I’m so excited to share my newest book with you all!
I just wanted to share a quick note to invite you to the party tonight – starting in 3 hours! There will be a replay in The Enchanted Academy so join us there even if you can’t make it live.
The Book launch party is entirely free, and there will be magic, time for questions and celebrations, and a special announcement about what’s coming next from me…
*Affiliate link for UK folk. Also available wherever you buy your books!
Storytelling for Magic
Learn the bardic art of storytelling to craft rituals, empower your magic, and enchant your life.
In this book are the keys to bringing the gifts of the ancient magic-weavers, the storytellers, into your life. The Bards of old wove magic with their words. Through myth and legend, history and inspiration, they shaped the world around them. Just like them, you can connect with the magic of storytelling to create powerful change.
Join professional performer, ritualist, bard, and witch Halo Quin, and discover how to use your voice in magic, how to unravel the secrets of stories, how to craft your own rituals to bring the power of myths and folk tales into your life, and how to find, learn, and tell stories to enchant the world inside and outside the circle.
BOOK REVIEW – Claves Intelligentiarum by David Rankine
(Note for Transparency – I received a copy of Claves Intelligentiarum to review, what follows is my honest review.)
It’s no secret that my magic tends towards the unscripted, intuitive, grab-the-threads-of-wyrd-and-weave-the-world-anew style, and I heavily encourage direct contact over relying on book learning when it comes to meeting spirits. I’m a pagan, through and through, and my magical roots are in ecstatic, experiential, embodied Craft.
But I’ve done my share of exploring Grimoires, and continue to do so.
There’s a power in words passed down, in techniques that have been honed and worn into the fabric of the Universe through repetition and time.
And there are definitely spirits who fully expect “the proper protocol”, and most appreciate the care and attention involved.
Following a step-by-step process also means you’re not laying down the circuitry anew every time you do magic (which is why so many Pagan groups have their favourite ritual structures!)…
But so many of the classic Grimoires don’t actually explain what circuitry you’re meant to use! Or where they do there are gaps in the process which you’re expected to know stuff already, and when you match them with other texts you get different instructions.
David Rankine’s Claves Intelligentiarum is different.
Rankine takes the reader step-by-step through the process of Conjuration within his tried and tested methodology, and explains the reasoning as he goes.
He outlines where he’s made changes to the traditional process, and why, and where he hasn’t changed things a reader like myself might be tempted to alter. Like including a consecration script for contact lenses, and adding the modern practice of visualisation during circle casting, but keeping the Abrahamic Holy Names instead of swapping them out for a Pagan audience.
This book is a practical guide to conjuring Planetary Intelligences – a particular class of spirit connected to the planets, who he tells us arose first within the Christian lineage of Grimoires.
By placing these spirits in the context of their earliest named relationship with magicians and presenting a clear framework for meeting and working with them, Rankine takes the guesswork out of calling the right number and setting up your first date, as it were.
This is not a book of theory, this is a book to be used.
And it is a brilliant introduction to conjurations in general, though I’d suggest you’ll get more out of it if you have at least some basic magical experience first.
In Claves Intelligentiarum Rankine is thorough, clear, and comprehensive. If the only book you had was this one you would have everything you needed to conjure the Planetary Intelligences… and having done so, not only would you have a team of spirit connections to cover almost any practical magic, but you’d know how to construct a framework for Conjurations of other spirits within the Grimoire tradition, and fill in the gaps.
I love that Rankine acknowledges that many of us work with other spirits that we might not wish to banish from our home or working space before a ritual which calls for such an opening. He then gives a script I’ve not seen anywhere else, a “License to Remain”. Gems like this show he has not just done the extensive research which is a hallmark of his work, nor “merely” pieced together a framework from a patchwork of sources (a mammoth task in itself!) but that he has actively thought through the implications and impact of the process with care, tested it, and made sure to include everything we might need to know to perform a conjuration with success.
Read this book if you want to work with the Planetary Intelligences, if you want a look behind the curtain at the mechanics of a conjuration, or if you want to learn from an expert who genuinely, wholeheartedly, knows that magic is real because he lives it.
Speaking of which, David Rankine will be teaching Conjuration at a weekend retreat at The Visible College in South West England in April 2025.
It’ll be intensive, hands on, and comprehensive.
Conjuration is, ideally, a team sport so it’s a brilliant opportunity to take the instructions off the page and get deep into the practice.
