Pagan community) a favor and do the same.

I know I am a couple of days late...but the actual event did take place on Midsummer.

I'm talking about...THE RELEASE OF MY BOOK!!!!!!

 

I have placed the information for it on my profile, so take a look and buy a copy of you have some extra scratch lying around.  I promise it wouldn't be money wasted!