Cygnus Review Winter 2024

Winter 2024, Issue 1

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

Happy New Year from Cygnus Books ❖ A GOLDEN FUTURE OR ACLE DECK from Diana Cooper ❖ HOW NOT TO AGE by best-selling author Michael Greger

Plus!

❖ NEW DECKS, including one from Sharon Blackie ❖ Something from the 2001 Cygnus Archive ❖ NEW BOOKS, on the Mystical Rose and the Power of Silence ❖ Directory of Cygnus Cafes

EDITOR’S LETTER

When Things Feel Bleak

I

was doing a bit of Christmas shopping on Oxford Street at the weekend. I went early in the morning because of the crowds that would inevitably build as the day went on. All the same there was already a man by Oxford Circus with a microphone in one hand and a Bible in the other. His speaker was turned up very loud and the sound was overwhelming.

He was talking about death, about how he had repented a life of drugs, drinking and casual sex and how he had been saved because Jesus had given him eternal life.

As I walked past him, I tried to catch his eye but he wouldn’t give me eye contact, so I smiled and moved on towards John Lewis. I wanted to ask him how Jesus had contacted him and what he had been told.

I wanted to tell him that he was lucky if he had some contact with the Divine. I wasn’t being ironic or clever. Many of us would be grateful for that privilege.

It’s a shame that God doesn’t speak to more of us. Sometimes it would really help. Meanwhile, and I know I talked about it last time, we have to put up with our spiritual outlooks being aggressively dismissed by almost anyone with a platform.

2023. What a year! Everyone is talking about how tough it has been

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and I could do the same. I wonder though how bad it has been, on a direct level. For some people it has been disastrous: say for ordinary people living in Gaza or southern Israel or for people in Ukraine. For others? They might have been ok, living comfortably in warmth and with plenty of food and with no one in the family in danger or suffering a lot. We must be grateful for our blessings.

We are bombarded with bad news.

There’s plenty of scientific reasoning that explains why our brains react more strongly to bad news than to good. But it’s so distressing. You hear about a group of young people dying in a car crash and then you see pictures on the news of their youthful and optimistic faces. We are shown CCTV footage of a person at work, who then leaves and is pictured in various locations across the city and all this when we know she will die shortly after that. It’s enough to know about people being killed at a music festival or when a bomb hits their home, but it tears our hearts open to see their fear or their dead bodies in footage on the internet.

Society has developed so that we are kept sad and fearful much of the time. There is an epidemic of stress and mental illness. Something is very wrong and I wish I could change that. So, what can we all do? Take refuge in community where our attention can be directed towards better things, where we will be lifted up by the loving distraction of human contact. We can also follow our bliss, in the words of Joseph Campbell, and find what fulfils us or even just set goals which we can work towards with enthusiasm. Finally we can go deeper into our spiritual practices.

Do more meditation, more rituals, more service and more study. Then we will be working with positive energies and not looking at toxic material left, right and centre.

Perhaps then we might get that contact I mentioned. One thing seems clear though: most people have to do the work.

Take refuge in community where our attention can be directed towards better things, where we will be lifted up by the loving distraction of human contact.

I read an inspiring article earlier in the Financial Times Magazine, about a young French Muslim man who washes, anoints and says prayers over dead people who don’t have families or anyone living nearby who can do it for them. He then arranges for them to be buried in an appropriate cemetery or be repatriated to their home where their relatives are. That made me feel better. He is doing it for very little reward and because it’s the right thing to do. He is putting people’s minds at rest in the face of suffering. He is doing it regardless of the feedback; I hope he feels fulfilled.

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THE GOLDEN FUTURE ORACLE by Diana Cooper

Visions of a Glorious Future THE GOLDEN FUTURE ORACLE

by Diana Cooper

FROM THE ORACLE GUIDE BOOK

2050: By this time, life will be beyond our current conception, because the fifthdimensional blueprint for our planet and the universe will be fully activated and everyone will have fifth-dimensional consciousness. People will have retrieved their amazingly advanced gifts and powers, including the ability to maintain perfect health and to manifest for the highest good. As technology advances, we will do extraordinary things beyond our current comprehension. At the same time, we will reconnect to the love of Earth and will understand oneness.

Archangels and Illumined Masters will facilitate every aspect of our journey to the golden future. Please attune to the guides mentioned on the cards and they will assist you in raising your frequency and give you all the help you need.

We have done exceptionally well with Diana’s book The Golden Future and here is a stunning deck to go with it.

I really hope the images on these 44 cards will give you inspiration to help create the harmonious future that awaits us all.

The images are amazing and almost literally mindexpanding - a riot of dolphins, rainbows and bright colours.

Optimism and idealism are so important to all of us if we want to make this world a better place and co-create this Golden Future - there can hardly be an impulse that is more “Cygnus”. With all the books and decks she has already created, we can say that Diana Cooper is an author we can all trust and this is a healthy dose of creative and constructive visualisation. She says it will raise our frequencies and I very much look forward to it.

