✨ A Gathering Place for Magical Readers and Writers ✨

2024 Lunar and Seasonal Diary, by Stacey Demarco

2024 Lunar and Seasonal Diary – Northern Hemisphere, by Stacey Demarco
Rockpool Publishing, 978-1925946666, 216 pages, June 2023

I am really looking forward to using my 2024 Lunar and Seasonal Diary – Northern Hemisphere by Stacey Demarco. This diary is beautifully illustrated and the contents on lunar and seasonal energies make it much more than a simple day planner. Each page is an invitation to reflect, plan, and take away some new bit of wisdom that would have otherwise gone unfound. A diary is of no use if it is something more than just a place to count off the days; this diary is so much more than that and then some!

Due diligence has been given by Demarco in creating not only a functional planner but also a source of teachings about lunar workings, correspondences, spell craft, ritual, and introductory astrology. Her writing makes the 2024 Lunar and Seasonal Diary accessible to the aficionados of lunar-forward planning and the witches who wants to incorporate powerful magick in their daily life.

The first 20+ pages are dedicated to the lunar arts and topics include elements and directions, spell timings and moon cycles, lunar energies and crystals, and the wheel of the year. The wheel of the year section is a very robust overview of the sabbats that is packed with readily-applied information on how the month’s energy supported the myriad ways of celebration.

The 2024 Lunar and Seasonal Diary is organized into the standard twelve-month, weekly format common to most planners. Additionally, each month offers a double page section highlighting a specific deity aligned with that month’s energy and an accompanying spell or ritual guiding how to call that energy into the month’s work. Beautiful graphics herald each month and a quick goal starter introduces the weekly pages. For those who are visually stimulated with the tasks of thinking out your goals, what’s and when’s will be happily committed to paper. The paper itself is strong, heavy stock with no bleed through. 

Would I Recommend?

What I omitted in the beginning of this review is that I am highly selective when it comes to my yearly planner. In fact, so much so that it is not unusual for me to have 5-6 different types and formats of these and still not settle on any one just because it doesn’t hit all my checkboxes.

With that being said, 2024 Lunar and Seasonal Diary by Stacey Demarco checks all of the boxes for anyone wanting a beautiful, functional, educational and “just feels right” 2024 diary.  This is a keeper and I am confident that I will be using it for the entirety of the year. 

About the Author Stacey Demarco

Stacey Demarco is The Modern Witch. Passionate about bringing practical magic to everyone and inspiring people to have a deeper connection with nature, she has been teaching witchcraft and mythos for many decades. This diary is now in its 14th edition and is published in both the southern and northern hemispheres. She is the author of The Enchanted Moon and The Priestess Path, which have been translated into other languages. Her oracle card decks include the bestselling Queen of the Moon, Divine Animals, Moon Magick, Elemental Oracle, Oracle of the Universe, and Deep, Dark and Dangerous. An animal activist, ethical beekeeper and dedicated adventure traveler, she lives in Sydney, Australia on a cliff by the beach with her husband and furry companions. Stacey provides private consults as well as teaching workshops, and leads the popular Wild Souls Retreats nationally and internationally.

2024 Moon Goddess Diary, by Nicci Garaicoa

2024 Moon Goddess Diary – Northern Hemisphere: A Year’s Journey of Love, Connection, and Support – a Journey Back to You, by Nicci Garaicoa and illustrated by Olivia Burki
Rockpool Publishing, 9781922579560, 160 pages, June 2023

Anything that promises to harness the energy of the moon is a natural fit for me, so this diary was a no-brainer! In her 2024 Moon Goddess Diary – Northern Hemisphere: A Year’s Journey of Love, Connection, and Support – a Journey Back to You, Nicci Garaicoa presents twelve goddesses to support women as you brave the new frontier of a new year.

 Garaicoa hails from Australia and is a medicine woman, energy healer, speaker, intuitive and author. She is known for her Full Moon Meditations, held on her beach in Australia for locals and broadcast for followers worldwide. Learn more about her at https://www.niccigaraicoa.com/. Illustrator Olivia Burki enjoys illustrate her pieces with both traditional artwork and digital media. Her art website is: https://www.iamfy.co/shop/olivia-burki.

On the cover of the diary, Garaicoa promises:

“A year’s journey of love, connection and support. A journey back to you.”1

This journal is a delight for the senses from the luscious dark teal cover with a mermaid holding the moon to the jewel tones of the moon goddesses featured for each month. Garaicoa opens the diary with a brief introduction and a few paragraphs that help you to use the diary in the most beneficial way. She includes a beautiful ritual to claim the diary as your very own. Next, she presents “My Goddess Self-Care Toolkit for Winter,”2 which includes color, sound, crystals, and plants, among other tools.  Writing in these few pages before the season begins helps you set intentions, call in support and plan for the three months to come.

