Book Review: Kinesic Magic by Donald Tyson (Affiliate link)
This is an intriguing book that presents a system of magic that’s based on poses and hand gestures. It reminds me of Pascal Beverly Randolph’s work, but the author does a good job of creating a unique system of his own and based it around the classical elemental and planetary models of magic. If you’re looking for a system of magic that you can do strictly with your body, this is a good book to start with.
Book Review: The Four Elements of the Wise by Ivo Dominguez Jr (Affiliate Link)
If there’s one book I would recommend on elemental magic, its this book. I’ve been practicing elemental magic for over 25 years and I got new insights, perspectives, and ideas for my practice from this book. I don’t say that lightly, because I develop my own systems of magic, but this book gave me ideas on how to further flesh out my own work. It’s a book that will help you go deep with elemental magic. Pick it up today!
Book Review: Letters from a Stoic by Seneca (affiliate link)
This is a fascinating book which provides both a glimpse of history and Roman life, and profound wisdom and observations about how to live life better, which apply as much to modern times as to ancient times. The stoic philosophy is expressed in this book, but I find it interesting that the author explores other perspectives and ideas from opposing philosophical schools. We’re fortunate to have these letters and get perspective from Seneca that can be applied to our own lives.
Book Review: Heaven and Earth Qigong (Affiliate link) by Bruce Frantzis and Paul Cavell
This is a comprehensive book that explores the Heaven and Earth Qigong movements as well as doing cavity work, pulsing and the micro and macrocosmic circulations. The book has excellent illustrations and is a good guide on its own or as a complement to any training you are doing around this form. I highly recommend it if you want to learn qi gong and improve your life.
Book Review: Gold of a Thousand Mornings (affiliate link) by Armand Barbault
This is a fascinating book which explores the process of dew alchemy and gives us insights into the Mutus Liber. The author shares his personal journey in alchemical work and demonstrates how the work is as much internal as it is external. If you want to learn practical alchemy this is a good book to read because it enables you to understand what the real process and journey involves.
Book Review: The Cynic Philosophers from Diogenes to Julian Translated by Robert Dobbin (Affiliate link)
This is an intriguing book that presents the philosophies of the cynics. I read it because I was curious about who the cynics were. I found the philosophies to be interesting, as both a contrast to Stoicism, and in relation to the question how do I apply these philosophies to my life. While I wouldn’t apply all of the cynic philosophies to my life, I do think its helpful to examine such philosophies and reading this book was helpful for that.
Book Review: Universe of the Human Body by Marko Pagocnik (affiliate link)
This is a fascinating book that explores how to connect with elemental spirits using the body. The author includes exercises that remind me of qi gong exercises. I ended up applying my qi gong work to what the author described and found that it worked. The premise and the theory of the book is sound and its presents a novel approach to working with elemental spirits that is not typically found in western esotericism. If there’s one thing that detracts from the book, its the occasional new age preachiness, but its still worth a read.
Book Review: The 5 Love Languages by Gary Chapman (affiliate link)
This is a book which explores how people are or are not affectionate with each other and how love is expressed. Learning the love language of people in your life can help you understand how to better relate to them and show them love, using their preferred language, which in turn can lead to better relationships. I found the book to be very helpful in cueing me into paying better attention to the people in my life, using the love languages they prefer, and while this book focuses on romantic relationships, it can be applied to other relationships as well.
Book Review: The Elements of Spellcrafting by Jason Miller (Affiliate link)
This is a common sense manual for magic that does an excellent job of helping you troubleshoot what isn’t working in your magical practice. The author shares some useful examples and you’ll come away with a better grasp of what is or isn’t working with your magical work. The keys he provides are useful elements for helping you understand the mechanics of magic.
Book Review: Pagan Portals: Aphrodite: encountering the goddess of love, beauty, and initiate by Irisanya Moon (affiliate link)
I read this book as a way to learn more about Aphrodite and it really delivered in terms of both offering useful information in itself and pointing me toward additional resources where I could learn more. If you want to work with Aphrodite or learn more about her mysteries this is a great book to start with. Irisanya makes the material approachable and helps you start developing your relationship with Aphrodite.
Book Review: The Cult of the Black Cube by Arthur Moros
This is an intriguing book which explores the cult of Saturn as it shows up in different cultures and shares the spiritual practices associated with Saturn as well as the potential dangers of working with Saturn. Reading this book proved quite insightful in relationship to the work I’ve done over the years with Saturnine forces and there were some interesting parallels. this book is available through Theion publishing.
Book Review: Aphrodite: The Origins and History of the Greek Goddess of Love by Andrew Scott and Charles Rivers Editors (Affiliate link)
This is a really intriguing about Aphrodite that presents some historical information about how aphrodite came to Greece as well as linking her to Ishtar and Astarte. The authors also talked about the cultural aspects of Aphrodite. The book seemed well researched and I got a lot from it. My only complaint is the really small font, which made the book harder to read.