PUBLISHED IN MARCH. 44 cards and 120-page booklet, 2024, RRP £17.99

©Hay House 2024

❖ Code: 330418 ❖ Non-Member Price: £14.43 ❖ Member Price: £12.99

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BOOK REVIEWS – Psychic Connections WE NEVER DIE by Matt Fraser

Matt Fraser is one of America’s most popular psychic mediums and he is the star of Meet the Frasers on the E! Television network.

This is a classic uplifting book full of stories of people communicating from the other side.

There are no major metaphysics or theories but it’s mostly a straightforward Q and A with questions like Can A Medium Give Me A Reading If We’re Not In The Same Room?

How Can I Get My Message To A Loved One? and Are Angels Real? As I said, it’s conversational and you won’t take long to read it, but the stories just lift our hearts and make us feel vindicated for thinking there is more to this existence than the dull, material so-called reality.

Many of us believe that there is a purpose behind the events of our world and that everything happens for a reason. Although we feel that this is true, we fear the unknown - especially when it comes to death. Bestselling author Mike Dooley explores these worries, and gives readers a fresh, and unconventional perspective on life, its meaning and how to live it well. In 10 profound chapters, he offers his personal observations about the world in the form of a letter from the recently deceased, sharing the revelations and insights they have gained since their transition. It offers hope to those who’ve lost loved ones, and gives us a new way of looking at death that can improve the way we live today. PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 24th

240pp, 234 x 153 mm, Paperback, 2023, RRP £8.99

240pp, 216 x 135 mm, Paperback, 2024, RRP £13.99

PSYCHIC NAVIGATOR by John Holland

THE PERSISTENCE OF THE SOUL

by Mark Ireland

❖ Code: 330462 ❖ Non-Member Price: £7.76 ❖ Member Price: £6.99

John Holland is a well known psychic who has also been a teacher for many years, and here he shares with us his methods so we too can tap into our own innate abilities. His guide is easy-to-follow and extremely informative, first of all teaching us about what psychic actually means and then all about our psychic strengths of clairvoyance, clairaudience and clairsentience. He goes on to describe the role of chakras and our aura, and how to use meditation and breathwork to activate and heighten our awareness. With easy-to-follow practical exercises and regular affirmations to try, it’s a very hands-on book which is both comprehensive and authoritative. This book includes a free audio download of two guided meditations - you’ll need a smartphone or computer to access them but there are clear instructions.

❖ Code: 330460 ❖ Non-Member Price: £9.98 ❖ Member Price: £8.99

Mark Ireland started on his journey in 2004 after the unexpected death of his son.

Understandably he seeks out mediums to try to speak to the other side; interestingly his own father was a renowned medium although up to then he had not been drawn to follow this path. Mark is then able to give us guidance if we too want to explore this world of spirit visitation and afterlife communication.

He is also able to provide a lot of evidence of this from his own experience and experiments, as well as from the historical records. On the other hand he is not naïve and he is able to offer warnings around dishonest practices in this field. The book is serious and well-written but there are also plenty of stories and anecdotes. The healing potential in this work is extraordinary.

144pp, 216 x 135 mm, Paperback, 2023, RRP £13.99

288pp, 228 x 152 mm, Paperback, 2023, RRP £18.99

SEVEN HEAVENS

by Carla Wills-Brandon

OUR ETERNAL EXISTENCE

by David Gaggin

❖ Code: 330445 ❖ Non-Member Price: £9.98 ❖ Member Price: £8.99

As a religion, Judaism famously is a bit vague about any potential continuation after the death of our physical body. However, Carla Wills-Brandon does uncover references to Jewish mysticism and afterlife encounters in the ancient Hebrew texts, including the Torah, the Talmud, the Zohar, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the writings of the early Kabbalists. She shows how these works describe not only experiences of heaven but also near-death experiences (NDEs), after-death contact, reincarnation, and deathbed visions of crossed-over loved ones. She also shares accounts of modern-day spiritual encounters along the same lines. She goes on to underline that believing in life after death can give us a bigger picture and help us live a more fulfilling life. In the case of being Jewish, this can help with the vast trauma of the Holocaust, which can manifest as PTSD in later generations.

224pp, 229 x 151 mm, Paperback, 2023, RRP £16.99

❖ Code: 330454 ❖ Non-Member Price: £12.77 ❖ Member Price: £11.50

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THE TOP TEN THINGS DEAD PEOPLE WANT TO TELL YOU by Mike Dooley

❖ Code: 330443 ❖ Non-Member Price: £13.32 ❖ Member Price: £11.99

The author has always been gripped by the eternal existential questions that a lot of us ask: Who Are We? Where Are We? and Why Are We Here? He became dissatisfied with the answers that were offered by mainstream science and philosophy so he turned to the cosmic voices - the channelled voices, the psychics and the remote viewers, for example. He sought out the messages and viewpoints that were consistent and he then sums it up in this book. It’s ambitious but not daunting and overall it’s a great overview of the esoteric and metaphysical worldview. One of the endorsers calls it an “encyclopedia of spirituality”. It’s not anecdotal or full of personal accounts but it’s very interesting and we can quite happily disagree with aspects of it if it means we get clarification on how the world might really be.

