Leandra Witchwood, of the Leandra Draconis Witchwood blog, shares some tips on spellcasting (for those of you so inclined).

December is rapidly approaching, and like most of you I’m going to lose all sense of reality as I attempt to keep my life on the rails while prepping for that magical holiday season that is SO magical that thinking about it makes me want to reach for the rum. What I’m trying to say is we’re all going to be getting very busy. With that in mind there are a few things I want to remind everyone, or let people know about before I forget.

Those of you who are my friend on Facebook or follow The Magical Buffet on Twitter know that this past Sunday I got to see Anthony Bourdain from the television show “No Reservations” give a lecture and attend a meet and greet with the author/television personality. I wasn’t sure I was going to write about attending the event, but I’ve had so many people ask me what the event was like that I figured it would be easier to write about the whole experience here than to send out many, many emails. Seriously, you guys really want the Bourdain dish!

Author Ellen Evert Hopman discusses hawthorn lore.

We ask Ellen Dugan, author of “Book of Witchery”, “Garden Witchery”, and more, ten questions.

Just when the postal carrier thought my letter writing escapades were over, I’m back with a new adventure addressing an old issue.

It’s not that I never think of Russia, except that honestly I don’t really think about Russia. Nothing against the country, just for some reason, they never really cross my mind. That’s why I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to review “Russian Magic: Living Folk Traditions of an Enchanted Landscape” by Cherry Gilchrist. I was hoping that I would come away with a refreshing understanding of a country that I had obviously overlooked. I was right.

Veils. Has there ever been such a complex piece of cloth? Essentially a veil is just a piece of fabric that traditionally covers the hair and/or face, and yet it means many things to many people. For some a veil conjures up the image of sensual belly dance, for others an emblem of paying proper respect to their religious faith. Not everyone has taken the time to think about veils and their symbolism, but with such a long and varied history the only thing to be certain of is that everyone can find a veil they like.

What’s Movember? Click in and find out!

Nick Valentino, author of the newly released novel “Thomas Riley”, visits The Magical Buffet while on his promotional blog tour! Click on in to learn about the beloved genre of Steampunk.