Take This to the Trashbin

Celtic Heritage: Ancient Tradition in Ireland and Wales by Alwyn Rees
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This book was terrible. It is supposed to be a classic but it clearly lacks the making of a true classic. It is neither scholarly nor entertaining. If you wish to understand Celtic Heritage I am sure there are better books out there. It is not clear where the paraphrase stories begin and end before jumping off into explanation. There needs to be a clear delineation of things in order to be fully comprehendsble. There needs to be fuller biography of the heroes and characters in the story . This book lacks that. So this book has good information but the formatting is terrible. The writing is muddled making it hard to ascertain the point.

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The Clan of Tubal Caine

The Robert Cochrane Tradition:CTC: Tubal's Mill Revised: An Autobiography by Shani Oates
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A has been said about the Robert Cochran’s Clan of Tubal Cain and according to Shani Oates, maiden of the CTC, much of it is untrue and comes from outsiders looking in. This book is meant to deal with the distortions and misinformation that is out there . I for one am glad because believe me there is lots of confusion.

Shani starts off with explaining some basic tenets of Robert Cochran’s philiosophy and some of their praxis. She does Ltd the similarities between Wicca and the Clan of Tubal Cain. Last there is discussion on the possible origins of the clan.

Some of the most recent rumors devolve around three or four issues. There is speculation as to where the tradition originated. Some say he made it up, while some others believe it was a family tradition . Cochran’s family was Methodist . The Royal Windsor Coven is a rumored coven that Robert Cochran started or belonged to prior to starting the Clan of Tubal Caine. No evidence of this coven has been found and there is no mention of it in Robert Cochran’s writing or letters. Further more associates close to him like Evan John Jones, Doreen Valiente and Bill Grey make no mention of it.

Another rumor on the mill is that the regency Coven which sprung up after Robert Cochran’s passing was part of Tubal Cain. Nothing could be further from the truth. It was started by Robert White and George Standard. They were banished from the Clan and is not part of the tradition. Another rumor is that they are Luciferian, not true. They do not pay homage to Satan or Lucifer. They blend Northern Tradition with some Old Testament myths .the closest approximation of what they work with is Hermes, Hecate and Saturn.

If you are looking for Clan of Tubal Cain or to get involved with them then I Suggest you avoid Joe Wilson’s 1734 Tradition and avoid Ann Finnins Ancient Celtic Church which Claim or did Claim they were part of the CTC. Their material may have recieved inspiration and some teaching from the CTC but it ain’t CTC.

Shani Oates is the spokesperson for this tradition and no other. She mentions others who are responsible for spreading misinformation. Among those names are Michael Howard, Dave and Ann Finnin ,John of Montsmouth.

The world of crafters is a small world and there is often times misinformation out there meant to fool you or lure you in. Shani Oates sets the record straight .

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The Magical Trump Presidency

Dark Star Rising: Magick and Power in the Age of Trump by Gary Lachman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What is the secret to Trumps success and his presidential victory? He seems to bumble through his presidency without a plan or clue and yet he still manages to come out on top. Is it collusion with the Russians? Or perhaps it is his untold millions or is it a pact with the devil? The title does suggest something sinister.

The real secret lies in positive thinking. As Robert Spencer, the leader of an alt right group, proclaimed that we willed Trump into power. This sounds magical to me. Trump was a follower of Vincent Normal Peale, a minister who believed in the power of thinking positive. Vincent Norman Peale had a plan of action that stated “Picturize it, prayerize it, actualize it.” If the mind can conceive it then the mind can achieve it.

This incredible book details the history of new thought or positive thinking, going back to when it was used for health. Now it is being used to generate wealth or achieve ambitions. Trump approaches his job with a controlled neurosis and not much of a game plan to tie him down. Rigidity in his mind detracts from success.

In terms of getting elected several Magick terms are discussed. Egregires or group mind mascot is a being or way of thinking created from the energy of human thought. Pepe the frog is an example . He was used to get trump elected. It carried an idea from mind to mind. Pepe the frog could be an egregore. On the net lol was usd to mean laugh out loud. Well in the gaming world typing lol translated to Kek. Somehow this kek got attached to Pepe the frog. Kek was also an Egyptian deity, a frog deity.

