[Today, we sit down with author Raven Digitalis. Here, he discusses his new book, Magick for Empaths; the research that went into it; and his upcoming projects.]
Forests Haunted by Holiness: How do you define your personal spiritual practice? Does it have a name or is it more intuitive and eclectic?
Raven Digitalis: Hello, and thanks for having me here! Well, I consider myself both a Pagan Witch and also a Sanatani or American Hindu. I find that eastern and western mystical systems complement each other beautifully. Although I jointly operated a Pagan temple for sixteen years, I’m now solitary in practice, and place a lot of emphasis on daily practice. I also emphasize the importance of daily practice in most of my books! Currently, in addition to small solo observances of the Sabbats, Esbats, and Hindu festival days (fasting and all), my daily practice consists of morning yoga, meditation, gratitude prayers, and an honoring of the deities and spirits I’m presently working with.
FHBH: Which deities, spirits, or other powers do you honor in your practice?
RD: At this time, I’m working with goddess Bastet on a daily basis, as she helped carry me through very dark times a few years ago. In fact, she helped reunite my familiar, Catskills, with me when he went missing for three whole months on Hawaii’s Big Island! Those were some heavy times of experiencing loss upon loss, and the incredible synchronicities that Bast worked, just to get us back in each other’s arms, were nothing short of miraculous. So, in addition to her, I occasionally work with Hekate and Baphomet, but primarily honor Lord Shiva (Rudra/Nataraja), Lady Durga (Shakti/Devi), and their beloved mythical offspring, Lord Ganesha (Ganapati). They’re my crew; I adore them endlessly!
FHBH: Your new book Magick for Empaths will be released by Moon Books in April. First, congratulations! Second, why Moon Books? Did you go to them with the idea or did they come to you?
RD: Yeah! Magick for Empaths is my first book that’s part of a series; the series is called Pagan Portals, and it’s a pleasure to be a part of it and to be working with a third publisher. They’re in London and I’m in the States, so it feels quite fancy indeed!
I actually approached Moon initially about publishing my first-ever venture into fiction; a horror anthology called Black Magick: 13 Tales of Darkness, Horror & the Occult. I wanted to try my luck with a British publisher because a bunch of publishers in the States rejected that manuscript due to some of it’s, let’s say, intense content. Moon Books took a gamble on it, however, and suggested that I dually write a mini-book for their series. Now that both are being published, both virtually and in print, I couldn’t be happier with the result!
FHBH: How did this book come about? Why a book specifically geared towards empaths and their magickal practices?
RD: I love exploring intersections between magickal spirituality and other fields, and there isn’t much material out there that bridges empathy and occultism. Magick for Empaths is actually an “addendum” of sorts to a few of my earlier books! My “empath’s trilogy” consists of three titles published on Llewellyn: Esoteric Empathy, The Everyday Empath, and The Empath’s Oracle deck. Because it was familiar subject matter, I thought it would be relevant and worthwhile to write a small “bonus” to that earlier material.
FHBH: If an empath wants to get started with their magickal practice, where would you recommend they begin? And what is one thing they absolutely should or should NOT do?
RD: That’s a great question! Just like with any title or label one feels comfortable identifying with, I think it’s easy for someone to realize that they are an empath and suddenly default to blaming all of their problems on the ability. That’s when the ability feels like a curse rather than a blessing. Truth be told, we are all empathic to varying degrees, and we all have unique levels of psychicism and other skills. Our powers combined can make for an evolutionary experience! Although it’s deeply important to do personal work and self-reflection, developing empaths should steer away from extended periods of self-isolation. Sometimes it feels emotionally safer that way, but we are all social creatures and should safely and wisely push our limits of comfort from time to time, lest we become stuck in a rut of hermiting away from the world at large. It’s all about finding a balance socially, and realizing that we have a lot more power and capability than we tend to believe!
FHBH: What sort of research went into Magick for Empaths? Personal experience? Long talks with other empaths? Stacks of book on your desk?
RD: All of the above! I remember one point in time, while writing the first book in my empathy series (Esoteric Empathy), I had gigantic stacks of reference books stacked on every inch of my writing desk! I think it’s important to cite, reference, and celebrate the work of those who have already contributed to a particular field. When it comes to empathy, I just adore researching and reporting empathetic perspectives ranging from scientific breakthroughs to metaphysical insights. I also, naturally, incorporate anecdotes and experiential wisdom — especially in the new Magick for Empaths! I’d say that it’s honestly the most “personal” book of the bunch, and I hope readers enjoy it.
