The Last Jewish Gangster?

The Chronicles of The Last Jewish Gangster: From Meyer to Myron by Myron Sugerman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Italian and Jewish Immigrants got along really well together , especially in the underworld . Both groups were underdogs and often had to rely on their own community for justice and protection . The mob certainly provided that to both communities.
In fact the Italian mob and the Jewish mob grew up right along side each other, influenced each other worked together to form Murder incorporated.

Reading this tome will give good insight as to how things worked in the Jewish Underworld. Myron’s father was involved in bootlegging booze and selling slot machines, pinball machine and video poker machines. Myron got in on this business. His adventures in selling machines would take him all over the world to places like Nigeria, Greece, Israel , and several locations in South America.

I expected this to be more like The Godfather or Scarface. It instead this is an autobiography of a businessman man who deals with gambling machines. Not so much violence, but there is plenty of honor.a handshake seals the deal and everyone is as good as their word. That’s more honesty than you’ll find dealing with Attorneys or other people who work on the right side of the law.

I look at Myron Sugarman is a legit businessman not a criminal. Here is why, places like Atlantic City And Vegas can run legal gambling joints that people dump their money into but heaven forbid if they try it somewhere else. The government acts in favor of Atlantic City and shuts down the smaller gambling joints. Why is that? Why is it ok in Atlantic City but not Newark? The government makes arbitrary decisions, in fact they are a mob unto themselves.

Like mentioned earlier the immigrant communities often relied on the mob for justice and protection. Law enforcement and the outside world are not often friendly to immigrants , so who you gonna call? It was the Jewish mob that broke up the Nazi Bundt rallies and often quite violently. The Jewish mob also made sure that the Haganah was able to run the British blockade and get the weapons they needed.

Myron had a great relationship with Rebbe and Simon Wiesenthal. It was shortly after the Rebbe died that Myron lost a trial and pulled a two year prison term. Whenever things went awry on the legal front the Rebbe would always have advice that kept him out of jail.

The Jewish mob also helped bring Nazis to justice. Myron would meet Simon Wiesenthal in Vienna. The two would for a very close relationship. Myron would send donation and relay messages regarding the capture or elimination of Nazi war criminal. He was almost instrumental in capturing Joseph Mengele.

Despite being called a gangster I think Myron is a righteous man. It is not unethical to sell gambling machines when the govt arbitrarily decides who it is legal for and who it is not. He never killed anyone or sold drugs. Even when involved in less than legal ventures Myron always kept his eye open for the Jewish people.

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The Mystic Menorah

The Way Back by Jonnie Schnytzer
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Hartbacher family legend goes back generations back to a time when the Cossack were massacring Jews in the Ukraine, a distant relative fought off a bunch of Cossacks with a Hanukkia or or a menorah. Later during the shoa or Holocaust a relative beats a Nazi to death and escapes a death camp. The menorah would be lost and one David Hartbacher will want to liberate it. David brakes into museums and steals Jewish artifacts so he can return them to their rightful Jewish owners.

On his last job he gets caught and serves some time in prison, upon his release his adventures only just begin. An archaeologist flees Egypt leaving his son behind in the hand of terrorists. Unfortunately for David two assassins follow. Razi is killed during the shootout but David kills an assassin. Off to Egypt to rescue the boy. Meanwhile the Mossad and the law enforcement get involved. Simultaneously in Egypt a Mossad handler is killed and so is his asset.

Back in Israel a cast a characters assemble to debate whether to go in or not. Limor is after Othman Aswad a terrorist who has killed lots of people and he is involved in white slavery. David gets caught by him. A cop gets sent to Benghazi to pinpoint and rescue. An assassin is after David for his role in liberating an artifact he had.

Funny how all these people’s lives are intertwined and they know each other. Strange coincidence. I liked how the author opened a window into the psyche of Israelis and the Mossad.great book to promote Jewish heroism and a great read for an adrenaline junkie.

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A Closer Look at History

Spies, Sadists and Sorcerers: The history you weren't taught in school by Dominic Selwood
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

British author, Derek Selwood, has generated an easy to read book that gives the reader a different view of history . In fact it might be fair to suggest that the history we have been taught in school is not the real history that went down. Remember that History is always written by the winner.

Starting off in Roman times we have Josephus Flavius who wrote the Jewish Wars and ANtiquities of the Jews. He started out as a Jewish noble and aided in the fight against Rome . He was the only survivor. He ended up becoming a Roman citizen collecting a pension. He conveniently switched sides.

The author examines another Biblical era story the one o0f Moses receiving the Ten Commandments. There is not a shred of proof that it even happened or that the Israelites traversed the desert escaping from Egypt. His analysis is mostly speculative as he suggests that the 10- commandments were not written in Hebrew But rather in Egyptian hieroglyphics. This is all speculation.

He takes a stab at British History by revealing some real juicy details. You might be shocked to learn that when Henry the 8th broke away from Rome to found the Church of England , the people were not for it, rather they were devout Catholics. Cromwell and his henchman at the behest of Henry the 8th stormed thorugh country destroying works of art, looting Catholic Churches and monasteries and demolishing statues. Lots of people were killed. Prior to his break with Rome Henry the 8th was a devout Catholic.

I was not really shocked to learn that the British Royal family was of German descent. Something they were not proud of during the World Wars. Churchill made a big mistake at Gallipoli it costs him his job at the time. Inyat Noor Khan, an Indian Muslim naturalized to a British citizen died helping the British spy against the Nazis. She was super dedicated. There was a gentleman from Spain who ran a fake spy ring in Britain. His false information deceived the Nazis and helped the allies with winning the war.

Christopher Columbus has been in the news lately. They’re removing his statues and why not ? He was no hero, he did not discover America. He only made it to Hispaniola. The first person to discover America was Leif Ericsson . Columbus was brutal . He enslaved the Native Americans his fellow Europeans killed the Native Americans in the most brutal fashion just for the fun of it. The European arrival meant genocide for the Native Americans. The white settlers were as racist as Hitler. Their goal was the annihilation of the Native Americans. Politician documents prove this out.

Often it seems that things are not what they seem. We of the Western Nations are not always thee good guy . America the land of the free was won on the oppression and genocide of Native Americans and yes it was genocide . Everything from/ broken treaties, disease infected blanket and that fire water (Booze). During the WWII the Americans and allies proved themselves to be just as genocidal as Hitler. Want to challenge your world view then open this book and get ready to have your eyes opened .

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On the Fringes of the Jewish Community

Mavericks, Mystics & False Messiahs : Episodes from the Margins of Jewish History by Pinni Dunner
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So much of Jewish history has been steered or guided by personalities that are on the fringes or the sidelines of the community. Pini Dunner writes about these eccentric Jews with an easy to read style that will grab you and not let you go.

Starting with the most famous of all Jewish misfits, Pini describes how Shabbtai Tzvi was born to an Ashkenazi business man in Izmir or Smyrna. Shabbtai Tzvi studied Torah and was rather gifted yet he was also sort of mad. He would do things like marry a Torah or turn a fast day into a feast day. He would commit various sins in order to hasten the redemption. Nathan of Gaza was his biggest publicist. As Shabbtai travels through various Jewish communities he picks up followers, causes controversy and gets run out of town. In 1666 he went to Istanbul to challenge the Sultan. Instead he got arrested and was forced to convert to Islam. After this some followed his example and most just left the fold. Shabbtai Tzvi caused a huge rift in THe a Jewish community as for several years after there was a witch hunt for Sabbatarians or people who still believed Shabbtai Tzvi was the messiah.

Another pretender was Dr. Falk in England. Emigrating from mainland Europe this fraudster professed powers to heal and write amulets. People believed in him and people liked him. What he practiced was a mixture of occultism and Judaism . He was called the Baal Shem of England and often times he is confused with the Baal Shem Tov. In fact when you see a picture of the Baal Shem Tov what you are seeing is not a picture of the Baal Shem Tov but rather the Baal Shem of England.

