Fine Print Online--February 8, 2010

Merlin: Master of Magick
Gordon Strong
$15.95 QP, 9780738718477, Llewellyn Publications, www.llewellyn.com

In his Introduction, author Gordon Strong states, “By sharing the vision of Merlin, we realize that the world is still a place of wonder, joy, and infinite potential.” In this sharing he examines aspects of Merlin and many deeds attributed to him, with their mythic, epic, and psychic sources both ancient and modern, along with side trips through fields of psychology, spirituality, astrology, cosmology, and history. “The spirit of Merlin,” he explains, “was there at the dawn of our world. He is eternal because he occupies a physical world and a magickal world simultaneously.” In the book’s 10 chapters the author shows, through a close examination of stages of Merlin’s life, how his abilities developed and how his deeds influenced the Arthurian world. After an overall orientation, he looks at his beginnings, his childhood, his involvement with Arthur, his role as warrior and wizard, his madness and later deliverance from that state, his relation to the Lady of the Lake, the significance of the Quest, and finally, his enduring legacy.

A key factor the book explores is Merlin’s involvement with nature and need to be at all times “at one with the forces he evokes,” a state that requires “a total abnegation of the personality—he is egoless.” The author shows how Merlin learns that the activities of human beings are of no consequence and, although he is a supreme protector of the earthly plane, he remains at least partly indifferent to its fate. He becomes a being of the moment, a state that allows him to have total mastery over what occurs, for it then exists for him beyond the dictates of time. He and Arthur together make up a composite figure, with Merlin as the inner self and the king the outer manifestation. Part of his present legacy relates to the contemporary significance of the world of myth, which “nurtures the imagination and leads us into realms where we may know the greatest joy and gain supreme wisdom.”

Gordon Strong has been a student of magick for more than 40 years as writer, teacher, and scholar of English literature, Arthurian legend, and the tarot. Although this book is relatively brief, it orients the reader to a broader and deeper way of looking at the history and legends surrounding Merlin. The author does assume, however, that the reader is already familiar with Arthurian lore, so a good preparation for reading Merlin would be to become familiar with the Arthurian legends and Merlin’s role in them. —Richard D. Wright, Tranquil Things, Derby Line, Vt.

Shamanic Breathwork: Journeying Beyond the Limits of the Self
Linda Star Wolf
$20 QP, 9781591431060, Bear & Company, www.bearandcompanybooks.com

Author Linda Star Wolf is founder of the Venus Rising Institute for Shamanic Healing Arts and has led transformational workshops worldwide since 1984. She developed her Breathwork Process as a shamanic-psychospiritual tool to assist change in the inner landscape through a step-by-step process of symbolic death and rebirth. Participants are intended to develop an ongoing ability to observe the self from an objective perspective and thereby make necessary shifts in consciousness. Although the goal is to discover and embrace one’s sacred purpose, it does not involve journeying out of body or specifically discovering spiritual allies and animal totems. Instead, the process enlivens one’s ability to remove obstacles by awakening the shaman within, so that one is able to accept inner wisdom and bring more depth and richness into life.

The book’s 14 chapters cover orientation to the Shamanic Breathwork Process, the Spiral Path the process follows, the Five Cycles of Shamanic Consciousness, Soul Recovery and Energy Release, addiction, using breathwork when alone, and meditating on 30 shamanic questions. The process developed by the author covers what she calls the five worlds and elements of shamanic consciousness: The Sensory World and its element of Earth, the Rebirthing Level and the element of Water, the Interpersonal/Historical World and the element of Fire, the Archetypal/Mythical/Transpersonal World and the element of Spirit, and the Void World and its element of Air. Each of the five element cycles, or spirals, of shamanic consciousness becomes an alchemical map for consciousness change, covering archetypal experience and colors, along with recognition of positive and negative aspects within each cycle, such as peace/lethargy, grounding/constriction, and passion/impulsiveness. The 30 shamanic questions offer ways to dissolve old ego attachments while understanding that even though they once did serve a purpose, they may no longer be appropriate.

