I complain about this every year.
Back when Ray Buckland was the editor of Llewellyn's Magickal Almanac, I used to really use the book - it had a sturdy cover that traveled well in my purse or briefcase, lots of space in each daily section for notes and stuff, and it even contained informative articles on some off- beat subjects such as Voodoo and the differences between black and white magick. But for the past few years, the Almanac has been reduced to a poor excuse for a book with a flimsy cover more concerned with the presentation of clip art than being a useful tool for the pagans among us.
The format is the same as previous years', with categories such as: Calendar, Sabbat Listings, Lunar Phase Listings, Moon Sign Listings, Color and Incense Correspondences…. Yawn. The mini-articles included for 1997 really aren't that interesting or of much use.
What else can I say? Nothing. Because, unlike the Magickal Almanac, I do not wish to waste good paper.
1997 Sun Sign Book
The days are getting shorter, there is a distinctive chill in the air and apples are starting to once again bring me visions of pies throughout my kitchen. Must be time for the Annuals to start appearing again as well.
This year, just like every other, a spate of horoscope books has begun appearing in book shops since August. My perennial favorites year after year are those from Llewellyn - the Sun and Moon Sign Books. Why are these books so fascinating to us? Because, although they do include the obligatory horoscopes for the coming year, they also try to educate the reader about the topic, albeit somewhat superficially.
If you think about this, it is a brilliant idea on Llewellyn's part. Most people who purchase these volumes do so because they have no knowledge of astrology whatsoever. Llewellyn is feeding them some relatively simple information on several astrological topics to whet their appetites. Pretty slick.
This year's Sun Sign Book is authored by Gloria Star, as it has been since 1990. Gloria does have a way of presenting the material in a format that is easily readable and conveys a reasonable amount of information in a relatively small space. As anyone who has ever picked up one of these books knows, a forecast for each sun sign of the zodiac is included. It's the perfect book to see how your friends and loved ones will fare in the coming year. Since I am a Leo, of course I wanted to flip there, but then I decided it would be a better move to flip to Aquarius. Better to know what Hank will be up to first.
Being a good witch (take that any way you want to), I fully understand that there is no way in Summerland that a general horoscope for the masses could possibly be as dead-on accurate as a chart cast especially for an individual. The one thing I like about this book is Gloria has broken the sign in question into six or seven different time periods, thereby somewhat improving the accuracy of the forecast. She then proceeds, month by month, through the year for each sign in question, giving the forecast of what life might be like in 1997. What is also fun is the action chart (covering which day in the year is best for what, according to your sign) and the ever-useful table of sun sign correspondences.
Yep - unconventional sure does describe Hank. And I'll be sure to be extra sweet on May 5 and 6, when it is good for him to "start a new romance" (giggle). As always, the Sun Sign Book also includes short articles on such topics as solar trends and Saturn, your superego. Light, fluffy and mildly entertaining.
Llewellyn's 1997 Moon Sign Book
The Moon Sign Book, for one reason or another, is always of more interest to me. Actually, this is the book which should to appeal to those who are witch-born, but not yet fully aware of it. Throughout time, there has been more moon-lore than sun-lore. It was never said that the sun has as many mystical properties as the moon, and the sun has never caused lunacy on a monthly basis.
As in The Sun Sign Book, the articles in the Moon Sign Book are somewhat fluffy, but they do serve the purpose to whet the appetite of the barely initiated. Helpful information on moon phases, retrogrades, finding your moon sign, your lunar forecasts and a void of course moon chart are all here. There just seems to be more information presented in the Moon Sign Book.
I was not thoroughly enthralled with the presentation of the moon sign forecast section. Rather than giving the directions for trying to determine your moon sign with the tables provided on page 235, Llewellyn should have put the tables immediately following the forecast. Page 235 turns out to be incorrect anyway.
Secondly, although there is a disclaimer stating that for complete accuracy in determining your moon sign you should have an astrological chart cast, I found the method of obtaining your moon sign confusing, as I always do. However, the forecasts are in much the same format as the Sun Sign Book and just as entertaining.
Taking Llewellyn's Sun Sign and Moon Sign Books for what they are, both turn out to be an interesting bit of reading. Let's face it - aren't we all just a bit curious about what the stars have in store for us?
For those who cannot afford to have a professional astrologer cast our charts, these volumes are an inexpensive and fun way to get a rudimentary glimpse into what the coming year may hold in store for us. The charm of these books is that they are not trying to be something they aren't. And, for that refreshing reason alone, if you have a few spare minutes per week, they're worth a look.
True Hauntings: Spirits with a Purpose
Hazel M. Denning, Ph.D.
"Many books have been written about haunted houses, but few present the material from the point of view of the spirit involved in the haunting." From the very first line in the introduction, I was hooked.
True Hauntings is a truly remarkable work. For anyone who has not heard of the author, Hazel Denning is the authority on past-life regression therapy. As a scholar and doctor of clinical psychology, she has the credentials to back up this work. The book opens with an intellectual look at the paranormal and metaphysical fields. Dr. Denning covers more academic information in the opening 12 pages of her work than most authors can cover in 200.
The next 16 chapters are devoted to specific types of hauntings: "Death Traumas Entrap Some Entities," "Guilt-Ridden Entities," "Discarnates Held By Emotional Attachment" and so on.
Hooked yet? These chapters are brimming with first-hand accounts of not only the incarnates who have experienced the discarnates' doings, but they also explore the rationale behind the haunting from the entity's point of view. The remaining text delves into such topics as "Psychic Attack in Addictions and Crime," explores the question "Is Channeling a Form of Invasion?" (high time something meaty was written on this topic) and discusses "Flowing With the Stream Of Consciousness."
If you have guessed by now that I am not giving away too much of the actual content, you're right. The joy of this book comes from reading the stories. The narrative is such that, with very little imagination, one becomes totally ensconced within the account at hand. Anyone who has even a passing fancy with hauntings should pick up this book - serious practitioners of the arts clairvoyant or magickal should put this down as a must read. Any high priest or priestess currently training dedicants should add this to their reading list. Get the idea?
True Hauntings finally explores this topic from a completely different standpoint than any other volume published thus far. The concept of understanding and gaining insight from the entity's perspective is invaluable. This book can not only help all of us who are still incarnate here better understand not only the entire process and reasons behind a haunting, but it can also help us to aid the release of those trapped and, further, to understand how we might not put our own beings into a similar situation.
True Hauntings is also a breath of fresh air within its genre because of Dr. Denning's intellectual way of approaching the subject. While it is an easy read, she treats the subject as an academic one with the language that implies, instead of taking the Ripley's Believe it or Not route. Don't be put off by the fact this book is more intellectual than those we have seen from Llewellyn of late; it is also more authoritatively informative as well.
The only thing left to say about True Hauntings is go and get it! It makes an ideal Samhain gift, as well as a great gift to those interested in psychology. I can't imagine anyone not being touched by the poignant stories included, scared by the tales of the truly malevolent entities and just enthralled with the work as a whole.
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