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Existential Kink, by Carolyn Elliot

Existential Kink: Unmask Your Shadow and Embrace Your Power, by Carolyn Elliott, PhD
Weiser Books, 9781578636471, 224 pages, 2020

How much of our behavior is driven by our sub- and unconscious minds? In Existential Kink: Unmask Your Shadow and Embrace Your Power, Carolyn Elliott, PhD, explains why we are drawn to specific situations and provides clear guidance on how to harness that energy for better uses. As an author and teacher who specializes in helping people achieve dramatic positive change in their lives through shadow integration work, Elliott has been practicing what she preaches and is proof that her method works. But what exactly is Existential Kink?

Developed by Elliott through many years of teaching her courses, Existential Kink (EK) is “an amazing, rapid-shadow integration process”1 and a “specific meditative practice … that’s all about dissolving negative patterns by being willing to uncover and celebrate the previously unconscious pleasure that we actually – paradoxically – derive from those patterns.” 2 Elliott earned her PhD in Critical and Cultural Studies from the University of Pittsburgh, during which time she immersed herself in psychology. The result of her deep dive into psychology led her to realizing one very important insight. She explains that “by recognizing and empowering the darkness of my shadow and in the end taking “pleasure” in my yucky stuff … I could completely integrate my “good” self with my “bad” self and become a whole person.” 3

As you might expect, Elliott’s method for shadow integration is not for the faint of heart. While most self-help books focus on the visualization aspect of manifestation, Elliott realized that what’s actually needed in order to break free of specific unhelpful patterns is an excavation of the psyche. To walk the reader through the process, she has separated the book into three parts that deal with existential basics, getting kinky (more on that later), and questions and answers. Interspersed throughout the sections are specific lessons that help define the practice, provide valuable information in relation to EK, exercises for the reader to engage in the material, and interludes that detail personal stories of transformative experiences had by both the author and those who have taken her courses or been coached by her.

A big chunk of the book lays out the basics, including an interesting take on the legend of Persephone. I won’t ruin it for you because I feel everyone who feels stuck in some sort of recurring negative patterns needs to read this book, but suffice to say, Elliott’s spin resonates deeply. She states that the Persephone/Hades myth is not of two separate people, but of one all powerful being who chooses to experience both positive (Persephone) and negative (Hades) aspects of the human experience. This idea of bringing together both halves of ourselves (positive/light and negative/dark) is the very essence of the work Elliott describes in this book.

Elliott doesn’t try to smooth anything over; she is quite emphatic about how hard this work is and states clearly that most people are not able to do this kind of deep shadow work because of the trauma is brings up. In addressing that, Elliott goes out of her way to mention her own mental health journey to illustrate how deep the work is and also how rewarding. There’s a level of comfort in knowing that others have successfully travelled this path and reading their experiences is helpful in setting personal expectations. Similar to physical exercise, you will get out of this book exactly what you out in terms of steadfast work and deep introspection.

So how exactly does one conduct this type of work? This is where the kink part comes in: Elliott maintains that by “getting off” on our dark desires (things like scarcity, feelings of not being good enough, seeking out those who keep us small, etc), we give ourselves permission to enjoy the sensation of being bad. We often forget that we can choose how to experience sensation, be it a gentle stroke of a lover’s hand or a rap on the knuckles for taking too many cookies. Elliott states that choosing each sensation to be pleasurable, no matter what it is, primes the consciousness for accepting its darker sibling nestled in the subconscious. And that is precisely what we need if we are to fully integrate our shadow selves into our conscious selves.

Shadow integration sounds like a lengthy process, but Elliott’s book is full of testimonials of those who have done the work and seen results within a short amount of time. Elliott refers to this specific work as solve et coagula: “to first utterly dissolve (solve) an existing form and then to carefully bring the dissolved and purified elements together again (coagula) in a whole new … permutation.”4 In terms of timing and success, I think it depends on how willing you are to burn it all down: this is serious psychological work and whenever you muck about in the mud you will get dirty. Is it worth it? I think so, but if you are experiencing some mental health issues around trauma or depression, you might want to think twice before starting this type of exercise.