During each step of the process, the author includes her own experiences as well as accounts from a wide variety of workshop participants. Their accounts indicate the benefits of the program for the general reader or participant as well as for those who have been in dependency relationships or who are involved in recovery programs. The book tells how to work with a group or partner and includes a 60-minute CD divided into two parts, one to use with the breathwork session and the other containing three guided meditations. —Richard D. Wright, Tranquil Things, Derby Line, Vt.

Holy Ground: A Gathering of Voices on Caring for Creation
Lyndsay Mosley, editor, with staff of Sierra Club Books
$22 HC, 9781578051601, Sierra Club Books, www.sierraclub.org/books

One of the aims in planning Holy Ground was to encourage leaders from many faith traditions to share personal stories of how they experience the natural world, understand responsibility for its care, and how they pass on that understanding. The editor’s hope was that readers would see “the power of bringing together caring people of all faiths and all beliefs to protect our common holy ground.” The resulting essays are thus by writers who are either actively involved with environmental concerns as members of the clergy or of religious groups and who express an impassioned spiritual unity about human responsibility to the natural world.

The 32 selections include contributions from writers speaking for Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and Muslim traditions. As one theologian from YaleDivinitySchool expresses it, the problem is not just stewardship but the need to reformulate our very nature as human beings, to discover how we belong to this “vast unfolding universe.” Another contributor comments that the background of the Gospels, often overlooked, is that of “the world as made, approved, loved, sustained, and finally redeemed” by a Divine power. Many speak of the need to mend the fragmentation between religion and science as prerequisite to addressing environmental degradations that threaten our planet and its life. An Anglican bishop says, “To treat our environment well is not just a good idea. It is the only idea.” Expanding this idea further, an Islamic scholar notes that the roots of the environmental crisis are spiritual and intellectual, to be seen as the external pollution of a universal pollution of our inner landscape: “Without a change of worldview and a transformation of vision, all efforts to resolve the crisis are little more than cosmetic.” No matter what tradition each writer represents, they all express the underlying belief that our fundamental flaw is how we understand our connection with the natural world, considering humanity as separate from the rest of creation rather than as part of a dynamic and interdependent system. This flaw, developed through ignorance or misinterpretation of sacred sources, is one that the writers seek to overcome by relating their own experiences and examining evidence from sacred texts of various traditions.

With its relevance to many religious traditions and its essays by traditional, liberal, conservative, and evangelical writers, this book should have a general appeal to many readers concerned about our present very serious environmental crisis. —Richard D. Wright, Tranquil Things, Derby Line, Vt.

Alphatudes—The Alphabet of Gratitude: 26 Solutions for Life’s Little Challenges
Michele Wahlder
$12.95 QP, 9780982364505, Life Possibilities Publishing, www.alphatudes.com  

Numerous spiritually oriented books speak of the importance of feeling gratitude. Michele Wahlder provides a method and a structure for those of us who may not know how to get started or keep going. The author points out the many advantages of feeling and expressing gratitude. For example, she writes “through the conscious practice of gratitude,” we come to appreciate what we already have instead of always seeking the more, bigger, and better of the typical 21st century American mindset. This quest for the latest improved model prevents us from seeing what we already have at this moment and prevents us from enjoying it.

Wahlder cites a principle of quantum physics as another advantage of gratitude: “The more we expect to experience opportunities for gratitude, the more opportunities we will be presented.” Some of my favorite entries are “Dream,” in which Wahlder describes both nighttime dreams and day time aspirations. “Forgiveness,” “Now,” and “Relationships” are also high on my list of favorites. This book of lovely prose is supported by beautiful illustrations and affirmations. It is telling that Wahlder quotes well-known philosophers and writers as well as her grandmother. —Catherine Ferguson, Psychic for Pets and People, www.cfergusonconsult.com, Jersey City, N.J.

The Dice Game of Shiva: How Consciousness Creates the Universe
Richard Smoley
$14.95 QP, 9781577316442, New World Library, www.newworldlibrary.com

The Dice Game of Shiva blends Richard Smoley’s knowledge and understanding of Tibetan Buddhism, A Course in Miracles, Gurdjieff’s teachings, Christianity, Hindu philosophy, the Kabbalah, psychology, and philosophy to present the reader with a fresh perspective of how consciousness creates the Universe.

