Book Review: ChristoPaganism

In the minds of some people I know, everything about Christianity is crystal clear. The Bible is literally true and divinely inspired. We can only be saved through Jesus. Some even really believe that the universe was created in six of our days and is about six thousand years old. Astrology is tolerated if it's the superficial newspaper kind, and tarot is right out, what with the risk of demonic possession and all. There's Christianity, and everything else, a.k.a. Paganism, with exceptions for Judaism and possibly Islam. If you happen to be one of those people (and if so, what are you doing here in the first place), you may as well just hit the "Back" button now. What follows will only offend you. Still here? Anyway, you've been warned.

There doesn't seem to be any room in this view for any common ground with other religions, especially under the literal interpretation of Christianity and its Holy Book. But as we grow beyond the literal interpretation, and read about other traditions, we do find some common ground. This is the subject of ChristoPaganism: an Inclusive Path by Joyce and River Higginbotham. The book explores some common factors (and, yes, there are some) between Christianity and Paganism, but mostly talks about people who include elements of both paths in their spiritual practices.

Let's talk about paths for a minute. As most of you who have been following along know, there's just one ultimate goal: realization of unity with the Divine. The Christian Hermetic path, which I'm following, is just one way to reach this goal. The Christian Mystic path is just as valid, as are others. What's more, the paths approach each other as they move toward the top of the mountain.

But back to the book. The most interesting part is the second half, which has interviews with people who are following various combined paths. They talk about their backgrounds, their current path, and how they reconcile the two components. There's an interesting anecdote from one of the authors that I'd like to discuss briefly. She was giving a talk about Paganism to a class in a Catholic school and was asked to explain what immanence meant. She compared it to the Consecration of the Host in the Catholic Mass, which deeply offended the teacher, because the author was comparing the most holy part of the mass to a pagan concept. On reading this, I smelled a rat and did a Google search on "immanence catechism". Sure enough, it was there. The teacher, of course, should have known this. I only mention this because one of my pet peeves is people who have strongly-voice opinions on subjects they know little to nothing about.

So what's my opinion on the subject on the book? It's best expressed by a quote from The 21 Lessons of Merlyn: A Study in Druid Magic and Lore: "the one God has many faces."

Book Review: Neverwhere

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman is a classic Hero's Journey as described in The Hero with a Thousand Faces (Bollingen Series). As in American Gods: A Novel and Anansi Boys, the protagonist starts out leading an unsatisfying life that is turned upside down by unexpected events, goes through an eventful journey, and comes out a changed person on the other side. This is the classic initiation experience, and that is why Mr. Gaiman's books are so important to us as recovering materialists. We must all make our own journey through the dark wood, and the science fiction and fantasy novels (and The Divine Comedy (The Inferno, The Purgatorio, and The Paradiso)) give us roadmaps for doing so.

The book is set in modern London, and the main character's job was so dull that I don't even remember what it was. He was engaged to a socialite who obviously wasn't right to him, so the events that start the story seem to me to be no great loss. I don't want to give away any more of the plot, so let's just say it resembles the Tower tarot card. And like the other of his books that I've read, the process of reading it cuts you to pieces and puts you back together in a shamanic-type experience.

Anyway, read the book. At the very least, Dante's Inferno won't seem nearly so scary afterward.

Book Series Review: Incarnations of Immortality

I recently finished Piers Anthony's Incarnations of Immortality series. The writing style is wooden at best, with many of the characters having the same dialog styles in the earlier books. Also, the plot lines are a little far-fetched. "You've defeated the Evil Sorceress, but now you must defeat...the Eviler Sorceress!" But I'm not reviewing the series for the writing style or the plot lines. I'm reviewing this series because it falls under a very important category of literature: books kept around not so much for their literary merit, but because they preserve mythology by explaining it in contemporary terms.

