One of the most extraordinary books written in recent years about the subject of religion.

    This "recipe-style" book presents spells from many different times and cultures. They include ancient Egyptian, Babylonian, Persian, Mayan, North American Indian, and Druidic charms, ingredients, dances, and incantations for looking and feeling one's best, for catching and keeping a mate, for repelling unwanted suitors, for gaining a measure of fame and fortune, for protecting against bad luck, and much more. There is also detailed information on potent herbs and their uses, including rosemary, St. John's Wort, garlic, mistletoe, ginger root, sage and bay leaves. Includes more than 300 full-color illustrations.

    Recently, tales of these "monsters" have been corroborated by an increase in sightings, and out of these legends a new science has been born: cryptozoology -- the study of hidden animals.Cryptozoology A to Z, the first encyclopedia of its kind, contains nearly two hundred entries, including cryptids (the name given to these unusual beasts), new animal finds, and the explorers and scientists who search for them. Loren Coleman, one of the world's leading cryptozoologists, teams up with Jerome Clark, editor and author of several encyclopedias, to provide these definitive descriptions and many never-before-published drawings and photographs from eyewitnesses' detailed accounts. Full of insights into the methods of these scientists, exciting tales of discovery, and the history and evolution of this field, Cryptozoology A to Z is the most complete reference ever of the newest zoological science.

    The runes have deep resonances within the pagan Norse world of gods and goddesses, giants, dwarves, warriors, and wizards, which have greatly influenced the work of J.R.R. Tolkien, among others. Norse tradition attributes the discovery of the runes to the "All-Father" Odin--a god of inspiration and secret wisdom and the mythical prototype for runecasters, who established the pattern for gaining his knowledge.Nordic Runes addresses three major areas: Runelore, the history of this 2000-year-old Norse oracle; Runestaves, the meaning of the individual runes of the Elder Futhark alphabet and their powerful mythological, magical, and practical lessons for daily life; and Runecasting, a comprehensive guide to the oracular application of the ancient runes, including their crafting, divination, and self-development. As Nordic Runes shows, the runes do more than simply reflect the path of fate; they help develop and enhance intuition. By learning to cast and interpret the runes, the user becomes receptive to the energy currents in material reality and empowered in the arts of its transformation.

    Each chapter is presented in lesson format with test questions at the end to assure the reader thoroughly understands the material covered.

    Even modern neuroscience has tended, until recently, to concentrate on the cognitive aspects of brain function, disregarding emotions. This attitude began to change with the publication of Descartes’ Error in 1995. Antonio Damasio—"one of the world’s leading neurologists" (The New York Times)—challenged traditional ideas about the connection between emotions and rationality. In this wondrously engaging book, Damasio takes the reader on a journey of scientific discovery through a series of case studies, demonstrating what many of us have long suspected: emotions are not a luxury, they are essential to rational thinking and to normal social behavior.

    Most scholars have guessed that its origins were in China, Egypt, or India. In Mystical Origins of the Tarot, Paul Huson has expertly tracked each symbol of the Minor Arcana to roots in ancient Persia and the Major Arcana Trump card images to the medieval world of mystery, miracle, and morality plays. A number of tarot historians have questioned the use of the tarot as a divination tool prior to the 18th century. But the author demonstrates that the symbolic meanings of the Major Arcana were evident from the time they were first employed in the mid-15th century in the popular divination practice of sortilege. He also reveals how the identities of the court cards in the Minor Arcana were derived from a blend of pagan and medieval sources that strongly influenced their interpretation in tarot divination.Mystical Origins of the Tarot provides a thorough examination of the original historical source for each card and how the cards’ divinatory meanings evolved from these symbols. Huson also provides concise and practical card-reading methods designed by the cartomancers of the 18th and 19th centuries and reveals the origins of the card interpretations promoted by the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn and A. E. Waite.

    The result is a powerful model of time— fractal time —and a realistic window into what we can expect for the mysterious year 2012 . . . and beyond.Applying fractal time to the history of the world and life, he proposes that everything from the war and peace between nations to the patterns of human relationships mirror the returning cycles of our past. As each cycle repeats, it carries a more powerful, amplified version of itself. The key: If you know where to look in the past, you know what to expect when the same conditions return in the present and future. For the first time in print, the Time Code Calculator gives us the tool to do just that! Through easy-to-understand science and step-by-step instructions, discover for yourself:·     How the conditions for 2012 have occurred in the past, and what we can expect when they repeat!·     The “hot dates” that hold the greatest threats of war, and the greatest opportunities for peace!·     How Earth’s location in space triggers cycles of spiritual growth for humans!·     Your personal time codes for the key events of business, relationships, and change in your life!·     How each cycle carries a window of opportunity— a choice point —that allows us to select a new outcome for the returning pattern!·     What the 1999 ice cores from Antarctica reveal about past cycles of climate, global warming, Earth’s protective magnetic fields, and what these things mean for us today!In a powerful yet comprehensible style, Gregg gives us a way to make sense of the rapid, and often dramatic, change of today’s world. It is these understandings that guide us away from the destructive choices we’ve made in the past. They also show the way to the greatest possibilities of our lives. Gregg suggests that if we can see time from this perspective, the past reveals the great secret of our moment in history and what we can expect as we approach December 21, 2012!