Smoley uses the dice game of Shiva to explore our consciousness. The evil yogi, Narada, introduced Shiva and his consort, Parvati to a dice game similar to Parcheesi. No matter how long they played or how much each of them cheated, Parvati always won. She eventually stripped Shiva of everything (including his loincloth) and he went into the wilderness. Parvati eventually drew him back. Smoley uses this myth of union and separation, consciousness and experience to explore consciousness.

Smoley writes about attempting to achieve consciousness through calming the mind, which is actually the loss of consciousness. He shows that consciousness is what holds the universe together and backs this up by referring to most of the world’s religions. He also explores how we can become more aware of our own consciousness.

Many writings say that consciousness is just a part of how the brain works while others claim that consciousness came before the mind. The Dice Game of Shiva is unique because Smoley shows how aspects of the Universe are there because of the relationship between matter and the mind as shown by the myth of the dice game of Shiva. He uses science and reason also to present and back up this viewpoint. —Susan LosCalzo, Lofty Notions, Rutherfordton, N.C.


Through the Faerie Glass: A Look at the Realm of Unseen and Enchanted Beings
Kenny Klein
$16.95 QP, 9780738718835, Llewellyn Publications, www.llewellyn.com  

BEFORE AND AFTER HARRY POTTER

“Faeries are scary, awesome, frightful creatures ... No, no, you’ll say. They’re adorable, happy beings ... They have pretty wings, and they hum when they fly, or they tinkle, like a bell ... But are you sure?” Thus begins Klein’s tale of the special beings from the other realms who have been preserved in myths, folk tales, and songs for thousands of years.

When people lived and worked close to nature they took an enchanted, unseen world of ethereal creatures for granted. These ethereal creatures were dealt with as complete personalities, sometimes helpful, sometimes vengeful. As society became industrialized, faeries became the stuff of children’s stories and their dark side was largely erased from the record. They were portrayed as amusing and helpful, flitting from one glimmering good deed to another. Through the Faerie Glass is here to set the record straight, restoring faeries to their full power. It also offers us a portal into their world, complete with spells to enlist their help.

My own darker side loved the section on Hell Hounds. From Cerberus, Hecate and Anubis to Shakespeare’s Herne to Arthur Conan Doyle’s Hound of the Baskervilles, demon dogs add fury to the comings of goings of figures like Mab, the Faerie Queen, as well as to the preachings of America’s Southern pulpits.

This book is a perfect next step for Harry Potter readers who are now teenagers and young adults. The green-eyed beauty staring out of the shadows on the cover will let them know that. The book will also be an invaluable resource for writers of those epic adventure tales which are ultimately headed to the big screen, laden with special effects. —Anna Jedrziewski, www.SpiritConnectionNewYork.org, New York, N.Y.

Playing in the Unified Field: Raising & Becoming Conscious, Creative Human Beings 
Carla Hannaford, Ph.D.
$16.95 QP, 9780915556397, Great River Books, www.greatriverbooks.com  

Dr. Carla Hannaford is an extremely accomplished biologist, author, internationally recognized university-level educator (hundreds of lectures and workshops around the world), and most-recently counselor of elementary and intermediate school children with learning difficulties.

Her approach to the subject of consciousness is more scientific, rather than the New Age or obviously “spiritual” tack. She describes energy as Coherent (harmonious) and Incoherent (stressful) frequencies. Her biology background highlights the subject of stress on our bodies from an oncological point of view (levels of adrenaline, dopamine, cortisol, etc.) and how stress impacts heart rate and cellular growth, etc., causes depression and illness (cancer, MS, memory loss) which then inhibits learning and growth in human beings.

Science measures and illustrates for non-believers the impact of stress on the body such as: Heart Math (HRV—Heart Rate Variability patterns), photons (subatomic particles of light), Dr. William Tiller’s “Duplex Reference Frame” (suggesting, like the Buddhist concept, the existence of multi-dimensional realities), and so on.

This book is about Dr. Hannaford’s observations of her own daughter, other children in learning environments, and the natural world. It describes the scientific effects of the power of belief, energy healing, the essence of play, and the importance of our connection to the natural world as our guide to becoming conscious, creative human beings. —Allyson Gracie, GothamCity Pilates, New York, N.Y.

