February 2023 MBR The Metaphysical Studies Shelf

The Metaphysical Studies Shelf

Source Magic: The Origin of Art, Science, and Culture
Carl Abrahamsson
Park Street Press
c/o Inner Traditions International, Ltd.
One Park Street, Rochester, VT 05767
www.innertraditions.com
9781644115015, $22.99, PB, 256pp

https://www.amazon.com/Source-Magic-Origin-Science-Culture/dp/1644115018

Synopsis: Since the dawn of time, magic has been the node around which all human activities and culture revolve. As magic entered the development of science, art, philosophy, religion, myth, and psychology, it still retained its essence: that we have a dynamic connection with all other forms of life.

Exploring the source magic that flows beneath the surface of culture and occulture throughout the ages, with the publication of "Source Magic: The Origin of Art, Science, and Culture", Carl Abrahamsson offers a "magical-anthropological" journey from ancient Norse shamanism to the modern magick of occultists like Genesis P-Orridge. He looks at how human beings relate to and are naturally attracted to magic. He examines in depth the consequences of magical practice and how the attraction to magic can be corrupted by both religious organizations and occult societies. He shows how the positive effects of magic are instinctively grasped by children, who view the world as magical.

"Source Magic" also looks at magic and occulture as they relate to psychedelics, Witchcraft, shamanism, Thee Temple ov Psychick Youth (TOPY), the panic rituals of the Master Musicians of Joujouka in Morocco, psychological individuation processes, literary "magical realism," and the cut-up technique of Beat icons like William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin. He explores the similarities in psychology between poet Ezra Pound and magician Austin Osman Spare. He looks at the Scandinavian Fenris Wolf as a mythic force and how personal pilgrimages can greatly enrich our lives. He also examines the philosophy of German author Ernst J nger, the magical techniques of British filmmaker Derek Jarman, and the quintessential importance of accepting our own mortality.

Sharing his more than 30 years of experiences in the fields of occulture and magical anthropology, Carl Abrahamsson explores ancient and modern magical history to reveal the source magic that connects us all, past and present.

Critique: An inherently fascinating, impressively informative, exceptionally well organized and presented study, "Source Magic: The Origin of Art, Science, and Culture" is certain to have great appeal for students of metaphysics and magic. While also available for personal reading lists in a digital book format (Kindle, $15.99), "Source Magic: The Origin of Art, Science, and Culture" is unreservedly recommended as a core addition to professional, community, and academic library Wicca, Magic Studies, and Cultural Anthropology collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.

Editorial Note: Carl Abrahamsson (https://www.carlabrahamsson.com) is a writer, publisher, magico-anthropologist, and filmmaker. He is the author of "Occulture, Reasonances", and "Anton LaVey and the Church of Satan", as well as the editor and publisher of the irregular anthology of occulture, The Fenris Wolf. He currently resided in Smaland, Sweden.

The Tales Behind Tarot
Alison Davies, author
Leaping Hare Press
c/o Quarto Publishing Group USA
100 Cummings Center, Suite 265D, Beverly, MA 01915
www.quartoknows.com
9780711280663, $29.00, HC, 224pp

https://www.amazon.com/Tales-Behind-Tarot-Discover-stories/dp/0711280665

Synopsis: With the publication of "The Tales Behind Tarot: Discover the stories within your tarot cards", storyteller, tarot reader and teacher, Alison Davie provides a very special introduction to the tarot in the form of 78 unforgettable tales behind all the cards in the modern tarot deck.

Every tarot card has a story to tell and is rich in symbolic meaning. In this gorgeous volume which will be of value to aspiring and experienced tarot readers alike, expert practitioner Alison Davies brings these stories of the cards alive.

With key words and themes to help you understand the meanings of the cards, Tarot enthusiasts and practitioners can utilize this magnificent storybook as a tool to learn the tarot, or take their tarot readings to the next level.

The stories comprising "The Teales Behind Tarot" give us context, context gives us knowledge, and knowledge is empowerment as we learn to understand, decode, and apply the wisdom and meaning of the tarot in our lives through the power of these stories.

Critique: Beautifully illustrated throughout, "The Tales Behind Tarot: Discover the stories within your tarot cards" is a unique and welcome addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Metaphysical Studies collections in general, and Tarot instructional reference collections in particular.

Editorial Note: Alison Davies (https://www.alysondavies.com/about) lives in Norwich, and runs workshops at universities throughout the UK showing academics, students and early years practitioners how stories and narratives can be used as tools for teaching, healing and learning.