Perhaps one of the biggest feuds is a direct continuation of the Shabbtai Tzvi legacy. Even 100 years after his death there were still lots of Jews who were Sabbatians and tried to infiltrate their ideas into the Jewish community . While the majority of the Jewish community was against the Sabbatians some hidden ones could wield lots of influence. Yaakov Emden and eminent rabbi identifies Sabbatians inscriptions in amulets the Yonatan Eybeshutz wrote out. Soon controversy would engulf the world wide Jewish community over this.

In Germany the Get of Cleves divides the entire Jewish world against the Hamburg Beit Din. A man named Isaac gets married to a Jewish woman and then two weeks later he wants it annulled because he is paranoid that some people are after him. He flees to Britain. The grooms family believes that Yithack was insane but some in the community believe he was sane enough. The two eventually remarried.

Another British politician named Gordon was a convert to Judaism during the time of the American Revolution. Himself a catholic and of Scottish nobility. He himself wants to reinstate anti catholic laws to prevent them from going over to America and fighting the colonists. A riot ensues and he is blamed for its cause. For this he faces imprisonment but he escapes and discovers Judaism. He lives the rest of his life in prison but leading a good life and eating kosher food. When he died though his family did not respect his wishes which was to be buried in a Jewish cemetery.

Right st the beginning of the 20th century there was a European Rabbi Yudel Rosenberg. He made forgeries of two of the Maharals works. The first was the golem of Prague. There is nothing in the Maharals writing that talks anything of a golem. Then he forged a Maharals Haggadah. This brought about the controversy of the fifth cup of wine.

The most notorious swindler of them all was Ignatz Trbitch a Hungarians Jew. After his father dies he converts to Christianity marries the daughter of a sailor and tries to convert people all the while stealing golden watches. Next he works for a philanthropist it then burns his connection by excessive loans and thievery . He works with Nazis and then converts to Buddhism and tried to say he was the next Dalai Lama. He passed sometime between the two world wars.

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The Mask of the Devil Shall Fall

Unmasking the Masquerade: Three Illusionists Investigate Deception, Fear, and the Supernatural by Rod Robison
My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Three illusionists, mentalists or stage magician set forward to write to write a book that debunks psychic phenomena and occult magic. They say it is all false and they build powerful arguments that will have you walking away convinced. Now here is the thing all three of them are devout Christians and have been involved in Christian outreach. Now might not be the time for me to appear to be preaching Christianity since I am a Jew who has dabbled in paganism and a Christian missionary was killed doing something stupid.

No less the book makes sense. The first writer discusses the phenomena of faeries, spiritism etc. the first writer even offered thousands of dollars to anyone who could do a legi psychic act in laboratory situations. Thus far no one has come forward. He explain how the the mediums who supposedly spoke to the dead. Their helpers or gimmicks would make wrapping noises and certain tricks would make the table much move. Cold readings were done by reading a persons body and making vague questions comments that lead the psychic to the right answer. Sometimes they got it wrong and tried to cover it up. The cottingly faeries was another hoax,later admitted to later by the girls that they were fakes. Sir Aurthur Conan Doyle bought into it. The Lincoln family bought into spiritism.

The second author discusses the biblical definition of magic and what exactly Satans powers really are. He is not as strong as he is made out to be. Most people, devout Christians included have their beliefs about the occult that are derived from movies. Satan cannot cause sickness, hurl curses or even raise the dead. Humans do not have this power either. Only God does. Satan is actually gods servant. His job is to tempt men to sin, to test them. Most tricks that the magicians did in biblical times were just thst trickery and deception. Pharaoh magicians could not keep up with Moses because Moses had real power while they had trickery.

The last part is more ideological and in this part the author lays claim that Jesus is the Messiah and he was no mere magician. It states that the miracles he pulled off could not be mere tricks because to walk on water or multiplication of fish and loaves could not be faked and any magic trick needs to be set up in advance.

Regardless if you are Christian or not if you are the type drawn to spiritual movements then this is a book you want to read. There are plenty of fakes out there, psychics, mediums,faith healers, Hindu saints. They will make things materialize out of thin air, this is stage magic. They may heal someone but belief is strong and it could be psychosomatic.


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Vampire Apocalypse

Prince Lestat by Anne Rice
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The vampire world is changing. Technology is faster and more accurate than telepathy. Pictures are conveyed through iPhones rather than mental images. Two scientist , Seth and Fareed, are making strides in the way of medical technology. In fact there is a way for vampires to procreate and have children. Lestat has one named Victor.

Amidst all this change there is a voice that is telling the elder vampires to kill the younger fledgling vampires. Some of the elders give in to the voice while others are fighting it. Usually the vampires use their fire starting abililities. So the hunt goes on for Lestat and the elders to meet in New York. While in New York they try to figure who the voice is and what it wants.

Vampires were first born when the spirit Amel entered into the body of Queen Akasha . There after the vampire species spread from her. Once she was killed the core passed into Makare. It is from Makare that Amel wishes to escape. Once she dies Amel finds a new host. The Talamasca watches all the paranorlam stuff without interfering. We learn they were founded by a spirit and two vampires.

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The Original Vampire

Dracula by Bram Stoker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is a classic this one, a mark of truly great fiction. In reality it is a fictional account of a leader long after he has been dead. I have read this story numerous times and each time I. Learn about some other detail that previous I had known hither of. The story is written from many point of view. Journal entries and letters describing what is going on make up the mainstay of the story.

Starting off , Jonathan Harker , a solicitor is off to Transylvania where in he is to sell the property of Carfax in England to the count. Upon arriving at the Castle Dracula he soon realizes that things just are not right. The count has strange habit, hides appearance changes very often and then there are those three strange ladies. Jonathan has no clue as to what is going on. He makes good on his plans to escape but it will take him weeks to finally end up in Budapest ,Hungary.

Meanwhile in England strange things are beginning to happen. A strange ship docks in England. No ones is piloting the boat and none of the crew have been left alive. A strange dog bounds off the ship. No one finds the dog but other strange things begin to happen. A wolf escapes from his cage and Mina’s friend Lucy begins to act strangely . Weird puncture mark form on her neck, she sleep walks at night and within a short time she becomes a vampire. She was engaged to Arthur Holmwood , the guy who runs the hospital. At this hospital is a very strange and deranged man named Renfield. Mr. Renfield has a fascination with collecting animals like spiders, birds and flies. He calls Dracula his lord and master.

As Lucy get more and more ill, Dr. Seward summons an old mentor named Abraham Von Helsing. He know about this stuff. When Lucy is fully turned to a vampire it is Van Helsing that knows how to kill her and stop her from drinking the blood of small children . But Dracula soon pursues Mina Murray who during the course of the story gets married to her fiancée Jonathan Harker. SHe is about to be turned into a vampire so the teams goal is to kill Dracula. They destroy his boxes of Earth and pursue him all the way Transylvania.

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The Fallen Angel Who Joined the Mossad

The Spy Who Fell to Earth by Ahron Bregman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Marwan Ahsraf was one of the spies who literally changed the course of history as far as the Middle East goes. Marwan Ashraf was born to a middle class family in Cairo. He was given a beaureaughcratic job in the government and he ended up falling in love with Nasser’s daughter. This was not something that Nasser was too happy with . So he put Marwan under someone who would keep an eye him and report to Nasser on Marian’s doing. Eventually they move to London England where in MarwN gets caught up in gambling and driven to debt. After burning a connection of another royal Egyptian family , Marwan approaches the Mossad.

At first the Israelis were rather suspicious of him, I mean come on the son in law of Egypt’s President. But he gave over such good information . Later on he would become Sadat’s right hand man. He may have helped Israeli win the 73 war. Some still say he was a double agent.

