Cygnus Review - Summer 2021

Summer 2021, Issue 3

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Cygnus Review HEAL YOUR BODY ❖ FEED YOUR SOUL ❖ FREE YOUR MIND ❖ LOVE YOUR PLANET

New Insights Into Changing Times THE KNOWING: The Legacy of Wayne Dyer Lives On Becoming an Empowered Empath

by Wendy De Rosa

Plus!

❖ Jo Dunbar with Treatments for Arthritis ❖ DAMANHUR – the Astounding Community in Italy ❖ The Divine Feminine Tao Te Ching ❖ Believe in Spirit by Steve Bridger and Janet Neville ❖ Affirmations of the Light in Times of Darkness ❖ Directory of Cygnus Cafes

EDITOR’S LETTER

The Positive Energy Running Through All Things

S

ometimes I get up in the morning and I feel great.

There is a lovely unruffled sense of calm inside me and everything seems quietly neutral.

Anything is possible and all looks promising.

Sometimes I get up in the morning and I feel bad. There is a sense of anxiety inside that I can’t explain and I am conscious of what’s ahead in the day and it feels like a minefield of potential challenges.

What causes these different states of mind? Maybe the weather, or what I ate last night; it’s how well I slept or just the chemicals inside doing what they do in a random fashion. Ultimately there is little I can do about those “feelings” unsettling the calm waters in my inner space, and in a way they don’t even seem to belong to me. I think I have realized, especially in recent times, that they are just there and to an extent I must accept them. And if they feel especially challenging, I try and watch my breath, re-centre myself and remember all the lessons I have learnt and all the experiences I have had that have shown me that these difficult feelings really aren’t a great threat and won’t bring me to my knees.

Since I last wrote here, it has become even clearer that these are crucial times when the world is changing and potentially for the better.

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It’s not just spiritual people saying this, but also, to pick some random examples, lifestyle writers in magazines, political columnists, DJs and sports journalists. We need to focus, make the most of this fluidity and all the while remain true to our values. We need to keep loving – but I don’t need to tell Cygnus members that!

Paradoxically though it is also not up to us. We cannot make these changes as simple human beings, as walking bodies with thoughts and feelings and daily routines. Instead, it’s down to the greater forces, and I find it easiest to call that God, although we can use plenty of other words to describe “that which is greater” or “the positive energy that runs through all things”. We have to listen to that better voice inside us.

Hear what is being said and be guided by that. Or get out of the way of it and let it speak through us. That is how we can help to make the world better, and not through doing what our ego is saying. For myself, I think I know how to listen to that true voice inside, although if I knew the specific techniques, I would have written an international bestseller by now.

I often wonder what Ann Napier, who is still the inspiration behind Cygnus, would have said during these Coronavirus times. To read her new thoughts would have been great, but I am convinced she would have done exactly the same and got out of the way and let that other voice speak, as she always did. This is what Wayne Dyer’s daughters did too in their book featured here. They listened to what their father said, and then watched the signs and signals around them, and the intuitions they felt inside.

They call this force “the Knowing” (also the title of their book) and again it’s the same force that I describe here.

There are a lot of good books in this magazine and powerful voices that are very much tuned into these times. I hope you appreciate what they have written here and what they say in the books you purchase (fingers crossed!). Be guided by them and again I think we can play our part in transforming this earth. And always

“I think I know how to listen to that true voice inside, although if I knew the specific techniques, I would have written an international bestseller by now” verify in your heart that it is that “good voice”.

On top of that there’s what we say to each other. I am still ever grateful for the support and guidance that my fellow Cygnus people give me and to the flowing river that is Cygnus.

I have learned a great deal from you over the last few months and we are nothing if we don’t approach everything with tolerance and an open mind. Above all, it’s a fundamental love for each other that means we see that spark within all of us, no matter how we might express ourselves messily as human beings. That is what we need to stay focused on.

Adam

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USING NETTLE TO TREAT ARTHRITIS BY JO DUNBAR

W

ell, finally the rain stopped and I was able to get out into the hedgerows to collect some nettles.

My gardening gloves had got soaked the day before, and I had put them on a sunny windowsill to dry before taking them nettle hunting. Naturally, I forgot them, and rather than go back, I collected naked-handed, which made for a more respectful interaction between myself and said herbs. The birds cheered me along with their delightful song, and it was so good to be back amongst the wild things.

There will never be a time when we know all there is to know about anything in nature – so complex and intricate is she. In the past, I have used nettles to treat arthritis with the understanding that the nettles flush out the toxic crystals from the joint capsule.

Now it has been discovered that nettle supresses the activity of enzymes called matrix metalloproteinases. These enzymes are found in the cartilage of the joint, and break down on the cartilage, accelerating the progression of arthritis.

Treating osteo-arthritis requires a multi-pronged approach – retarding the degradation of the cartilage and tendons, nourishing the cartilage to encourage regeneration, and damping inflammation with herbs and by adjusting our diet.

Following an anti-inflammatory approach often does require a change from our normal diets. Essentially, it involves avoiding wheat, dairy and sugar, preservatives and chemicals, trying to eat as organically as possible, avoiding or massively reducing meat intake, whilst eating plenty of colourful vegetables and fruits, some oily fish, and nuts and seeds.

As for the nettles, you can go out into the hedgerows (remembering your gloves), and collect plenty of nettles to dry, so that you can selfmedicate yourself all year round.

Other kitchen and hedgerow herbs can be included in your home brew.

Fresh ginger and turmeric are both rich in anti-inflammatory constituents which can be harnessed to ease the inflamed and aching joints. I often discover that

Secrets from a Herbalist’s Garden those who find their arthritis worse in winter really benefit from these two warming yet anti-inflammatory spices.

As ginger and turmeric both slow blood clotting, you need to be careful if you are already using blood thinners, as the combination may make your blood too thin. Speak to your doctor before using.

Meadowsweet is a beautiful graceful plant, which smells like marzipan and likes to grow in soggy ditches. This plant is rich in salicylate, the same chemical that is used as a medicine for the treatment of rheumatoid and osteoarthritis. If you pick the flowering tops with leaves, these have a mild, though noticeable pain-relieving effect. Do not use this herb if you are allergic to aspirin, and, if you are

taking blood thinners, ask your doctor.

Rosehips are highly anti-oxidant, and so full of vitamin C that war children were sent out into the hedgerows to collect bags of the fruit, which were turned into rosehip syrup to boost the immunity of the nation. In our current times, this is a valuable medicine to make at home for your family. Vitamin C helps to build collagen, and thereby it protects and strengthens the cartilage in our joints. Rosehips have been used to treat arthritis in dogs as well as humans.

It is a very safe herb, the collecting of which makes for a most pleasant afternoon in the early autumn.

You may use all, or some of the following herbs. Although it sounds a bit fierce, this is a tasty tea. Drink one cup twice a day.

HERBAL TEA to ease sore joints:

Into a teapot, add the following and brew for 20 minutes before straining and drinking: ● 1 cup of boiling water. ● 1 large sprig of nettle (Removes crystal accumulations and preserves cartilage) ● 4 slices of fresh ginger (Contains antiinflammatory gingerols. Avoid too much ginger if on blood thinners) ● 4 slices of fresh turmeric (Contains antiinflammatory curcumin) ● A small grind of black pepper. (Activates the curcumin) ● 1 or 2 whole rosehips (Preserves collagen/ cartilage) ● A sprig of meadowsweet (Contains aspirinlike anti-inflammatory salicylates. Avoid if allergic to aspirin or on blood thinners)

SMOKE HOLE by Martin Shaw

This is a new book from the British author of Courting the Wild Twin.

Again it’s oblique and elliptical. It’s a beautiful hardcover pocket sized book with minimal but evocative line drawings. It contains three fairy tales written by the author and three chapters that explain the tales.

I read them not in the order in the book – the tales before the explanatory chapters, because I didn’t realise that was how they related to each other, and that worked. The stories feel ancient and they work magnificently on their own. However they are constructed to unpack contemporary issues, like authenticity in times of fake news, fixation on material possessions and being fixated on your digital devices. The author though also leaves a lot unsaid and only implied. It’s part of the process to work things out for ourselves and take our own path into greater self-realization.

144pp, 205 x 136 mm, Hardback, 2021, RRP £14.99

❖ Code: 310201 ❖ Non-Member Price: £11.66 ❖ Member Price: £10.50

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BOOK REVIEWS – Perspectives on Creation TOXIC LEGACY by Stephanie Seneff

Bestselling author Patrick Holford says “Everyone should read this book. It’s about our future health and the health of the planet”. Stephanie is a senior research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology so her credentials could hardly be better and she says that glyphosate, the active ingredient in the world’s most common weedkiller, has played a major role in skyrocketing rates of chronic disease today, as well as carrying a threat to wildlife and diversity. Like the books of Dr Mercola, this book is extensively researched, and as importantly it’s also packed full of resources you can use to minimize glyphosate’s impact on our health. As Rachel Carson did with DDT in the 1960s, Dr Seneff is trying to do with glyphosate and we hope for our children’s future that it is banned.

The subtitle of this book is “Joanna Macy and the Work of our Time” and it’s an anthology of writings about her and by her, including photographs of her taken at various times across her long life. There is praise on the cover by Bill McKibben, Tara Brach and Naomi Klein, plus many others, and contributions by major figures like Matthew Fox and Daniel Ellsberg. Joanna is one of the great inspirations of our time and she brings a patient and calm approach to the issues around climate and ecology which is a tremendous boon for those of us suffering from eco-anxiety. Her spirit is also well-grounded in Buddhism and she has a gentle and poetic approach to some heavy issues. In this book we learn much more about her own life and can find comfort in our quest to stay committed to support life on earth with joy and a light heart.

272pp, 229 x 152 mm, Hardback, 2021, RRP £19.99

256pp, 229 x 152 mm, Paperback, 2020, RRP £22.50

BRAIDING SWEETGRASS

by Robin Wall Kimmerer

THUS SPOKE THE PLANT

by Monica Gagliano

400pp, 197 x 130 mm, Paperback, 2020, RRP £9.99

176pp, 226 x 157 mm, Paperback, 2018, RRP £14.99

THE MICROWAVE DELUSION

by Brian Stein and Jonathan Mantle

THE STRUGGLE FOR A HUMAN FUTURE by Jeremy Naydler

296pp, 229 x 152 mm, Paperback, 2020, RRP £14.99

146pp, 234 x 155 mm, Paperback, 2020, RRP £14.99

❖ Code: 310203 ❖ Non-Member Price: £16.11 ❖ Member Price: £14.50

Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat Pray Love, calls this “A Hymn of Love to the World” and it is also extravagantly praised by Jane Goodall.