312pp, 217 x 140 mm, Paperback, 2023, RRP £19.99

❖ Code: 330442 ❖ Non-Member Price: £13.88 ❖ Member Price: £12.50

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THE LOST ART OF SILENCE by Sarah Anderson

© 2023 by Sarah Anderson. Reprinted in arrangement with Shambhala Publications, Inc. Boulder, CO. www.shambhala.com

I

spoke to Andrew Willson, the chaplain at Imperial College in London, and he told me that many of the students were “looking for” silence and stillness, seeing both as being unifying and having healing properties. They felt the need to slow down in a group context and came together for mindfulness sessions using guided prayer and both Muslim and Zen meditation techniques. He referred to both John Main and M. Basil Pennington, a Trappist monk, speaker, and spiritual writer, as important guides.

Central to trying to stamp out loneliness is teaching people how to value their solitude and silence, and teaching children how to meditate at a young age ensures that they can be better prepared to deal with possible loneliness in the present and when they are older. I have never meditated with children, but I’m told that even very young children love it; and there are many benefits, including improved attention, focus, relaxation, and calm.

Schools are increasingly aware of this need for silence. The Dharma School, a primary school in Brighton that is guided by Buddhist principles, offers a meditation session in the morning for all the pupils; and mindfulness sessions are now well established in some primary schools in West Sussex. With society now being more secular, there is little time dedicated to self-reflection or spirituality, and the feeling of connection with others and something larger than oneself is often lacking.

At Quaker schools, each day begins with a silent assembly. After a while, the pupils really appreciate this and begin to feel a powerful sense of community while feeling a strong sense of individuality. Both of former US President Barack Obama’s daughters went to a Quaker school in Washington, DC, which doubtless helped center and ground them from the inevitably rarefied atmosphere of the White House.

The American writer Kathleen Norris realized that elementary school children’s imaginations could be liberated by silence; they became much more thoughtful when they wrote

The Power of Quiet about silence rather than when they wrote about noise, perhaps because there are fewer clichés about silence than there are about noise. Some of the ideas that the children produced were poetical and original, such as, “As slow and silent as a tree” and “Silence is spiders spinning their webs” but perhaps the most profound of all: “Silence reminds me to take my soul with me wherever I go.”

Michaela Community School, the free school founded by Katharine Birbalsingh in 2014 in Wembley Park in London, has what Birbalsingh calls conservative values, and many of these involve silence. She is critical of many of today’s methods of education and is therefore inevitably controversial, but the outstanding

exam results from her school show the overall importance of education and so-called old-fashioned values.

Hornchurch High School, which was known as the Albany School and is now an academy in east London, introduced a policy of total silence between lessons. Pupils had to walk in an orderly line without speaking and queue in silence before their lessons; and four times a week year ten students had to stay on at the end of the school day and work for an hour in silence. The head teacher, Val Masson, said that after the new rules were introduced, the number of pupils in isolation for poor behaviour halved in a month. She said, “Silence creates a very mutually respectful relationship between students and staff.”

My cousin Kate Sapera wrote to me that “learning to sit with silence was an important part of my counselling training.” By remaining silent, the client is given the space to tap into deeper feelings—to enable this to happen, the therapist has to feel comfortable with the silence.

A valuable service for children can be offering this kind of emotional listening support. Kate trains volunteers to work with primaryage children. Often her trainees feel uncomfortable with the silence and feel that they need to talk to and direct children in their activities. But the reality is that by sitting with the child in silence, the child can learn to feel that they are capable and can be trusted to make their own decisions and that they are therefore okay.

THE LOST ART OF SILENCE by Sarah Anderson

This is a celebration of silence in all its forms, written by the woman who founded the Travel Bookshop in Notting Hill. It is wise and erudite but also very approachable. It’s about choosing to be silent, whether as a religious vow of some description or as a result of trauma or hurt. Of course it pays tribute to silence and its healing potential: there is much too much noise out there and it describes how other people have found a fulfilling quietness. She also talks about metaphorical silence, for example silencing the chatter in our heads. She discusses life in monasteries and on retreats and recounts many stories about artists and mystics. It’s a wonderful book that I think will appeal to almost all of us, and while it’s not a self-help book, it will direct all of us to find more quiet in our lives.

