Temple of the Wind by Terry Goodkind

Richard Rahl has announced that he will stand against Jagang from the Imperial Order. You are either part of Dahara or you are with the Imperial Order. One day to people arrive in town one guy is named Marlin a wizard and another is Sister Amelia. Marlin anounces that he plans to kill Lord Rahl, Cara and Kahlan decide to deal with it. In the mean time the soldiers of Dahara come down with intense Diarreah. Richad goes to the hills to get medicen for the troops in order to stave off the diarreha. While Kara and Kahlan are interviewing Marlin they find out tht is possed by Jagang. After A conrontation that Kills Marlin and injures Cara and Kahaln Marlin gets killed. Cara is seriously injured. Luckily Drefan Rahl shows up and heals her. Nadine an old friend of Richards from the Westlands shows up convicned by Shota the witch that she wil marry Richard is also on hand to help things along.

Jagang has sister Amelia set off a plague that kills children first. Kahlan and Richard are now on a quest that takes them travelling to different places, old texts and prophecies. Zedd and Ann end up as slaves for time but later on are freed. In order to stop the plague Richard must find the Temple of the Wind. A place that was exiled to the underworld by Wizards who felt that magic was corrupting the world and giving wizards too much power. In oreer to find the Temple Richard has to wed Nadine and Kahlan must marry Drefan. Richard finds the Temple but Richard was supposed to marry Kahlan. It turns out that Drefan Rahl is not the healer he was supposed to be. The ending has a happy surprise. Enjoy

The Sorcerer of Saint Felice by Anne Finnin

Michael is about to be burned at the stake in Orleans, France for the crime of sorcery. As the flames are about to engulf him along comes Abbot Francis Duchain to the rescue. Whispering a prayer to the archangel Gabriel, he proceed to call a halt to the execution. A rain storm conveniently arrives to make matters easier.

After being rescued Michael is taken to the Monastery where for or five other monks of the Benedictine order are housed. The monastery is famous for it's wine. Wine steeped in herbs at the right astrological time. It is a wine that heals every malady. Michael ponders on whether to stay or go. To venture beyond the walls is to risk certain death and capture. His prescence there is an annoyance to the authorities that want Michael dead.

Father Francis and company defend Michael three times. First against a bishop and a fellow named Montain who wanted Michael killed. Next and archbishop comes and scrutinizes the entire place. They find nothing.

While being housed at the Monastery Michael does partake in chores. After scouring the Monasteries library Michael find out that Father Francis is the infamous sorcerer Seratois who supposedly drowned in the river Tiber. Michael decide to learn angelic magic from him.

Eventually the authorities do catch up and the good abbot is about to be burned at the stake. I will leave the ending out of this review go read the book.

Ann Finnin has written a very entertaining book that is readable by children and adults. It is especially enjoyable if you are interested in exploring Angleic magic or have some background in Kabballah or the Clan of Tubal Cain.

Well of Ararat

The story is set in pre world war I Northern Iran. Before the Ottoman Turks came there wre many Assyrian and Armenian villages in Northern Iran. This story took place in one of those Armenian villages. The main character of the story is a young man of say 12 years old. He lives in an extended family headed by his grandmother.

It was a tradition in those days for young able bodied men to travel to Russia in ordeer to make money as merchants. Sassoon's uncle Ardavaz was one of those men who had been away for a dozen or so years. He returns at the beginning of the story laden with gifts. Sasson jumped at his a little bit too greedily. This served to strain relations between the young Sassoon and his uncle. This would set the stage for the whole mood of the story.

When Ardavaz returned to village he set out to get married. THe girl he chose was getting water by a well. Marina, was her name, a very pretty girl who was espied at the story's beginning waiting for alover in the forest. A wandering dervish was also coming through abnd it was from this mystic that the young Sassoon first heard about the second gate of life marriage.

The rest of teh story proceeds with wedding preparations. This means buying the gifts the silks, bride price, henna ceremony and bringing the bride from her aunt's village. Enroute from her aunt's village the bride is almost abducted by the son of a village khan. Fortunately the villages forces defeat the Khabns son and he becomes an invigted guest.

THrough out the story there is constant tension between the uncle and Sasson and the Uncle and Marina. MArina is really a reluctant bride. On the wedding night Sasson sees the bride when no male is supposed to see her. THe uncles beats the day lights out of the young Sasson at least two times during the story for communicating with her.

MArina's lover who she really loved was Avaris, also the uncles best friend and best man at the wedding. When the secret comes out the two of them have it out in a duel where one of them is supposed to die. The ending is a sad surprise.

The Prophetic Vision of Merlin by R.J Stewart

Embedded with the History of Kings written by Geoffrey Monmouth is a work of prophecy called the prophecy of Merlin. No one can ascertain whether it came directly from Merlin or was a legend that build up over the years. Author R.J Stewart analyzes the prophecy and looks at it as not only a prophecy but also as a guided meditation then can help the learner attain spiritual enlightenment.

Since the 1980's there has been an explosion of interest in King Arthurian themes. Every thing from literature, films etc. But people have never considered looking into the wisdom of Merlin as a source of enlightenment.

