If this is your first time checking out The Magical Buffet’s Favorite Things list, welcome! I started doing the list as a response to the overwhelming popularity of Oprah’s Favorite Things that she does each year. I started with the argument that I’m far more relatable than Oprah, with the whole me being broke as opposed to a multi-millionaire. That evolved into The List as you see it today, which is 10 things that have been featured on The Magical Buffet website since the previous year’s list was published. So, although many of these items were published this year, you’ll find slightly older ones too.
Every year the list gets harder to make because each year I seem to gain access to more publishers, authors, and publicists, and all of them keep getting better at curating wonderful works. As I typed up last year’s list, I was already dreading the 2022 list, and this time is no different. I already have books in my “to read” pile that I feel certain are Favorite Things worthy.
With no further explainers or excuses, I present to you (in no particular order) The Magical Buffet’s Favorite Things 2022.
1. Lights, Camera, Witchcraft: A Critical History of Witches in American Film and Television by Heather Greene.
I started the year with a fun interview with Heather Greene about this book. The intersection of popular culture with witchcraft has always been a subject of interest to me and her work definitely did the work. It’s one part academic study, one part witchy media guide. Almost anyone would enjoy this book. You can read the interview here.
2. Qabalah for Wiccans: Ceremonial Magic on the Pagan Path by Jack Chanek. I cannot stress how envious I am of Chanek. His intelligence, his insights, and his ability to just explain things in a way that I can understand are all what makes him one of my new favorite authors. Not only does Qabalah for Wiccans show pagans ways to incorporate ceremonial magic traditions into their spirituality, but it also finally explained Qabalah in a way that I fully understood. I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that I also reviewed and loved his next book, Tarot for Real Life: Use the Cards to Find Answers to Everyday Questions, that was also featured on my site this year. You can see my review of Qabalah for Wiccans here and Tarot for Real Life here.
3. King Solomon the Magus: Master of the Djinns and Occult Traditions of East & West by Claude Lecouteux. Anyone who has read The Magical Buffet for any length of time knows that I love Lecouteux, and when I found out he wrote about Solomon, I may have actually yelped out loud. You can read my review here.
4. The Weiser Tarot. Weiser took on the challenge of updating the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot, keeping it as true to its original form while attempting to update the representation. It could have been a lazy cash grab, but instead Weiser created the new traditional tarot deck. Read my review here.
5. Secrets of Santa Muerte: A Guide to the Prayers, Spells, Rituals, and Hexes” by Cressida Stone. Stone discusses a frequently misrepresented deity that is experiencing rapid growth. Her book does an excellent job highlighting the diversity and versatility of the goddess and the ways She is worshipped. You can read my review here.
6. The Other Side of Nothing: The Zen Ethics of Time, Space, and Being by Brad Warner. Magical Buffet readers know that Warner is one of my favorite authors on the subject of Zen Buddhism. The Other Side of Nothing is the book I had been waiting for, where Warner takes his informal voice to explain the formal intricacies of Zen Buddhist ethics. It just might overtake Sit Down and Shut Up as the most essential Zen Buddhist text. You can read my review here.
7. The Bavarian Illuminati: The Rise and Fall of the World’s Most Secret Society by Rene Le Forestier and translated by Jon E. Graham. From my review, “This is 912 pages of pulse pounding intrigue and yawn inducing bureaucracy that was originally published in 1915 and hasn’t been available in English until now.” Yes, it is a pricey spend, but if you’re interested in occult societies, this is an interesting look at the OG of societies. You can read my full review here.
8. Paganism for Prisoners: Connecting to the Magic Within by Awyn Dawn. This is an important work that is well past due. Frequently, Pagan authors tell me that inmates reach out to them for resources and they don’t know what to say or do. Awyn Dawn’s book is an excellent resource. If I had the funds, I’d try to get a copy into every prison in the United States. Until then, get a copy and examine Pagan practice from a new perspective. You can read the review here.
9. Goddess Magic: A Handbook of Spells, Charms, and Rituals Divine in Origin by Aurora Kane. I like goddesses. This book has goddesses. Honestly, sometimes it doesn’t take more than that for me to get excited about a book, however, Kane’s curation of goddesses and the litany of ideas offered to work with them makes this a stand out in the collection of goddesses genre. You can read my review here.
10. The Watkins Tarot Handbook: A Practical System of Self-Discovery” by Naomi Ozaniec. I’m no stranger to books about tarot, but I’ll be damned if this one did not exceed all expectations. As I said in my review, “I was expecting a vaguely new age, self-help book that utilized tarot. What I got was a jaw dropping, initiatory experience.” This book is not to be missed. You can read my review here.
Shop my Favorite Things 2022 Here! (This is an affiliate link to my Bookshop, which supports independent bookstores throughout the United States. If you use this link to purchase the book, I will make a small commission at no additional cost to you.)
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I’m a huge fan of the horror genre, however I’m a big scaredy cat. I will spend hours reading plot synopses of horror films and novels, reveling in the versatility of the genre. That’s why when given the chance to review “Sacred Lamb”, a slasher movie inspired comic by Tim Seeley with illustrations by Jelena Ðordevic and lettering by Steve Wands, I said, “Sure!”