Star Club – Making Magicians – Occult Training in the UK
Star Club is a syncretic training program and modern magical order co-founded by myself and Sef Salem of The Visible College, rooted in the hermetic tradition and incorporating multiple magical threads into an experiential, hands on, group magical experience. Come and See.
Our next cycle starts in February and there are just a couple of spaces left!
As a Reclaiming witch myself, when I saw Irisanya Moon had written a new book in the Pagan Portals series: “Reclaiming Witchcraft”, my first thought was “why didn’t I think of that?!” I’m glad I didn’t, though, as Irisanya has done such a wonderful job of sharing a sense of the workings that make Reclaiming what it is.
“Pagan Portals – Reclaiming Witchcraft” by Irisanya Moon (Moon Books, 2020) systematically shares about the parts of a tradition which grew out of a deep, activist, desire to bring magic to bear on the world for positive change. The origins and history of its roots in an activist collective, and its subsequent growth into a worldwide collective – anarchistic in that each witch is their own authority, and recognising that we always live within community.
Through the Principles of Unity, Irisanya shares the guiding concepts of Reclaiming, and illustrates how we balance our independence and our collectivity. How do highly creative, anarchistic witches work in community? Through listening and developing structures through which each member can, when it works, be heard.
Irisanya touches on the ways in which we co-create Ecstatic, Improvisational, Ensemble, Inspired, and Organic rituals and magic. The Tools mentioned in the “Core Classes” give each witch both their own toolbox and shared points of magical development and ritual technology. And the concept of “Witchcamps” is discussed too, between the ritual style, the tools, and the Witchcamps, Reclaiming has an unusual and effective system of magic and community development. All of which feed back into creating change in the world.
As a tradition with 40+ years of history now, the question of how different generations are included is an important one, and one Irisanya handles gently and with compassion… Because a world of community must have space for all the family!
The final chapter on Magical Activism speaks to the desire that underpins Reclaiming Witchcraft… To make the world a better, fairer, place, and a home for us all.
My activism is a quiet one, I marched against the Iraq war in the early 2000s, handing out fliers, calling for peace (or at the very least, honesty) and found that wasn’t the path for me. But I see the state of the world too, so I often feel like I should be doing more. This book helped remind me that there are as many ways of helping to change the world, of being an activist, as there are witches. That doing my bit in my own life and working to lift spirits and share tools is valuable too.
Stories from disabled witches, from teachers, from people determined to help, and from the front lines of history.
A discussion of how magic, and a magical worldview, can help us motivate ourselves. Rituals and blessings. Tips for encouraging younger generations to engage.
All of these things offer hope.
Hope because we are not alone in caring.
Hope because those successes, those actions do help.
Hope because we can be activists, just as we are, when we offer our imperfect offerings. And perhaps we, too, can be inspired to help change the world for the better. A spell at a time.
PS: This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you buy books through them the website gives me a little commission, which helps support me at no extra cost to you. So… Thank you!
I’ve long known of Sekhmet, that lion-headed, powerful Goddess of healing and rage, but I have never really known much about her. Olivia Church’s book has definitely changed that.
Yes, I know that’s Bast.
Heavy with the weight of history, Church’s slim book clearly arose from a deep academic understanding of the sources and research surrounding the vengeful Lady of Flame and Pestilence, but the depth of direct experience also shines through. This is not a dry, dusty, text. Although it is dense the language is graced with rich and poetic illumination, and a bright passion for both the Goddess and her culture.
I now know much more than I expected to find out about this ancient Egyptian power, and would certainly use this as a reference book, and for inspiration if I ever choose to work with this multifaceted deity.
Despite the concise nature of the Pagan Portals books, Church has succeeded in including a both breadth and depth of information, and has in no way diminished the Eye of Ra, Sekhmet herself.
The short version: beautifully written, research heavy, introduction to a multifaceted Goddess, crafted with obviously personal, passionate, devotion.
Pagan Portals – Sekhmet, by Olivia Church (Moon Books, 2022)
Find this and other magical books, including mine, at Quin’s Books. (affiliate link)
This is a sweet book with lots of thoughts about intuition and examples from the author’s own practice and life. It is very much a sharing from the heart of a personal practice, with a lot of vulnerability and plenty of inspiration. And I love how it weaves the elements so deeply through all of the chapters, and makes intuitive magic so accessible.
