Book Description
A comprehensive reference book for witches, historians and anyone fascinated by the occult.
Customer Reviews:
The grand tome of magic! .......2007-08-18
I would call this the big shazzam of modern magical spellbooks. This book contains a wealth of information and belongs on every witch, conjuror, powwow doctor or root-workers book shelves.
So much informaiton, it would take a while to get through. However, this is more of a "cook book" type of spell book where you can easily flip through to the information you need at a particular time. This is one of the most handy aspects of this book. It is easy to read and follow.
I also like the fact that you have many difference spell options for each situation you are facing.... That way if one technique will not suit you in your current situation, you can try another option. I also like the magical formulary in the back of the book containing many magical recipees to make your own potions, oils and floor washes... contains many traditional and proven formulas.
Great information and highly recommened!
Much Love & Many Blessings,
Thorn Nightwind
A definate must for your bookshelf.......2007-07-12
I love this book and refer to it often. It has sooo much information! It is not just for the Magikal, but for anyone interested in "spell casting".
I also own the Witchcraft book and with the 2 of them, I feel they are the only 2 books I ever need for referencing my information.
THE ELEMENTAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF 5000 SPELLS.......2007-07-05
THIS ON ALL SCALE 1-10 OF THE GREATEST WORKS OF ALLTIME.MAYBE IF SOMEONE COULD COME UP WITH A COMPLETE MAGICK SYMBOLS BOOK LIKE THIS .WELL I STILL DREAMING.................
Superb Book; Sure to Become an Occult Classic.......2007-06-27
One of the best collection of spells in (or out) of print. The first section is very helpful for those new to magic. It is well-written, organized, and well-compiled; a great investment for any witch or magician.
An excellent book by a great author, sure to become a classic work.
The Ultimate Book of Spells. Seriously........2007-05-23
If you enjoy spellwork that heavily utilizes herbs (even Hoodoo), this book is for you. For the price of all of the other spellbooks out there that only have 40 or so in them, you get a much better deal for your money when you buy this book. I know some people are offended by some of the content (some of the spells are "manipulative"), and I understand that. I do believe in karma and not doing any manipulative magick on anyone, so I steer away from those spells in the book. I do appreciate that Illes put them in the book to show that magick really is neither black or white; "it is both, because nature is both." The choice is there for those that wish to use them, but it is their choice alone. Back to the book itself...It may be a bit more expensive, but it is _definitely_ worth it. I bought mine almost a year ago, and still use it often today. It has a prominent spot in my witchy library, and I know you'll treasure it, too, when you buy it.
Book Description
An important reference to the most popular spells in the Dungeons & Dragons®
game. A must have at every D&D game table!
Spell Compendium provides players and Dungeon Masters with quick access to the
D&D spells they need most. Drawing from a treasure trove of sources, Spell Compendium is the one place to find spells that are referenced time and again: the best, most iconic, most popular, and most frequently used. This convenient reference introduces a new spell format that includes descriptive text.
Customer Reviews:
Good d&d resource.......2007-08-31
The Spell Compendium is a good resource for 3.5 d&d. There are a lot of spells in here that will find their way onto casters' lists. I think it strikes a pretty good balance in terms of game balance.
Great book, a few errors.......2007-08-24
This is a great book for spellcasters. You will find you've now got way too many spells to deal with. It gathers up all the spells from the Complete This and Comlete That and other ancillary books and adds in some brand new ones as well. There are a few entries that have obvious errors in them, including one spell that is completely useless because it is missing information.
It would be better if it contained the spells from the Player's Handbook as well, so you could have all your spells in one place. But at least you're now down to two spellbooks instead of a bunch with a little of this and a little of that.
I'd give it four and a half stars because of the errors, but I'm feeling generous.
Excellent book.......2007-08-22
This book is excellent. Anyone who says that this book is lacking because it doesn't have the core book spells doesn't know cost efficiency or understand logic. It is not logical to expect a company to reprint material from a book that players MUST HAVE in order to play, nor is it cost efficient to reprint such a massive amount of material. The PHB was 1/3-1/4 spells. That is a waste of space, money and time. That being said, this book is an excellent collection of spells. If you have any sort of caster, this book is almost as necessary as the core books. I rolled up a Cleric for an updated version of Tomb of Horrors, and the spells presented in this book saved the party at least two times on their own. Needless to say there are many useful and fun spells. A worthy addition to any D&D book collection.
