WELCOME to the Edge of the Circle Newsletter. This newsletter has come about as an effort to reach out to the Pagan/ Occult community (particularly in Seattle where we are based) to inform the community of what events are happening at our store. Without further ado, welcome, and enjoy.Regards, Erica (Raven) Branch-Butler, Editrix- golanv1@yahoo.com
WHO WE ARE: Edge of the Circle Books is Seattle's resource for Paganism & the Occult. This newsletter seeks to provide the Seattle community with a place to list events, post articles, and do a bit of networking.
Edge of the Circle Books strives to be your ideal Magical Pagan store.
Open 7 days a week, Noon 'till 8pm.
Call: 206-PAN-1999
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We are also now on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Edge-of-the-Circle-Books-Events/106285532728383
Also on Facebook: THE SEATTLE PAGAN, OCCULT AND METAPHYSICAL RESOURCE BOARD has been created in order to facilitate networking throughout the Pacific Northwest. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1000179343332589/
If you have a Magical Group, Ritual Group, Pagan Church or organization, Druid Grove, please feel free to post your events and classes here.
Meet-ups, talks, book signings, public rituals, etc—all are welcome here.
We'd prefer no advertisements for Professional Readers, Reiki practitioners, etc. However, if you are teaching a class, or giving a workshop or talk, feel free to post your event.
This group is specifically for sharing events of interest to the local community, it is not meant for discussing magical paths and traditions, or asking general questions about magick or paganism. Please remain civil, do disparaging posts about groups or individuals. Off topic posts WILL be moderated.
..and check out the Edge’s new TUMBLR Page!
REMINDER: We buy used Occult Books! Our buyer is in on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays!
CLASSROOM/RITUAL SPACE IS AVAILABLE-- PLEASE CALL FOR DETAILS!
No charge if your class or event is free!
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Prices subject to change without notice.
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AMERICAN BRUJERÍA :
Modern Mexican-American Folk Magic
by J. Allen Cross
Publisher: Red Wheel/Weiser
List Price: $18.95
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
A practical, hands-on guide to Mexican-American folk magic.
American Brujeria is about the fascinating blend of American and Mexican folk magic currently practiced by those living in the US but whose roots are steeped in Mexican culture. The author, who has named this tradition “American brujeria,” explores this magical system, while also offering practical advice on using it. American brujeria is a living, vital tradition that -- while it shares things in common with other folk magic traditions, such as American Conjure—also features its own unique traditions, as well as familiar ones, such as the veneration of saints, both canonized, such as Guadalupe, and folk saints like Santa Muerte.
American Brujeria includes stories from Mexico (folk saints, the story of Guadalupe), the influence of Catholicism, the art of limpias (spiritual cleansings), spell casting, oil crafting, praying the rosary (in English and Spanish), making an altar to Guadalupe, using novena candle magic, crafting protective charms from saints’ medals, and more.
About the Author:
J. Allen Cross is a practicing witch of Mexican, Native American, and European descent whose craft was shaped by his Catholic upbringing and mixed family culture. Living in his home state of Oregon, he works as a psychic medium and occult specialist for a well-known paranormal investigation team out of the Portland metro area. When he’s not investigating, he enjoys providing spells and potions to his local community, exploring haunted and abandoned places, working as a consultant for other workers and investigators, and of course writing about witchcraft.
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WILD SOUL RUNES Reawakening the Ancestral Feminineby Lara Veleda Vesta
(Weiser Books) 9781578637393
List Price:$16.95
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
Highlights the feminine origin of the runes in the context of an immersive course in rune practice.
Using inquiry and original translations alongside traditional rune poems and sacred art, Wild Soul Runes invites readers to develop their own wisdom connection with the runes through practice. The book is based on the premise that all of us possess the ability to receive divine information through rune practice. Rather than telling the reader what the runes mean, author Lara Veleda Vesta shares an interactive practice for readers to discover the unique ways the runes speak to them.
The book covers the history of the runes, both in myth and through the connection with Old European archaeological findings. This history offers evidence for the idea that the runes have a feminine origin, coming from the well of the Norns, the female triple giantesses who represent the fates in Norse myth.