First published in 2013 by a small press, it’s now available from Penguin and has become a renowned bestseller. Kimmerer is a scientist but her research and even her abilities have been enriched by her Native American heritage. The book combines personal memoir, indigenous mythology, botany and psychology to become an uplifting and encouraging homage to natural beauty. The book is so well-written that every page you read is a joy. All the plants around us have messages to teach us if we only learn how to listen. We can only change the world for the better when we work alongside all the life that’s flourishing around us.

As we know, that’s the great message from Native American spirituality. ❖ Code: 310223 ❖ Non-Member Price: £8.87 ❖ Member Price: £7.99

The subtitle of this book is “The Diary of an Electrosensitive” and the book intersperses Brian’s struggles with his electrosensitivity with other accounts of people’s struggles plus evidence about the negative effects of microwaves. There are also many UK resources listed in the back along with plentiful notes. It’s a good companion volume to EMF*D which we featured last year and it is weighted more towards people’s experiences here in Europe and the UK. There’s much that remains unanswered about wireless and 5G, and without coming down on any side, we at Cygnus believe in giving voice to opinions and voices that go against the mainstream. All the profits from the book go to charities that campaign for safer wireless. ❖ Code: 310209 ❖ Non-Member Price: £14.43 ❖ Member Price: £12.99

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A WILD LOVE FOR THE WORLD edited by Stephanie Kaza

❖ Code: 310225 ❖ Non-Member Price: £16.11 ❖ Member Price: £14.50

Monica Gagliano is an Australian scientist who has carried out many unprecedented experiments in plant consciousness. Now the rest of the world is starting to catch up with her as authors like the German forester Peter Wohlleben have revealed how much trees communicate with each other via underground threads led by chains of fungal mycelium. Here she describes her experiments in entertaining detail but – more than that – she reveals how plants and trees have spoken to her in other ways, especially in shamanic ceremony. It will come as no surprise to Cygnus readers that more and more evidence is being uncovered around plant consciousness. Plants are some of our best teachers and even companions. This book will change the way you see the world. ❖ Code: 310229 ❖ Non-Member Price: £11.10 ❖ Member Price: £9.99

Elsewhere in this Review we have featured The Enchanted Garden by the same author, which is elegiac and contemplative, but this later book is more of an impassioned manifesto. The tone of the book is summed up in its cover which shows the archangel Michael struggling to free himself from Lucifer’s violent attack. Working as a philosopher, Naydler looks at the 5G network and all the other wireless networks that encircle our globe and which are pulling our attention from nature and perhaps from traditional human values. What good does it really do us? Is it really of any benefit to plant and animal life? And of course there are the health implications…

As with his Garden book, the book is serious but readable. It was written before the pandemic, which is a whole new challenge! ❖ Code: 310205 ❖ Non-Member Price: £11.10 ❖ Member Price: £9.99

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AFFIRMATIONS OF THE LIGHT BY LAURA AVERSANO

Affirmations of the Light in Times of Darkness by Laura Aversano © 2021.

Printed with permission from the publisher Inner Traditions International. www.InnerTraditions.com

o The one thing I am constantly reminded of by the spirit world is that grace never leaves your side. In those darkest of moments, when every perceived reality in your experience only reinforces a loneliness that brushes incessantly upon your soul, we can choose to remember the sacred silence we are birthed from. Portal to portal, heaven to womb, womb to earth, earth to dust, dust to resurrection. Grace is the nectar that carries you between realms, from those in the ethers to the internal landscaping from which your thoughts and emotions flow.

I know this year has been incredibly challenging for many. Grace soothes the chaos and calls it back home to God so that it may be held in Divine Providence, lessening its blow so that in its mercy, the chaos softens. And within its softening, we can be molded by the light. May you all feel the light of grace surround you. o You are birthed from both light and darkness. From the wombs of your mother and her mother before her.

From the sins of your past and those of your lineage. From the sacredness that has enveloped your soul and carried you though every incarnation. You are birthed from the rawness of innocence and the darkest of mysteries. From the unbridled rage that permeates collective generations to the forgiveness that ambles gently behind it. From the angels that hear your fervent prayers to the demons that abscond with them. You are birthed neither male nor female, but of flesh, bone and blood, to which you have ascribed an identity that pulls you away from that which you truly are— A fertile energy from source, emanating polarities of universal threads, encompassing good and evil. One day, you will come to accept all that you are. o When you stand at the threshold of loss, there will be this inexplicable force pulling you into the abyss of night, compelling you to fall deeper into the unknown. Where emotions run rampant until overwhelm takes hold of every sense of your being, rendering a feeling of powerlessness

the light calling to you from the abyss, shedding any remnants of a past identity so that a new identity may rise from the ashes. May it shelter your humanity so that what you perceive outside of yourself is fleeting, allowing loss to become part of the whole, part of the light without you losing yourself amidst the darkness.

Healing Messages from a Spiritwalker amidst every facet of your identity.

You wait, with trepidation, until you feel twinges of anything recognizable that makes you feel somewhat human again. This loss, so destabilizing, so unavoidable, empties you into nothingness like no other you have ever encountered. Unable to be remedied by human understanding, this loss needs the one thing to make the unknown somewhat gentler for you, somewhat less terrifying. It needs grace. When you stand at the threshold, may you allow grace to walk before you, beside you, around you and within you. May it compel the powerlessness that you feel to see

o I find that once people become familiar with their own darkness, they find it hard to let it go. At times, it provides them with a sense of empowerment and safety they have not known before. Embracing the Light can be a more frightening experience.

When held in the threshold of the Divine, any darkness can serve a higher purpose, as it allows one to return to the Light if one is willing to surrender and learn from it. My prayer is that we all create a space for the darkness to birth a new way of seeing, sensing, feeling and relating. May our darkness find the balance it needs to serve humanity as opposed to igniting chaos. May we stop projecting our sense of powerlessness and feeding that place inside of us that feels bound to a reality that we continually create with our fears. May we respect the teachings of the Masters within us, our thoughts and emotions, with a humility that births creation and not destruction. Darkness can perpetually serve the darkness, or it can evolve to serve the Light of God. Which path do you choose?

AFFIRMATIONS OF THE LIGHT IN TIMES OF DARKNESS by Laura Aversano

In this unusual book American intuitive medium and spiritwalker Laura Aversano – part of a lineage of Sicilian adepts – passes on inspiring short affirmations, prayers and longer musings that will provide healing wisdom and spiritual support. It is of course a book you can browse and dip into, waiting to find the words you need in any given moment. The foreword is written by veteran publisher Richard Grossinger, who says ”she speaks from the heart of Creation, the heart of danger, the depth of the divine in all of its excrutiating, ecstatic contradiction”. He also testifies to how people’s lives change drastically after sessons with her. I am conviced that people will find something for them every time they dip into this book. There’s no narrative, just nuggets of ancient and unpredictable wisdom.

192pp, 210 x 137 mm, Paperback, 2021, RRP £12.99

Code: 310243 Non-Member Price: £8.87 Member Price: £7.99

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BOOK REVIEWS – The Outdoors THE TREE FORAGER

by Adele Nozedar

FOREST SCHOOL WILD PLAY

by Jane Worrol and Peter Houghton

208pp, 200 x 145 mm, Hardback, 2021, RRP £14.99

176pp, 200 x 146 mm, Paperback, 2021, RRP £13.99

THE ENCHANTED GARDEN

by Zorah Cholmondeley

THE DRUID GARDEN

by Luke Eastwood

Are you a tree lover? This lovingly created and beautifully illustrated guide to foraging from trees will certainly convert you if you’re not already there! The main aim for this book is not just to identify the trees around you, but to inspire you to really take notice of trees, through scent, sound, touch and taste as well as the physical and metaphorical fruits they can offer you. It’s a really useful handbook in all these different lockdowns where nature is there to offer support. Adele Nozedar, who lives and works in the Brecon Beacons, lists the medicinal uses of each tree, as well as wonderful recipes you can create. Ointment, gin, oil, syrup, tea – the possibilities are varied and wonderful. ❖ Code: 310252 ❖ Non-Member Price: £10.55 ❖ Member Price: £9.50

Gardens soothe us; they revitalize us when our spirits are low. If you find peace in your garden, and are committed to your spiritual growth through nature, this could be the book for you. This book promotes the practice of being still and listening to the nature around us in order to embrace and connect with the fae. By doing this, we can better understand and take care of nature and help the world heal. It gives a brief but informative history of the fae, before then going on to explain how to reach out to them (they will only visit when made to feel welcome), how to prepare your garden for them and how each plant connects to them. By aligning yourself with the fae, you can be part of a positive change in the world and feel right with yourself.

142pp, 235 x 157 mm, Paperback, 2021, RRP £14.99

❖ Code: 310204 ❖ Non-Member Price: £11.10 ❖ Member Price: £9.99

WILD NIGHTS OUT by Chris Salisbury

Chris Salisbury is based in Devon and is a storyteller and an adventure leader who has founded various countryside-based organizations, so the content and the wildlife described will be UK-based. This book includes more than 25 fun and educational games and outdoor activities. It is also full of wildlife lore about all the animals that are active in the night-time, plus tales of the planets and constellations in the sky.

He includes descriptions of why the night is so inspiring, with rules and guidance on how to lead an expedition in the darkness. It’s a lovely book in the tradition of our Adele Nodazar foraging books and the Forest School series that Watkins publish. It also includes some delightful line drawings that make the book even more fun and inspiring. Foreword by Chris Packham.

224pp, 229 x 152 mm, Paperback, 2021, RRP £14.99

❖ Code: 310202 ❖ Non-Member Price: £11.66 ❖ Member Price: £10.50

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This series of books by Jane and Peter are an absolute delight, and they get more creative and insightful with every edition.

Gorgeously illustrated as always, this book focuses on connecting and experimenting with the four elementals: earth, fire, water, wind. Being outdoors is vital to a balanced lifestyle and good mental health and should be encouraged from an early age. This book is a great resource for counteracting the over-abundance of technology that children often rely on and teaches them (and you!) how to use your hands and your imagination with the tools naturally available to you. The activities are suitable for a wide age range, from pre-school to teenagers, and beyond, and can take place in any weather. This is what wellies are for! ❖ Code: 310261 ❖ Non-Member Price: £9.98 ❖ Member Price: £8.99

Fortunately Luke Eastwood is both a Druid and a master gardener so he is the perfect author here for a book which is part organic gardening primer and part introduction to Druidry. We know very little about ancient Druid practice but we can be confident that they used plants extensively. There are a few enchanting drawings here but it’s mostly text and the book is large and full of information.

