#T Thorn Coyle

[jasper-book-stash]

Jan-Feb Reading Challenge: Current Thoughts

Dracula | Bram Stoker

Good with the caveat that you have to read it with the context of it being a product of its time. Also, post-vampire Lucy Westenra can GET SOME.

8/10

Heartbreaker | Julie Garwood

I hated reading this book so much. The main male character (not the antagonist) came across as a creep the whole time. I hated him very much.

3/10

Strawberry Shortcake Murder | Joanne Fluke

This one...aged a little poorly in some aspects. I might skip into more modern entries to the series rather than trudge through the older stuff to get there.

7/10

The Puppets of Spelhorst | Kate DiCamillo

One of two Juvenile-level books and one of three non-Adult books on my list. Adorable story, great illustrations, and plenty of drama for the 8 to 12 year old in your life. Or for you, if you want a touching low-stakes story.

9/10

Dog Man: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under The Sea | Dav Pilkey

One of two Juvenile-level books and one of three non-Adult books on my list. From the guy who brought us Captain Underpants comes an adorable graphic novel about...honestly a lot happening, there was a lot. Luckily, even though it's late in the series, there's enough context provided that you can get a good grasp of the characters. Doesn't have much to do with Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, though, so I'm deducting a point for that.

9/10

Sigil Magic for Writers, Artists, & Other Creatives | T Thorn Coyle

With all due respect to Mx T Thorn Coyle...this book sucked. It originated as a zine and tbh it should have stayed that way. There was a lot of fluff to get the page count up that could honestly have been removed (and should have been). I didn't feel like I came away from this one learning anything new about sigils or how to incorporate them or my writing into my craft. Sorry, Mx Coyle. Maybe your other works are more succinct and to my liking? Not counting on it, though.

5/10

[cavorta]

September 15, 2023 Very recommendable witchy fiction.😍 I love the series "The Witches of Portland" by T. Thorn Coyle because the witches there and their magic are depicted in a realistic way. T. Thorn Coyle is a witch and it shows in their fiction. Also, the characters are diverse and there are also some interesting activism topics. The ebook of part 1, "By Earth" is currently free on all retailers. https://books2read.com/by-earth

Image by T. Thorn Coyle.

[toreadishard]

Mouse's Folly

A cozy fantasy story about a mouse thief.

As it turns out I don't really like cozy stuff, if it is not absurdist, which this book or novella is not. I can see, that somebody would like it. The action is written quite good.

I read this in the original english

[thecupidwitch]

Hi ! I hope you're feeling well and taking care 🫶🏻💜! I wanted to ask, do you have any tips/suggestions for beginner eclectic witch's? I want to get into witchcraft, but there's so much in the practice, it gets overwhelming for me (I have ADHD). Any tips/suggestions? I'd really appreciate it 💜🫂? Blessed be <3

Hello🙂

You don't need to learn everything in one sitting, witchcraft takes time to learn and even the most advanced practitioner still don't know everything. What you need to do is learn about all the basics of magick. This includes:

What magick is and how it works

Tools

Correspondences of herbs, colors, oils, days and moon phases

Divination

Visualisation

Meditation

Energy work

Grounding and centring

Shadow work

Protecting and cleansing yourself (you need to learn how to protect and cleanse before you do any other spell)

Also trust your inttuition above everything else. Always.

books recommendations

The Complete Book of Incense, Oils & Brews by Scott Cunningham

The Element Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells by Judika Illes

Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs by Scott Cunningham

The Sorcerer's Secrets by Jason Miller

The Green Witch by Arin Murphy-Hiscock

The Art of Mysticism by Gabriyell Sarom ( step by step guide on how to do meditation, breathing exercises, mindfulness and becoming attuned to energy)

Encyclopedia of Witchcraft by Judika Illes

Sigil Magic for Writers, Artists and Other Creatives by T. Thorn Coyle

Some youtubers:

Ivy The Occultist

Mystic At The Crossroads

The Witch Of Wonderlust

Temperance Alden

Willow Grace Astrology (if you are into astrology give her a listen)

Sorry i don't have any tips to help you learn with adhd but if anyone have any advice to give please to anon please do :)

[spiralhouseshop]

New in the Spiral House Shop!

