Metro Magickby Lorne Cross (2016) - Review

Metro Magick by Lorne Cross (2016) - Review

This is a short book, with just 88 pages, so I’ll try to keep this review relatively short as well. Not only is it pretty slim, it’s also smallish enough to easily fit into your bag or backpack or whatever without taking up much space. I personally love to take books with me when I’m out and about, but sometimes these magick tomes can be rather big and heavy. Anyway, I also think this paperback looks stealthy and undercover enough to be read out in public (if that is a concern of yours), on a train, a bus, subway, or cafe without causing suspicion by non-practitioners. 

First of all I’ll say that I really enjoyed Metro Magick. I used to live in the city and have done my fair share of city magick in my time there. And while I am currently living in a small town (village actually) in the country side, that is only a temporary relocation and hopefully I will get back to the big city life sooner or later. I’ve been feeling particularly stuck lately, so I discovered this weird little book just at the perfect period of my life, and it has made me dream of the concrete jungle once again.

The book itself has no writing on the spine, which could prove to be annoying if you have an extensive esoteric library, making it difficult to locate. I’m sure I’m not the only one having problems with disappearing books. Sometimes they seem to have a life of their own, hiding away but also showing up just at the right moment. Yeah, books can be strange. 

I think this might be some sort of print on demand release, or perhaps some other self small print run release, but the actual quality of the book itself is very good. In addition, there is some weird sentence structures here and there, and a lack of proof reading and editing, so it appears a little clunky in some places, but it’s not too bad. Information is still excellent and the points comes across.

It does mention his other book Occult Magick, so perhaps some of this material would benefit from reading that one first, especially if you’re new to these kinds of things it would prove to be helpful, as this is not a beginners manual.  

There is about 9+ spells and/or variations of spells in here, if memory serves me right that is… Thankfully they are given in such a way that it makes it easy to adapt and modify them for your own use, which is always a nice thing. There’s also some cool ideas for magical tools in here too, like using your drivers licence as a wand for instance!

All in all, I highly recommend this for my fellow urban witchcraft and magick practitioners. It’s a quick and fun read, with heaps of inspiration and ideas for you to play with and/or customise for your own modern magical practice.

Here’s a handful of bonus books that you might want to check out if this is your cup of tea magick:

City Magick by Christopher Penczak (2001) Post-Modern Magick by Seth (2004) Postmodern Magic: The Art of Magick in the Information Age by Patrick Dunn (2005)

Basics of Kitchen and Cottage Witchcraft

Kitchen witches believe that the kitchen is a sacred place where all of the magick happens. They focus on the use of edible ingredients and kitchen tools.  A cottage witch is a witch that brings magick into the house and are protectors of the hearth and home. They bring cheer and warmth to every room they enter. Their focuses are on the family, home, and daily needs. Both the cottage and Kitchen witch believe that by honoring the home it honors the Gods and Goddesses. They bring magick into everyday life and daily chores.

Ways a Kitchen and Cottage witch can bring magick into a home:

Create a kitchen altar

Stock your shelves with herbs and spices

Bring maximum feng-shui to your home

Keep the home physically and spiritually clean

Paint the house walls in colours that bring happiness, warmth, and coziness

When making a sandwich put mustard or mayo sigils on it

When making meals add herbs that correspond to your magickal needs

Decorate the home according to the sabbats

Brew some special teas

Make your own candles, salves, and tinctures.

Make offerings to Gods and Goddesses of hearth and home.  

Ask your deities to keep your house safe and healthy.

Create your own recipes and add your own touch of magick to them

Put intent into everything you cook and clean

Make an incantation or short song to sing while you stir.

Inscribe your wooden spoons with sigils  

Carve your wooden shelves with sigils - carve them at the bottom of the cupboard to remain discreet

Craft oils, incense, soaps, potions, and salves.

Make herbal remedies

Chant while cleaning or preparing a meal

Use numerology in their practices by the number of times they stir or the number of times they knead dough.

During the mead moon, brew mead with magickal intent.

Decorate the home with your own art or art done by your children, poems, knits, woodcraft’s, paintings, quilts, diy’s, or tapestries.

Enchant your crafts.

Use weather magick, candle magick, ribbon charms, and anything else used to add magick to your home.