The book was finished during lockdown and the author is aware that this is now a perfect time for transformation in society. The key selling point is that many books on gardening pay lip service to the sacred but for Luke as a Druid the sacred is a literal and real concept, and this book will be an invaluable manual for making your garden a place of healing and redemption.

It’s also packed with garden history and with stories and folklore.

416pp, 219 x 148 mm, Hardback, 2021, RRP £17.99

❖ Code: 310221 ❖ Non-Member Price: £12.77 ❖ Member Price: £11.50

GARDENING AS A SACRED ART

by Jeremy Naydler

This short and very readable book goes through history from Ancient Egyptian times summing up our relationship with nature and the divine through the gardens that we make. It’s a book of encouragement and inspiration that includes many colour photographs and other illustrations. Jeremy is a philosopher, cultural historian and gardener who lives in Oxford, and his books explore some of the old principles and wisdom that can tend to get lost in modern times. Another book of his – The Struggle for a Human Future – is also in this Review. Anything that is trying to re-sanctify the world like this will always have a place in Cygnus. He shows us how gardens tried in the past to work against nature, whereas now gardens work with it. How then do we make our gardens sacred again?

120pp, 233 x 157 mm, Paperback, 2021, RRP £15.99

❖ Code: 310206 ❖ Non-Member Price: £12.21 ❖ Member Price: £10.99

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THE ROOT CHAKRA AND YOUR FAMILY ORIGIN BY WENDY DE ROSA

Excerpted from the book from Becoming an Empowered Empath. Copyright ©2021 by Wendy De Rosa.

Printed with permission from New World Library — www.newworldlibrary.com.

B

efore birth, we incarnate in the womb. Because we are sentient beings who feel energy and operate through feeling, our empathic intuition is the first sense that forms. In the womb, our bodily systems and senses begin developing after the empathic sense is already established. We are not able to see, but we can hear somewhat as the ears form. While we’re in the womb, the instinctual and sentient aspect of life is the primary state of being. With that comes a sensing of emotions as vibrations from our mother, father, family, and their history of beliefs and feelings.

Love and feeling wanted at deep levels are a primary form of bonding for an empathic or sensitive child, even while still in utero. Despite whatever emotions the mother experiences during pregnancy, the deeper bond of love for her child creates an attachment.

After being born the empathic intuitive can feel what they have absorbed in the womb. If being unwanted is the deeper feeling here, this energy also forms part of a child’s attachment in the world.

When we are born, we meet our family of origin or our adoptive family.

We’re awake in the world. In that experience, the empathic intuitive or sensitive child feels what is going on around them in a newfound, expanded space: being held, loved, fed, cleaned, and so on. Survival programming forms from how well we are attached to our family and feel the bonding.

This attachment includes how we receive love, how safe we feel, whether there is peace, et cetera.

As we grow from infant to toddler to adolescent, we orient ourselves in our environment. We become attuned to our familial and cultural beliefs, whether they are spoken or enacted.

If I am a sensitive child, I take that information in and bond to my family accordingly. As I internalize these beliefs, they become the beliefs I hold about myself. This is the foundation from which I will begin developing my belief systems.

In this environment, very sensitive beings can feel so much. The consciousness during a particular era

New Guidance for Empaths influences familial and cultural beliefs.

For example, fifty years ago, virtually no one was talking about how to nurture an intuitive child. Instead, parents were typically operating from beliefs and attitudes rooted in survival, social norms, and order, such as: Children are to be seen, not heard.

We keep quiet in this house.

Don’t make noise.

It’s not okay to have feelings.

Don’t trust anyone.

These beliefs become part of the energy we marinate in as sensitive beings outside the womb. People in the household having beliefs and feelings is not unusual. What affects the sensitive child, though, is when

an adult does not provide repair from trauma or upset, permission to be, or the sense of safety that comes from the child understanding that their feelings are warranted and true.

The child begins to lose a sense of belonging with the world – not always in the family, but in themselves. The energetic imprint is that the child, to survive, closes down to themselves in order to feel everyone else’s energy around them. The loss of connection to self and to a sense of belonging is deeply subconscious in the root chakra. It innately forms the beginning of the overly empathic experience that we will be unpacking in this book.

To be an empowered empath, you must reclaim the power that exists in your root chakra. No longer are you a victim to the universe and to energy around you. The protection mechanisms you developed in childhood kept you safe and were appropriate for the time in life when you were vulnerable. Thank those protection mechanisms! Thank the disassociation, thank the fight-or-flight response, thank the pattern of overeating or whatever other repetitive pattern you adopted. These coping mechanisms were helping you during a time when you lacked power and love in your root chakra. As a spiritually progressing Soul in a human body who is on this earth to continuously grow and evolve, you are safe now, and it’s absolutely okay for you to take back your power on behalf of your inner child. http://www.wendyderosa.com.

BECOMING AN EMPOWERED EMPATH by Wendy De Rosa

It’s been interesting to chart the develpoment of the empath concept over recent years, from its beginnings as the ”highly sensitive person”. Where does extreme empathy meet intuition?

And how does it relate to anxiety and even ADHD and autism?

It’s a fascinating territory and one that’s always popular in Cygnus.

Wendy De Rosa is an intuitive energy healer and energy work is the definite focus in this book. She particularly talks about working from the different chakras, and in particular grounding yourself in the lower ones. Every chapter includes a journalling exercise and a guided meditation. She also includes her own story where an angel intervened to help her orient her life in a very direct way. It’s very positive, encouraging and ”in the light” and is ideal for anyone who feels buffetted by life and its disruptive challenges.

288pp, 215 x 140 mm, Paperback, 2021, RRP £12.99

❖ Code: 310228 ❖ Non-Member Price: £9.98 ❖ Member Price: £8.99

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BOOK REVIEWS – 2022 Diaries and Calendars

THE ASTROLOGY DIARY 2022 by Ana Leo

MOONOLOGY DIARY 2022

by Yasmin Boland

THE WAY BACK ALMANAC 2022 by Melinda Salisbury

This spiral-bound and elegant diary was originally published in Brazil and the idiosyncratic content is in the spirit of Ana Leo, its wonderful and colourful creator.

This is the second year it’s been published in English, after its successful launch for 2021.

There’s plenty of room to write in and it includes all sorts of invaluable charts. There are full-page illustrations in gold for every Hebrew month and plenty of space to set intentions for each month. It brings lunar wisdom into your day to day, with life-coaching tools and tips each week. The planner is divided by zodiac sign, showing how the sun’s movement through the zodiac affects everyone’s energies, whatever the star sign. This diary will give you the best astrological advice to make the most of every day in the wonderful adventure that’s 2022.

Moonology Diary 2022 is written by leading astrology and moonology expert Yasmin Boland, whose previous Moonology diaries were instant Amazon #1 bestsellers upon launch. It is a must-have tool to invite the Divine into everyday life through the magical powers of the Moon. The entry for each day carries the phase of the moon plus its position in the heavens.

As you go through the year it offers advice relating to every new moon, depending on which sign it is in. It also includes short chapters on various subjects at the start specially written for this edition. Each month brings different lunar energies, and when you know what to expect, you can take time to prepare. Let’s hope that the Moonology Diary 2022 leads us calmly through a year of joy and wonder.

This book is one woman’s attempt to reconnect with the world, especially with what’s outside: animals, plants, the skies and the weather. So she has created these almanacs full of recipes, ideas, lore, household tips and stories. Here’s one for 2022 and hopefully there’ll be one for 2023 too. It’s arranged month-by-month to focus on the stars in the sky just then, the phases of the moon or the plants that thrive. Recipes and folklore too will be adjusted to fit the time of year. It’s like a gentle hand to lead us back into the world, to learn to love the world and to feel confident and positive about life and how beautiful it is. It even contains reviews of the books the author has loved. There are charming line drawings throughout plus space to make your own notes or to write your own accounts.

288pp, 210 x 150 mm, Spiral-Bound, 2021, RRP £14.99

264pp, 196 x 136 mm, Paperback, 2021, RRP £12.99

288pp, 200 x 146 mm, Hardback, 2021, RRP £12.99

❖ Code: 310254 ❖ Non-Member Price: £10.55 ❖ Member Price: £9.50

❖ Code: 310212 ❖ Non-Member Price: £8.87 ❖ Member Price: £7.99

STARGAZERS’ ALMANAC 2022 by Bob Mizon

❖ Code: 310257 ❖ Non-Member Price: £8.87 ❖ Member Price: £7.99

Explore the night skies with this beautiful illustrated monthly guide to the stars and planets. This large-format almanac allows you to step outside and track the planets, locate the Milky Way, recognise the constellations of the zodiac and watch meteor showers. Stargazers’ Almanac 2022 is a beautiful month-by-month guide to the night skies, designed specifically for naked-eye astronomy -no telescope required! - making it ideal for beginners, children and backyard astronomers. It is a perennially popular Christmas gift and one which lasts the whole year round. Each monthly chart features two views of the night sky looking north and south, and a visual guide to the phases of the moon and the movements of the planets. It’s suitable for astronomy enthusiasts throughout the Northern Hemisphere’s temperate (non-tropical) latitudes.

EVERY DAY MATTERS DIARY 2022 by Jess Sharp Designed as a resource for enriching daily life, this bestselling illustrated holistic planner will guide you on a journey of awareness and fulfilment as you go about your everyday activities.

It’s all too easy to become overwhelmed with multiple thoughts each day as our to-do lists grow, so this diary insightfully offers up one life-enhancing theme a month for you to focus on. This year’s themes range from Authenticity, Bravery and Mindfulness to Compassion, Simplicity and Resilience. Each week-to-view spread then features an inspiring quote that encourages reflection on the theme and an exercise to further your overall well-being. This allows a seed of inspiration and awareness not just to be planted but also to grow substantially, so that positive action can become an integral part of daily life.

It’s in both its usual formats: larger format spiral bound and pocket-sized.

176pp, 247 x 167 mm, Spiral-Bound Desk Diary, 2021, RRP £12.99

❖ Code: 310255 ❖ Non-Member Price: £8.87 ❖ Member Price: £7.99 176pp, 148 x 100 mm, Pocket Paperback, 2021, RRP £7.99

❖ Code: 310156 ❖ Non-Member Price: £5.54 ❖ Member Price: £4.99

32pp, 424 x 306 mm, Calendar, 2021, RRP £14.99

❖ Code: 310208 ❖ Non-Member Price: £11.66 ❖ Member Price: £10.50

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WHY YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT DAMANHUR BY JEFF MERRIFIELD

D

amanhur is a place.