The Yoga Sutras: An Essential Guide to the Heart of Yoga Philosophy
Nicolai Bachman
$149 (Study Course Kit), 9781591797609, Sounds True, www.soundstrue.com  

This 336-page book is part of a beautifully designed kit that also contains seven CDs and 51 flash cards. The book, even without the multimedia aids, is a gold mine. Nicolai Bachman has been studying Sanskrit, yoga philosophy, Ayurveda, and the sutras for two decades. His study of the sutras began with reading translations of Pantanjali’s ancient treasures, but he soon sought out one-on-one teachers. He is now passing what he learned on to others in a unique and creative tool.

Each sutra is a dense seed of wisdom waiting to release its universal insight. Once it begins to flower, it will continue to yield teachings each time someone returns to it. The book/study course is set up to grow with the reader, providing ongoing wisdom, as the sutras themselves do.

The novice can begin with one of the flash cards, each of which focuses on one of the core principles of yoga philosophy. For example, a new reader might want to start with Card Ten, Karma and Samskara (action and its imprint). Side two of the card gives brief interpretations/teachings of the terms. (“Any event we experience leaves an impression in our memory.”) The related track on the CD provides the correct Sanskrit pronunciation and then a brief teaching about the concept. Once the terms and associated concepts become familiar, the book provides in-depth discussion of the key concepts (Part II).

Experienced readers will probably be more interested in Bachman’s translation of the 156 sutras (Part III), which focuses on providing the reader access to the ongoing wisdom beyond the standard, literal English translations. (“Complete mastery of an object occurs from comprehending it on four levels: logical reasoning, subtle reflection, the joy of deeper understanding, and finally completely identifying with it.”)

Part IV reprints the sutras in Sanskrit (in large type) so very advanced readers can chant them along with CD 7. —Anna Jedrziewski, www.SpiritConnectionNewYork.org, New York, N.Y.

The Good Karma Divorce: Avoid Litigation, Turn Negative Emotions Into Positive Actions, and Get On With the Rest of Your Life
Judge Michele F. Lowrance
$25.99 HC, 9780061840692, Harper One, www.harperone.com  

This title sounds like an oxymoron. How can one link “good karma” and “divorce?” Judge Michele Lowrance acknowledges that our present day life is mired in a "combative culture of divorce." And yet she outlines in great detail how two combatants can come to workable solutions. Lowrance certainly has the background knowledge and experience to offer advice. She has been a judge in domestic relations court in Chicago since 1995. For two decades prior to that, she was a divorce attorney. And she is the veteran of two divorces of her own.

Lowrance lists the emotions people experience when going through a divorce. She analyzes their fear and anger and points out what may be behind those emotions. She suggests that the reader make lists as well. Writing can have a cathartic effect. She also gives extensive examples of how acting out of anger can be detrimental to one’s self and to the children. For example, what is gained by being stuck in the same cycle of anger 10 years after the divorce? Lowrance’s compassionate tone keeps the reader from feeling they are being talked down to or taken to task. She also gives specific examples of how life can be made easier during the horrendous procedure of a divorce, thus paving the way for a smoother life post-divorce.

One exercise that may seem impossible to many litigants is listing the benefits that were reaped from the relationship. Difficult as it may be, this recognition that it was not 100% bad is essential to the negotiating process and to one’s future life, even if there are no children to deal with.

Another point that may appear even more difficult to achieve is forgiveness. Lowrance calls forgiveness a “weapon of mass construction.” She explains how “forgiveness benefits the forgiver.” Her explanations and examples are the best I’ve ever read. You don’t need to be in the midst of a divorce to use the guidance in this section. Considering the 50% divorce rate in this country, this book should be required reading for those contemplating divorce. —Catherine Ferguson, Psychic for Pets and People, www.cfergusonconsult.com, Jersey City, N.J.

Tune Him In, Turn Him On: Using Intuition to Find and Keep the Man of Your Dreams
Servet Hasan
$15.95 QP, 9780738715605, Llewellyn Publications, www.llewellyn.com  

A VERY SEXY BOOK ABOUT MUCH MORE THAN SEX!

