Who is Anna Riva?

Enchanting lives and inspiring minds for decades, Anna Riva was the pen name of Dorothy Spencer (1922-2003), a prolific American occult author.

She focused on practical, easy-to-work spells centered around the use of magickal oils. Her numerous pamphlets and books extended over a range of topics on herbalism, talismans, candle magick, crystal gazing, and séances.

Her influences were equally wide-ranging. She was inspired by Haitian Voodoo, African-American folk magick, Biblical psalms, and the European grimoire tradition. Her rituals reflect these varying influences. Approaching magic like science, she tried to keep it simple to give a good starting point but also to provide the basics behind the rituals, so that any ritual could be customized by the individual.

“Anna Riva” was revered in the world of American folk magick to the point that she became an almost mythical figure in that arena. Rows of her gold-foiled oils and powders could be readily found on display in many a home.

Spencer’s company, International Products, manufactured a line of oils, incenses, and ritual powders. They were distributed in esoteric stores and through an extensive mail order catalog. In Spiritual Merchants, historian Carolyn Morrow Long described how the "1970s and 1980s saw the publication of a new crop of spell books" and the "best-known of these writers is the extremely prolific ... Anna Riva."

Spencer lived a private life and retired after selling her business to Indio Products in the late 1980s. "Anna Riva" was the nom de plume that she used only in her writing and the business - Anna was her mother's name and Riva was her daughter's name. Anna Riva is presently a brand, registered trademark and business of Indio Products in Commerce, CA.

Dorothy Spencer died from Alzheimer’s in 2003.

But her legacy lives on. This site shares for free her many insights and earnest collection of occult details and rituals captured in her books and pamphlets.