Damanhur is a community.

Damanhur is a sustainable eco-village. Damanhur is responsible for the ongoing construction of the incredible Temples of Humankind, probably one of the wonders of the modern world. Yet in Britain I find that Damanhur is sadly little known.

Well, things might just be about to change in 2021. The recently established Damanhur Foundation is currently making strenuous efforts to reach out to the world, to involve a wider constituency in the progression of Damanhur to a new level. This is a quite significant change, lifting the veil on a community evolution that has been developed as a reserved esoteric process for over 40 years.

The world will now have access to the valuable spiritual-artistic elements and have an opportunity for involvement in a highly evolved social alchemy.

As part of this process, I have been revisiting the community many times over the last couple of years and have written a new book to be published by Watkins Media on August the 10th. I first wrote a book about Damanhur in 1998, concentrating on the remarkable secret construction of the Temples of Humankind, and the furore that erupted when their existence was revealed. Over the ensuing years, the people of Damanhur have established themselves as one of the foremost eco-communities on the planet and

A Place for Human Transformation the Temples of Humankind have been awarded heritage status by some of the regulatory institutions who oversee such things.

The new book, Damanhur: Social Alchemy, Magical Temples and the Superindividual, brings the community into focus during this process of radical transition. The mood of the community is surprisingly upbeat, given the passing from this life of their inspirational founder, Falco Tarassaco, a researcher in the field of human sciences, who has left behind a wealth of knowledge and techniques related to healing, shamanism, ancient wisdom, art and community life.

He is considered by many to be an enlightened Master, though he said himself: “If anyone asks about me, describe me as a philosopher and not as a Master. Keep me, if you want, in your heart.”

The appointment of a number of wise people to oversee the future development of the community, and the establishment of a Damanhur Foundation to take care of practical matters, has given the project a boost and a determination to make these valuable researches and artisticspiritual aspects, lovingly developed over four decades, available to a wider world community, to people who are interested, to people like you.

There are the scintillatingly beautiful Temples of Humankind, a University of Esoteric Knowledge, a growing concern for the future sustainability of the planet, linking into the traditions and experiences of indigenous peoples of the world, helping to save humanity from a self-imposed destruction. These are several of the reasons to be cheerful about Damanhur, reasons to tap into such energies, reasons to explore this remarkable phenomenon.

I’m hoping my book goes some way towards making Damanhur more accessible to a wider constituency, and at least better known in Britain and beyond. I have taken care to present the community as I found it and to illustrate how such positive energies can achieve almost anything.

© Jeff Merrifield June 2021

DAMANHUR by Jeff Merrifield

Damanhur is an amazing self-sustaining and consciously spiritual community in north-western Italy, near Turin. It’s renowned for its incredible underground temples that were built painstakingly by the community members themselves, initially in secret. They are exceptional sacred spaces, covered in spectacular frescoes and luminous stained glass that express the some of the hopes and belief systems of the community.

Dr Merrifield has been a frequent visitor to Damanhur and in this colour illustrated book he offers a portrait of the community as it is now and describes some of the amazing concepts they are coming up with that might change the world. He describes the gatherings they have held which brought shamans and elders from across the globe to consult. Above all, he pays tribute to what Damanhur has meant to him and his own tribe of movers, shakers and hippies.

224pp, 234 x 152 mm, Hardback, 2021, RRP £18.99

❖ Code: 310251 ❖ Non-Member Price: £13.32 ❖ Member Price: £11.99

ORDER & CUSTOMER SERVICE LINE ❖ Phone: 02078 594 375 ❖ Website: www.cygnusreview.com ❖ Twitter @CygnusBooks ❖ Facebook @cygnusbookclub ❖ Instagram @cygnusbooks

9

BOOK REVIEWS – Robert Simmons

"All four of Robert Simmons' principal books on minerals, crystals and stones have been reissued by Inner Traditions, and so we thought we would feature them all together on one page. There is no other author who is so immersed in the subject.

I am no expert myself but I believe there is a life's work in these pages."

BOOK OF STONES

by Robert Simmons

Before Stones of the New Consciousness and Alchemy of Stones, this was Robert Simmons’s first great illustrated reference book on crystals, minerals and gemstones. It’s large format, like the other two, printed on heavy paper and full of elegant colour photographs.

It was first published in 2005 and has been comprehensively updated and expanded across the intervening editions. More than 375 different stones are included and we are told about their scientific properties, as well as their elemental energies and correspondences with the chakras. It’s such a great book to use when you start working with crystals and it’s already sold many thousands of copies. Just as there is wisdom in plants, there is also wisdom in these ancient wise ones of the earth and this is just the start of the journey.

560pp, 275 x 178 mm, Paperback, 2015, RRP £25.00

❖ Code: 310249 ❖ Non-Member Price: £17.76 ❖ Member Price: £15.99

THE POCKET BOOK OF STONES

by Robert Simmons

This is the compact version of the Book of Stones. It’s much smaller and cheaper and is ideally suited for someone who wants to take a portable version travelling with them or on a trip to look at or buy stones. There are the same number of stones listed in the book but the entries are obviously shorter. There’s also less “extra” content and fewer accompanying essays. However the paper quality and the photographs are just as good as in the larger version.

416pp, 132 x 116 mm, Paperback, 2015, RRP £12.99

❖ Code: 310250 ❖ Non-Member Price: £8.87 ❖ Member Price: £7.99

STONES OF THE NEW CONSCIOUSNESS

by Robert Simmons

Following the publication of his first invaluable reference book The Book of Stones, this title is the first time that Robert Simmons goes deep into the cosmology behind the mineral world. He has of course done this again with his recent bestseller The Alchemy of Stones. Stones of the New Consciousness was published in 2009 and Simmons dedicates it to The Stone Beings. He describes the amazing potential for healing in these stones and the new planetary consciousness we can co-create. He goes on to give us profound information on the 62 most important stones for awakening the Light Body, many of which are newly discovered and didn’t feature in The Book of Stones. There are also chapters on Healing with the Stones, Crystal Meditations and Awakening the Body of Light. There is no doubt that Robert Simmons is the most experienced and important authorities in this field.

320pp, 275 x 178 mm, Paperback, 2009, RRP £16.99

❖ Code: 310246 ❖ Non-Member Price: £12.21 ❖ Member Price: £10.99

ALCHEMY OF STONES

by Robert Simmons

Robert Simmons is the author of the absolute classic Book of Stones and this book is just as comprehensive and takes stone and crystal consciousness to a new level. It’s expensive but it’s large-format, printed on 470 pages of heavy high-quality paper and absolutely packed with colour photographs of stones, crystals and arrangements of these, as well as wands and labyrinths.

Anyone who is deeply into stones will have to have this book. It covers the esoteric and mystical aspects of stones and explains their alchemical powers. It actually describes a path through the Great Work of Alchemy and lays out before the reader potential personal and planetary transformation. It is packed full of meditations and rituals, plus many illuminating anecdotes. The book concludes with a comprehensive illustrated dictionary of more than 375 different minerals.

496pp, 276 x 178 mm, Paperback, 2020, RRP £25.00

❖ Code: 300440 ❖ Non-Member Price: £17.76 ❖ Member Price: £15.99

10

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FIND YOUR LOCAL CYGNUS CAFÉS

ABERDEENSHIRE, Cruden Bay Donia Keith 07955 146326 donia@liferoute.co.uk AVON, Bath Mari Batholomew 01225 840 889 mari@sulis-health.co.uk BEDS, Luton Jenny Martin 01582 415242 jennym4759@yahoo.co.uk BRISTOL, Bishopston Jane Stott 07788 418 078 janestott070@gmail.com BUCKS, Milton Keynes Nikki Brown 07972 257 004 nikki-nutrimed@hotmail.co.uk CEREDIGION, Llangrannog 1st Wednesday of every month 2-4 plus 3rd Friday 7-9 pm Amanda Painting 01239 654 699 amandapainting@gmail.com CARMARTHEN Dorothy Morris 01267 267 652 dorothy_morris@hotmail.com

CORNWALL, Penzance Anthea Tounsend 01736 719 606 CORNWALL, Truro Jane Goodall 07967 201 929 janegoodall@live.co.uk CUMBRIA, Penrith Jackie Lewis 07799 884452 stellapolarisbb@gmail.com DERBY/NOTTINGHAM David Steare 01332 661 102 david.steare@ntlworld.com DEVON, Barnstaple Mrs Viv Easton 01271 375 303 easton866@btinternet.com DEVON, Paignton Marian Davies 07791 263 840 maridavi100@gmail.com E AYRSHIRE, Kilmarnock Anita Neilson 07778 923380 anitaneilson61@gmail.com

ISLE OF WIGHT, Shanklin Kate Stuart 07957 909 566 redfox_1@btinternet.com

NORFOLK, Kings Lynn Amanda Rowe 07786 066761 info@hectorsbarn.co.uk

SURREY, Caterham Chris Osborn 01737 551 459 chrisosborn612@gmail.com

KENT, Ashford Sylvia Nichols 01233 626 206 viastjames@icloud.com

NORTHANTS, Irchester Karen Holton 07980 770 893 klholton@live.co.uk

SURREY, Guildford, Shere Linda Sewell 07850 839 472 lindasewell@hotmail.co.uk

LANCS, Lytham, St Ann’s PERTHSHIRE, Crieff Simone Qualter & Andy Cowgill Rebecca Dearman 07928 632 976 07483872183 simonequalter@yahoo.co.uk RHONDDA, Pontypridd LEICS, Coalville Louisa Mills Cheryl Colpman cygnuscaferct@aol.co.uk 01530 831 798 cheryl@cherylcolpman.co.uk RICHMOND UPON THAMES, Surrey LINCOLNSHIRE, Horncastle Liz Sokoski Melissa Bay 07432 585693 07989 508391 countrygardenpets@tiscali.

