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October 2022 MBR The Metaphysical Studies Shelf
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Midwest Book Review
Nov 2, 2022, 11:10:18 PM11/2/22
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The Metaphysical Studies Shelf
The Female Archangels Oracle
Calista, author
Marie-Joe Fourzali, illustrator
https://www.calistaascension.com
Findhorn Press
www.findhornpress.com
c/o Inner Traditions International, Ltd.
One Park Street, Rochester, VT 05767
www.innertraditions.com
971644115800, $25.00, Card Deck, 176pp
https://www.amazon.com/Female-Archangels-Oracle-Empowerment-Guidebook/dp/1644115808
Synopsis: The first oracle to focus on the female Archangels, "The Female Archangels Oracle: A 44 Card Empowerment Deck and Guidebook" includes 44 full-color cards to help you partner with the Archeiai, the female twins to the male Archangels. The stunning illustrations intimately transmit the unique frequencies of each Archangel and are embedded with vibrational keys of angelic energy, sacred geometry, crystalline Light-codes, and alchemical fires, bringing the angels to life and creating a direct bridge into their consciousness. The deck includes 17 female Archangel cards, 17 male Archangel cards, and 10 cards with universal, powerful symbols.
In the accompanying guidebook angel author Calista explores who the Archeiai are, why they have come now, how they work in cooperation with their male counterparts, and how they can help us. She introduces the Archangel or symbol of each card, along with an angel message, a blessing, an expanded card meaning to aid interpretation, a reverse card meaning that serves as a divine wake-up call, and a "Rise Like an Angel" experience to integrate the angels' energies into your everyday life.
She also details how to use the cards in connection with her high-vibration Angel Healing system and shares practices to help you embody the virtues of each Archangel and integrate their angelic frequencies, practices such as healing techniques, guided journeys, creative exercises, energetic attunements, and angel rituals. The guidebook includes a download link for a free attunement audio track from Calista.
Offering a hands-on tool to connect with the female Archangels and taking you beyond divination into divine knowing, this oracle will help you accelerate your path of Ascension, manifest your dreams, heal your heart, and fill it with Love.
Critique: Of special and particular appeal to anyone with an interest in Angles, Spirit Guides, Divination, and Parapsychology, the ethereally beautiful artwork of Marie-Joe Fourzali with perfectly complements the cards and commentary of Calista comprising ""The Female Archangels Oracle: A 44-Card Empowerment Deck and Guidebook", an original and highly prized oracle deck that is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library Metaphysical Studies collections.
Editorial Note: Currently residing in Perthshire, Scotland, Calista is an author, speaker, and pioneer of spiritual Ascension. As a former cancer research scientist, she blends the seen and unseen realms into her certified modalities, Angel Healing(R) and Unicorn Healing(R), which are taught worldwide. The author of several books, including The Female Archangels, Calista also has a dedicated website at https://www.calistaascension.com
The One World Tarot: A Deck and Book Set
Lena Rodriguez, Seanna Rose, June Rifkin, authors
Alexandra Filipek, illustrator
St. Martin's Essentials
c/o St. Martin's Press
https://us.macmillan.com/smp
9781250809315, $32.00, Card Deck, 304pp
https://www.amazon.com/One-World-Tarot-Lena-Rodriguez/dp/1250809312
Synopsis: The tarot dates back to the 15th century, with the modern form developed by Arthur Waite and Pamela Colman Smith in the early 20th century. Since then, tarot has evolved and grown in popularity over the years due to its continuous appeal as an informative and inspiring tool.
"The One World Tarot" takes a fresh and contemporary approach to the deck and the meaning of the cards. It is intended for up-and-coming tarot readers and practitioners of any age. Traditional tarot decks are very medieval and Anglo-Saxon in their look and feel. In contrast, the book and the card art of "The One World Tarot" have been created to encompass many centuries and cultures, embrace our global diversity, and apply to all genders.