September 29, 2023

The Long Hidden Friend by John George Hohman Edited and Illustrated by Gemma Gary

Magic: A History: From Alchemy to Witchcraft, from the Ice Age to the Present by Chris Gosden

The White Deer: Ecospirituality and the Mythic by Melinda Reidinger

Real Alchemy: A Primer of Practical Alchemy by Robert Allen Bartlet

Visual Alchemy: A Witch's Guide to Sigils, Art, and Magic by Laura Tempest Zakroff

How to Deal: Tarot for Everyday Life by Sami Main

Small Magics: Practical Secrets from am Appalachian Village Witch by H Byron Ballard

The Seed & Sickle Oracle Deck by Fez Inkwright

Crafting a Daily Practice: A Simple Course on Self-Commitment by T Thorne Coyle

The Gorgon's Guide To Magical Resistance edited by Laura Tempest Zakroff

[navyblueone0w]

“Cast yourself. You are the spell.” —T. Thorn Coyle, Evolutionary Witchcraft

[jasper-the-menace]

I'm going to be engaging in a reading bingo thing for the library I work at (though I won't be eligable to win any prizes) for January and February. There aren't any rules about only counting one book per square, so there's a lot of fun overlap. The books are as follows:

Can't Spell Treason Without Tea (Rebecca Thorne)

Diadem: Book of Names (John Peel)

Dog Man: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under The Sea (Dav Pilkey)

Dracula (Bram Stoker)

Give-A-Damn Jones (Bill Pronzini)

Gods of Jade and Shadow (Silvia Moreno-Garcia)

Heartbreaker (Julie Garwood)

Hide (Kiersten White)

Marrying the Ketchups (Jennifer Close)

Practical Gods (Carl Dennis)

Sigil Magic: For Writers, Artists, & Other Creatives (T Thorn Coyle)

Strawberry Shortcake Murder (Joanne Fluke)

The Leftover Woman (Jean Kwok)

The Midnight Library (Matt Haig)

The Puppets of Spelhorst (Kate DiCamillo)

The Whittiers (Danielle Steel)

Zendikar: In The Teeth Of Akoum (Robert Wintermute)

17 books in 60 days, most of which are over 300 pages. Let's fucking gooooo!

[hare-beneath-pine]

2024.05.07 - The fool again, and again, and again

I'm rebuilding my practice - this winter, I stepped away and never really got back into it again (essentially due to work + mental health issues, very pedestrian). Of course I feel shitty about it, but I'm trying to see it as an opportunity to build something better, more resilient, truer to who I am and who I want to be.

I'm really deathly allergic to being sincere on the internet, but I like the idea of blogging about this process. I like reading long-form candid posts about what people are up to, so maybe someone will get something out of this. At any rate, it can be an exercise in consistency—that word I can't escape lately.

Actions

This was my first week of meditating every day in a long while. Just 10 minutes per day of simple mindfulness meditation, but I find it really helps with focus and getting into the right headspace.

Not a morning person at all, but lately I've been getting up at 5:00 on weekdays to draw (or sometimes fuck around...) before work. Some days I was able to hurl myself out of bed, chug water, scribble in my dream journal and meditate, but I need to resist the allure of the snooze button... I may start putting my phone on my dresser or something.

I did keep up my dream journal but haven't been reviewing/analyzing it, so I did that this week. Themes? Stress, loss of control, and drag queens, baby.

Also, not really magic, but I started therapy. Hopefully it will help me live my yass kween best life, or at least stop being a high-functioning nervous wreck. Been trying to be more ~intentional~ about substance use as well.

Media

Been reading Sigil Magic for Writers, Artists, & Creatives by T Thorne Coyle - will probably finish, although I wish there was a bit more to it. There's some decent inspiration for sigil design. And I can thank it for reminding me about consistency. I would recommend this to a beginner with creative hobbies who is mostly interested in psychological/internally-directed magic.