Limited Usefulness.......2007-08-13
When I think spell 'compendium' I think of a volume that contains all spells in the Dnd 'verse period. The whole point of a spell compendium in my mind is to have all the spells in the game easily accessible and organized in one book. Therefor this book falls short for two reasons:
a) though it lists spells alphabeticially, it is not indexed.
b) it contains all the spells in the game...except for ones in the players handbook. Granted, this volume does reduce the ammount of books open for a spellcaster choosing their ideal spell combinations, but why WOC didn't go the distance to make a "one stop choose-your-magic-here" book is beyond me.
Upside: lots of fun spells. But that should be obvious from the title.
A Nice New Set of Fresh Spells.......2007-08-07
As far as I'm concerned, there can't be too many spells to choose from. That's why I really like books like this for it's concice collection of new spells. My only complain is that the Spell List by Level is on the back, when all the other books have it in the front. Oh Well. Otherwise the spells are clever, useful and original. Great as an addition to any campaign.
Book Description
An innovative thinker tackles the controversial question of why we believe in God and how religion shapes our lives and our future
For a growing number of people, there is nothing more important than religion. It is an integral part of their marriage, child rearing, and community. In this daring new book, distinguished philosopher Daniel C. Dennett takes a hard look at this phenomenon and asks why. Where does our devotion to God come from and what purpose does it serve? Is religion a blind evolutionary compulsion or a rational choice? In Breaking the Spell, Dennett argues that the time has come to shed the light of science on the fundamental questions of faith.
In a spirited narrative that ranges widely through history, philosophy, and psychology, Dennett explores how organized religion evolved from folk beliefs and why it is such a potent force today. Deftly and lucidly, he contends that the "belief in belief" has fogged any attempt to rationally consider the existence of God and the relationship between divinity and human need.
Breaking the Spell is not an antireligious screed but rather an eyeopening exploration of the role that belief plays in our lives, our interactions, and our country. With the gulf between rationalists and adherents of "intelligent design" widening daily, Dennett has written a timely and provocative book that will be read and passionately debated by believers and nonbelievers alike.
Customer Reviews:
There Is More Than One Way To Drown Yourself........2007-10-02
Dear Narrow Minded Reader (Yes, You),
Please try to refrain from immediately smothering me with your certainty of your own unmistaken intelligence, whether it is of a scientific bent or a religious one, be kind enough to give me a bit of breathing room, and carefully consider my position. I have read this book (carefully) and found that doing so was essentially a waste of my time. I don't feel this way because I adhere blindly to any religious belief, I am open to any real empirical evidence concerning religion or anything else. My reason for dismissing this book is that it doesn't get down to the real issue that it rests upon. I am not referring to the fact that the book is merely a proposal for scientific study of religion rather than being such a study (there is no empirical evidence of anything in this book except the fact that Dennett is an uncompromising materialist). No, the issue I refer to is deeper than that.
The whole Religion vs. Science battle will never resolve itself into anything fruitful because it is fought on too superficial a level. The soldiers on each side merely fling at their opposition big gobs of reasoning that, however skillfully constructed, are completely ineffectual. No one is ever convinced by the opposing side. Why? Because they are reasoning from different premises. That's all reasoning is: the logical unwinding of certain premises. If one person is reasoning from a premise of materialism and another from a premise of spiritualism then they cannot possibly arrive at any common ground no matter how finely they reason, in fact, the more finely they reason, the further away from each other they will become. The real issue is where the premises come from. Why does Dennett hold and reason from premises of materialism? How did he come by these premises? How did his opponents come by their opposing premises? It is pointless to say that they each came by their premises through reasoning because that gets us nowhere, it only takes us back to the unanswered question of the premises they are reasoning from. The materialists will say that Dennett came by his premises through empirical evidence. But that is not true. I am well read in this area and I know for a fact that there is no empirical evidence that proves that consciousness and all religious content in consciousness have a purely physiological nature and explanation. I also know that there is no religious or spiritual-philosophy explanation for the human condition that answers everything. The only FACT here is that we all eventually run up against the UNKNOWN and that some people react to this mystery by leaning on spiritual premises and some lean on materialist premises and that they are both questionable and should be questioned. The fact of the matter is that unless we allow the unknown to simply be what it is then we come by certain unexamined premises which allow us to construct a reasoned-out world-view. These premises are unexamined because we acquire them on a sub-conscious level as an individual emotional reaction to the fact of the UNKNOWN. They remain unexamined because we don't know how to bring their formation process into consciousness and are too frightened to try to learn how. But this would be a task truly worthy of our greatest effort. Much more worthy than flinging fantasies at each other.
