Llewellyn's 2014 Witches' Companion
Kerri Connor(Chicagoland, IL) is the High Priestess of The Gathering Grove, and has been practicing her craft for twenty-five years. She is the author of three other books of magic, and her writing has appeared inThe Blessed Bee,Sage Woman,PanGaia, andNew Witch. She runs The Pagan Review, a website that provides reviews of Pagan products. She also recently started Nurturing Necessities, a non-profit charitable organization.Llewellyn Publications has grown and expanded into new areas of personal growth and transformation since it began as the Portland School of Astrology in 1901. Along with the strong line of astrology books the company was founded upon, Llewellyn publishes books on everything from alternative health and healing, Wicca and Paganism, to metaphysics and the paranormal-and since 1994 has published a growing list of Spanish-language titles.Llewellyn has long been know as one of America's leading publishers of New Age books, producing a wide variety of valuable tools for transformation of the mind, body and spirit. Reach for the Moon-and discover that self-help and spiritual growth is what Llewellyn is all about.Michael Furie(Northern California) has been a practicing Witch for over fourteen years. He began studying witchcraft at age twelve and at the age of seventeen officially took the oaths of the Craft. An American Witch, he practices in the Irish tradition and is a priest of the Cailleach. You can find him online at http://www.michaelfurie.com/.Linda Raedisch(New Providence, NJ) writes and lectures on a wide variety of arcane topics. She is a longtime library employee and professional crafts instructor who teaches classes on candle making, broom making, and other oldtime homemaking arts.Mickie Mueller is an award-winning and critically acclaimed artist of fantasy, fairy, and myth. She is an ordained Pagan minister and has studied Natural Magic, Fairy Magic and Celtic tradition. She is also a Reiki healing master/teacher in the Usui Shiki Royoho Tradition. Mickie enjoys creating magical art full of fairies, goddesses, and beings of folklore. She works primarily in a mix of colored pencil and watercolor infused with magical herbs corresponding to her subject matter. Mickie is the illustrator ofThe Well Worn PathandThe Hidden Pathdecks, the writer/illustrator ofThe Voice of the Treesand A Celtic Divination Oracle, and the illustrator ofThe Mystical Cats Tarot. Since 2007, Mickie has been a regular article and illustration contributor to several of the Llewellyn periodicals. She resides in Missouri.To learn more about Mickie, check out her online gallery and blog.Barbara Ardinger, Ph.D., (Long Beach, California), is a Witch, teacher, and freelance writer.  She holds a Ph.D. in English Renaissance literature.Deborah Lipp was initiated into a traditional Gardnerian coven of Witches in 1981, became a High Priestess in 1986, and has been teaching Wicca and running Pagan circles ever since. She has appeared in various media discussing Wicca, including the A&E documentaryAncient Mysteries: Witchcraft in America, on MSNBC, in The New York Times, and in many smaller TV and print sources.Deborah has been published in many Pagan publications, includingThe Llewellyn Magical Almanac, Pangaia, Green Egg, The Druid's Progress, Converging Paths, andThe Hidden Path, as well asMothering Magazine. She has lectured at numerous Pagan festivals on a variety of topics.Deborah is a technical writer with a variety of skills. She lives in Rockland County, NY, with her son, Arthur, who tap dances, and two cats. Deborah reads and teaches Tarot, designs wire-and-bead jewelry, solves and designs puzzles, watches old movies, hand-paints furniture, and dabbles in numerous handcrafts.Lexa Olick(Buffalo, NY) has been crafting for over twenty years, creating artwork through knitting, crochet, felting, ceramics, sewing, decoupage, and much more. She is also a gifted writer (having received numerous awards for her screenplays) and artist (her artwork has been featured in the online gothic magazine Dark Romance, Dog Fancy magazine, and the Showtime series The L-Word).Melanie Marquis is a lifelong practitioner of magick, founder of the United Witches global coven, and organizer of Denver Pagans. She is a writer who has written for the American Tarot Association, Llewellyn's almanacs and datebooks, and national and international Pagan publications includingCircleandPentacle Magazine. She resides in Colorado.Visit her online at http://www.melaniemarquis.com. Deborah Blakeis the author ofCircle, Coven and Grove: A Year of Magickal Practice(Llewellyn 2007),Everyday Witch A to