Also reading volume 2 of The Invisibles which just makes me want to practice. So many cool ideas, but the found sigils/incantations in an urban environment have a hold on me. I did some semi-successful workings with a weird symbol found on our local buses last summer, it reminds me of that.

Plans

Next week I'm going to add short daily prayers to the local spirits and my ancestors in the morning, before meditation. More generally I want to take things slow, and go for small actions I can do consistently over anything sexy and ambitious.

[amaliazeichnerin]

Very recommendable essay by T. Thorn Coyle about community care, mutual aid and more. There are lots of practical suggestions where to start.

[gefdreamsofthesea]

The Andersons Do Not Get Enough Shit For Their Bullshit: My Thoughts on Feri.

First of all in case this post breaches containment, a little about myself. I'm Gef, I'm a thirty-something white cis disabled Canadian lesbian. I have a BA in Religion and Culture from Wilfrid Laurier University and an MLIS from the University of Western Ontario (I think it changed its name since I graduated). I also have minors in Medieval Studies and Women's Studies but they don't give you pieces of paper for those. My spiritual journey looks something like Catholic - New Ager - eclectic Wiccan-ish - Dianic-ish (the TERFy kind) - Heathen - Vanatru - now I kind of just read about witchy stuff, goddess-y stuff, and I collect divination decks. This isn't the first I've heard of Feri, but this is the first time I've sat down and read up on it.

I would just like to take a moment to recap what I've read so that everyone is on the same page:

Heart of the Initiate: Feri Lessons

Fifty Years in the Feri Tradition

Evolutionary Witchcraft by T. Thorn Coyle

The Wikipedia pages for Feri and Victor Anderson

A couple articles on feritradition.com

I read The Spiral Dance ages ago and am currently rereading it but am not including it here.

I think that's all the basics covered, let's get to the meat of the discussion.

I'll start with what I found appealing about the tradition. Both the founders and initiates stress that Feri is an ecstatic tradition, not a "fertility religion" like Wicca. It is a tradition of the poet, of being in your body, of dancing with the gods. It's also pretty explicitly queer (but see below): God Herself catches Her own reflection in a mirror and makes love to Herself, creating all the other deities in the pantheon. Coyle in particular talks about the Gods and Guardians (think like the Guardians of the Watchtowers in Wicca) as being genderfluid. The tradition practices ritual possession where the genders of the deity and their host don't matter.

Regarding Evolutionary Witchcraft specifically. I found the exercises (which involve a lot of breathing and awareness) to be useful and I think they would be of use to any witch. I also love the way she speaks of the Earth element in particular, as I think a lot of Pagan books are like "Oh Earth is money and other boring mundane stuff" whereas she talks about Earth as money but also as safety, security, the place where you incubate things (like in a cave), and the tomb. Despite my issues, I think I would recommend it.

Having said all that, I feel like the Andersons do not get enough shit for their bullshit.

Based on his students accounts, Victor sounds like a bit of an asshole at best. He's described as "a taskmaster" and that "One could ask for clarification, but to even hint that one disagreed with him, or worse yet, to contradict him, would result in an immediate and permanent order to leave," which is maybe just me but I wouldn't want to study under a teacher who didn't allow for disagreements or questioning, that's a cult leader thing. His wife Cora comes across as a yes (wo)man "my husband is a great shaman and an expert on x, y, and z." Now honestly I feel like people should hype up their spouses, but this is a constant throughout their writings.

Honestly though, I didn't get the chance to know them personally. Maybe they were awesome people irl. I'm just going off what I've read, but even if they were both very nice people, I still have some major issues.

One of these issues are the Andersons' claims about their own religion. Feri dates back to the Stone Age (uh huh), Feri's origins are in Africa (sure). Victor claimed to be a kahuna and an expert on Vodou. Apparently, once Victor read something he thought was true, he decided it had always been true. I should note here that near as I can tell, his source for info on Hawaiian religion is that Huna book by that white guy writing about what he thought Native Hawaiians believed. I've heard people justify this by being like "oh well Victor was being poetic and not literal" but that doesn't change the fact that it's straight up bullshit. Poetic lies are still lies. So yeah you'll often hear "Feri draws from a variety of traditions" but I'd say in some cases it's less "influenced by" and more "appropriated from" (I do feel the need to mention that some initiates have moved away from, say, using Hawaiian terms for their concepts).