Critique: Written by seasoned tarot experts, Lena Rodriguez, Seanna Rose, and June Rifkin, "The One World Tarot" features the eloquent and beautiful artwork of Alexandra Filipek as it takes a modern, global approach to established and increasingly popular tarot cards. Enhanced with the addition of a 304 page instruction book, "The One World Tarot" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library Metaphysical Studies & Resource collections in general, and Tarot card collections in particular.
Editorial Note #1: Currently residing in Queensland, Australia, Lena Rodriguez holds a PhD in Sociology/Anthropology at Newcastle University and produces a YouTube channel called Tarot Down Under which now has upward of 5.5 million views. She haks a dedicated YouTube website at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2LjMIFNNIJxIdiNLgUPffA
Editorial Note #2: Seanna Rose is the owner/operator of Seanna Rose Metaphysical in Alberta, Canada, where she practices Reiki, tarot, and mediumship for clients. She has been active on YouTube since 2018, doing livestreams and pre-recorded tarot readings. She has a dedicated website at https://seannarose.com
Editorial Note #3: June Rifkin is the coauthor of several books, including The Complete Book of Astrology, The One World Tarot, and Signature for Success: How Handwriting Can Influence Your Career, Your Relationships, and Your Life. She has a dedicated website at https://www.junerifkin.com
Editorial Note #4: Alexandra Filipek is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts and does a broad range of illustration. She has a dedicated website at https://alexandra.filipek.us
Sacred Geometry of the Starcut Diagram
Malcolm Stewart
Inner Traditions International, Ltd.
One Park Street, Rochester, VT 05767
www.innertraditions.com
9781644114308, $40.00, HC, 320pp
https://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Geometry-Starcut-Diagram-Proportion/dp/1644114305
Synopsis: With the publication of "Sacred Geometry of the Starcut Diagram: The Genesis of Number, Proportion, and Cosmology", author Malcolm Stewart presents a lavishly illustrated study on the simplesquare figure of the Starcut diagram (created only with circles), that has extraordinary geometric properties.
This figure allows you to make mathematically exact measurements and build perfectly true level structures without a computer, calculator, slide rule, plumb bob, or laser level. Sharing his extensive research, along with hundreds of detailed diagrams and technical illustrations, the author shows how the Starcut diagram was the key to the building of humanity's first cities and how it underlies many significant patterns and proportions around the world.
Using circles drawn from the vesica piscis, Stewart explains how to create the Starcut diagram and shows how this shape was at the foundation of ancient building and design, illustrating the numerous connections between the diagram and the creation of mandalas and yantras, stained glass windows, architectural ground plans, temples and other sacred buildings, and surveying methods. He also shows how the Starcut diagram reveals ancient geometric knowledge of pi, the Fibonacci sequence, Pythagorean shapes and seals, the golden ratio, the power of 108 and other sacred numbers, and magic squares.
Exploring the Starcut diagram's cosmological and theological implications, Stewart explains how it contains knowledge of the Tree of Life and the Kabbalah. He examines how it relates to the Tetraktys, the key teaching device of Pythagoras, and other cosmograms. Demonstrating the ancient relationships existing between number, geometry, cosmology, and musical harmony, the author shows how the simple shape of the Starcut diagram unifies the many threads of sacred geometry into one beautiful mathematical tapestry.
Read less
Critique: An absolute 'must' for students and practitioners of Geometry, Toplogy, Cosmology, "Sacred Geometry of the Starcut Diagram: The Genesis of Number, Proportion, and Cosmology" is beautifully and profusely illustrated in full color throughout. This coffee-table style (8 x 1.3 x 10 inches, 1.69 pounds) volume is certain to be a treasured and unique addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Sacred Geometry and Metaphysical Studies collections. It should be noted for students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Sacred Geometry of the Starcut Diagram: The Genesis of Number, Proportion, and Cosmology" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $26.99).