Honour the ancestors.

Bless the home.

Start a garden and will it with organic and in season fruits and vegetables.

Charge herbal oils by moonlight or candlelight to heal, bless the home or to clean and protect the woodwork she polishes with it.

Scatter charm bags, witches ladders, chimes, and bells around the home.

Grow an indoor jungle

Learn herbal remedies to treat MINOR injuries

If you work with meat make sure to thank and honour the animal it came from.

Sing or play music to raise good vibrations

Bake and cut cookies in shapes to match your intentions

Provide someone in need with a free meal

Volunteer at a local soup kitchen to bring magick into it

What their altar may display:

Candles

Tools used for sacred use

Four elements

Statues of the honoured deities

A doll weaved of corn

A kitchen witch’s altar is often displayed in the corner of the kitchen and is not permanent

Food made by the witch left as an offering

Some beliefs followed:

Magick is not used to inflict pain on others or block anyone’s free will

Believe in living simple lives

Believe in using organic items, products that aren’t animal tested, recycling, and composting.

Creativity is a form of devotion

Keep peace in the household

May the home always contain good food, good talk, and good company

Welcome guests into the home with open arms

Cottage and Kitchen witch superstitions/wives tales:

Stir clockwise to bring good luck

Never stir with a knife as it is considered bad luck

Place a piece of amethyst near the stove top to make the food cooked there tastes better

If an apple bursts in the oven while baking it means good luck is on its way for the cook

Eggs that are cracked while they boil is a sign that visitors are on their way

Dropping silverware means that company is coming

Spilling water on the table cloth means that rain is on its way

Seeing a spider in the house is good luck, killing it is bad luck

Wild animal tracks in the snow encircling your house is a sign of good luck and protection

When your cupboard doors are left opens it means that people are gossiping about you

If a broom drops across the doorway it means that you will soon head off on a journey

If you spill salt throw it over your left shoulder to undo any bad luck

To keep evil spirits away chop an onion in half and place it on the window sill

Chosen tools:

Wooden spoons

Knife

Bowls

Cooking pot or cauldron

A ritual knife used to only cut spiritual ties

A Fire place

Broom

Mortar and pestle

Kettle

Jars and bottles

Sewing kit

Cook books

Spells are cast to bring:

Healing

Prosperity

Protection

Abundance

Happiness

Fertility

Harmony

Peace

Deities worked with:

Hestia

Frigga

Brighid

Demeter

May your house stay warm and full of magick!

==Moonlight Academy==

Voodoo Mama’s Spellbook: Bye Bye Hex

An old spell to rid yourself of any powerful hex that is placed upon you. I have altered it over the years to fit exactly the purpose that I want. This version is very strong and WILL break any curse that is on you no matter how sticky the situation is. 

*This spell is influenced by voodoo and hoodoo but can be used by anyone*

Ingredients: 

Dirt from a forest 

The feather of a Raven 

Black salt or pepper

Myrrh

Hair from a white or black cat with no spots 

Mustard Seeds 

A black candle 

Directions: 

In a container, combine the feather, salt, myrrh, hair, and seeds. 

Cover them with the dirt and push down so that they are tightly packed. 

Place your candle in the dirt as if it were a candle holder. 

Light the candle. 

Raise your hands and envision the curse being lifted. You may add any protective chants here or contact any deities that you work with. 

Only if you practice voodoo, recite Psalm 70. 

Now speak directly to the negative energy. Demand that it go away, walk it to the door if you need to. 

Allow the candle to burn out and this dispose of appropriately. 

Hella lit! Are you 100% sure this is even a living plant, not a plastic geometry model?

i thought you all might like to see these good good fractal babies we harvested today.

Learning Divination

Day 1: wow i can't wait until i get to a point where I can figure all this out with ease! I hate having to look up symbols and meanings all the time!

3 years later: *staring into a tea cup, holding three books about symbols, and googling the meanings all at the same time* literally what the fuck

Rose and Almond Oil

This is easy peasy..

- pick roses - allow any moisture to dry - sterilise dark jar with boiling water - dry jar - squash rose petals into jar - cover with oil - pop on the lid - leave to infuse for 2/3 weeks

…and TA-DA you have yourself a vitamin rich skin soothing facial oil!