Honoring the Wild – a new book from Irisanya Moon

Irisanya Moon, a teacher and author in the Reclaiming tradition, has just published a book on Reclaiming-style magical activism.

Honoring the Wild: Reclaiming Witchcraft and Environmental Activism by Irisanya Moon

Author’s website and store- click here

Bookshelf online store – click here

Amazon & Kindle – click here

Reclaiming Witchcraft is deeply rooted in activism, including environmental activism, as an answer and an action to drive change. From political actions to personal calls, “Honoring the Wild” compiles stories and lessons from Reclaiming Witches from around the world.

This book seeks to inspire as much as it does to inform, knowing that creativity and purpose are often better motivators for lasting change. With a timeline of activism in Reclaiming, these pages contain facts and fears, confessions and collaborations, and (perhaps) a call to the reader who wants to learn more and do more.

Publisher’s Weekly Review

Irisanya Moon (Practically Pagan) collects meditations on the Reclaiming Witchcraft tradition in this brief, inspiring anthology.

Founded in the late 1970s, the Reclaiming tradition is based in “deep, spiritual commitment to the earth, to healing and to linking of magic with political action,” Moon writes.

Short accounts from Reclaiming witches weave a “tapestry of many different threads,” including tried-and-true advice for being environmentally conscious (buying secondhand clothes, using public transportation), discussions of “magical activism” (which takes the form of writing, storytelling, and organizing protests), and accounts of individuals’ experiences (using directed energy to help protect the California redwood forests during protests).

Suggested rituals include an “Extinction Rebellion Ritual” (which involves speaking one’s demands into being in a group setting), while an annotated timeline highlights major moments in Reclaiming history, from anti-nuclear demonstrations in 1976 to 2017’s Dakota Access Pipeline protests.

Though the takes on activism will be familiar, the personal narratives evoke a raw earnestness and urgency that will encourage readers to do their part to protect the earth. Reclaiming witches and those curious about the tradition will find value here.’

Dancing the Spiral – free download!

Dancing the Spiral: A Companion to the Writings of Starhawk for Circles & Solitaries

Free PDFhttps://www.weaveandspin.org/spiral

Download a free PDF of the almost-completed version of this compendium of Reclaiming magic – history, ritual skills, activism, dozens of  workings for individuals and small groups, plus all sorts of resources for your magical practice.

Roundtable interviews feature folks from around the Reclaiming network. Links to dozens of ritual-tested chants. Illustrated with photos from witchcamps and rituals.

Planned for 2023 publication, you can get a jump on the magical world by grabbing a free PDF now!

Dancing the Spiral – free PDF: https://www.weaveandspin.org/spiral

More Reclaiming Resources

WeaveAndSpin.org/freebies

WeaveAndSpin.org/resources

April’s Book of Games

Creative Exercises for Classes, Camps, and Communities

by April Cotte / new edition by Reclaiming Quarterly

April’s Book of Games is a resource for teachers and grassroots organizers for all age groups – and a keepsake for those who loved her.

New editionprint (color cover/B&W pages) | free PDF

When she co-taught at Witchlets and Redwood Magic family camps, April shared a xeroxed version of her book of games, exercises, and activities. Originally crafted for grades K-8, we’ve found it useful for all ages. It became part of our toolkit.

The original xerox-of-a-xerox got the job done – but the book needed a full production.  The new version includes the original text – nearly 100 pages of games and exercises – plus several of April’s writings. 

It also features memories from many who loved, worked, and played with April.

Available both as a print edition and as a free PDF. Like our other Reclaiming Quarterly publications, we hope thousands of people will download and use this amazing teaching tool.

– Rosa De Anda, Rock, and George Franklin for Reclaiming Quarterly

More RQ publications & resources – click here

Reclaiming Witchcraft – New Book by Irisanya

Reclaiming Witchcraft by Irisanya Moon –  July 1, 2020 from Moon Books!

The first book to provide Reclaiming 101, Reclaiming Witchcraft discusses the current state of Reclaiming, its practices and the variety of cultures around the world.

