Hands carefully and tenderly holding a book
Pages thick and full between fingers in
Anticipation of what new kernels
Of wisdom may be consumed
Chewed upon and digested with
Hopes of nourishing a hungry Soul.
Seeds strewn between the crevices of mind
And illumined waterfalls of gentle rain.
A thirsty stream of electrically charged
Idea and sparks of quickening pulsing through
Halted breath just before the sigh and lengthy
Exhale of “yes, I understand!”
The beginning of a new awakening
A swish of pages stirring the excited
Breath of musty history penned by the
Sliding silk caress of ink and paper
Caressing oatmeal colored parchment.
And once again I sit at the table of knowledge
The first stirrings of an insatiable appetite
Invited to the Feast of the Seeker.
I am a book addict. I admit it proudly and will shamelessly give you detail of all the steps of my addiction. There was a time when I was a young girl that I had very strict standards about what books I read. The thicker, the smaller the print and the more vocabulary dense- the better. You know that scene in Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast”, when the Beast opens the doors to an endless library? That was my ultimate fantasy. 
When I was younger, I spent hours at the local library with my Grandmother. When I was a teenager, I got a job as a page at that same Library and spent countless hours shelving and stealing away to devour every book I could get my hand on. As a Young woman commuting to New York for Ballet, I read book after book, while happily riding the morning train. When I became a mother, I read hundreds of books over the summer to our five children, each eagerly selecting their own pile to be read on weekly trips to the library. Every book honed my skills of imagination and every book set up a visual library within my psyche that now I use as the reserves of magickal visioning and practce of energetic connection. So, what is the inherent magick in a book?
A Practice of Visioning:
Some of our most successful magick is born from what we envision as we set our intention towards manifestation. Our desires and wishes become the intention of will to action and from that foundation we weave and craft our spell of making. Reading a book stimulates this creative action. We see words on the pages and images emerge that fit the intention. The more involved we become in the story or information, we begin to hear the narration of these words as we read as though the instructor or beloved characters are whispering over our shoulders. I have been told by those who have attended my workshops that they could hear the sound of my voice in narration as they read one of my books. They are actually calling up the holographic energy I’ve put into the writing of the book. The images become the encyclopedic reference we use as we categorize and analyze similar images in our daily or magickal workings.
Tactile Energy:
The tactile sensation of holding a book in your hands, feeling the weight of its pages and turning each page is an experience that engages much more than the physical sensation. Energetically, you have given the signal to the brain that something new is at hand. Your eyes scan the pages of word and image and the brain processes al that it sees and formulates the subtle connections that become the stores of information received from the simple writing of words on a page. Yes, I am proudly old school about books. I love technology, Kindles and the Nook, but there is nothing like a physical in hand book.
One of the favorite exercises I give to my students to do when we begin studies of sensing energy is to suggest taking their favorite book and as they read the pages to imagine what the author must have been feeling and trying to convey as they wrote the words. To allow themselves to energetically connect to the words, beyond simply reading each, but also opening to the sensation of the rhythm and vibration that word is setting into motion. This works at two levels, because not only are you connecting tot eh author’s intent, but also being aware of your feelings and response to what you are reading.
A Book is a Book, Plain and Simple:
You will note that I have not even touched upon the subject matter contained within a book of choosing. The point being that the simple act of reading a book- regardless of subject matter – has impact at subtle levels. Add to this, the reading of a book that relates to spiritual and magickal pursuits and the energy to be gathered has even greater potential for taking the reader on a journey of vision and energetic connection.
Now I write my own books and try to imagine as I am writing what my reader will be hearing and seeing as they read the words lovingly put to paper. My home library is extensive and additions are frequent, despite limited space. Each is like a supportive friend and teacher that has opened my perspective and enriched the inner library of my magickal practice.
The Magickal Pen 
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