304pp, 215 x 140 mm, Paperback, 2023, RRP £16.99

❖ Code: 330432 ❖ Non-Member Price: £13.32 ❖ Member Price: £11.99

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BOOK REVIEWS – Breath & Bodywork THE LANGUAGE OF BREATH

by Jesse Coomer

BREATH FOR HEALTH

by Michael D. Hutchinson

240pp, 229 x 152 mm, Paperback, 2023, RRP £17.99

144pp, 216 x 140 mm, Paperback, 2023, RRP £11.99

BODY MANDALA by Mary Bond

THE SECRET OF THE FIVE RITES

by John Michael Greer

All the mainstream publishers now have their books on breathing, just as they all previously had their books on sleep. What’s good here is that this one comes from North Atlantic, who have always published strong titles on this subject, but they are not trying to make this one so instantly commercial. Consequently it is very unshowy but profoundly practical. This is the author’s job that he does day-in, day-out and it contains 20 varied and detailed breathwork practices. The book is almost all text and there are a few diagrams, but he goes in great depth into describing the techniques. They are great for dealing with stress and anxiety generally and in acute situations.

Intriguingly, he also says that “breathing is only half of breathwork”.

This book both promises and delivers. ❖ Code: 330430 ❖ Non-Member Price: £13.88 ❖ Member Price: £12.50

I think a lot of us need a book like this. Our emotions and feelings are so blocked and held down in different parts of the body, and we can’t release them by thinking it through or consciously emoting. This author is trained in Rolfing but we are also finding out more and more right now about embodiment and there are many other insights on all sorts of subjects contained in this book. It’s large-format, so it feels like a workbook and there are also more than fifty self-exploration exercises, plus diagrams and drawings. There are links to audio and video instructions. There are also great endorsements from professors, practitioners and medical specialists. The book awakens us to an awareness of the personal mandala formed by our body and its movements, to make us conscious of that body and thus make us more humane beings.

288pp, 254 x 203 mm, Paperback, 2024, RRP £18.99

❖ Code: 330406 ❖ Non-Member Price: £13.32 ❖ Member Price: £11.99

❖ Code: 330407 ❖ Non-Member Price: £8.87 ❖ Member Price: £7.99

We have already had success with The Five Tibetans, which is one of the bestselling esoteric books of recent decades, but the origins of the exercises are still shrouded in obscurity. In this specialist but fascinating new book, occult authority and prolific author John Michael Greer looks into the origins of the text amid the history of early 20th century American alternative thought, based around the city of Los Angeles. He looks at where the postures came from and why they were attributed to a distant and obscure culture. He also includes the original text of the short book or pamphlet that first included the rituals, which is fascinating and illuminating in itself. Sometimes the tour around Los Angeles occultism gets almost too detailed but this book is still a cut above most of the bland and obvious stuff out there.

166pp, 228 x 152 mm, Paperback, 2023, RRP £16.99

❖ Code: 330451 ❖ Non-Member Price: £16.65 ❖ Member Price: £14.99

YOGA AND THE FIVE ELEMENTS

by Nicole Goott

ENERGETIC ANATOMY MADE EASY

by Laurel Stuart

208pp, 216 x 140 mm, Paperback, 2023, RRP £15.99

216pp, 216 x 140 mm, Paperback, 2023, RRP £15.99

This compelling and fascinating book brings us a fresh look at ancient wisdom and how it can help us in our search for a more joyful and balanced life. Focusing on the five elements of Nature: earth, water, air, fire, and space, the author guides us through how each of these elements can help us answer three central questions - what is the nature of our reality; what does it mean to be human, and how do we each live with greater joy, fulfilment, and peace? Using a series of practices in each chapter, she brings to life the concepts with very accessible daily exercises, while exploring the Indian philosophy that provides a comprehensive understanding of the human being, from its conception of the mind to the nature of the soul. This is a well-written, fascinating book that will appeal to both yoga practitioners and people with no previous experience in it. ❖ Code: 330464 ❖ Non-Member Price: £12.21 ❖ Member Price: £10.99

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This book has been heartily recommended by a host of eminent yoga teachers who agree that it will suit both beginners and more experienced practitioners who want to revisit this most important yoga technique. The author is a scientist and yoga practitioner who has studied for decades in the traditions of T. Krishnamacharya and T.K.V. Desikachar, so he has a broad and experienced view of the process. He has distilled his knowledge neatly into a concise handbook which includes advice, instructions, illustrations and exercises backed up by encouragement and inspirational anecdotes.

He promises that with just 10 minutes of our time per day we can improve our breathwork and build towards enjoying a more open, upright posture, speaking more confidently and having a deeper sense of well-being.

While this book was written with yoga students in mind, it is a fascinating read for us all. It’s both a guide book and an analysis of the relationship between the chakras of 20th century yoga and Traditional Chinese Medicine, so we not only learn about techniques to use to promote our health, but also enjoy a study of Western yogic traditions and Taoist wisdom. Each chapter looks at a specific chakra, and contains yoga practices, techniques to stimulate acupoints using massage and sound, affirmations to use and also recipes to show us how to physically feed both the energetic and physical bodies. The chakras addressed are the Root, the Sacral, the Solar Plexus, the Heart, the Throat, the Brow and the Crown, plus there are 3 yoga glossaries to help us with postures and terms. ❖ Code: 330412 ❖ Non-Member Price: £12.21 ❖ Member Price: £10.99

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HOW NOT TO AGE by Michael Greger

©Pan Macmillan 2023

I

nstead of our current, piecemeal approach of focusing on individual degenerative diseases, what about slowing down the ageing process itself?