This is the kind of book that you really need a highlighter app for (or those little translucent sticky notes!) to mark the things that jump out at you so you can go back and try them, as it is filled with examples and ideas throughout the prose, and they’re sometimes easy to miss. Little gems in a hoard of treasure!
Clarke has faith in her readers to already apply their intuitive understanding of the world, leading to the potential for people to improve their intuition by handing the details over to their spirit/deep self. For example, the expectation that readers can just “raise that vibration” in themselves, without explanation, assumes a lot of skills, but since these are natural skills that we can all do, if the reader simply places their trust in the author and does without thinking, there’s a good chance they’ll do well.
(Image Description: Intuitive Magical Practice viewed from above with a pot of tea, because is is cosy like a cuppa.)
I don’t agree with everything in this book, and the gendering of intuition does not sit well with me personally. In the introduction Clarke says her primary audience is women, and explicitly writes her material for women in chapter 15, so that’s worth bearing in mind if you’re, well, not. That’s not to say there isn’t beautiful, useful material in the chapter though. Personally it seems weird to me to gender a human ability that everyone has, but as the author is writing from her perspective and personal practice with intuition and the divine feminine it makes sense, and there is still a need for space for women to heal that piece of themselves so it is an important chapter for that.
So in short: “Intuitive Magical Practice” by Natalia Clarke is a sweet, open hearted sharing of intuitive practices within a pagan perspective, primarily aimed at women, working particularly with the elements and the divine feminine. It is packed with inspiration and personal experiences, to really show how intuition can be integrated into one’s pagan practice.
Now my PhD is winding down, I’ve finally started reading books again and I want to start sharing the gems I find.
Enter; The Bird Atlas by Anna McKerrow.
Firstly, I want to talk about this as a magical text. While you could read this as pure fantasy, if you’re magically inclined this book could be used to learn the basics of spirit flight, aka astral travel. Within its deceptively simple lyricism is guidance in several magical techniques which one could explore. I’ll definitely be recommending this to people on that basis.
And then, there’s the story itself…
I started this at bedtime and that was a mistake… I was so enchanted that I read the whole book in one sitting!
Read this if you want to dream while wide awake, to drift into an otherworld alongside ours, to touch mysteries that open your spirit to wondering, or if you want a primer on what it is like to journey between the worlds and be a part of the magic.
This book may be listed as fantasy, but there are real lessons in magic, and life, contained within its sweet and haunting pages. The whole tale has a dreamlike quality to it, the atmosphere of a faery tale which weaves a legend both timeless and for our time.
Oh, and to top it off, the concept is great!
Magical realism done so beautifully I am still under its spell.
💖
(Please Note: I was lucky enough to be gifted a copy to review, but every word is true.)
If you like haunting, touching, fantasy, with real magic… find Anna here, and order your copy of The Bird Atlas from your local bookseller.
Oh books! You glorious creatures of paper and print and pixels, light and shadow dancing before our eyes in invocation of mind to mind, heart to heart, spirit to spirit communication!
The chanting of audio books summoning otherworlds and deep knowing. The arcane sigils of the alpha-bet holding fast the hard won wisdom and wit of moments past.
Until we open you, oh wells of wisdom, and allow you to weave your spells upon us, losing time to your enchantments, and finally returning, forever changed.
All of which is to say ; I’m glad I’m reading more widely again, and I’ve got some book reviews lined up for you all soon!
PS: if you too like books you can buy mine here, and support me to write more here!
Spring arrived, and with it went my focus. It’s always an inspirational time of year for me, the rush of energy bringing so many new ideas, so much potential, that I find myself led astray by beautiful new possibilities… And some things get dropped in the whirlwind romance of life. Like consistency.
Once upon a time I’d have felt guilty for that.
Coming to honour my cycles is a really important step in not beating myself up, and I don’t think I’m alone there. Each of us has cycles and seasons, and for some of us the effects are more pronounced than for others… Have you noticed that? Have you noticed your energy and attention fluctuating with the moon, or the sun?
Even e when it gets dark there’s light. Like here; there’s a boat on the horizon, dramatically lighting its own way in the dusk.
I definitely go with the seasons, the kiss of the sun on the land… Each season feeding into the other, a circle that repeats every year.
And each year I know a little more, recognise it a little sooner, so the circles become spirals, the same shape but a little further ahead, building a little higher than last time.