Aharon Bregman solves the mystery and writes about it. This may have endangered Marwan. The writing goes back and forth for a few years between Marwan and Ahaharon. Eventually the word gets out and Marwan somehow falls off a fifth story apartment into a garden. To this day no one knows if it was suicide or murder.

The book is short and sparse on details . I would have expected more for my money. Glad I read read it for free off Amazon prime.

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Awakening the Witch Bloof

Book of the Witch Moon by Michael W. Ford
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An initiation into the dark and deep realms of the subconscious . This book is about awakening the witch blood within and awakening our darker powers for further happiness and control of our environment. Michael Ford taps into vampiric and lycanthropic energy to enter the state of gnosis. This grimoire is very heavy on performance and light on the philosophy which makes it a great book for someone who is intermediate advanced.

The book is very Luciferian which means that a variety of dark deities will be called upon. Lilith is the queen of succubi and other vampiric deities but you are also calling on Samael, Pan, Choronzon and a few other ones. Choronzon is standing at the gate way of Daath which is thee sphere of the abyss. In the abyss is where vampiric haunts and other elemental exist in both complete and incomplete form. To cross the abyss or to work with these elemental one must be of sound mind and of strong will. These elemental are your servants, not your friends or advisers. To give them too much importance could lead to illness, insanity and or death.

This grimoire has several rituals covering a variety of needs. Since this is meant to be a gateway into the dark current so there is an initiation rituals followed by a ritual to consecrate your athame. Included are rituals to evoke lycanthropic powers to/ empower yourself toward self realization. Vampiric servitors when created can serve to attack a foe or protect from psychic attack. Servitors when created must be destroyed , or banished as when they are let alone they can do lots of damage.

This book is a great how to book for those looking to enter the shadow realms of their psyche, it is a dark current. Remember that black magic is about making yourself into a god and not about hurting or exploiting others. Use the magic well as it was intended. Many technique are pulled from Grimoires, yoga and far eastern spiritual methods .

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Rise of the Jinn Master

Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Set in the mythical city of Dhamsawat this innovative piece of Middle Eastern fantasy will shoo you off to another world. The city of Dhamsawat is under the rule of a rich Khalif who taxes his people unfairly and gives them nothing in return. Fighting against the khalif is a Robin Hood type figure called the Falcon prince.
In the midst of all of this is a ghoul master who is creating ghouls that eat people’s hearts out.

Adoul is getting too old for fighting ghouls, he thinks about settling down. His partner, a young dervish assistant, ends up saving the old mans neck on several occasions. When the ghouls massacre several families and an entire Bedouin tribe the ghoul fighting duo set out to track down this ghoul maker. Along the way they meet a Bedouin girl who shape shift into a lion. Together the threesome get into it with some ghouls and a half jackal half man hybrid. After their wounds they meet up with a doctor and alchemist. Together they unravel the mystery of the ghoul maker and set out to thwart his plan.

Interesting to note that traditionally ghouls are a species of Jinn, they are not made or fashioned by a wizard. There are several references to kemetic magic. This is Egyptian magic. Kemp is Egypt. In fact the Khalifs palace is built over a pyramid orca temple. The falcon prince seems to be a nod in the direction of Horus, while the lion shapeshifter seems reminiscent of sekhmet, the lion goddess of Egypt.

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Psychic Vampirism

The Vampire Gate by Michael W. Ford
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Psychic vampirism at its purest. As an outgrowth to a Luciferian path the object of this vampirism is to feed off of others to ensure our own rise to power and immortality. This is a left hand path which means that this path helps us become gods unto ourselves. It is Black Magick because we use the Magick to make ourselves greater.

This book contains several techniques for astral projection and leaving out of your body. This can be done in one three modalities. Dreaming, ritual and meditation. The leaving of the body then leads to taking on a form for your astral body. While astral planing you visit your target. Sometimes in terrible form you can terrorize your target and feed off their energy or you can have your tendrils penetrate their aura so you can feed.

You can feed off of people even if you don’t wish to astral travel. You can do it by focusing on a picture in or during meditation. Picture your tendrils going to them and feeding off their aura. Same thing can be done during ritual. Feeding can also happen in person, for example you see a charismatic person in a public setting you can extend your tendrils out to their solar plexus and feed.

This book primarily with near eastern deities like Lilith and Samael. It also works with Persian demons like Ahriman and Sumerian deities like Tiamat. Before embarking on this road perhaps you want to do some background research. Also get the authors previous two book.


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Appalachian Conjure

Candle and the Crossroads: A Book of Appalachian Conjure and Southern RootWork by Orion Foxwood
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Orion Foxwood is a magickian par excellence. Well versed in Traditional Witchcraft and finally his native Conjure practice from the Appalachian Mountains. He learned conjure growing up in the South. Most of this stuff was practical magic meant to take care of practical concerns. There is no initiations or religious holidays per se and most of whom you work with are spirits. Of course they believe in God, the angels and the Saints you are free to choose to work with your own deities.
Conjure magic is taken from three cultural sources as the south was a mishmash of different cultures . These cultures are the Africans brought over as slaves, Native American practices and European Magic.

Some important philosophical lesson were learned from this tome. First is the important aspects of maintaining a good relation with your own spirit . Many try to get good relationships with other spirits except their own. Know thyself! The next is that is you stepped in something you best clean it off . You cannot go ahead with dirt on your soul. Much like stepping in something real time you track it with you where ever you go. Got to clean off the dirt before you can go forward . Connecting with the ancestors is real big concept in the Conjure traditions. They are the ones will help you.

This book is chock full of philosophy and is loaded with techniques to help you get started with conjure. There is a discussing how to set up your three platform altar. The book has techniques on how to cleanse yourself and your working area. Included is how to contact Daddy Death at the graveyard or contacting the Dark Rider at the crossroads. There are several entities like the Dark Rider, Daddy Death and a few others.

Orion has included instructions on how to work with the Lady of the River to boost your power and get rid of negativity. You. Learn how to tap the root and make your own gri Gris bag. I definitely want to get his next book on conjure. Roll up your sleeves and get down to work. If you ever want to get more information you should check him out when he gives reading and workshops at the Greenman in North Holllywood.

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The Witches of Wales

The Witches Ways in the Welsh Borders: Ethnography of Contemporary and Historical Customs of Cunning Folk Magic by Tamzin Powell
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Tamzin Powel is a local of the border area between England proper and Wales. In the spirit of others before her she has joined a community of witches in order to do a field study. This study is different because she is not an outsider but rather a practicing witch who lives in the area. The main areas in question are the Wye Valley and the Dean Forest. This given area is home to druids, Wiccans, Wicans and Cunning Folk.
The area has long history of folk magic and hereditary magic that is passed down from the generation. Often times from mother to daughter or grandmother to daughter. Of course men can learn as well from family members. Hereditary member often work alone joining groups only occasionally. These folks and cunning folk often uncross people or heal them. Wicans are different from Wiccans in that Wican believe that Wica is magical force that powers things. They usually channel in their rituals rather than relying on prewritten ones. Their magical operations are much simpler than the Wiccan ones. Wica goes back much further in time, although it goes through changes. Wicca founded by Gerald Gardner is a Johnny come lately. Constructed by Gerald Gardner from many sources while Wica relies on folklore. Both have tools.

Tamzin describes her initiation and her experiences in the coven with which she belong and there is even discussing the origins of Wica going back to the Dobruni tribe and a subtribe called Hwicce. Sounds a lot like Wica. I found it pleasing to finally learn the Lord and lady of the forest. They are Cernunnos and Diana. Sometimes Cernunnos is changed up with the Green Man and other names. Diana is at times called Abundia. The symbolism of the Oak King and the Holly King are discussed. During the ritual the two will fight. End of winter and beginning of spring is the era of the oak king while the winter months go to the Holly King. The Holly king represent Saturn. Saturnalia was the revolving point of the New Year. Red and white represented blood on the snow. Saturn was some sort of reaper.
Witches do use path workings. Some believe that the path working helps the witch enter the Green world or the other side. Some believe it just helps you meditate. It should be noted that different witches and cunning folk work with different deities. Some work with fairies, while others work with elementals. One cunning man work with the leigh lines and he was a former Buddhist monk.
The traditions of the practitioner are varied. Some are neo pagans and other are heritary or hedge witches.
The book is very informative in that it examines older tradition from a rural area where people still do practice the old ways. The work is very academic at times and the appendices, especially the second are just brain numbing. The rest of the book was awesome. This is one I would strongly suggest reading.


