Topic: Magick & Spirituality

In the northern hemisphere June 21 is generally considered the longest day of the year, and traditionally it's the first day of summer - Summer Solstice. This is a bit of a contradiction, given that another of the day’s names is Midsummer - an ancient reference to the fact that this day is in the middle of Europe’s agricultural season. And there's yet another contradiction - the longest day on the annual calendar can sometimes fall a day or two later, depending on the year in question!

I am a Christian, and I’ve always been interested in Summer Solstice and the Pagan religion. I remember a horror film called Spellbinder, and the climactic scene was based around Summer Solstice. Since the advent of Christianity some 2000 years ago there is a view that ancient religions such as Paganism are inspired, controlled or even led by Satan. Thus solstice celebrations are rejected because they are viewed as Satanic in origin.

But this isn’t a true reflection of an old religion.

Ancient Egyptian history, mythology, and poetry still reveal truths about human nature. In "Hermetica," Paul Kiritsis reinvents Egyptian literature by retelling myths, creating new poetry, and giving stunning insights into culture and life.

What did the ancient Egyptians understand that we have forgotten? How did their literature differ from ours? Find out in Paul Kiritsis's new collection Hermetica: Myths, Legends, Poems. The book is both a collection of poetry and Kiritsis's own rendition of epic ancient myths and legends. Its title reflects both its sources in Hermetic literature and its concern with alchemy, primarily the alchemy of love.

The astrologer for Forest Whittaker and Uma Thurman, among others, has written a book that combines astrology with Kabbalah.

Cosmic Navigator is an entirely new kind of astrology book that combines ageless personality insights with the deeper archetypal wisdom of Kabbalah. Author Gahl Eden Sasson, who consults with many politicians, entrepreneurs and celebrities such as Forest Whittaker, Uma Thurman, Patricia Arquette, and John Cuasck, provides readers with answers to many of life's most important questions: When will I find my soul mate? Where do I fit into this world? Will I ever be a leader? Am I bound to my astrological fate or can I change it?

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"Prayers for Hope and Comfort" by Maggie Oman Shannon covers issues facing individuals (illness, addiction); those challenged in relationships (aging parents, divorce); local communities (natural disasters, unemployment); the larger world (poverty, hunger, war); and creation itself (loss of rainforests, species extinction, global warming).

In a world that feels increasingly fragile, people will continue to look for new prayers and new ways to pray. While there are a number of anthologies of prayer available, no book, until now, has attempted to provide a collection that focuses specifically on prayers for a wide range of modern challenges, from the personal to the global. Prayers for Hope and Comfort by Maggie Oman Shannon covers issues facing individuals (illness, addiction); those challenged in relationships (aging parents, divorce); local communities (natural disasters, unemployment); the larger world (poverty, hunger, war); and creation itself (loss of rainforests, species extinction, global warming).

Aimed primarily at the newcomer, we find that "How to Hear the Voice of God" contains advanced information in simple, easy to understand language.

How to Hear the Voice of God could just as easily have been called Mysticism for Dummies, for in this tome, writer Susan Shumsky has fashioned a simple and effective process for the uninitiated to complete the mystic's task of union with God. With step by step precision, she lays out a program by which the reader can quiet the mind and settle the ego enough to hear the quiet voice of divine wisdom that lies within each of us.

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In Modern Magick, witches are not dark figures any more, but owners of their destinies and masters of their futures.

The term Magick, with the added k, was created by the very controversial Aleister Crowley. Despite the drama, strange hat and fuss over his life and career, Crowley was a real erudite and the first to establish the act of ritual as an act of the magician's will, instead than a favour from an invoked entity.

Author and editor Gwendolyn Toynton takes a look at how modern Shamanism compares with the role of traditional Shaman.

Traditional Shamanism is often thought of as a magico-religious tradition of the past, existing today only in indigenous populations. Whilst to many the practice of Shamanism is still limited to such areas, Shamanism itself has survived and perhaps even flourished under the blessing of a new incarnation. At the moment, the revival and new found interest in Shamanism is particularly predominant in the Western world. Finding themselves limited to the Western doctrine of Christianity, a number of people have rejected such traditional concepts and have either created for themselves new traditions, or, as in the case of Shamanism, revived a religion which predated Christianity.

"The Unfolding Now," a new book by spiritual teacher A. H. Almaas, invites you to inquire into the "Now" of your experience, the place where your true nature can be found in ever deeper and fulfilling ways.

Many spiritual teachers have written on the nature and significance of the "Now." Prior well-known studies include Be Here Now by Ram Das and The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. In his new book, The Unfolding Now, A. H. Almaas focuses on the dynamic nature of the Now and how to connect to it, stay with it, and let it unfold and fulfill your life.

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The rapidly emerging, exceptionally well-financed, and theologically questionable megachurches in our country have been debated and examined recently by journalists, lawmakers and theologians alike.

The rapidly emerging, exceptionally well-financed, and theologically questionable megachurches in our country have been debated and examined recently by journalists, lawmakers and theologians alike.

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Inside the Crystal Cathedral megachurch.

A trial lawyer applies accepted legal principles to the scripture with devastating results for religion. Much like Darwin and science has confounded religion's depiction of the natural word, the former prosecutor shows through well-settled legal principles that no just God exists. Relying on courtroom experiences, the former prosecutor puts scripture under a legal microscope and reveals some funny and irreverent truths.

In Beyond Reasonable Doubt: A Lawyer's Case for Disbelief in God, Geoff Henley makes a sweeping indictment of scripture and organized religion.