The story follows social media influencer Kellyn West, who live streamed killing her fan, turned stalker, turned slasher killer, by beating him to death with a backhoe. And thus begins her journey to Sacred Lamb, a quaint town that no one knows exists, where West, and survivors like her, are locked away to be forgotten by the outside world and any would be copycat slashers, or killers back from the dead. Once in Sacred Lamb we’re introduced to a trope’s gallery of survivors of assorted killers. In town, our EVs go to group therapy, terrorize each other, plot escapes, and mostly, wallow in their fate. However, when killings begin to occur in the government’s best kept secret location, we start to see what makes a “killer” and what makes a “victim.”
It’s happening, the holiday shopping season. Don’t worry, I’ll soon be publishing my Favorite Things list to help you select the best of the best for yourself or others, but today I want to highlight Small Business Saturday. I feel like it’s a tradition that was started by American Express Small Business, but for whatever reason, the Saturday after Thanksgiving is highlighted as a good time to hopefully support smaller businesses in your community. However, what if the small businesses in your area don’t carry that much in the way of witchy magical products? Don’t despair because I happen to spend some time on Etsy, and I have a handful of great Etsy shops for you to consider.
And if there’s one thing Lecouteux does, it is MORE. All of his books are dense with just everything to be found on the subject matter smooshed into a binding, and “King Solomon the Magus” is no exception. The author uses The Bible, the writings of Yosef ben Matityahu HaCohen (better known as Flavius Josephus), and the classic book “The Thousand and One Nights” as primary sources to demonstrate the universality of Solomon the King and Solomon the Magician. No stone is left unturned. Solomon’s relationships with animals, with the djinns, and with his people are explored. The places he lived, the magical talismans he created and used, and more are all discussed. The text is fully illustrated, including images I’ve used myself in crafting protective talismans.
I’m not going to lie; it was the artwork that drew me in. The Pulp Girls wrote and illustrated “Astrology for the Cosmic Soul” and went with an adorable and psychedelic vibe. It turns out that their art is what they’re known for, running a business that sells their creations. (And holy crap do I want EVERYTHING on their 
“Astrology for the Cosmic Soul” by The Pulp Girls is a fun introduction to astrology that would also be an excellent gift for an astrology enthusiast. If nothing else, this book has converted me to being a big fan of The Pulp Girls! It turns out they have a tarot deck that just released in October and I may have to check that out too!
If you follow The Magical Buffet on social media, you might have saw that I attended the event, Celebrate Samhain in Nashua, NH at the end of October. Not only did I attend, I got to moderate a panel discussion about Witchcraft in the Age of Social Media. If you’re a Patron, you got to read about my experience moderating the panel. Due to the event’s change of day of the weekend and covid, it has been far too long since I’ve been able to attend, so I figure I should bring you all up to speed on what the event is like in 2022.
The vendor room and its overflow booths were amazing! I nearly wept from the warm nostalgia of seeing Jeena Greene. Her beautiful harp and voice have been at every Celebrate Samhain that I’ve attended and it did my heart good to see her, and hear her again. I got to meet the owner of The Robin’s Nest who kindly posed next to their display of Cucina Aurora products. Kyri’s Magickal Creations had these adorable poppets! I bought a Marie Laveau one that I’m still trying to decide where it’s going to live. Mystic Arcana’s booth was right across from mine. The owner Gee-Gee sells crystals so yes, your girl bought another crystal. I also got to purchase a signed copy of “New Hampshire Book of the Dead” by Roxie Zwicker (who was on my panel and so much fun) and a signed copy of “Reading the Leaves” by Sandra Mariah Wright and Leanne Marrama. Author Deborah Blake was my booth buddy and road trip companion. It was fun to see so many of her fans. It was also fun to have many attendees ask if I was Deborah Blake (tempting to say yes). When I said no, they would immediately ask if I was Elisabeth Alba (again, tempting to say yes).
There was a full slate of workshop/talks, as usual. There was Sancista Brujo Luis teaching a class on Candle Magick (he also took part in my panel). Danielle Dionne gave a talk on Ancestral Living. Ellen Evert Hopman discussed Working with Baneful Plants for Magick and Healing. Sandra Mariah Wright and Leanne Marrama taught a class on Awakening the Crystals. And finally, booth buddy and panel participant Deborah Blake discussed Everyday Witchcraft.
Studio Ghibli has created numerous wonderful films: “My Neighbor Totoro”, “Princess Mononoke”, “Grave of the Fireflies”, “Kiki’s Delivery Service”, and more. However, “Spirited Away” is by far my favorite, with its beautiful art, relatable young female protagonist, and supernatural hijinks galore. Why is Hawaii the only state that gets it?
“Happy Witch” comfortably walks the line with being positive without becoming toxic and being realistic without discouraging aspirations. Em divides the book into six chapters, which breaks down as:
I’m not going to be coy, I’m a huge fan of Dawn Aurora Hunt. Not just as an author, or as 
“The Dharma Bum’s Guide to Western Literature: Finding Nirvana in the Classics” by Dean Sluyter is an entertaining and thought provoking read. Sluyter discusses expected classics, such as “The Great Gatsby”, “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn”, and “Moby Dick”, but also adds the unexpected like “The Cat in the Hat”, Frederick Douglass “The Slave Narrative”, and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!” “The Dharma Bum’s Guide” isn’t claiming these were written from a Buddhist perspective, but that the Dharma is so universal, it can be found in everything….including Western literature.