Crow Tarot

Mind Body & Soul Card Deck Review: Crow Tarot by M J Cullinane, published by U S Games Systems Inc.  £23.33 Release date: Sept 2023

Sample card: The Tower 16. Keywords: Drastic change, Upheaval, Catastrophe. Element: Fire. Each night, the crows gather to roast in the top of an old belltower that sits on a hill, away from the city lights. The tower has always provided a comfortable shelter that has offered security. However, the tower comes with a warning, do not become too comfortable or complacent. It could be whisked away in a flash. Mentally prepare yourself. Change is always afoot. Sometimes change happens and goes by virtually unnoticed, but not this time. You will feel it. It will shake your ground. How you manage this change will have a direct impact on how you will fare in the future. The energy caused by this change will spark something within that will move you towards a better place. How the pieces fall are up to you. Changes are inevitable, and when the tower is reversed, it is a sign that you are doing everything in your power to prevent necessary action. In doing so, you delay the experience you need to learn from in order to move forward.

Tabla Mortem Spirit Board

Mind Body & Soul Ezine  - Tabla Mortem Spirit Board - Communicate with the Beyond by Judas Knight, Jerome VanDyke, Jacob VanDyke, and Jordan VanDyke. Published by US Games Systems Inc. 5th August 2021 Boxed set of board, pendulum and instruction book. $21.95 : £21.99 

This is a modern spirit board used to contact the spirit world. The box contains a fold out board, 16 inches x 16 inches, and a pendulum with a 12 inch chain. Full instructions are provided in the accompanying book on how to use and store the board and pendulum, to use incense and candles for readings, with recommendations to make notes for this communal activity. There is a poem for blessing the board, a grounding meditation and information on how to make an offering to the Lwa. Information is given on the origins and history of the planchette/ouija (wee-gee) board, with explanations of the process, what happens after death, of superstitions related to the board, and warnings of Lwa, elementals and shells. 

White Witch Tarot

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Card Deck Review: White Witch Tarot by Maja D’Aoust, Boxed set of 22 Cards and Book, Published by REDFeather Publishing, US $24.99. UK  £22.99 ISBN: 978-0-7643-5367-3

Attractive black and glinting gold box has magnetic clip to safely hold the contents of instruction book and 22 Major Arcana cards with gold leaf edges, based on the Rider-Waite-Smith system with traditional titles. The artwork is white and gold pen sketching on black. The more you look into the art, the more you see of faces, birds, hands, animals, landscapes, and quite clever and magical, as things are not as they seem! 

Deep, Dark & Dangerous Oracle

Mind Body & Soul Card Deck Review: Deep, Dark & Dangerous Oracle by Stacey Demarco, boxed set of 44 cards and guidebook, published by Rockpool Publishing, 13/10/2022 Computer graphics by Kinga Britschgi £17.99

The unknown and the Underworld feature in ancient myths and stories that teach us about our shadow selves, and the world of hidden mysteries. Not all that is positive is safe or healthy! Some positivity is false and toxic, some is so extreme that it blames victims for their desperate circumstances. By hiding our hurts, they don’t go away - they can grow stronger. We are called on to recognise hubris, revenge, disrespect for the land or for the gods, and instead develop our resilience, courage, faith, and kindness. Our fears of rejection, our anger and self hatred, can be transformed into understanding and appreciation of life and self. We are taken on a journey to ‘walk through the shadow of death’ as each card features a personification of darkness, for example Hades, The Morrigan, Vampire, Werewolf, Medusa, and others, and shows them in a new duality, of light and shadow.

La Santa Muerte

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Card Deck Review: La Santa Muerte Lenormand by Dan M Pelletier with illustrations by Callie L French. Published by REDFeather (Schiffer Publishing) US $ 24.99 : UK £22.99 Published 22nd Sept 2022

The ‘Lady of Holy Death’ oracle cards have a novelty magnetic closure box with eye cut-aways revealing the heads and shoulders of the dancing male and female significator skeletons of this deck. The pack contains a full colour guidebook and 36 illustrated cards without borders. They are the traditional Lenormand size (18cm x 23cm). Motifs are skeletons, skulls, scythes, the hour-glass, scales, tombs and graves, all to do with death and dying, plus flowers, bright colours, beautiful gowns, and that delights and creates fun by dancing and laughing. 