Editorial Note: Currently residing in Tilford, Surrey, England, Malcolm Stewart is an author, musician, and designer who has created mosaic, stained glass, landscape, and interior designs for a range of secular and sacred environments. He is also a former priest, a BBC television producer, a UN project director, and an administrator for the refugee relief charity Ockenden Venture. He has lectured widely throughout the UK, Europe, the US, and Canada. He is on https://www.amazon.com/Malcolm-Stewart/e/B005BLLYOO
Hermetic Philosophy and Creative Alchemy
Marlene Seven Bremner
Inner Traditions International, Ltd.
One Park Street, Rochester, VT 05767
www.innertraditions.com
9781644112885, $40.00, HC, 376pp
https://www.amazon.com/Hermetic-Philosophy-Creative-Alchemy-Hermeticum/dp/1644112884
Synopsis: Drawing on ancient Egyptian and Greek cosmogonies and essential Hermetic texts, such as the Corpus Hermeticum, the Emerald Tablet (Tabula Smaragdina), and the Nag Hammadi codices, with the publication of "Hermetic Philosophy and Creative Alchemy: The Emerald Tablet, the Corpus Hermeticum, and the Journey through the Seven Spheres", Marlene Seven Bremner offers a detailed understanding of Hermetic philosophy and the art of alchemy as a foundation for a psycho-spiritual creative practice.
Offering examples from traditional alchemical art and her own intricate esoteric paintings, Bremner examines the foundational principles of Hermeticism and alchemy and shows how these traditions are a direct means for accessing higher consciousness and true self-knowledge, or gnosis, as well as a way to extract the essence of one's own creative gifts.
As an author and artist, Bremner takes the reader on a Hermetic journey through each of the seven traditional planets (Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and the Moon) exploring their mythological, philosophical, alchemical, Qabalistic, magical, astrological, and energetic natures and offering meditative discourses that reach past the rational mind to speak directly to the intuitive soul. She also relates the seven planets to the esoteric anatomy of the human body, specifically the seven chakras, and shows how the planets can offer understanding and experience of archetypal energies and patterns in the body, in one's life, and in the creative process.
A profound synthesis of magical and occult teachings as well as an initiation into the alchemical opus, "Hermetic Philosophy and Creative Alchemy" reveals how to integrate and apply Hermetic and alchemical principles to awaken inner knowing, liberate the imagination, and live a mystical, creative, and truly inspired life.
Critique: Informatively illustrated, impressively informative, expertly written, and thoroughly 'reader friendly' in organization and presentation, Marlene Seven Bremner's "Hermetic Philosophy and Creative Alchemy: The Emerald Tablet, the Corpus Hermeticum, and the Journey through the Seven Spheres" is an extraordinary and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Metaphysical Studies collections. Of special relevance to readers with an interest in Hermetic Philosophy and Alchemy, it should be noted that "Hermetic Philosophy and Creative Alchemy" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $26.99).
Editorial Note: Marlene Seven Bremner (https://marlenesevenbremner.com) is a self-taught oil painter, writer, and teacher who has spent more than 20 years exploring esoteric and spiritual traditions, including Hermeticism, alchemy, surrealism, symbolism, tarot, psychology, magic, astrology, shamanism, and mythology. She developed her career as an artist in the Pacific Northwest and now spends her time painting and writing in the New Mexico desert.
Spells for Good Times
Kerri Connor, author
Krystle Hope, contributor
Llewellyn Publications
2143 Wooddale Drive, Woodbury, MN 55125
www.llewellyn.com
9780738770468, $15.99, PB, 232pp
https://www.amazon.com/Spells-Good-Times-Meditations-Confidence/dp/0738770469
Synopsis: Featuring a variety of simple spells, rituals, meditations, and more, "Spells for Good Times: Rituals, Spells & Meditations to Boost Confidence & Positivity" is a practical guide that will help you and your community raise positive energy and create the loving, compassionate world you desire.
"Spells for Good Times" will bring out the best in yourself and others with its more than fifty activities, such as a spell to cope with loss and a ritual to heal a community divide. "Spells for Good Times" also covers how to nourish your body, mind, and spirit with wholesome self-care recipes, like revitalizing shower steamers and lavender rose hot chocolate.