It introduces the concept of the runes as beings rather than simply an alphabet or magical tools. The purpose of Wild Soul Runes is to create a relationship with these beings through ancestral connection, personal gnosis, and ritual practice.
Readers will learn how to:
Make a rune altar
Develop a daily ritual practice with the runes
Honor the Germanic/Anglo Saxon wheel of the year
Craft a rune set and rune ceremonies for divination
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THE GODDESS BOOK: Celebration of Witches, Queens, Healers, & Cronesby Nancy Blair, Thalia Took (Illustrator)
Hampton Roads Publishing Company, Inc.-04/08/2021
List Price: $19.95
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
A seasonal celebration of goddesses...
"The Goddess Book is a joyful celebration of perennial goddess wisdom that nourishes, expands, and inspires.” -- HeatherAsh Amara, author of Warrior Goddess Training
"Every woman needs this book on her bedside table. An active and animated must-read.”--Emma Mildon, bestselling author of The Soul Searcher’s Handbook and Evolution of Goddess.
This is a book of mediations that celebrate the divine feminine. It is an exploration of representations of the goddess throughout history. Here are heroines, queens, witches, healers, proud princesses, courageous daughters, and cranky crones.
Organized by the four seasons, author Nancy Blair groups these goddesses according to the seasons in which their energies are most potent. These meditations and affirmations challenge readers to:
Awaken the divine feminine
Join the seasonal circle of goddesses
Create meaningful, simple, heart-nourishing rituals
Let the goddess inform daily life
Create the life you want
Here is a book of earth-based spirituality, informed by perennial goddess wisdom. The words and the stunning art of artist Thaila Took create a sacred space that will nourish women around the world.
About the Author and Illustrator :
Nancy Blair is an artist and published author. She received a BFA from Alfred University in New York and an MFA from Rutgers University, Mason Gross School of the Arts in New Jersey. Her work has been commissioned by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Oliver Stone’s The Doors Project, the Franklin Mint, and the United States Olympic Equestrian Museum. Blair has trained and worked with Jean Houston, Margot Adler, Joan Halifax, Vicki Noble, Starhawk, Susun Weed, Barbara Walker, and Merlin Stone, among many other notable spiritual teachers.
Thalia Took is a visionary artist who specializes in representations of goddesses.
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SEX MAGICIANS: The Lives and Spiritual Practices of Paschal Beverly Randolph, Aleister Crowley, Jack Parsons, Marjorie Cameron, Anton LaVey, and Othersby Michael William West, Hannah Haddix (Foreword)
Publisher: Inner Traditions/Bear & Company/Destiny, 03/30/2021Books)
List Price: $19.99
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
Offering a fascinating introduction to the occult practice of sex magic in the Western esoteric tradition, Michael William West explores its history from its reintroduction in the early 19th century via Paschal Beverly Randolph to the practices, influence, and figureheads of the 20th and 21st century, such as Anton La Vey, founder of the Church of Satan, and Genesis P-Orridge, founder of Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth. Focusing on 12 influential sex magicians, some well-known and some who have remained in obscurity, West details the life of each sex magician and how the practice of sex magic affected their lives.
He explains how most of these figures used sex magic as a means rather than an end, utilizing their practice to enhance and enrich their life's work, whether in the arts, sciences, or as a spiritual leader. He examines Paschal Beverly Randolph, the founding father of modern sex magic; explores the tragic and mystical life of Ida Craddock; and discusses, in depth, iconic figures like Aleister Crowley and Austin Osman Spare, who saw sex magic as a source of artistic power and is now seen as a prophet of the chaos magic movement.
Other sex magicians explored deployed magic to drive themselves to the highest echelons of achievement: in literature, William S. Burroughs; in music, Genesis P-Orridge; and in science, Jack Parsons, who openly used magic while making unconventional breakthroughs in rocket science.
The author also examines Maria de Naglowska, Julius Evola, Franz Bardon, Marjorie Cameron, and Anton Szandor La Vey, and he presents one of the final interviews conducted personally with Genesis P-Orridge. While these sex magicians each followed a different spiritual path and had varying degrees of notoriety and infamy, one common thread emerges from looking at their interesting lives: utilizing magic to know thyself and change your reality is a journey that requires imagination, creativity, and self-awareness on the quest for enlightenment.