Trick or Treat Tarot

Mind Body & Soul Card Deck Review: Trick or Treat Tarot by Barbara Moore, published by Llewellyn Worldwide. Quality boxed set of 78 cards and full colour Guidebook. UK £29.17 release date: 6th Dec 2022 

Sample: 10 The Wheel of Fortune: Generally, we know what kind of candy we have based on the wrapper. It’s nice when life is labelled clearly. But it doesn’t happen often. Mostly, we don’t know, which is one reason that people have a Tarot reading to tell the future. But sometimes, we must make a choice without reliable information, and then it is the luck of the draw. When this card comes up, be grateful because you are in for some good luck and you didn’t do anything to earn it. The best advice is common sense. You have a lucky break, so make good use of it. You can view it as a sign that things are going to change - it might be positive if you are at the bottom of the wheel or negative if you are at the top, since there is only one way to go from there! If you want to get philosophical about it, you might consider that good luck isn’t random. It’s a gift of fate (or possibly the fates) to help you move forward towards your destiny. Keywords: fortune, chance, opportunity, destiny, fate, good luck, change. Reversed: bad luck, misfortune, failure, unexpected setback, reversal, delay.

The Gorgon’s Tarot

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Card Deck Review: The Gorgon’s Tarot by Dolores Fitchie. Published by Schiffer Publishing. US $45 : UK £39.99

Quality presentation box with magnetic closure and ribbon opens to 78 large round cards in black and white artwork, with one wild card, the Blind Gorgon, which has a splash of scarlet and is said to be obscured by the Sun. The size of the round cards means a different shuffle and dealing style, but it’s ok! The cards are like plates to lay out, but ideal to point out motifs to the Querent within the surrealistic artwork. There are several animals, such as horses, cats, snakes, even leopards, and flowers, trees, stars and delicate patterns. The theme is upbeat and young, the energy positive and quirky. It is, I would say, ‘female-centric’. Joyous and good for a celebration! I really liked this deck!

The guidebook begins with the story of the Gorgon. The Minors are Cups, Pentacles, Wands and Swords; the Court Cards are Pages, Knights, Queens and Kings. The guidebook provides an additional subtitle for Majors, a 200 word meaning alongside the traditional meaning and reversals. 

Seeking the Spirits of Palo Kimbisa

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Book Review: Seeking the Spirits of Palo Kimbisa - Exploring the Mysterious World of the Afro-Cuban Religion. Tata Rodriguez as told to Sophia Kelly Shultz. Published by Schiffer Publishing (2021). $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-7643-6090-9 

'The law of the jungle!'

There are several branches of the Palo practice - Nriycomba, Briyumba, and Kimbisa. These are oral traditions. Kimbisa developed 150 years ago from the Bantu people of the Congo who came as slaves to America. It includes influences from Franciscan, Freemason and Afro-Cuban philosophy. It is related to primitive Spiritism practices such as Candomble, Umbanda, and Santería. 

Dark Light Oracle

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Card Deck Review: Dark Light Oracle - The Path to Light Lies Through the Darkest Shadows by Alexandra V Bach & Carole-Anne Eschenazi, boxed set of cards and guidebook, published by US Games Systems Inc.  Card sizes: 13cm x 9cm. $22.95 : £17.99 

Dark Magic Oracle

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Card Deck Review: Dark Magic Oracle - Reveal the Light Within by Fiona Horne. Boxed set of 36 cards and Guidebook. Published by Rockpool Publishing.  US $24.95 : UK £18.99 

Release date: 31st August, 2023

“It has to be dark to see the stars”

Glinting green lettering on the box and silvered edges makes this a stylish deck designed to deal with difficult emotions relating to the inner child. The full colour guidebook gives us all information required for a reading. Each card carries a spell or a ritual to aid healing. There is information on the ethical sourcing of crystals. Spreads are the Sole card for a daily reading, the Dual two card, the Triad three card, and the Pentacle 5 card.

Sibyls Oraculum

Mind, Body & Soul Ezine Card Deck Review: The Sibyls Oraculum - Oracle of the Black Doves of Africa by Tayannah Lee McQuillar, with artwork by Katelan V Foisy, Pack contains 44 cards and comprehensive information book. £16.99 published by Destiny Books

"There will be a coming of the day when that which is hidden shall be revealed" 

The Libyan Sibyl

The author, Tayannah Lee McQuillar is a cultural anthropologist, scholar of religion, esoterica and mysticism. She hails from New York but conducted her research in Brazil and New Orleans and has shown great expertise in her knowledge of divination from earliest antiquity in this North African study and uniquely developed card system. She is the author of  'Rootwork'.