Filled with tools that can be used throughout the day, "Spells for Good Times" is a cheerful compendium of rituals, spells and meditations that will enable readers and practitioners to achieve the joy-filled life they deserve.
Critique: An easily portable (4.9 x 0.7 x 6.9 inches) paperback volume, "Spells for Good Times: Rituals, Spells & Meditations to Boost Confidence & Positivity" will prove to be a welcome and prized addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Metaphysical Studies collections. It should be noted for those with an interest in the Wiccan Religion, Occultism, and Spiritual Healing that "Spells for Good Times: Rituals, Spells & Meditations to Boost Confidence & Positivity" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $11.99).
Editorial Note #1: Kerri Connor (https://www.kerriconnor.com) is the leader of The Gathering Grove (a family-friendly, earth-based spiritual group) and has been practicing her craft for over thirty-five years. She is the author of several books, including Spells for Tough Times, and her writing has appeared in several Pagan magazines.
Editorial Note #2: Krystle Hope (https://direct.me/krystlehope) is the coauthor of Conjuring with Cannabis and a contributing writer for Spells for Good Times. She is the treasurer of The Gathering Grove and runs her own business called Crescent Sapphire.
Gemstone and Crystal Magic
Gerina Dunwich
Weiser Publishers
c/o Red Wheel/Weiser/Conari
65 Parker Street, Suite 7, Newburyport, MA 01950
www.redwheelweiser.com
9781637480076, $18.95, PB, 256pp
https://www.amazon.com/Gemstone-Crystal-Magic-Amulets-Divination/dp/1637480075
Synopsis: The energy contained within stones is a mysterious and invisible power as old as the earth itself. It is also an energy that, when properly harnessed, can enable a person to create powerful magic and reconnect with energies that animate the natural world.
"Gemstone and Crystal Magic: A Modern Witch's Guide to Using Stones for Spells, Amulets, Rituals, and Divination" by Gerina Dunwhich is both a practical and a comprehensive guide to the magical world of crystals and gemstones, including both precious and semiprecious stones.
Written by a modern witch with firsthand knowledge of the occult properties of stones, "Gemstone and Crystal Magic" is comprised of numerous spells and rituals, folklore, and magical correspondences. It also explores gemstone curses and cures, and the many ways in which gemstones can be utilized as amulets for magical workings, as oracles for revealing the future, and as tools for healing one's body, mind, and spirit.
With the aid of "Gemstone and Crystal Magic", readers will learn how to properly cleanse and charge stones, and also how to make homemade gemstone elixirs. Additionally, they will discover the secrets of using stones to increase wealth, facilitate clairvoyant abilities, invoke deities, ward off bad luck and evil influences, draw love into their lives, and so much more.
Critique: This edition of "Gemstone and Crystal Magic: A Modern Witch's Guide to Using Stones for Spells, Amulets, Rituals, and Divination" from Weiser Books was previously published in as "Dunwich's Guide to Gemstone Sorcery: Using Stones for Spells, Amulets, Rituals, and Divination" by New Page Books in 2003. A now recognized classic in the field of Wiccan based usage of gemstones and crystals in magic, "Gemstone and Crystal Magic: A Modern Witch's Guide to Using Stones for Spells, Amulets, Rituals, and Divination", while unreservedly recommended for community and academic library Metaphysical Studies collections, it also available for personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).
Editorial Note: Gerina Dunwich (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerina_Dunwich) is a professional astrologer and occult historian, best known for her books on Wicca and various esoteric subjects. She is also involved in paranormal research and is the founder of the Paranormal Animal Research Group, which investigates cases of alleged hauntings by animal spirits.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
The Midwest Book Review is an organization of volunteers committed to promoting literacy, library usage, and small press publishing. We accept no funds from authors or publishers. Full permission is given to post any of these reviews on thematically appropriate websites, newsgroups, listserves, internet discussion groups, organizational newsletters, or to interested individuals. Please give the Midwest Book Review a credit line when doing so.