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The Way of the Mossad

Spies Against Armageddon by Dan Raviv
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Going back to the pre-state days of the Hagganah the Jews of Israel have had an intelligence agency. After Israel became a state the intelligence branch of the Hagganah morphed into what is today three ore four agencies. The most infamous is the famed Mossad which spies on other countries. The Shin Bet is Israel’s version of the FBI. They spy on internal domestic enemies. There are two others. The first is Aman and they spy on foreign militaries , gathering secrets about the milititary and sometimes stealing weapon secrets . Lakam spies on the technological details of other countries and try to get it for Israel.

During Israel’s early years the state was run by the Labor or Israeli left. They did not trust the right wingers very much. That would change over the years with Yitzhak Shamir becoming head of the Mossad. The intelligence agencies often gained information by compromising or making an agent out of someone working for the enemy. They would either pay them or coerce them. The Mossad and other spy agencies have made their share of mistakes. Such mistakes would include getting caught spying on an ally or getting your agents caught using the passports of other nations. Those nations did not like that too much. Israel bungled an assassination attempt of aa Hamas operative in Jordan and this caused a real flap between the two nations.

The book recounts all the intelligence agencies operations from the states beginning all the way to the present. This includes some pretty major screw ups and some major victories. If you have followed up on Israel’s history then most of this will not be new to you. There are a few tidbits in the book that even surprised me. Perhaps that is what makes the book worth reading.

In the end you realize that whether you think Israel is good or bad we are all just humans willing too do nasty stuff in order to survive. If you are not up to date on Mossad history then I recommend this book.

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The Way of the CIA

The Art of Intelligence: Lessons from a Life in the CIA's Clandestine Service by Henry A. Crumpton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book gives you an insiders view of how the CIA works. Starting off the author explains to the reader the ultimate value of intelligence. Without intelligence you can not win a war and if you are not winning wars then you cannot defend your country. The founding fathers knew the value of great intelligence and espionage.

Today’s policy makers have forgotten the value of good intelligence and espionage. The public does not understand the value,. Oft times the CIA has their budget cut or they are overly scrutinized for what they do. Their are constraints as to what they can do all based on the current politics .

Hank entered the service after three tries and he had no military experience. He had lots of travel experience and had gotten into several fights while abroad. He was lucky to get in.

After training on th farm he was stationed in Africa. Most agents there are very independently and kind of knowledgeable eccentric. Working in Africa he learns what it means to be a case manager and run contacts. He discusses how he vets and grooms people to get info about their government. He talks about the difference between handling a case and be a liaison with different government where in the share information.

Hanks biggest claim to fame was taking down Al Quaida. After Al Quaida bombed two US Embassies. Hank to work with the FBI on investigating Al Quaida and who bombed the Embassy. Hank would end up working for the FBI and he explains the different operating procedure between the two organizations. Later in his career he would lead the CIA against Al Quaida. Ultimately it was another unit the brought down Bin Laden.

The book will open your eyes to the flawed view of our politicians who underestimate the threat that Al Quaida posed. The CIA understood it and had they been listened to it might have been avoided. The Department of Defence is locked in a rigid mentality of state to state war. Now things are much different. If you want the truth about espionage this book is it.

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Stalking the Werewolf

Devil in the Countryside by Cory Barclay
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If you are looking for the devil in these pages of historical fiction you won’t find him. What you will find is people acting on base instincts. After all it is people who make the worst monsters.

Set in Germany in the town of Bedburhg there is growing tension between to religious communities. Germany was beset by a civil war between the Catholics and the Lutherans . This civil war lasted from around 1866 to the 1880’s . It was a time when both communities were hounding each other and hurling accusation of satanism and the practice of witchcraft. Some were even accused of being a werewolf. This lead to persecution and unfair imprisonment.

Bed burg had been terrorized by a so called werewolf for decades. The murder of a local girl named Dorothea prompts an investigation. Hans, an investigator goes their to find the werewolf or the killer depending on who that might be. Upon finding the body our investigators question a local farmer named Achterberg about things. The investigation leads to him investigating several farming families and what uncovers is a very complicated web of intrigue

There are broken promises of marriage, false accusations and suspicions. The catholics run the country and it is a crime to be a Protestant. Many Protestant hide under the guise of being Catholic to avoid persecution. Fathers sell their daughters up for personal gain and political ambition. Clergy men engage in the worst of crimes and heinous behavior.

Then there is the mystery of who is the werewolf. The body count racks up. It is mostly Protestant who are disguised as Ca holiest who end up dead. Hans meets a hunter named George who helps kill a wolf and assisted in the investigation. In the end we do not really know who the werewolf really is or even if he exists. Read the end carefully though and I may give you a clue.

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Summoning Jinn Made Simple

Jinn Magick: How to Bind the Jinn to do Your Bidding by Baal Kadmon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book running at 66 pages is more like a pamphlet then a book. Being such as is it the book is a concise instruction guide on how to summon the Jinn and bind them to do your will. One thing I liked about this book is that it entreats the reader to treat the Jinn with care and to be courteous with them. The Jinn are many ways like us. They have a lifespan, although their’s is longer. They have free will and they have bodies. While humans live for maybe up to 100 years the Jinn may live up to thousands. They have bodies of smoke and fire while ours are made of clay. They live in their realm and we have ours although there are times that they intersect.
The Jinn used to be masters of this world. Like us they were very warlike and almost destroyed the planet much like we are doing today. Alah’s angels came in to clean house and isolate them on certain islands. After that mankind was allowed to take over. When Allah created mankind, they were made of clay. Allah had all his angels bow down to the man and everyone did except for Iblis, who was the king of the Jinn. Iblis was allowed to hang out in heaven with the angels and that was a big honor. But he lost that honor and has vowed to vex mankind until judgment day.
The Jinn have different religions as well. Some are Muslims while others are Christians or jews . A few might be pagan and others can be evil Sometimes humans and Jinn have gotten married and produced offspring. Jinn tend to live in abandoned areas, toilets and caves. Jinn have psychic powers and can move real fast. Sometimes Jinn are shape shifter and like to appear as a black dog or cat. There are different classes of Jinn. The first type is the Efrit. These first type are quite wise and are conniving and manipulative. These were Solomon’s Jinn.
The second type of Jinn is Marid or rebellious one. They are large with an imposing presence. They like ritual that involve bodies of water. Wishfulfillers. The third type of Jinn is a ghoul which means to seize. These guys are monsters and one would not wish to deal with them. The fourth type is a Vetala, these guys possess dead people and reanimate them. The last type is a Sila, these guys like us and are quite ready to help.
The Jinn are ruled over by 7 Jinn kings each one corresponding to a day of the week and each one is asked for a different thing. For Sunday it is Al-Mudhib, For Monday it is Murrah al Abayad al Harith, For Tuesday it is Abu Mihriz, For Wednesday it is Barquan Abu al-Adyab, For Thursday it is Shamhurish, For Friday it is Abu Nuh Maimun.

Alter normally consists of at the front a mirror, closer to the operant is a black and white candle one on each side. Then comes your incense and your crystal. For these ritual you do not need a whole of stuff. At the end there are instructions for releasing the Jinn.


