Raven's Book of Shadows

Your Altar and It's Furniture You can use virtually anything as an altar.  If you are holding your Circle outside, then a large rock or a tree stump is ideal.  If you are indoors, then you can utilize a small coffee table, a wooden box or even some boards resting on bricks. It is better to have an altar that does not contain any steel, so a ready made table is not really the best (unless glued or pegged together).  If there has to be metal in the table, brass is acceptable. Why is this? It has to do with conductivity.  The Witch's Knife and Sword (and Wand, if used) are the only tools that are used for storing and directing energies.  They, then, can be of a conductive metal iron or steel.  All other items should be non conductive silver, gold, brass, stone, wood since they are not used in that fashion. but why not have a little aestheticism with your atar? Why do not do things properly? You are working in a circle, so why not a circular altar? To me, a r

Citations from Bucklands Complete Book of Witchcraft Between Lives The length of time spent between lives may vary, depending on your study of the lessons learned and their integration with previous lessons; also on the necessary preparation for the next "semester". While between lives you might also become involved in helping some other spirit here on earth.  Just as there is development and advancement in this life, so there is in "the between times". You may have heard of such things as "Guardian Angels" as "Spirit Guides". and wondered if they really exist. In a sense they do. It means that a spirit is always watching over a less developed spirit here on earth. Since time does not exist in the between times (it is a human made concept, for the sake of reference only) then to watch over an earth bound spirit for its whole earthly lifetime would not actually hinder the watcher's progress. In fact, it would add to it in t

As the Raven is my familiar animal spirit I often depict my personal photos with such a bird :)                                                                              Citations:                                                                               Artlink- art link- https://www.planetminecraft.com/skin/the-morrgan-skin-contest/                                                    Excerpts from Bucklands Complete Book of Witchcraft Retribution Along with reincarnation go t houghts of Karma.  Karma is usually thought of as a reward and punishment system stretching throughout all lifetimes: if you do evil in one life you will have to pay for it in the next. However, it seems that there is always talk of "karmic debts" and "karmic punishments" but seldom of "karmic rewards". The Witchcraft view seems to make more sense. First of all there is a Wiccan belief in retribution within each life.  In other words, rather than being rewa

Citations: Artlink- art link- http://wonderlustboudoir.blogspot.com/ Excerpts from Bucklands Complete Book of Witchcraft Reincarnation Reincarnation is an ancient belief.  It is part of many religions (Hinduism and Buddhism, for example) and was even one of the original Christian tenets, until condemned by the Second Council of Constantinople in 553.  It is believed that the human spirit, or soul, is a fragment of the divine and eventually it will return to its devine source.  But, for its own evolution, it is  necessary that the soul experience all things in life. It seems the most sensible, most logical, explanation of much that is found in life. Why should one person be born into a  rich family and another into poverty? why should one be born crippled, another fit and strong? if not because we must all eventually experience all things. Reincarnation seems the most logical explanation of child prodigies. A musical genius, composing concert

Citations: art link- https://www.pinterest.com/mirandasmom73/artsy-fartsy/?lp=true Excerpts from Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft Beliefs Deities As different as are the many religions of the world, in essence they are all the Same.  It has frequently been said that they are simply different paths all leading to a common center, and this is true.  The basic teachings are all the same; all that differs is the method of teaching. There are different rituals, different festivals and even different names for the gods, rather than, simply, different gods. Friedrich Max Muller traced religion back to "an ineradicable feeling of dependence" upon some higher power that was innate in the human mind.  And Sir James George Frazer (in The Golden Bough) defines religion as being "a propititation or conciliation of powers superior to Man, which are believed to direct and control the course of nature and of human life". This higher power th

The Witches Hammer A citation of the book The Malleus Maleficarum known as The Witches Hammer Written by HEinrich Kramer and James Sprenger.. Translated by The Reverend  Montague Summers Because the length of this book is so long it's impossible to post its entirity in one blog post so here is the link to the full book translated in english.. This book was used as the very tool in which caused mass panic and hysteria insighting the witch hunts and 9 million people over 250 years lost their lives due to Satanic Panic.. even today Christian laws still abide by much of what is written in these pages.. here is the link to the Google Document The Witches  https://docs.google.com/document/d/13P997n2RmA19lR2Da0CliGtYIyeQxMKxbWPIRzna3dE/edit#heading=h.7pan268jlwdu THE MALLEUS MALEFICARUM Summation of the Malleus Maleficarum  by Edo Nyland. The Dominican monks Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger assembled many fairy tales and magic stories, nightmares, hearsay, confessi

THE HISTORY AND PHILOSOPHY OF WITCHCRAFT Before really getting into what Witchcraft is, perhaps we should take a look back at what it was- the h history of it.  Witches should be aware of their roots; aware of how and why the persecutions came about, for instance, and where and when the re-emergence took place.  There is a great deal to be learned from the past.  It's true that much of history can seem dry and boring to many of us, but that is far from so with the history of Witchcraft.  It is very much alive and filled with excitement. There have been many books written on the history of Witchcraft. The vast majority have suffered from bias-as will be explained shortly, but a few of the more recently published ones have told the story accurately.. or as accurately as we can determine.  The late Dr.  Margaret Murray traced back and saw Witchcraft's origins in Palaeolithic time; 25,000 years ago.  She  saw it as a more or less unbroken line thro