Category: Resident GE Blog Columnists

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Plant Magic At Home: A Guide to the Magic of Houseplants by Enid Baxter Ryce.

Reviewed by Katrina Rasbold

In an era where “plant parenthood” has become a cultural phenomenon, Enid Baxter Ryce offers us something deeper than just watering schedules and sunlight requirements. Plant Magic At Home is a vibrant, illustrated guide that invites us to stop looking at our houseplants as merely decor and start seeing them as energetic companions. Bridging the gap between practical botany and green witchery, this book is an essential manual for the modern urban dweller seeking a connection to the wild. Continue reading Plant Magic At Home: A Guide to the Magic of Houseplants by Enid Baxter Ryce.

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Pantheon – The Romans by Rachel S. Roberts

Reviewed by Katrina Rasbold

In her latest addition to the Pantheon series, historian and spiritual teacher Rachel S. Roberts invites readers to step past the marble ruins and cold statues of the history books and into the vibrant, beating heart of the Ancient World. The Romans is not just a dry recounting of dates and conquests; it is a spiritual travelogue that reanimates the “City of a Thousand Gods.” Continue reading Pantheon – The Romans by Rachel S. Roberts

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Chaos Magic by Ivy Corvus

Reviewed by Katrina Rasbold

Chaos Magic is often misunderstood and often seen as too complex, too edgy, or simply too “chaotic” for the average practitioner. In this addition to the Pagan Portals series, Ivy Corvus strips away the gatekeeping and confusion to present Chaos Magic for what it truly is: a highly adaptable, results-driven, and liberating spiritual technology. Continue reading Chaos Magic by Ivy Corvus

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The Great Turning: Standing at the Crossroads of Dark and Light

By Katrina Rasbold

 

Welcome, travelers, to the ultimate crossroads in time.

 

The nights have stretched impossibly long, consuming the days in shades of indigo and charcoal. The air bites, the sap has sunk deep into the roots of the trees, and the Earth seems locked in an impenetrable slumber. We have reached the depth of the year.

Here at the Winter Solstice—Yule, Alban Arthan, the Longest Night—we stand at the most profound liminal space on the Wheel of the Year. As the Witch at the Crossroads, I am familiar with these in-between, liminal places where choices are made and realities shift. But this… this is the cosmic pivot point.

Many modern celebrations rush toward the light, eager to drape tinsel over the shadows and dispel the quiet with forced cheer, but the wise know that we cannot truly welcome the dawn if we have not first sat vigil in the dark.

Continue reading The Great Turning: Standing at the Crossroads of Dark and Light

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Loki: Trickster and Transformer by Dagulf Loptson

Reviewed By Katrina Rasbold

Let go, if you will, of the image and canon of the Marvel villain, Loki, and cast your mind back to the Norse legends. Don’t worry. Tom will be waiting for you when you finish.

To accurately clarify the legendary Loki, we also must shuck off any ideas of the Christianized “Devil of the North.” Instead, read this book to meet the real Loki.

In this book, author Dagulf Loptson delivers a groundbreaking guide that shatters the misconceptions surrounding the Norse pantheon’s most controversial figure. This isn’t just a history book or collection of lore. It is an invitation to dance with the fire without caring if you get burned. Continue reading Loki: Trickster and Transformer by Dagulf Loptson

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As Above, So Below: Awakening to The Magician’s Realm

By Tatiara

In the stillness of an ancient grove, I beheld a transcendent vision.

Among the lush greenery and flowers, a towering figure arose.

A Man whose height seemed to bridge the distance between earth and heaven.

His noble form draped in a purple mantle that rippled in the breeze. Continue reading As Above, So Below: Awakening to The Magician’s Realm

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The Longest Night and the Promise of Light: Why We Need Yule More Than Ever

hand lighting candle

If you look out the window right now, the world probably looks a little sleepy. The trees are bare skeletons against a steel-grey sky, the ground is hard (or slushy, depending on your latitude), and the sun seems to have packed its bags and left the office by 4:00 PM. Continue reading The Longest Night and the Promise of Light: Why We Need Yule More Than Ever

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THE FIVE FACULTIES OF THE MIND

By Cat Gina Cole

In the study of psychism, we often take mundane things and use them as tools in our psychic practices. The five faculties of the mind are the fundamental functions of psychism. We use them a thousand times a day without a second thought. But when we draw them out and hone them, they become powerful tools that lead to mastery of our psychic skills and spiritual self. As I work through the definitions of each, you will begin to see how they play a role in our spiritual, magical, and psychic work.

The five skills I speak of are reason, will, intellect, perception, and discrimination. Let’s explore what they really mean and how they apply to psychic skills, magic, and spirituality. Continue reading THE FIVE FACULTIES OF THE MIND

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It’s Witch O’Clock Somewhere

By Katrina Rasbold

Witches have a different relationship with time than most people. We feel the tug of moons and seasons, yes — but also the strange elasticity of hours that stretch and contract depending on the work we’re doing. Time is not a straight line to us but a soft, breathing thing. It bends. It listens. It waits until we’re paying attention.