I mentioned the deities in passing but Feri has its own pantheon. Most of the deity names are Welsh and many deities go by several names or are seen as similar to named deities in many cultures (the Blue God, for instance, being compared to Krishna) and they also have secret names that only initiates know. One important aspect of the Blue God is the Peacock God, at first I was going to include him under the section on appropriation, but Feri practitioners have apparently been in contact with actual Yazidis who have given their blessing re: Feri worship of Melek Taus but I'd prefer to hear it directly from the Yazidi that they are cool with it.

Okay so way back at the beginning I mentioned Feri was very queer but I really should amend that to say "unless you're asexual" because oh boy sex is inescapable in this tradition. It's implied that sexual activity between initiator and initiate is a thing that happens but there's an alternative ritual called the Intentions of the Heart where you do (non-sexual) ritual things and then "your first act of sexual intercourse" post-ritual is your initiation. The foundation of Feri practice is the Iron pentacle, where "sex" is at the top. There is also the Pearl pentacle, seen as the "higher energy" version of Iron, where sex becomes love. In Evolutionary Witchcraft, Coyle makes a few unfortunate statements about the relationship of sex to love that imply you cannot have love without sex. I don't really see a lot of room for asexual practitioners in this system, which is a shame because I know of some wonderful queer initiates of this tradition. I would be interested in an initiate's view on this because I know queer practitioners have talked about using an amethyst pentacle, for instance. I should note however, that Coyle states that not everyone needs or wants initiation as it involves marriage to the deities and responsibilities to the tradition, but as I said the tools and techniques she talks about are fine to use.

I did actually like Evolutionary Witchcraft so even if the tradition is not for me, I do what I usually do: take the bits I find useful and leave the rest.

[jasper-book-stash]

January 2024 Reading Wrap Up

As y'all know, I started this blog anew to record my thoughts on some books I read. Unfortunately, I have a bad habit of reading a lot more books than the average human should, and they knock each other out of my noggin. This is why I maintain a color-coded spreadsheet with columns to keep track of things. I also took on a winter reading challenge, and I've read most of the 17 books I was looking to read. With that said, let's see where things landed this month!

Religious Text

None applicable.

1/10 - Why Did They Publish This?

None applicable (thank the gods).

2/10 - Trash

Creating Magickal Entities: A Complete Guide to Entity Creation | David Michael Cunningham, Taylor Ellwood, T Amanda R Wagener

This one was...rough. Painful, even. This made me retroactively rate the other occult books I read higher just to cope.

3/10 - Meh

Heartbreaker | Julie Garwood [reading challenge]

I was hoping this one would be fun, considering the author is from Missouri and the summary seemed promising, but the main male character (not the antagonist) came across as a creep the whole time. I hated him very much.

4 to 6/10 - Mid-Tier

Sigil Magic for Writers, Artists, & Other Creatives | T Thorn Coyle [reading challenge]

With all due respect to Mx. T Thorn Coyle…this book sucked. It originated as a zine and tbh it should have stayed that way. There was a lot of fluff to get the page count up that could honestly have been removed (and should have been). I didn’t feel like I came away from this one learning anything new about sigils or how to incorporate them or my writing into my craft.

The Whittiers | Danielle Steel [reading challenge]

Unlike my surprisingly good experiences reading The Wedding Planner, The Whittiers was a sludge to get through. It was a bit annoying to hear Danielle Steel talk so much about how the characters weren't rich when they were clearly living a rather rich lifestyle without much financial problems in the beginning, and I eventually gave up on the book. The characters just...weren't too compelling to trudge through the repetition for.

The Stranger Upstairs | Lisa M Matlin

YOU. This book took a bit too long to get to the point (the plot), but at least part 2 was absolutely riveting and the epilogue was intriguing. I honestly think None Of This Is True by Lisa Jewell did this better, even though The Stranger Upstairs is more about a house than a person. Just...read None Of This Is True instead. Trust me.

