Category: Reviews

Corresponding with Sandra Kynes

by Administrator, posted in Books, Magic/Occult, Reviews, Wiccan/Pagan

What to say about “Llewellyn’s Complete Book of Correspondences: A Comprehensive & Cross Referenced Resource for Pagans & Wiccans” by Sandra Kynes. Essentially my first reaction was; Holy shit! I apologize for the profanity, but that was truly my reaction when I pulled this hefty book out of its package. It must have been an extreme undertaking for author Sandra Kynes. There’s just so much information in there! It’s over 500 pages long!

Kynes new book is divided up into issues, intentions, and powers along with their correspondences at the beginning. Next are sections dealing with plants, minerals, animals, deities, astrological, and miscellaneous that are all cross referenced with each other. Not to mention the delightful index. The amount of information to be found within each area is amazing, even as Kynes is apologizing and acknowledging that more could have been added. Did I mention more than 500 pages?

She presented the information in these cross referenced sections to allow readers more options when working with correspondences. Kynes explains that the way these books normally work, the research creates a pin wheel. Her example is you look up love and you find that the Moon is associated with love. That would normally be the end. However the way Kynes has done things you look up love and you learn that the Moon has a link to love (as before), but now you’ll see that the Moon is associated with the Sapphire gemstone and perhaps that clicks with you more, or perhaps that is something you feel can reinforce what you’re doing. Kynes says that “We can bring correspondences to life by thinking in terms of a web. Doing so allows us not only to expand the links of attributes, but it also allows us to personalize the way we use magical correspondences.”

“Llewellyn’s Complete Book of Correspondences: A Comprehensive & Cross Referenced Resource for Pagans & Wiccans” is truth in advertising. And it’s true that it does have a definite Pagan/Wiccan lean to it, but it is certainly well researched and resourceful enough that any occult/magic user would find it a handy book to have on their shelf.

The Alphabet for Lovers

by Administrator, posted in Judaism, Magic/Occult, Products, Reviews, Tarot

Some of you may remember that back in December 2011 I reviewed the unique divinatory set Tokens of Light by Orna Ben-Shoshan. I’m happy to say she’s back with “The AlphaBet for Lovers: Insights, Advice & Prophecies about Love and Relationships According to the Hebrew Alphabet”. If you were intrigued by “Tokens of Light”, you’re going to LOVE “The AlphaBet for Lovers”.

“The AlphaBet for Lovers” is a set of 72 small (when compared to tarot) heart-shaped cards. Each card has a letter of the Hebrew alphabet on it and according to Ben-Shoshan the Kabbalah attributes more meaning to these letters. A heart will have a beautiful piece of Orna Ben-Shoshan’s art on one side along with a number and the other side will have a short phrase that is associated with the Hebrew letter that is on the back. The set comes in a box designed to look like a book and with a pretty bag to carry the heart cards in.

Although the name says “Lovers”, “The AlphaBet for Lovers” is designed for examining relationships in general. Relationships between co-workers, parent and child, etc. are all fair game for examination. Readings are relatively straight forward. You reach your hand into the bag and mix the hearts while focusing on your question. Once you feel your hand is drawn to a heart, you select it, and by using the number on the front of the heart you can easily look it up in the companion book and learn its meaning.

And not too sound like an infomercial, but wait! There’s still more! If you go to her site you can also check out “The 9 Blessings: For Love, Health, and Success”. These are 9 Kabbilistic amulets on cards conveniently sized to carry in your wallet or purse. You could easily carry them in your pocket as long as you think you could remember to take it out before washing your clothes!

Once again Orna Ben-Shoshan has created an enchanting and unique divinatory set. To learn more, you can visit her site.

Sipe’s Soul of Light

by Administrator, posted in Art, Books, Reviews

I got an interesting offer from Quest Books. Would I like to review “Soul of Light: Works of Illumination” by Joma Sipe. What makes this interesting is that essentially this is an art book. I like art, of course, but I couldn’t help but wonder, why on earth would Quest books think that The Magical Buffet or its readers would care about this particular art book? I shouldn’t have doubted them.

The works of Joma Sipe are inspired from a spiritual background that rivals some published authors. At fifteen he began studying Theosophy and the works of H.P. Blavatsky and Annie Besant, and from there Rudolf Steiner, P.D. Ouspensky and more. At seventeen Sipe got involved with a school called “The Gnostic Movement”. In his late twenties he practiced ritual and practical magic with another mystical school. Inspired by “Autobiography of a Yogi” Sipe traveled India learning about Hindu religion. At the same time he was reading Eckhart Tolle’s “The Power of Now”, which then led him to study “A Course in Miracles”. Indeed Joma Sipe is well versed on many matters of the occult and spirit.