I find it interesting that Garaicoa also suggests that you look through the three moon goddesses for the upcoming three months and select only one to be your primary support for the season. Yes, you will also work with the goddess for each month as you travel through the four weeks. However, the suggestion to select one of the goddesses for your primary guide each season is brilliant! This is a way to personalize the diary experience.

What follows next is beautiful goddess artwork for each month, as well as a description of the cultural background for each goddess, a mantra, a crystal and other ways to work with her. The diary provides a double-page spread for each week in the month. This allows ample room to journal, record a daily card or whatever your heart desires. Along the way, Garaicoa lists the New and Full Moons each month, so you can also do your intention setting and releasing rituals.

The pages for each month feature a beautiful pastel color that perfectly complements the color palette of the moon goddess for that month. Sprinkled throughout the diary are other pieces of art to accent the pages, such as fans, flowers, shells, or pottery.  Encouraging and inspirational bits of prose are also shown on select pages, as well as a “Ritual to Close Off the Year 2024”3 near the end of the diary.

Although I am familiar with four of the moon goddesses chosen for the diary, the other eight moon goddesses are new to me. It is so interesting that she features different countries and cultures for the moon goddesses so that learn more about customs and rituals for navigating the seasons. For winter, spring, summer and fall, she presents a unique toolkit for navigating the three months and this version was created specifically for the northern hemisphere. Since Garaicoa is based in Australia, this version is a wonderful way to honor those of us who live in another part of the world.

My favorite goddess is Coyolxauhqui. (pronounced Coy-yo-shar-ki) Perhaps because I live in Texas and have always been fascinated by anything from Mexico, I particularly resonate with this Aztec beauty. Garaicoa shares this information about the goddess for July:

“Coyolxauhqui’s medicine for you is the most incredible example of how to turn your greatest traumas, wounds, pain and the drama that can happen in your life into your greatest strength and power, as she does each night by beaming her light across the world and shining as brightly as the moon.”4

2024 Moon Goddess Diary would be great for any woman who wants to learn more about working with the signs and phases of the moon, as well as tracking her own energy throughout the year. Whether you are new to learning about the moon or have been living by the moon for several years, this diary is for you. The information on the goddesses adds a beautiful layer of support and the seasonal toolkits give you additional ideas for energetic healing and reinforcement throughout the year.

Garaicoa shares this last message on the back cover:

“Let 2024 be your year of change. This year, be guided, inspired, and supported by the 12 powerful goddesses in this full-color diary. Use their knowledge, bathe in their love, breathe in their radiance, and feel their power radiates through each page and into your life.”5

2024 Witch’s Diary, by Flavia Kate Peters and Barbara Meiklejohn-free

2024 Witch’s Diary – Northern Hemisphere: Reclaiming the Magick of the Old Ways, Flavia Kate Peters and Barbara Meiklejohn-Free
Rockpool Publishing, 1922579289, 160 pages, June 2023

A witchcraft diary is a unique and personal account of an individual’s experiences and practices within the craft. It can serve as a valuable tool for self-reflection, growth, and learning, as well as a historical record for future generations. Yet as many times as I’ve made the resolution to keep better records of my magical workings, inevitably I lose focus or realize I’ve started in one journal only to switch to another, mixing up all my writing. This year, with the intention to track my practice throughout the year, I’ve done myself a favor by getting a copy of 2024 Witch’s Diary – Northern Hemisphere: Reclaiming the Magick of the Old Ways by Flavia Kate Peters and Barbara Meiklejohn-Free.

“The 2024 Witch’s Diary, a magickal tool from which you can draw ancient wisdom, enables you to thrive in balance and harmony with a sprinkle of very real magick. This practical guide will show you how to harness the magick of nature, claim your personal power through the discovery of ancient wisdom and embrace the divine feminine.”1

Peters and Meiklejohn-Free are a formidable duo as prominent leaders in the witchcraft community. They published their first Witch’s Diary in 2022, making this one their third joint creation. Peters, also known as the Faery Seer, is a hereditary witch and high princess of Arnemetia and The Morrighan. She is a medium, clairvoyant, and published author of works such as Your Dark Goddess. Meiklejohn-Free, also known as the Highland Seer, is a hereditary and eclectic witch who is an initiated high priestess of Isis and the Cailleach.

This planner is a great tool for any practicing witch. It offers a comprehensive guide to the phases of the moon and eclipses, seasonal spells, and other important dates to keep in mind when planning rituals and spells, such as the birthday of famous witches. Also included throughout the dairy are witchy tips, innovations, details about the Wheel of the Year, planting and harvesting timing, and recipes! All this information would be especially helpful for beginners on their witchcraft path, as the month to month  guidance helps to establish a year-round practice.