ROSS-SHIRE, Conon Bridge co.uk Shenagh Leiper 07721 656 668 MANCHESTER, Sale leipershenagh@gmail.com Rosemary Plunkett 0161 962 4123 SHROPSHIRE, Ironbridge rosieglow3@icloud.com Romella Jones 01952 881 151 MERSEYSIDE, Liverpool, cariadtherapies@outlook.com Woolton Pamela Langley SOMERSET, Taunton 0151 421 1772 Robin Littman pamelalangley@hotmail.com 01278 671 679 Robin@resource-me.com MERSEYSIDE, Liverpool, Thornton S GLOS, Thornbury Sue Massey Trisha Seward 0151 924 6240 01179 621661 suemassey60@yahoo.com trishaseward@talktalk.net

E SUSSEX, Bexhill on Sea Carol Sargent MIDLOTHIAN, Edinburgh 01424 217 630 Tabora Green mail@youniquewellbeing.co.uk 01835 268546 CHESHIRE, Chester trueharmony@hotmail.co.uk Lynn Alexander E SUSSEX, Eastbourne 01244 951 753 Valerie Abl N LONDON, lynn@lynnalexander13.plus.com 01323 726 652 Enfield/Waltham Abbey valerie@talentshift.co.uk Chrissie CLEVELAND, Saltburn 07845 019398 / 07935707538 Kathryn Luczakiewicz E SUSSEX, Hove 01287 204 400 Simon N YORKS, Selby info@saltburnwellbeingcentre.

01273 220 159 Val Turner co.uk info@tolcentre.com 01757 701 571 valdert@btinternet.com CORNWALL, Port Isaac ★ NEW FIFE, Markinch Ann Fanstone Amy Thomson N YORKS, Whitby 01208 880 300 07775 877114 Daphne Wright fanstone@phonecoop.coop heartholistictherapiesbyamy@ 01947 602 425 gmail.com daphnewright05@gmail.com

W MIDLANDS, Wolverhampton Jas Bassi 07830 019 513 Info@jasbassi.com W SUSSEX, Bosham Kathryn Bingham 01243 572 109 office@thehamblinvision.org.uk W SUSSEX, Horsham and Haywards Heath Judy Sharp 01444 459 433 judysharp123@gmail.com WILTS, Salisbury Jane Wainwright 01722 413 902 janesnowflake@gmail.com WIRRAL, Merseyside Carol Carter 07807 077966 carolcarter100@btinternet.com WORCS, Tenbury Wells Hilary Foxwell 01584 819 010

S YORKS, Doncaster Sandra Edwards 07773 173 919 sandra579@btinternet.com SOUTH LAKES, Cumbria Catherine Hunt 07957 861408 hello@ primewellbeingfoundation.com STAFFS, Stoke-on-Trent Nathan Smallman 07724 189 988 nathan.smallman@btinternet.com STAFFS, Tamworth Jo Greaves 07738 216429 jo.greaves2017@gmail.com

“We hope you can all keep meeting remotely and, if not, that you can get together again soon.

Please keep your physical distance from each other and stay safe. With all our best wishes...”

We are never alone; we may be lonely, but we now know we are not alone, wherever we are!

ORDER & CUSTOMER SERVICE LINE ❖ Phone: 02078 594 375 ❖ Website: www.cygnusreview.com ❖ Twitter @CygnusBooks ❖ Facebook @cygnusbookclub ❖ Instagram @cygnusbooks

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❖ Dates & times are on our website: www.cygnusreview.com/pages/cygnus-community-cafes ❖ Contact: vicky@cygnus-books.co.uk for more information

A Guide to Starting a Cygnus Café

W

e know that we have many members who are interested in starting Cygnus Cafés in their community, and that they have questions, both about how to get started and also how they want their group to run. Below is a mini-guide to running a Cygnus Café to give you a taste of what you can expect – if you would like to start your own Café please do get in touch. ❖ The starting point for setting up a group is the purpose

of a Cygnus Café, and that is creating a space for you to meet people of like mind in your own locality. Nowadays it is often the case that you might find you can only get so far by yourself using a book. Sometimes it can be a great help on your spiritual journey to share issues that feel unresolved, with others of like heart.

❖ Many groups take a little

while to gain momentum, and this is normal. We suggest you avoid the temptation of trying to find a perfect arrangement. ❖ Setting up for the

meeting we suggest that the host prepares the room in the most appropriate way, arranging the seating so that everyone has eye-to-eye contact. Meetings generally begin with everyone taking turns to say their name and where they are from and, if they wish, a mention about something they may want to talk about later. ❖ Many groups have found it

❖ Most of our groups run in what

we would call an unstructured way, they have no agenda and allow the magic of the moment to provide the topics spontaneously, depending on who wishes to share their recently experienced insights or share their current concerns of the heart.

very helpful to keep the level of the meeting at a higher level by setting the intention of the group to the highest good at the beginning of the meeting.

So that, whatever happens, the highest good may come out of it.

❖ When getting down to

❖ Gradually most groups

practicalities the first thing you need is a space, generally meetings are held in members’ homes or quiet rooms in cafés or community spaces. Any room hire costs etc. are shared by the participants on a donation basis.

We advise avoiding noisy venues or spaces that have no door, as this helps a great deal. You need a safe space where you know you will not be interrupted. ❖ When thinking about when and how often to hold

your meetings, consider the needs of the group when deciding what is best for (most of ) you. Some groups choose mornings, others evenings, some even choose a weekend. Larger groups sometimes choose to have two meetings in a month, once in the evening and once in the morning, to match the different lifestyles. Most meeting last for around 2 hours and our advice is to stick to the same day every month, week or fortnight to allow people to organise their diaries.

begin to observe how Cygnus Cafés can grow in depth as participants feel more comfortable and they can share their vulnerabilities and “soft spots”. This gives others the confidence to share their concerns or doubts.

❖

We love hearing from our members and finding out what you are up to at your café meetings. Please send your comments, thoughts and updates to editor@cygnus-books.co.uk so that we can include them on this page.

❖ For meeting support you can contact Vicky Hartley at Cygnus on

vicky@cygnus-books.co.uk

12

BOOK YOUR AD TODAY ❖ Phone: 02078 594 375 ❖ Email: advertising@cygnus-books.co.uk ❖ More information: www.cygnusreview.com/pages/advertising

Various – BOOK REVIEWS THE KABBALAH

This is a good value and beautifully packaged pocket hardback version of Qabalah Unveiled, a selection from the Zohar made by S.L. MacGregor Mathers at the end of the 19th century. It also includes a contemporary foreword by Z’ev ben Shimon Halevi, also known as Warren Kenton, the great Kabbalah scholar who passed away recently. The foreword helps a lot because this is quite a daunting text – the Zohar is a vast work that is dense and mysterious – but it is the key book in this amazing esoteric and spiritual system, known as the Kabbalah, that’s the basis of much esoteric thought even today. It’s a book to ponder and contemplate, but it will repay those efforts. As Halevi says in his foreword, “Seek and ye shall find”.

480pp, 195 x 138 mm, Hardback, 2021, RRP £12.99

❖ Code: 310263 ❖ Non-Member Price: £8.87 ❖ Member Price: £7.99

TIME SHIFTS by Von Braschler

The internet is full of alleged evidence of time travellers caught on film or on camera and they are fascinating and fun. This book has many anecdotes about time travel, both celebrated and less well-known. So if they are genuine, what might be going on?

Are they connected with astral travel, black holes or energy vortices? How does the anecdotal evidence relate perhaps to shamanic journeying, or the amazing special powers developed by sages or experienced meditators? Finally, what does the work of Einstein and other physicists have to say about these phenomena? The world is becoming a stranger and stranger place and the author offers up gentle step-by-step exercises that might help us experience time shifts and really help us to make the most of those experiences once they have happened.

192pp, 229 x 152 mm, Paperback, 2021, RRP £12.99

❖ Code: 310244 ❖ Non-Member Price: £8.87 ❖ Member Price: £7.99

THE ART OF PRESERVING

by Emma Macdonald

There has been such a surge in at-home hobbies during the pandemic, and The Art of Preserving provides one such activity. It is both easy and realistic to achieve whilst also making sure that nothing in your fridge goes to waste. There are also so many different methods of preserving to try, so you’re sure to find the one that suits you. The best part is that it won’t take as much equipment as you might think! You can learn to make jams, butters, curds, cheeses, chutneys, pickles and more in a surprisingly short amount of time. And everything you produce will last for ages, making them the perfect gift for friends and family. The book is richly illustrated with full-colour photography.

224pp, 200 x 170 mm, Hardback, 2021, RRP £14.99

❖ Code: 310258 ❖ Non-Member Price: £10.55 ❖ Member Price: £9.50

WHAT’S YOUR SOUL SIGN?

By Debbie Frank

Sometimes we all need a bit of help to really understand who we are and how we work.

This book provides you with a perspective that looks beyond yourself and instead looks to who you were destined to be. While most of us are familiar with our zodiac sign, derived from the position of the sun when we are born, this book focuses on the soul’s perspective which involves the phases of the moon. Learn how to read celestial placements in your chart and how these insights can be used for your own personal growth in everyday life.

You will also learn about your soul gifts and how to use them on your journey to self-enlightenment. This book is a real joy to hold in your hands – it’s a gorgeous design and arranged in a way that is great for dipping in and out of.

240pp, 218 x 157 mm, Paperback, 2021, RRP £12.99

❖ Code: 310211 ❖ Non-Member Price: £8.87 ❖ Member Price: £7.99

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO YIN YANG

by Antony Cummins

The renowned author of many titles on East Asian culture now turns his attention to the vital concept of Yin Yang, which underpins so much that we have inherited from the East: martial arts, the Tao Te Ching and the I Ching, to name just three esoteric mainstays. This user-friendly hardback manual goes into all the different reverberations and implications of this principle, and it’s amazing to see how it permeates in particular Chinese and Japanese culture. There are plentiful charts, illustrations and diagrams that make the book even easier to follow, and there are also fascinating scraps of lore throughout the book, like the fact that samurais would walk on different parts of a road at different times because of changes in yin yang flow. This is a very useful book for anyone interested in martial arts, traditional Chinese medicine and Taoism.

360pp, 234 x 153 mm, Hardback, 2021, RRP £24.99

❖ Code: 310264 ❖ Non-Member Price: £17.76 ❖ Member Price: £15.99

THE HIDDEN BEAUTY OF THE MICROSCOPIC WORLD

by James Weiss

This book conforms exactly to its title.

It’s a large-format hardback showing highly magnified photographs of the microscopic life that thrives everywhere. It shows all these living beings in their great beauty and, dare I say, even cuteness. James Weiss is the videographer behind the very popular YouTube and Instagram science channels Jam’s Gems and Journey to the Microcosmos. He describes everything he shows us, from Desmid to Hydra and from Water Bear to Dileptus. His autobiographical accounts of how and when he first glimpsed different creatures is touching and revelatory. He tells stories of other scientists. Above all, he gives accounts (with pictures) of the daily lives of all these little fragments of creation and challenges us to claim that our own lives are any more compelling than theirs.