Reclaiming Witchcraft is designed to help the reader better understand the basic structure of the Reclaiming tradition, as well as discover how it has changed since its initial formation in San Francisco and subsequent journey out to the reaches of Canada, Australia, and Europe.

From the basic tenets of what makes a Reclaiming Witch, to how rituals are performed, how lessons are passed on, and how magick is made around the world, Reclaiming Witchcraft seeks to welcome those who might be interested in learning more, while also directing them to resources and paths that can help facilitate their journey.

Irisanya is a priestess and teacher in the Reclaiming tradition, and has taught classes and camps around the world, including the US, Canada, UK, and Australia. She was initiated into the tradition in 2014.

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Two more books forthcoming from Irisanya:
Aphrodite: Encountering the Goddess of Love, Beauty & Initiation (September 1, 2020) – Amazon
Practically Pagan: An Alternative Guide to Health & Well-Being (November 27, 2020) – stay tuned for more info!
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Dancing the Spiral: A Companion to the Writings of Starhawk

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Welcome to Reclaiming Quarterly’s latest project – a companion text to accompany Starhawk’s voluminous writings, featuring dozens of magical workings, ritual ideas, activist skills, pagan history, and more. The draft is now available for free download – print edition planned for 2021.

Dancing the Spiral – free download and more info.

Created in cooperation with Starhawk and Teen Earth Magic witchcamp, the goals are: (1) an exciting and challenging book for people working alone or with friends; (2) inspiration for folks to form a circle so they can do these workings with others; and (3) a fun book to flip through and get inspired!

The book also features pages of magical and activist resources – books, music, websites, free downloads, and more.This initial mock-up already contains much of the material, including the just-completed history essays.

We hope to complete and publish this book as a PDF and print edition sometime in 2021. Meanwhile, we’ll post drafts as they develop.

Dancing the Spiral – free download and more info.

*****

Drawing Down the Moon – Audio

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Margot Adler’s classic survey of Neo-Paganism (1979, second edition 2006) is now available in audio format. The reading is crisp and a bit dry – like a radio reporter.

Audiobook – Drawing Down the Moon

Print format

Adler, a National Public Radio reporter, interviewed people from many traditions and tendencies to paint a picture of an emerging Pagan and feminist spirituality. The accounts and interviews are informal and easy to skim.

Originally published on the same date as Starhawk’s Spiral Dance (Samhain 1979), Adler’s book serves as a sort of backstory to groups like Reclaiming, Spark, CAYA, and other millennial communities.

Shut It Down – by Lisa Fithian

Pagan Cluster activist Lisa Fithian has released a new book of activist skills and stories, ranging from Seattle in 1999 to the present. Check it out:

Lisa’s Website – ShutItDownNow.org

Online Ordering – various options

*****

Back Cover Description

A veteran activist’s guide to direct action and strategic civil disobedience as the most radical and rapid means to social change

For decades, Lisa Fithian’s work as an advocate for civil disobedience and nonviolent direct action has put her on the frontlines of change. Described by Mother Jones as “the nation’s best-known protest consultant,” Fithian has supported countless movements including the Battle of Seattle in 1999, rebuilding and defending communities following Hurricane Katrina, Occupy Wall Street, and the uprisings at Standing Rock and in Ferguson. For anyone who wants to become more active in resistance or is just feeling overwhelmed or hopeless, Shut It Down offers strategies and actions you can take right now to promote justice and incite change in your own community.

In Shut It Down Fithian shares historic, behind-the-scenes stories from some of the most important people-powered movements of the past several decades. She shows how movements that embrace direct action have always been, and continue to be, the most radical and rapid means for transforming the ills of our society. Shut It Down is filled with instructions and inspiration for how movements can evolve as the struggle for social justice continues in the Trump era and beyond.

While recognizing that electoral politics, legislation, and policy are all important pathways to change, Shut It Down argues that civil disobedience is not just one of the only actions that remains when all else fails, but a spiritual pursuit that protects our deepest selves and allows us to reclaim our humanity. Change can come, but only if we’re open to creatively, lovingly, and strategically standing up, sometimes at great risk to ourselves, to protect what we love.

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