Musing Mystical

✨ A Gathering Place for Magical Readers and Writers ✨

Author Archives: Effie Fox

About Effie Fox

Effie Fox is a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP), costume designer, and proud mother of five children. Originally from Arkansas, she now resides in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where she balances her professional and creative pursuits. A lifelong bibliophile, Effie enjoys delving into the deeper connections between literature and life, often finding inspiration for both her work and her personal journey in the books and stories she reads. With a passion for design, she also loves exploring the art and history of costume design, weaving her unique experiences and love of historical costuming into every piece she creates, allowing the textiles to tell their own story.

Shamanic Healing for Toxic Relationships, by Stefan Limmer

Shamanic Healing for Toxic Relationships: Dissolve Old Soul Contracts and Retrieve Lost Soul Parts, by Stefan Limmer
Findhorn Press, 979-8888502495, 192 pages, April 2025

Stefan Limmer’s Shamanic Healing for Toxic Relationships: Dissolve Old Soul Contracts and Retrieve Lost Soul Parts provides rich, informative, and actionable instructions to access deep insight about how to heal our souls at the core level. 

To begin, Limmer walks readers through basic understanding and components of a toxic relationship, how to recognize one, and outlines the roles of the parties involved in this type of relationship. He then dives into the causes of why these relationships exist at a fundamental soul level. Finally, Limmer provides actionable rituals and practices for addressing the causes of toxic relationships, teaching how to dissolve these contracts and move into healthy relationships that bring freedom and, ultimately, love. 

This book holds a depth of instruction that makes it a diamond in the rough of self-help/self-transformation books. Not only does Limmer identify the core issues at the soul level, but he also delves into the potential causes of these subconscious wounds with clear, concise, and thorough explanation of how and why these wounds impact us as well as how they manifest in our conscious life and experiences.

In one of the most enlightening sections, entitled “Soul Issues and Soul Wounds – The Real Causes of Toxic Relationships”, Limmer discusses the Shamanic model of human consciousness. He breaks consciousness down into four levels that “interpenetrate and are interwoven” and consist of “the ordinary reality of the middle world, the mom-ordinary reality of the middle world, the upper world, and the lower world.”1 According to Limmer, this explanation creates the foundation for understanding the human experience, especially regarding the healing of wounds.

The reader does not need to have a prior knowledge of shamanic principles to benefit from this book; Limmer provides the structure of shamanic beliefs necessary to gain profound insight into the workings of the soul and soul healing. The shamanic principles he provides transcend religion/spiritual beliefs and truly target the underlying trials and tribulations of the human experience. However, an open mindset and willingness to learn is an excellent way to approach this book!

One of the most helpful aspects of this book is the rituals offered in the final section of the book. Limmer, in his enlightening style, explains how, when, and why to engage in specific rituals with days to follow guidance.

During the course of reading this book, I could not help but make connections with other books that I have read which added to the richness of Limmer’s message, such as Sacred Contracts by Caroline Myss. In addition, having my favorite tarot deck nearby helped make connections between the shamanic interpretation of archetypes and my current spiritual understanding of archetypes.

Overall, the warmth, acceptance, and guidance that Limmer offers in Shamanic Heaing for Toxic Relationships makes the emotionally difficult content easier to accept and digest. Having this gentle wisdom through the tears of acknowledgment and acceptance makes the healing and growth a little easier. This book is good for individuals who have experienced a toxic relationship and who are at any stage of the aftermath from early acknowledgement to later acceptance.

At the Borders of the Wondrous and Magical, by Claude Lecouteux

At the Borders of the Wondrous and Magical: Nature Spirits, Shapeshifters, and the Undead in the Never-Ending Middle Ages, by Claude Lecouteux
Inner Traditions, 1644119935, 288 pages, January 2025

If you enjoy epics like Beowulf or Gawain and the Green Knight, along with enjoying learning the implications of these stories, then At the Borders of the Wondrous and Magical: Nature Spirits, Shapeshifters, and the Undead in the Never-Ending Middle Ages is a magnificent read for you.

In the first chapter, I really enjoyed learning about the common threads found in literature that began in the 900’s, continuing through the fates of Shakespeare, and then carrying on into modern  classics like Hocus Pocus.

Lecouteux offers insight into many of the parallels of the great modern epics and the influence of medieval story-telling. The author draws examples from both well-known and well-loved literature and media, such as Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, Shakespeare’s plays, George Lucas’ Star Wars, and also briefly steps into the world of role-playing games, such as World of Warcraft.

While reading, I enjoyed the incredible diversity  of magical entities that Lecouteux categorizes, including revenants, vampires, the living dead, magicians, spirits, faeries, pirates, monsters, and the list goes on. Under each category of beings, Lecouteux provides examples of numerous literary appearances. He discusses how some of these characters change and also how various versions highlight new or different viewpoints/aspects of the being. With each variation or interpretation comes slight change or modification to the existing lore of these characters. 

Moving beyond the characters of medieval lore, Lecouteux additionally explores the setting of these stories, including mountains, forests, marshes, seas, lakes, and rivers and even the elements of nature. The magic and mystery of the untamed spaces draws the imagination into stories of epic proportions.

