Alive With Spirits

A talented, accessible teacher and experienced witch, Althaea Sebastiani offers insight into what’s missing from modern witchcraft, which has become so commercialized. Tying together the animist worldview with practices geared toward being in right relationship with spirits and the land, she addresses the philosophical, sociopolitical, and practical currents of witchcraft in a deeply satisfying way. . . Alive With Spirits is clarifying, grounding, and a breath of fresh air for magic practitioners at every level.”

—Lane Smith, author of Seventy-Eight Acts of Liberation

“The book’s clear explanations of the differences between modern witchcraft and older practices rooted in ethnic or cultural folkways remove barriers for all who feel called to witchcraft, but who do not share those roots. Indeed, the book is centered on learning through direct experience. It suggests exercises for sensing and moving energy; it includes a guide to plants and their uses. Practices for developing and nurturing relationships with local spirits are also outlined alongside insightful prompts for journaling and reflection and exercises for unifying the body and spirit to foster wholeness in relationships with the self, with others, and with the land. The spiritual guidebook Alive with Spirits points to a world more expansive, sensitive, and beautiful than what can be seen on the surface, declaring that belonging and healing reside therein.”

—Kristine Morris, Foreword Reviews

“Althaea Sebastiani has written a robust but incredibly accessible guide to becoming a relational witch, informed by decades of direct experience with the Land as teacher. The guidance in Alive with Spirits will awaken your awareness of the web of relationships around you, breathe life into your magickal works, and help you build a life and practice oriented around community—with human and more-than-human spirits alike.”

—Sarah Corbett, founder and lead herbalist of Rowan + Sage

“Truly a gift to witches everywhere, Althaea Sebastiani’s Alive with Spirits is grounded firmly in lived experience. A wonderful and moving introduction to animism, as well as a fantastic introduction to witchcraft, even the seasoned practitioner will gain so much from reading Sebastiani’s offering. Moving us away from a witchcraft rooted in materialism, individualism, and objectification, Alive with Spirits provides the tools and knowledge to pave a path which is instead rooted in true community with The Land. The many exercises and knowledge provided within these pages ask us to move away from ideas of ascension or moving beyond our bodies to instead relishing in the magic that can only be found in being entirely human and at one with our physicality. A book I will truly recommend to many for years to come! I am deeply thankful that this book exists.”

—Mhara Starling, author of Welsh Witchcraft

“Whether you’re just starting your journey or you’ve been on the path of the witch for many years, this book will change you. By taking us through the five traits of witchcraft and the seven skills that create a foundation for practicing witchcraft effectively, Althaea Sebastiani gives to us first a broad overview of what a witch can learn that will enhance their practice, before delving into lessons and exercises that lead to a stronger sense of self in who we are as witches. While I was reading, I realized I will be spending quite a bit of time on some of the lessons, due to the journal work and the exercises, which I can foresee becoming part of my practice. This is most definitely not a book to rush through. I know that it will change my worldview, a process which is never comfortable, but with a calm and gentle hand, Althaea takes us, step by step, through the lessons, which makes it easy to open our trust to her.”

—Christine Cunningham Ashworth, author of Scott Cunningham—The Path Taken