I remember as a nerdy kid I wanted to cure cancer when I grew up. Even if all forms of cancer were eliminated, the average life expectancy in the United States would only go up about three years. Why? Because dodging cancer would just mean delaying death from something like a heart attack or stroke.

If one age-related ailment doesn’t get us, another will. Rather than playing “whack-a-mole” by tackling each disease separately, progress in decelerating ageing could address all these issues simultaneously.

Imagine if there was an intervention that didn’t just reduce your risk of the leading killers but also arthritis, dementia, osteoporosis, Parkinson’s disease, and sensory impairments.

Because such risks tend to double every seven years, even just slowing ageing, such that the average sixty-five-year-old, for example, would have the health profile and disease risk of today’s fiftyeight-year-old, would be expected to cut in half everyone’s risk of death, frailty, and disability.

This is why I wrote How Not to Age. Alive and Well When asked, How long do you wish to live? and offered the choice of 85, 120 or 150 years, or indefinitely, about two-thirds said they’d prefer to live to be eighty-five. But, when the question was reframed as How long do you wish to live in guaranteed mental and physical health?, the most popular answer switched to unlimited life span.

It’s not just how long we live, but how well, embodied in the Greek myth of Tithonus, to whom Zeus granted eternal life, but not eternal youth, so he shriveled with age and began to babble continuously (before eventually transforming into a cicada).

Longevity is indeed a Pyrrhic victory if those additional years are characterized by inexorable decline.

Only about 18 percent of people can be described as undergoing “successful ageing.” Studies have found the prevalence of multimorbidity,

Good Health and Good Ageing the coexistence of multiple chronic diseases, ranges between 55 percent and 98 percent among older individuals. By age eighty-five, more than 90 percent may have at least one disease and, on average, about four diseases. And just like 85 percent of cancer patients tend to overestimate their survival, so, too, do those with other chronic diseases.

Those suffering from heart failure or chronic obstructive lung diseases like emphysema are about three times more likely to die within the subsequent year than they predicted. Ninety-six percent of outpatient dialysis patients thought the odds were in their favour that they’d be alive five years later, but

nearly half were dead in fewer than two years.

This raises the concept of healthspan, the period of life spent in good health, free from chronic disease and disability.

No wonder people are skeptical about longevity interventions as we see our lifespans expand but our healthspans contract. “Everyone wants to live forever,” to paraphrase Jonathan Swift, “but no one wants to grow old.”

In the United States, for example, we’re living longer in sickness, not in health. A twenty-year-old in 1998 could expect to live about fifty-eight more years, while a twenty-year-old in 2006 could look forward to fifty-nine more years. However, the twenty-yearold from the 1990s might live ten of those years with chronic disease, whereas now it’s more like thirteen years. So it feels like one step forward, three steps back. The researchers also noted that we’re living two fewer functional years – that is, years we’re no longer able to perform basic life activities, such as walking a quarter of a mile, standing or sitting for two hours without having to lie down, or standing without special equipment.

In other words, we’re living longer, but we’re living sicker.

That is why this book addresses both lifespan and healthspan. What’s the point of living longer if you can’t enjoy it vibrantly? It is my sincere hope this book adds not just years to your life but life to your years.

HOW NOT TO AGE by Michael Greger

Ageing is a major challenge. It has made me at times anxious and miserable, even though I thought I was fully prepared for the prospect. This book though should be a great help in reminding us of the ways to stay fit, sound and healthy in both mind and body as we grow older. I think this has to be potentially one of the best books on the subject because it’s written by the best-selling author of How Not To Die, which I really liked too. It’s scientifically sound and comprehensive but it’s easy to understand, and the author isn’t trying to push any specific products or regimens. There is praise on the cover from the Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph and from the founder of Whole Foods Market. There are 600 pages of solid guidance here, from constipation to circulation and including the Mediterranean Diet and the Okinawan Diet.

640pp, 243 x 165 mm, Hardback, 2023, RRP £22.00

❖ Code: 330424 ❖ Non-Member Price: £16.65 ❖ Member Price: £14.99

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BOOK REVIEWS – Spiritual Teachings A TIME FOR GRACE by Caroline Myss

Caroline Myss writes New York Times bestsellers but she is also one of our favourites. Her books are serious and never showy, and there’s very little doubt that she’s the real deal, in both her work as a medical intuitive and her current role as an author and teacher. Originally published as Defy Gravity, this book looks into Grace - what it is and how it works. Why does it only visit us sometimes? What is the key to it? She uses her knowledge and deep reading in the great mystics to try and understand the spiritual aspects of healing in all its forms. It is then hoped that all the material will help us readers engage fully with our soul conversation. It sounds audacious but Caroline can get us there and help us break through the barriers placed around us so that we can become stronger, healthier and more fearless.

