Category: Products

In case you didn’t think the world of ceremonial magic was a complex tapestry, “The Thoth Companion” is here to set you straight.  Every tarot deck deserves contemplation, a careful study of its symbolism and associations.  However, when the rich world of tarot collides with the complex world of ceremonial magic, as it does in the Thoth tarot deck, a guide would be appreciated.
 
With that I present to you “The Thoth Companion” by Michael Osiris Snuffin.  In the introduction he suggests that this book is not for beginners, and I would agree.  Without some basic Golden Dawn or Thelema knowledge, the book may seem to be in another language.  Although I’m fairly clueless when it comes to Crowley, I’m a bit of a Regardie fan girl, so I had enough knowledge to follow along.
 
This book is fantastic.  I wish I could get someone to write as detailed a book about every tarot deck I like (although few decks are interesting enough to warrant this level of examination)!  The book is divided into logical parts.  First are the trump cards.  Each card is discussed, and a photo of the card is provided.  With each trump card the author lists the Hebrew letter, meaning, attribution, path, and connects.  This has a lot to do with the Tree of Life, which is big in the ceremonial magic world.  If you don’t know what the Tree of Life is that I’m talking about, you’re not ready for this book.  Next section is the court cards.  Again, detailed discussion of each card, and listed with the individual cards are elemental attribution, Zodiacal attribution, crest, symbols, key concepts.  Finally, as far as card types go, there are the suit cards.  As before, all the detailed discussion you could want, and for each card, Snuffin lists title, Qabalistic attribution, and Tetragrammaton attribution.
 
At the end of the book there is a small section about tarot divination.  This offers advice to tarot readers and has examples of spreads.  Most of what is discussed is fairly common in all tarot circles, and I feel the author made the correct choice in dedicating more time to examining the deck.  There are dozens of books, and probably hundreds of websites, that can tell you about tarot reading, but until I read this book, I had never seen such a wonderful resource for a single deck.
 
The back has an appendix, with plenty of handy quick reference charts.  There is also a bibliography that could serve any interested student well in learning all there is about ceremonial magic and tarot.  It serves as a reminder to me that I am a fan girl when it comes to ceremonial magic, not a serious student.
 
To sum up, if you’re interested in ceremonial magic, such as Golden Dawn or Thelema, and/or you own the Thoth tarot deck this book is for you.  This is a serious study of a single deck, so not for the casual tarot enthusiast.

Originally Published on 4/7/07.

Are you Wiccan?  Are you interested in astrology?  Are you interested in the moon?  Are you interested in mythology? 
 
If you answered yes to any of these questions then you should definitely purchase a copy of “Moon Tides, Soul Passages” by Maria Kay Simms.  It bears the subtitle of “Your Astrological Cycles of Personal and Spiritual Development”, and in those regards boy does this book deliver.  Thanks to the software that comes with the book Simms takes you on a guided tour of your spiritual life through the phases of the moon.  Rich with mythology, filled with beautiful illustrations, “Moon Tides, Soul Passages” is written with a voice of authority that helps the uninitiated, like myself, weave their way through a budding understanding of astrology, the moon, and the women’s mysteries.
 
Although the book doesn’t clearly tell you to, I would highly suggest that once you purchase “Moon Tides, Soul Passages” you skip to Appendix 1 and load the disc into your computer.  With a couple of clicks you can run a detailed chart for yourself that you can reference as you work your way through the text.  Simms’ writing is intimate and personal, but it also resonates with experience and expertise.  There are plenty of personal examples, mythological associations, and celebrity information to help keep you entertained.  Lastly, Simms concludes with numerous well constructed rituals to help you bring the moon into your spiritual life.
 
In short, “Moon Tides, Soul Passages” is an entertaining, informative, and at the list price of $22.95 (including the software!) it’s a steal.  I enjoyed this book greatly and encourage others to give it a try…you won’t be disappointed.

It’s hard for me to believe, but it’s true…more people have expressed an interest in me reviewing their books.  It began back in April when Starcrafts Publishing asked if I would like to review Maria Kay Simms book "Moon Tides, Soul Passages".  At the time, we posted it to the Online Extras section of our website because we really had no better home for it.  I had never done a review before, and honestly, we figured the odds of anyone asking me to do it again were pretty slim.

Enter the gigantic publishing juggernaut of Llewellyn.  A few weeks back one of the publicists there wrote me a very nice email and to make a long story short…Rebecca is getting some review copies.  I know!  It’s in the too weird to be true category, except that, well, it’s true!

Suddenly Jim and I needed to figure out how to deal with the fact that there were going to be more reviews in the future.  What you see now, is the end result of that discussion.  We both like this blog format because it gives the reader a chance to offer their own opinion on the book as well.

I can’t say how frequently there will be new stuff here.  A lot of it depends on how frequently I get books to review and how long it takes for me to read them.  I’m a lazy girl, but I refuse to write a review for a book I haven’t read!  Another factor is whether or not I liked the book.  The Magical Buffet isn’t about negativity, we follow the advice our mothers gave us, "If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all."  There will be no venomous reviews here.  Sorry.

So, welcome to The Magical Buffet’s latest experiment!  Just for neatness, I will be posting my review of "Moon Tides, Soul Passages" here, even though it was reviewed months ago.  That way all of my reviews will be together.

Also, if you’re an author of a book and would like me to review you, just send me an email and we’ll talk.

~Rebecca