[Today, we sit down for a quick interview with Reclaiming witch and author, Irisanya Moon. Here, she discusses her previous publications, her forthcoming books on Circe and Artemis, and other projects.]
Forests Haunted By Holiness: You have published quite a few books through Moon Books, with more on the way. How did your relationship with this publisher begin? And can you give us a hint of what’s still to come?
Irisanya Moon: It’s been a wild ride! I started out with Moon Books in 2012 or 2013 when I saw a call for submissions to an anthology, Paganism 101. I submitted a few pieces for that and then was asked to contribute to other anthologies for a few years before being asked to write a Pagan Portals book on Reclaiming Witchcraft, as I’m a teacher and initiate in the tradition, and they didn’t have a book on Reclaiming (yet). From there, I proposed books about deities that I have worked (and played) with, while also being asked to contribute to specific book series, e.g., Practically Pagan (An Alternative Guide to Health & Well-being) and Earth Spirit (Honoring the Wild: Reclaiming Witchcraft & Environmental Activism).
What’s next? So much. I’ve completed writing and editing on ten books altogether! (It sounds unbelievable to me, but I double checked.) At the time of this interview, my eighth book on Artemis (Artemis: Goddess of the Wild Hunt & Sovereign Heart) is coming out around April 1, 2024. From there, my next book (#9) is Circe: Goddess of Sorcery, which comes out in November of 2024. Sometime in 2025, Hestia: Goddess of Hearth, Home & Community will be released. These are all Pagan Portals books, so they’re introductions to working with deities, traditions, and magickal practices.
I’m currently contracted to write three more books with Moon Books, including one on the Greek pantheon, one on the Muses, and one on Hecate. I’m so very excited to see these emerge in 2025 and 2026.
Plus, I have an anthology piece coming out sometime this year, I think, in a book compiled by another Moon Books author. I don’t want to say too much, but it’s a piece I’m very excited and proud of, and it includes Aphrodite.
FHBH: You recently published Gaia: Saving Her, Saving Ourselves. What led you to write a book for the Earth Spirit series? What do you find so compelling about the subject?
IM: I’ve been asked to contribute to the Earth Spirit series because of my involvement with Reclaiming Witchcraft, which has a long history of earth activism. Gaia was a possibility for the series for a while, and I asked to write about Her because She was one of the first deities I encountered in my study of witchcraft, but also my writing often focuses on building relationships with deities, and I wanted to talk about how building a relationship with Gaia could help in protecting and saving the environment.
I find the overculture tries to create distance between the Earth and humans, though we are also earth and thus we are intimately connected. In working with Gaia, and encouraging others to do the same, I wanted to bridge this gap and bring us all closer together. Because when you care about something deeply, you are willing to do what it takes to help.
FHBH: What sort of research went into Gaia? Long conversations with conservationists? Deep discussions with nature-oriented Pagans and polytheists?
IM: My current book writing approach looks like this: go to my shelves of Greek reference books, turn to the index and find the deity name, put sticky tabs on the pages where the deity shows up, and continue until I run out of tabs or books. From there, I will go online to see what modern conversations are happening about the deity, and I will look for modern day worship practices. In the case of Gaia, I focused on environmental activism history, groups, and events.
It’s often a struggle to say everything I want to say, as these books are meant to be short, accessible, and lower in cost to support a wide audience of readers. So I try to think about all of the things a reader would find the most useful. This typically includes information around the deity and their stories, magickal practices (often ones I have created or have learned from others), and hands-on information to bring the magick into the everyday.
For example, in Gaia, I wanted to make sure people had the basics of everyday activism, as well as information around ways to build sustainable groups and networks for ongoing practices. Since most, if not all, information in my books is from my own use or development, I am able to write from my heart, which I think connects deeply with readers new to deity work.
FHBH: One of your forthcoming titles is Circe: Goddess of Sorcery. Why Circe? There are many powerful and amazing women, demigoddesses, and Goddesses in the Greek pantheon. What drew you to her?
IM: Circe is interesting because she is the first deity I haven’t really practiced with before proposing and writing the book. We got to know each other through this process, but I also reflect in the book about how I had an encounter with another Circe as a new witch. (You’ll be able to read more in the book when it comes out later in 2024.)
I had already read Madeline Miller’s Circe a while ago, and I was enchanted by the power and the complexity of this being. There is something about recognizing the power of anger as a way to inspire change in the world versus trying to shift away from anger and toward something more palatable.
Circe is a being who uses her talents and her magick to enforce boundaries and protect herself from harm. But she also is a being who wants to be loved and to trust love, so that is a facet I think can get overlooked. Like so many Greek stories, Circe is complex, and I honor that complexity as a shared experience as a human in todays’ time.
I have a feeling she and I have more work to do together, and while this book is a short introduction to her wisdom and her ways, it is potent and a spell of possibility.
FHBH: Which interesting mythological or historical tidbit did you just have to include in the book?
IM: Here’s what I found surprising about Circe as I looked at different stories and translations of her actions: she really wanted to find love. Whenever I heard mention of Circe, all I heard about was her ability to turn men into pigs. And while I celebrate this talent, it also made her seem one-dimensional at first glance.
