Image from the Clavis Artis
The publishers were generous enough to send me a copy of Wormwood Star: The Magickal Life Of Marjorie Cameron by Spencer Kansa to pore over and I could not have been more seduced by a book cover in my life than as I ripped open the package in frenzied anticipation. Marjorie Cameron’s hypnotic eyes starred back at me with such pull that I immediately dug into the pages.
Read More
Can we talk about this GORGEOUS art deco dust jacket?
Women’s bodies are so often under the purview of men, whether it’s our reproductive organs, our sexuality, our weight, our manner of dress. There is a freedom found in decomposition, a body rendered messy, chaotic, and wild. I relish the image when visualizing what will become of my future corpse.”
Read More
Via Marvel + Moon & C&C Apothecary
Marvel + Moon & C&C Apothecary <3
Read MoreStaring at myself in the mirror, I imagined I was singing these words to my reflection. And I did fall to pieces. I wanted to love myself with the intensity of the lovers in the song. It made me think of my love relationship with myself. I remembered that even on bad days, when self-esteem is running on low, I need to love myself fiercely.
Read More
Photo Credit: Kyeon lucian Constantine
That’s what happens when I don lip shade, I create a change, a stirring within myself that promotes a certain kind of energy that I emanate into my immediate surrounding. I can change a color to suit not only my mood but also my desire for the conversion I seek within. It is confidence. It is magic.
Read More
Astronomers Studying an Eclipse by Antoine Caron
BY LISA MARIE BASILE
Today is THE day to harness the power of the solar eclipse. The symbolism of the moon and the sun and the earth aligning is ripe for ritual and meditation—and it's an event that has perplexed humans for years, uniting all of time in its wonder. A once-in-a-lifetime event, the solar eclipse lets us contemplate our place in the universe while literally viewing the journey and changes of the celestial bodies that oversee our very ability to exist. It is a magical experience and one that should not be taken lightly—it's light and darkness converging at once (which we here at Luna Luna celebrate).
To harness its power there are many things you can do:
First, get to earth—even if that means a patch of grass somewhere in your neighborhood. Earthing allows us to connect with nature, and there is said to be a charge when we place our bare skin on the earth. If you can, do this. Stand there (but do not look up without the proper glasses), and let the solar energy sweep over you. Be present in this moment. Witness this. Soak in its power. Stay mindful of the fact that you are alive and connected to all living things.
Second, as you would charge any crystal or stone, set out to charge your items today. This will allow for the magnificence of the eclipse to be infused in your belongings. Wash and dry your crystals, place them in line with the sun or on a roof (or preferably in a patch of earth), and think on what that crystal will symbolize once it's charged—will you turn to it for energy cleansing? Wisdom? Protection? (New Yorkers and city-dwellers, a wooden bowl will do on a ledge). Bathe the crystal in the light of the eclipse on this day, charging it throughout—next time you meditate or hold your crystal, think on what you charged it with. Whether or not you believe in or turn to crystal work as a mainstay in you practice, often the ritual of doing something is enough to make you think on an idea or goal.
RELATED: Photo Essay: Harvesting Moonlight from Our Bodies
As a water witch, I'm always keen on charging my water with the light of the sun. Solar water, moon water, and in this case—a mix of both, is great for rejuvenation. When I charge my water, I often like to use it as a sort of medicinal mix for days when I feel low or sad or powerless. Keeping a (cleansed and blessed) vial, mason jar, or shell (especially fun for spells) full of this water symbolically allows us to tap into the water's sunlit powers. Let the water charge during the eclipse and that whole day.
What can you do with the water? You can drink a bit when you need a boost, you can use it for a ritual on the skin, you can feed your plants the water and have them live on with the Eclipse's energy. You can use it to clean small stones and crystals.
The Eclipse offers a powerful opportunity to think on our goals as individuals. Do you want to be more patient? Tap into your creativity more often? Do you want to find personal strength? Do you want to take care of yourself more? Do you want to let go of something you've been grieving?
I'll probably take the time to journal about my goals and fears—what I want to release, and what I want to invoke. I'll likely list out my creative goals, personal goals, short-term goals, long-term goals, and my hopes and wishes for the people in my life and the world at-large. I believe that writing-as-ritual is a powerful way to set ideas in stone and tap into the finality of the written word. Especially under an eclipse, this is a powerful and symbolic move that will only heighten your intentions.
It's a great time to work with sigils or to create a new sigil that will be your power symbol for the days ahead. As the Eclipse is happening, start exploring—or drawing your own.
More to learn more? These witches are using the Eclipse to de-stress, pray for America's future and bless their items.
LISA MARIE BASILE IS THE FOUNDING EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR OF LUNA LUNA MAGAZINE. SHE IS ALSO THE MODERATOR OF ITS DIGITAL COMMUNITY.
