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)

🌧️ A Touch, A Tempest 🌧️

a sea/storm spell for power in your hands, and enhance control of one’s life

🌧️  gather: stormwater, sea water, a bathtub, blue coloring, frankincense and saffron 

🌧️  perform spell during a storm, ground with the rain. 

🌧️   fill the bath and mix seawater in. swirl the water and drip the dye in. 

🌧️  burn frankincense and saffron in a nearby dish, or float them in the water

🌧️  place your palms in the water, charging in the sea water 

🌧️  the water is your world. you have the power to calm the waters or splash them, make them dangerous or exciting. 

🌧️  draw the power and the calm into your palms, and pull away from the water. drain the tub, and contain the power in yourself. 

🌧️  the power stored in your hands, you need only to touch something to instill calm or bring down a tempest. 

Guided imagery exercise to connect to the elements

Shake your limbs to relax yourself. Settle down with your spine straight and take our time taking three breaths with your surroundings, then allow your mind to linger on the words: earth, air, fire, water.

Earth. You have imagined the earth beneath your feet. Now think of the many manifestations of earth on the planet. Feel your feet on the earth of your choice… marshland, desert, forest, mountains, hills and valleys, sandstone, granite, chalk. Feel, with the pressure of your feet against the earth, the pull of gravity, keeping you anchored. Feel the current of energy from the earth throbbing upwards. You are a creature of earth. Relax into this feeling, and then open your awareness out and find yourself in a high place…

Air. Feel the air as a tangible presence as you gaze out to the vast horizon, laid out below the huge arching dome of the azure sky. In this high place, your awareness expands: the great winds of the earth, swirling round, think and pure, sharpen your wits and blow the cobwebs away. You breathe in air that sparkles like wine and are intoxicated, feeling yourself light and buoyant, You extend your arms above you as if you could float on the thermals that support the birds in their flight, feeling at one with the wind that carries messages all over the world. Stand firm, as your awareness is pulled high into the sky…

Fire. High in the vast expanse of blue, feel the blaze of the sun, striking down, warming the thin grass and bursting the buds of the alpine flowers, drying up the atmosphere. With your eyes shut, stretch in an attitude of ecstasy, fed by the warmth that pours down in golden rays. The water is pulled up into the upper atmosphere and you open your eyes to see a large cloud on the horizon. Watch it travelling with speed, and whilst it is in the middle distance in that huge vista, you see it disgorging its rain as a hazy mist over the landscape…

Water. In your imagination, see the rain from that cloud sinking into the soil, percolating through the ground to a deep subterranean spring that makes its gradual way to the surface. There is a tiny trickle of crystal water emerging from the ground, and you see it in your mind’s eye gaining strength as it tumbles downhill, changing eventually from stream to river, and making its way to join the massive depth of the sea.

Allow the scene to fade as you come back to everyday reality. Stretch, yawn, and wriggle to feel fully back in the present here and now.

Source: The Path of Druidry by Penny Billington

Tips For Those Who Are Considering Witchcraft

Deciding to practice witchcraft and magick can be equally daunting and exciting.  Here are some tips about what to do if you are thinking about becoming a witch!

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First, a few things that you should NOT do:

1.    Do not do anything that makes you feel uncomfortable, period.  Trust your intuition, and always stay true to yourself.

2.    Do not do anything that puts you in danger.  This includes casting a spell without protection, or opening yourself to spirits before you know what you are doing.  This also includes running out in the middle of a storm to collect rain water, or agreeing to meet a witch that you met online, alone.  Use common sense in all matters of your craft; your safety and health, both physical and mental, must come first.

3.    Do not do anything that contradicts your own personal, spiritual, moral, ethical, or other beliefs.  Unless you plan on changing what you believe, just don’t do it.  It doesn’t matter if everybody and their familiar is doing something; if it doesn’t agree with you, walk away from it.

4.    Do not start actually practicing anything witchcraft-related until you have researched it.  Do not do a spell until you have a working understanding of magick, as well as all of the ingredients involved in the spell – even ones you intend to substitute (especially the ingredients that you intent to substitute, actually).

5.    Don’t take witchcraft lightly. Your craft doesn’t need to be all serious spells and spiderwebs, but you do need to have a healthy respect for the energies and powers that you will be working with.  You shouldn’t fear them - never work with anything that makes you afraid - but you should respect them.

