Some Witchy Favorites
This will probably turn into an on-going series. There are so many excellent books, apps, and people in the witchy-sphere. I'm limiting myself to three of each for today; otherwise, we will be here all day.
Favorite Books
Six Ways – This slim book is packed with short essays on the practice of magic. There are a thousand and one books like this, but somehow Aidan Watcher takes a complex multi-faceted subject and breaks it down in a unique way. Animism, spirit work, sigils are all become short, digestible bits. Maybe what I like so much about this book is it feels like I'm supposed to take the parts that work for me and put them into my own system. Similar books like this usually ask you to take on a complete system. Put your altar here, use this tool, say these words. Aidan's approach gets to the root of why he does the things he does.
The Red Goddess – I just finished, and it's one of my absolute favorites. It's a passionate journey through time, giving us the history and workings of occultists that have encountered the goddess Babalon. This isn't a book of spells or a straight-up history book, but a sacred working in its own right. Grey peels back the layers on the divine feminine and reveals a goddess with grit. This is not your new-age love goddess. Babalon fills cups with the blood of saints, asks for the annihilation of your ego, and demands a sex-positive world. If you do buy this book, make sure you get it direct from Scarlet Imprint. They include a free e-book version and usually a lovely bookmark.
Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs – A slightly different book recommendation. This is one of my most referenced books. A simple alphabetical listing of herbs and their magical uses. While I never recommend taking someone's word on the magical correspondence on anything (always trust your own intuition!) this is a fantastic jumping off point. This book, combined with Yronwode's Hoodoo and Root Magic covers most magical herb use.
Apps
Stone – I love the way they approach crystals. I feel like sometimes I look up crystals and people list every property under the sun. "Just put this stone in your pocket, and you'll be relaxed, rich, and happy!" Instead, the Stone app lists several "vibes" for each mineral to give you a comprehensive look. Each stone has several snarky and fun paragraphs about how to work with the stone. You can use the search function to find stones by vibe or name. This free app is only available on the iTunes store, but you can get this same content through their book or their card set. I have both and love them.
Insight Timer – This is the meditation app I've always dreamed of. It gives you a free flexible timer, access to guided meditations, courses, and sleep sounds. They offer a premium service as well, but it's not shoved down your throat, and I've never run up against any walls. As a bonus, it keeps track of how many consecutive days you've meditated. Available in the iPhone and Android app stores.
Time Nomad – I use several star magic apps, but this one I use daily. A free app on the iTunes store it offers additional add-ons for advanced features. When you first open it, it looks very science-y and plain. But clicking on any item expands it to tell you WHY it's essential. I reference this daily to see where the moon is and what sign it's in. You can also skip ahead and see what's going on for the next few days and enter your birth date and time to see what affects you most.
Media
Rune Soup – Not only is Gordon White a relaxed and thought-provoking host, but his podcast is also a who's who in the world of strange. Past lives, aliens, magic, metaphysical. You can also scroll his podcast list and draft up a fantastic list of occultists, witches, and mavericks. Gordon's blog is a tremendous resource of chaos magic, and if you want to go more in-depth, check out his books.
Lune Innate / The Innate – This is actually a two in one! How sneaky of me. Lune Innate does relaxing reiki videos on YouTube. She also packs in a ton of crystal and occult knowledge all while relaxing you. If you have ASMR, these videos do that too. The Innate is her spin-off project with her partner. It features beautiful pulsing images set to intention specific music. I don't think I've used anything else for meditation music since I found this channel. If you support them on Patreon, you can get mp3 versions of all the meditation tracks and bonus videos.
Audible – Why would I advertise for a company owned by Amazon? Because I think audiobooks are awesome, and audible's monthly subscription makes it easy. Not every book in the world is available in audio format, so I usually branch out and listen to different types of books. I just finished Jung's Memories, Dreams, and Reflections. Before that, I listened to a book on psychics and time, before that a book on the research of psychedelics. In general, it's allowed me to explore books more while leaving time for regular reading at home. And what's better than more books?