This book is a how-to-do-it of black and white magic, and a how-it-is-done record, showing the magic at work of other times, peoples, places. Within these pages, you'll find special sections on methods of healing, matters of love, the divining arts, how to deal with demons, how to alter the form, how to gain wealth and importance, how to use talismans and how to use magic to create mischief. Here are charms that will chill your bones, answer your most intimate questions, and draw you deeper into the lore of magic than you've ever been before.

This book is a how-to-do-it of black and white magic, and a how-it-is-done record, showing the magic at work of other times, peoples, places. Within these pages, you'll find special sections on methods of healing, matters of love, the divining arts, how to deal with demons, how to alter the form, how to gain wealth and importance, how to use talismans and how to use magic to create mischief. Here are charms that will chill your bones, answer your most intimate questions, and draw you deeper into the lore of magic than you've ever been before.

“My home is nowhere, as is yours,” the old Cajun woman said. “Bloodstone is a place to forget.” “Forget? Never,” Vanessa said. “We came from Bloodstone. We will return to it. Why prevent me from going where happiness waits for me?” “You do not belong at Bloodstone. It is dead, and if you return you too will be dead....” A crumbling castle, a haunted village--and a love that would fulfill her destiny. But first, she must overcome...The Curse of Bloodstone! A riveting tale of gothic romantic suspense and the supernatural.

A comprehensive handbook of more than 1,000 magical words, phrases, symbols, and secret alphabets • Explains the origins, derivatives, and practical usage of each word, phrase, and spell as well as how they can be combined for custom spells • Based on the magical traditions of Europe, Greece, and Egypt and recently discovered one-of-a-kind grimoires from Scandinavia, France, and Germany • Includes an in-depth exploration of secret magical alphabets, including those based on Hebrew letters, Kabbalistic symbols, astrological signs, and runes From Abracadabra to the now famous spells of the Harry Potter series, magic words are no longer confined to the practices of pagans, alchemists, witches, and occultists. They have become part of the popular imagination of the Western world. Passed down from ancient Babylon, Egypt, and Greece, these words and the rituals surrounding them have survived through the millennia because they work. And as scholar Claude Lecouteux reveals, often the more impenetrable they seem, the more effective they are. Analyzing more than 7,000 spells from the magical traditions of Europe as well as the magical papyri of the Greeks and recently discovered one-of-a-kind grimoires from Scandinavia, France, and Germany, Lecouteux has compiled a comprehensive dictionary of ancient magic words, phrases, and spells along with an in-depth exploration--the first in English--of secret magical alphabets, including those based on Hebrew letters, Kabbalistic symbols, astrological signs, and runes. Drawing upon thousands of medieval accounts and famous manuscripts such as the Heptameron of Peter Abano, the author examines the origins of each word or spell, offering detailed instructions on their successful use, whether for protection, love, wealth, or healing. He charts their evolution and derivations through the centuries, showing, for example, how spells that were once intended to put out fires evolved to protect people from witchcraft. He reveals the inherent versatility of magic words and how each sorcerer or witch had a set of stock phrases they would combine to build a custom spell for the magical need at hand. Presenting a wealth of material on magical words, signs, and charms, both common and obscure, Lecouteux also explores the magical words and spells of ancient Scandinavia, the Hispano-Arabic magic of Spain before the Reconquista, the traditions passed down from ancient Egypt, and those that have stayed in use until the present day.

Hoping to meet that special someone? Wear a sprig of maidenhair fern. Having problems with your cash flow? Burn cloves as incense to attract riches. Want to enhance your psychic abilities? Brew up some dandelion root tea. In days gone by our ancestors lived in harmony with the earth. They knew which plants could heal and which ones could kill. They also knew that plants harbored magical powers, forces that could be harnessed and directed to fulfill a need -- anything from protecting a house to finding true love. Magical herbalism is the use of these powers to create positive changes. This revised and updated fifteenth anniversary edition contains the folklore and magical properties of over 400 herbs. Far from concentrating on esoteric, unobtainable plants, many of those mentioned within are old friends. The magical properties of onions, cashews, apples, rice, lettuce -- as well as dill, basil, fennel, garlic, and parsley are described. Extensive tables, a cross-reference of folk names, glossary, and annotated bibliography make this a comprehensive and valuable guide to the practice of magical herbalism. Book jacket.

A legendary name from the Golden Age of Paperbacks, VICTOR J. BANIS spins a witty and exuberant tale of A Thousand and One Knights, flitting blithely from tale to tail, in one era and out the other. Part autobiography, part a history of the Gay Revolution, part writing manual, part juicy gossip, with a few tasty recipes thrown in for good measure, Spine Intact, Some Creases is a summing up -- alternately hilarious and touching, instructive and impassioned, and always entertaining -- of the remarkable life and work of a writer hailed by top gay pulp historian Michael Bronski as ?one of my heroes.? ?Banis' memoir provides a poignant history of West Coast paperback publishing in the Sixties, and one author's journey from small beginnings to critical and financial success as a writer -- but it's far more than that: witty, elegantly written, funny, sad, smart, and even wise. Every penman-apprentice should read this book -- twice!? -- Robert Reginald

Jennifer's dream vacation in sunny Portugal has suddenly turned into an unending nightmare! The two brothers she encounters are bound by the same strange family heritage: a fascination with fire. Jennifer is attracted to both Neil and Philip Alenquer, but one of them is lying about the tragedy that has taken place in their castle overlooking the Atlantic. Philip claims that Neil had set the blaze that killed Neil's young wife after he'd discovered her in Philip's arms. Neil maintains that Philip had started the blaze, and he fears that Philip's insane pyromania is putting all their lives in danger. Jennifer doesn't know which of the brothers to believe, but when the villa she's staying burns to the ground, she knows that she's become the next target of an obsessed killer! A thrilling gothic suspense tale.

In this collection of shorter pieces, Victor J. Banis demonstrates once again the astonishing breadth of his talent, covering virtually every facet of the human experience with astonishing brevity and clarity. Here are pathos and heartache, love and horror, irony -- and humor, especially humor, dry and wry and roll-on-the-floor-clutching-your-sides funny. It would be a hard man indeed who could read the adventures of his Underground Diner -- which take up much of the last half of the book and aptly skewer the ubiquitous and often pretentious food writing column -- without guffawing aloud.

Young Christmas Channing returns to Jeff because he tells her that his life's in danger, that he's being poisoned with arsenic by his wife. But when she arrives at Morgan House, she doesn’t find what she expects--only David, the strange, secretive brother-in-law; Mary, Jeff's cunning, crafty spouse; and Jeff himself, the handsome but vastly changed young man whom she’d once loved, but does not now understand. Chris is lost, confused, and swept into a powerful undertow of danger, panic, and past love. Is Jeff really dying? And just what exactly is going on at Morgan House? It almost seems that the only stop for her now is...death. A wonderfully thrilling and very readable romantic suspense novel!