I am all for empirical research into the question of what role the brain plays in the formation of human beliefs. I am against Dennett's materialist assumption that the brain contains all the answers. I am also against an assumption that it doesn't. Can we possibly rid ourselves of our unconscious premises and dive open-mindedly into the UNKNOWN? Probably not. Forgive me, dear reader, for proposing something as mad as taking off your life-saver while you are treading fathomless waters. Forgive me. Yes, go ahead and fling another gob.
Under a Spell.......2007-09-27
This book really make pne think about how religion has been used by Europe as a tool of mass brain washing, especially to those of colour, to it to justifiy racism and slavery.
Philosophically Weak.......2007-09-19
In this book Daniel Dennett tries to answer the question, `Why are we religious?' Looking at the issue from the standpoint of evolutionary biology, Dennett hopes to explain the origin and endurance of religion naturalistically.
Personally, I'm not completely opposed to this kind of project, nor am I particularly concerned about the results. There is no reason for Christians to worry about theories which naturalistically explain the tendency for people to be religious. There are several reasons for this, not least of which is the fact that providing explanations of the origin of beliefs are not grounds for dismissing the belief. To make such a dismissal would be to commit the genetic fallacy. The rationality of any given belief must be analyzed on its own merits.
And this is what Dennett fails miserably to do, which would be fine except for the fact that he promises to do it. If Dennett were merely describing the ways religion could naturalistically arrive, then there would be no problem. But the book is not quite neutral on the subject, and it is clear that Dennett thinks that there are actually good reasons to reject religious beliefs. In one short section, Dennett takes on the task of refuting natural theology. Yet, even by his own admission, the section contains little or no reasoning- it only gives broad pronouncements. To introduce the section, Dennett writes,
"At long last I turn to the promised consideration of arguments for the existence of God. And, having reviewed the obstacles- diplomatic, logical, psychological, and tactical- facing anybody who wants to do this constructively, I will give just a brief bird's-eye view of the domain of inquiry, expressing my own verdicts but not the reasoning that has gone into them, and providing references to a few pieces that may not be familiar to many." [240]
Did you catch that? Dennett admits that he is not going to provide any reasoning, but merely pronounce his own verdicts on the matter! Why on earth should he do that? It's already clear at this point in the book that Dennett is an atheist, so we are already aware of his `verdicts.' What we need is some solid reasoning.
And of course, what he does offer us on this subject is extremely weak. He brushes off historical arguments, claiming that they are manifestly question-begging. Well, some of the most unsophisticated ones are, but this does not show that all historical argumentation is useless. Dennett apparently thinks that the only historical arguments are the ones of the fashion:
1. The Bible is God's word.
2. God makes no mistakes.
3. Therefore, the Bible makes no mistakes.
And, therefore (of course), we know that God exists, because the Bible tells us so! Of course these sorts of arguments are absolute trash, but what about arguments for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, which do not assume that the Bible is perfect but merely considers the books of the New Testament (and others) as historical sources. Dennett probably doesn't think that a good case for the resurrection can be made, but the point is simply that he cannot brush off all forms of historical argumentation as if there is nothing substantial to discuss.
Philosophy is actually Dennett's primary expertise, so we should expect him to be particularly qualified to discuss philosophical arguments for God's existence. Here, again, he falls far short. He brushes off the Cosmological Argument with simplistic objections like `What caused God?' Then he basically dismisses the whole argument as too `arcane' to bother with. He doesn't even do this much when discussing the Design Argument, which he claims to have covered `quite extensively' in his book Darwin's Dangerous Idea, and he decides to merely provide a summary from that book rather than offer any reason for us to think that the Design Argument is flawed.
And that's all there is to say about that. Whatever the use of this book, it certainly provides no compelling reason to think that God doesn't exist.
Besides developing an account of the naturalistic emergence and evolution of religious belief, Breaking the Spell also attempts to address the question, `Is religion good for us?' Dennett admits that much more research needs to be done before conclusions can be reached, an admission that he makes concerning almost every topic and theory discussed throughout the entire book. Yet, despite the fact that the data is too limited and the variables too many to come to a conclusion on the matter, Dennett still seems, at least implicitly, to conclude that religion is bad for us, or at least is seriously problematic.