6.    Don’t take your studies lightly. Put yourself through witch school. Research everything; ask yourself questions and give yourself homework.  Ask others questions and ask them to give you homework!  Be creative in your studies, but still take them seriously.  You don’t have to be hunched over spellbooks all day, but you should make an effort to at least mentally review your existing knowledge, on days that you can’t find the time for more.  

7.    Do not be afraid to ask questions or for help – but do not automatically assume that everybody actually knows the answer.  Most witches around here will do their best to answer your questions, but they’ll also usually straight tell you if they don’t know something themselves; you should respect that, whether or not they point you in the direction of somebody else.  On the other hand, if something sounds wrong, trust yourself and double check.  Get a second opinion, if need be.  

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Next, a few things that you should know before you enter the world of witchcraft:

1.    Witchcraft is real, and magick is real.  Whether or not you believe in it, it believes in you (as the saying goes).  Approaching magick as if you were cosplaying Harry Potter is an attractive but ultimately unwise idea.  Approaching magick as if you were learning to operate a highly beneficial but potentially dangerous piece of machinery – now, that is a wise idea.

2.    Witchcraft isn’t inherently evil, but neither is it inherently pure good.  Witchcraft is power, plain and simple.  It is what one chooses to do with that power that gives it such meaning, and even then, the concept of good and evil is an ethical and spiritual one, and thereby tends to vary from person to person, and from witch to witch.  You have to use your own morals to guide you.  The only type of magick that should be in your witchcraft is the magick you intentionally choose to put there.  On a related note: I personally don’t agree with classifying magick as ‘black magick’ or ‘white magick’, period – not because magick can’t have precise descriptors, but because there’s no need to use terms that have such negative racial undertones.  Light can be harmful and ‘evil’, while darkness can be protective and ‘good’. Your intentions aren’t “to do dark” or “to do light”, anyway.  Your intentions are “to do harm” or “to do healing”; your intentions are “to take away” or “to give”.

3.    Witchcraft is a personal practice. You do not need to follow any one specific path, spiritual or otherwise, in order to practice witchcraft.  There are many different types of witches, and many different types of magick.  If there is not one specific path that you feel is absolutely perfect for you, don’t choose one that feels ‘close enough’ – walk your own path and mold your witchcraft into something that is uniquely yours.  

4.    Witches worship in varying ways.  Some do not worship at all, and are purely secular witches.  Some are simply spiritual and do not follow one set path. Some are polytheists and worship many gods; some are monotheists and worship one.  Some are atheists and worship none!   Some are Wiccan.  Some are Christian.  Some are Satanists.  Some worship ancestors.  Some worship the stars.  Witchcraft is a personal practice, and should co-exist with all other aspects of your life.

5.    You don’t need a whole lot to get started.  Twigs can be used as wands; rock quartz can be used as a crystal.  Tea mixes contain herbs, and your spice cabinet is basically a magick cabinet.  Most of what is in your house can be used for magick, for that matter.  While it is definitely helpful to have the proper tools and ingredients when performing magick, it is possible to DIY your way through witchcraft until you can afford otherwise.  Also, it is probably smarter to wait a second before you run out and purchase anything, anyway.  As you learn more, you’ll start to see which tools you really need, which ingredients you’ll likely be using the most, which items really call out to you.  If you run out and buy everything that you see right away, you risk wasting money on things that just don’t work for you, or that you don’t even need.

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Lastly, here are the things that you DO need to do, no matter what:

o    Be true to yourself.  Do not compromise yourself or your beliefs.

o    Be safe.  Don’t do or use anything that you do not have a working knowledge of.

o    Be educated.  Never stop seeking out new knowledge; try to learn something new daily.

o    Use common sense.  Don’t get caught up in things; think before you take action.

o    Trust your intuition and instinct.  We often know more than we consciously realize.

o    Be creative.  Write the spell that you’ve been looking for.  See what is laying around the house that you can use for your witchcraft.  Be inventive!

o    Have patience.  Learning takes time; magick takes time; developing your craft takes time.

That’s it for the moment!  Tune in tomorrow for a post regarding more tips and information on what to do when you do decide to go ahead enter the world of witchcraft ^_^

~Tari

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!

More chakras, different sources, their names, and their colors.