Table of Contents
Foreword Hannah Haddix vii
Introduction Free Thinkers, Visionaries, and the Origins of Western Sex Magic 1
1 Paschal Beverly Randolph (1825-1875) 13
2 Ida Craddock (1857-1902) 27
3 Aleister Crowley (1875-1947) 37
4 Maria de Naglowska (1883-1936) 65
5 Austin Osman Spare (1886-1956) 76
6 Julius Evola (1898-1974) 95
7 Franz Bardon (1909-1958) 111
8 Jack Parsons (1914-1952) 125
9 William S. Burroughs (1914-1997) 147
10 Marjorie Cameron (1922-1995) 165
11 Anton Szandor La Vey (1930-1997) 181
12 Genesis P-Orridge (1950-2020) 201
Conclusion Following the Open Path 222
Notes 226
Bibliography 233
Index 239
About the Author:
Michael William West is an author and filmmaker from Paris, France. He has been a student of the occult and practitioner of left-hand traditions for almost 20 years. He writes for A Void magazine and released the film, 9 Circles: Limbo. He lives in Paris.
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THE ART OF CELTIC SEERSHIP: How to Divine from Nature and the Otherworldby Caitlin Matthews
Publisher: Watkins Publishing, 03/09/2021
List Price: $16.95
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
A study of Celtic visionary methods, from second sight and prophecy to reading omens and making divinations, which includes description of ancient practices as well as activities to encourage these skills in ourselves.
In the ancient realm of the Celts, the seer was a person who opened a window to reveal a complete view of the cosmos, in which the otherworld and the everyday world interconnect. This was the essence of true perception and wisdom, known as gléfiosa, or 'bright knowledge'. For the seer, the babbling of the stream, the swaying of treetops in the wind, the hunting and foraging of animals are all brimful of deeper meaning.
The Art of Celtic Seership shows how to connect with this visionary wisdom, nurture it in ourselves and harness it to live in harmony with each other and with the earth, and to bring profound insight and understanding to our day-to-day existence. It describes the tools and techniques of the druids, bards and seers of old, and explains how we too can draw inspiration from the natural world and open ourselves to developing our prophetic and visionary powers. Practical exercises include calling upon your ancestors, working with your dreams, cultivating a connection with the faery folk, experimenting with trance states, entering into the consciousness of the stones, trees and other natural features around you, asking a question of the universe and listening to the reply and reading omens and signs in the symbols you encounter through the day.
About the Author:
Caitlín Matthews is acknowledged as world authority on Celtic wisdom, the Western Mysteries and cartomancy. She is the author of over 70 books, which have been translated into 19 languages. Her shamanic vocation emerged early in her ability to sing between the worlds and to embody spirits. She specializes in teaching traditional European spirit-consultation oracles in which the diviner draws directly upon the spirits of nature for answers.
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TAROT DECIPHERED: Decoding Esoteric Symbolism in Modern Tarotby T. Susan Chang, M. M. Meleen
Publisher: Llewellyn Worldwide, LTD, 03/08/2021
List Price: $31.99
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
Unlock the Symbols, Meanings & Magic of the Cards…
Discover the esoteric roots underlying the Rider-Waite-Smith Tarot, the Thoth Tarot, and contemporary decks that share their symbols. This illustrated, card-by-card analysis reveals detailed insights drawn from the multi-layered traditions of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the magical order that most strongly influenced modern tarot, helping you give better readings informed by the history of spiritual practice.
For each card, you will discover how astrology, mythology, alchemy, the elements, and Qabalah contribute to the card's overall meaning. Authors T. Susan Chang and M. M. Meleen, co-hosts of the popular Fortune's Wheelhouse podcast, decipher the symbols and stories of tarot. Their carefully researched synthesis of esoteric ideas is designed to foster a deeper connection with the wisdom of the cards.
About the Author:
T. Susan Chang (Springfield, MA) is the author of Tarot Correspondences and the co-host and producer of the Fortune's Wheelhouse tarot podcast. She reads tarot weekly at the Inspirit Crystals shop and offers an ongoing online tarot course called Living Tarot.
