When I was a wee Witchling and working at the Health Food Store in Martin Place, Sydney, I used to make a beeline every half-hour lunch break for a little bookstore in the train station arcade. It was called Mr Books and a very nice man with a long beard called Laurie (the man, not the beard (whose name I never discovered)) worked there, and the atmosphere in the shop was well ... interesting.

For the first time in my life I saw books on the Craft openly displayed on shelves - The Witches' Bible, Modern Witchcraft, Magick in Theory and Practice were all titles that leapt out and scorched my eager eyes. But the most exciting find of all was at my feet at the front counter [yup, that sounds like the usual spot Laurie found to display the magazine for us - Cyfrin] whenever I went up to hand over every spare cent I had on new titles for my growing magickal library. It was a little paperbound and stapled magazine called Shadowplay.

In it was a uniquely Australian insight into the world of Witches, and though I was only a Wiccan voyeur back then, scared to take the step and contact others, I felt I was part of a special and wise community every time I opened its pages. Shadowplay was a cornerstone of my initial Witchy education and I have kept absolutely every copy I ever bought - fourteen years on. How special do I feel then that one of the initial creators, contributors and editors of Shadowplay, Liam Cyfrin (he was Bill back then), has become a close friend and essential right-hand in the creation of my own books on Witchcraft. Without his advice, insight and support my books (Witch - A Personal Journey, Witch - A Magickal Year and my new one Life's A Witch - A Handbook for Teen Witches) would have been unlikely see the light of day.

I mourned the demise of Shadowplay in its print form a few years ago but am ecstatic to see that it has arisen like a phoenix from the flames, flying through the virtual skies and landing at www.shadowplayzine.com, and to finally get to contribute to it.

Blessed Be, Liam, Rhea, Raven and Co - and more power to you!