The Midwest Book Review publishes the monthly book review magazines "California Bookwatch", "Internet Bookwatch", "Children's Bookwatch", "MBR Bookwatch", "Reviewer's Bookwatch", and "Small Press Bookwatch". All are available for free on the Midwest Book Review website at www (dot) midwestbookreview (dot) com
Anyone wanting to submit books for review consideration can send them to:
James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive
Oregon, WI 53575-1129
To submit reviews of any fiction or non-fiction books, email them to Frugalmuse (at) aol (dot) com (Be sure to include the book title, author, publisher, publisher address, publisher website/phone number, 13-digit ISBN number, and list price).
James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
The Female Archangels Oracle
Calista, author
Marie-Joe Fourzali, illustrator
https://www.calistaascension.com
Findhorn Press
www.findhornpress.com
c/o Inner Traditions International, Ltd.
One Park Street, Rochester, VT 05767
www.innertraditions.com
971644115800, $25.00, Card Deck, 176pp
https://www.amazon.com/Female-Archangels-Oracle-Empowerment-Guidebook/dp/1644115808
Synopsis: The first oracle to focus on the female Archangels, "The Female Archangels Oracle: A 44 Card Empowerment Deck and Guidebook" includes 44 full-color cards to help you partner with the Archeiai, the female twins to the male Archangels. The stunning illustrations intimately transmit the unique frequencies of each Archangel and are embedded with vibrational keys of angelic energy, sacred geometry, crystalline Light-codes, and alchemical fires, bringing the angels to life and creating a direct bridge into their consciousness. The deck includes 17 female Archangel cards, 17 male Archangel cards, and 10 cards with universal, powerful symbols.
In the accompanying guidebook angel author Calista explores who the Archeiai are, why they have come now, how they work in cooperation with their male counterparts, and how they can help us. She introduces the Archangel or symbol of each card, along with an angel message, a blessing, an expanded card meaning to aid interpretation, a reverse card meaning that serves as a divine wake-up call, and a "Rise Like an Angel" experience to integrate the angels' energies into your everyday life.
She also details how to use the cards in connection with her high-vibration Angel Healing system and shares practices to help you embody the virtues of each Archangel and integrate their angelic frequencies, practices such as healing techniques, guided journeys, creative exercises, energetic attunements, and angel rituals. The guidebook includes a download link for a free attunement audio track from Calista.
Offering a hands-on tool to connect with the female Archangels and taking you beyond divination into divine knowing, this oracle will help you accelerate your path of Ascension, manifest your dreams, heal your heart, and fill it with Love.
Critique: Of special and particular appeal to anyone with an interest in Angles, Spirit Guides, Divination, and Parapsychology, the ethereally beautiful artwork of Marie-Joe Fourzali with perfectly complements the cards and commentary of Calista comprising ""The Female Archangels Oracle: A 44-Card Empowerment Deck and Guidebook", an original and highly prized oracle deck that is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library Metaphysical Studies collections.
Editorial Note: Currently residing in Perthshire, Scotland, Calista is an author, speaker, and pioneer of spiritual Ascension. As a former cancer research scientist, she blends the seen and unseen realms into her certified modalities, Angel Healing(R) and Unicorn Healing(R), which are taught worldwide. The author of several books, including The Female Archangels, Calista also has a dedicated website at https://www.calistaascension.com
The One World Tarot: A Deck and Book Set
Lena Rodriguez, Seanna Rose, June Rifkin, authors
Alexandra Filipek, illustrator
St. Martin's Essentials
c/o St. Martin's Press
https://us.macmillan.com/smp
9781250809315, $32.00, Card Deck, 304pp
https://www.amazon.com/One-World-Tarot-Lena-Rodriguez/dp/1250809312
Synopsis: The tarot dates back to the 15th century, with the modern form developed by Arthur Waite and Pamela Colman Smith in the early 20th century. Since then, tarot has evolved and grown in popularity over the years due to its continuous appeal as an informative and inspiring tool.