Dennett does get quite a bit right. He is right that we should not try to shield religious beliefs and protect them from skeptical or reflective inquiry. He is right that we should pursue a great deal of research into these topics. I am personally not afraid of such scrutiny of my religious beliefs. But Dennett has a long way to go if he hopes to convince me that religion is only a natural phenomenon.
A Very Human Book.......2007-09-12
What to add to the many excellent reviews already posted?
Not long before I read BREAKING THE SPELL I had lunch with a couple of friends who were exercised about the utter irrationality of some of the religious types they knew. They just couldn't "get" what religious belief and affiliation was giving these folks.
After reading BREAKING THE SPELL I felt I "got it." Religion is a "natural phenomena." Irrational belief structures make sense in the right context. And it's the context Daniel Dennett provides, the most important aspect of which is how our brains are put together. (Be sure to read Stephen Pinker's HOW THE BRAIN WORKS too.)
So despite the fact Dennett gets thrown in with the most radical of religion attackers, I believe BREAKING THE SPELL comes across with a far more compassionate approach.
I believe, too, that accepting why human brains "naturally" create folk and organized religions is a better platform for curtailing the many and obvious problems with religion -- especially the institutionalized lack of compassion for others -- than outright antipathy.
I've already sent copies to friends who've been deeply hurt by religion, especially American fundamentalist "Christianity." It's been healing for them.
Dr. Kirtland C Peterson
Often tedious but sometimes fascinating.......2007-09-05
This is a fascinating 200 page book trapped inside of a tedious 400 page tome. Dennett begins by offering some compelling possible analogies to religion, both positive and negative, and also quite a few interesting quotes. The material seems to get pretty thin rather quickly in the early going though, and I counted no less than four instances of Dennett saying "this is what this book is going to be about". Yeah, so get to the point already! His stated intentions of not wanting to bring down religion but instead open the religious up to the idea of scientific inquiry is not quite convincing. We ALREADY know what science thinks of religion, and Dennett himself is known to be quite hostile to even the notion of the "Prime Mover" of deism, to say nothing of the specialized God of Christianity. So he sort of comes off as a snake oil salesman with his analogy that maybe when the religious let go of that branch on the cliff, maybe they'll find that their feet are only inches from the ground.
The heart of the book is Dennett's "theory sketch" for a possible natural history of religions, mostly based on the science of self-propagating memes. This was by far the most engaging part of the book and I wish Dennett had actually made this the subject of an entire volume without the dishonest pretentions of trying to find common ground between science and religion that are present here.
Book Description
Whose relationship -- or lack of one -- couldn't use a little magic now and then?
Sometimes Cupid needs a kick in the pants. for every woman tired of waiting for the right man to come along, Bewitch a Man is a fun, empowering manual that shows how to conjure him up fast. Real-life witch Fiona Horne offers effective, easy-to-master spells, charms, and magical know-how so you too can:
• be irresistible to the man of your dreams
• bring a straying lover back to the fold
• ward off a potential rival
• fire up his libido and keep a relationship sizzling
• and yes, hex the jerks who truly deserve it.
Customer Reviews:
More good than bad.......2007-01-09
I received this book as a Christmas gift, and am almost finished, but wished to share my thoughts. Fiona Horne is very important to me as her book "Witch: a personal journey" (published in Australia) actually set me on my Witchy path, so I will always have a soft spot for her.
I enjoy the way that Fiona writes, as if it was a conversaton with your girlfriend, but I think maybe living in LA has changed Fiona into dropping famous people's names more often, which is a shame, but I guess that is LA. Also, I am a bit disapointed in the underlining theme of the book that females have "power over" men, and that this book will help you increase that power. Yes males have had power over females for too long a time in history, but we should know be viewing the sexes as equal.
That aside, I love the section on "Poetry in motion" on page 112 and will use that myself, aswell as the "Let it go" ritual on page 103. All rituals you can use in your everyday life. Also the story on Yhi in the introduction is a must-read for all Witches, and Fiona's explanation of how a spell works expresses her breadth of knowledge. Even though the title suggests this is a "fluffy" book, Fiona Horne is not a "fluffy" witch.
Average customer rating:
- Very effective!!
- truely practical
- Not very practical.
- A good place to start once you've done your basics
- I love this book. It's simple, and it works if you believe it will.