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Scourge of the Blibd God

The Shadow Crucible: The Blind God by T.M. Lakomy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Gripping story that grabs you and won’t let go until you are through with it. Taking place in Europe the story serves as a crossroads to various streams of spirituality. At he heart of the story is sort of a three way spiritual war between God, Samael and Lucifer. Each one vying for their own position of kingship.

A major pawn in all of this is Estrella or Tsura. She is of twilight people, gifted with special magic abilities, they also follow the old gods. Estrella is a countess who owns a family manor. Back when she was a little girl her family was killed at the same time a certain little girl was . Estrella took her place . Up until now the ruse worked.

In comes Mikhail, a Templar night from royal birth, who acts as a guide and protector for Tsura. Love can complicate things and it sets up a sort of triangle between Mikhail, Tsura and Antariel. Antariel is a fallen angel. In the midst of this war Everyone is after her and her abilities. The church is capturing and torturing the twilight people in order to obtain their gifts, the church has been taken over by Lucifer.

Tsura goes on many adventures to escape the clutches of these demons. Plenty of action and suspense. Story line could use some Improvement and the ending was a bit flat.

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Ethneogenic Spells

Microdosing Magic: A Psychedelic Spellbook by TOM Hatsis
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Surfing in on the movement to reinclude psychedelics into magic and spirituality comes a fun little book by Tom Hatsis that is pact with information. Ethneogenic spirituality involves the use of such substances as Cannabis,Mushroom, DMT and LSD among other such substances. Ethneogenic spirituality is nothing new but rather it is something that is being reintroduced into spiritual paths. The author in this case prefers to use psylloscibin mushroom for his spiritual work.

Carl Sagan , avid cannabis user , once said that we are all. Made of star stuff. Since we have star stuff that means we have magic. You can summon deities or you can use your own star power. The author gives a good explanation on mushrooms. He discusses their benefits, how to find then and other supplements that can further their healing impact. When it comes to how much you take the author has a table of different dose sizes . Micro doses are the smallest acting like vitamins they help to enhance our day or our ritual. Threshold hold doses allow you to stand in the proverbial doorway with one foot in this world and one foot in the other world. Psychadelic doses are larger and place you in the magical realm. But you are not so dosed out that you cannot do magical work. The Hero dose leaves you flat on your back and you are in a state of total surrender.

The first chapters discuss meditation and visualization giving both definition and when to use them in your spiritual practice. Usually you meditate first and then you visualize. Magic itself is work and it is not like the laws of attraction as preached in the “Secret” Magic is not miracle is setting the intention for an improved and better future.

The spells are unique and simple. The author has you make a chart with the days of the week. Depending on your intention you will place a design in the chart with dots. On those dots is when you dose and do your spiritual work. Many of the spells are based on self improvement like breaking addictions, increases creativity , how not to be a jerk etc.

A very fun and informative book, Tom Hatsis has knowledge and he has more books coming which I cannot wait to read. Wish this book was longer cause I want more.

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The Art of Fluff

The Art of Sigils: Discover Your Own Creatiivity Using Ancient Magickal Symols by Gina Leslie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was a disappointment. It was short and rather limited on content matter. Being close to only 50 pages, I am glad I did not pay to read this book. The author uses sigils in this books for opening the creativity of the individual. Sure as such sigils can increase creativity. The author is quite proud of her artwork and displays it on almost every page of her book. The sigils look nice and they are creative. Yet the book lacked substance. I did not learn anything new from this work. When it comes to sigils I would scour the tomes of Chaos Magick and Austin Osman Spare. I learned nothing from this book.
Perhaps if the author was to do a rewrite she might want to make it longer. She also might want to show her readers how she design sigils or makes them. The book would have been better if there were some techniques on how to use sigils for creativity were thrown in. Of course most people who read this book are into magic and want to manifest something in their lives . Perhaps some of those techniques should be included as well.
I started this book wanting to like it but instead I walked away feeling rather disappointed. I know her community and wanted to leave a more positive review.


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Utred of Bebbanburg

The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Made famous by the Netflix series of the same name. This great work of historical tells the story of England before it became the England as we know it today. Back in the day like in the 700's or 800's the Island of England had been divided into kingdoms, among them were Northumbria, mercia, East Anglia and finally Wessex. These were mostly Saxon kingdoms. The Danes during this time period were coming over for two purposes one for conquest and rading and other times to do business. If they were coming for conquest they put a dragon head on their prow to pacify the land spirits.
The story starts out with the Danes just arriving at Bebbanburg. Bebbanburg is a fortress set high on a hill overlooking the sea and it is almost impossible to conquer. The Danes at this point are greatly feared. Utred is the warlord of Bebbanburg, and he sends his oldest son and some warriors to check it out. The oldest son gets killed in battle and his head delivered to Utred. This leaves Osbert as the next their in line. Immediately he is baptized by father Beocca and given a new name, utred.
This idyllic scenario does not last long. The Danes attack Eofric and warlords are called in to fight.In the ensuing battle utred of Bebbanburg is killed and his son captured by Ragnar the fearless. First Utred is a slave but then becomes an adopted son. Living among the Danish Viking young Utred picks up their ways and almost becomes like them. The kingdom's one by one Get overthrown by the Danes. Whilst growing up under Ragnar , the fearless, Utred is bullied by Sven . Sven is the son of a rival warlord. Sven bullying tactics cost him an eye and this sets the stage for vendetta.
The turning point in the story happens when Khirtan, father of Sven massacred Ragnars family. Left to his own devices Utred hires himself out to different warlords and finally ends up in Wessex, the Last Kingdom. From there it is fighting Alfreds wars and commanding his growing Navy. Plenty of intrigue.

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The Apocolypse of the Witch

Apocalyptic Witchcraft by Peter Grey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Impassioned is the call for nature. This is no spellbook or pie in the sky philosophy. Rather it is a call for Magical action to defend nature. Right now corpoarate greed is shrinking our forests, polluting our water, and wiping out animal life.this is not the time to shrink into our own little fantasy world it is time for action and that is what the path of the witch is about.

Corporate greed is taking over nature and it also taking over our mind. They tell us what we should be dreaming and thinking about. We have to take back nature and we must reclaim our mind. The Shabbat takes place in dreams and it occurs in the physical realm. Both must be protected.

Witchcraft is the set of relations between menstrual blood, the moon and nature. The Sabbat has been sanitized to make it more palatable but this only serves the interests of the enemy. Neon pagans gorge themselves on THe fluffiness. The sabbat and the wild hunt were savage bloody affairs. Time to stop living in denial. Witches pray to the goddess and her consort the devil. The devil was recourse for the powerless peasant against thr corrupt church and the tyrannical rich.

The wolf is the hunter, the one who balances the population by killing off the weak stragglers. The hunt initiates men into male mysteries with rituals and donning the wolf skins. This book is a call to the witch from the depths of the forest.

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The Brtherhood of Saturn

The Fraternitas Saturni Or Brotherhood Of Saturn: An Introduction To Its History, Philosophy And Rituals by Stephen E. Flowers
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Brother Hood of Saturn came into being during 1926, right after World War I. They are still around in some form today,or at least they are using to names and teaching. It was founded by Gregor Gregorious. After a meeting with Aleister Crowley, Master Gregorious accepted Crowley’s proclamation that the age of Aquarius was upon them. He accepted several of Crowley’s teachings but did not buy into Crowley being a prophet or a leader.

The Brother Hood of Saturn had several influences whose ideology helped birth several occult movements. Based on a Masonic structure, as many were Masons they were also able to borrow from the Golden Dawn, Crowley’s groups, Theosophy, Adonism and FOGC.

Having taken root in Germany, many were trying to find a magical system in which connected German people to the folkish spirit. It is said that there was the Brotherhood of Saturn going back to ancient times. Of course in this study I did not find many references to the Norse deities.