Chaos magic comes into play over in Russia. Alexander Dugin himself appears to be a chaos magician, he wears the chaos star. Like Trump this guy is a post modern thinker where in the truth and reality are negotiable. He is also a traditionalist meaning that he believes that in the beginning there a divine revelation or period and since then things have digressed. He is using chaos magic techniques to restore Russia to a Eurasian super power. There is a conflict with the west it is over supremacy. It could also turn into an occult war.

This fascinating book opened for me an internal doorway. I plan to read this author’s book and some that have been recommended or mentioned. The imagination is everything.

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Reclaim the Feminie Power

Witch: Unleashed. Untamed. Unapologetic. by Lisa Lister
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Many women are starting to hear a certain call the comes from the depths of their soul. That call is to reclaim their feminine power. For millennia that power has been locked away. Time of remembering is upon us. Lisa Lister comes off as a strong feminist, which she is as this book is geared toward women.

To her it is time to recognize that a woman’s greatest source of power is between her legs and in her womb. The author is correct that women should embrace their feminine power. She advocates trying to step out of the dude centric paradigm. Women have been cut off from nature’s flow. Their menstrual cycles are in line with the lunar cycles. Their age corresponds to the wheel of the year. Women need to get back into sync with that Patriarchy has separated women from their feminine power by labeling it evil. One way to do that is to reclaim the word witch.

Women are natural creators,healers, oracles and workers of magic. What follows is an easy diy guide on magic. Lisa gives the reader a low down on all the systems of witchcraft that are out there. A few spells and recipes are thrown in for good measure . Lunar guides included as well so you best know when to use your spells. Color guides and herbal guides are there as well.

Lisa Lister is a 3 rd generation gypsy witch who learned most of her skills from her nana. Her reclamation of power happened after she experienced so health problems. While I can respect her call to shake up patriarchy I found some of her points rather far fetched. Research has shown that the number of women murdered during the burning times was not as high as 13 million,. She seems to blame patriarchy for everything especially as the fact that other women are each other’s own worst enemy. What I do like is that she breaks the dependency to rely on outside authorities and books on the rules of magic. No rules, you do what works for you.

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Escape From ISIS

The Girl Who Escaped ISIS: This Is My Story by Farida Khalaf
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Life in the Yazidi village of Koch’s was close to idyllic. Surrounded by a loving family , Farida led an ideal life. During the day she helped out with the chores and played with her friend. Her father who was in the Iraqi military taught her how to shoot a weapon. In autumn they would visit the village of sin jar and go to Lalish for spiritual pilgrimage. Farida was a math expert and the top of her class. All that would change in the most drastic of ways.

What started out as a Jihadist rebellion in Syria soon spread to Iraq. It was amazing how easy it was for ISIS to come into Iraq and take over entire cities without the Iraqi army doing anything. Soon city after after city fell and her village Koch’s was overrun by ISIS fighters with black flags perched on every roof. Life changed drastically.

In a scene that could could have come out of the Armenian Genocide, ISIS fighters walked into the village along with Muslims from neighboring villages and at first told people to hand over their valuables and then later their guns. The ultimatum came when Daesh told them to accept Islam. Most refused. The men were carted away and shot somewhere outside of the village. The young girls were then hauled off to different slave markets.

Farida was sent first to Raqqa and then to an oilfield south of Der Azore. Farida and the other girls were continually abused and assaulted in the worst possible ways. After numerous escape attempts and attempts at suicide she finally was able to break free. Breaking thro0ugh an unlocked backdoor and armed with a cell phone, Farida contacts a relative in Germany with a stolen cell phone and a smuggler gets hear over the border to Iraq. She end up going to GErmany and becoming a Math teacher.

These monsters in ISIS are not real Muslims and they have no knowledge of Islam. Even the Yezidi captive knew more about Islam than they did. ISIS fought against other Jihadis from/other organization. They persecuted other Muslims who were not religious , Shia and Christians. There is a difference between Jihadi and Muslim. Fanatics are a threat to humanity regardless of their color or religion.