 

Tarot of the Sorceress

Mind Body & Soul Card Deck Review: Tarot of the Sorceress - A Witch’s Wheel of the Year by Berengere Demoncy. Boxed set of cards and guidebook. Published by Rockpool Publishing. 27/10/2022 £21.99

Justice. Sacred feminine. Keywords: normalisation, balance, rules, the law. The Justice card calls for balance or the restoration of balance, cutting through and separating what needs to be sorted. Through its symmetry it is also an invitation to bring greater clarity, stability and therefore balance to things. Justice is like a set of scales, represented here by two blossoming sleeves. The first is made up of chamomile, daisies, Indian marigolds, primroses, St John’s wort, heliotrope, bellflowers and cinq foil, all soft, springlike and blossoming. The other sleeve is covered with holly, ivy, chestnut burrs, and thorny dry yew  and brambles, representing the difficulties encountered in the dark and cold of winter when resources are lacking. The two bundles are almost symmetrical forming a balance of choices, obvious divergences and differing results. Balance is not always found in light or darkness; it grows between both worlds. 

Halloween Oracle

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Card Deck Review: The Halloween Oracle by Stacey Demarco - Lifting the Veil Between the Worlds is Published by Blue Angel Publishing. Boxed set of 36 cards and guidebook. 

Witching Hour Oracle

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Card Deck Review: Witching Hour Oracle - Awaken Your Inner Magic by Lorraine Anderson, illustrated by Olivia Burki, boxed set of cards and guidebook. Published by Rockpool Publishing date June 2023. US $24.99 : UK £18.99 ISBN 9781922785008

There is a deck published by US Games Systems Inc published June, 2022 with 39 cards with the title The Witching Hour by Cherie Gerdhardt.

This deck has a colour book which accompanies 44 cards. The set is trendy, young, attractive multi-cultural, you could say LGBTQ plus style images. The author provides her biography and how she came to create the deck, each card had meaning on her life journey. The deck can be used as an oracle in itself or with the Tarot as companion cards. The deck can be used with other card decks, where the reading is provided and a Witching Hour card is drawn for further guidance. Reversed cards are not used. 

The Witching Hour Oracle

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Card Deck Review: The Witching Hour Oracle by Cherie Gerhardt, boxed set of  cards and guidebook, published by US Games Systems Inc. Release date 1/6/2022 £22.99 

Please note that Rockpool Publishing have released a card deck with the title Witching Hour Oracle, written by Lorraine Anderson, June 2023. 

Sample Card: 30 The Blood Moon - Justice, Waning Moon, Crone.The Waning Blood Moon is the time for justice. The Crone is pictured on this card with a firm sturdy grip on the scales of justice, referring to fairness by weighing the evidence. The scales represent her consideration of her current existence and her mortality. The crone is blindfold to represent impartiality to the situation. Drawing this card is time to consider just behaviour or treatment in a specific set of circumstances. Have you been fair in a particular situation with a loved one? Have you rushed to a conclusion without considering the thoughts and feelings of another person? Or has someone not treated you fairly in a recent situation? The time is right to find where the iniquity lies and bring justice to that situation.

Dark Goddess Tarot

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Card Deck Review: Dark Goddess Tarot by Ellen Lorenzi-Prince, published by REDFeather Publishing. Boxed set of book and cards. $34.99 : UK  £31.99 ISBN:  978-0-7643-6022-0 

Quality presentation box with magnetic fixing; inside we have a full colour books with substantial information and 78 gold leaf edged cards with recognisable artwork images. Excellent multicultural women’s tarot deck, for all ages and body shapes. The deck is based on the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot with variations. In addition to traditional RWS titles, there are Dark Goddess Tarot titles. In the book, a subtitle is given for each card, and a short sentence. The information provided on each Goddess, her myths, attributes, symbols, life and powers. There is also an advice section about drawing each card. 

Zombie Tarot

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Card Deck Review: Zombie Tarot – Mystical Prediction Oracle is also known as ‘Your Weapon of Choice’ and ‘An Oracle of the Undead’. 

This is a novelty pack published by Quirk Books. It consists of 78 cards illustrated by Paul Kepple (author of The Housewives’ Tarot) and Ralph Geroni of Headcase Designs. 
The pack has a 96 page instruction booklet offering three key words and a brief explanation of the energy, written by Stacey Graham (author of The Girl’s Ghost Hunting Guide). 

The Knights Templar in the New World

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Book Review: The Knights Templar in the New World - How Henry Sinclair Brought the Grail to Arcadia by William F Mann, published by Destiny Books. 