Z: An Amusing, Inspiring & Informative Guide to the Wonderful World of Witchcraft(Llewellyn 2008),The Goddess is in the Details: Wisdom for the Everyday Witch(Llewellyn 2009),Everyday Witch A to Z Spellbook(2010) andWitchcraft on a Shoestring(2010). She has published numerous articles in Pagan publications, including Llewellyn annuals and has an ongoing column inWitches & Pagans Magazine.Her award-winning short story, "Dead and (Mostly) Gone" is included in thePagan Anthology of Short Fiction: 13 Prize Winning Tales(Llewellyn, 2008). Deborah had been interviewed on television, radio and podcast, and can be found online at Facebook, Twitter and www.myspace.com/deborahblakehps.When not writing, Deborah runs The Artisans' Guild, a cooperative shop she founded with a friend in 1999, and also works as a jewelry maker. She lives in a 100 year old farmhouse in rural upstate New York with five cats who supervise all her activities, both magickal and mundane.Susan Pesznecker (Oregon) teaches writing at Portland State University and Clackamas Community College. She also teaches online courses in magick through the Grey School of Wizardry.Thuri Calafia(Portland, OR) is an ordained Wiccan minister and High Priestess who has been teaching the Wiccan path for over thirty years. The founder of the Circles system and the Circles School of Witchcraft and Wicca, she is actively involved in her local community and teaches workshops, presents public rituals, and provides intuitive readings.Gede Parma (Fio) is a Witch and Priest. He is an initiate of the WildWood and Anderean traditions of contemporary and traditional Witchcraft and has spent most of his life in Australia. Gede is also an Anderson Faery Witch and a Reclaiming teacher and loves to sing, play and dare with the Spirits. He is an ecofeminist, a devotee of Kali Maa and dedicated to Persephone, an activist, vegan and queer non-gender attached wonder-being; call him a her, a ze, a pudding. His books include Ecstatic Witchcraft, By Land, Sky & Sea and Spirited. Gede lives in Bali, teaches internationally and is enthused by radical revelation of the Divine upon the Living Earth. His website is www.gedeparma.com.Raven Digitalisis a Neopagan Priest and cofounder of the "Eastern Hellenistic" magickal system and training coven Opus Aima Obscuræ, and a radio and club DJ of Gothic and industrial music. Trained in Georgian Witchcraft and Buddhist philosophy, Raven has been a Witch since 1999, a Priest since 2003, and an Empath all of his life.Raven holds a degree in anthropology from the University of Montana and is also an animal rights activist, black-and-white photographic artist, Tarot reader, and co-owner of Twigs & Brews Herbs, specializing in bath salts, herbal blends, essential oils, and incenses. He has appeared on the cover ofnewWitchmagazine, is a regular contributor toDragon's BloodandThe Ninth Gatemagazines, and has been featured onCBS PsychicRadioandMTV News. Tess Whitehurst is an intuitive counselor, energy worker, feng shui consultant, and speaker, and the author ofMagical Housekeeping. She has appeared on the Bravo TV showFlipping Outand her writing has been featured inWriters Digest,Whole Life Times Magazine, and online at AOL Huffington Post and Lemondrop.com. She lives in Venice, California. Visit Tess online at www.tesswhitehurst.com.Praise forMagical Fashionistafrom Publishers Weekly "In this satisfying and unusual style guide, intuitive counselor and energy worker Whitehurst (The Art of Bliss) examines the metaphysics of fashion and its potential as a personal art project. As the author explains: "We all wish for a satisfying creative outlet and an endlessly inspiring wellspring from which to regularly draw. I would suggest that our wardrobe and daily clothing choices offer both." After discussing the power of clothing, Whitehurst encourages readers to clear their closets and get their "fashion energy moving." Along the way, she explores both Western and Chinese astrology and how they relate to clothing, and encourages readers to focus on their strengths rather than their perceived shortcomings. Next, she addresses the underlying meaning of certain apparel, such as pants ("What are you grounded in?"), as well as the symbolism of gemstones, and the meaning of fragrance oil notes and colors. Though Whitehurst instructs readers to "stand like a celebrity" and "walk like a supermodel," it's obvious that readers are meant to think of themselves on the same playing field, not as inferior beings. Sprinkled throughout are metaphysical exercises, guided visualizations, and encouragements—sure to be welcomed by the open-minded fashion lover."