256pp, 207 x 206 mm, Hardback, 2021, RRP £20.00

❖ Code: 310260 ❖ Non-Member Price: £14.43 ❖ Member Price: £12.99

ORDER & CUSTOMER SERVICE LINE ❖ Phone: 02078 594 375 ❖ Website: www.cygnusreview.com ❖ Twitter @CygnusBooks ❖ Facebook @cygnusbookclub ❖ Instagram @cygnusbooks

13

BOOK REVIEWS – Oracle Cards THE EARTHCRAFT ORACLE

by Juliet Diaz and Lorraine Anderson

THE SACRED FOREST ORACLE

by Denise Linn

A beautifully presented, well put together oracle deck that will allow you to connect to the vast mysteries of the sacred forest. We all know the healing effects of nature – the calmness that simply observing the natural world around you can bring. This deck acts as a conduit to that healing force, so that wherever you are, you can connect to the transformative dimension of the sacred forest through the cards. Each card behaves as a different entrance point into this healing realm and there are various readings you can perform with each of them. The guidebook walks you through the benefits and uses of each type so that you can make the most out of the deck. There are also 53 guided meditations that you can use in conjunction with the cards which can be accessed and downloaded through the Hay House website.

160pp, 141 x 104 mm, 52 cards, Boxed Set, 2021, RRP £18.99

❖ Code: 310218 ❖ Non-Member Price: £12.77 ❖ Member Price: £11.50

Air Spirit

Eagle Spirit

KNOWLEDGE

FREEDOM

1

13

Ancient Oak Spirit

Maple Spirit

STRENGTH

GENEROSITY

2

14

2

23

This is a beautiful deck and the colours are truly refreshing. They are vivid pastels and speak of sunshine and rich vegetation. It’s a feminine deck but it’s by no means just for women. Mother Nature and Mother Earth – they are seen as women and this deck is an encounter with that force. There are 44 cards which I feel we could use in all sorts of ways: for divination, guidance, inspiration and ritual. The figures in the cards show bodies of every shape, size, skin tone and hair texture and this reminds us how rich and diverse nature is. The images are endlessly fascinating and uplifting, and they are created with skill and deep emotion. The Earth gives us so much but we cannot take her for granted. This deck is a rich invitation to step back into close communication with her.

120pp, 139 x 101 mm, 44 cards, Boxed Set, 2021, RRP £15.99

❖ Code: 310217 ❖ Non-Member Price: £12.21 ❖ Member Price: £10.99

THE MAGIC OF UNICORNS ORACLE CARDS

by Diana Cooper

Diana published her book The Magic Of Unicorns last year and here now is the book and card set. The 150-page book describes the cards and their meanings and also gives an exercise on how to work with that card.

There are 44 full-colour cards and I must admit they are lovely. Who doesn’t love a unicorn? They are shown in various beautiful, charming and exalted settings and each card has a title like Access Your Gifts, Refreshing Oasis, Divine Potential and Spiritual Warrior.

We are told that unicorns are beings of the angelic realms who are returning to earth to aid us on our path to ascension. This is an uplifting and optimistic deck that would make a great gift regardless of anyone’s spiritual persuasion.

152pp, 127 x 90 mm, 44 cards, Boxed Set, 2021, RRP £15.99

❖ Code: 310220 ❖ Non-Member Price: £12.21 ❖ Member Price: £10.99

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Oracle Cards – BOOK REVIEWS BODY HEALING CARDS

by Ewald Kliegel and Anne Heng

ANIMAL LOVE ORACLE CARDS

by Nadine Gordon-Taylor

This is the second card and book oracle deck from acclaimed artist Nadine Gordon-Taylor in recent months following her Heart Path Oracle Cards. This one also includes animals, but whereas the previous deck embodied qualities using different animals to represent the quality or state of mind, these cards are led by the animals themselves. There are 52 bright and imaginatively coloured cards, showing elephants, crows, black panthers, owls and dragonflies, to name just a few. These are animals as pointers to higher consciousness, greater compassion and loving energy. These animals can be your mentors and the accompanying book, with colour illustrations, will give you tips on how to make that happen, with a deep message and uplifting affirmations.

You can also use the cards for divination or to find synchronicities in your everyday life.

112pp, 164 x 120 mm, 52 cards, Boxed Set, 2021, RRP £25.00

❖ Code: 310237 ❖ Non-Member Price: £17.76 ❖ Member Price: £15.99

This card and book set looks amazing and it’s going to be great to work with it.

It’s published by Findhorn and it definitely has their spiritual energy and their healing experience. There’s a 128 page book full of spreads and text with suggestions relating to each card. There are 52 cards relating to different parts of the body, all painted in otherworldly pastel colours, plus four ”joker” cards, two of the male and two of the female principle, which will nuance the messages you receive. The sample spreads show all sorts of ways in which you can work with the cards, including getting a message from a requested part of the body and larger spreads where you can get more of an overview of your body.

The possibilities seem endless and I am surprised that we haven’t seen more decks like this.

128pp, 164 x 120 mm, 52 cards, Boxed Set, 2021, RRP £25.00

❖ Code: 310239 ❖ Non-Member Price: £17.76 ❖ Member Price: £15.99

ARCHANGEL FIRE ORACLE

by Alexandra Wenman

Alexandra is a former editor of Prediction magazine who lives in London. She is also an angel communicator, channel and healer.

The box set includes 40 cards that guide you through the Diamond Fire Alchemy process, which will enable you to embody the qualities of an archangel. The cards are arranged in 17 suits and are linked to colours, chakras and sigils, and each carries an image of an angel, from Sandalphon to Adnachiel and from Zacharael to Gabriel. The images show beings from all kinds of earth locations, cultures and traditions. The box includes a 144-page guidebook which starts with a foreword from the inspirational Diana Cooper.

These archangels will help us become the best people we can be and ultimately align fully with our lives’ purpose.

144pp, 156 x 116 mm, 40 cards, Boxed Set, 2021, RRP £19.99

❖ Code: 310231 ❖ Non-Member Price: £14.43 ❖ Member Price: £12.99

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THE DIVINE FEMININE TAO TE CHING --1--

--4--

The Tao that can be told Is not the everlasting Tao The name that can be named Is not the everlasting name

The Tao is empty Yet when used Never exhausts An abyss!

That seems the ancestor of all She softens our edges Loosens our entanglements Tempers our light Merges with ordinariness So still!

She seems ever present We do not know whose child this is She seems to have existed Before creation

Nameless is the virgin of all things Named is the mother of all things Free of desire we see subtleties Not free we see only things The two are the same Yet arise as two A oneness called dark Dark beyond dark is The door to all subtleties

Some Glimpses of the Tao

--6--

--3-Not exalting the worthy Prevents people from fighting Not cherishing precious objects Keeps people from stealing Not displaying possessions Calms the minds of people Thus in governing the way of the wise Empties the mind Fills the stomach Softens ambition Strengthens character Keeps people innocent and content And the cunning afraid to act Act without acting And nothing is out of place

The immortal void Is called the dark womb, the dark womb’s gate From her Creation takes root An unbroken gossamer That imparts without effort The Divine Feminine Tao Te Ching by Rosemarie Anderson, Ph.D. © 2021 Inner Traditions. Printed with permission from the publisher Inner Traditions International. www.InnerTraditions.com

THE DIVINE FEMININE TAO TE CHING by Rosemarie Anderson

The famous anecdote tells us that the ancient Chinese classic the Tao Te Ching is the most translated text after the Bible, so why another version? Rosemarie has immersed herself in East Asian culture for more than forty years and for all that time she has also lived alongside the Tao Te Ching. When she turned to translate it, she discovered that, in her own words, it is “profoundly feminine”. Ursula LeGuin famously worked on another wonderful version of the Tao, but much has changed since it came out in the nineties, in terms of an awareness of the place of women and the feminine in the world. It’s genuinely eye-opening. Rosemarie provides a history of the text, notes on translation and an autobiographical section that describes her encounter with the text. There are even calligraphies by the author.

160pp, 210 x 137 mm, Paperback, 2021, RRP £12.99

❖ Code: 310234 ❖ Non-Member Price: £8.87 ❖ Member Price: £7.99

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Health & Yoga – BOOK REVIEWS THE MYSTERY TRADITION OF MIRACULOUS CONCEPTION by Marguerite Mary Rigoglioso

Inner Traditions has a history of daring to publish the sorts of leftfield and specialist books that no other publisher could do, and this for sure is one of those books. The author is the foremost authority on virgin birth and this is a fascinating account of this tradition through history. There is of course the Virgin Mary but there’s also Mary’s own mother Anne, plus her relative Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. These women were part of a lineage of powerful women who could consciously conceive elevated beings who would help the planet, that stretched back to Sarah, the wife of Abraham. So now instead of being a meek young woman who was overtaken by events, Mary becomes a powerful holy woman who actually initiated the events around Christ’s life.

SITTING COMFORTABLY

by Swami Saradananda

Have you been wanting to try meditation but never quite found it “comfortable” enough to pursue? Or that you can’t find the time or have a lack of self-discipline?

Or do you find that there are too many distractions or that the experience of sitting is simply too painful? This book could be what you need. Swami Saradanada tackles all of these roadblocks and more in order to ready yourself for meditation. There is a ton of reading material out there about the art of meditating, but not the art of beginning it, and we all have to start somewhere! Prepare your body, prepare your mind, and find your comfort zone here.