Merlin's plan was at first for the individual to attain enlightenment for him or herself then have the enlightenment spread over to the national whole. The final part was the dissolution of Arthur's kingdom. This happens when Merlin is asleep. In reality though it is we who are asleep.

The prophecy of Merlin begins with the Evil King Vortigern who rules over Britain with the help of Anglo Saxon mercenaries. His sorcerers advise him to build a tower on a hill so as to avoid being assassinated. As Vortigern build his tower it alway sinks into the ground. To remedy this Vortigern has to find a boy who has no father and kill him. Once the boy is killed his blood will be sprinkled on the stone. Merlin is found in a town arguing with another boy. When Merlin is brought to Vortigern, Merlin tells him that underneath the foundation there is a pond with two stone. Underneath this pond are two dragons. One is read and one is silver. Red equals the Briton while the silver one is the Anglo Saxon. Once released the two dragons begin fighting. Merlin does predict that eventually the silver dragon will win.

Later on Merlin predicts Vortigerns down fall as Ambrosius and Uther come from Rome to defeat him and drive the Anglo Saxons away. Uther later becomes king and Merlin engineers the birth of Arthur and the rise of Camelot. THe prophecy continues well into the future noting political event that will transpire. In the end the animals rise up and start hunting human and the universal order is turned upside down.
Merlin predicts the end of Druidism and the eventual conquest by the Anglo Saxons.

When the cosmic order goes awry the Goddess Ariadne is locked behind the gates to the other world and hides herself beyond the veil. The guardian stops those not worthy of getting through for beyond the gates is enlightenment and or death. Enlightenment is the death of the false self. Beyond Aridne is the original four elements that formed the universe.

Merlin is one of three types of journiers to the fairy world. He is the type that journeys to the underground and does not come back. Thomas Rhymer stays in faery land for seven years and comes back as a bard. He traveled to another dimension. Another person a reverend came to fairy land and returned being of service to mankind.

I look forward to reading more of RJ Stewart's books. I found the book difficult to follow at time. It seems he has a habit of jumping around or going off on related tangents. RJ Stewart is very knowledgeable and I would like it if he wrote more about different technique in addition to just theory.

Phoenicians , Lebanon's Epic Heritage. By Sanford Holst

The Phoenician were known mostly for their trading empire in the meditaerranean basin. From theeir humble beginning on the Lebanese coast they started out as settlers eking a living from fishin in the mediterranean. Later on they would use dugout logs to go lout further into the sea and catch more fish. As their boat making ability improved they would sail out further and explore different locations. THese were trading opportunities. They would trade fish in exchabnge for fancy cloths gold and spices. Later on they would nstart trading their cedar logs off to counties like Egypt. In fat it was Phoenician lumber and know how that built the temple to Horus in Egypt. The Phoenicians would several times over create a massive trading empire. How did they do it and what was their secret?

Their first principal was peaceful resolution of differences. For most of their history the Phoenician had no military whatsoever. If there was a problem they always tried to resolve their problem with negotiation. When that failed they would get their citizens and wealth and abandon the city state.

Their second principal was internationl trade. They did business with everybody. Because of them them goods from all over the world were sent all over the world. In fact it was the Phoenicians who introduced the Egyptians to the Maltese stonesmiths who would later on build the pyramids.

The third principal was relgious tolerance. They allowed Gods from other nations to be housed in their territory. Egyptian Goddess Hathor took up residence in a Phoenician tmeple in byblos. The Phoenicains always did their best to blend in with the locals and appear almiost indistinct

THe fourth principal was creating partnerships. If faces with a problem the Phhoenicians would partner up with other peoples facing a similiar problem. A good example of this is when they were threatended by the Egyptians and the Hittites. The Pheoinicians partnered up with the Kaska from Norhtern Turkey and transferred them ship to atack many parts in the Middle East. Including Egyopt and the Hittites.
The village was also a partnershp of everyone when it came to a business venture . Everyone played their part and everyone got paid.

Respect for women was the fifth. Women played a role in leadership and inpreparing the ships for their shipments.
Last they had equality and privacy. They would never share their secrets.

The Phoebnicians set up colonies al over the Aegfean sea and helped for the Minoan society with the Cretans. That later fell due to Volcanic activity and Mycenean aggression. They would recover after the invasion of the sea peoples. Whom they helped by shipping them from Northern Anatolia to the Aegean Islands, Greece, Hittite Empire and Egypt.

The Phoenicians were a rare society who knew how to get along. The book has a good bibliography and it is easy to read. You will learn a lot from reading this book.

The Pillars of Tubal Cain by Nigel Jackson

Western esoteric mysticism and/or angel magick comes primarily from the Middle East. Most European ideas were brought over via the old testament. But the Hebrews who wrote the old testament were influenced by a variety of systems. The systems came from Sumeria, Babylon, Egypt, Persia and Arabia. Each of these countries had a system of gods numbering seven, one for each off the known planets including the sun and the moon.