Since he opted not to become an author, what does he do? Create art. Sipe says, “The intricate and elaborate process of creating each work includes the purpose of transmitting a message, although sometimes that message cannot be understood immediately. Each work disperses and concentrates the light that emanates from each line in the painting. This light represents Being and our deeper Essence, the deep heart of the energy from life that inhabits everything that exists. This energy seeks to break the barrier of the physical dimension to meld with the universal Energy that condenses, materializes, and takes form in each canvas.”

To create his pieces Sipe waits for inspiration, and then on canvas or black paper using gold or silver ink to draw out his designs. Once drawn he uses intuition, inner vision, and sensibility to decide what points on his painting he wishes to place crystals. Sipe uses both simple crystals that only reflect a white light and aurora boreal crystals that reflect in a rainbow of colors. Sometimes he’s inspired to use both gold and silver and/or both types of crystals. Lastly Sipe does what he calls the “illuminated work”. This is where he adds light and soft-color computer effects. That’s what makes his works have that otherworldly glow about them.

The book “Soul of Light” is simply beautiful. Many of the works are accompanied by poetry from the artist to provide a glimpse into his mind about the piece. The pages are entirely black which helps highlight the artwork. I don’t want to tell you what to do, but the holiday gift giving season is coming up and “Soul of Light” is a pretty awesome gift. It’s not the perfect gift for everyone on your list, but right now your looking at the sample art here (which our resized scans don’t do justice) and you already know someone who would like this. You know it, I know it, and the Amazon widget to the right knows it.

Licorne and Chakras

Mrs. R’s Review of Mrs. B’s Book

by Administrator, posted in Books, Reviews, Wiccan/Pagan

This is about a woman who has a very successful blog and with some hard work and a publisher that believed in her had her first book published. And that woman isn’t me. I’m talking about Kris Bradley who created the blog Confessions of a Pagan Soccer Mom, who with Weiser Books published her first book “Mrs. B’s Guide to Household Witchery: Everyday Magic, Spells, and Recipes”. Obviously I despise this woman.

Of course that isn’t true. The moment you start reading “Mrs. B’s” you can tell Bradley is down to earth and probably very approachable. With the black kitties throughout the book I considered trying to set up some sort of pay per view throw down with Llewellyn author Deborah Black whose books all feature similar black “Magic” the cats playing on her covers and throughout her books too. Then I realized if you got these two women together, instead of fighting they would probably immediately start trading cat stories, or perhaps recipes. Either way, Rebecca ain’t getting paid so what’s the point? (Parenthetically, although it’s horrible grammar, don’t you think Microsoft Word should just get over it and acknowledge that “ain’t” is a word that is accurately spelled?)

Enough blither blather (Two words Microsoft Word acknowledges, I might add.) Let’s actually talk about Bradley’s book. This one is truth in advertising, she has created a pretty sweet guide to household witchery. There is tons of information about household foods and spices, different magical blends you might consider for around the home (ranging from protection washes to prosperity oils), a review of deities and household guardians to consider for your home, a room by room magical tour of your home, and more. In fact, despite how much information there is to be found in “Mrs. B’s Guide to Household Witchery”, I almost wonder if it started out longer. Much longer. The book doesn’t feel cut off or abrupt. I just pick up a vibe that if let loose Bradley could have done a book that was twice as long, and for what it’s worth Weiser, I would not have minded at all.

The Green Thoreau Down

by Administrator, posted in Books, Reviews

“I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” – Walden

New World Library recently published a wonderful book, “The Green Thoreau: America’s First Environmentalist on Technology, Possessions, Livelihood, and More”, edited by Carol Spenard LaRusso. As you would suspect, it’s a lovely reader that I’ve taken great pleasure thumbing through, reading aloud from, and contemplating on. However I know what you’re thinking, cocky and/or jaded reader. “I own and/or read ‘Walden’. What else is there?” And it’s because of you, that I’m going to Thoreau down. (It’s like throw down, get it?) I’m about to present to you five, 100% bad ass quotes from Thoreau, and NONE of them are from “Walden”.

A man cannot be said to succeed in this life who does not satisfy one friend. – Journal, February 19, 1857

The fate of the country…does not depend on what kind of paper you drop into the ballot-box once a year, but on what kind of man you drop from your chamber into the street every morning. – Slavery in Massachusetts

That man is the richest whose pleasures are the cheapest. – Journal, March 11, 1856

Nothing can be more useful to a man than a determination not to be hurried. – Journal, March 22, 1842

The law will never make men free; it is men who have got to make the law free. They are the lovers of law and order, who observe the law when the government breaks it. – Slavery in Massachusetts

And that, my friends, is just a taste of some of the awesome to be found in “The Green Thoreau”. It pulls from 5 books, 7 essays, and 3 collections of journals and letters. It offers us a glimpse at a Thoreau outside of “Walden”, but it does also have some fantastic quotes from “Walden” as well. There may have never been a more perfect time for “The Green Thoreau”, consider adding it to your fall reading.

