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The popularity of conspiracy theories seems to ebb and flow with the times, and right now there could not be more popular conspiracy books than those of Dan Brown. The author of The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons has recently released his third book featuring symboligist Robert Langdon: The Lost Symbol. Dealing with Freemasonry and its "influence," how can myth be separated from fact? John Michael Greer's new encyclopedic Secrets of the Lost Symbol details, word for word and topic by topic, the truth of the who, what, when, and where of Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol.

Scott Cunningham's posthumous Book of Shadows has now been released, reminding us all of Scott's dedication to the Craft and to solitary Wicca. But for those close to him, no reminder is necessary. Donald Michael Kraig, Carl Llewellyn Weschcke, Raven Grimassi, and Merilee Bigelow share their memories of Scott Cunningham.

From Llewellyn's 2001 Tarot Calendar. For more Llewellyn tarot books and decks, click here. In the United States, and increasingly throughout the world, many people see October as a month that culminates on its last day of All Hallow’s Eve, Samhain, Halloween. But during October the days continue shortening and we draw ever closer to winter, mirroring another journey, causing many to...

Theodore Sturgeon was one of the most important science fiction writers of the mid-twentieth century. He is also known for what has come to be called “Sturgeon’s Law.” Tired of defending science fiction as a literary art form, when asked if he didn’t agree that 90% of science fiction was “crap,” he allegedly responded, “90% of everything is crap.” I have a personal library of several thousand...

Virtually all comprehensive systems of occultism include methods for developing the ability to recall past lives. For some people, the desire to investigate past lives stems from the need to understand that the soul survives physical death. For others it may be to discover something about themselves, to get at the root of a particular issue. That past lives have been experienced by some cannot be debated; however, is a subjectively real experience an objectively real one? What is the difference between subjective and objective reality? Author Donald MIchael Kraig details just what value understanding past lives has to occultists.

I am often asked if there is an ultimate secret to magick. Most of the time, this is asked from a position of obtaining power, and frequently, this is based on the desire for power over others. People who stay with magick learn the truth: the real power is power over yourself. Curiously, the more you try to obtain power over others, the less likely you are to obtain it. The more you obtain power...

For some time, back in the 1970s, I had been ordering items from an odd occult shop in Great Britain. I say “odd” because their catalog made rather quirky claims and had products that nobody else carried, often with the “warning” that only their products were “official” (whatever that meant!). One of the things they described in their catalog was something called Chaos Magic. Over time, I started...

While the Internet now provides information and cmmunication at the click of a button, Pagans of yesterday needed to find information elsewhere. Donald Michael Kraig recalls when Silver RavenWolf saw this necessity and created the Wiccan/Pagan Press Alliance, as well as how this HedgeWitch got her literary start.

A “nightmare scenario” is a situation where everything goes wrong beyond all expectations. Legends of magick are rife with such stories. Perhaps the most famous occurs in Goethe’s poem, Der Zauberlehrling, which was popularized in Dukas’ symphonic poem, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice. In the story, an apprentice magician casts a spell on a broomstick to fetch water. When he doesn’t know how to stop...

This is a very magickal time of the year. Numerous secular, spiritual, and magickal traditions focus on this period as a time for change. Sometimes, perhaps without even being aware of it, we get stuck in the proverbial rut, including in our magickal practices. And when you’re in that rut, doing things by rote, you may not notice that slowly your success, or the degree of success, starts to fade....

As with many of Llewellyn’s authors, I frequently travel to give workshops and lectures. Over the past few years I have been to New York and California, Florida and Washington State, and to many places between. I’ve given workshops in Hawaii and Switzerland. As I write this I have most recently given workshops in Connecticut and northern California. (Organizations and bookstores wishing to bring...

The Tarot cards have had a checkered past. They have been used for card games, fortune-telling (based on the idea of inexorable fate), serial art projects by people such as Salvador Dali, background structures in novels, symbolism in mysticism, analyses of mythic structure and the psyche, and divination (based on the idea that we have free choice). It is in this last category that the Tarot...

Scott Cunningham wrote about so many different topics that it’s easy to find spells and rituals to cover just about anything. As we come to Thanksgiving and the end of the year, reflect on the magick of Scott Cunningham and the power of Wicca in the kitchen with Donald Michael Kraig.

Scott Cunningham wrote about so many different topics that it’s easy to find spells and rituals to cover just about anything. As we come to Thanksgiving and the end of the year, reflect on the magick of Scott Cunningham and the power of Wicca in the kitchen with Donald Michael Kraig. Originally published in the Llewellyn Journal on 11.26.07.