Full disclosure time: I have taken a couple of Elliott’s courses and this book is a wonderful accessory to the information already provided through the lessons. Personally, I think everyone can benefit from a little soul searching, especially when it means that you can potentially dump some of the unhelpful patterns that you’ve been stuck with through adulthood. By choosing to break down our inner psyche and fully examine our desires, and then completely accepting them as a vital part of ourselves, we can reconnect our divided wills and reunite ourselves in a way that helps us move forward with less baggage and more happiness. Honestly, the sheer delight of being able to accept personal darkness as an integral part of the whole is what pushed me forward into pursuing this type of integrative work.

While Existential Kink is geared towards those who might lean towards the left-handed path in magical terms, the concepts presented are easy to digest and relatable. I personally would not recommend this book to anyone who has strong religious views as it might be potentially upsetting to them to see their doctrines disassembled and reformed into a new version of reality. Although, come to think of it, leaning into discomfort is kind of what this book is about so perhaps Great-aunt Martha should get a copy.

Protection Charms, by Tania Ahsan

Protection Charms: Harness Your Energy Force To Guide Against Psychic Attack, by Tania Ahsan
Red Wheel Weiser, 1590035153, 160 pages, November 2020

As you move through your days, you pick up so much energy into your auric field. By the evening, you may find yourself grumpy, exhausted, and overwhelmed without being able to pinpoint just where this negativity is stemming from. This is because when you are not aware of your energy, you often consume the news and social media, fuel yourself with unhealthy thoughts, and interact with a variety of people unguarded, which all impacts your energetic level.

To truly master yourself, you must learn to cultivate, share, and protect your energy with intention. This is why Protection Charms: Harness Your Energy Force To Guard Against Psychic Attack by Tania Ahsan is a must-have for anyone who wants to stay in their own vibe and actively cultivate good energy to keep themselves aligned. This book is filled with energy practices you can use into your life to keep you balanced, safe, and free from the ill will of others. Its easy-to-read style makes it effortless to implement in your daily life. I’m positive you’ll notice a huge energy shift almost immediately!

If you are an empath, intuitive, or sensitive person, then it is vital to have a foundation of knowledge about how to cleanse yourself and protect your energy. Before you dabble with any type of energy work or magical practice, learning how to keep yourself guarded against unwanted energy and secure within your own energy is of the utmost importance. As Ahsan describes:

“Before you can begin any magickal work, you need to cleanse your energy and that of the space in which you will be creating your charms. This is not just about physical hygiene; it is cleansing the invisible energies around you and your home. Without this vitally important step in the process, your charms and magickal intent will not be pure and can be tainted by unhelpful thought forms, stagnant energies, and negative experiences.” 1

What’s great about this book is that it’s an accessible guide to learn how to do this, even if you don’t have much practice with the invisible realms. Protection Charms will likely be your saving grace, as you realize the many ways you can more consciously hone your ability to clear energy, develop charms to guide energy, and draw the energy you desire into your life.

Protections Charms is divided into three sections: Energetic Hygiene, Charms and Symbols, and Rules of Attraction. While you could read it out of order, I found that each section really built upon the previous one. Ahsan offers a variety of techniques and approaches because, as stated in the Introduction, she’s an eclectic magic practitioner who believes you should follow the path that feels right for you. She makes it so you can mix and match to find the routine that’s best for your lifestyle, as well as the energy working that feels appropriate for the moment.

In the first section, Energetic Hygiene, Ahsan provides an overview of people’s energetic make-up so they can better understand the subtle energy field. There are tips about what type of salts to use, methods to repel and attract energy, techniques to keep your thoughts positive, and a bunch of ways to clear energy, such as cord cutting and decluttering.

Ahsan also teaches about listening to one’s body, creating altars, and learning how to feel the flow of energy in your environment. Additionally, there’s energetic rituals that can be performed daily in the morning, evening, weekly, and monthly. They are so simple, and I’ve really enjoyed incorporating them into my daily routine, such as showering and brushing my teeth. Weaving together the magic with the mundane makes these habits feel intentional and empowering.

Once the reader has learned the basics of tending to their energy and that of their ritual space and home, Ahsan moves into creating and using charms and symbols to direct the energy in our lives. She covers verbal charms, physical charms, and seven main charms, such as the ouroboros, elements, and hamsa. The best part of this section was an incredible 49-day meditative practice to draw in the energy of seven planets into your solar plexus chakra so you can call on the energy as needed. I’m only on week one, but am thrilled to be incorporating this technique into my energetic toolkit.

Another thing I really liked about this section was the guidance on how to create a house amulet and a personal charm. Ahsan guides the reader through how to find their charm object (many different stone descriptions are included) and then offers advice about how to paint it with the symbol they are most drawn to, depending on the intention of the charm. I definitely plan on making some of these this weekend, and it also seems like a fun activity to do with friends.