Did Henry Sinclair, Earl of Orkney and a Scottish Prince, in 1398 sail to the New World of Nova Scotia and was this recorded by Micmac legends about Glooskap? Did the same Prince offer refuge to the Templar Knights after their persecution by Philip the Fair of France at the beginning of the fourteenth century? What do the archaeological sites reveal? Was there a refuge for the Templar Knights and their followers and did they have in their possession the sacred Grail cup or bloodline connecting Jesus and Mary Magdalene to the Merovingian dynasty? What are the indigenous legends? Was sacred geometry handed down to the Freemasons? These questions are answered, using original research by the author, Wm F Mann. Bill is an esteemed Officer of Canadian Order of Knights Templar with many accolades and credentials to his name.  

Nostradamus and The Lost Templar Legacy

Mind Body Soul Ezine Book Review: Nostradamus and The Lost Templar Legacy by Professor Rudy Cambier

Rudy Cambier is a linguist of ancient languages including Picard, and researched the verses of the Nostradamus opus for a decade. He noticed they were relevant on three levels. One conclusion was that these are not words from the time of Nostradamus, nor are they from the region of Provence. His studies show that the stanzas - reputed to be from the pen of the French visionary - were written by a Cistercian monk, in the era of between 1323 and 1328, and from the borders of the area of Belgium - and Rudy Cambier reveals the site of Knights Templar treasure. 

The author translated the Nostradamus 'prophecies' and discovered that a Prior by the name of Yves de Lessines had waited many years for someone - known as the l'attendu' - to collect the treasures of the Knights Templar but he failed to arrive. In order to record where the treasures were kept, the Prior wrote this cryptic lay which was stolen by Michel de Nostradame. The author is said to have traced the instructions and found a hoard of Knights Templar treasures!  

The Templars History & Myth

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Book Review: The Templars History & Myth - From Solomon's and Herod's Temples to the Freemasons, a Guide to Templar History, Culture and Locations by Michael Haag, published by Profile Books, 384 pages with black and white diagrams and photographs.

"The Templars have something to do with everything!"

A factual and readable account of the building of Solomon's Temple to the instigation of the Knights Templar, including the many crusades, their castles, banking empire, successes and failures, alleged conspiracies, trials and exiles, to the capture, imprisonment, torture of members, and to the eventual burning at the stake of their Last Grand Master. Details of the Chinon Parchment - which proved their innocence - and their escape to various countries, under various guises and denominations.

Goddess, Grail and Lodge

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Book Review: The Goddess, The Grail & The Lodge – The Real Da Vinci Code and the Origins of Religion by Alan Butler, paperback 360 pages £12.99 published by O Books 

With a foreword by Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince, this book has excellent credentials. I loved Alan Butler’s last book ‘Rosslyn Revealed’. ‘The Goddess, The Grail and The Lodge’ does not disappoint! 

Templar Antiquities

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Book Review: Temple Antiquities – The Templar Papers II By Oddvar Olsen Published by O Books Paperback 260 pages

This is book II and follows ‘Templar Papers: Ancient Mysteries, Secret Societies and the Holy Grail’ and is compiled by Oddvar Olsen as a collection of essays by a number of writers, some very well-known in their field and with a love of research into the Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon (known as the Knights Templar). This was a Mediaeval Western Christian military and religious order (1129-1312) that guarded pilgrims on their way to Jerusalem. They were the most important figures of the Crusades and began a banking system so that pilgrims could deposit money in one place and collect it in another. Philip IV of France borrowed large sums of money from them and the Pope of the day declared the Order was heretical and many were tortured and put to death, and it is said some escaped.

History of the Knights Templar

Mind Body Soul Ezine Book Review: The History of the Knights Templar: The Temple Church and The Templars by Charles G Addison, 332 pages, reprinted and published. Hardback, paperback and Kindle. 

Written by a member of London’s Inner Temple (ie and licensed to practice law), the author, Charles Greenstreet Addison, refers to Latin, French and Early Modern English citations and source material,  and describes the origin of the Templars, their popularity, their rivalry with the Knights of Malta, (Hospitallers), their activities in the Holy Land, eye witness accounts of the battles' wins and losses, the 1312 suppression of the Order, their arrest, accusations of heresy and secret rites, their torture and the execution of the the last and highest of the Order. The London Temple Church, their headquarters in the UK, its architecture and history and how the area became the centre of the legal profession, a hostel and school for lawyers. All is detailed, with the culmination of the survival of their legacy. Expertly written and researched. 

Vlad Dracula Tarot

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Card Deck Review: Vlad Dracula Tarot created, written and illustrated by Travis McHenry, boxed set of 78 cards plus book. Published by Rockpool Publishing. US $ 25.95 : U.K.: £21.99

Gold leaf edged cards in a red and black box with gold lettering. Card size: 2 and a half inches by 4 and a half inches. 