Many books that give a general introduction to magick have a section on astral projection. They focus on its difficulty, how important it is, how it is a major part of magickal work and so on. But after reading these books, I’m left with a feeling ...

Francis Israel Regardie died in 1985. He was perhaps the last and most important link between modern occultism and the powerful occult revolution, which began in 19th century France and, for all practical purposes, ended with WWI and the European ...

Recently, The Hermetic Society of Albuquerque, New Mexico, sponsored a book signing and day-long workshop by several Llewellyn authors, including myself. I thought I’d share a bit about it with you. On Thursday night, a free book signing was held ...

Talismans are powerful magickal tools that anyone can use. Many books, however, aren’t very clear as to what they are and how they’re used. In Modern Magick, I define a talisman as “any object, sacred or profane, with or without appropriate symbols, ...

Before you rip up this issue of New Worlds screaming, “Kraig has finally gone off the deep end,” read on. One of the disappointments many people have — especially after watching shows like Buffy and Charmed or seeing numerous horror films — is ...

One of the things I have commented upon in my writing is that for some practitioners, certain aspects of the Kabalah and ceremonial magick are very “left-brained.” These practices, which are a focus for some people, though logical and well thought ...

I have been asked many times what magicians do on a daily basis. My usual response is, “They go to school and go to work. They participate with their families. They go out and enjoy time with friends. And they do rituals.” But that’s only part of ...

In my last column I talked about advanced magick and why there aren’t more books on the subject. This issue I’d like to share what kindergarten and magick have in common — and why this is such good news. When it comes to drawing, I am not naturally ...

When is someone going to put out a book of really advanced magick? This is a question I receive frequently in my mail and email. I also hear it from people I meet when I travel to give workshops and lectures. Lately, I’ve been pondering this ...

Many people use the term karma without truly understanding what it means. “It’s my karma to be poor,” they say. Or instead of poor they say “ill” or “lonely.” In doing this they make karma appear to be the same as fate. It is not. In fact, the ...

Where does it come from? This is one of the most frequent questions I receive about magick. There is no simple answer to this question. Every time a source is discovered, if you pull back a leaf you find another behind it. We could go back to ...

“Magick is for all.” Aleister Crowley wrote this at the beginning of his text, Magick in Theory and Practice. He went on to say that magick is for bankers, boxers, biologists, poets, grocers, women working in factories, mathematicians, ...

My column this issue is not yet another repetition of how Dr. Dee and his assistant Edward Kelly discovered a magickal system (I actually consider it a set of systems) that has come to be called “Enochian Magick.” I’m also not going to get into ...

Sometimes, we are fortunate enough to meet someone who changes the world. Scott Cunningham was such a person, and I was fortunate enough to have shared an apartment with him for half of a decade. It’s now been more than 12 years since the Goddess ...

By the time you read this I will have traveled to and returned from Hawaii — not for a vacation, but to give a workshop on the subject of the Sri Yantra, an important diagram for practitioners of some paths of Tantra. Its main image is that of nine ...

In my last column I wrote about the similarities between the Kabalah and Tantra. Part of the column discussed the idea that classical or traditional Tantra involves far more than the sexual aspects of Tantra — more accurately called Neo-Tantra — ...

Over the past century or so, the model of society has undergone a drastic change due to a variety of influences. We have moved from a society where people lived with extended families — grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws, ...

Afew years ago, I took part in the opening day of a relocating bookstore. As part of the day, several people were giving brief talks. Speaking just before me was Ed Fitch, and when he was finished, after some nice applause, people started talking ...

I often have people who want to be authors ask me for tips on creating a successful book. One of the things I like to say is that a key to success is often the title. I like crisp, short titles that clearly indicate what is in the book. The reason ...

Recently, I heard a series of advertisements for a mortuary. In them, parents mention that they’re planning for their deaths, and adult children or friends consider the topic to be morbid and something to avoid. This is because most Westerners, inculcated in the orthodox Christian “one life and you’re through” philosophy, fear death. But sometimes, you have to face death....

Several years ago, Scott Cunningham and I shared a two-bedroom apartment not far from the horseshoe-shaped sports stadium in San Diego. One day, I came back from working as a courier with some business cards I had made for myself at a local printer. I gave one to Scott and he asked what it was. “Something new,” I replied. For some reason he found my tone of voice combined with the two...