M. M. Meleen (Worcester, MA) is the illustrator/creator of the Tabula Mundi Tarot, the Rosetta Tarot, and the Pharos Tarot, as well as the author of Book M: Liber Mundi, The Book of Seshet, and Spectrum Fari: The Keys of Pharos. She is the co-host and co creator of the Fortune's Wheelhouse tarot podcast.
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SACRED HAGS ORACLE : Visionary Guidance for Dreamers, Witches, and Wild Hearts
by Danielle Dulsky, Janine Houseman (Illustrator)
Publisher: New World Library, 03/09/2021
Oracle Deck, 160 Page Guidebook
List Price: $39.95
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
The Wild Hag Holds the Medicine You Seek...
This oracle is a portal to the deep places, an intermediary between the seeker and wisdom. The wise hag archetype is found in traditions around the world and throughout time because of the hag’s unique, multifaceted power. Detailed card descriptions in the accompanying book include rituals, poetry, spells, and writing prompts, with multiple opportunities to encounter the wisdom of the hags and integrate their medicine into your spiritual practice. The suggested card spreads range from simple to complex, allowing you the freedom to craft your own relationship to the oracle.
We Find the Hag in the Places We Were Told Not to Look...
The wild and wise hags are always speaking through us. Let them lead you to those deep places, the places only you can explore. Melding the techniques of tarot and animal spirit cards with the wisdom of earth, feminine power, and Witchcraft traditions, this innovative deck can be consulted by novices and the well-versed alike. Sacred Hags Oracle is a poetic invitation to weave divination work meaningfully into your life and hear the words of your inner wise one. The book includes visualization practices for honing intuition, a range of card spreads to experiment with and befriend, unique scrying rituals to awaken your vision, and ceremonies to deepen your connection to this work. As you discover the relationships among the gorgeously illustrated cards, resonances with your life will emerge and illuminate your experience of the world.
About the Author:
Danielle Dulsky is a heathen visionary, Aquarian mischief maker, and word-witch. Author of Woman Most Wild, Seasons of Moon and Flame, and The Holy Wild, Danielle teaches internationally and has facilitated embodiment trainings, wild circles, communal spellwork, and seasonal rituals since 2007.
Janine Houseman is the Sigil Witch. She offers rituals, story consultations, tarot-based shadow work, and personalized skin-cantations and sigils. Founder of Creatrix Collective, Janine has been a tattoo artist since 2006.
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THE HARMONY TAROT: A Deck For Growth and Healingby Harmony Nice
Boxed Book and Deck Set, (US Games Systems)
List Price: $23.95
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
A therapeutic tool for our times...
Inspired by nature and her own wiccan path, influential YouTube star and modern witch Harmony Nice has created The Harmony Tarot, an enchanting deck & guidebook that offer a way to use tarot to improve wellbeing, as well as for decisions and divination.
This beautiful pack reimagines the traditional deck of 78 Major and Minor Arcana cards, with the suits represented by the four seasons. Designed as a pip deck, each card has been thoughtfully created to encourage you to connect with your thoughts and choices and inspire personal growth and healing.
About the Author:
Harmony Nice is a 22-year old YouTube and Instagram star at the heart of a growing community of modern day witches. She became interested in Witchcraft and Wicca at the age of 14 after discovering that her great-grandmother, Hilda, was a witch. Three years later she started her Youtube channel to communicate with other practitioners, educate newcomers and generate discussion about wicca, magick and spirituality. Her first book "Wicca", was published in 2018. She lives in Norfolk.
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GOLDEN GIRLS TAROT: A Look into Your Future From the Lanaiby Chantel de Sousa (Illustrator)
Publication date: 03/18/2020 (Smith Street Gift) Rizzoli
List Price: $19.95
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
Who could you trust more with your future than Dorothy, Rose, Blanche, and Sophia? The four leading ladies of TV's enduring sitcom The Golden Girls?