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Practical Candleburning Rituals: Spells and Rituals for Every Purpose (Llewellyn's Practical Magick Series)
Raymond Buckland
Manufacturer: Llewellyn Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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Advanced Candle Magick: More Spells and Rituals for Every Purpose (Llewellyn's Practical Magick Series)
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Charms, Spells, and Formulas
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Buckland's Complete Book Of Witchcraft (Llewellyn's Practical Magick)
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Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner
ASIN: 0875420486 |
Book Description
This trusted guidebook by popular author Raymond Buckland has introduced candle magick to more than 300,000 readers. From winning love to conquering fear, obtaining money to improving relationships, Practical Candleburning Rituals is filled with simple candle rites that get real results.
Newly updated and re-organized, this edition includes thirty-seven rituals-adapted for Christians and Pagans-that can be performed at home with readily available materials. No prior magickal knowledge is necessary. Diagrams and simple instructions make this candle magick primer an ideal practical guide for beginners.
Customer Reviews:
Very effective!!.......2007-09-01
I've read a ton of books on candle rites and spells, and this is my favorite. It has versions for Christians and Pagans. I think it's fasinating and there are rituals in here for many occasions. All of the ones I've tried have worked well for me. Is it magic, or the will of suggestion? I believe in magic, but does it really matter? IT WORKS!!!
truely practical.......2007-08-14
this book is great it doesn't spend alot of time on the ethics and history of magick but gets right into some very usable spells, and gives both a Christian and Pagan variation on each so everyone can use it.
Not very practical........2007-07-26
I think Mr. Buckland and I have very different definitions of the word, 'practical'. He appears to use it in reference to 'everyday things', meaning one can use candle magic for 9-to-5 type things as well as emotional/spiritual purposes.
I, however, do not think one can use 'practical' without including the meaning of 'cost-and-time effective'. Some of the rituals suggested in this book call for *several* candles, of various colors, with an emphasis on not 're-using' candles. Unless you have a store near you that sells candles relatively cheaply, this can put you back a good amount of money, aside from whatever you spend on your regualr practice.
Now, since a sensible person does not leave even a single candle burning unattended, you get to babysit all those candles--because in Mr. Buckland's opinion, you can't re-use candles, can't snuff them and re-light for the same purpose. Some candles can burn for as long as 12 hours! Not very practical!
All the focus on colors, incense, etc., made me think this was more like Dumbo's feather than a primer on candle magic. The inclusion of Psalms seemed odd to me. While I suppose it was done in an effort to appeal to a wider audience, I don't think it worked. For Wiccans with no desire to include Christian scriptures (and who can blame them? Those Scriptures rightfully belong in the context and beliefs of that religion, not Wicca), the Psalms are unnecessary padding to flip through.
For Christians... well, to most Christians, practicing magic of any kind is anathema. I think Mr. Buckland made a mistake here, and assumed that since many Catholics light candles to the saints and the Holy Mother as part of their worship, *all* Christians would do so. (They don't, and there are certainly plenty of Christians who would object to being considered Catholic!)
Truthfully, this book is dated. THere's nothing in it (aside from the Psalms) that is not also readily available in most "Wicca 101" books. There are other books on candle magic--I recommend "The Candle Magick Workbook" by Kala and Ketz Pajeon. Much more focused, and far better suited for people wanting to personalize their practice.
A good place to start once you've done your basics.......2007-01-19
and decided on the type of magic you would like to work. For those that work with fire, this is a good place to advance.
I love this book. It's simple, and it works if you believe it will. .......2006-12-06
I have had this book for about 5 years now. I have done the same spell a few times, and so far, each time I have done it, I have seen successful results. I did a new spell recently, and as soon as I finished it, it came true. Put your mind and body into the entire process. Imagine and really feel the words that you are saying as you do the spell. Do it continually until the end, have patience and believe it'll happen...that's all I have to say.
Book Description
Be all over “minuscule.” Score big with “curvaceous.” Hit “trireme” out of the park. From the authorities behind the Scripps National Spelling Bee comes a comprehensive illustrated book on the endangered art of spelling.
Written for ages 9 and up, How to Spell Like a Champ shows kids how to build word lists, and organize and study them most effectively. How to gain knowledge of etymology, word roots, and spelling patterns from English and other languages. Here are commonly missed words and word patterns— and those feisty (who said “i before e except after c”?) words that don’t fit any pattern. Synonyms, antonyms, eponyms. Suffixes and prefixes. Plus, a whole chapter of word searches and other skill-building games enforces the lessons learned. The book is also a spelling bee primer for the ten million kids who participate in Scripps spelling bees on the local level. It tells what to study, how to study, how much to study. Readers learn what to expect in a bee—whether a classroom contest or the Scripps National Final—and how they can make it through each round by asking the right questions and using their well-honed instincts. Included is an audio CD featuring Dr. Jacques Bailly himself, the official voice of the National Spelling Bee as heard on ABC, ESPN, and in the movies.