THE NEW SIRIAN REVELATIONS

by Patricia Cori

Patricia has been writing books for a long time and most of them as I recall are like this, being channelled teachings about our world and its place in the universe. This was published before by North Atlantic Books and I can imagine that the rest are going to be reissued as well. Patricia is a scribe for a group of interdimensional light beings known as the Sirian High Council and these are an exciting set of communications and deeply relevant revelations about what’s really going on here, which I hope will be comforting amidst all the chaos. Her message is very much a positive one, that this is humanity’s final journey to get free from the grip of darkness.

The book also contains some mind-blowing and visionary illustrations.

256pp, 228 x 151 mm, Paperback, 2024, RRP £17.99

256pp, 230 x 152 mm, Paperback, 2023, RRP £14.99

❖ Code: 330440 ❖ Non-Member Price: £12.77 ❖ Member Price: £11.50

THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF ENLIGHTENMENT by David R. Hawkins

CATS: KEEPERS OF THE SPIRIT WORLD by John A. Rush

144pp, 216 x 135 mm, Paperback, 2024, RRP £10.99

208pp, 228 x 152 mm, Paperback, 2023, RRP £14.99

❖ Code: 330459 ❖ Non-Member Price: £10.55 ❖ Member Price: £9.50

If you’re a fan of David Hawkins then you’ll be pleased to see this new book that has been created using transcripts from his workshops and audio programmes. It’s a lovely way to introduce his extraordinary map of consciousness to new readers too; from his research into kinesiology (testing muscle response stimulus) and how this led him to demonstrate that the human body becomes stronger or weaker depending on the person’s mental state, to his creation of the map and all that it can tell us. Chapters include an Introduction to the Map, Transcending the Ego, Gaining Power Over the Success Game, Relief from Human Suffering and Removing the Obstacles to Love amongst others. Plus there is much more to read, from notes on his childhood to his life of science. He had so much to say, it’s worth reading again and again to fully understand all that he is telling us. ❖ Code: 330423 ❖ Non-Member Price: £7.76 ❖ Member Price: £6.99

I remember being fascinated by statues of Egyptian cat and lion goddesses which seem to have a hypnotic power over onlookers.

Human beings have always had close connections with both cats and dogs, but I don’t recall many dog goddesses or any dog worship in many cultures. What is it about cats? This is what is explored in this book.

They prefer darkness and are night-time predators. They don’t seem to need our attention, and these things make us not quite trust them. Yet in addition to their connection to the dark and the shadows, their intelligence, sophisticated physical abilities, and finely tuned senses also led many cultures to view cats as connected to the spirit world. The author examines the spiritual beliefs around cats from Mayan, Aztec, and Native American mythology as well as from ancient India, Babylon, Japan, and Egypt. By the end maybe we are a little bit wiser about them. ❖ Code: 330409 ❖ Non-Member Price: £10.55 ❖ Member Price: £9.50

THE CAT WHO TAUGHT ZEN by James Norbury

Many of us at Cygnus love cats and most of us must love spiritual teachings so what’s not to welcome with this book? It’s large-format, hardback and full of amazing art on every page. The illustrations are in different formats: some are watercolours and some are line drawings, and it’s rich and multifaceted. It’s made for adults but it’s written as a fable, as the cat journeys across the countryside meeting various other animals in the quest for a special place where it can easily find peace and understanding. Of course it would make an excellent gift. I have read it once and I couldn’t say whether its teachings will change my life but it will definitely point the reader strongly in the right direction. And I am virtually certain that it will bring calm and comfort to any reader who is lost and searching for the way.

176pp, 238 x 198 mm, Hardback, 2023, RRP £18.99

❖ Code: 330408 ❖ Non-Member Price: £14.99 ❖ Member Price: £13.50

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SACRED ROSE by Mara Freeman

©Troubador Publishing 2023

S

acred Rose takes you on a journey through history, mystery, stories and meditations to experience the beauty and wisdom of this loveliest of flowers as a timeless expression of love, and ultimately oneness with the divine. The book is designed to open the way for you to have a firsthand experience of the deep and beautiful mysteries of the rose as a way of connecting to your own soul, your essential self. Simple spiritual exercises will enable you to discover how the sacred rose grows within the human heart, unfurling one petal at a time under the life-giving rays of the sun, the illuminating power of divine intelligence. When it begins to open, we awaken to the presence of love, and we see the connectedness of all created beings.

Each chapter will take you on a mystical journey through the ages. You will discover the divine secrets of the rose through myth, religion, sacred art and poetry, including goddesses of the classical world, the medieval visions of Mary, the wisdom of the Sufi mystics, the hidden codes of the Alchemists, ceremonies of nineteenth century magical orders and the poems of modern visionaries, along with rose windows, the Kabbalah, tarot cards and more.

A tradition from the Middle East alludes to a long-forgotten spiritual path known as the Path of the Rose.

Although we know nothing about this mysterious teaching from history, the sacred rose acts as a portal onto a spiritual dimension that we can discover today. We can enter the inner rose garden, a primal paradise whose archetype still resides within the human psyche as an image of lost Eden, a sanctuary from the desert of the world.