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Namaste: I am God and You are God

Master of Self-Realization: An Ultimate Understanding by Shri Siddharameshwar Maharaj
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Got this book from the kindle loan library. I thought it was written by Saghuru. It was not. Very sublime Hindu spirituality how much of it is useful well that is up to the reader. Most of what is written down seems to be lectures that have been written down.
Starting with our birth our existence is fragile and subjective. We tend to want to gather things to ourselves like money, family and all sorts of material things. This caused by the illusion that we are out body. The self realization that is written here tells us that our identity is not our physical body. It is just a meat suit that we use to wander about this world. According to Hindus we have four bodies. The first is our physical body , the second our mental body, third the causal body and finally Turya. In fact we are none of these bodies and to overcome these illusions puts us in a special spiritual state. Who are we really? We are Brahman the supreme god. He is the creator of all and is all. Everything, including us is Brahman. Even the gods are Brahman. The separate identities are just illusions. One can see some parallels in Kabballa.
This is the world of Maya or illusion. Nothing in this existence is real. We chase riches in vain. Our bodies ache and pain while we chase riches that only bring us misery. Desire is the root of suffering. Do not be taken in by spiritual powers the decisive and take away the quest of enlightenment and attach us to this worldly existence. Imagination makes things worse. We think things of I'll fortune will.blow our way. This is all in our imagination and that makes things worse

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The Town Crier

FATWA: Hunted in America by Pamela Geller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When it comes to the issue of terrorism, especially Islamic terrorism, there is a divide between the leftist liberals and the conservative right. The right calling groups exclaiming that the main motivation for these terrorist is their religious scriptures and that Islam is a religion of violence.on the left's pundits will say it is a result of American policy or poverty. Recently there were stories in the news about ISIS brides that wanted to come back to the states. I say no way, the leftist have other opinions. This my drift toward the right.
Pamela Geller has her moment of awakening after 9/11. It was then that she realized that the followers of Islam wanted to overtake the world and that the Muslims here have no intention of adapting to our way of life. I would say in part that I disagree, there are Muslims that do not wish to assimilate to our way of life, but it is the fanatics that we must worry about.
Sighting three instances of honor killing, Pamela Geller goes on in some detail about how she was killed and how the authorities bungled the investigation out of fear for offending Muslims. Pamela Geller wanted to set up a gravestone for Aqsa Parviz but the family and local Muslim community and the family out up road blocks. They finally put up a plaque for her in Jerusalem and one in Canada. Rifka Berry wanted to convert from islam to Christianity. Her family threatened to kill her. She was only safe in a pastor's house. Rifka did not go home she was sent to a juvenile detention center. Another woman named Jessica Sodeghay was brutally murdered By her step father. Honor killing are usually done if the daughter dishonored the family. They are happening and the authorities are not handling it correctly. The press is silencing it for fear of offending the Muslim community in general. In fact it is in Pamela Gellers view that the left and part of the right have been co opted by the Muslims. In fact the system.had been compromised.
Heller goes on to narrate how different conservative convention won't book her or hear her views because they fear she is too Islamophobic. Others like her state she is speaking the truth.The ultimate truth might lye somewhere in between. Truth be told she is being blacklisted and prevented from speaking and expressing her self. Transit authorities will not let her advertisements go up . Some of these ads promoted Israel, helped people leave islam and were some times critical of Islam. But the other side is just as bad if not worse. That is just hypocrisy.
On Facebook it is especially true anti Israel and antisemitism flourishes and social media does nothing is done about it. Criticise a terror group and you are off. Pamela Heller maintains that Islam has values that are not compatible with Western society, but then again so do all religions. It is fanatics like al quaida, Isis, Hezbollah and Hamas that represent the threat. Most Muslims want nothing to do with these guys. But Saudi money funds their mosques with the help of several organizations like CAIR. Their followers get in. While most Muslims are peaceful why was isis able to storm across Iraq and Syria genociding the region's Christians and Yezidis?

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