At least, that’s my goal.
And so far it seems to be working. I’ve noticed myself wanting to chase all the gorgeous idea-bunnies and remembered to pull myself back to centre. Those inspirations are wonderful, and if I follow them all I’ll forget the garden one been tending.
Do you find this? Do you find you cycle through patterns each day, month, year? Do you tend to overdo it in the summer, like me? Or do you let it go and take a holiday when the sun shines?
This Spring I’ve been nurturing a few writing seedlings which are strengthening day by day. The Enchanted Academy (TEA) with my courses on magic is one, the Crimson Coven is another, and if you follow me on Instagram you’ll have seen today that I’ve just signed contracts for two new books!
I decided years ago that I wanted to write books and teach, and that’s the spiral staircase I’m climbing each year… Each revolution, a little further along the path of doing what I love, even when my energy waxes and wanes with the seasons.
Whatever the sun is doing, I keep my dream in mind. If you hold true to who you choose to be then, every season, every revolution, you’ll have spent a little longer doing what feeds your heart’s garden. Don’t let the down times make you forget that.
Oh and learning your cycles and patterns, recognising the flow of the world around you, and learning to work in tune with both, is part of the craft of the witch, too.
I have, however, accidentally let the purple sprouting broccoli in my actual garden blossom and go to seed (I think?) because I was writing. Oops. It’s still pretty though!
In an attempt to get better at this while “making a living writing” thing, may I just remind you that I have books for sale! You can find them in my new online bookshop, Quin’s Books, or at your local bookshop. Or, if you’d like, you can support me on Patreon and unlock bonus audio content and early access to magical writings…
It’s here!!! Midsummer 2019 has completed a piece of devotion for me…
Pagan Portals: Gods and Goddesses of Wales is out!!!
I’m really excited to announce the manifestation of my newest book, a practical introduction of Welsh deities and their stories, through their stories. It’s designed as a primer to get started on your journey with beings such as Rhiannon, Blodeuwedd, Taliesin, Gwydion, and more. There’s even a pronounciation guide at the back (thanks Sarah!)
Here’s the official blurb:
An introduction to Welsh deities through traditional myths and practical exercises. Written by a practising witch, living in the heart of Wales and working with the deities woven into the land, this book contains the major stories and backgrounds for the Gods and Goddesses of the heartland of the Druids. Within its pages you will find information on the major deities and where their stories can be found, alongside suggestions on how to connect with them and weave relationships with them into a modern pagan practice.
You can order this through your favourite bookstore, they’ll find it under author “Halo Quin” (publisher: Moon Books) or through amazon.
Looks like I’m living the dream… a published author 😀 Thanks to everyone who supports me, who encourages, proofreads, inspires, shares, buys, reviews and generally cheers me on. Couldn’t do it without you (In fact, without you all, there’d be no point.) This last year has been a wild ride and in amongst it all the gods of this land have been woven…I’m glad to do my part in sharing their stories. What is remembered, lives.
Happy Thoughts,
Halo Quin x
Overlooking a sunny Ceredigion Bay in wild, West, Wales.
This is a book for beginners on the Faery path, it is for those of us who loved the tales of flower fairies but felt more at home with the goblins and dryads, carving our own wands and brewing up our own potions. This is a book for finding your way towards a faery path of your very own. It is the book I wish I had found when I began in paganism, and I hope it will help guide many feet towards uncovering their own relationship to the spirits of nature.
It has been described as gentle and mature, non-prescriptive and fascinating.
This is the official blurb:
“Have you ever felt that you were ‘different’? That the Otherworld was closer for you than it is for other folk? Have you ever wondered how you can tap into the wild, untamed magic of your own faery heart? Then this book is for you. Once upon a time ‘Fey’ meant both the spirits of the natural world and the nature of those humans that were in touch with that magic in themselves; the seers, the spirit workers, the ones who walked between. This is your guide to finding that Fey magic which sings in your heart. Through this book you will meet your guide, visit faeryland, learn about the beings of the faery worlds and develop your own faery craft to work in harmony with the power and cycles of the earth by unlocking the nature of your Fey spirit. Time for you to become the Fey you truly are.”
I’m SOOOOO excited!!!
*happydance*
*I’ve been offline since moving house… and the release date, book cover and advance copies all arrived whilst we were offline! So technically this news is a little late, sorry!
Halo Quin 