Yet to enter the garden requires great courage, the kind that poet T. S. Eliot called “the awful daring of a moment’s surrender which an age of prudence cannot retract”. To open that door, to breach the gates of Eden, is to risk all for love. Like Alice we have to be willing to become very small indeed, by stripping away the usual baggage of the ego, in order to get inside.

Mystery of the Garden The Sufi poets entered the garden on wings. Like the nightingale who fell in love with the rose in Persian legend, they too poured out their deep longing to their Beloved in intoxicated songs of praise and yearning. To the medieval Christian mind, the rose garden became the sanctuary of the heart where the soul, like a bride, awaits the coming of the divine groom and the consummation of their sacred union. The alchemists viewed the rose garden as their laboratory for the Great Work: the gate was narrow, for only those whose lives were purified of all except divine intent could enter.

For the garden is one of the most potent symbols of the self as a place that we constantly seek in our dreams and spiritual longings; a place where the soul can rest and be refreshed by the fountains of spirit while new and delicate seeds may be coaxed into life in the fertile soil of the heart.

When the rose is perceived as divine presence itself, it becomes a symbol of cosmic order and harmony. The vast celestial white rose that is the magnificent final image in Dante’s Paradiso is an infinitely unfurling mandala, shining with the reflected light of God that is “the love that moves the sun and the other stars”.

Yet while we can travel to mystical heights into the heart of the cosmic rose, we can also retrace our steps back into the microcosm – perhaps into a quiet garden on a June evening – and experience what Eliot calls “the moment in the rose-garden” where time and eternity are one.

Each of these teachings offers a unique path on which you can travel to experience the spiritual power and beauty of the rose in its many aspects.

Through entering the hidden wisdom of the sacred rose you’ll be able to create your own inner rose garden – a haven of the heart, a sanctuary of the soul, a timeless place that you can visit over and over again for refreshment of the spirit and peace within the soul.

SACRED ROSE by Mara Freeman

This is a truly mystical book which uses the rose in art and spirituality as a way into the deeper recesses of the soul. The Rose Garden has always been a powerful metaphor and the author explores it fully, quoting from poetry and prose.

There are also lovely colour images, of illuminated texts and ancient tapestries, and of classical statues and tarot cards. Chapter titles include The Alchemical Rose, The Rose Upon the Cross and The Secret Rose of W.B. Yeats.

The author also considers the meaning of that classic 20th century mystical poem group, T.S. Eliot’s Four Quartets. The book goes beyond literary studies and includes profound meditations that will take you to another level.

Overall it’s fantastic value.

216pp, 198 x 129 mm, Paperback, 2023, RRP £12.99

❖ Code: 330450 ❖ Non-Member Price: £11.10 ❖ Member Price: £9.99

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BOOK REVIEWS – Oracles & Tarot

ESSENTIAL OILS ORACLE CARDS by Dennis Moeck

This deck is a bit different because, even though it is quite rightly called an Oracle Deck, each card does actually contain a wealth of information on the plant it’s covering. So there’s no attempt to make the card anonymous and instead if you wanted to choose one at random, you would have to look the other way while you were picking it. Plants covered include most of the favourites - Basil, Ginger, Patchouli and Cedarwood, for example. Every one of course is one that can be made into an essential oil. One side shows an uplifting message and on the other is an affirmation along with a bit of history, information on usage and a few words on the effects. The illustrations are very child-like and not to everyone’s taste but they are very spiritual.

40 cards and 16-page booklet, 2023, RRP £14.99

❖ Code: 330414 ❖ Non-Member Price: £10.55 ❖ Member Price: £9.50

ORACLE OF THE BIRDS by Jeanne Ruland

Birds have a special energy. They have nests that they never wander far from, but they are also able to take flight and ascend to great heights and travel great distances. They are capable of looking transcendently beautiful. This very straightforward deck honours them and takes inspiration from them. There are 46 cards and an illustrated book.

Almost all the cards feature birds, including penguins, flamingos and crows, most of which should be familiar to us. There are also cards featuring the nest, a feather and an egg. There are also mythical birds like the garuda, the phoenix and the ba-soul bird. As well as a beautiful colour image and the name of the bird, the card also includes the main inspirational aspect of that bird and an affirmation based on this.

This is a deck both for divination and affirmation.

46 cards and 112-page booklet, 2023, RRP £19.99

❖ Code: 330441 ❖ Non-Member Price: £13.88 ❖ Member Price: £12.50

THE MOON DUST TAROT by Florance Saul

This classic tarot deck has a close relationship with the author’s previous Moon Dust Dream Dictionary. It’s based on the Rider Waite deck with no variation in the card names. The cards are beautiful and edged with gold and the colour scheme of the images is based around pinks, purples and silvers, as befits a deck based on the moon. And while on that theme, the deck very much leans towards the feminine - not all the characters on the cards are female, but a strong majority are. The images are fuzzy and dream-like and they are done in the photographic collage style. If I have a reservation, it is that the images are slightly too fuzzy, but that does fit in with the dreamy atmosphere around the deck. I would say it’s a deck better suited for spiritual work, rather than divination.