Spelling bees are hot stuff: The National Spelling Bee is one of ESPN’s most talked about annual broadcasts, plus bees are the subject of a Tony award–winning Broadway musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee; a bestselling novel, Bee Season; an Oscar-nominated documentary, Spellbound; and a forthcoming major motion picture starring Laurence Fishburne, Akeelah and the Bee.
Today’s word: “estimable.”
Amazon.com
David Abram's writing casts a spell of its own as he weaves the reader through a meticulously researched work that gently addresses such seemingly daunting topics as where the past and future exist, the relationship between space and time, and how the written word serves to sever humans from their primordial source of sustenance: the earth.
"Only as the written text began to speak would the voices of the forest, and of the river, begin to fade. And only then would language loosen its ancient associations with the invisible breath, the spirit sever itself from the wind, the psyche dissociate itself from the environing air," writes Abram of the separation caused by the proliferation of the written word.
In writing The Spell of the Sensuous, Abram consulted an engaging collection of peoples and works. He uses aboriginal song lines, stories from the Koyukon people of northwestern Alaska, the philosophy of phenomenology, and the speeches of Socrates to paint a poetic landscape that explains how we became separated from the earth in the first place. With minimal environmental doomsaying, Abram discusses how we can begin to recover a sustainable relationship with the earth and the nonhuman beings who live among us--in the more-than-human world. --Kathryn True
Book Description
David Abram draws on sources as diverse as the philosophy of Merleau-Ponty, Balinese shamanism, Apache storytelling, and his own experience as an accomplished sleight-of-hand magician to reveal the subtle dependence of human cognition on the natural environment. He explores the character of perception and excavates the sensual foundations of language, which--even at its most abstract--echoes the calls and cries of the earth. On every page of this lyrical work, Abram weaves his arguments with passion and intellectual daring.
"Long awaited, revolutionary...This book ponders the violent disconnection of the body from the natural world and what this means about how we live and die in it."--Los Angeles Times
Customer Reviews:
mixed.......2007-08-05
In this elegantly titled book Abrams argues about a "language older than words" - a language of immediacy imbued with connectedness between an (indigenous) person and her environemnt. The landscape talks and sensitive and attuned people listen and hear it speak. Abrams' `ecophenomenology' coincides with a plethora of similarly well-intentioned works that have appeared in recent years.
Abrams shares this basic idea with others - phenomenologists, philosophers, linguists, ethnographers and anthropologists many of whom performed research on indigenous peoples from around the world. For an indigenous person the intimacy between the landscape and the inner space of feeling is rather ordinary and normal, certainly nothing special. That someone has to argue that this communication even exists is, to someone living close to nature almost incomprehensible.
Be that as it may, Abrams quotes other people (indigenous folks and their observers) copiously and not always consistently. His own contribution I find a bit sketchy and perhaps even problematic. For example, he goes to great length trying to shift the blame for the ecological blindness of Western man from our absurd belief in a warlike, genocidal and jealous Hebrew deity to Greek philosophers and their use of abstract language. This is not a little disingenuous, since It is the followers of the 3 monotheistic religions that are the most responsible for dissociating humans from the polytheistic/pantheistic view of nature that honors harmony and awareness of a living landscape.... as evidenced in the stoning of ancient Hebrews who worshipped Astarte and the Earth Goddess(es), killings of pagans and mystics throughout the Medieval Europe and Arab world (e.g.; Suhrawardi in the 13th century).
Perhaps a more serious concern is that although Abrams pays lip service to the indigenous relationship with the landscape, he does this through the prism of his own logocentric viewpoint rooted in Western anthropology and phenomenology (quoting Husserl and Merleau-Ponty). His use of concepts aiming at disentangling himself from the conceptual double-bind reminds me of a fly ineffectually buzzing around spider's web. Apart from the Introduction - which is promising, as it suggests Abrams will use the book to talk about his personal experiences, insights or revelations, the book itself is a brainy, abstract and a superconceptual treatise, I personally had to skip pages as it sometimes simply got too boring. The diametric opposite of SOTS would probably be Jensen's Language Older Than Words - a brilliant personal expose on the same topic which, for reasons unclear to me, received much less attention. Be that as it may, the interest in SOTS signifies that ecophenomenology is here to stay and i personally am happy about it.