The Whole Metric Album

by Administrator, posted in Music, Reviews

I’m so very happy! Not too long ago I was complaining to my husband that iTunes killed the full length album. It seems like the more pop oriented artists just make a bunch of singles and they happen to end up together in case, if by some fluke, you want to purchase them all instead of one at a time for .99 as you discover them. Of course, if you decided like a madman to buy the whole Madonna “MDNA” album; don’t worry about hearing the songs “Give Me All Your Luvin'” or “I Don’t Give A” when selecting the album to listen to on your iPod. You see, Madonna had the nerve to collaborate with M.I.A. and Nicki Minaj on those songs respectively and thusly iTunes has decided that those song are now special, independent songs that now live entirely on their own and unless you take matters into your own hands you will never hear the “MDNA” album whole, as the artist intended. All this annoys the hell out of me because I believe in the album. I live by the rule of, if you like three songs, you buy the album. Sometimes I’ll buy on only two songs if I really like them, and I’ll even buy on none if I loved the previous album. But I almost always buy the whole album and listen to the whole thing. That’s why I’m so happy that I recently bought an album. A really good album. An album that even had a theme running through it. An album that reminds me why I buy albums; Metric “Synthetica”.

Some readers may remember that all the way back in 2009 I wrote a review of Metric’s previous album “Fantasies”. Obviously I liked that album if I took the time to review it. Well my friends, as much as I enjoyed “Fantasies” I have to say “Synthetica” kicks its ass.

“Synthetica” explores some kinds of heavy, but pretty relatable ideas and questions. Songs explore aging, disillusionment, wondering if you’re being true to yourself, etc. This theme is stretched so far that album’s lyrics and track list are printed backwards and included with the album is foil so you can read the words in the reflection. Now before you all zone out on me, thinking that this is one bummer of a concept album, I’m here to tell you where the rest of the awesome is…..it’s not one long drag.

Musically Metric works double time to rock you. I bought “Synthetica” while the weather was still warm out. I was playing it full volume in the car with both windows and the moon roof open and losing track of my speed. It’s that kind of sound. I do not often notice drums, but the drums at times are brutal. On the title track I swear the drummer had to have gone straight through the drums.

The opening track, “Artificial Nocturne” starts out slow, but it’s compelling with the opening line of, “I’m just as fucked up as they say.” Your curiosity following this is rewarded as the song opens up into a New Wave sound that would make New Order proud.

Then hold onto your hats as the single from the album, “Youth Without Youth” kicks in!

This one’s got a nice bouncy, driving, 80s vibe that I love. “Breathing Underwater”.

And here’s the title track, “Synthetica”. By the end the drums are kind of epic, right?

That was three songs. Go out and buy the whole album!

Invisible Excursions: A Compass for the Journey

by Administrator, posted in Books, Christianity/Catholicism, Reviews

“Invisible Excursions: A Compass for the Journey” by James Conlon is a memoir of sorts. Conlon tells the story of his life as it unfolded during pivotal events like the Vietnam war and Vatican II but he also discusses his emerging love affair with creation spirituality. As the book progresses the memoir comes to the present day where Conlon talks about the Sophia Center where he is Director.

However, that truthful, but remarkably bland, descriptive paragraph does not do “Invisible Excursions” justice. It tells the story of a questing, compassionate Christianity that I wish we heard more about these days. One that knows matters of taking care of our planet and social justice are equal to, and work with, matters of theology.

Conlon doesn’t just share his personal journey, he tries to inspire you to look at your own journey and make the most of it. He shares a few of the journeys of those who came to the Sophia Center. Ultimately I feel that “Invisible Excursions” is meant to give us hope in a time when despair is pretty easy to find, and more importantly, Conlon wants you to take that hope and pass it along.

Power Crystals

by Administrator, posted in Books, Magic/Occult, New Age, Paranormal, Psychic, Reviews

A while back I received a review copy of “Power Crystals: Spiritual and Magical Practices, Crystal Skulls, and Alien Technology” by John DeSalvo Ph.D. With a title that diverse, I wasn’t sure what to expect. It certainly had the potential to fly far afield from reality, if you know what I mean. But I was intrigued, and I had never really read anything about crystal skulls before, so I decided to give it a try. Since you’re here reading this review, it’s safe to assume that I’m glad I did.

I’m blown away by the depth of research in “Power Crystals”. The first four chapters of the book are devoted solely to the quartz crystal; what it is, its history, psychic studies, and its use in healing. Personally, quartz is one of my favorites so I found this interesting reading. It is also in the beginning, when discussing psychic studies, where we start to see DeSalvo’s efforts to bring as much scientific study and reason into subjects that sometimes struggle to be defined by science.