Magic teaches us that time is never just one thing. Continue reading It’s Witch O’Clock Somewhere

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Where We Stand When Life Doesn’t Make Sense

By Katrina Rasbold

There is a quiet place in the life of a Witch that the outside world rarely witnesses. It isn’t dramatic. It isn’t cinematic. It doesn’t look like a movie scene where the moon hangs low over a forgotten road and bones rattle in the branches.

No, the real crossroads lives in far more ordinary places. Continue reading Where We Stand When Life Doesn’t Make Sense

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Where the Road Ends the Soul Begins, The Fool’s Gift of Trust

By Tatiara

Beneath the blazing sun, I beheld an enigmatic figure.

Solitary, he wandered down the dusty road. Limping yet unbroken, he carried on, as the sun seemed to smolder upon him with judgment.

His garments were threadbare, yet a light shimmered around him, protecting him.

His eyes held a mysterious fire. He seemed detached. Dreaming, lost, yet radiant with some forgotten knowledge. Continue reading Where the Road Ends the Soul Begins, The Fool’s Gift of Trust

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10 Favorite Witchy Movies

By Katrina Rasbold

Last week, I posted my “10 Favorite Witchy TV Shows & Mini Series” and I thought I would follow up with a list of my 10 Favorite Witchy Movies. Are they predictable? Absolutely. They are at once predictable and cliche. There are no doubt glaring omissions that will cause readers to say, “But what about…?” and “YOU LEFT OUT…!” This is not a list of ALL Witchy movies or the BEST Witchy movies, but my own favorite Witchy movies. Because it would be like choosing my favorite children, these are listed in no particular order but are the top ten favorites from a wonderful line of magical films I have enjoyed in my life. Continue reading 10 Favorite Witchy Movies

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A Hedge Witch and the Elements

By Cat Gina Cole

Many people assume a Hedge Witch is simply an herb worker or a kitchen witch. In my family tradition, however, a Hedge Witch is someone who lives and works with the elements—and with psychism—every day. We define witchcraft as the ability to work with all forces of nature, both those of the physical world and those beyond the veil.

Those who follow my blog may remember my entry, “Weather Magic With Clairvoyance in Time and Space,” where I describe how I built my relationship with the Element of Air. In this article, I expand on that work by sharing a core belief from my tradition: the directions and the elements are separate things. The Direction of East is the realm where Air resides. This distinction is fundamental to how I connect with the elements. Continue reading A Hedge Witch and the Elements

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My Top 10 Witchy TV Shows & Mini Series

By Katrina Rasbold
Recently in the Crossroads Occult Newsletter, I listed my favorite Witchy TV shows and mini-series and I thought I would share them with you here. These are my favorites and I do not expect them to agree with anyone else’s. If you think of some you feel I overlooked or didn’t list, it is likely I didn’t see the show or it was not one of my favorites.

Continue reading My Top 10 Witchy TV Shows & Mini Series

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Samhain: Gateway Between Worlds and Seasons

By Katrina Rasbold

As the last leaves fall and the year’s light wanes, the veil between the worlds thins. Samhain (pronounced SOW-in or SAH-win), one of the four great fire festivals of the Celtic calendar, stands as the final spoke on the Wheel of the Year. It is both an ending and a beginning—a time when the harvest is complete, and the dark half of the year begins. Continue reading Samhain: Gateway Between Worlds and Seasons

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The Daily Tarot Practice…Morning Predictions or Evening Hindsight?

By Tatiara

Looking to start off my day with intention, clarity, and a little magic, I used to shuffle my tarot deck over my morning coffee, pull a single card, and try to let its “message for the day” guide me. I used to think a daily morning card was the thing to do, and sometimes it is.

Continue reading The Daily Tarot Practice…Morning Predictions or Evening Hindsight?

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Paganism and Church

By Cat Gina Cole

How did Pagans ever become a church? I thought Pagans were anti-church! Similar questions flood social media these days. The word church has become something of a swearword in our time. It’s often associated with control, abuse of power, corruption, and dictating how people should live and what they should believe—essentially an attitude of “our way or the highway.” There’s now widespread resistance to that idea, not just among Pagans but in society at large—and they are not wrong. Christian churches do have that history. However, this made me wonder about the origins of the word church and its original meaning. Continue reading Paganism and Church

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Herb of the Week: Goat’s Rue

By Katrina Rasbold

Goat’s Rue (Galega officinalis), a flowering herb with a rich history in traditional medicine and folklore, holds a unique place in both magical and healing practices. Its name derives from its historical use to increase milk production in goats, but its powers extend far beyond this agricultural application. In metaphysical and hoodoo traditions, Goat’s Rue is valued for its protective, abundance-attracting, and transformative energies.

Let’s explore the healing, magical, and metaphysical properties of Goat’s Rue and its applications in hoodoo. Continue reading Herb of the Week: Goat’s Rue