Phillip Emmons Isaac Bonewits was an American Neo-Druid who published a number of books on the subject of Neopaganism and magic. He was a public speaker, liturgist, singer and songwriter, and founder of the Neopagan organizations Ár nDraíocht Féin and the Aquarian Anti-Defamation League. Born in Royal Oak, Michigan, Bonewits had been heavily involved in occultism since the 1960s.
A magical organization or magical order is an organization or secret society created for the practice of initiation into ceremonial or other forms of occult magic or to further the knowledge of magic among its members. Magical organizations can include Hermetic orders, esoteric societies, arcane colleges, and other groups which may use different terminology and similar though diverse practices.
The Wheel of the Year is an annual cycle of seasonal festivals, observed by a range of modern pagans, marking the year's chief solar events and the midpoints between them. British neopagans crafted the Wheel of the Year in the mid-20th century, combining the four solar events marked by many European peoples, with the four seasonal festivals celebrated by Insular Celtic peoples. Different paths of modern Paganism may vary regarding the precise timing of each celebration, based on such distinctions as the lunar phase and geographic hemisphere.
Theurgy, also known as divine magic, is one of two major branches of the magical arts, the other being practical magic or thaumaturgy. Theurgy describes the ritual practices associated with the invocation or evocation of the presence of one or more deities, especially with the goal of achieving henosis and perfecting oneself.
Ceremonial magic encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic. The works included are characterized by ceremony and numerous requisite accessories to aid the practitioner. It can be seen as an extension of ritual magic, and in most cases synonymous with it. Popularized by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, it draws on such schools of philosophical and occult thought as Hermetic Qabalah, Enochian magic, Thelema, and the magic of various grimoires. Ceremonial magic is part of Hermeticism and Western esotericism.
The Church of All Worlds (CAW) is an American Neopagan religious group whose stated mission is to evolve a network of information, mythology, and experience that provides a context and stimulus for reawakening Gaia and reuniting her children through tribal community dedicated to responsible stewardship and evolving consciousness. It is based in Cotati, California.
Takhisis is a fictional character from the Dragonlance universe. She is depicted as the main goddess of evil in the setting and head of the Dark Pantheon.
Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart, born as Diana Moore, subsequently known as Morning Glory Ferns, Morning Glory Zell and briefly Morning G'Zell, was an American community leader, author, and lecturer in Neopaganism, as well as a priestess of the Church of All Worlds. An advocate of polyamory, she is credited with coining the word. With her husband Oberon Zell-Ravenheart, she designed deity images.
Tiamat is a supremely strong and powerful 5-headed draconic goddess in the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game. The name is taken from Tiamat, a goddess in ancient Mesopotamian mythology. She is the queen and mother of evil dragons and a member of the default pantheon of Dungeons & Dragons gods. Her symbol is a five-headed dragon.
Anodea Judith is an American author, therapist, and public speaker on the chakra system, bodymind, somatic therapy, and yoga. Judith is the author of Wheels of Life: A User's Guide to the Chakra System. She has maintained a private practice for over twenty years and presents workshops nationally and internationally at holistic retreat centers, yoga studios, Neo-Pagan and New Age events and training institutes. She is a past president of the Church of All Worlds (1986–1993), a founder of Lifeways, a school for the study of the healing and magical arts (1983), and a founding member of Forever Forests. She is on the faculty of Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, and she is the founder and director of Sacred Centers, a teaching organization focusing on Chakra studies. She has a son named Alex, and one of her brothers is actor and singer-songwriter Martin Mull.
Jesse Wolf Hardin, is an American writer and founder of the Animá nature-informed teachings and practice, as well as an artist, poet, musician, historian and wilderness restorationist. He is the author of over 500 published articles and 9 books in fields such as personal growth, natural history, deep ecology, spirituality and nature, alternative healing, poetry, wildcrafting, American history and the legends of the Wild West. He lives and teaches at the Animá Sanctuary, located in the mountainous wild-lands of Southwest New Mexico.
Green Egg is a Neopagan magazine published by the Church of All Worlds intermittently since 1968. The Encyclopedia of American Religions described it as a significant periodical.
Oberon Zell is a Neopagan writer, speaker and religious leader. He is the co-founder of the Church of All Worlds.
Zingaia is a musical group in the genres of contemporary world music, new-age music and Ethnic electronica. They have released three albums and have appeared on six compilations, including the Billboard charting album Buddha-Lounge 3.
Hermetic Qabalah is a Western esoteric tradition involving mysticism and the occult. It is the underlying philosophy and framework for magical societies such as the Golden Dawn, has inspired esoteric Masonic organizations such as the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia, is a key element within the Thelemic orders, and is important to mystical-religious societies such as the Builders of the Adytum and the Fellowship of the Rosy Cross.
Amber K is the Pagan/Craft name (pseudonym) of Kitty Randall, an author of books about magick, Wicca and Neopaganism, and a third-degree priestess of the Wiccan faith. She was initiated at the Temple of the Pagan Way in Chicago, Illinois, and served on the Council of Elders there, and has taught the craft throughout the United States for over 30 years. She has served as National First Officer of the Covenant of the Goddess for three terms, and is a founder of Our Lady of the Woods and the Ladywood Tradition of Wicca. She has worked with various Neopagan organizations such as Circle Sanctuary and the Re-Formed Congregation of the Goddess, and a Grey Council member of the online Grey School of Wizardry founded by Oberon Zell Ravenheart in 2004. She is the executive director of Ardantane, a non-profit Wiccan and pagan school and seminary in northern New Mexico.
Western Esotericism is an academic discipline of research, scholarship, and education that focuses on the history of Western esotericism.
A magical alphabet, or magickal alphabet, is a set of letters used primarily in ceremonial magic ('magick'), occult practices, and esoteric traditions. These alphabets serve various purposes, including encoding secret messages, conducting rituals, creating amulets or talismans, casting spells, and invoking spiritual entities. Several magical alphabets, including the Celestial Alphabet, Malachim, and Transitus Fluvii, are based on the Hebrew alphabet, which itself has a long history of use in mystical and magical contexts.