FHBH: What was the most difficult, but ultimately most rewarding, part of the book to write?
RD: It was hard but necessary to self-reflect about empathetic shortcomings, and to use my own experiences as examples of shortsightedness. There were times in the past where I put myself in unnecessarily dangerous situations because my empathy was turned on high but my brain was not! That’s the thing: cognition and psychicism are based in the mind, whereas empathy is a purely emotional experience. Strong empaths have a responsibility to balance mental impressions alongside in-the-moment empathic experiences. This takes time, and I’m sure as hell not perfect in doing this, but with enough practice and enough self-protection, we can come to a state of greater balance as empaths and mystical seekers. In all of my empathy books I give examples of herbs, stones, and other protective materials we can utilize alongside shielding and self-protective measures.
FHBH: In addition to your own book, which texts would you recommend to empaths? What are some good resources?
RD: It’s funny you ask, because I was recently asked by a big website called Shepherd to write a list called “The Best Books for Empaths and Emotionally Sensitive Souls.” It took a lot of thinking, but the five books on that list are ones that helped me early on, and which continue to assist, on the lifelong path of emotional sensitivity and the cultivation of empathy not only for others, but also for oneself!
FHBH: What other projects are you working on?
RD: It’s crazy to be working with three publishers simultaneously! Moon Books (Collective Ink) is in London, Llewelyn is in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul), and Crossed Crow is in Chicago! With Crossed Crow, I recently released a second deck of cards called A Gothic Witch’s Oracle. That is the third piece of my “shadow trilogy,” the other two pieces being my first book, Goth Craft, and the recently revised/expanded/updated A Witch’s Shadow Magick Compendium. It’s exciting and rewarding that the third piece of both my triptychs (trilogies) is a deck of Oracle cards!
The other project I have coming out is one I haven’t announced yet, but is, like with Magick for Empaths, an “addendum” to my other trilogy. It’s a project with Llewellyn, is also part of a series, and focuses primarily on shadow work and spellcraft! That will be released toward the end of 2025.
FHBH: Which book fairs, conventions, or other events do you hope to attend in the foreseeable future?
RD: I love doing book tours when they’re feasible, and will actually be doing a book signing and author event at Watkins in London on 6 November — I’ve never been to the UK or even Europe! I’ve adored Watkins for twenty-five years, making it all even more exciting. Since I’m not a fan of public speaking, most of my “visible” engagements recently have been podcast interviews.
I’ve also taught, for three years, at WitchCon Online, and will be presenting another course for the Con in February of 2026. Those are fun, and end up being worth every bit of preemptive anxiety!
Additionally, it’s an honor to say that I’ve been offered a chance to teach virtual video courses about empathy and magickal spirituality with the Watkins Academy online! I will be working on those courses throughout the spring and summer, and am still beyond pleased with having been approached to create and instruct such a series! The “course material” will center around Magick for Empaths.
Otherwise, I’ll just be continuing to offer private professional Tarot readings and personalized spell kits, both services of which are available through my website, or can be arranged by contacting me personally. I encourage folks who are interested to reach out, get in touch, find me on social media, and say hello! Before I became a writer, I had it in my head that folks with “notoriety” were impossible to reach, but that just isn’t true. I love my readers, fans, family, friends, and kitty cat — we’re all in this together!
Author Biography: Raven Digitalis (USA) is an award-winning author best known for his “empath’s trilogy,” consisting of The Empath’s Oracle, Esoteric Empathy, and The Everyday Empath, as well as the “shadow trilogy” of A Gothic Witch’s Oracle, A Witch’s Shadow Magick Compendium, and Goth Craft. Originally trained in Georgian Witchcraft, Raven has been an earth-based practitioner since 1999, a Priest since 2003, a Freemason since 2012, and an empath all of his life. He holds a degree in cultural anthropology from the University of Montana, jointly operated a nonprofit Pagan temple for sixteen years, and is also a professional Tarot reader, editor, Reiki practitioner, and animal rights advocate.
social media: @ravendigitalis
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