Magick Matters

“Nomad Codes: Adventures in Modern Esoterica” by Erik Davis

"In these wide-ranging essays, Erik Davis explores the codes—spiritual, cultural, and embodied—that people use to escape the limitation of their lives and enrich their experience of the world. These include Asian religious traditions and West African trickster gods, Western occult and esoteric lore, postmodern theory and psychedelic science, as well as festival scenes such as Burning Man (of which Davis is the best-known chronicler). Articles on media technology further explore themes Davis took up in his acclaimed book Techgnosis, while his profiles of West Coast poets, musicians, and mystics extend the California terrain he previously mapped in The Visionary State. Whether his subject is collage art or the “magickal realism” of horror writer H.P. Lovecraft,...>>

“Create Your Own Religion: A How-To Book Without Instructions” by Daniele Bolelli

"Create Your Own Religion is a call to arms—an open invitation to question all the values, beliefs, and worldviews that humanity has so far held as sacred in order to find the answers we need to the very practical problems facing us. Writer, philosopher, and professor of comparative religion, Daniele Bolelli, leads the reader through three thousand years of mythology, misogyny, misinformation, and the flat-out lies about “revealed truth” that continue to muddle our ability to live a peaceful life, free of guilt and shame and the ultimate fear of death. “Our worldviews are in desperate need of some housecleaning,” says Bolelli. “We enter the 21st century still carrying on our backs the prejudices...>>

“The Physics of God: Unifying Quantum Physics, Consciousness, M-Theory, Heaven, Neuroscience and Transcendence” by Joseph Selbie

"Setting aside the pervasive material bias of science and lifting the obscuring fog of religious sectarianism reveals a surprisingly clear unity of science and religion. The explanations of transcendent phenomena given by saints, sages, and near-death experiencers—miracles, immortality, heaven, God, and transcendent awareness—are fully congruent with scientific discoveries in the fields of relativity, quantum physics, medicine, M-theory, neuroscience, and quantum biology. The Physics of God describes the intersections of science and religion with colorful, easy-to-understand metaphors, making abstruse subjects within both science and religion easily accessible to the layman—no math, no dogma. This intriguing book: Pulls back the curtain on the light-show illusion we call matter. Connects string theory’s...>>

“Patterns in Nature: Why the Natural World Looks the Way It Does” by Philip Ball

"Though at first glance the natural world may appear overwhelming in its diversity and complexity, there are regularities running through it, from the hexagons of a honeycomb to the spirals of a seashell and the branching veins of a leaf. Revealing the order at the foundation of the seemingly chaotic natural world, Patterns in Nature explores not only the math and science but also the beauty and artistry behind nature’s awe-inspiring designs. Unlike the patterns we create, natural patterns are formed spontaneously from the forces that act in the physical world. Very often the same types of pattern and form—such as spirals, stripes, branches, and fractals—recur in places that seem to have nothing in common,...>>

“Essential Oils for Healing: Over 400 All-Natural Recipes for Everyday Ailments” by Vannoy Gentles Fite

"All over the world, people are turning toward homeopathic and alternative medicines. Essential Oils for Healing is an easy-to-use guide for anyone who wants to learn how to use essential oils to heal a multitude of ills. Ailments are listed in alphabetical order and are accompanied by hundreds of recipes you can re-create at home using the essential oils at your disposal. Tips on safe handling and usage, contraindications, and storage ensure that even the most novice of essential oils user can get the healing benefits from our planet's natural resources. Did you know that a few drops of lavender oil can be added to your kids' shampoo to protect them from head lice? Or...>>