HER WORK HAS APPEARED IN THE ESTABLISHMENT, BUSTLE, ENTROPY, BUST, HELLO GIGGLES, MARIE CLAIRE, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING, GREATIST, COSMOPOLITAN AND THE HUFFINGTON POST, AMONG OTHER SITES. SHE IS THE AUTHOR OF APOCRYPHAL (NOCTUARY PRESS), WAR/LOCK (HYACINTH GIRL PRESS), ANDALUCIA (THE POETRY SOCIETY OF NEW YORK) AND TRISTE (DANCING GIRL PRESS). HER BOOK, NYMPHOLEPSY, WAS A FINALIST IN THE 2017 TARPAULIN SKY BOOK AWARDS.
HER WORK CAN BE FOUND IN PANK, THE TIN HOUSE BLOG, THE NERVOUS BREAKDOWN, THE HUFFINGTON POST, BEST AMERICAN POETRY, PEN AMERICAN CENTER, THE ATLAS REVIEW, AND TARPAULIN SKY, AMONG OTHERS. SHE HAS TAUGHT OR SPOKEN AT BROOKLYN BRAINERY, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY AND EMERSON COLLEGE. LISA MARIE BASILE HOLDS AN MFA FROM THE NEW SCHOOL. @LISAMARIEBASILE
Graciela Iturbide
"These apples are prepared," she would say. And every time she switched them out, I would watch. Her routine was always the same. The new fruit carefully placed on the small altar under the framed picture of the Virgin of Guadalupe. The bowl of apples, fresh flowers, and a votive placed on a white lacy fabric. Usually the candle had a picture of Jesus or another saint depending on Mom’s mood. She would lovingly decorate her table and spend a few minutes each day praying. Asking the Virgin to protect us, and our home. Maybe if Mom had done some elaborate gesture, voodoo dance, or animal sacrifice it might have helped my skeptical mind to consider believing. Nothing my sixteen-year-old brain could conjure to invoke the kind of power it would take to make the apples work ever happened.
Read More
Pawel Kwiatkowski
So why do bad readings proliferate? Or, to put it bluntly: why do so many card readers suck at something they love? Well, there are a few reasons.
Read More
Natalia Drepina
First, gather the supplies: soft fabric, a sharp needle, sturdy thread. Buttons, beads, and bits. Cotton scraps for the stuffing.
Read More
Image from Runic Treasure
The Major Arcana features poster art from the Golden Era of horror films, using mostly the monsters from the Universal horror series, and the Minor Arcana features screen grabs and promotional images taken from the same films. Just a few of the other more obscure films used in the deck are: The Mole People, The Infernal Cauldron, Häxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages, and The Golem: How He Came into the World.
Read More
This photo is wrongfully attributed everywhere, but we believe it is by Daniel Vazquez. His work is at @AmericanGhoul
Decided the full arsenal was required. Witchcraft. A black magick banishment spell. I would protect my land and bodily autotomy. Even if that meant I made an unholy deal with the Gods, Goddesses and ghosts. I would be as scorched earth forever alone if that would permit me to me survive. When I turned 40 I resolved to be a celibate recluse to preserve sobriety and avoid further rape. Sacrifice was familiar company. I had to salt the earth so no weeds could grow.
Read More
Joanna C. Valente is a human who lives in Brooklyn, New York, and is the author of Sirs & Madams (Aldrich Press, 2014), The Gods Are Dead (Deadly Chaps Press, 2015), Marys of the Sea (The Operating System, 2017), Xenos (Agape Editions, 2016) and the editor of A Shadow Map: An Anthology by Survivors of Sexual Assault (CCM, 2017). Joanna received a MFA in writing at Sarah Lawrence College, and is also the founder of Yes, Poetry, a managing editor for Luna Luna Magazine and CCM, as well as an instructor at Brooklyn Poets. Some of Joanna's writing has appeared, or is forthcoming, in Brooklyn Magazine, Prelude, Apogee, Spork, The Feminist Wire, BUST, and elsewhere.
Read More
The brides of Dracula from Tod Browning's Dracula (1931).
There are such things is meant to disrupt and challenge what you have always believed. There are such things leads you to think twice that that bump in the night is just the wind rattling the shutters and to scold yourself for thinking it could be anything but because, just for a second, you believed it was something that you couldn’t explain, something dark and unknown, something that would completely change everything you knew to be true. Changed what you knew about yourself.
Read MoreSince the cards’ creation in 1910, mystics and amateurs alike have relied on its simple yet symbolic images. Such images felt like a god[dess]-send for beginner readers like myself. I could easily decipher the general meanings of the cards based on the images, much like a child learning to read for the first time. So, to discover that this deck that so many consider their go-to again and again had a sexist secret was unnerving to say the least.
Read More
Joanna C. Valente is a human who lives in Brooklyn, New York, and is the author of Sirs & Madams (Aldrich Press, 2014), The Gods Are Dead (Deadly Chaps Press, 2015), Marys of the Sea (ELJ Publications, 2016), Xenos (Agape Editions, 2016) and the editor of “A Shadow Map: An Anthology by Survivors of Sexual Assault” (CCM, 2017). Joanna received a MFA in writing at Sarah Lawrence College, and is also the founder of Yes, Poetry, a managing editor for Luna Luna Magazine and CCM, as well as an instructor at Brooklyn Poets. Some of Joanna's writing has appeared in Prelude, Apogee, Spork, The Feminist Wire, BUST, and elsewhere.
Read More