Throughout, Lecouteux draws insight into the belief systems of the people of the medieval time period. For example, Lecouteux dives into the mythology of clouds and the belief that humans were created with the essence of clouds:

“God in his omnipotence, made many things. He created the only man from right parts: from earth he made his flesh; from the dew he made his sweat; from the stones, his bones; from plants, his veins; from the grass, his hair; from the sea, his blood; from the clouds, his mind: from the sun, his two eyes.”2

And what a beautiful parallel of human form to nature. 

As a reader of fantasy and sci-fi, I enjoyed identifying the archetypes and tropes in the stories that I have read both as a youth and throughout my adult life. 

One of the fascinating points the author makes is that we are not as far removed from medieval culture as we believed we were. The tropes, archetypes, and fantasy-world live on in our daily lives through the stories we read, watch, and retell. And THAT, dear friend, is an incredible concept. 

In medieval stories, one of the prominent themes that I gathered from Lecouteux’s work is the human response to unknown magic. In my understanding of human response mechanisms, fear of the unknown is a driving force in how humans respond to unknown stimuli. And in the case of medieval legends and lore, this is also the case.

Lecouteux references beheadings, deaths, murders, and violence as common reactions to fantastical situations and settings. And while these stories are nearing a thousand years in age, the same premises are prevalent in modern stories and epics. In Lord of the Rings, a gruesome war is waged. In Game of Thrones, violence and death are witnessed in seemingly every episode.

Overall, Lecouteux’s At the Borders of the Wondrous and Magical is a deep dive into the stories of the medieval mindset, as well as the exploration and fears of wondrous, magical, and fantastical entities and tropes. If you enjoy the history of literature, literature analysis, and learning about the tropes and archetypes of historical fiction, this book would be a solid addition to your library. Additionally, I was happy to learn that Lecouteux has many, many books for further reading: Tales of Witchcraft and Wonder, The Tradition of Household Spirits, Demons and Spirits of the Land, and Encyclopedia of Norse and Germanic Folklore, Mythology, and Magic.

Enchanted Plants, by Varla A. Ventura

Enchanted Plants: A Treasury of Botanical Folklore and Magic, by Varla A. Ventura
Weiser Books, 1578638607, 288 pages, April 2025

Varla A. Ventura’s book Enchanted Plants: A Treasury of Botanical Folklore & Magic incorporates stories/legends, scientific/botanical information, folk information, magickal uses, and medicinal purposes for each selected plant.

First, let me start by commenting on the sheer beauty of this book:

1. The colors are rich and vibrant – from the spot gloss front and back cover to all the pages in between.

2. The art-nouveau-inspired illustrations are stunning. (The first thing I did was to flip through all the pictures, then go back through and really STUDY the artwork.) Each illustration magnificently enhances the experience.

3. The organization and layout is easy to follow and wonderfully presents the information in a visually appealing manner.

4. The gold gilded page edges are of collector’s quality which is additionally enhanced by the gold foiling on the front and back cover.

It is absolutely beautiful.

As a budding herbalist, my first stop was Chapter 4 “Among the Fields and Valleys: Wildflowers, Meadowlands, and Other Things to Gather – Dandelion.” After noting the botanical name, native locale, common names, medicinal properties, and magical properties, the Ventura provides general conceptions and/or personal insights for the plant, noting that it is and has always been considered a weed. She then recalls the story of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Conceited Apple Branch” which plays with the theme of vanity and gratitude.

“Just then, the young countess who had placed the bough in the vase and her ladies came into the room. Cradled delicately in her hand was a flower of some kind. Carefully, the countess removed the leaves and then the apple branch saw it. [T]here appeared the feathery seed crown of the despised yellow dandelion… ’Isn’t it beautiful?’ the young lady exclaimed.”3

In organizing the information in such a way, Ventura creates a template for organic learning and teaching. Rather than simply providing factual information, the information is embedded and enhanced with modern traditions and folklore that can help with retention of information and practical applications.

Each chapter feels like a warm and inviting visit with my grandmother – full of wisdom, insight, stories, lessons, and love/respect for the natural/botanical world that is all around. My only regret is that there are not more chapters; however, it leaves room to hope for a second book!

I plan to use Enchanted Plants as a starting point and reference to teach, guide, and grow my children. With its mixture of stories, botany, general medicinal information (if applicable), and life lessons the possibilities are extensive! When teaching the chapter on the dandelion, I envision teaching my kids how to make daisy chains, the folklore of blowing seeds to the wind, how to make dandelion honey, and the benefits of dandelion tea.

And lastly, while this book does not provide specific recipes or spells, it pairs wonderfully with home apothecary guides (like Nicole Apelian’s, Forgotten Home Apothecary), herbalism books for magical purposes (like Scott Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs), and tarot cards (like Michael Tierra and Candis Cantin’s The Herbal Tarot).

Enchanted Plants would be a valuable addition to both beginning and advanced herbalists looking to add additional insight to repertoire, magic users, plant enthusiasts, folk-lore lovers, and collectors of beautiful books. This book would also make a thoughtful gift for plant-loving bibliophiles.

What a gem of a book!