The first manual of Druidic magical practice ever, replete with spell work and rituals. The first and only Druidic book of spells, rituals, and practice.  The Druid Magic Handbook is the first manual of magical practice in Druidry, one of the fastest growing branches of the Pagan movement. The book breaks new ground, teaching Druids how to practice ritual magic for practical and spiritual goals within their own tradition. What sets The Druid Magic Handbook apart is that it does not require the reader to use a particular pantheon or set of symbols. Although it presents one drawn from Welsh Druid tradition, it also shows the reader how to adapt rites and other practices to fit the deities and symbols most meaningful to them. This cutting edge system of ritual magic can be used by Druids, Pagans, Christians, and Thelemites alike! John Michael Greer is a highly respected authority on all aspects of Paganism. John Michael Greer has been a student of the occult traditions and nature spirituality for more than twentyfive years. He is the author of numerous articles and more than ten books including Natural Magic, The New Encyclopedia of the Occult, The Druidry Handbook , and The Druid Magic Handbook . He is also the coauthor of Learning Ritual Magic and Pagan Prayer Beads . He lives in Ashland, Oregon with his wife Sara. Since returning to the United States from Findhorn in the early seventies, David Spangler has continued to travel and lecture widely. He has developed and taught classes at a number of institutions, including the University of Wisconsin, Seattle University, and the California Institute of Integral Studies. He also teaches classes for the Lorian Association for Incarnational Spirituality. Read David Spangler's blog at www.Hermeticist@blogspot.com. The DRUID MAGIC Handbook Ritual Magic Rooted in the Living Earth By JOHN MICHAEL GREER Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC Copyright © 2007 John Michael Greer All rights reserved. ISBN: 978-1-57863-397-5 Contents Foreword by David SpanglerIntroductionPart One The Foundations of Druid MagicChapter 1 The Ways of the Life ForceChapter 2 The Alphabet of MagicChapter 3 The Essentials of PracticePart Two The Practice of Druid MagicChapter 4 The Gates of the ElementsChapter 5 The Grove of the DruidsChapter 6 The Art of EnchantmentChapter 7 The Secret of the GrailPart Three The Way of Druid MagicChapter 8 The Reenchantment of the WorldAppendix: Deities in Welsh Druid TraditionsBibliographyIndex CHAPTER 1 The Ways of the Life Force Max Weber, in his famous 1904 book, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit ofCapitalism , gave a startling name to one of the realities of modern life: "thedisenchantment of the world." Weber was a sociologist who studied the impact ofindustrial society on human thought. Before scientific materialism seized theimagination of Western culture, he pointed out, people saw the world around themas a place full of magic, where trees and stones could speak, birds traced outthe shape of the future in their flight, and those who knew the secret couldsense and shape the flow of enchantment in the world around them. This living,breathing, magical world was one of the first casualties of the IndustrialRevolution. As materialist beliefs spread, magic trickled out of the world,transforming it—at least in most people's minds—into a mass of lifeless matterrelevant only as a source of raw materials or a place to dump waste. Like most educated people of his time, Weber did not believe in magic. He meantthe word disenchantment as a metaphor, and he saw the banishing of magic andmeaning from the world as a necessary part of progress and the end of an ancientillusion. Still, he recognized that the psychological and spiritual price ofprogress weighed heavily on the modern world—heavily enough, perhaps, tooutweigh its material benefits. In a disenchanted world, he showed, even themost basic human values lose their anchor, and the only things left are themechanical values of profit and efficiency, the basis for what passes forrational thought in a modern industrial society. The irony of the phrase is that Weber spoke more truth than he realized. Neitherhe nor most of his readers saw disenchantment as anything but a metaphor. Still,those who know the living power of magic know that Weber's phrase points to acrucial reality. Our world is literally disenchanted. It suffers from a shortageof enchantment that cuts people off from magical realities and makes their livesless meaningful and magical than they could be. Enchantment is the art of awakening spiritual presences in material things. Theword literally means "putting a song in something"—en- chant -ment—a turn ofphrase that reflects the living experience of a world in which every part of thelandscape and every turn of the seasonal cycle sings its meaning to the awakenedmind. In traditional societies around the world and throughout history,enchantment has had a vital role in