Liber Null and Psychonaut | Liber Kaos | Peter J Carroll

Part of what I'm doing is research into chaos magic, starting with its foundational texts. And boy howdy, is this a severely middling book to me. Pointlessly obtuse, refuses to get to the point, spends too long sucking Aleister Crowley's dick... But utterly fascinating from a retrospective point of view, seeing what chaos magic looks like now.

7 to 8/10 - Good With Caveats

Dracula | Bram Stoker [reading challenge]

I'm going to beat Bram Stoker with a broom. Good with the caveat that you have to read it with the context of it being a product of its time. Also, post-vampire Lucy Westenra can GET SOME.

Strawberry Shortcake Murder | Joanne Fluke [reading challenge]

I "read" this one in audiobook form, thanks to my library having a Playaway of it. This one…aged a little poorly in some aspects. I might skip into more modern entries to the series rather than trudge through the older stuff to get there.

The Leftover Woman | Jean Kwok [reading challenge]

This one was a fucking TRIP. This book was full of twists and turns and physically pained me at points. It absolutely fucked me up and I was crying by the end, so I was lucky that no one came into work while I was reading it. I can't say much about it for fear of spoiling it, other than that it delivered upon what it promised.

The Midnight Library | Matt Haig [reading challenge]

This did NOT help with the crying! This book also fucked me up! It’s absolutely wild from the get-go. Content warning for animal death early on, though, because that did not help my anxious ass.

Marrying the Ketchups | Jennifer Close [reading challenge]

With all of the things this book was juggling, it ended exactly how it needed to.

Spells for Change: A Guide for Modern Witches | Frankie Castanea/Chaotic Witch Aunt

I was expecting something entirely different from this book.

Condensed Chaos: An Introduction to Chaos Magic | Phil Hine

Exactly what it says on the tin.

Magickal Servitors: Create Your Own Spirits to Attract Pleasure, Power and Prosperity | Damon Brand

Far more effective and to-the-point than Creating Magickal Entities was, but still far from perfect.

9/10 - Very Very Good

The Puppets of Spelhorst | Kate DiCamillo [reading challenge]

This book is one I've been meaning to read since the library got it in. It's an adorable story with great illustrations and plenty of drama for the 8- to 12-year-old in your life. Or for you, if you want a touching low-stakes story with an open ending.

Dog Man: Twenty Thousand Fleas Under The Sea | Dav Pilkey [reading challenge]

From the guy who brought us Captain Underpants comes an adorable graphic novel about…honestly a lot happening, there was a lot. Luckily, even though it’s late in the series, there’s enough context provided that you can get a good grasp of the characters. Doesn’t have much to do with Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, though, so I’m deducting a point for that. I read Jules Verne's work and there was nothing about a dog-headed cop in there, nor a cat man who used to be a criminal and is having the worst redemption arc of his life.

Honestly, it was still fun.

Practical Gods | Carl Dennis [reading challenge]

Read for both my reading challenge AND my book club's Pulitzer Prize prompt, this is such a lovely collection of poems and really gets into the crossing of religious belief with modern problems. How does it do this as a book of poetry? I’m not sure! But it did! Definitely worth the multiple prizes it has won. I ordered my own personal copy and I'm waiting for it to arrive.

Gods of Jade and Shadow | Silvia Moreno-Garcia [reading challenge]

I AM GOING TO EAT THIS BOOK BECAUSE I LOVE IT SO MUCH. We love a book in which the main character dies but that's not the end of their story!

Warrior Magic: Justice Spirituality and Culture from Around the World | Tomas Prower

I did a little write-up of this one.

Give-A-Damn-Jones | Bill Pronzini [reading challenge]

This one was great because the titular character respects women and protects minorities and keeps getting into situations. We love a guy who doesn't want to be here! This was the first Western I've read, and I think it was a good pick.

10/10 - Unironically Recommend To Everyone

Well, everyone who's into the genre these fall under, at least.