Finding Lost Connections with the World.......2007-06-12
This amazing study has put me back in touch with a truth I have always known in part, but now understand at a new depth. David Abram's understanding of language as the medium of all connexion with the world we are part of is profound and opens a realm of experience that few in the so-called developed cultures are now even dimly aware of. An enlightened and timely addition to the renewed human search for meaning.
An Awakening to Nature--The Call to Embodiment.......2007-05-27
Abrams tells the story of Earth--Gaia--as a living organism that speaks and breathes through us--and through all living things (and if we only listen, all things are living as they are part of Earth, the rhythm of all harmonizes into a breathing landscape). Abrams' work calls for a reawakening of nature, "who has lost [her] voice" (p. 138), a reawakening of our psyche that "lives the language of our lives more deeply" (p. 59). With the loss of nature, we have lost part of ourselves--we have abstracted ourselves from the environment, making the landscape irrelevant to our lives through the persistent valuing of technique and human over organic and alive. Through privileging human voices, we have forgotten to listen to the larger ecology, and have made our lives bare, commonplace. Wonder has been lost.
Abrams' works invites ecological pedagogy--pedagogy attuned to the sounds and rhythms of the lifeworld. Ecological pedagogy might use myth to reveal the energy of the world (Campbell). Myth is not a search for the meaning of life, but an "interior road map of experience", a revelation of human experience. Myth is a "singing of the universe...[that] calls us to a deeper awareness of the living itself" (Campbell). Through the retelling of myths, through the dancing or reenactment of myths (as Abrams tells us village elders do for Dreamtime (p. 170)), we can re-enliven the stories in our own time, and give more possibilities for meaning to our experiences.
Ritual might also be used in ecological pedagogy to guide us in re-enlivening the world. Rituals were performed before all important events in cultures with close ties to land--before hunting expeditions, before harvesting. We have forgotten that these matters hold meaning (i.e., we stop by Wendy's on our way home from work or school and don't give a second thought to where our food came from). Ritual is a way of offering homage to the earth, of showing appreciation and gratitude; but it is not only, or even primarily, for the earth, as Helen Payne (quoted in Abrams, p. 171) tells us is true for oral cultures. For the modern technological man, ritual would primarily reawaken the bond and awareness of the Other in nature, of animals and earth and sky. We have lost these words that "used to reverberate with meaning" (Van Mannen).
Insightful book........2007-04-19
I read this book when it was first published many years ago. After rereading it recently, I was struck by its insight and power to move me again.
Abram's is not only a visionary and a mystic but a slight of hand magician. This book is more than a eco-philosophy but shifts perceptual fields of awareness.
My only regret is the author has not written anything since this visionary work came out. Too powerful of a voice to fade into the past.
Journey.......2006-01-01
I read this book when my toddler daughter was just at a time when if I said something was a red herring she was looking for the fish, she seemed just exactly in the moment he was talking about in the text that I had long lost. Something as simple as feeling the rain on her face or trying to walk across the shine on the mall floor caused her to fear falling into the pool she saw from the surface or not knowing if it felt cold or hurt, this falling rain so rare out in her CA home, trying to tell me of rain as something changing her face. So of course I thought and thought about how real and valid her perceptions were and how close her knowing rode to experiences from the natural world. So I fell into his text and into the violet gathering patches of my childhood in West Virginia and away from the years of spraying, consuming, packaging, peeling, refining and defining within our cultural context. It was a lovely trip into feeling. I do so recommend the book.
Book Description
This comprehensive textbook, now fully revised, rewritten and up-dated in its fourth edition, provides an authoritative account of all aspects of perioperative care for surgical patients. All areas of medical disease are discussed with clear recommendations for work up and management in the perioperative period. Basic discussions of surgical procedures are included to help non-surgeons understand the procedures and their implications for patient care. This definitive account includes numerous contributions from leading experts at national centers of medical excellence.
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Spell of the Highlander
Karen Marie Moning
Manufacturer: Dell
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The Immortal Highlander
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ASIN: 0440240972
Release Date: 2006-05-30 |
Book Description
Powerful. Sensual. Seductive. He is all that is shamelessly erotic in a man. In her sexiest Highlander novel yet, New York Times bestselling author Karen Moning stirs up a sizzling brew of ancient mystery and modern passion as she brings together a devilishly handsome Celtic warrior trapped in time . . . and the woman who’s about to pay the ultimate price for freeing him. Age-old secrets haunt them. Deadly danger and irresistible desire shadow their every move. It’s a relationship for the ages. And all that separates them is a mere thirteen hundred years. . . .