The last section, Rules of Attraction, is all about manifesting your vision into reality. Ahsan covers topics such as visualization, gratitude, recharging energy, creating an altar for your intention, personal grooming, and clearing energy blockages. There’s also a guide on the type of charms to give for big life events, such as weddings, births, and funerals.

If by now you’re thinking there’s a lot packed into this book, then you’re absolutely right! While Ahsan doesn’t necessarily go super in-depth into each topic, Protection Charms spans a wide range of practices, techniques, and exercises to be more purposeful in energy work. The tone is upbeat and straight-foward, without any fluff that might make it drag on. I really like that it feels imbued with good vibration, as sometimes books about protection magic are ultra defensive and cautionary. This book gives it to you directly, acknowledging common energy mistakes that impact our magic, while also happily providing the remedies to re-align.

Plus, the book design is very visually appealing. It’s filled with bright colors that heightened reading engagement for me. It’s not a cut and dry book; there’s bullet points, pictures, glyphs, and step by step guides throughout. These all make it a very practical and handy book to have nearby. At the same time, it would also look wonderful on a coffee table and be sure to spark some interesting discussions

To be honest, protective energy practices are still something I have to actively work to put into practice. I’m sure I’m not the only one who procrastinates my space clearing and energy cleansing practices, similar to how I put off washing dishes, laundry, or vacuuming. But after spending a few days actively using the exercises and techniques in this book, I’ve been reminded that a routine of energy tending is simple, yet profound. I’m so looking forward to embedding these energy hygiene techniques into my daily routine, creating my charms, and continuing to hone my manifestation abilities.

I highly recommend Protection Charms to anyone who is looking to learn more about working with energy. This book gives you a guide to get started tending to your energy with care and consideration. In addition to learning how to keep your energy safe while engaging in energy work, you’ll also get tips on how to fine-tune your practice to include charms and law of attraction techniques. Ahsan has done a wonderful job sharing with readers all they need to know to instantly enhance the energetic quality of their life.

Queering Your Craft, by Cassandra Snow

Queering Your Craft: Witchcraft from the Margins, by Cassandra Snow
Weiser Books, 1578637218, 288pages, November 2020

From now on, whenever someone asks to me to recommend a book about getting started in witchcraft, this is the book I am going to recommend, whether or not that person is queer.  I say this because Queering Your Craft: Witchcraft from the Margins by Cassandra Snow breaks the practice of witchcraft down into simple components that can be picked up by anyone, anywhere and used however they wish, making the craft of magick much more of a personal celebration of creativity, passion and power.  To make the craft of magick-making accessible to a diverse, marginalized population, Snow guides their readers on how to customize their craft so that it can hold meaning and be powerful, even when practiced individually, on a budget and with limited resources. 

This is a “how-to” book on making magick and living a magickal lifestyle. First though, Snow tells us why we need a specifically “queer” magic textbook. The two most influential craft-based magical lineages in the West, Gerard Gardener’s Wicca and Alistair Crowley’s Thelema use symbolism and themes strongly rooted in gender-binaries, which can be alienating to the growing population of the magickally inclined who identify as non-binary. 1

For Snow, queering magic is recreating symbols, themes, and sacred space for a wide variety of gender and sexuality variance.  Their first step on this path is offering a “Queer Witch Manifesto” in the introduction of the book, which Snow refers back to repeatedly throughout the book as an ethical framework for practicing magickal craft and identifying as a witch.  Snow’s “Queer Witch Manifesto” acknowledges (in sum):

✨Infinite genders and sexual identities. (Throughout the book Snow uses the abbreviation LGBTQIA2SP+ whenever referring to queer-identified individuals)
✨The need to dismantle white supremacy and patriarchal power and the need for this dismantling to come from the non-white community.
✨The positivity of all expressions of consensual sexuality.
✨That anyone can invoke Goddess energy regardless of whether they have a uterus.
✨Physical, emotional, and mental disabilities do not make a person unable to practice magic.
✨Personal healing is a precursor to collective healing.
✨We must protect and heal the Earth.
✨We are all equals in magic.
✨All bodies can be magical, regardless of ableism.

I kind of want to needlepoint this onto a pillow! How about you?! 