The Karmic Birthday Book
Monte Farber, author
Amy Zerner, illustrator
Fair Winds Press
c/o Quarto Publishing Group USA
www.quartous.com
9780760377239, $35.00, PB, 392pp

https://www.amazon.com/Karmic-Birthday-Book-Discover-Meaning/dp/0760377235

Synopsis: Drawing on their enchanted psychic abilities, with the publication of "The Karmic Birthday Book: Discover the Meaning and Magic of the Day You Were Born", renowned psychics Amy Zerner and Monte Farber present a fun and easy way to use birth dates to gain insight into our true selves.

For each birthday, Zerner and Farber have included five perceptive entries: PERSONALITY (this identifies, evaluates, and helps you understand the true nature of a person through the patterns revealed in their birth date); DESTINY (this is like a castle being built, stone by stone - it is where the person is heading in this life); LIFE PATH (this is how one achieves destiny, including the lessons they must learn so they can then help and teach others); KARMIC LESSONS (these are what are encountered on the journey along one's life path); SECRETS (offering insights designed to help readers discover hidden talents and character traits based on the day they were born).

Each birthday includes a profound quote with special meaning for those born on that day, as well as a list of famous people who share the birthday and space to add significant people in the your own life who have that birthday. "The Karmic Birthday Book" is an engaging and interactive guide will prove enjoyable, informative, and useful as you navigate your relationships and tune into your true self. Indeed, "The Karmic Birthday Book: will unlock the secret of your birth date and guide you along your true life path, teaching you a karmic lesson and opening the door to your destiny.

Critique: Fun, informative, thought-provoking, insight providing, well organized, accessibly presented, "The Karmic Birthday Book: Discover the Meaning and Magic of the Day You Were Born" is a unique and unreservedly recommended addition to personal and professional Metaphysical Studies collections. It should be noted that "The Karmic Birthday Book" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $16.99).

Editorial Note: Monte Farber, in partnership with his wife Amy Zerner, are a best-selling husband-and-wife team whose many projects have sold millions of copies worldwide. Their expertise and straightforward but lighthearted approach to oracular wisdom is highly sought after, and Amy's work is in the collections of numerous corporations and prominent individuals like Shirley MacLaine, Oprah, and Martha Stewart. Together they have been guests on morning shows like ABC TV's Eyewitness News Sunday, FOX TV's "Good Day" shows for New York, L.A., Atlanta, and Detroit. Join them at www.theenchantedworld.com.

Holographicosmic Man
Matthew J. Pallamary
Mystic Ink Publishing
https://mysticinkpublishing.com
9780998680989, $22.95, PB, 290pp

https://www.amazon.com/HOLOGRAPHICOSMIC-MAN-Holographic-Heart-Golden/dp/0998680982

Synopsis: "Holographicosmic Man: The Holographic Heart of the Golden Mean" by author, editor, and shamanic explorer, Matthew J. Pallamary is a blending of quantum physics, mathematics, geometry, ancient texts, current research, ancient architecture, beliefs, and myths, astronomy, anthropology, human anatomy, brain structure, shamanism, neuroscience, neuropsychology, indigenous wisdom, astrophysics, neurophysiology, holography, neuroanatomy, neurocardiology, cosmometry, cosmology, biology, and more.

These multifaceted overlapping sciences and disciplines all add up to the fact that the Golden Mean is the mathematical representation of a hologram.

This expression repeats itself infinitely throughout the inner and outer cosmos of man, connecting the microcosm and the macrocosm into a unified whole with no beginning, no end, and a center that is everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

The self-apparent truths of this profound wisdom left behind by humanity's ancestors is evident in the legacy of their art, science, and the universal language of mathematics, providing a blueprint that connects ancient wisdom with modern day quantum "discoveries".

Critique: An inherently fascinating and thought-provoking read throughout, "Holographicosmic Man: The Holographic Heart of the Golden Mean" is a unique, extraordinary, and occasionally iconoclastic study that is enhanced for the reader with the inclusion of informative illustrations. While unreservedly recommended for personal, professional, community, and academic library collections, it should be noted that "Holographicosmic Man: The Holographic Heart of the Golden Mean" is also readily available in a digital book format (Kindle, $3.99) for readers with an interest in math, science, religion, and spirituality.

Editorial Note: Matthew J. Pallamary (https://mattpallamary.com) has had both his fiction and non-fiction books translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Norwegian, French, and German.

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