Pagan Culture - Magical Arts
The Study of Healing Prayer
- Details
- Category: Divination
The Study of Healing Prayer
Ethical and Practical Questions
by Elizabeth Barrette
While most matters of healing lie outside my area of expertise, I have a perennial interest in prayer and liturgy. Healing prayers appear in most if not all religions. Some are specific, others general; some come from human inspiration, while others are attributed to the Divine. My most recent exploration of healing prayer began with the November-December 2001 issue of The Religious Language Newsletter.1
This issue mentioned a double-blind study about the effects of healing prayer in reproductive medicine, in which 50% of the women prayed for conceived, compared with 26% of the control group. Neither the women nor any of the medical staff involved in their care even knew that a study was being conducted. That reference launched a discussion which has continued for months as various readers submitted references to additional studies, personal arguments, and other relevant tidbits. About the same time, I got my hands on a couple of review copies that covered similar ground.2 With the "Healing Paths" issue of PanGaia coming up, I decided to explore the matter in more detail.
Location! Location! Location!
- Details
- Category: Spellwork
©2012 Holly Golightly
cityWitch
Location! Location! Location!
by Christopher Penczak
Location really is everything. Each location is a pocket of potential energy, and that energy will influence all that you do. The ancient traditions of magick knew this, and their sacred sites of power become arenas of mystery to the modern world. The powers of the Giza Pyramids, Stonehenge and the Serpent Mound are sought out by modern practitioners looking into the mysteries. But in seeking out power in only the places of old, we do not find the magical energy all around us.
In my experience, every location is a vortex of energy, including the urban environment. Cities are built because they are found on such powerful swirling pools of energy. This energy is one of the reasons that attracts settlers, even if most only feel the pull intuitively. As each city develops, it gains its own flair, personality and psychic climate. It develops a relationship with the people inhabiting it. Not only does each city gain a “vibe” all its own, each section of the city, each district and neighborhood develops its own energy.
Bell, Book & Candle
- Details
- Category: Spellwork
©2012 Holly Golightly
Bell, Book
& Candle
by Rev. Galina Krasskova
I always get a good chuckle when I read the average book on magic. The reader is presented with long, ponderous instructions, ominous words of warning and a list of ingredients that look like they belong in an annotated volume of Shakespeare.
I just shake my head and laugh at how insistent most people are about complicating the simplest of procedures. In reality, there is nothing difficult about magic. Almost anyone can learn to work simple spells with nothing fancier than what can readily be found in a typical kitchen cabinet.
Beginner's Guide to Astrology
- Details
- Category: Astrology
©2012 Holly Golightly
astroWitch
Beginner's Guide
to Astrology
by Tasha Halpert
For thousands of years, knowledge of the stars and planets have helped people plant, harvest, build, wed, and generally function more effectively. Astrology, a forecasting system based on the positions of planets in the sky, gives us clues to patterns of events and their timing.
Dress Up Your Magical Image With Color
- Details
- Category: Spellwork
model Amber Desmond, hair & makeup Melissa Herman,
jewelry supplied by Dark Charm, photo ©2012 Thunder Voltz
Dress Up Your Magical Image
With Color
by Veronica Cummer
If what you choose to wear is a song, a poem, an expression of who you are and what you believe about yourself, then what are we, as today’s Witches, saying to the world at large? If you go to any big Pagan-friendly event, wander into your local occult bookstore, or hook up with other witches at that odd little coffee shop on the corner, you will find a sort of dress code that will be as natural to you as it is familiar. Nine times out of ten, you will know who the Witches in the room are, and not just because they give off that certain Witchy vibe.
Silver jewelry, ankhs, and pentacles aside, nine times out of ten, you will see your fellow Witches dressed in, you guessed it — black.
Deep, dark, mysterious, even a bit wicked, wild, sexy, and ever cool — black. Most Witches adore black in all shades and permutations, from lace to leather, from jeans to swishy ankle-length skirts. Black just feels right, black is familiar and comfortable to wear, black simply is what being a Witch is all about. And that’s not just our view of ourselves as Witches, but what others expect of us.
Bird Cards: The Healing Power of the Bird Kingdom
- Details
- Category: Reviews
Bird Cards:
The Healing Power of the Bird Kingdom
by Jane Toerien
Altamira-Becht, 2007
Toerien has created a deck of fifty-five cards which uses bird energy as a self-help and self-discovery tool. Each bird represents a different focus for an individual to work with. This is a gentle book filled with positive energy and an earnest desire to help the reader.
Read more: Bird Cards: The Healing Power of the Bird Kingdom