Why am I passionate about this?

As a healer and a bruja who is also a journalist who has covered stories about anything from politics and entertainment to wellness and traditional healing modalities—I enjoy educating people about the different ways they can approach their own healing journey. I’m the founder of The Bratty Brujita Botánica, a metaphysical shop offering products and services that are dedicated to helping folks discover their own magic. I’ve been featured in Freeform, Refinery29, Cosmopolitan, and Allure, for my work. I’ve also written on the topic of brujeria, spiritual cleansing, and ancestral veneration for outlets like Refinery29 and Popsugar.


I wrote...

Brujeria: A Little Introduction

By Yvette Montoya,

Book cover of Brujeria: A Little Introduction

What is my book about?

My book is an easy overview of topics that are either unknown or taboo to most. Whether it’s connecting with…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Sacred Energies of the Sun and Moon: Shamanic Rites of Curanderismo

Yvette Montoya Why did I love this book?

As someone who is guided by the Moon phases and tries to align as much as possible with my surroundings' circadian rhythms, this book is a great manual for harnessing solar and lunar energies. It’s allowed me to appreciate timing and how energies vary at different times of the day.  

By Erika Buenaflor,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Sacred Energies of the Sun and Moon as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A practical guide to ancient Mesoamerican solar and lunar rites for healing and transformation

* Details shamanic rituals and practices for each period of the day, including dawn, sunrise, noon, sunset, and midnight, to best harness the energies of the sun, night sun, and moon for specific purposes, such as divination, journeying with animal spirit guides, or spiritual wisdom

* Incorporates shamanic breathwork, dreamwork, mantra chanting, mudras, dancing and movement, toning, chakra work, crystals, herbs, and limpias (shamanic cleanses)

* Explores how nighttime energies are affected by the phases of the moon, offering specific practices for each phase

Ancient Mesoamerican…


Book cover of Sacred Woman: A Guide to Healing the Feminine Body, Mind and Spirit

Yvette Montoya Why did I love this book?

I have used this book to make self-assessments and as a tool for self-reflection. This Queen Afuja gives many entry points into different healing modalities and the various ailments that we might be feeling physically, spiritually, and energetically.

I love the way this book approaches healing because it’s very holistic and takes our entire selves into account when choosing where to begin our spiritual wellness journey. 

By Queen Afua,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Sacred Woman as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The twentieth anniversary edition of a transformative blueprint for ancestral healing—featuring new material and gateways, from the renowned herbalist, natural health expert, and healer of women’s bodies and souls

“This book was one of the first that helped me start practices as a young woman that focused on my body and spirit as one.”—Jada Pinkett Smith

Through extraordinary meditations, affirmations, holistic healing plant-based medicine, KMT temple teachings, and The Rites of Passage guidance, Queen Afua teaches us how to love and rejoice in our bodies by spiritualizing the words we speak, the foods we eat, the relationships we attract, the…


Book cover of Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs

Yvette Montoya Why did I love this book?

I like to use this book as a resource when I’m researching magical properties for lunar magic and manifestation work. It’s nice to have the definitions handy, especially since definitions can be kind of a mixed bag online.

I really like the accessibility of information in this book. Researching herbs is what made me decide to get more serious about herbalism.

By Scott Cunningham,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Expanded and revised, this comprehensive guide features magical uses of over 400 herbs and plants from all parts of the world. With over 500,000 copies in print, this reference book is a must for all who perform natural magic. It features illustrations for easy identification of every herb, in addition to common names, use, and rulership.


Book cover of The Art & Practice of Spiritual Herbalism: Transform, Heal, and Remember with the Power of Plants and Ancestral Medicine

Yvette Montoya Why did I love this book?

I really enjoyed the way Karen Rose connected herbs, the body’s systems, and the Orisha pantheon. I was very interested in learning about herbalism through the lens of non-Western spirituality, and it sent me on an inward journey I’m still riding out today.

This book has been a great resource for me in terms of getting my feet wet, making at-home remedies, and learning the body systems. I also loved the beautiful anecdotes and ancestral wisdom. This is a textbook that makes herbal healing and plant magic accessible.