    Even in an age when almost nothing is sacred, religious, moral and social prohibitions surround the topic. But even as our minds recoil at the mention of actual acts of cannibalism there is some dark fascination with the subject. Appalling crimes of humans eating other humans are blown into major news stories and gory movies: both Hitchcock's "Psycho" and "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" were based on the crimes of Ed Gein, who is profiled, along with others, in this book. In "Eat Thy Neighbour," the authors put the subject of cannibalism into its social and historical perspective. They present a lively and informative account of cannibalism, and cannibals, from the earliest known incidents to the present day. They include cases of ritual cannibalism in early and primitive societies such the inhabitants of Papua New Guinea; cases where famine, poverty, disease or war has left no alternative; cases in mythology, legend, literature, and fairytales like "Hansel and Gretel"; and cases of individuals from the Middle Ages to the present - Mrs Lovett and Sweeny Todd, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Armin Meiwes, the recent German cannibal who found his victim via the internet.

    The result of sixteen years of research in Talmudic, gnostic, cabalistic, apocalyptic, patristic, and legendary texts, the classic reference work on angels is beautifully illustrated and its reissue coincides with the resurgence of belief in angels in America.

    Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Chapters: A Short History of Nearly Everything, the Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid, a Walk in the Woods, Notes From a Small Island, Neither Here nor There: Travels in Europe, Shakespeare: the World as Stage, the Lost Continent: Travels in Small-Town America, the Mother Tongue, Notes From a Big Country, Bryson's Dictionary of Troublesome Words, Down Under, Made in America, Bill Bryson's African Diary. Source: Wikipedia. Free updates online. Not illustrated. Excerpt: A Short History of Nearly Everything (ISBN 0-7679-0817-1) is a general science book by Bill Bryson, which explains some areas of science, using a style of language more accessible to the general public than many other books dedicated to the subject. It was the bestselling popular science book of 2005 in the UK, selling over 300,000 copies. A Short History deviates from Bryson's popular travel book genre, instead describing general sciences such as chemistry, paleontology, astronomy, and particle physics. In it, he explores time from the Big Bang to the discovery of quantum mechanics, via evolution and geology. Bryson tells the story of science through the stories of the people who made the discoveries, such as Edwin Hubble, Isaac Newton, and Albert Einstein. Bill Bryson wrote this book because he was dissatisfied with his scientific knowledge that was, not much at all. He writes that science was a distant, unexplained subject at school. Textbooks and teachers alike did not ignite the passion for knowledge in him, mainly because they never delved in the whys, hows, and whens. "It was as if wanted to keep the good stuff secret by making all of it soberly unfathomable." Bryson, on the state of science books used within his school. It was in his later years that he realized with stunning shame ...More: http: //booksllc.net/?id=101240

    Margot Adler attended ritual gatherings and interviewed a diverse, colorful gallery of people across the United States, people who find inspiration in ancient deities, nature, myth, even science fiction. In this new edition featuring an updated resource guide of newsletters, journals, books, groups, and festivals, Margot Adler takes a fascinating and honest look at the religious experiences, beliefs, and lifestyles of modern America's Pagan groups.

    It is a collection of essays, observations and rituals, and outlines LaVey's Satanic ideology. It contains the core principles of the Church of Satan and is considered the foundation of the philosophy and dogma that constitute LaVeyan Satanism.

    "Lo!" is a book with the capacity to rewire brains and sculpt new lenses for seeing the unexpected, the unexplained--and perhaps for glimpsing our own role in Fort's mystifying cosmic scheme.

    In this comprehensive reference manual, two leading occult researchers present step-by-step instructions, some never before in print, for developing the most basic and essential skills for magical practitioners of any tradition--creating thought forms through astral manipulation.Magical Use of Thought Forms includes sections on the structure of reality and on new visualization techniques to build correct astral images for highly potent magical work, from creating a Familiar or Guardian to building a Memory Palace, Also revealed in this extraordinary guide: The occult art of observation How to build up desire as fuel for a potent astral engine The three-point location of occult power in the physical brain The creation of advanced astral structures including Godforms and angelics, audial images, and astral landscapesThe most spectacular aspect of this book is the instruction given for the performance of the legendary alchemical experiment: the creation of the homunculus, an animated form that can last up to several hours.