Jessi St. James has got to get a life. Too many hours studying ancient artifacts has given the hardworking archaeology student a bad case of sex on the brain. So she figures she must be dreaming when she spies a gorgeous half-naked man staring out at her from inside the silvery glass of an ancient mirror. But when a split-second decision saves her from a terrifying attempt on her life, Jessi suddenly finds herself confronting six and a half feet of smoldering, insatiable alpha male.
Heir to the arcane magic of his Druid ancestors, eleven centuries ago Cian MacKeltar was trapped inside the Dark Glass, one of four coveted Unseelie Hallows, objects of unspeakable power. When the Dark Glass is stolen, an ancient enemy will stop at nothing to reclaim it, destroying everything in his path–including the one woman who may just hold the key to breaking the ninth-century Highlander’s dark spell. For Jessi, the muscle-bound sex god in the mirror is not only tantalizingly real, he’s offering his protection–from exactly what, Jessi doesn’t know. And all he wants in exchange is the exquisite pleasure of sharing her bed.
Yet even as Cian’s insatiable hunger begins to work its dark magic on Jessi, his ancient enemy is about to obtain the final and most dangerous of the Unseelie Hallows–and the ninth-century Highlander must stop him from getting it. Nothing less than the very fabric of the universe and two passionately entwined lives are at stake–as Cian and Jessi fight to claim the kind of love that comes along but once in an ice age. . . .
From the Hardcover edition.
Download Description
KAREN MARIE MONING graduated from Purdue University with a bachelor’s degree in Society & Law. Her novels, which have appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists, have won numerous awards, including the prestigious RITA Award. She can be reached at www.karenmoning.com.
From the Hardcover edition.
Customer Reviews:
Bravo.......2007-10-01
Karen Moning makes the characters believable. I love the inserts at the end of the book. She needs to write more books.
LOVE IT.......2007-09-13
I am a sucker for these paranormal romance novels. I love the idea of being able to travel in time, to see things as they used to be. That love can win over everything. I think these novels take me back to romance novels of before as well. With the warring personalities. I like how strong Karen's characters are. Some times they get bogged down a bit with the emotional upheaval and their stubborness, but ultimately prevail in the end. I have enjoyed all of her books and now impatiently await the new ones!!!
Whoa!!.......2007-08-28
This is the first book I've read by Ms Moning and I must say I'm quite impressed. With an amazingly delectable hero, a captivating heroine, and a playful, stay-up-till 2am story, this is a definite treat! Even though it is the 7th book in the Highlander series, I didn't feel disconnected and I can't wait to read the previous books in the series.
Thank you Ms Moning for this irresistible time-travel romp!
First Read, absolutely stood up after reading al!.......2007-07-04
I read this book first in the series and then read the rest of them. I'm a sucker for romance, for intelligence and for poignancy and this had them all. When you let yourself think about anybody surviving 1100 years in a mirror and then imagine some of the horror and then the agony of finally having his shot at revenge and yet at the same time being faced with the dream he'll never have...well, it's powerful hard to put down.
LOVED Cian. I think that he and Adam and Adam's son were my absolute faves. The others were oh so close behind.
Sexy and fun--if you can suspend your disbelief.......2007-06-13
The hero has been trapped in a mirror for over one thousand years. Despite his curse, Cian manages to seduce the heroine and save the day. I enjoyed this book immensely, but only recommend it to readers who can suspend their disbelief about magic.
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The Oxford Essential Spelling Dictionary (Oxford)
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ASIN: 039575691X |
Book Description
A concise guide to spelling and syllabicating more than 40,000 words. Other features include the seven basic rules of spelling and the rules for forming plurals and compound words.
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A List of Words.......2006-03-16
This book is an alphabetical list of 40,000 words. Each word is broken into syllables and shows which syllables are stressed.
When I do appearances, it is fun to take the group's name and make it into a humorous acronym. If you are trying to make a sentence out of the words that start with specific letters, this handy book will give you the ideas to create "Amazon - A - M - A - Z - O - N: Access Millions and Zillions of Novels". Small and compact, it fits easily into luggage when traveling.
If you need a list of words that start with a specific letter, this is one compact way to achieve it.
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