Laying out this list (with much clearer articulation and more detail than my summary here) at the beginning of the book, the rest of the book is about practicing the craft of magic-making.  Snow knows history and as a result is able to deconstruct magical rites, rituals, and practices from their origins in order to present them as something simple anyone can start to practice. For example, they note the transformative magick of making lists, ““My money magick usually… starts with a list of my financial goals and immediate needs and then I add a list of long-term goals.” 2. Then for the the transformative magick of prayer to a spiritual being, Snow writes “Prayer is so easy, free, and accessible that anyone can do it…. A quick prayer that is literally just ‘thank you’ when you get unexpected luck or a despairing “please help” when you’re feeling your absolute worst is enough.” 3

Snow strongly advocates a DIY Witchcraft, which is making your magickal craft out of what is available to you and infusing your magick with intentions specific to you.  While she does discuss some examples of collective magick, such as covens or working spells in a group context for political aims, Snow acknowledges that for queer people, the most powerful accessible magick may be that which they create on their own from their own hodge-podge of wisdom, creativity, desire, and power. Snow even offers a “how-to” worksheet for designing one’s own spells.

My personal favorite parts of Queering Your Craft is the section on “Fashion and Style Witchcraft” where your magickal intentions can be enhanced by dressing a certain way. Snow writes, “I might pull out a purple outfit for creativity.  I also might pull out a long pencil skirt and a button-down to give myself that “professional writer” feeling.”4 Then later in the book, I also really like Snow’s list of LGBTQIA2SP+ aligned gods and goddesses, including Athena, Loki, and my personal favorite discovery — a Drag Queen God from the Voodoo tradition named Ghede Nibo.5

For the seasoned practitioner, this book may seem elementary.  Snow summarizes common methods of divination such as tarot, astrology, and runes.  They explain the significance of the Four Elements (five including “Spirit”) and how to call them in. They offer a guide to the Lunar phases and Sabbat holidays. This is truly an inclusive essential starter handbook, inclusive on all fronts! However, the manner in which Snow explains the cornerstones of witchcraft and presents them in regard to the Manifesto outlined in the front of the book widens the lens through which these practices are understood and used — and this is exactly the point.  For the purpose of this book is to make magick accessible to anyone and to make magick empowering to those who may not feel at so at home in straight cis-gendered spaces. 

Queering Your Craft concludes with a queer grimoire, including spells “A Protection Spell for Trans People in Small Towns,” “A Protection Spell for QTBIPOC,” A Spell of Protection Against the Patriarchy,” “An Anti-Gatekeeper Spell,” and “A Spell to Protect Activists,” plus many more spells to fill all categories.

Tarot No Questions Asked, by Theresa Reed

Tarot No Questions Asked: Mastering the Art of Intuitive Reading, by Theresa Reed
Weiser Books, 9781578637133, 304 pages, September 2020

Theresa Reed is clearly on a roll! Tarot No Questions Asked: Mastering the Art of Intuitive Reading, published in September 2020, is her third book published in a fourteen month period. Tarot for Troubled Times: Confront Your Shadow, Heal Your Self & Transform the World, co-authored with Shaheen Miro, was published in July 2019, and Astrology for Real Life: A Workbook for Beginners (A No B.S. Guide for the Astro-Curious) in October 2019. I enjoyed this third book so much I ordered the first two immediately after starting to read it!

Here’s why I loved Reed’s book. First, I vibe with her attitude of empowering others. She wants her readers to benefit from all her experience and generously offers the nuggets of her experience. Second, she expresses herself clearly and simply, without oversimplifying or underestimating the reader. Third, she gives you clear directions throughout. (To begin, she instructs you to get a deck and a journal or two and to journal daily.) Finally, her style of writing makes her easy to read. She uses short sentences — often, very short. She does not hold back on her personal anecdotes. And she lets her sense of humor shine.  All this makes her very easy and very entertaining to read. 

The book is divided mainly into three parts. Part 1: Tarot Basics covers the 78 cards. I like how she discusses each card – what it is and what it is not — and then offers three additional exercises that really teaches the meaning of the card: (1) embodiment practice, (2) a question to ponder, and a (3) Tarotcise (a tarot exercise). For example, for the major arcana card Death (my favorite, apt since I have my Sun in Scorpio), she gives two examples where other cards meant death, while Death card itself primarily means change or transformation. For the embodiment practice for the major arcana card The Star, she invites you to not complain for 30 days. “Sounds easy? It’s not! But it will change your world, I promise. Pick a day and start.”1 (I’m going to start today!) The question to ponder for the major arcana card Judgement is “What makes you feel reborn?”2

The Tarotcize for the major arcana card The Fool is as follows:

“Sit with the Fool card for a few minutes. Which symbols stands out? Take out your journal and begin to riff on that symbol. Make a note of anything that comes to mind. Let your words flow without stopping to edit. Just write what you feel. Put this away and then reflect on your words on a later date. What did you uncover? What kind of connection did you make to this card?”3

I found that if I do the journaling, the fruits of the practice are obvious and convincing. 