Printed on high-quality card material and packaged in a conveniently unbendable box, this one-of-a-kind unofficial tarot deck celebrates the enduring legacy of the classic TV show The Golden Girls. More than thirty years after it first aired, the show retains a steadily growing cult following. The Golden Girls ran for seven seasons (collecting a staggering fifty-eight Emmy nominations and eleven wins along the way), and over the years, this hit comedy about four fierce and sassy ladies sharing a house in Miami charmed millions of viewers with its wit and verve, and most of all, the strength and quality of the friendship between its four iconic characters.
The Golden Girls Tarot Cards are based on the simple structure of the classic Rider-Waite tarot deck—Dorothy, Rose, Blanche, and Sophia are each given their own suit. This deck also comes with some basic (and Golden Girls-centric) instructions on how to kick-start your career in tarot reading. And hey: if your future, as ordained by these cards, ain't looking so bright—just turn on one of your favorite episodes of The Golden Girls to whittle away the time with everybody's favorite foursome.
About the creator:
Australian artist and illustrator Chantel de Sousa created these laugh-out-loud tarot cards. She's previously illustrated the Will & Grace Playing Cards, Seinfeld Playing Cards, and Friends Playing Cards, previously released by Smith Street Gift.
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PORTALS OF PRESENCE: Faces Drawn from the Subtle Realmsby Deborah Koff-Chapin
Publisher: Center for Touch Drawing
72 cards, 4.5” x 6” with guidebook & digital audio
List Price:$26.95
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
A new deck 20 years in the making!
Enter a deeper relationship with yourself and the world through the universal language of the human face. The images in this deck were selected from 20 years of work created in the presence of ancient trees, mountains, standing stones, temples, cathedrals, and human wisdom carriers from many lineages. Each face radiates a unique presence. Think of them as allies, nature spirits, beloveds, or visitors from subtle realms. Gaze deeply and explore your relationship with these beings.
Rather than offer written meanings, the guidebook supports you to cultivate your own experience of the cards. It offers ways to select them, lay them out, and enliven them through creative processes. It also includes a digital audio of a guided meditation with original music. Use it to hold sacred space while you work with the cards. Portals of Presence can be combined with SoulCards 1 & 2. Each brings a new dimension to the other. Visit the Portals of Presence Gallery.
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CONJURE CARDS:Fortune-Telling Card Deck and Guidebook
by Jake Richards
(Weiser Books)
List Price: $24.95
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
A unique divination deck based on the authentic backwoods traditions, folklore, and superstitions of Appalachia.
For centuries, people living in Appalachia have used homemade playing cards for fortune-telling and dream interpretation. This tradition has arisen over many generations of backwoods conjurers, grannie witches, and yarb doctors.
The Conjure Cards fortune-telling deck was created by Jake Richards (author of Backwoods Witchcraft) and fashioned after the folklore, superstitions, and dream symbols that he grew up with in western North Carolina. Jake offers these common Appalachian methods of divination paired with the honored pastime of sharing and interpreting dreams.
Examples:
The Nine of Diamonds shows a headless rooster; to dream of a headless animal is a sign of a haint or plat-eye, which is a spirit who didn’t have proper burial.
The Ace of Spades, usually named the death card, is an old-fashioned baby cradle because to dream of a birth predicts a death.
The “little joker” is a witch or enemy and is represented by the folkloric black cat, while the “big joker” is the devil and is symbolized by one of the devil’s forms in Appalachia: the black dog. The black dog represents evil spirits, so if it is paired with the black cat and the Ten of Spades (a grave stone), it could mean a family haint is haunting you or an enemy has conjured the dead against you.
The Ace of Diamonds shows two wedding ring, ands predicts news, luck, and proposal. If shown with the Five of Hearts (a chapel with a stained-glass window) and the Ten of Diamonds (sunflowers), it would predict a happy marriage or undertaking.
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SERVICES AVAILABLE AT EDGE OF THE CIRCLE BOOKS
REMINDER: We buy used Occult Books! Our buyer is in on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays!We also have classroom/ritual space-- please call for details.
Need Spell advice? Just ask!
We have Seattle's best Psychic Readers, in house, 7 days a week, from 2pm—8pm.
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This concludes our Newsletter for this month.
Look for us again JUNE 1st, 2021!
Erica (Raven) Branch-Butler,
Editrix, Edge of the Circle Books Newsletter
golanv1@yahoo.com
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