But that’s the thing, there are so very many Greek myth translations and interpretations that seem to diminish goddesses into vengeful or superficial beings. However, no one, not even a deity, is that simple. Circe isn’t just mad at the world for leaving her on an island by herself; she is also a being who wants to be loved and is looking for that, too. Just because she doesn’t suffer fools doesn’t mean she isn’t capable of softness.
FHBH: What rites or offerings would you suggest to someone who wants to build a relationship with Circe?
IM: When you go to the stories of Circe, you can find some ways in which she tells others about making potions. These potions have helped in transmutation, purification, and necromancy. But what is more important than specific instructions is the inspiration of Circe to trust our intuition to guide us to the magick we most need.
Building a relationship with any deity involves learning their stories to see what they (may) have done, depending on the bias of the translator, to be fair. I encourage those who want to build deity relationships to read multiple stories to see what the deity does, but also to understand what a deity would not do.
The best beginning to working with Circe is an altar to her. Let her have a place in your home where she is remembered, visited, and brought offerings. Sit with her presence to see what she might offer for wisdom during your spellwork. Ask her to guide you in choosing herbs and other ingredients.
Beyond the possibility of a stuffy practice is just getting to know a deity and building trust through consistent interactions. From there, I find, deities who know you are building a relationship will begin to inspire you throughout your day.
Like any relationship, things take time to develop. And maybe you don’t get to know all of the rites and offerings at the start. But in time, Circe does want to have company in her magick.
FHBH: In addition to your own, which nonfiction books about Circe do you recommend?
IM: Surprisingly, there aren’t a lot of non-fiction books just about her. Here are some I mention in my resources at the end of the book:
- Witches, Heretics & Warrior Women: Ignite Your Rebel Spirit through Magick & Ritual, Phoenix LeFae
- Modern Witchcraft with the Greek Gods: History, Insights & Magickal Practice, Jason Mankey and Astrea Taylor
- Anthology of Classical Myth: Primary Sources in Translation. Second edition, edited and translated by Stephen Trzaskoma, Scott M. Smith, and Stephen Burnet.
- Spiders and Spinsters: Women & Mythology, Marta Weigle.
- Transformations of Circe: The History of an Enchantress, Judith Yarnall.
FHBH: There has been a surge of fiction titles published recently about the women and Goddesses of Greek mythology. Which are your favorites?
IM: Circe by Madeline Miller is my absolute favorite. And I highly recommend that those who haven’t already found the Audible version, GO FIND IT. The narrator is perfect and pulls you into the world of Circe so well that I found myself completely immersed and transfixed.
FHBH: Which book fairs, conventions, or other events do you hope to attend in the foreseeable future?
IM: I have a lot of things coming up, but not all are concrete plans yet, so my website is the place to find where I’ll be at – virtually or in-person. www.irisanyamoon.com
- I will be doing an online live book launch for Artemis on April 1 at my Facebook author page. You can also watch the replay.
- On April 6, I am leading a four-hour class on Artemis and it’s online so you can attend at that time or receive the recording.
- I am leading a ritual on Aphrodite (What the Water Gave Me: Taking Aphrodite’s Hand) at the Water Priestess Confluence which happens on April 5 – 7, 2024. It’s online, so folks can attend from wherever they are.
- At the end of May 2024, I’ll be co-teaching a Reclaiming Witchcraft class with my friend AM in Santa Rosa, CA.
- I also have a few podcasts that will be released soon, as well as an essay in a book from another publisher. (Can’t say anything about this just yet…)
- There are many other classes in the works, so signing up for my newsletter is a good idea. I know I can’t remember everything.
- I am also starting my first year-long priestess/priestex training, which will be working with Aphrodite and love magick, later in 2024.
I imagine I will have other presentations, classes, and maybe witchcamps in 2024, but they’re not official just yet. And some ideas are just me hoping to encourage them into reality. Stay tuned.
Thanks so much for such great questions. And readers, feel free to reach out to me via my website or social media. I love to connect with new folks!
Biography
Irisanya Moon (she/they) is an author, witch, international teacher, poet, and Reclaiming initiate who has practiced magick for 20+ years. She has taught in the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia, bringing her blend of grounded, graceful, and radically authentic facilitation to inspire transformation and liberation at the personal and collective levels.
She has written a number of books:
- Pagan Portals (Reclaiming Witchcraft – 2020, Aphrodite – 2020, Iris – 2021, Norns – 2023, coming soon – Artemis – 2024, Circe – 2024, Hestia – 2025)
- Earth Spirit (Honoring the Wild – 2023, Gaia – 2023)
- Practically Pagan: An Alternative Guide to Health & Well-being – 2020
Plus she has written essays, articles, poems, and blogs for Witches & Pagans, Pagan Dawn, Coreopsis Journal, Moon Books, Revelore Press, Llewellyn, Epona Muse Publishing, and more.
In 2023, they self-published a book of poetry, “wrecked: the insistence of grief.”
Irisanya cultivates spaces of self-care/devotion, divine relationship (whatever that means to you), and community service as part of her heart magick and activism.
Book Links
Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc.
Recent Publications
Pagan Portals: The Norns, Weavers of Fate & Magick, September 2023
Earth Spirit: Gaia, Saving Her, Saving Ourselves, December 2023
Links
www.irisanyamoon.com
https://www.instagram.com/irisanya.moon/
https://www.facebook.com/irisanyamoon
https://www.tiktok.com/@irisanya.moon
Eternal Haunted Summer 