After a visit to Romania and hearing stories of Vlad the Impaler (1431-1476) the author developed an obsession with the character, his exploits, and the times and place in which he lived.

 

Dungeon, Fire and Sword

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Book Review: Dungeon, Fire and Sword - The Knights Templar in the Crusades by John J Robinson, 494 pages. 

The Holy Land was considered to be the centre of the world and the Christian Warrior Monks known as the 'Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon', were created to ensure safe passage for pilgrims, and to defend the area against attack. Sacrificing their ordinary life, these men vowed to maintain poverty, chastity and obedience, and with expectations to be martyred on the battlefield abroad, they devoted their life to their religion and their duties to the Papacy. Land in Jerusalem was donated to them by King Baldwin, and after many successful battles which increased their wealth and prestige, their doom was sealed by failure to maintain a Christian enclave far from Christendom, where Sunni, Shi-ite, Kurds, Arabs and Turks out-manouvered them. 

The Templar Revelation

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Book Review: The Templar Revelation - Secret Guardians of the True Identity of Christ by Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince, published by Corgi Books.
Visit: www.picknettprince.com

Exciting research and interesting speculations about the Order of Poor Knights of Christ and the Temple of Solomon! Why is St John the Baptist so important? Who was Mary Magdalene and was she Mary of Bethany? What is the connection between St John the Disciple and Mary Magdalene? What is the 'John gesture'? Are there Mysteries encoded within Leonardo's work? Whose image is on the Turin Shroud? What did the Templars discover in the Holy Land? What is special about Friday 13th? Was Mary the 'Ark of the Covenant'? How important was alchemy to the Templars, the cathedral builders, Leonardo and others? 

Rex Deus and Rosslyn

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Book Review: Rex Deus - The True Mystery of Rennes-le-Chateau and The Dynasty of Jesus by Marilyn Hopkins and the late Tim Wallace-Murphy, published by Element Books. 

A work of the late Tim Wallace-Murphy, Founder of the European Templar Heritage Research Network, suggesting Jesus Christ lived after the crucifixion to travel with Mary Magdalene to France where his descendants have retained a pure blood line to this day. It describes Jesus as the founder of a wisdom based dynasty originating with 24 Jerusalem kings, and follows how descendants joined forces to found the Knights Templar. What is the symbol on the Rex Deus ring? Links are made with the Cathar, Rosicrucians and Freemasons. 

The Templar Treasure of Gisors

Mind Body Soul Ezine Book Review: The Templar Treasure of Gisor by Jean Markale, Published by Inner Traditions/Bear & Co. Paperback 304 pages, £15.99 Using source documents, this controversial author, the late Jean Markale, considers that Templar treasures were hidden within the Cathedral at Gisor, possibly within the many underground chambers and passageways that are held to be too dangerous to investigate by modern archaeologists. The author accepts that the original confession of the Templars to heresy (conducted under extreme torture) was true and ignores their following retraction. Jean Markale (1928 - 2008) was the pen name of Jean Bertrand - described by himself as a Celtic and mediaeval scholar at the Sorbonne. Here he suggests that within the Knights Templar Order was a secret band of knights who had access to knowledge and wealth, spiritual and material, that is still to be found. This author has been discredited more than a couple of times!

The Square & The Circle

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Book Review - The Square & The Circle - The Influence of Freemasonry on Wicca and Paganism by Payam Nabarz, published by Avalonia Books. paperback £10.99

Wow! Connections between Freemasonry, Christianity, Mithraism, ritual Wicca, Sufism, Zoroastrianism, paganism, esotericism, and more! We might think that the great minds behind religious movements are inspired by revelations, but they borrow more from the ancient past than we think! If a set of moral codes, rituals and beliefs has survived for millennia, why not add and take from established literature and use what works! 

Of interest to all levels, from historians to the general reader. It reads like a written painting, with broad brush strokes, a revelation in every sentence! How imperative it is for those who develop religious, spiritual and social networks, brotherhoods, etc., that they declare where their ideas originate, and what they have absorbed from other dogmas. 

I'm impressed by this study. Recommended! 

Rosslyn Chapel Decoded

Mind Body & Soul Book Review: Rosslyn Chapel Decoded - New Interpretations of a Gothic Enigma By Alan Butler and John Ritchie, paperback, £10.99 US $21.95 Published by Watkins Publishing, 262 pages.

This is an outstanding book by two prominent authors in current esoteric investigation who are specialists in the enigmatic Scottish architectural masterpiece known as Rosslyn Chapel. What new is there to say? Evidently lots! Why was the Chapel built? What is so very special about the building? What ancient knowledge was used in its design? Was an ancient religious movement involved? What special information do the authors insist is given to visitors to the Chapel? When all is silent, what can be heard? Is there a scent in the building, and what is that scent? 