"The One World Tarot" takes a fresh and contemporary approach to the deck and the meaning of the cards. It is intended for up-and-coming tarot readers and practitioners of any age. Traditional tarot decks are very medieval and Anglo-Saxon in their look and feel. In contrast, the book and the card art of "The One World Tarot" have been created to encompass many centuries and cultures, embrace our global diversity, and apply to all genders.
Critique: Written by seasoned tarot experts, Lena Rodriguez, Seanna Rose, and June Rifkin, "The One World Tarot" features the eloquent and beautiful artwork of Alexandra Filipek as it takes a modern, global approach to established and increasingly popular tarot cards. Enhanced with the addition of a 304 page instruction book, "The One World Tarot" is especially and unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library Metaphysical Studies & Resource collections in general, and Tarot card collections in particular.
Editorial Note #1: Currently residing in Queensland, Australia, Lena Rodriguez holds a PhD in Sociology/Anthropology at Newcastle University and produces a YouTube channel called Tarot Down Under which now has upward of 5.5 million views. She haks a dedicated YouTube website at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2LjMIFNNIJxIdiNLgUPffA
Editorial Note #2: Seanna Rose is the owner/operator of Seanna Rose Metaphysical in Alberta, Canada, where she practices Reiki, tarot, and mediumship for clients. She has been active on YouTube since 2018, doing livestreams and pre-recorded tarot readings. She has a dedicated website at https://seannarose.com
Editorial Note #3: June Rifkin is the coauthor of several books, including The Complete Book of Astrology, The One World Tarot, and Signature for Success: How Handwriting Can Influence Your Career, Your Relationships, and Your Life. She has a dedicated website at https://www.junerifkin.com
Editorial Note #4: Alexandra Filipek is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts and does a broad range of illustration. She has a dedicated website at https://alexandra.filipek.us
Sacred Geometry of the Starcut Diagram
Malcolm Stewart
Inner Traditions International, Ltd.
One Park Street, Rochester, VT 05767
www.innertraditions.com
9781644114308, $40.00, HC, 320pp
https://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Geometry-Starcut-Diagram-Proportion/dp/1644114305
Synopsis: With the publication of "Sacred Geometry of the Starcut Diagram: The Genesis of Number, Proportion, and Cosmology", author Malcolm Stewart presents a lavishly illustrated study on the simplesquare figure of the Starcut diagram (created only with circles), that has extraordinary geometric properties.
This figure allows you to make mathematically exact measurements and build perfectly true level structures without a computer, calculator, slide rule, plumb bob, or laser level. Sharing his extensive research, along with hundreds of detailed diagrams and technical illustrations, the author shows how the Starcut diagram was the key to the building of humanity's first cities and how it underlies many significant patterns and proportions around the world.
Using circles drawn from the vesica piscis, Stewart explains how to create the Starcut diagram and shows how this shape was at the foundation of ancient building and design, illustrating the numerous connections between the diagram and the creation of mandalas and yantras, stained glass windows, architectural ground plans, temples and other sacred buildings, and surveying methods. He also shows how the Starcut diagram reveals ancient geometric knowledge of pi, the Fibonacci sequence, Pythagorean shapes and seals, the golden ratio, the power of 108 and other sacred numbers, and magic squares.
Exploring the Starcut diagram's cosmological and theological implications, Stewart explains how it contains knowledge of the Tree of Life and the Kabbalah. He examines how it relates to the Tetraktys, the key teaching device of Pythagoras, and other cosmograms. Demonstrating the ancient relationships existing between number, geometry, cosmology, and musical harmony, the author shows how the simple shape of the Starcut diagram unifies the many threads of sacred geometry into one beautiful mathematical tapestry.
Read less
Critique: An absolute 'must' for students and practitioners of Geometry, Toplogy, Cosmology, "Sacred Geometry of the Starcut Diagram: The Genesis of Number, Proportion, and Cosmology" is beautifully and profusely illustrated in full color throughout. This coffee-table style (8 x 1.3 x 10 inches, 1.69 pounds) volume is certain to be a treasured and unique addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Sacred Geometry and Metaphysical Studies collections. It should be noted for students, academia, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject that "Sacred Geometry of the Starcut Diagram: The Genesis of Number, Proportion, and Cosmology" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $26.99).