176pp, 235 x 176 mm, Paperback, 2021, RRP £15.99

❖ Code: 310259 ❖ Non-Member Price: £11.66 ❖ Member Price: £10.50

192pp, 229 x 152 mm, Paperback, 2021, RRP £12.99

❖ Code: 310232 ❖ Non-Member Price: £8.87 ❖ Member Price: £7.99

RESTORING YOUR INTESTINAL FLORA by Christopher Vasey

GET YOUR YOGA ON

by Kino MacGregor

144pp, 209 x 136 mm, Paperback, 2021, RRP £12.99

208pp, 227 x 178 mm, Paperback, 2020, RRP £19.99

Naturopath Christopher Vasey is the author of the pioneering book The Acid Alkaline Diet, and he has written many other popular health titles on various issues like detox, hydration and natural antibiotics. His books aren’t too long, they get straight to the point and they focus on one specialist subject, and here is one on intestinal flora, which has been a big subject in recent years in books like Gut by Giulia Enders. The importance of intestinal flora has continued to grow with every next piece of research and information that’s been released. Having a balanced digestive system can affect everything from your skin to your mood. This title gives many tips on improving the quality and quantity of your microbiome, mostly based around what you eat and drink. ❖ Code: 310241 ❖ Non-Member Price: £8.87 ❖ Member Price: £7.99

Kino MacGregor is the bestselling author of a couple of essential Ashtanga Yoga titles, published by Shambhala. Here she offers a short set of poses that are specifically adapted for all ages and abilities. The models come wonderfully in all shapes and sizes and each position has around ten full-colour photographs showing it in great detail and in all the possible variations. The book is designed as a thirty day pose-a-day course which you can gradually build until you have the confidence perhaps to make it more complex and demanding, but at all times your practice will be unique to your lifestyle and needs. Yoga is genuinely for everybody and this is a fantastic celebration of its potential to transform your physical and spiritual health. There are around 200 photographs in all. ❖ Code: 310226 ❖ Non-Member Price: £15.54 ❖ Member Price: £13.99

THE ANCIENT LANGUAGE OF SACRED SOUND by David Elkington

CELL LEVEL MEDITATION

by Barry Grundland and Patricia Kay

432pp, 229 x 152 mm, Paperback, 2021, RRP £25.00

176pp, 229 x 152 mm, Paperback, 2021, RRP £12.99

This is a very enjoyable read full of historical sweep and fascinating revelations. There’s a colour plate section in the middle and lots of line drawings. It was first published in 2001 as In the Name of the Gods, and the book is highly praised on the cover by John Matthews and Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince. It explores the acoustic connections between the earth and the human brain and how these connections were fostered via the construction of sacred sites such as Newgrange, Chartres Cathedral, Machu Picchu and the great Pyramids at Giza, as well as other pyramids in Egypt and Mexico. Fascinatingly the author also shows how human writing is closely related to sound patterns.

Originally religion always was an ancient language of acoustic science and power places played a vital role in the development of human civilization. ❖ Code: 310245 ❖ Non-Member Price: £17.76 ❖ Member Price: £15.99

Findhorn Publishing makes a real speciality of books on the healing of self and others and this is another vital and fascinating one. Cell Level Meditation was Barry Grundland’s life’s work and he passed away in 2016. The project has since been finished by Patricia Kay, a homeopath and retired midwife. Through awareness of breath you can move your attention down to individual cells, the lowest level, and through meditating with them you can effect change and healing. The book includes inspiring stories of people who have used this technique to heal from serious illness as well as more everyday stresses. It’s reassuring to read a book that doesn’t promise miraculous blinding flashes of transformation, but encourages hard work at a micro level that will bring true healing. ❖ Code: 310238 ❖ Non-Member Price: £8.87 ❖ Member Price: £7.99

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BOOK REVIEWS – Spiritual Teachings

LETTERS TO A STARSEED

by Rebecca Campbell

THE WISDOM CODES

by Gregg Braden

BEYOND THE FLOWER OF LIFE by Maureen J St Germain

A Starseed is a soul who has experienced life in another place, not of Earth. Due to this, Starseeds can feel out of place in their current iteration because they are able to remember the ancient seeds of their soul without quite knowing what that place really is. This book is designed to help Starseeds plant themselves fully in the here-andnow, and embrace who they really are and how they came to be here.

Each chapter acts as a mini conversation with the reader to enable them to easily digest the information and move forward at their own pace. Through meditations, attunements, soul journeys and asking the ‘big’ questions, the reader will learn how to flourish.

Gregg Braden casts fresh light on the ancient mysteries via the deployment of science and other modern techniques. On this occasion he focuses on the great power of words, as in the spiritual use of prayers, mantras, chants and song. Investigating an essential selection of various ‘wisdom codes’ from a vast number of ancient cultures, the author reveals their underlying mystical methodology, enabling you to tap into their inbuilt transformative and healing energies. Here you can find Vedic mantras for protection, the Gnostic power of the words of Jesus and much more, all explored in depth from both an esoteric as well as modern perspective.

Previously in hardback.

This is one of those wonderfully mind-bending and thrilling books that Inner Traditions specializes in. It’s an exploration of precognition and dreamwork that might help us glimpse what’s called the future. The text travels via Freud and Jung and J.W. Dunne’s Experiments in Time, into contemporary parapsychology.

Evidence is growing all the time that precognition is real and that, at the same time, your present thoughts and feelings are also shaping your past. Indeed we are our past, present and future simultaneously, and this is what Wargo calls The Long Self. When we truly take this in, our dream journals become a time machine.

This is a new and updated edition of a book that was first published 12 years ago but which we never included in Cygnus. Since then the author has also published Waking Up in 5D. The MerKaBa is a fifth dimensional Light Body activated by the geometric energy field that exists around the body. Through the exercises in this book you will be able to fully and reliably connect with your higher self and then go through life bravely and with confidence about your purpose.

It’s an uplifting and mindexpanding book in the tradition of Bob Frissell and takes its place in the range of books that are now coming out about multidimensional reality.

The future is very exciting!

256pp, 215 x 134 mm, Paperback, 2021, RRP £12.99

240pp, 216 x 135 mm, Paperback, 2021, RRP £12.99

320pp, 229 x 152 mm, Paperback, 2021, RRP £14.99

288pp, 229 x 152 mm, Paperback, 2021, RRP £14.00

❖ Code: 310216 ❖ Non-Member Price: £8.87 ❖ Member Price: £7.99

❖ Code: 310210 ❖ Non-Member Price: £8.87 ❖ Member Price: £7.99

❖ Code: 310248 ❖ Non-Member Price: £10.55 ❖ Member Price: £9.50

❖ Code: 310233 ❖ Non-Member Price: £9.98 ❖ Member Price: £8.99

LETTERS TO A YOUNG POET

by Rainer Maria Rilke

RESCUING THE LIGHT

by Martin Prechtel

96pp, 178 x 113 mm, Hardback, 2021, RRP £10.99

184pp, 216 x 140 mm, Paperback, 2021, RRP £13.99

This new translation of a treasured literary classic gives a fresh perspective on the text from acclaimed scholars and teachers Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy. This edition is an attractive hardback that you can carry everywhere. It also includes a commentary on each letter as well as a concise introduction.

For nearly a century Rilke’s book – sent from various European locations during the great poet’s restless wanderings – has offered profound insight into the creative life plus wise advice on how to live, both in solitude and in love. This new translation is sure to make the letters more relevant and supportive in these demanding and complicated times. ❖ Code: 310227 ❖ Non-Member Price: £8.33 ❖ Member Price: £7.50

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PRECOGNITIVE DREAMWORK AND THE LONG SELF by Eric Wargo

Martin is a very popular writer on spirituality especially from a Native American tradition. He is based in New Mexico and is best known for his books including The Smell of Rain on Dust and Long Life, Honey in the Heart. These are sayings that his students have written down, spoken at Bolad’s Kitchen, his “non-school school of everything”, where people can learn old arts like silversmithing, spinning and music.

“In a time of immense cultural insanity, Martin’s inimitable spirit echoes out through the words on these pages”, writes Rowen White, Mohawk Seedkeeper. The wisdom in this book is genuinely alive and challenging – there are no platitudes or easy homilies. ❖ Code: 310230 ❖ Non-Member Price: £10.55 ❖ Member Price: £9.50

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BELIEVE IN SPIRIT BY STEVE BRIDGER AND JANET NEVILLE

S

piritualism is a sceptic’s playground. “It’s nonsense, where’s the proof?” we hear them cry. Believe in Spirit by Janet Neville and Steve Bridger has been written to give sceptics something to think about. It’s a book designed to explain personal spirituality and the greater spiritual world in a straightforward way. The thing that makes the book stand out is its triangular nature. It was conceived

by Spirit, channelled by Janet and written by Steve. The unchanged content is ninety percent guidance from Spirit to share with us. The final ten per cent is the narrative flow.

The first half of the book concentrates on our spiritual existence in the material world. It seeks to explain how spiritualism works and that Spiritual Mediums do provide proof that human consciousness survives physical death. It makes the link with friends and family who have passed, and with the eternal cycle of spiritual life. So far, so expected. This territory has been travelled by many other writers.

What is not so common is the space dedicated to spirit guides. They tell their own stories about their past lives on earth and now in the spiritual world. They talk to us as friends. The second part begins with an account by a guide from the higher realms who describes, using vivid language, the sensation of leaving the human state and ascending into spirit.

The following chapter picks up with what happens upon arrival in spirit and no longer living in a physical body. I’m going to hand over to Janet’s main guide. These are his actual words: “The spirit has returned. They have rested and now their mind has once again become active. ‘I have no body. How is it possible that I can still function with a fully-attuned mind when my brain has been left behind in my decaying body?’ Confusing? No, my friend, just adjustment to the fact that they, through their own thought processes, can continue to think in the same way as when they would have been on the earth.”

The Truth About Spirit Believe in Spirit focuses on the first level in the Realms of Spirit. The next book will explore the higher realms.

Spirit wanted us to concentrate on the lower realms that are closer to the earth’s atmosphere at this time. Here is another piece spoken by spirit: “The first sphere is mainly dedicated to the earth’s atmosphere.

Level one is for newly returned spirit.

Level one is likened to the sorting depot where spirits will be reunited first with their loved ones, and then

continuously peruse their life’s story.

They would continue to learn lessons that they did not learn on the earth.

Some will go straight with the carers.

When they have finished with that process then they will go through their Book of Life. The most important element that people still on the earth need to know is that each spirit on returning will be met by family or friends or a carer. Every one of these spirits would have the love and warmth that is in our world and each newly returned spirit will be enveloped within that love.”

Believe in Spirit is the result of a continuous dialogue with a number of spiritual guides from various levels in the realms of spirit. Their knowledge and guidance have been recorded and transcribed solely for the purpose of sharing. This has taken over two years with hundreds of hours of recordings.

We have only skimmed the surface.

Spirit comments on the state of nature, the environment, the current Covid pandemic, and our questionable custodianship of this beautiful planet.

If you can, please pass this knowledge onto others. Bit by bit, step by step, we will break down barriers and shine the light of understanding.

Many thanks from Spirit, Janet and Steve.

BELIEVE IN SPIRIT

by Steve Bridger and Janet Neville

Janet Neville is a channel for spirit and Steve Bridger helps transcribe those words and put them into context. They previously collaborated on the book Being Spirit. Here they use the guidance of spirit to show us how to live life on this side, as spirit in material form, which is what we are. In the second part of the book we are shown what life looks like on the other side. It includes many direct quotations from spirit that are both detailed and hopeful. There are also some lovely stories of soul rescue for people and animals who have had trouble crossing over. No matter what your stance on mediumship might be – and ultimately it’s best to have no stance – these are constructive teachings full of hope and possibilities, that make us more positive and effective as human beings in our daily lives.