The Hiram Key

Mind, Body & Soul Ezine Book Review: The Hiram Key - Pharaohs, Freemasons and the Discovery of the Secret Scrolls of Jesus by Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas 

Written in an easily understandable style with a summary every few pages. This book of discovery and expose took six years of research and unravels the story of Jesus and the earliest Jerusalem church. Were  there initiations practised by early Christians that were similar to Freemasonry initiations? Could these initiations originated in Egypt?  Did the early Christians have connections to other religious groups such as those mentioned in the Dead Sea Scrolls? There are secrets of Freemasonry initiations and their possible connections to Gnostics and Templars. Parallels between Mithras, Attis, Indra, Adonis, Dionysius and others. And revelations of the origins of the Hiram Abiff story. 

The lost story of Jesus is described. Was he from a town called Nazareth, or was he a Nazorean, a word meaning 'fish'? Was he the Messiah? What do the apocryphal Gnostic books state? Who was Jesus Barabbas? Was Jesus a rebel who was an Essene of the Qumran Community and what power had they in the Jerusalem Church? What is special about the white robe? What is the association with the rebuilding of Solomon's Temple, the Essenes, the Knights Templar and Freemasonry?  

Rosslyn Revealed

Mind, Body & Soul Ezine Book Review: Rosslyn Revealed - A Library in Stone by Alan Butler and John Ritchie, Hardback at £19.95 

Rosslyn Chapel is a most extraordinary building but so much is known about it already: I wondered what Alan Butler and John Ritche would be able to add to my knowledge. Alan Butler is a Templar expert and an astrologer, and he joined forces with a local expert on Rosslyn, John Ritchie to explore the chapel. 

The Sign And the Seal

Mind, Body & Soul Ezine Book Review: The Sign And The Seal - A Quest for the Lost Ark of the Covenant by Graham Hancock. 

Graham Hancock is a wonderful story-teller and I love his writing, especially on this fantastic adventure. 

He visited Ethiopia in 1983, a few years after the overthrow and assassination of the reigning ancestral monarch, Haile Salasse. The Red Terror had unleashed death squads which executed people and then claimed the cost of the bullets before the corpses were released to their relatives for burial! Haile Salassie claimed he was the 225th generation in an unbroken line of succession from the Queen of Sheba who visited Jerusalem and returned to Ethiopia bearing King Solomon's son, Menelik. Menelik visited his father and is said to have returned to his mother with the Ark of the Covenant which is guarded in the Church of St Mary of Zion in Axum. The original measurement defined in Exodus is 2.5 cubits x 1.5 cubits x 1.5 cubits (a cubit thought to be 18 inches). Many Ethiopians have similar religious practices to the ancient Jews, and celebrate their sabbath on Saturdays. In every church throughout Ethiopia, a replica of the Ark is positioned in the holy of holies. The Ark is said by the guardian to have raised massive stone blocks with the aid of celestial fire. 

The Murdered Magicians

Mind Body &  Soul Ezine Book Review: The Murdered Magicians - The Templars and their Myth by Peter Partner, hardback, published by Crucible.

This is an interesting study which is balanced, realistic and well researched. Is it possible to explain the Templars as great rogues, heroic yet ordinary men involved in a blame game by the King Philip 'the Fair' of France with the reluctant collusion of Pope Clement V?  The Order began with a dream of Saint Bernard and ended with a mythic curse from the tortured and dying Jacques de Molay.

This book does not artificially praise the Order, due to accusations of avarice, pride and other sins of their day, yet we are made aware of their honour and of their suffering. Most interesting, the court cases are described in detail along with the privations of their incarceration. 54 were burned to death in 1310 and the two Templar leaders burned to death in 1314. All went to their deaths claiming their innocence. What was their wrongdoing? They had no money and they failed to have further successes in the Holy Land. Were they really stupid to keep the secrets they were accused of? 

Templar Sanctuaries in North America

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Book Review: Templar Sanctuaries in North America - Sacred Bloodlines and Secret Treasures by William F Mann, Foreword by Scott F Wolter. Published by Destiny Books, 419 pages Paperback: £14.99 Also available in Kindle format.

The Templars

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Book Review: The Templars - The Dramatic History of the Knights Templar, the Most Powerful Military Order of the Crusades by Piers Paul Read. 

