Non-Fiction Books

Drawing from their combined expertise in spirituality, psychology, astrology, history, and mythology, internationally acclaimed teacher and witch Z. Budapest and mythographer and novelist Diana Paxson have created a guide to the general trends one can expect in each year of a person's life. Organized first by decade, then specific year within each decade, Celestial Wisdom: For Every Year of Your Life gives new insight and helpful prognostications to the total sweep of the human lifespan, from birth and before to 90 and beyond. Each year has a description exploring the issues, challenges, and joys specific to it. Stories of people experiencing life at that age are woven throughout, offering insight and perspective on the dynamics at play. Each age ends with a ritual, blessing, and suggestion for how to meaningfully celebrate it, especially at birthday time. For example, are you about to turn 29? Fasten your seatbelt, Saturn is about to return to where it was when you were born and you are in for a change. The changes could come in the areas of job, relationship, or where you live. The combined cosmic knowledge of Budapest and Paxson says, "Take a deep breath change is afoot--see how that energy of change has manifested itself in the lives of others." For your 29th birthday, they suggest, counteract that "I'm almost thirty and I haven't?" syndrome by celebrating the things you have done. Tape a big piece of butcher paper to the wall. List each year since age twenty and next to it write down what you were doing. Get some colored pencils and have a party. Your friends might just contribute and surprise you. Two pagan powerhouses reveal the wisdom of the ages in an astrological and psychological guide to each year of a woman's life. Budapest and Paxson's combined book sales top two million. Lighthearted and playful, yet grounded in years of multidisciplinary study, this book reveals surprising new insights to the possibilities of each year of our lives.

A journey to fulfillment and renewal. In Essential Asatru, renowned author and priestess Diana Paxson demystifies an ancient, rich, and often misunderstood religion, and offers a practical guide for its modern followers. Filled with clear, concise instructions on living Asatru every day, this truly accessible guide takes you on a journey from Asatru’s origins in Scandinavian and German paganism to its acceptance as an official religion in the 1970s. The book also includes: -A complete history of Asatru gods and goddesses, including Odin, Thor, and Ostara -The life values, such as honor, truth, fidelity, and hospitality, that shape Asatru’s tenets -Indispensable information on rituals, rune casting, ethics, and divination This is an elegant and splendid introduction to a centuries-old religion that continues to enrich and fascinate its followers today. Praise for Diana L. Paxson “An accomplished writer . . . I look forward to reading any of Diana Paxson's work.” —Marion Zimmer Bradley “A skilled writer.” — Publishers Weekly on Priestess of Avalon

The ability to move from the ordinary into an altered state of consciousness is one of the most valuable skills in both magic and religion. From the ceremonial magician to the shaman, using trance work to explore inner realms is essential to the magical process of healing, transcendence, and wisdom desired throughout diverse occult and spiritual traditions. TrancePortation offers a comprehensive and multispirited way to enter the inner realm. Blending the modern world with the ancient arts, TrancePortation's first three chapters, Travel Planning, Crossing the Threshold, and Getting Started, offer preparatory suggestions including meditations and relaxations, breathing, warding, shifting gears, and returning. Drawing on examples from varied traditions, from Western Mystery to Native American, Ancient Celtic to Eastern Mysticism, and peppered with folk lore and tales from popular science fiction stories, TrancePortation explores spiritual journey work extensively, offering readers the chance to find their own ways into the inner realm, encounter their own guides and fellow travelers, and create divine relationships with the deities and gods and goddesses that they meet.

Throughout history, the uncertainties of life have driven people to seek counsel from prophets, seers, and oracles on everything from love to livelihood: people want to talk to their lost loved ones, heal old family traumas, find out about work, and determine what the future will bring. In The Way of the Oracle , bestselling author, scholar, and priestess Diana L. Paxson offers a broad overview of the traditions of famous oracles in history: from the pythia at Delphi, the son of Beor, the Irish druidess, and the Greenland völva, to today's modern seers who are resurrecting ancient skills to serve their communities. Paxson identifies the core elements of prophetic practice, her belief in probability rather than predestination, and offers exercises and examples to demonstrate how anyone can be trained to do oracle work. Her methods focus on trance skills and improving communication between one's unconscious and conscious mind to encourage selfknowledge and decision making. The Way of the Oracle introduces the practice of oracle work to a wider audience, and shows how exploring the potential of other minds can expand our own.

Throughout the current modern heathen revival, many Ásatrúar, heathens, Odinists, and fellow travellers, following the proud warrior traditions of the ancient North, have served in the United States Armed Forces. Diana L. Paxson, author of Essential Ásatrú and Taking Up the Runes, has joined forces with Troth members who are active and retired military personnel and their families from across the US and Canada to provide inspiration, counsel, and comfort from the lore of our faith, as well as practical advice on how to apply that in a military setting. Chapters cover our Gods and Goddesses, ethics and virtues, runes and protections, legal and practical issues, adjusting to post-combat life, and advice for chaplains. Sized to fit comfortably in a pocket, Words for Warriors can go anywhere an active soldier, sailor, airman, or marine can-and, hopefully, come back with them as well.

Bestselling author of several fantasy novels including Marion Zimmer Bradley's Ancestors of Avalon , Diana L. Paxson now turns her attention to Trance Possession. Specifically, how to safely and effectively enter and to exit possessory trance. In possessory trance, one voluntarily offers one's body as a vehicle for spirit work. This differs from other forms of trance in that one's "normal" personality is replaced by a personality that is identified by oneself and one's community as a spirit or a god. Here Paxson explores all aspects of trance possession, including: how to prepare for possessory trance how to enter and exit trance possession safely, and what to do if things get too heavy connecting with Saints and Spirits, including those found in AfroDiasporic religions A practical book of particular interest to witches and pagans, each chapter includes two to five exercises that will assist you in your personal experiences with possession.

“A god for the ages, Odin's veneration remains vital and active. Paxson provides songs, rituals, magical exercises, and practical advice to help you develop your own personal relationship with the Lord of Runes. Highly recommended." —Judika Illes, author of Encyclopedia of Spirits, Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells, and other books Odin is arguably one of the most enigmatic and complex characters in Norse mythology. Revered since the Viking Age, Odin has been called the greatest of the gods--the god of words and wisdom, runes and magic, a transformer of consciousness, and a trickster who teaches truth. He is both war god and poetry god, and he is the Lord of Ravens, the All- Father, and the rune master. Odin: Ecstasy, Runes, and Norse Magic is the first book on Odin that is both historically sourced and accessible to a general audience. It explores Odin's origins, his appearances in sagas, old magic spells, and the Poetic Edda, and his influence on modern media, such as Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy. Each chapter features suggestions for rituals, exercises, and music, so readers can comprehend and become closer to this complicated god. Author Diana Paxson, an expert on Viking-era mythology, provides a complete portrait of Odin and draws on both scholarship and experience to provide context, resources, and guidance for those who are drawn to work with the Master of Ecstasy today.