Next up, the crystal skulls. How insanely fascinating was this section of the book guys? Wait, you probably haven’t read it so you don’t know yet. It was great. Again, it’s all about the detail. As I mentioned, I hadn’t really read anything about crystals skulls so the bulk of my knowledge was, “There are skulls out there. They are made of crystal. That seems to matter to some people.” Now I feel like I have a good understanding of these skulls and their allure. DeSalvo shares the skulls history and personal journeys, the attempts at scientific testing of the skulls, and much more. As far as I’m concerned, at this point I’ve gotten my quartz crystal money’s worth, but there is still more.

DeSalvo goes on to discuss scrying and meditating with crystals. Also, crystal’s use in magical rituals. He even includes The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram! Some time is even given to examining the belief in Atlantis and its denizens’ potential use of crystals and the alleged phenomenon of crystal alien implants. It’s hard to imagine that DeSalvo left any crystal role or use unexamined!

“Power Crystals: Spiritual and Magical Practices, Crystal Skulls, and Alien Technology” at merely a touch over 200 pages (and that’s including the index!) is an amazingly in depth resource for everything quartz crystal. Upon finishing it, I immediately wanted to start reading certain sections (cough, ahem, crystal skulls, cough, cough) again. It’s a fascinating and entertaining ride designed for both the new age spiritualist and the skeptic.

Revisiting Dr. Dee

by Administrator, posted in Magic/Occult, Music, Reviews

Do any of you guys remember about a year ago when I talked about the opera “Doctor Dee”? Well for those of you who missed it, Damon Albarn (best known for his work with Blur and Gorillaz) joined forces with Nigerian drummer Tony Allen, and an orchestra to do an opera about the Elizabethan era alchemist, occultist, and scholar John Dee. As a music lover and occult nerd I was immediately smitten with this bizarre idea and bummed that I wasn’t in England to see a performance. Then I learned that Damon Albarn released an album of the music titled “Dr. Dee”. It would be mine, oh yes, it would be mine.

It’s all the same players, Albarn, Allen, and the orchestra is the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra. You find songs titled, “Edward Kelley”, “The Golden Dawn”, “A Man of England”, “9 Point Star”. The music is enjoyable and atmospheric. I had never noticed, until this album, how beautifully delicate Albarn’s singing voice can be. All of that said, this is definitely not a play it every day CD, or at least not for me. It’s not the right vibe for playing in the car while running errands, not for perhaps coming out of your computer speakers while trolling around Facebook. It’s not really pop. There is no rock. It is an opera, lightly sprinkled at times with a rock musician’s voice and sensibilities. None of that is to put down the album, it’s just something that should be understood if you’re considering picking up your own copy, which would be cool if you did.

Man I wish I could see Dr. Dee live! Take a look at this short video that shows clips of it being performed along with the reactions of those who saw it.

Here’s a music video for one of the more pop-ish songs from the album called “The Marvelous Dream”.

Why John Dee? Here’s a 7 minute interview Damon Albarn did with the Guardian about Dr. Dee.

Hardcore Zen Strikes Again!

by Administrator, posted in Books, Buddhism, Reviews

I’m a big fan of Brad Warner. Getting to interview him back in 2011 was a real nerve wracking experience for me! The thing I’m learning with Zen Buddhism is that every person that explores it has to find someone that can explain things in a way that they can understand, and for me, Brad Warner is one of those people. Perhaps it’s because Warner drifts around the edges of my interests. Obviously I have an interest in Zen Buddhism and he is a Zen priest and author of books on the subject of Zen Buddhism. I am a huge music fan and Warner is involved in, or was involved in, the underground punk music scene. I’m a big geek about assorted things; he’s a big geek about Japanese giant monster movies. Warner actually lived in Japan and worked for Tsuburaya Productions. Eiji Tsuburaya, who founded the company, directed the special effects on all the classic Godzilla movies. Also, he swears a lot, which of course I do too.

Warner’s latest book, “Hardcore Zen Strikes Again!” revisits the early years of his website, the contents of which formed the basis of “Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies, and the Truth About Reality”. “Strikes Again” even features a complete chapter that didn’t make it into “Hardcore Zen” called “The Whole Vegetarian Thing”, which was pretty fascinating. So I, like Warner, am confused as to why Wisdom Publications didn’t include it. Oh well, we get it now! Each essay gets an introduction and an afterword so that you’re given some perspective and additional context as to what Warner was thinking, or what was occurring, when the original website post was written. Considering there is sometimes as big as an eight year gap it’s refreshing to see how much or how little Warner’s views have changed with time.

Obviously “Hardcore Zen Strikes Again!” is wonderful for fans like myself, amused by fun facts (Did you know that originally Warner wanted to call “Hardcore Zen” “Sit Down and Shut Up”?) as much as new writing. That said, there is still something there for those looking for an enjoyable Zen read or an introduction to Brad Warner’s work.