The Templars were a multinational force of religious warriors, the first uniformed standing army in the Western world. They owned and managed vast estates and were pioneers in many fields, including fighting, travel, banking and building. Were they guilty of the charges to which they pleaded guilty under torture of blasphemy, heresy and sodomy yet withdrew their guilty plea knowing that death by fire awaited them? What relevance has their story for our modern times? 

Each of the Jerusalem temples are detailed, the founding of the Templar Order, their daily lives and responsibilities, each of their battles, including Acre and its fall, and the many colourful characters, Saladin, Richard the Lionheart, Louis of France, etcetera are covered. The author provides a balanced account, and documents some interesting scandals, errors and tragedies. Each success and defeat is described and the many complex circumstances that led to their demise are detailed, including a major internecine dispute about the marriage of a Princess in Tripoli. A tracing attempts of the Templars to protect their treasure takes it from Sidon then to Cyprus, with many lost battles along route. An interesting piece, page  249, about Roger of Flor, son of a falconer of Emperor Frederick II, extortionist, commander of the  Falcon galley and the Olivetta, expelled from the Templar Order, he sailed to Marseilles, then Genoa, making vast sums through piracy, leading Catalan mercenaries, in 1302 he commanded 32 galleys and a force of 2,500 men, and was eventually assassinated. He was one of the very few recorded renegade Knights Templar.

The Second Messiah Review

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Book Review: The Second Messiah - Templars, the Turin Shroud and the Great Secret of Freemasony by Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas, published by Fair Winds Press, paperback 260 pages $18.95

This book is well researched by the authors of The Hiram Key and ties up many loose threads. From after the death of Jesus, the Jewish members of the royal House of David, a hereditary priesthood, have largely been forgotten, or perhaps intentionally hidden, maybe killed, by the early leaders of the emerging Christian sect. These blood relatives would have been the real Popes in a true succession, unlike the modern claims of apostolic succession from Peter. Was there a bloodline that was protected until the time of the creation of the Knights Templar Order, when 11 selected, related, French knights under Hughes de Payen, searched under the Jerusalem Temple for possibly scrolls, valuables, relics or other finds, hidden for safety and left to them by their ancestors when Jerusalem fell in AD 70? 

The New Orleans Voodoo Tarot

Mind Body & Soul Card Deck Review: The New Orleans Voodoo Tarot by Louis Martinie and Sally Ann Glassman, published by Destiny Books. Quality presentation drawer pull box containing comorehensive instruction guidebook and 79 cards. US $35 : Can $42 

Sample card: Congo (Water) La Sirene. “ This is the card of the mermaid. While her realm is the ocean or world womb, her human qualities give her access to the mysteries of the land. She is the great bridge between those who inhabit the fathomless depths of the seas and the creatures of dry land. She is the water form of Erzulie and Agwe is her husband. In terms of Chesed she also acts as a connection or a bridge between Agwe and La Baleine, the whale.La Baleine moves freely along the ocean floor and is privy to their secrets. From her, La Sirene has much to tell Agwe.

La Sirene, as her name implies, is a loa responsible for the sake of songs of the Voodoo ceremony. These songs combine Music and the Word to generate the fascination that so strongly focus the attention of the Voodoo devotees. Here once more, La Sirene bridges two elements, music and the spoken word. 

Her card emphasises blue, which is her colour. the card of the mermaid. The whale shown swimming behind her is La Baleine, the great Mother of the Sea. La Sirene is companion to the whale and transmits the generative power of the oceans in the sphere of the emotions. She is a creature of two worlds, bridging the gap between the solid land and the ever shifting waters. Her primary attitude her primary attribute is emotional connection. Her power is that of empathy. 

The Coming of the Holy Grail

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Book Review: The Coming of the Holy Grail - The Exact Location of Heaven's Treasure and the Promise of Retrieval by Claire Nahmad and Michael Revill, paperback, 341 pages, published by Cygnus. 

The text provides an investigation of the creation of the Grail, why it was stolen and why it has been kept secret, and by whom, where it is now, and how it is ready for exposure. From the Mary Magdalene church in the remote village of Rennes-Le-Chateau, Father Berenger Saunier, the priest, discovered the mountain retreat of the Chief Guardian of the Grail and the last of the Morovingian royal dynasty, King Dagobert II. He was kidnapped and held captive in Ireland in his youth due to his holy bloodline, and was eventually murdered by Pepin the Fat. The Grail was buried in the crypt of the church which was once King Dogobert's private chapel. During the Crusades, it was taken to the newly created Lincoln Cathedral, built on an ancient shine to Mary Magdalene in AD60. It was kept in the Lucy Tower - the Tower of Light - where Knights Templar were imprisoned and inscribed their fate on the walls.       

