While working on Conjure Woman’s Cat, Sarabande and other novels, I compiled a list of resources for others interested in writing about magic or learning more about spiritual/new age resource materials.
The following resources, collected from this blog’s posts, may be helpful to others studying or following the heroine’s journey, folk tales and magical pursuits. These are books and sites I found helpful as I researched my novels and short stories.
Dark Moon
Black Moon and the Black Madonna on Sophia’s Children
Goddess Meditations by Barbara Ardinger
Dragontime Magic and Mystery of Menstruation by Luisa Francia
The Moon Watcher’s Companion by Donna Henes.
Moon Watching by Dana Gerhardt
Moon Tides, Soul Passages by Maria Kay Simms
Moon Mother, Moon Daughter by Janet Lucy
Witchcraft vs. Wicca – See one view here on Hecate’s Cauldron
Death and Rebirth
Descent to the Goddess by Sylvia Brinton Perea
The Myth of the Goddess: Evolution of an Image by Anne Baring and Jules Cashford
The Pattern of Initiation in the Evolution of Human Consciousness by Peter Dawkins & Sir George Trevelyan
Inanna, queen of heaven and earth: Her stories and hymns from Sumer by Diane Wolkstein and Samuel Noah Kramer – This book, first published in 1983, presented a long-awaited translation of the original Inanna material from the 2000 BCE cuneiform clay tablets.
Folk Magic
HOODOO IN THEORY AND PRACTICE – An Introduction to African-American Rootwork by Catherine Yronwode – An introduction to hoodoo, including basics, spells, herbs, and related blues songs.
The Black Folder, edited by Catherine Yronwode, 2013.
Drums and Shadows, folk magic practices in the state of Georgia assembled by the WPA in the 1930s. The online overview describes the book this way: This collection of oral folklore from coastal Georgia was assembled during the 1930s as part of a WPA writers’ program, under the supervision of Mary Granger. The accounts in this book, framed by colorful descriptions of the rural locales where they were collected, were principally from elderly African-Americans, some of them centarians. Most had been slaves. In some cases they had known first generation slaves who had been born in Africa.
Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic, by Catherine Yronwode, 2002.
“Remembering Hoyt’s Cologne,” Malcolm’s Round Table
The Sanctified Church, by Zora Neale Hurston, 1981.
SOUTHERN SPIRITS: Ghostly Voices from Dixie Land – Web site features reference materials from the South during the slavery years about conjure and hoodoo.
Mojo Workin’: The Old African American Hoodoo System by Katrina Hazzard-Donald, University of Illinois Press; 1st Edition edition (December 17, 2012)
Conjured Cardea: Full-Service Botanica and Rootwork Services – supplies, services, blog
Heroine’s Journey
The Heroine’s Journey by Maureen Murdock
From Girl to Goddess: The Heroine’s Journey through Myth and Legend by Valerie Estelle Frankel (See the July 2011 “Mythprint” review of this book here.) Frankel’s website includes a lengthy heroine’s journey reading list.
Sarabande contemporary fantasy by Malcolm R. Campbell released by Thomas-Jacob Publishing in a new second edition November 20151.
“The Way of Woman: Awakening the Perennial Feminine” by Helen M. Luke
Apple Farm Community – The Writings of Helen M. Luke
Real Women, Real Wisdom: A Journey into the Feminine Soul by Maureen Hovenkotter (See a review here.)
The Heroine’s Coach, the website for Susanna Liller’s journey-oriented coaching services. The site includes an e-mail newsletter for women following their own paths called “Journey News.”
The Heroine’s Journey appears on author Leslie Zehr’s Universal Dancer website and includes a discussion of Sylvia Brinton Perera’s Descent to the Goddess, a book I found essential for my understanding of the journey. Zehr is the author of The Alchemy of Dance: Sacred Dance as a Path to the Universal Dancer.
Light of Nature
Light of Nature Website, exploring the science and the philosophy of the concept.
“The Female Brain” by Louann Brizendine
“The Spell of the Sensuous” by David Abram
Messages from Mother – Author Mare Cromwell’s website.
Heroine Literature
The Heroine’s Bookshelf: Life Lessons, from Jane Austen to Laura Ingalls Wilder by Erin Blakemore
Fearless Girls, Wise Women & Beloved Sisters: Heroines in Folktales from Around the World by Kathleen Ragan
The Heroine in Western Literature: The Archetype and Her Reemergence in Modern Prose by Meredith A. Powers
The Art of Fiction: Illustrated from Classic and Modern Texts by David Lodge
Mythic Archetypes
Goddesses in Everywoman: Powerful Archetypes for Women by Jean Shinoda Bolen
Patriarchy
The Dance of the Dissident Daughter by Sue Monk Kidd
Unplugging the Patriarchy – A Mystical Journey into the Heart of a New Age by Lucia René
Reviving Ophelia by Mary Pipher
Ophelia Speaks: Adolescent Girls Write about Their Search for Self by Sara Shandler
Surviving Ophelia: Mothers Share Their Wisdom in Navigating the Tumultuous Teenage Years by Cheryl Dellasega
Story Within
And Now The Story Lives Inside You, poems by Elizabeth Reninger
The Spell of the Sensuous by David Abram
Alchemical Studies by C. G. Jung
Harry Potter – A New World Mythology? By Lynne Milum
“Dark Wood to White Rose: Journey and Transformation in Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’” by Helen M. Luke
“The Soul’s Code: In Search of Character and Calling” by James Hillman
Tarot
Writer’s Muse
The Sister from Below: When the Muse Gets Her Way by Naomi Ruth Lowinsky
Marry Your Muse: Making a Lasting Commitment to Your Creativity by Jan Phillips
The Voice of the Muse: Answering the Call to Write by Mark David Gerson.
20 Master Plots: an How to Build Them, by Ronald Tobias
The Hero’s Journey: A Guide to Literature and Life by Reg Harris and Susan Thompson (This is a series of lesson plans for teaching the hero’s journey in a classroom setting.)
Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, and Related Stories
Myth & Moor – Terri Windling’s blog
Marina Warner Website – Writer of fiction, criticism and history with a strong focus on fairy tales.
The Endicott Studio – “The Endicott Studio, founded in 1987, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to literary, visual, and performance arts inspired by myth, folklore, fairy tales, and the oral storytelling tradition.”
“The Irresistible Fairy Tale: The Cultural and Social History of a Genre,” by Jack Zipes. A wonderful study of the genre available in paperback and Kindle.
Fairy tales and Literature – An online bibliography from author and professor Theodora Goss. Great introduction of resource material.
–Malcolm
Malcolm R. Campbell is the author of magical realism, contemporary fantasy, and paranormal stories and novels.
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