Servet Hasan was born in Pakistan. She and her parents moved to London when she was very young. Her mother read tea leaves and palms; her father had prophetic dreams. Intuition was a normal part of life for her. Psychic ability was part of her heritage. It was only as an adult that she began to appreciate the value of the gift she had been given and to begin learning more about it. Eventually, it became her life’s work. (“Then it dawned on me that one of my life’s callings was to help women. Duh! Based on the fact that I was born in a country where baby girls were often killed at birth, that shouldn’t have been a big surprise. But it was to me. Once I realized my calling, I couldn’t stop moving forward even if I want to.”)

In this book she applies her skills specifically to relationships. While there is solid instruction about developing psychic awareness, there is also a lot of good old common sense. (“If you don’t mind kissing a lot of frogs before you find your prince, then you can skip the interviewing process. But if you’ve had enough of the slimy creatures, then it’s time to concentrate on the real goal. Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty and eliminate the duds.”) Lively and funny and based on the premise that women need to take control of their relationships, this is a terrific book for early spring. Chapter and section titles include: Useful Questions to Ask Your Intuition After You’ve Met a Man, How to Attract the Right Man, Letting Go of Your Baggage, Is He or Isn’t He the One?, How to Send and Receive Signals, Using Your Intuition in the Bedroom, Can You Win His Sorry Self Back?, and Keeping the Sizzle in the Swizzle Stick.

Consider pairing this one with Mantak Chia/Dena Saxter’s Emotional Wisdom. (Read my review of Emotional Wisdom in our January 2010 archives.) —Anna Jedrziewski, www.SpiritConnectionNewYork.org, New York, N.Y.

What to Do When Dreams Go Bad: A Practical Guide to Nightmares
Anne Hill
$7.95 QP, 9781887590044, Serpentine Music and Books, www.serpentinemusic.com  

Mary Shelley first met Frankenstein in a nightmare. She herself reported being delighted by the dream because she knew that she had found a figure that would terrify readers as he had terrified her.

Creativity is only one thing which can be aided by nightmares. As Anne Hill, a dream consultant, points out, nightmares can be an early warning signal for physical and emotional problems. They are also part of the natural healing process for trauma and they bring us information which we are not able to access consciously.

There is a lot of information packed into this little book, making it well worth its reasonable price. Hill uses one of her own nightmares to describe the process of embracing and interpreting scary dreams in order to gain the benefit of the information they contain. She goes on to interpret some of the most common nightmare scenarios, such as being late for class. Then, there are brief discussions of the difference between personal and collective symbolism, what to do in the throes of a nightmare, and advanced techniques (like lucid dreaming) for working with dreams.

If you’re planning a display of books on dream work and dream symbolism, this book will be a unique addition. It’s also substantial enough to be included in your self-help or psychology sections. —Anna Jedrziewski, www.SpiritConnectionNewYork.org, New York, N.Y.

Secrets of the Lost Symbol: The Unauthorized Guide to Secret Societies, Hidden Symbols, and Mysticism

Secrets of the Lost Symbol is one of those books that should be in the library of anyone interested in the occult and spiritual concepts. John Michael Greer shares his wealth of knowledge with the reader in a very direct and clear way. He demystifies the occult and secret societies and provides well researched historical backgrounds to each topic. It is a resource and reference guide not only for Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol, but also for elements tied with mystery schools.

The book is organized in alphabetic order, so it is easy to use as a reference book if a particular word or concept needs further explanation. It can also be read straight through as a crash course in occult and spiritual ideas. Entries are cross-referenced if they are mentioned in an account, so it is simple to get an in-depth understanding of each record by following it up with entries associated with it.

Greer’s straightforward writing illuminates some of the mystery concepts and acts as a guide that informs the reader and enables critical readings of other works. Greer points out that many mystery schools have a cloud of obscurity around them. Not only does he defog this fuzziness, but he also disentangles the connections between many of these schools of thought. The ideas of Western occultism have many mergers and origins. Some ideas have ancient origins, whereas others have much more recent ones, but which has what might be surprising to find out.--Victoria Holmberg, www.VictoriaHolmberg.com

The Binge Eating & Compulsive Overeating Workbook: An Integrated Approach to Overcoming Disordered Eating
Carolyn Coker Ross, MD
$21.95 QP, 9781572245914, New Harbinger Publications, www.newharbinger.com  

A SERIOUS LOOK AT THE SCIENCE AND PSYCHOLOGY OF EATING.

