Six Ways Victorian Séances Were Not Like the Movies

If you watch a lot of supernatural horror or read many gothic novels, you've probably encountered your fair share of séance scenes. In modern stories about supernatural terrors or paranormal adventures, a scene with a séance often marks a crucial turning point in the narrative. The séance might result in a terrifying possession, reveal a long-held secret, or unleash an undead evil into the realm of the living. We inherited séances from the Victorians, who, despite their reputation for rigidity and prudishness, also had a voracious appetite for melodrama, mysticism, and the gothic. The Victorians founded modern spiritualism, collected reports of ...

A Cancerian Blessing Ritual

If you are a Cancer, then the blessing ritual described in this article will resonate with you deeply. This is the water sign that is the most concerned with matters of nurturing, preservation, and protection, and this ritual includes all three. If you are not a Cancer, don't fret because everyone contains all twelve signs of the zodiac in the same way that you contain the four elements. This blessing ritual can be used by anyone that needs more comfort, warmth, and security at home, work, or in your travels. This working can be done at any time, but it is given a boost if you can wait until the Moon is full or in Cancer during any phase. The more you understand the context and the power ...

Of Houses, Witches, and Gingerbread Bois

In Jack Finney's supernatural short story, "Where the Cluetts Are," a young architect tries to dissuade his nouveau riche clients, Sam and Ellie Cluett, from building a brand new Victorian mansion from one-hundred-year-old plans: "Look at the fancy trim all over the house inside and out. When those plans were drawn I suppose it could be bought from stock. Today it doesn't exist."1 He's talking about scroll-saw cut woodwork or "gingerbread." To call fancy wood trim gingerbread was originally an insult. The invention of the scroll saw in the mid-1800s made it easy to cut curves and curlicues into boards. Because it was so popular—it defined the American Gothic and American Bracket ...

Infuse Your Spellwork with the Power of Color

I'm amazed at the way color can slot right into our magical workings, matching dozens of different needs to any particular color. In my new book A Rainbow of Spells, you'll understand the importance of color in not only in magic but also how color affects change and harmonizes everyday life. Everything has a color; everywhere we look, there is an associated color. Our skin, our clothes, the interior of our homes, even the color of our bath towels. (There are obviously loads more, too many to mention!) In magical work, color is just as important as crystals, candles, and even herbs. All crystals have a meaning, and the color of that crystal also reinforces its meaning. There is nothing ...