According to biblical legend Lucifer was God's lead angel, who lead a rebellion and was ultimately cast down into the earthly realms along with his cohort of angels. These Angels took on human form and were thus called watchers. Eventually these watchers fell in love with human women and mated with them giving rise to a race of people called the nephilim. These were giant people with magical powers. Eventually the Flood would come and wash them all away.

According to the Yezidis of Northern Iraq Satan who is called Melek Taus was redeemed. Supposedly he cried out tears of repentance and he was the angel in charge of all the other angels. He is worshiped as a peacock. Interesting that the throne in Iran was called the peacock throne.

According to Luciferian witch craft Lucifer the light bringer ascended for the reason of bringing mankind, who at the time were savages, into enlightenment. When Lucifer and his angles descended they taught human kind religion, civilization, magick and metal working. Now remember that Tubal Cain was a metal worker and metal workers had magical abilities. Of course Christianity turned Lucifer into a boogey man called Satan.

There was documents of giant races documented through out thee world in places like Shamabalah, Atlantis, Arabia and even Amorites. They were big and supposedly had magical abilities. Later on they would be wiped out by the flood. Many mythologies talk about a race of giants being wiped out by newer gods or being wiped out by some cataclysm. Check out the titans in Greek mythology and the Jotuns in Norse mythology.

Many symbols have been perverted in Judeo Christian Europe. The snake was typically a symbol of wisdom. Recall that it was the snake who told Eve to eat from the tree of knowledge to help open her eyes so she could grow up. In the bible the snake wass turned into something evil. The Tower of Babylon which Nimrod, another giant, tried to ascend was not a tower to challenge god but rather it was representative of the Watcher trying to reach godliness and redemption. The Tree had a similar meaning and in fact old religions worshipped the tree or by a tree.

Lilith in Babylonian mytholgy used to live in a tree until Inanna told Gilgamesh to cut it down. In this tree there dweelt an owl and a snake. The owl was a symbol of certain Goddesses and wisdom. Lilith later became Adams first wife and she in fact later left him because she would not submit to an inferior position. Lilith would copulate with animals and other entities and would give rise to a race of demons. Lilith was a succubus who seduced men in their sleep. It said that from man's liquids came several races of Demon. Some say that Lilith gave birth to the faery people. Women use her as model for liberation.

Queen Sheba is sometimes equated with Lilith in that some legends portray her as having owl feet or cloven feet. Sheba means seven and corresponds to the seven angels. It is surmised that Queen Sheba and Solomon were occultist and that Solomon who controlled demons to build his empire taught Sheba some of her secrets.

Occult wisdom which originated in the Middle East came to Europe via many directions. One direction was Jews bringing it over when they were enslaved by the Romans.Occult knowledge also came over when the Crusaders and Templar knights returned from fighting in Jerusalem. The founder of the rosy cross order learned Cabbalah in Damscus and the horned god came from the Middle East as well.

The Pillars of Tubal Cain is a book roughly 273 pages in length,but it is packed with information. I strongly advise reading. this stuff is definitely not Wicca

Blood of the Fold by Terry Goodkind

After escaping from the Palace of the Prophets and sending his father's spirit back to the realm of the Keeper, Richard Cypher is in semi hiding. Seeking shelter in the Aydindril he is set upon immediately by Mriswith, scaly caped creatures that have the ability to become invisible. Only Richard and his friend Gratch can find them. They make easy work of them. That is not the only threat. The Blood of the Fold has entered and they wish to kill anyone who has the gift of magick. Tobias their general believes he is doing the work of the creator. Lunnetta helps him fish out the sorceresses. Lunetta herself has magic and is Tobias's sister. Originally they came to hunt down the Mother Confessor who everyone believes is dead. It seems that the Kahlan is dead and while Richard is roaming through the city he runs afoul with the Blood of the Fold. Beffore getting too deep into trouble Richard is extricated by some D'haran soldiers. Things progress as Richard proves himself in a battle with Mriswith and thee D'harans accept him as their king. He is the Magic against the magic and the Dharan soldiers are the steel against the Steel. All D'harans are bound spiritually to the Lord Rahl.

It is in Aydindril that Richard Rahl boldly states that a new threat is looming on the horizon. THe Imperial order lead by emperor Jang is on the way to conquer the Midlands. The barrier stopping the emperor was taken down. The Keltion were the first to join up with the imperial order. Richard makes a proclamation that since the Mother Confessor was killed everyone must join with D'Hara to fight the new threat. Many are disagreeable and the most disagreeable is Tobias.

In the Palace of the prophets sister Verna has been promoted to prelate. Her job is to ferret out the sisters of the dark who are hidden among them. Not an easy task.She is buried in mountains of paper work and cannot go about her business. Meanwhile 5 or 6 of thee sisters of the dark are slaves to Jagang in a most brutal fashion.

Hagan plans to rule his empire from the Palace of the prophets which has been spelled so he cannot age. Eventually the sisters of the dark do take over the Palace and Kahlan is captured by Tobias and herself is taken to the Palace of the prophets. Richard does come to rescue her with some heavy consequences.
A very exciting story with many sub plots twist and turns. An enjoyable read for those who like the fantasy genre.