These three exercises tailored to each card can really help seep the cards’ meaning into the reader’s body and consciousness. At least, for me, they really did that in such a profound way that learning about the cards for the past several years on my own had not done. The power of a good book by a good teacher!

The same format of explication applies to the 56 cards of the minor arcana cards. In addition, her description of the arc of the progression in the suit cards, from Ace to King, is helpful to show you how one leads to the other. For the Six of Wands, she writes “[a]fter the battle, the victory parade!”4 For the Seven of Wants: “[a]fter the sweet victory dance of the Six of Wands, we now see that the win was short lived.”5

Though I enjoyed Part 1, what makes me heartily recommend this book to others is Part 2: Intuition Basics and Part 3: Road Testing Your Skills. That’s where she distills four decades of her own experience into less than 120 pages. “[I]ntuitive tarot reading” means “you’re relying on your intuition – not the guidebook or manual that came with your tarot deck – to interpret the cards lying in front of you.”6 Intuition for her is “when you understanding something immediately, without any facts, logic, or reasoning”7 and it is like a muscle: “[t]he more you exercise, the stronger it gets!”8  She says something simple but crucial to her method: “A quiet mind hears better. Period.”9 That means the techniques for quieting the mind are essential. That led to the delightful surprise of a five page summary on how to do that. I’ll leave each reader to discover it  —  let me say that with my background of three decades of spiritual practices of various sorts, I loved her summary! 

Part 3 is the how-to section and includes Preparations (setting and intention matters!), three kinds of spreads (one card, Past Present Future, Celtic Cross), Methodology. This part includes her tips on details: Numbers, Timing, Significators, Missing Suits, etc. Reed succinctly offers her insights that she has earned through a lifetime of study and practice in some FAQ-type tidbits. Just the titles alone make me laugh: “That Reading Was Boring AF!,” “That Reading as Totally Wrong!,”  “Can I Ask the Question Again If I didn’t like the Outcome?”10 The book ends with a chapter on “Going Pro” that provides a pretty sweet blueprint for doing just that. 

To put my learning to the test, I did a few readings. I told my friends I’m trying out a new method of reading more from my intuition and impression of the cards than relying on a particular interpretation of the cards. I did a Celtic Cross reading for a friend regarding a worrisome work situation. Simply having read this book gave me a greater sense of confidence in my own interpretation and flow; I spoke what leapt out to me in the imagery as much as “the meaning” of the card.

When the Hierophant appeared in the spread as card 8 (environment, surroundings, and other influences), I said, someone with authority may be able to provide guidance that could resolve the situation. My friend brightened up and said, in fact, she had reached out to someone in such a position and was hoping that her boss would take that person’s input seriously. That gave my friend a sense of confidence that her reaching out to that person had been a good idea and that she could participate more assertively in the resolution of a sticky situation. I felt as though Theresa, through her book, had offered a transmission of her own confidence and years of practice. 

For its breadth and depth, I would say that Tarot No Questions Asked is good for anyone from beginner to experienced. For the beginner because it is easy and entertaining to read, while it can also be truly be a treasure trove of information. For the experienced as well because I deeply respect the depth of “living the tarot” that Reed provides through her embodiment exercises and Tarotcize suggestions. Though her ideas are described simply, they invite practices that can continue to deepen and enrich your readings for a lifetime.