We live in a weight-conscious culture, which is, ironically, also becoming more and more overweight. For that reason, this book will be valuable for almost every customer who walks through your door. It is based on science but focused on helping people deal with the very complex issues of unhealthy eating. (“This approach goes beyond treating symptoms ... This workbook addresses lifestyle elements, nutritional deficits, psychological issues, medical problems, and diagnoses that often accompany BED and CO (such as depression, anxiety, and trauma) using a whole person approach.”) The workbook format makes it very easy to process and utilize the information presented.

The book is divided into three sections: Healing the Body, Healing the Mind, and Healing the Spirit. Each of the three parts contains current research, interpretation and suggested application of that research, and well thought out exercises for getting started.

This is a book for people who are ready to make a change and who are looking for tools to help them do that. It is a highly professional, interactive resource. Consider doing a Mind-Body Spring Tune-Up display, incorporating books (like this one) about lifestyle changes. —Anna Jedrziewski, www.SpiritConnectionNewYork.org, New York, N.Y.

Psychic Empowerment for Everyone: You Have the Power. Learn How to Use It.
Carl Llewellyn Weschcke and Joe H. Slate
$15.95, 9780738718934, Llewellyn Worldwide, www.llewellyn.com  

Carl Llewellyn Weschcke, owner of Llewellyn Publications since 1960 and life long student of the occult, calls himself a visionary and a motivator. He believes that “all success is a combination of professional training and experience … and psychic abilities.” Joe Slate, psychologist and researcher, wants to see people use paranormal skills to take command of the forces that influence their lives. Together their goal for readers of this book is “not to just make you a psychic, but to awaken you to everything you can be, to become more than you are, and to help you connect with the resources of your own higher consciousness.”

The book is scientific and very thoughtfully organized. Achieving altered states of consciousness is approached as a skill which can be learned by practicing specific steps. The first step is self-hypnosis. (Weschcke and Slate have a book on hypnosis releasing soon.) It’s a good starting point. The authors use it as a base for accessing paranormal phenomena such as past lives, prophetic dreaming, energy healing, and spirit communication. All of these things are presented as achievable (with consistent application of correct techniques) for almost everyone.

I personally believe that access to some of the esoteric regions of the other realms requires an energy transfer (initiation if you will) at the physical plane level. I also believe that, while the transfer is most easily facilitated one-on-one, it sometimes happens through words on the pages of a book. I know many of you have had the experience of reading something that transports you to another world. Occultists can put words together, like a spell, so that “keys” to the higher wisdom will vibrate with a reader who is ready to recognize them. Nobody is claiming that this book does that, but I definitely picked up a “vibe” when I was reading it.

This is a good book for people who want information about psychic development without the “woo-woo” trappings. It will also work for people who want to work toward spiritual growth outside of a religious context. —Anna Jedrziewski, www.SpiritConnectionNewYork.org, New York, N.Y.

You Can Read Palms
Richard Webster
$15.95 QP, 9780738719054, Llewellyn Worldwide, www.llewellyn.com  

Richard Webster’s title tells the reader what to expect from his book. His explanations are clear and he includes diagrams illustrating the lines, ridges, and mounts he is talking about. He packs a lot of information into this relatively short book. His years of experience are evident when he discusses the traditional interpretations versus more subtle possibilities that he has observed.

Webster’s chapter on analyzing the compatibility of two halves of a couple will be of great interest to those planning to marry. Another chapter of great interest deals with the choice of a career.

This book gives an overview of the history of palmistry, starting with ancient times and giving the contributions of modern practitioners. Webster mentions that palmistry can play a role in psychological analysis as well as medical analysis.

Webster points out that certain lines can change over time, reflecting what is going on in one’s life. He also explains how to approach and handle the people one reads. This is essential. How the information is delivered is as important as the information itself. —Catherine Ferguson, Psychic for Pets and People, www.cfergusonconsult.com, Jersey City, N.J.