220pp, 203 x 137 mm, Paperback, 2021, RRP £8.99

❖ Code: 310207 ❖ Non-Member Price: £7.76 ❖ Member Price: £6.99

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19

BOOK REVIEWS – Personal Growth THE GRIEF HANDBOOK

by Bridget McNulty

RECLAIM YOUR TIME OFF

by Fab Giovanetti

160pp, 216 x 152 mm, Paperback, 2021, RRP £14.99

192pp, 197 x 131 mm, Paperback, 2021, RRP £10.99

WHOLE BRAIN LIVING

by Jill Bolte Taylor

THE KNOWING by Saje Dyer and Serena Dyer Pisoni

304pp, 237 x 160 mm, Hardback, 2021, RRP £20.99

280pp, 212 x 141 mm, Hardback, 2021, RRP £18.99

KINDNESS NOW by Amanda Gilbert

THE UNIVERSE ALWAYS HAS A PLAN

by Matt Kahn

Death. The great equaliser. The universal truth. We will all experience loss in our lives, and while it will happen to everyone, it is so hard to find anything helpful to say. Bridget McNulty, while not a grief counsellor, has been through her fair share of loss, and she created this guide based on her experience and what helped her through her desperate times. It’s not always big things, it’s not always profound, in fact sometimes it’s quite small and silly things. But all of it allowed her to see past the pain and look up to the life around her. And she created this book to show you just that. Part journal, part guide, this book will hold your hand as you journey through, propping you up with a little voice that says “this too shall pass”. ❖ Code: 310253 ❖ Non-Member Price: £10.55 ❖ Member Price: £9.50

Jill Bolte Taylor is the author of the New York Times bestselling book My Stroke of Insight. In it she described the stroke she had when she was 37 and how it shut down the left hemisphere of her brain. As she is a neuroanatomist, she was able to watch her faculties shut down one-by-one: reading, walking, talking and even recalling any event in her life. All of this she had to re-learn and she then gave a vital TED talk in 2008 where she described what she had learnt. This new book shows the latest research that she and others have done on the hemispheres of the brain and their different capabilities and it’s not the case anymore that we can say that the right brain is emotional and the left is rational. There are all sorts of whole brain potentialities and Jill tells us how to make the best of what we all have. ❖ Code: 310215 ❖ Non-Member Price: £14.43 ❖ Member Price: £12.99

The praise for this book really couldn’t come from better people, from Tara Brach, Deepak Chopra and Sharon Salzberg amongst others. Sharon writes, “In a world that feels topsy-turvy, this twenty-eight-day training to support the development of kindness feels like a perfect way to spend a month”. With so much focus nowadays on the Buddhist practice of mindfulness of breathing it’s a shame that relatively little attention is given to its teachings on kindness. All the heart practices – the brahma viharas – are introduced and explained as part of a month-long progression of teachings by Amanda, who is a lecturer and a meditation teacher.

Sometimes we can feel such anger and negativity towards others that we can feel helpless and then buffeted by our feelings, but this book shows us that this can be overcome.

272pp, 214 x 141 mm, Paperback, 2021, RRP £14.99

❖ Code: 310224 ❖ Non-Member Price: £11.10 ❖ Member Price: £9.99

20

The global pandemic put the majority of us in a live-and-work from home situation.

While it sounds ideal, it can sometimes be hard to separate your work from your free time if it’s all happening in the same space.

The lines get blurry. While it might not seem so serious at first, by not engaging with the barriers between work-time and free-time, we will eventually lead ourselves to a burn out. So, something has to be done. Fab Giovanetti presents an easy-to-follow, three-step programme to put these barriers in place and enable you to switch yourself off. The simple exercises she details are a great jumping off point to shake off the “office” and start doing things for yourself again, allowing you to revel in your free time. ❖ Code: 310262 ❖ Non-Member Price: £7.76 ❖ Member Price: £6.99

Saje and Serena are the daughters of Wayne Dyer, the popular and beloved teacher and author who passed away in 2015. This is a great book for all Wayne’s many fans, as the authors describe the pain of their father’s unexpected death and how their struggles to get back on track gave them a new insight into his life and teachings. Their experience has shown them that their father’s wisdom – which they call The Knowing – is likewise embedded in their DNA…and is also in everyone else’s. This guide goes on to show us how to return to this wellspring of wisdom within us. The authors have also distilled all their research into 11 lessons, including insights into the meaning of death and of coincidence, the power of silence and accepting messages that come to us from spirit. ❖ Code: 310222 ❖ Non-Member Price: £14.43 ❖ Member Price: £12.99

In his latest book, spiritual teacher Matt Kahn presents his 10 Golden Rules, which help us to overcome psychological trappings and transform our lives by the power of acceptance and love. Essentially this is a book about learning how to be compassionate towards yourself and others, by putting your trust in the innate goodness of the world. By overcoming self-sabotage, hardship, and anger, you will find true liberation and the infinite current of unconditional love that nourishes your heart. Kahn’s language is as usual both encouraging and inspiring, filling you with a sense of compassion and hopefulness. Matt is one of the most popular teachers in live workshops right now and this was previously in hardback.

176pp, 178 x 127 mm, Paperback, 2021, RRP £12.99

❖ Code: 310219 ❖ Non-Member Price: £8.87 ❖ Member Price: £7.99

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Luminous Landscapes – BOOK REVIEWS WOMAN BETWEEN THE WORLDS

by Apela Colorado

ANIMAL SPIRIT WISDOM by Phillip Kansa and Elke Kirchner-Young

288pp, 216 x 135 mm, Paperback, 2021, RRP £12.99

112pp, 165 x 115 mm, Paperback, 2021, RRP £7.99

The endorsements on this book come from shamans and healers all around the world and show the breadth of work that Apela has done. Since her childhood as a Native American girl growing up in rural Wisconsin, she has worked to bring indigenous groups together and to bring their wisdom into the modern world. As well as autobiography this book will show you how to connect with your own ancestral tradition, which in her case also includes French heritage. There are myths everywhere to inspire us. She tells many creation stories from her peoples – how can we make our own creation myth and other stories that will give our lives meaning? Her account of her visions and ceremonies are exciting – this is a thrilling and very readable book. ❖ Code: 310213 ❖ Non-Member Price: £8.87 ❖ Member Price: £7.99

This is a great gift book or introuductory book for anyone new to the path of spirit animals. Because it’s in colour it’s a great book to inspire you with charming pictures of 45 different animals that can inspire and guide you on the spiritual level, and it’s small enough to fit into your bag or pocket to bring you an uplift wherever you are. The animals range from Bee to Beaver and from Swan to Wolf – they are the classic range in the Native American tradition and the approach of the book, which includes a sample guided inner journey, is based on Native American teachings.

Each entry includes positive key words, ways the animal can help, how it can protect you and an exercise to help connect with that animal. Above all it’s a tribute to all these beautiful creatures. ❖ Code: 310236 ❖ Non-Member Price: £5.54 ❖ Member Price: £4.99

ANSWERING THE CALL OF THE ELEMENTALS by Thomas Mayer

AWAKENING YOUR INNER SHAMAN

by Marcela Lobos

160pp, 197 x 127 mm, Paperback, 2021, RRP £12.99

240pp, 229 x 152 mm, Paperback, 2021, RRP £12.99

Many Cygnus members don’t need convincing of the input and support we can get from the elementals and this is another very worthwhile book on the subject. The author is Austrian and is a civil rights and social activist across the German-speaking world. The book is influenced by the philosophy of Rudolf Steiner. In line with his activist approach, the author is primarily passing on a call for help and cooperation from the elementals. If we include them in our lives and overall perceptions at a higher level, we can give them strength and together we can cooperate with them in their work of preserving the earth. The author includes many wonderful stories of his encounters with fairies, dwarves, giants and others and also describes some useful tips and techniques for establishing an initial connection with them. ❖ Code: 310242 ❖ Non-Member Price: £8.87 ❖ Member Price: £7.99

This is an easy and enjoyable read from a woman who has been initiated into many healing and spiritual traditions in South America. It’s not deep but it’s uplifting. She tells her life story, from Chile to the United States and back to Chile again, and her transformation from beleaguered mother of two to woman of power, via all sorts of adventures and experiences in spectacular locations. Her story is interspersed with many inspiring teachings and practical esoteric exercises. Her teacher is the world-famous Alberto Villoldo, who has published many books with Hay House, and she ended up falling in love with him. You don’t have to follow her path – this book will inspire you to take control of your life and come into your own power. It’s saturated in feminine energy but of course it’s not just for women. ❖ Code: 310214 ❖ Non-Member Price: £8.87 ❖ Member Price: £7.99

A VISIONARY GUIDE TO LUCID DREAMING by Lee Adams

THE LUMINOUS LANDSCAPE OF THE AFTERLIFE by Matthew McKay

192pp, 234 x 153 mm, Paperback, 2021, RRP £12.99

144pp, 229 x 152 mm, Paperback, 2021, RRP £12.99

There are many of us who are fascinated by the prospect and potential of lucid dreaming and this is not the first book we have featured on the subject. I like it though because it’s just the right length and isn’t full of heavy theory or too much detail, and because it talks so positively about lucid dreaming as an opportunity for the Hero’s Journey. So we aren’t lucid dreaming for the buzz or for its rollercoaster ride potential, but as a powerful tool of self-development. It works with the deep mythical states of the inner journey. The book also covers the potential for astral travel proceeding on from the lucid dream state. It’s also extremely practical and provides a list of herbs and supplements that help with various stages of the experience, including mugwort, 5-HTP and lion’s mane mushrooms. ❖ Code: 310235 ❖ Non-Member Price: £8.87 ❖ Member Price: £7.99

Matthew McKay’s son Jordan was shot dead when he was twenty-three. Matthew is a clinical psychologist and professor of psychology, and nothing prepared him for the messages and communication he started to receive from Jordan after he had died. That initial contact is described in Matthew’s book Seeking Jordan but this new title goes further and describes everything that you can expect after death. The landscape of death is created entirely from consciousness and Jordan tells us how to get used to living without a body. It’s a beautiful account that will take away any fear you might have about dying. The author also teaches us how to channel for ourselves if we want to take that step.

The most heart-warming aspect of the book is that it tells that love is the energy that maintains the bond between the living and the dead. ❖ Code: 310240 ❖ Non-Member Price: £8.87 ❖ Member Price: £7.99

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