By Karen M. Rose,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Art & Practice of Spiritual Herbalism as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Discover how to utilize the magic of plants and diasporic ancestral practices in remedies and ritual.

What if plants could be used to guide the process of transformation? What if you knew which rituals and plants could be partnered to alleviate physical symptoms or heal emotional and spiritual imbalances? How can plants help you stand in your power, strengthen your intuition, and provide protection? In The Art & Practice of Spiritual Herbalism, leading Black herbalist Karen Rose provides the answers you seek.

This guide to harnessing the power of plants is a practical tool for working through the symptoms of…


Book cover of Woman Who Glows in the Dark: A Curandera Reveals Traditional Aztec Secrets of Physical and Spiritual Health

Yvette Montoya Why did I love this book?

I love the way Elena Avila’s book taught about the practices of Mexican curanderismo through storytelling. It was a nice introduction to a practice that, to me, was intuitive.

It was exciting to realize curanderismo was something I was predestined to do. It also gave me the language able to describe and process experiences like susto and soul loss. 

By Elena Avila, Joy Parker,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Woman Who Glows in the Dark as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“An autobiographical account of how a psychiatric nurse specialist became a folk medicine healer; this also explains the origins and practice of one of the oldest forms of medicine in the New World.″—Kirkus

Praise for WOMAN WHO GLOWS IN THE DARK
 
“This is a book that we’ve been awaiting for years—one that unites the best medicine from the ancient past with the deepest needs of the contemporary heart and soul.”—Clarissa Pinkola Estés, Ph.D., author of Women Who Run with the Wolves, The Gift of Story, and Faithful Gardener
 
“Elena Avila’s book is a combination manual, memoir, and healing chant. I’m…


Explore my book 😀

Brujeria: A Little Introduction

By Yvette Montoya,

Book cover of Brujeria: A Little Introduction

What is my book about?

My book is an easy overview of topics that are either unknown or taboo to most. Whether it’s connecting with ancestors or working with the moon phases—my book is for anyone who wants to dip their toe into the esoteric. Bruja, which is Spanish for “witch” has become a tongue in cheek—and sometimes literal— term that has been reclaimed by many Latin American healers of this generation. 

My book is a little introduction to some healing and witchy modalities connected to my mixed Latin heritage. Readers get a rundown of things like candle colors and meanings, energy cleanses, manifesting with herbs and crystals, and venerating ancestors from a diasporic, Latin American lens. 

Book cover of Sacred Energies of the Sun and Moon: Shamanic Rites of Curanderismo
Book cover of Sacred Woman: A Guide to Healing the Feminine Body, Mind and Spirit
Book cover of Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs

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Beneath the Veil

By Martin Kearns,

Book cover of Beneath the Veil

Martin Kearns Author Of The Tides of Nirvana

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Writer Theologian Reader Teacher

Martin's 3 favorite reads in 2024

What is my book about?

The Valor of Valhalla series by Martin Kearns is a pulse-pounding dark urban fantasy trilogy that fuses the raw power of Norse mythology with the grit of modern warfare. Set in a world where ancient gods and mythical creatures clash with secret military organizations and rogue heroes, the series follows a band of unseeming heroes who are bound to an ancient prophecy. As they navigate a dangerous web of deceit, sacrifice, and violent combat, they must confront not only their own demons but also the growing threat of Ragnarök—the Norse apocalypse.

At its heart, The Valor of Valhalla blends high-stakes…

Beneath the Veil

By Martin Kearns,

What is this book about?

In a battle between two ancient evils, can one naïve young man become the last hope against powerful creatures of legend?

David Dolan thinks he's already got the world figured out. But when a collapsed bridge plunges him into the icy Hudson, he's pulled deep into the deadly realm that exists between life and death. And with his earthly form trapped in a coma, he's vulnerable to the horde of demons hell-bent on his utter destruction.

Traversing the road to the afterlife, David seeks the wisdom and skills he needs to fight the demonic forces reigning havoc on his allies…


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