The premise of the series is that the roles of Death, Time, Fate, etc., are performed by mortal humans who have temporary immortality as long as they are doing the job. There are seven books in all:

1. On a Pale Horse (Incarnations of Immortality, Bk. 1)


2. Bearing An Hourglass (Incarnations of Immortality, Book 2)


3. With a Tangled Skein (Book Three of Incarnations of Immortality)


4. Wielding a Red Sword (Incarnations of Immortality)


5. Being a Green Mother (Incarnations of Immortality, Book Five)


6. For Love of Evil: Book Six of Incarnations of Immortality


7. And Eternity (Incarnations of Immortality)

There's a surprise ending, but that's not the point. The point is that these incarnations represent forces that are present in the universe, and by the Law of Correspondence (As above, so below), are also present in us. So how would you act if it were your job to collect souls that were in the balance? Or to supervise wars? We may not have those literal roles, but we do have corresponding roles in our own lives. For example, we may have to assess parts of our lives that need to die, or be transformed. Or we may need to resolve conflicts. Or we may need to evaluate parts of our lives in terms of long-term goals. So read the series, and pay attention. The life you improve may be your own.

Book Review: Advanced Astrology for Life

Once you've read a couple of the introductory astrology books, for example Astrology for the Light Side of the Brain, Astrology: A Cosmic Science or Astrology for Yourself: How to Understand And Interpret Your Own Birth Chart, and you've done some charts (including your own), you may be ready for the next step. In that case, a good book to read next would be Advanced Astrology for Life: Balance Your Life with Planetary Powers by Constance Stellas.

The book covers a variety of topics, including transits (how the current position of the planets interacts with your birth chart) and horary astrology (answering a question by casting a chart of the time the question was posed). Practical answers are given, for example, how do you know when the influence of a retrograde planet will be released? When the planet goes direct in a progressed chart. Don't worry if you don't know what that means; you just need to read one of the introductory books first. There's also a nice section about composite charts, which deal with relationships.

At its core, astrology is really about the study of cycles. When you are ready for it, this book will help you better understand those cycles.

Book Review: Tarot Tells the Tale

Let's say that you've spent some time learning the theory behind Tarot and the meanings of the cards, but are not sure how to proceed with doing readings for yourself or others. Would some practical examples help? How about some impractical examples? In that case, you're in luck, because Tarot Tells the Tale by James Rickleff is here to help. The book provides 23 actual readings based on fictional and historical characters, with commentary by the author. For example, what would you tell the ugly duckling about how to deal with his siblings? Or Marie Curie about whether to go study in France?

I wouldn't recommend this book for beginners, because most of it is either readings or advice on giving readings, but it would probably make a good second book after Learning the Tarot: A Tarot Book for Beginners. After reading this book, you should be ready to get started.

Intentional Chocolate

A couple of weeks ago, I was sent a link to Intentional Chocolate. They're basically about high-end chocolate, which in my opinion is the only kind worth buying, but there's a twist. Their recipes have an unorthodox ingredient: "conscious intention and love".

Those of you who have read some of the books I've recommended on this blog will know that this type of recipe is not new. It's possibly thousands of years old, and has another name: alchemy. There. I've said it. Of course, they can't use the a-word on their site because the FDA will probably shut them down, but that's exactly what they're doing.

I haven't tried it yet, but I plan to buy some as soon as Venus goes back direct*, which should happen around the 17th. I'll let you know.

*An astrology book I just bought says that luxury purchases should be avoided when Venus is retrograde. More on that (and the book) later.

Book Review: Karmic Tarot

Once you're comfortable doing readings for yourself and others, if you want to take a longer-term approach, you may want to look into Karmic Tarot: A Profound System for Finding and Following Your Life's Path by William C. Lammey. I emphasize experience with readings because this book is definitely not for beginners. Also, this book gives a different approach which is not compatible with the traditional Celtic Cross spread.

The spread used in the book has 22 positions, one for each of the Major Arcana cards. The positions are arranged on a grid of seven columns and four rows. The seven columns represent seven stages of life, from birth to the future. The four columns represent the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual planes. Some of the positions will overlap two life stages. The interpretation of each card in the spread starts with a more traditional interpretation, but is modified by the Major Arcana card governing the position in the spread.

Another interesting thing about the book is that the Minor Arcana cards are interpreted using a combination of suit and number, as opposed to the more common method of extrapolating from the pictures on the cards. The author says he likes to use decks with simple arrangements of the suit symbols instead of descriptive pictures because that allows more flexibility of interpretation. That's an idea that merits further study, and I'll post more on that later.

I plan on giving this system a try some time in the future. I'll post again when I do.