Entering Hekate’s Garden, by Cyndi Brannen

Entering Hekate’s Garden: The Magick, Medicine & Mystery of Plant Spirit Witchcraft, by Cyndi Brannen, PhD
Weiser Books, 1578637228, 288 pages, November 2020

The Garden of Hekate, the great Mother Goddess from whom all the world flows, is the spiritual home for the practice of pharmakeia, the ancient art, craft, and science of plant spirit witchcraft.  This practice uses botanicals for corporeal purposes, the crafting of magical formulations, and the art of transcending. It is a holistic art transmitted by Hekate and her witches for our use today. 1

Entering Hekate’s Garden: The Magick, Medicine & Mystery of Plant Spirit Witchcraft by Cyndi Brannen is a book about plant spirit witchcraft, a craft which incorporates magick, medicine, and the mystery of botanicals through the use of both their physical properties and their spiritual essence.  This book is for anyone passionate about plants and magically inclined, ready to take a deep dive into the mysteries of the spiritual essences and consciousness of plants.  While more and more witches are carving out a career niche in the practice of clinical herbalism, Entering Hekate’s Garden takes it a step further and elevates the practice of working with plants into the spiritual realm by creating relationship to the soul of the plants and understanding their magical properties as well as there medicinal. 

Entering Hekate’s Garden reads like a sacred text. It begins with a poetic portrait of how the dark Goddess of Nature surrendered her guard to her lover, civilization, and was betrayed. This prologue is called “Medea’s Truth.”  It sets a tone that this text is a reclaiming of a lost art. That lost art is the tending of Hekate’s Garden. Medea is the darker of the two daughters of Hekate, an underworld Goddess and Queen of Witches known also as Regina Maleficarum. The other daughter is Circe. As Brannen write, “Medea’s energy and archetype speak to our shadow selves. Circe summons us to speak to embrace the transformation found by speaking our truth boldly.”2

In “Medea’s Truth,” the author channels the words of her Goddess’s despairing truth.

“Jason came to me, not out of affection, but out of greed.  He had heard of my powers…Jason’s gods preyed upon his ambitions.  They instructed him on how to seduce me.  Not only did I welcome him into Hekate’s garden, but I put a spell on…the Tree of Knowledge…. Now the time has come for you to remember the magick, the medicine, and the mystery. Return to Mother’s Garden.”3

 The book’s narrative spirals open like an actual initiation. The chapters following, each named in Latin, lay out a sacred system of working with 39 specific plant species which Brannen has selected to present – 39 being 3 x 13. Three for Mercury, God of gathering information, and 13 for the 13 moons in a Witch’s Year.  Though all plants have sacred properties, according to Brennan, for the purposes of this book, which is meant to be an introduction to the way of Hekate’s Garden, 39 was a sufficient number to work with. Throughout the book, Brennan offers detailed recipes for medicines and spellwork (and for her, medicine and spellwork are one) that the reader can replicate at home for their own journey.

The book unfolds as follows:

·      Origio: Meeting the three Goddesses through purification ritual instructions

·      Praeparatio: A brief introduction to holistic healing and the practicing of true medicine.

·      Ratio: Understanding the language of archetypes, specifically the four elements, the seven planetary correspondences, the three worlds (lower, middle, and upper), and Seven Sacred Forces (passion, strength, sovereignty, power, discipline, awareness and integrity). Plus, there is a powerful initiation ritual called the Sacred Seven Ritual.

·      Practica: Physical formulations of plant medicine, such as how to tincture and make syrups and oxymels.

·      Gnosis: The 39 monographs of plants used in sacred plant magic.

For each of the 39 plant monographs, from basil to foxglove to saffron to walnut, Brennan offers a bit of lore about the plant. For example, “Thyme has been associated with the bumble since Greek warriors used them both to decorate their battle gear”.4 She includes a thorough list of properties and correspondences, such as zodiac sign, stones, and animal.  She also includes indications, formulations (for example, “Cats are often fond of thyme and it is safe for them”5) and a yummy recipe for goat cheese crescents.

The book concludes with Magikeia, and here reads very much like a classic grimoire with specific instructions on using plants in particular spellwork. She includes a long list of common types of spells and how to make basic formulations for them, which can be further customized as a practitioner gets more comfortable using the monographs.  The list includes popular spellwork topics like abundance, binding, attraction, and protection.

In sum, this book is absolutely beautiful!  It is easy the glean that Brennan is a true devotee to her path and her spirit possesses aeons of experience with her subject. The book has heart and what it offers is no less than an actual tangible portal into a magical realm, if you are willing to follow her steps and do the initiations she outlines. For a more casual fan of plants and gardens Entering Hekate’s Garden is full of fascinating and rare information about common plants – like that yarrow is one of the most powerful plants for honoring Venus! I strongly recommend this book.  It will remain a treasured piece in my own book collection for years to come and I hope to see a future hardcover addition with glossy photographs of all these wonderful, magical plants!