Editorial Note: Currently residing in Tilford, Surrey, England, Malcolm Stewart is an author, musician, and designer who has created mosaic, stained glass, landscape, and interior designs for a range of secular and sacred environments. He is also a former priest, a BBC television producer, a UN project director, and an administrator for the refugee relief charity Ockenden Venture. He has lectured widely throughout the UK, Europe, the US, and Canada. He is on https://www.amazon.com/Malcolm-Stewart/e/B005BLLYOO
Hermetic Philosophy and Creative Alchemy
Marlene Seven Bremner
Inner Traditions International, Ltd.
One Park Street, Rochester, VT 05767
www.innertraditions.com
9781644112885, $40.00, HC, 376pp
https://www.amazon.com/Hermetic-Philosophy-Creative-Alchemy-Hermeticum/dp/1644112884
Synopsis: Drawing on ancient Egyptian and Greek cosmogonies and essential Hermetic texts, such as the Corpus Hermeticum, the Emerald Tablet (Tabula Smaragdina), and the Nag Hammadi codices, with the publication of "Hermetic Philosophy and Creative Alchemy: The Emerald Tablet, the Corpus Hermeticum, and the Journey through the Seven Spheres", Marlene Seven Bremner offers a detailed understanding of Hermetic philosophy and the art of alchemy as a foundation for a psycho-spiritual creative practice.
Offering examples from traditional alchemical art and her own intricate esoteric paintings, Bremner examines the foundational principles of Hermeticism and alchemy and shows how these traditions are a direct means for accessing higher consciousness and true self-knowledge, or gnosis, as well as a way to extract the essence of one's own creative gifts.
As an author and artist, Bremner takes the reader on a Hermetic journey through each of the seven traditional planets (Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the Sun, Venus, Mercury, and the Moon) exploring their mythological, philosophical, alchemical, Qabalistic, magical, astrological, and energetic natures and offering meditative discourses that reach past the rational mind to speak directly to the intuitive soul. She also relates the seven planets to the esoteric anatomy of the human body, specifically the seven chakras, and shows how the planets can offer understanding and experience of archetypal energies and patterns in the body, in one's life, and in the creative process.
A profound synthesis of magical and occult teachings as well as an initiation into the alchemical opus, "Hermetic Philosophy and Creative Alchemy" reveals how to integrate and apply Hermetic and alchemical principles to awaken inner knowing, liberate the imagination, and live a mystical, creative, and truly inspired life.
Critique: Informatively illustrated, impressively informative, expertly written, and thoroughly 'reader friendly' in organization and presentation, Marlene Seven Bremner's "Hermetic Philosophy and Creative Alchemy: The Emerald Tablet, the Corpus Hermeticum, and the Journey through the Seven Spheres" is an extraordinary and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Metaphysical Studies collections. Of special relevance to readers with an interest in Hermetic Philosophy and Alchemy, it should be noted that "Hermetic Philosophy and Creative Alchemy" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $26.99).
Editorial Note: Marlene Seven Bremner (https://marlenesevenbremner.com) is a self-taught oil painter, writer, and teacher who has spent more than 20 years exploring esoteric and spiritual traditions, including Hermeticism, alchemy, surrealism, symbolism, tarot, psychology, magic, astrology, shamanism, and mythology. She developed her career as an artist in the Pacific Northwest and now spends her time painting and writing in the New Mexico desert.
Spells for Good Times
Kerri Connor, author
Krystle Hope, contributor
Llewellyn Publications
2143 Wooddale Drive, Woodbury, MN 55125
www.llewellyn.com
9780738770468, $15.99, PB, 232pp
https://www.amazon.com/Spells-Good-Times-Meditations-Confidence/dp/0738770469
Synopsis: Featuring a variety of simple spells, rituals, meditations, and more, "Spells for Good Times: Rituals, Spells & Meditations to Boost Confidence & Positivity" is a practical guide that will help you and your community raise positive energy and create the loving, compassionate world you desire.