Odin & The Nine Realms Oracle

Mind Body Soul Card Deck Review: Odin & The Nine Realms Oracle by Sonja Grace. Published by Findhorn Press. Boxed set of 54 cards plus book.

Quality magnetic flip top box containing a set of cards and instruction book. Biographical information is provided about the author, who is also the artist of this deck. The images are hand drawn and painted and have a beauty and power within their simplicity. Sonja Grace is a visionary, a 'spirit traveller', and channels many topics from Spirit. Included in the book is information about the Norse gods and goddesses, and the runes. Each card offers a message of life wisdom. There is a short message for several reversed cards. There is a lot to learn about Norse myths, the deities and rune energies.
An interesting deck! For those of Viking ancestry and interests who will learn how to pronounce the deity names and runes correctly!

The Tarot of Light and Shadow

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Card Deck Review: The Tarot of Light and Shadow by John Matthews and Andrea Aste. Boxed set of explanatory book and two sets of tarot cards. Card size: 4.inches by 2.5 inches. Published by Watkins Publishing. 

This pack contains a double deck and all the information you need to use them in readings. Using both decks allows the reader to see both sides of a question. This is a unique pack of the two decks, one for positive situations and the other for a more challenging situation. Certainly, you will be enabled to give extraordinary readings from this double deck. No-one else will be able to give readings like this! If you want to be a one-off reader, like no other, this pack will provide it. 

Black Moon Astrology Cards Review

Mind Body Soul Card Deck Review: Black Moon Astrology Cards by Susan Sheppard. A boxed set of 52 cards plus guidebook. Published by Blue Angel Publishing. £17.99

The cards are divided into 3 sections, planets, constellations, houses, elements and additional astrology aspects. Each card carries an image, number, title and subtitle. The guidebook provides information on how to use the cards which provide an easy method to get involved with astrology. No previous knowledge is required. Key words and a quotation are provided for each card with both a brief and extensive explanation. The cards correspond to the tarot. Several spreads are suggested: 15 cards, Here, Now, Later; 12 cards, Astrology Wheel; 5 cards, Black Moon; 4 card, Planetary; 4 card, Course of Action, 7 card, Black Moon Romance.

The Dion Fortune Tarot

                                               

                                                 Mind Body & Soul Ezine Card Deck Review: The Dion Fortune Tarot Cards by Dion Fortune.

The Dion Fortune Tarot Cards are based on the conclusions of Dion Fortune as provided in her book 'The Mystical Qabalah'. The box includes 78 cards, divided into 22 Grand Arcana and 56 Lesser Arcana cards with a booklet that explains about personal and spiritual development and exercising the imagination. Card size: 6 inches by 3 inches. The deck has been devised and assembled by the long serving and esteemed member of her Society of the Inner Light, David Williams. The cards are primarily for meditation and reflection. The card backs show the deck should be read upright only and the information in the instruction booklet only gives basic, traditional and upright meanings which are based on her research of the Order of the Golden Dawn of which W B Yeats was a member.There are helpful titles printed on all the cards, and information on how the cards can be used for meditation, especially of the Major Arcana , where meanings and significance, pathworkings and numerology are provided with the Lesser Arcana, wands, swords, pentacles, cups, included. There is information on the Qabalistic tradition, such as supernal triangle, ethical and astral triangles of the Tree of Life. The cards rely on the reader's knowledge and little information is provided. 

Tarot Gothica

Mind Body & Soul Card Deck Review: Tarot Gothica by Janne Koivuniemi published by Schiffer Publishing. US  $24.99 : UK  £16.99

“Light to lighter - darker to darker!”

78 card deck and a guidebook are contained in this black and blue magnetic box. This Tarot is fashion conscious, modern and unusual. It’s the young goths party tarot reading deck - and ideal for Halloween! Unusually, the card backs are obviously showing which way they have been dealt. I would think no reversal readings, only upright. 

Hallowquest

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Book Review: Hallowquest - Tarot Magic and the Arthurian Mysteries by Caitlin and John Matthews 254 page book to accompany the Arthurian Tarot Cards by Caitlin and John Matthews. 

This book contains black and white scans of each of the tarot cards in this deck, each of the Greater Powers has an extensive explanation, with archetypal and divinatory meanings, and there are comprehensive write-ups on the Lesser. The template for this deck are the Celtic myths and early mediaeval stories of King Arthur and the Round Table. Spear, Grail, Sword and Stone are the 4 Hallow suits and each have traditions, correspondences, archetypes of Kings, Queens, Knights and Maiden of four castles all described in a good level of detail.