The Fraternity of Saturn in fact is very Luciferian and very gnostic. By Luciferian it is meant that Lucifer was meant by god to teach us and guide us. He is the planetary ruler under god. Or he is rebelling against god by giving us this knowledge. Gnostics believe that an evil god created this world as a material prison to entrap souls of light. The savior has the job of freeing us.

The object of the brotherhood was to advance themselves and their lodge spiritually. They had an ideology of strengthening themselves. Their ideology was informed ny Nietzchs. Saturn was their main planet of influence and its influence to the Earth was mediated by the moon. Saturn had a higher mode and a lower mode so to speak. The higher order was Lucifer who was a teacher and enlightenervof mankind. The lower emanation would be Satan. Satan is the opposer and rather reckless and rebellious. Their egregor was GOTOS. They had up to 33 degrees in their system. 29 through 33 being reserved for high level leadership.

Too bad the book was not longer, I really enjoyed it. The book has a compliment of rituals, appendices on the movement and their influences. There is a good deal of talk about Tantra. For those serious ones this is a book to be enjoyed.

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The Masks of Nyarlathotep

The Nyarlathotep Book: The Crawling Chaos by Daemon Barzai
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Nyalatherotep is the psycho pomp of the gods in HP Lovecrafts mythos. He is the messenger or go between for mankind and the gods. Often times he comes to Earth amassing followers to help his fellow gods. At times he is a messenger for Dagon, Yog Sogut and Cthulhu. His most famous role was the man in black who presided over witches sabbats. He was also the Black pharoah of Egypt. If you see him manifested in this planet he will usually be cloaked in a robe covering his face. He moves around via tentacles.

Now just so we are clear, HP Lovecraft was a fiction writer and supposedly all his characters are fictitious as well. The Necronomican was a fictitious grimoire that is referenced through out Lovecrafts work. Back in the 70's someone generated a Necronomicon. Since then Chaos magicians have been working with this current and working with the deities. This book is geared towards gnosis and obtaining information from the gods. This is not a spellbook.

This book is about Nyaratherotep and his 999 masks. This book focus on several of them. There is a brief description as to what function the mask serves. Then the reader is given invocations and meditations to work with.

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Beauty and the Beast Retold

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It is not Fere's lucky day to be hunting in the forests , close to the boarder of the fae kingdom of Prythia. Killing a faery thinking it was a wolf, Feyre now has to leave her father and two sisters behind and live in the kingdom of Prythia or face a certain death. With her family well cared for Feyre lives with Tamil and Lucien in the spring court. Many times she tries to leave or go d out what is happening to her family while at the same time she begins to develop a deepening g relationship with the ferry world and the faeries.
What follows here is a massive retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Like the original, Get father lost an important shipment of merchandise and is now destitute. But instead of the father going on a journey and giving up his daughter, it is the daughter who makes the mistake. Like the original , a prince is cursed to look like a beast until someone loves him. This time the Prince is fae and she is human. The curse permanent affixed an animal face to everyone in the Spring Court. The evil queen amarantha has usurped the realm, distorted the magic and cursed everyone else. Amarantha has plans for the humans as well. Like the original take Feyre returns home, her father's fortune returned. But she loves him and that should break the curse.
Her return sparks a clash with Amarantha. Feyre must pass three challenges to break the curse.

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Beware of Black Eyed Children

Black Eyed Children: Revised 2nd Edition by David Weatherly
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

You are coming home after along days work and you are about to leave your car to go into your house. You look through your window and you see two children standing there. Definitely something strange about those kids. They are wearing goodies or mismatched old clothes, and for kids aged 10 to 12 they sure do give you the heebie jeebies. You ask them some questions and they don't respond. Let us in they say. They keep on insisting. These kids are making you super uncomfortable. It is like part of your mind wants to lock your car door and drive away, yet these children have some kind of hypnotic hold on you. Feeling creeped out you look at them a little closer. Long arms that hang down to their sides, their skin is pale and maybe even pasty, but most of all it is their eyes. Their eyes are jet black. Now your freaked out and you scrounge the car for your cellphone so you can call for help. As you begin to dial you notice something else, they have disappeared into thin air.
Stories like this are becoming more common place, more people are seeing these black eyed children. Brian Bethel a journalist was the first to write about his story in the 1990s. Since then the reported sighting of Black Eyed Children have skyrocketed. Encounters with these children leaves on traumatized. Bad dreams, paranoia and overall discomfort are left in their wake. Sometimes even bad luck follows. These kids have left behind and awful bad smell. People who have encountered them feel an evil presence like something predatorial. Yet they must ask your permission to come inside and they will not get to break in and attack you. Who or what are these kids?
Speculation runs the gamut from the extraterrestrial hybrids meant to take over the planet all the way down to being men in black, hungry ghosts from Japan and China to even being vampires. These children could be offshoots of other creatures like fairies, succubi, djinn, the angel of death and demons.
David Weatherly has done a bang em up job of researching this urban legend. He has collected stories of various encounters and he has researched modern and past connections to this phenomenon. You may not be entirely convinced but always check your doors before leaving.

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How to Deal with Psychopaths

Dangerous Personalities: An FBI Profiler Shows You How to Identify and Protect Yourself from Harmful People by Joe Navarro
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

They are everywhere, people with dangerous personality types, they are our spouses, children , parents, co workers, charming strangers and dangerous psychopaths. Many of these individuals with a dangerous personality fly below the radar and do not brook trouble with law enforcement but they can still be dangerous and they can still hurt us. These personality types steal, abuse and even kill.

Criminal profiler, Joe Navarro, has written a book that will help you stay safe. In this book 4 personality types are discussed. The first personality is Narcissistic personality. These types display self importance beyond position. Often time they have a unrealistic and grandiose sense of who they are. The world centers on them. They are above everything and rules do not apply to them. They can be very bullying. Narcissistic people focus a lot on their grooming. People are objects for them to use and they are very selfish and controlling.

The next dangerous type is the Emotionally Unstable Personality. This type makes the people sorrounding them very defensive. Relationships with this type are a roller coaster making their partner feel a decrease in happiness and confidence. Unstable people have no clue as to the consequences of their behavior. The oscillate between being a ruler and a victim. Dealing with this type is very draining. They remember past wrongs to use against someone for later. Very insecure with a very low frustration point.

Paranoid people think that someone is after them. They tend to think that there is a conspiracy to keep them down. Paranoid types try to insulate their family from the outside world feeling that outside world has dangerous ideas. These people tend to Need more personal space and they oft time show no tenderness. This type tends to be argumentative and they will often time dress in military or some other agressive outfit.

The predator is perhaps the most dangerous of all. In this category you have con men, murderers, pedophiles and violent criminals. These people have no conscience and feel no remorse for their acts. To predators following the rules is a sign of weakness and they enjoy duping people who are weaker then them. Predators can come off as being charming or as being cold and callous.

The book is not designed to make you a mental health technician who can make diagnoses but rather it gives a guideline so you can identify that something is dangerous and you can take measures to protect yourself. Sometimes people will have symptoms of multiple disorders . The final chapter gives guideline on how to protect yourself.

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When Actions are Louder than Wordd

Louder Than Words by Joe Navarro
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Ever hear the expression “ actions speak louder than words”? Our actions in this instance is body language. Knowing how to read and interpret body language is a key tool to success. Body language though is a double edged sword. You also have to convey the right message.

Joe Navarro is a former FBI agent. He had to use body language in order to stay alive and succeed in his career. In effect you might say he had to be a bit of a psychologist. Reading this book will teach you a good number of things. First off when caught in;a fearful situation we have three options, fight , flight or freeze. In the office these would be situations that cause discomfort. The author uses a comfort/ discomfort paradigm in assessing body language. Such signs of discomfort would be squinting, rapid blinking, hyperventilating and nervous hand gestures. When questioning his suspects, Joe would let them get comfortable. After all a comfortable suspect is a cooperative suspect. Getting them comfortable allows you to set up a baseline and observe which behaviors denote what is comfortable for the individual you are dealing and also what denotes discomfort.