The Cynical Idealist: A Spiritual Biography of John Lennon
Gary Tillery
$15.95 QP, 9780835608756, Quest Books, www.questbooks.net  

Through the narration of Gary Tillery, the reader gets a unique insight into John Lennon’s life in the book The Cynical Idealist: A Spiritual Biography of John Lennon. Tillery makes use of the public material Lennon left behind to draw together Lennon’s philosophy of life. Lennon’s life is portrayed as a journey through spiritual lessons, where his thinking is altered at various stages. A closer look is also made into how the external social circumstances that acted upon the internal gifts Lennon was born with created a leader, an iconoclast, and a beacon of light. Lennon’s highly intelligent and creative nature coupled with his openness and cynical character turned him against the confines of establishment. The ground he broke influenced a whole generation.

Not only does the book tell the tale of John Lennon’s life, but it also guides the reader through spiritual principles; Lennon’s life becomes a series of examples of timeless spiritual teachings. Spiritual concepts such as “dark night of the soul” are applied to various periods of Lennon’s life, including the long period of personal crisis Lennon struggled through.

Each of the book’s four sections gives a short play list of songs that were discussed in that section. Tillery encourages the readers to listen to the songs. This expands the text, and the music ads volume to the points both Lennon and Tillery are trying to make. —Victoria Holmberg, www.VictoriaHolmberg.com  

Energy Essentials for Witches and Spellcasters
Mya Om
$14.95 QP, 9780738715506, Llewellyn Worldwide, www.llewellyn.com  

Ever wonder why the affirmation you used for a month didn’t bring you a new job, or why the candle lighting ritual you followed to the letter didn’t make the object of your desire call you? The secret to making spells work is energy. Mya Om learned that in high school. Her heritage and upbringing perfectly positioned her to become an authority on spells and energy. She traces her lineage back to people who left Egypt and traveled through Asia Minor, Eastern Europe, and the Ottoman Empire. Her grandmother was a gypsy.

The phenomena and techniques she discusses aren’t novel in the New Age community but she has found a direct, no-nonsense way to talk about all of it without relying on vague generalities and hints. Neither has she created her own vocabulary to form the illusion that she has discovered something new; an aura is an aura, a chakra is a chakra, and negative energy is negative energy.

She writes from a solid foundation of basic psychology (“Think about the really successful people you know. Do they constantly radiate negativity? Probably not.”), behavior modification, and motivation/goal setting strategies, and her personal story and insight make the book fun to read.

As a long-time metaphysical practitioner, I find her training impeccable. (“Using only personal energy in spells is not a good idea. It can be done, but it leaves you drained, and you then have to replenish your personal energy, which takes time and effort.”) I also applaud her ethics and her common sense. (“Remember, like is attracted to like. If you don’t want someone to do it to you, don’t do it to someone else.”)

This will be a terrific book for practitioners of Reiki and other energy healing modalities. Consider displaying it with “magical” classics by Dionne Fortune, Starhawk, and Scott Cunningham. —Anna Jedrziewski, www.SpiritConnectionNewYork.org, New York, N.Y.

The Sexual Herbal: Prescriptions for Enhancing Love and Passion
Brigitte Mars
$24.95 QP, 9781594772863, Healing Arts Press, www.innertraditions.com  

Author Brigitte Mars, an experienced herbalist and nutritional consultant, refers to this book as “an herbal compendium of botanical blessings that have long served humanity.” The book, however, goes well beyond botany and does so very well.

Sexual vitality requires good health, so the first part of the book is devoted to a healthy diet. Of course, Mars points out the links which make certain foods and herbs especially beneficial to sexuality. After nutrition, Mars moves on to aromatherapy, homeopathy, flower essences, feng shui, acupressure, and hydrotherapy, always with applications that enhance sexuality. After ensuring a healthy foundation, she gets serious, discussing every aspect of intimate relationships (techniques and positions, risks of disease, flirting and foreplay, the psychology of attraction and love, and recovery from a broken heart).

 In addition to a lot of serious information, there are some fun things: “Make a cherry pie while visualizing love. Lightly trace a heart in the bottom of the crust before adding the cherries. Then eat one piece of pie every day while continuing to visualize love.”