One of the standout features of the witchcraft planner is its beautiful design. The pages are adorned with stunning illustrations and wisdom that inspire and motivate. The contrast of black and white work in tandem to aesthetically coax out the magic within. Plus, the diary is sturdy and well-made; it will be able to withstand daily use and travel.

Even though I haven’t started writing in the diary yet, I’ve been making use of the incantation provided for October and November. For instance, there’s a really powerful chant titled “Samhain Incantation” that I recited on Halloween. It begins:

Cauldrons boiling, lanterns are shing
Ghouls and ghosts, groans and whining
Parties sweep across the land
Children, adult, hand in hand
Time of fun but must remember
As fires burn bright and glow with embers
Our ancestors who walked before
We honour thee and ask for more
2

Other interesting things I’ve read about in the pages transition from October to November include kitchen witch information about elderberry and a recipe for making a cordial to fight the flu and sinusitis, a pentagram incantation for protection, weather magic and incantation, and moon magic ritual. The authors also provide an overview of November from a magical perspective, writing “These harsh, biting days are a good time to defend  yourself and define your boundaries with others and for darker magick to ward off harm.”3

As someone who often consults various books to find incantations, it’s absolutely lovely having so many to choose from in this planner. Even better, the authors have arranged them in accordance with the seasons, making it so the timing of the incarnation is always good. The #lazywitch in my is thrilled to have this all laid out for me in advance.

Overall, 2024 Witch’s Diary is an essential item for any witch looking to organize and enhance their spiritual journey. Its beautiful design and useful information make it a valuable tool for both individual and group practice (coven organization!). I am confident this diary will be immensely beneficial to my craft, assisting me with gaining new insights into my practice and deepening connection to the natural world through honoring the seasons of the year. I highly recommend this diary for other magical practitioners seeking an all-in-one place for tracking and planning their craft.

Mother Mary Oracle Journal and Book of Sacred Practices, by Alana Fairchild

Mother Mary Oracle Journal and Book of Sacred Practices, by Alana Fairchild
Blue Angel Publishing, 9780648746775, 220 pages, March 2021

Alana Fairchild is a prolific creator. Since being first published in 2011, Alana has created over 20 oracle decks, 13 books, and 27 albums of music and meditation with her work translated into 11 languages. Along with Shiloh Sophia McCloud (painter, poet, and teacher), she has created The Mother Mary Oracle Journal and Book of Sacred Practices, one of the most beautiful journals I’ve had the pleasure of using. This journal is meant to be an accompaniment to the Mother Mary Oracle, also created by Fairchild and McCloud, but this gorgeous work stands alone. I do not own the oracle deck and I thoroughly enjoyed this journal.

Opening the colorful and luxurious soft cover of the journal reveals several gorgeous paintings even before the first page, which has a space for the journal owner to record their name. This page is followed by a tender introduction by the author, lovingly describing her life-long relationship with Mother Mary and some of the ways in which this relationship has touched her life and benefitted her.

The journal is illustrated in glorious color with dozens of soulful paintings that seem to be infused with love and depth of meaning. As I worked my way through the journal, I was inspired over and over again by these magical works of art.

The lined pages are adorned with many poignant quotes and there are four different “Sacred Practices” described including “Silent Sound Healing” and “Love’s Alchemy for Karmic Clearing” (my favorite among them!). These sacred practices are explained simply guiding the reader into meditative processes that help with releasing grief, asking for spiritual help, and transmuting karma. These exercises are simple and effective, even for someone who does not have an established meditation practice.

I appreciated the author’s constant reminding that suffering is part of our soul’s journey. The journal is full of quotes that comfort the suffering, and include the reality of both dark and light, such as this one:

Becoming a divinely awakened human being is a raw, wild, and beautiful path that often involves great suffering. Our Madonna feels great compassion for, and understanding of, what it is to be human. So, she empowers us, through her wisdom, to take the journey with fearless faith in her Divine protection and guidance.1

I also enjoyed that many of the quotes are written in the first person, as if Mother Mary is speaking powerful words directly to the reader, such as this quote that calls the reader to recognize that their suffering, along with Mary’s support and guidance, will unfold a higher purpose:

I have many names and faces, but behind those names and faces, I am your loving mother, always. I come to you in light and darkness, through joy and even, my beloved, through loss and tragedy. I am seeking you, reaching for you, calling you to me. If you can do this, then great peace and spiritual power will be yours, and together we shall Infuse the world with love.2

The Mother Mary Oracle Journal and Book of Sacred Practices is an exquisite work of art that I highly recommend for anyone who enjoys journaling, appreciates inspirational quotes and meditative practices, and desires to create or deepen a relationship with Mother Mary.