You consider yourself a Pagan, or a Magician, or a Witch, because you know there's more to this world than meets the mundane eye. You believe that magic can influence events in your own life and in the world around you. But you don't live on some pastoral, isolated farm, living off the land, generating your own electricity and pumping your own water. No, you live in the urban jungle. You learned early on that money really doesn't grow on trees, and you don't have wads of extra cash to spend on elaborate ritual tools, custom spell ingredients, and stylish ritual attire. So what a modern urban Pagan to do? Learn how to live a magical life in the concrete jungle. Whether you're a seasoned practitioner or you've never cast a spell before, this in-your-face guide to commando-style magic is for every urban primitive. Raven Kaldera is a pagan priest, intersex transgender activist, parent,  astrologer, musician, homesteader, and the author of "Hermaphrodeities: The Transgender Spirituality Workbook" (XLibris Press). He is the founder and leader of the Pagan Kingdom of Asphodel, and the Asphodel  Pagan Choir. He has been a neo-pagan since the age of 14, when he was converted by a "fam-trad" teen on a date. Since then, he's been through half a dozen traditions, including Gardnerian, Dianic, and granola paganism, Umbanda, Heithnir, and the Peasant Tradition. He is currently happily married to artist and eco-experimentalist Bella Kaldera, and they have founded the Institute for Heritage Skills. ...'Tis an ill wind that blows no minds.' Contrary to popular legend, Tannin was not born in a log cabin in Springfield Illinois. She did, however, spend her entire childhood living on the Jersey Shore. It is in this notably non-New Age environment that her interest in Pagan/Occult matters began. Over the past 15 years, she has dedicated a significant part of her life in pursuit of various spiritual arts privately and professionally. Tannin has studied diverse practices and paths such as Gi Gong, Shamanistic energy techniques, Gnostisism, Afro-Caribbean religions, and even a pinch of Ceremonial Magick. Before she opened Bones and Flowers in the of 1997, she served as "Madame Espiritual" to two different Worcester Botanicas, a spiritual counselor in a New Age shop, as well as making countless house calls. At present, the proprietor of Worcester's only occult specialty store is also a crafter in diverse media ,and a legally ordained minister. ~ Lay oF the LanD The Energy of the City • • Most Pagan rituals, spells, and symbols stem from an older, agricultural era. The holidays follow the Wheel of the Year as seen by farmers dependent on it for their food; the rituals revolve around fertility and growing things. This is a difficult path for many city dwellers to follow, surrounded as they are by the energy of a different place and time. Seasons pass differently in the city; although climatic changes are the same, there are less natural cues, short of the weather, to notice. Even moon cycles are harder to follow in the city. There is more obscuring light pollution, and tall buildings may block the moon when she is hanging lower in the sky. Granted, it is important to know your roots, to connect with your ancestral patterns, and above all to understand where your food comes from. One thing that is artificial about living in a city is that the majority of food production necessarily happens far away, and urban dwellers are quite dependent on their rural neighbors for almost everything they put in their mouths. This connection is vital, and should be appreciated, and to that end we encourage all city dwellers to periodically take time away from the urban centers in order to connect with the spirit of the giving Earth. Find a farm, and pick apples or help cut cabbages. Acknowledge how dependent you are on rural people for your living, and be respectful of this. On the other hand, the city has special energies all its own. First, there is so very much energy in a city, floating around everywhere, far more than in most rural places, where it’s more spread out or peaceful. The city is really a wild place, with much more in common with the unsettled wilderness than the tamed farmland. Most rural energy is that of growing things―it’s tame, agricultural, in cooperation with humankind. Just as the gods of the deep woods and thick swamps are much wilder than the gods of the fields, the city gods are wild creatures as well, with the swamp of urban energy swirling around like a whirlpool, like quicksand, like a vortex. And one should never live in a place for very long and not seek out and make a working relationship with the god/desses of that place. It’s important to do this. The energy in a city, no matter what its size, is thick and soupy. People who live in a rural area may still create psychic pollution, but there are more natural filters, such as trees, rivers, and verdure, to absorb and transform it. Since concrete doesn’t g