Sappho: A New Translation | Mary Barnard

I was so worried that this translation would...well, straightwash Sappho, but from what I see, Mary is dedicated to translating them as close to intentional meaning as possible, including Sappho's bisexuality. Hell yeah.

Welsh Witchcraft: A Guide to the Spirits, Lore, and Magic of Wales | Mhara Starling

This is an in-depth look into a Welsh witch's practice. It's delightful to read someone talk about their own craft, and you can really tell that Mhara loves the place she lives in.

Exodus 20:3: A Monster Romance | Freydis Moon

We love a gay angelfucker romance between a trans man and an angel, complete with smut. Honestly, a great time.

The Salt Grows Heavy | Cassandra Khaw

Do you want the mermaid from The Little Mermaid fairy tale to murder people? Do you want a nonbinary plague doctor? Do you want to hear about murderous child cannibals and freakish surgeons? Do you want your protagonist to McFucking Snap? Do you want a happy ending in the weirdest way possible in this setting? Read The Salt Grows Heavy! A mere 112 pages that will fuck you up while you're trying to poop in peace!

[cavorta]

This is not so much about witchcraft or paganism. However, I needed a reminder of this and I was so happy to read about this topic. 💚It's also a good reminder if you struggle with imposter syndrome. "You matter", a short blog by T. Thorn Coyle

[thecupidwitch]

what books do u recommend for a beginner fairly new to practicing? especially some simple guide books (herbs, symbolism, crystals, lunar cycles etc.), history books. anything would be much appreciated! i’m trying to learn as much as i can.

Hello anon 🙂These books contain a wide range of information about witchcraft and magic as a whole.

Complete Book of Witchcraft by Raymond Bucklands

The Complete Book of Incense, Oils & Brews by Scott Cunningham

Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs by Scott Cunningham

The Element Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells by Judika Illes

Encyclopedia Of Witchcraft by Judika Illes

The Green Witch by Arin Murphy-Hiscock

The Sorcerer's Secrets by Jason Miller

Sigil Magic for Writers, Artists and Other Creatives by T. Thorn Coyle

The Four Elements of the Wise: Working with the Magickal Powers of Earth, Air, Water, Fire by Ivo Domínguez Jr

The Witch at the Forest’s Edge by Christine Grace

[spiralhouseshop]

August 1, 2023

Portland Button Works and The Spiral House Shop update!

Magical House Protection: The Archeology of Counter-Witchcraft by Brian Hoggard

Ritual (A Weird Walk Zine about The Wicker Man movie)

Sigil Magic for Writers and Other Creatives by T. Thorn Coyle

This Might Hurt Tarot Deck by Isabella Rotman

The Treadwell's Book of Plant Magic by Christina Oakley Harrington

Witch Bottles: History Culture Magic by Daniel Harms

[joyffree]

🆓IT’S #FREEBIEFRIDAY Aug 9th

I present to you this week's bag of mixed delights

⇒ Silent Order, Omnibus One box set: Interstellar War Science Fiction by Jonathan Moeller

⇒ Because I Want You a Mafia Romantic Suspense by Claire Contreras

⇒ Nine Lives: New Adult Crime Fiction by Erin Lee

⇒ Cross My Heart: Second Chance Military Small-Town Romance by Lea Coll

⇒ Bookshop Witch: A Cozy Paranormal Cat Mystery by T. Thorn Coyle

⇒ A Court of Bovines and Destiny: A Gay Arthurian Epic Fantasy by Eoghan R. Cunningham

⇒ Genesis Code: Alien Invasion Sci-Fi by Eliza Green

⇒ A House of Ruin: A Clue-like whodunnit historical mystery by Pamela Crane

⇒ When You Bake with the Enemy a Sweet Romantic Comedy by Lia Huni

⇒ C791 a Sci Fi Romance by Eve Langlais

⇒ Lone Survivor An Alex Hawkins Action Thriller by Vin Strong

Until next week - May your journey be magical 🔮

[greenthey]

Three Souls devotional dances by T. Thorn Coyle, Evolutionary Witchcraft (2004)