For New York’s Magical Community, Omicron a Mixed Bag New York City from the Staten Island Ferry [Photo Credit: S. Ciotti] NEW YORK – Long lines at New York City testing sites and crowded hospital emergency rooms are painting a grim picture eerily reminiscent of spring 2020, when COVID-19 first crippled the nation’s largest metropolitan region. The area’s Pagan community is similarly feeling the impact of the surging Omicron wave. The variant is highly contagious [...]

Old-World Magic Transformed My Christmas Eve On Christmas Eve ten years ago, I traded one family tradition for another. Instead of sitting at a crowded table to celebrate the Feast of the Seven Fishes, perhaps the most popular of Italian-American meals, I was standing in a small apartment in Greenwich Village familiarizing myself with the ritual to diagnose and cure malocchio—the evil eye. On the kitchen counter before me sat a bowl of water, a bottle [...]

Historic Parliament of World’s Religions (TWH) – This year’s Parliament of the World’s Religions was a historic first for the Pagan community. Held virtually for the first time from October 16-18, the 2021 Parliament brought together people of faith from across the globe for workshops, plenary sessions, and conversations addressing critical topics, including women’s rights, climate change, and the pandemic’s ongoing impact. Thousands of participants representing more than two-hundred self-identified faith groups and traditions attended the [...]

“This is the day I’m going to do something”: daily magic with Judika Illes Image credit: Eryn Eaton Photography – HarperCollins Publishing NEW YORK – On any given day, there are numerous spells to perform, deities to invoke, and saints to petition. And thanks to Judika Illes – a pioneer in magical compendia – the power to engage with the mystical is always within arm’s reach. Illes’s new book, Daily Magic: Spells and [...]

The “evil eye” then and now TWH – A single glance is all it takes. It could come from a friend, a family member, or a complete stranger. It could happen on a busy city street or along a quiet country road. The evil eye – a curse that stems from someone’s envy or ill will – is ubiquitous and, according to countless magical practitioners, incredibly powerful. Few superstitions elicit as much fear, and understandably so. [...]