When dealing with clients it is important that they feel comfortable working with you. Comfort equals safety and stability. This comfort would mean falling into step with your client which would entail mirroring back vocabulary that the client uses. For example if they describe their automobile you follow up using automobile.

The emotional system will always trump our use of logic. When clients get angry then the best thing to do is let them ventilate. Let the ventilate to someone in charge so they know their complaints are being heard. Later the offending employee should write a letter of apology. This also gets rid of a lot of anger.

Little things can spell the difference between success and failure. How you seat people at a meeting can prove to be very conducive for productive communication or communication failures. Usually you want to have people seated at 45 degrees to one another. Office set up is valuable as well. Have a couch that people can sit and be comfortable with, cold drinks is a good idea as well.

Our body language and what we do sends a message. If you are meeting with someone important you may want to lean in and show interest . Playing with devices shows you don’t care. Image is almost everything.

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Death Maidens Claim

The Hel Runes Claim: Life of the Oseberg priestess (783-834 AD) by Maria Kvilhaug
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Thordis adjusts to life among the savage like Viking Rus. As the days go by her different nature is coming to the forefront. During the day she picks herbs for healing and hunts different animals. Then once she kills the animals she eats them raw. Ivarr, the young warrior she has been honing eyes her bathing the blood off herself when he decides he wants to humiliate her. Ivarr does humiliate her he has to get humiliated in order to win back her favor.
Thordis experiences more blots and festivals. The HeL Rune, mare and seven sisters make their appearances more than once. These maidens who are sworn to Hela, goddess of the dead, make prophecies, assist in battle and participate in ritual. There is always a price to pay.

Prophecy foretell that a Thordis will be a sif of the Gods, doing their will with no thought of her own. She will always be directed by strong willed men. Thordis is not destined to stay with just one man.

The gods throw twists and turns . Arnulf, the heri is given a very interesting marriage proposal. Zivah finds out some very Viking about her background which changes the dynamics of her love with Thiodolf. A rival family wages war on Arnulfs clan that threatens to possible wipe Arnulfs clan out.

Thordis proceeds with her destiny.

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420 the Magical Number

Liber 420: Cannabis, Magickal Herbs and the Occult by Chris Bennett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Liber 420

Ah the magic of THC and it’s effect on the body, mind and soul. Throughout the ages ethneogen or psychedelic herbs have been used in a variety of spiritual and magical streams in ways we are unfamiliar with. Chris Bennet does more than an awesome job of explaining the role of cannabis in the evolution of the human spirit. But this book delivers so much more. It gives you a very thorough history of magic.

Starting with the Scythian’s use of cannabis opium and ephedra in their elixir called Soma. They also used to burn cannabis seeds in their rites for the dead . The spiritual use of cannabis spread to Iran and India. In India the mixture was called Haoma. It was sacred to Shiva and Kali. In Iran the early Zoroastrianists would melt hashish into the wine and drink it. This produced visions of holiness. The usage of cannabis would proceed to used by the sufis and from the Sufis it spread to the Assassins of Alamut.

The crusades brought on an era of cultural exchane between Europe and the Middle East. One of the things that was brought back was the use of marijuana.the Templars learned a lot from the assassins, almost their entire spirituality may have been taught to the Templars via the assassins.

Cannabis usage was used by the ancient Israelites during the temple times and even during the early era of Christianity. It was an ingredient in their incences and may have been used in the annointing oil. There is evidence that it may have been used in healing potions.

From the Middle East the use would spread to Europe where in it was used by witches , alchemists and mystics.
The book is long and packed with information. If you want to learn more read the book. This tome is a classic and no review could give it proper justice.

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Assassins vs Templars

Last Descendants by Matthew J. Kirby
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Part of the Assassins Creed series which is based on the ever successful video games. The Templars and Assassins have been going at it since the beginning of time. Both want peace and the overall benefit of mankind. However, their means of achieving this are 180 degrees different . The assassins wish to achieve this by giving freewill to all of mankind, with each person making their own choices. The Templars want a strong, almost dictator type leader who sets the rules of right and wrong.

Owen lost his father in a bank robbery gone wrong. Believing that his father was framed he goes about trying to find the truth. Tired of dealing with all the negative comments his grandparents have to say about his father , Owen enlists the aid of Javier one of his old chums. Together they go to. A man named Monroe who has a machine that can read memory from DNA.

Turns out Owen and Javier have ancestors that met when Cortez caramel to conquer Mexico. Owen gets more than he bargained for as he and a whole bunch of other kids access their ancestors memory at the same time. All of them had ancestors that were templars or assassins. Together they go back to the Civil War era to find a lost relic that could grant the holder certain powers. The Templars want it and the Assassins want it. Monroe is determined that neither shall have it. It is an ascendancy event with a prelude to more adventure.

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The Magic Carpet Over Alaska And Israel.

Alaska Over Israel: Operation Magic Carpet, the Men and Women Who Made it Fly, and the Little Airline That Could by Darragh Metzger
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A true account of one of the most daring rescue operations in modern times. After the conclusion of World War II when Hitler was defeated and it was learned that 6 million Jews died in the Holocaust, the British Mandate of Palestine was in questionable status and Jews all over the world were clamoring to get into the British Mandate Palestine. One of those groups was the Yemenite Jews. The airlift brought 0ver some 50,000 Jews who had lived for thousands of years in primitive conditions. The story of this airlift is told by one of the daughters of a pilot and a stewardess who worked on that Operation Magic Carpet.
Told from a pilot’s point of view, the story tells the background of Warren Metzger and his wife Marian Metzger, both of whom met and married while working on Operation Magic Carpet. The story of how Alaska airline got up and running is told as well. Going from a fledgling airline trying to get more charters and flights not only in the general Alaska area but also throughout the continental US. Alaska airlines would run roughshod over the complaints of more established airlines who complained that Alaska Airlines was cutting into their territory. Mr. Wooten would smooth talk many people with liquor and cigarettes into making a deal. Then there was Mr. Marshall who was the CEO but took all the company profits and did not contribute a dime into the company.
Alaska airline accepted the offer to help Israel bring in the Yemenite Jews. Using run down transportation planes they would rip out the benches and chairs to make as much room as they could. Engines were retrofitted and fuel tanks were added on. The Yemenite Jews themselves had never flown in an airplane before nor had they ever seen one. They did not know how to use a faucet or a toilet. They ended up doing their business in the back of the plane. They even lit fires in the back of the plane to keep warm.
The journey for the Jews was hazardous. No longer safe in their villages, as Arab anger rose against them with every story of an Arab defeat in Israel/Palestine. According to the book the Arab were quite capable of killing every man woman and child in a village should their ire be raised. Jews were limited with what they could bring out and what they could sell. A long the way they were often way laid by bandits or people who would just kill Jews. Once the arduous journey by foot was over and they reached Aden they had to wait in the Hashed camp. Security was tense and the number of refugees was swelling. Once the planes took off into the sky they were often fired at by both Arab armies and Israeli armies. Rarely getting hit but very frightening. If their over worked and under maintained plane were unlucky enough to go down in Arab territory everyone would be killed.
Money was often tight both for the airline and the pilots. Often times the company did not have funds to issue paychecks or buy the fuel needed to fly the planes. This meant that pilots would buy fuel from their own pockets. They also has to pay for lodging out of their own pocket or sleep in the cockpit which they did many times. Finding a place to refuel was challenging enough as they could not land in any Arab country but had to fly long routes through Cypress and Asmara. An exciting read for those who like history of the Middle East, Israel and a gutsy Alaska Airlines.


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Journey to Westeros

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the book that started it all. Song of ice and fire starts off with the assassination of John Aaron, Kaitlyn Starks brother and Caitlin stark is married to Ned Stark. Something is afoot in the land of Westeros, realm of the seven kingdoms. After hearing the word of the assassination kingdoms are thrown into media turmoil. Robert Baratheon in the overall king visits Winterfell the home of Ned Stark. The visit does not bode well but rather leads to a series of adventure that will culminate into a war of all the kingdoms.