"Spells for Good Times" will bring out the best in yourself and others with its more than fifty activities, such as a spell to cope with loss and a ritual to heal a community divide. "Spells for Good Times" also covers how to nourish your body, mind, and spirit with wholesome self-care recipes, like revitalizing shower steamers and lavender rose hot chocolate.
Filled with tools that can be used throughout the day, "Spells for Good Times" is a cheerful compendium of rituals, spells and meditations that will enable readers and practitioners to achieve the joy-filled life they deserve.
Critique: An easily portable (4.9 x 0.7 x 6.9 inches) paperback volume, "Spells for Good Times: Rituals, Spells & Meditations to Boost Confidence & Positivity" will prove to be a welcome and prized addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Metaphysical Studies collections. It should be noted for those with an interest in the Wiccan Religion, Occultism, and Spiritual Healing that "Spells for Good Times: Rituals, Spells & Meditations to Boost Confidence & Positivity" is also available in a digital book format (Kindle, $11.99).
Editorial Note #1: Kerri Connor (https://www.kerriconnor.com) is the leader of The Gathering Grove (a family-friendly, earth-based spiritual group) and has been practicing her craft for over thirty-five years. She is the author of several books, including Spells for Tough Times, and her writing has appeared in several Pagan magazines.
Editorial Note #2: Krystle Hope (https://direct.me/krystlehope) is the coauthor of Conjuring with Cannabis and a contributing writer for Spells for Good Times. She is the treasurer of The Gathering Grove and runs her own business called Crescent Sapphire.
Gemstone and Crystal Magic
Gerina Dunwich
Weiser Publishers
c/o Red Wheel/Weiser/Conari
65 Parker Street, Suite 7, Newburyport, MA 01950
www.redwheelweiser.com
9781637480076, $18.95, PB, 256pp
https://www.amazon.com/Gemstone-Crystal-Magic-Amulets-Divination/dp/1637480075
Synopsis: The energy contained within stones is a mysterious and invisible power as old as the earth itself. It is also an energy that, when properly harnessed, can enable a person to create powerful magic and reconnect with energies that animate the natural world.
"Gemstone and Crystal Magic: A Modern Witch's Guide to Using Stones for Spells, Amulets, Rituals, and Divination" by Gerina Dunwhich is both a practical and a comprehensive guide to the magical world of crystals and gemstones, including both precious and semiprecious stones.
Written by a modern witch with firsthand knowledge of the occult properties of stones, "Gemstone and Crystal Magic" is comprised of numerous spells and rituals, folklore, and magical correspondences. It also explores gemstone curses and cures, and the many ways in which gemstones can be utilized as amulets for magical workings, as oracles for revealing the future, and as tools for healing one's body, mind, and spirit.
With the aid of "Gemstone and Crystal Magic", readers will learn how to properly cleanse and charge stones, and also how to make homemade gemstone elixirs. Additionally, they will discover the secrets of using stones to increase wealth, facilitate clairvoyant abilities, invoke deities, ward off bad luck and evil influences, draw love into their lives, and so much more.
Critique: This edition of "Gemstone and Crystal Magic: A Modern Witch's Guide to Using Stones for Spells, Amulets, Rituals, and Divination" from Weiser Books was previously published in as "Dunwich's Guide to Gemstone Sorcery: Using Stones for Spells, Amulets, Rituals, and Divination" by New Page Books in 2003. A now recognized classic in the field of Wiccan based usage of gemstones and crystals in magic, "Gemstone and Crystal Magic: A Modern Witch's Guide to Using Stones for Spells, Amulets, Rituals, and Divination", while unreservedly recommended for community and academic library Metaphysical Studies collections, it also available for personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $9.99).
Editorial Note: Gerina Dunwich (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerina_Dunwich) is a professional astrologer and occult historian, best known for her books on Wicca and various esoteric subjects. She is also involved in paranormal research and is the founder of the Paranormal Animal Research Group, which investigates cases of alleged hauntings by animal spirits.
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