Halloween Books! (Part One)

Amy is really amazing with the books she has put out. I own her Book of Shadows; Witch Life and I love it. It is a new idea of doing a book of shadows by coloring it and adding a very personal touch. You can find this Samhain book and others like it at: amy@coloringbookofshadows.com

Pretty sure this was a Barnes and Noble find, and it is rather cool. It has the history and common ideas on what witchcraft/witches are portrayed and what witchcraft/witches actually are. It is full of information as well as a lot of artwork, photos, and more. I would recommend this book as a starter book for someone curious about witches and their history.

I am fairly certain that I got this wonderful book from the Victorian Trading Company as well as one of my favorite Tarot decks. This book is not a decoration per se, as well as the other books listed here.  This book has the history behind the magic, (not the kind where you pull a rabbit out of a hat) actual spells, spells, and magic from around the world, Sabbats, and Esbats, beautiful drawings, spells using colors, candles, numbers, and more. It is a small book but is pretty packed with a lot of information. I would recommend it to someone who is just beginning to explore witchcraft/Wicca.

Raymond Buckland is a pretty famous author and historian on the subject of Wicca and the occult. He was a high priest in both Seax-Wica and Gardnerian traditions. To say that he knows his stuff is a huge understatement. While Buckland is no longer with us, he has written over sixty books, and probably the most well-known one is Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft, so he left a rich legacy behind. 

This is NOT just a Halloween book for spooky nights. It is a book that covers pendulums, runes, and tarot. It also covers things like flame messages, spirit photography, skrying, and more.  It is more of an everyday kind of book filled with a lot of ideas for contacting the spirit world.

CAUTION:  Using a pendulum, tarot cards, runes and things like that require some sort of reading up on how to use them. Before picking out a pendulum, runes, or tarot cards, it is best to touch different ones for sale that "speak to you."  It is not a good idea to have someone touch your runes, pendulum, or cards after you get them unless you want to have to clear them each and every time.  These types of tools can be used pretty safely as they open up a very small gateway into the spirit world. Be smart about it by researching and studying how to use them.

No matter if you use a pendulum or a spirit board and "follow the directions" is it not like baking a cake.  Especially spirit boards. While Buckland's book talks about spirit boards and you being able to use one yourself, I'm going to politely disagree and will probably be called a 'fluffy bunny' for it. Don't give a flying rat's ass. This is serious shit using a spirit board. I have had family and friends that came into contact with or used a spirit board with some pretty scary results. If you don't like things to go bump in the night, don't use it. Spirit boards open up a much bigger gateway than a pendulum would.

I would not recommend using a spirit board by yourself if you are inexperienced with one. I would research spirit boards online or read books about them, talk to someone who does have experience with boards, and I also would advise being in a group first for a while before venturing on your own.  Enough said.

I don't even know where I got this book, but it's a fun find for me.  It has poems by famous authors and not-so-famous but should be authors. I think I should try to get a poem a day up here, but it depends on time and how I feel.

There will be a part 2 to this as I have discovered more books I want to share for the spooky season.