Treachery is afoot as Bran, Ned Starks son is pushed from the heights of a building after observing something he was not meant to see . The king appoints Ned as his royal hand, a job that Ned does not want. Most that go down to Kings Landing do not come back. Ned find an uncomfortable truth that could cost him his life.
When Robert Baratheon dies in a hunt , that is when the game of thrones begins.

Sansa and Arya, Ned StRks daughters are trapped in kings Landing. Arya young and bratty manages to escape while Sansa is trapped in a marriage to the cruel boy King Joffrey. Robb Stark, is left in charge of Winterfell, and must fend off a vicious attack lead by the Lannister family. Meanwhile the other Baratheon brother are fighting to claim the throne. What truth did Ned Stark find out?

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A History of Wallachia

Mircea the Old: Father of Wallachia, Grandfather of Dracula by A.K. Brackob
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Mircea the Old

The land of Dracula has always been an area of turbulence both politically and miliatraily. The name of this land has been mistakenly called Transylvania, but it's real name was Wallachia. At times this land was called Dacia, Cumania and other names. Now it is part of Romania. The orignal inhabitants were called Vlach which may have meant shepherd. Which would make sense because most areas were small villages with wood huts and the forts were also made of wood. When invader came the inhabitatnt would hide in the forests and hide keeping them sage from dangers. Many people came through this land over the centuries. Ethnic groups like saxon, and slavs came in and blended with the locals and of course leaving their imprint. The Saxon helped and in fact built some of the first major cities like Brasov
The area also housed renegade and schismatics from other realms of Europe. Such groups woud have included political exiles, religious renegades and some of the Knights Templar. At times other Knightly groups from Europe would arrive there for various military purposes. Political exiles from Hungary would end up in Wallachia which would troubles between the two realms. A little bit later for that.
The first founder of the Basarb Dynasty was called the Black voivode. There is speculation tht he was of Turkish or Tatar in origin. The name of the Black voivode was Thocomer, his some was Basarab. It is storngly believed that the black voivode was an ousider not native to the Wallachian realm.
During this time period the Christian powers such as Hungary, Byzantium, and Transyvania were at odds with each other. The tatars or the Golden Horde arrived and they conquered lots of territory. These tatars on certain occasions converted to Christianity. They were a turkic mongolian people. A combination of them and the Slavs helped form the Nation of Bulgaria. Basarab for his part had several alliances with these Turkik people. Yet there was also a treaty with Hungary which went pretty well save that Wllachia was harboring undesirables. By an large Basarab was catholic. He married a women of French origin named Margaret. Religion to him/was for political expediency as was marriage back in those times.
Relations began to change between Hungaray and Wallachia after an illfated military venture with Bulgaria. Bulgrai attacked Serbia and the Serbians won. This left Basaab week and the Hungarians moved in. Basarab made several overtures to the Hungarian king which were rebuffed. After some nobles encouraged the Hungarian king to accept he did so. In the end as the Hungairain troops were leaving Basarab ambushed them killed them. This was the battle of Posada.
Bssarabs son Nicholas Alexander ruled alongside him for a bit. Nicholas Alexander was also Catholic. During his tenure Tatar power was in decline and the Bulgarians were weakened. Teodora Nicholas Alexander's sister was divorced from Bulgarias leader. This ended a political alliance. Nicholas Alexander realined with Hungary. While accepting Hungarian overlordship , in order to guaruntee his autonomy he made alliances with the Orthodox Church. After a revolt from a Romanian viovode , Nicholas Alexander broke away from Hungary for the rest of his reign.
vladislav was Nicholas Alexanders son who took over after he died. During Vladislav`s tenure the Ottomans gained a foothold in southern Europe. the Ottomans were intent on seizing Christian Europe. Europe at this time was very divided as their were schisms in the church. The Turks on the other hand were unified. After Nocholas's death, Hungary wanted to attack wallachia, but instead of attacking wallachia they veered to Bulagaria and made conquest there. This altered the balance of power. THe Byzantines in vain sought European support against Turkish agression. Wallachia seems to have gotten back in alignment with Hungary. Bulgrai and Turkey attacked Hungary and Wallachia proved to be a valuable ally for Hungary. Wallachia and Hungry would have religious diferences later on.
The rest of Mircea's reign was a balance of various powers agaist one another in an arena of shifting alliances. At times Mircea would side with Hungary and at other times he would side wit the Ottommans. His strategies included pacification, interfering with Ottoman politics and breaking his word and siding with the stronger in a conflcit if it benefited him. Once he helped place an Ottoman leader on the throne in a conflcit with his brother. It was a fruitful plan but ultimatley that leader would be deposed and Mircea would submit bak to the Ottoman`s rule. Once he did this his rule was quiet until the end of his days. Being a wise politician he supported the Orthodox church by funding monasteries and churches. He also suppported the Catholic church and made sure the religious leader he backed reported strictly to Rome and not hungary. Despite the fact that Christendom was under threat by the Ottoman peril, they were very disunited. France and England were at war. There were schisms in the church and the countries had their own internal issues to face.
At the end of the day Wallachia stood on it`s own. Shrewed ledership kept the area safe from attack and allowed them independence. After Mircea passed other powers would interfere with Wallachian politics by backing one or some other pretender to the throne. No room for honest politicians in this realm. Shrewed ones only.

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Let the Devil Speak

The Devil's Bible by Allan Lavey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Let the devil speak it is his turn at last. This is one great book but there is nothing devilish about it. It is nothing less than a very magical tome that bespeaks of our true potential as human being. Know you this human being you are not some miniscule creature crawling on the face of the earth but rather you are a god unto yourself. If you dare to read this book and apply its life lesson you will be a liberated being who can reach your potential. Indeed this book has many messages.
Since I got from memory without referencing the book after reading it I will share some of the messages that I received but please bear in mind that this book contains so much more. Perhaps the most poignant message is reaffirming how powerful and how important we really are. Our mere presence creates such an impact on the world at large that it is almost impossible to measure. The author has called this the Nexus theory or the Chaos theory. There is also the message that fees us from the opinion of other. Worrying about others opinion of us makes us slaves to their point of view. Shall we talk about people who we think are friends, many may not be true they want to be with you not because they like or love but because they want to use you. Others will pretend to keep us down and prevent us from rising to our true potential. Those that keep us down we need to let go of them and move on….push forward. Don’t get caught up in the miniscule conflicts that bog us down leave those aside and concentrate on your own wonderful being. There are exercise contained therein to help achieve calm and relaxation.
Towards the end we do hear the devil speak although he is not the devil rather he is Lucifer the Light Bringer. He never fell from Heaven , he is still at the right hand of God. The arch angel and our guardian angels all have our best interests in mind. They protect us and they teach us. The deities exist also and are expressions of the divine. To be honest though the authors do tell us to get closer to god. He is the source of all. There are several prayers to God, angels and few for the devil.

At the books end there are instructions for a magical bath and clearing out your house. If interested let me know or better yet get the book. The instruction are simple and easy to follow. This is a blessing because many times magic books make things so complex. There are prayers for just about everything and instruction on how to charge a sigil. At the end are some example of sigils that you can use.

This is a tome of liberation. Remember that magical workers connect with the divine the force of creation and they help create the world in their own image. Remember that the devil is not the evil guys waiting around the corner to mess you up. The church fathers needed a boogey man to scapegoat all our sins. A figment of some twisted old man’s imaginations. Be free do not let guilt hold you back or down ask for forgiveness and if one has wronged you be sure to forgive as well. Society tries to keep [us down but this book will help you rise to heights of spiritual greatness. By the way my wife leafed through the book and wanted to read it when I was done. That is a first.


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