78 cards and 192-page booklet, 2023, RRP £30.00

❖ Code: 330438 ❖ Non-Member Price: £21.10 ❖ Member Price: £18.99

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FIND YOUR LOCAL CYGNUS CAFÉS

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

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

LANCS, Lytham, St Ann’s Simone Qualter & Andy Cowgill 07928 632 976 simonequalter@yahoo.co.uk

OXFORD Norma Hare 01865 849459 norma.or@hotmail.co.uk

LEICS, Nanpantan Cheryl Colpman 07974 100591 cheryl@cherylcolpman.co.uk

OXON, Chalgrove Susan Rose 07880 778555

BEDS, Luton Jenny Martin 01582 415242 jennym4759@yahoo.co.uk

CUMBRIA, Penrith Jackie Lewis 07799 884452 stellapolarisbb@gmail.com

BRISTOL, Bishopston Jane Stott 07788 418 078 janestott070@gmail.com

DERBY/NOTTINGHAM David Steare 01332 661 102 david.steare@ntlworld.com

BUCKS, Milton Keynes Nikki Brown 07972 257 004 nikki-nutrimed@hotmail.co.uk

DEVON, Barnstaple Mrs Viv Easton 01271 375 303 easton866@btinternet.com

CARMARTHEN, Ferryside Dorothy Morris 01267 267652 or 07505 455978 dorothy_morris@hotmail.com

DEVON - Torbay MERSEYSIDE, Liverpool, Janet Devine Woolton 07854 976272 janet_colourworld@hotmail.co.uk Pamela Langley 0151 421 1772 pamelalangley@hotmail.com E AYRSHIRE, Kilmarnock Anita Neilson MERSEYSIDE, Liverpool, 07778 923380 Thornton anitaneilson61@gmail.com Sue Massey 0151 924 6240 E SUSSEX, Bexhill on Sea suemassey60@yahoo.com Carol Sargent 01424 217 630 mail@youniquewellbeing.co.uk MERSEYSIDE, Liverpool, New Ferry, Wirral, Julia Cornelius E SUSSEX, Hove Tel: 07799 960933 Simon 01273 220 159 N LONDON, info@tolcentre.com Enfield/Waltham Abbey Chrissie FIFE, Markinch 07845 019398 / 07935707538 Amy Thomson 07775 877114 heartholistictherapiesbyamy@ N YORKS, Selby Val Turner gmail.com 01757 706693 valdert@btinternet.com ISLE OF WIGHT, Shanklin Kate Stuart N YORKS, Whitby 07957 909 566 Daphne Wright redfox_1@btinternet.com 01947 602 425 daphnewright05@gmail.com

CEREDIGION, Llangrannog 1st Wednesday of every month 2-4 plus 3rd Friday 7-9 pm Amanda Painting 01239 654 699 amandapainting@gmail.com CHESHIRE, Chester Sue Bates 01244 318231 sgcbates@uwclub.net CLEVELAND, Saltburn Kathryn Luczakiewicz 01287 204 400 info@saltburnwellbeingcentre. co.uk CORNWALL, Port Isaac Ann Fanstone 01208 880 300 fanstone@phonecoop.coop CORNWALL, Penzance Anthea Tounsend 01736 719 606

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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 SURREY, Guildford, Shere Linda Sewell 07850 839 472 lindasewell@hotmail.co.uk W SUSSEX, Bosham Jeanine Hanneman 07769 666729 jeaninevh@live.com

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★ NEW WORCESTERSHIRE, Great Malvern Nerodha nerodha25@gmail.com

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

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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 We 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. ❖ 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.

❖ When getting down to 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. ❖ 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.

❖ For meeting support you can contact Vicky Hartley at Cygnus on vicky@ cygnus-books.co.uk

❖ 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 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. ❖ Gradually most groups 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.

Become a Cygnus supporter Cygnus is on a journey of transformation. At its heart is a group of supporters who share our vision. Help us realise the potential of this growing community – join Cygnus today for £25 (UK) and £35 (overseas)

Become a Cygnus Supporter and enjoy: ★ Guaranteed copies of Cygnus Review, four times a year – Carefully selected titles, tried, tested and reviewed just for you ★ Free subscription to Watkins Mind Body Spirit Magazine – delivered with your Cygnus Review ★ Discounted entry to a number of events throughout the year ★ Access to the Cygnus Café network – Meet up with local Cygnus supporters for mutual growth and support

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BOOK REVIEWS – Health INTENTIONAL HEALTH

by Dr. Chiti Parikh

The author is the executive director of the Integrative Health and Wellbeing Programme at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and a clinical professor at Weill Cornell Medical College, so there’s no doubting her expertise.

In this book she is presenting a generous guide to whole-body health that completely integrates traditional Eastern and modern Western healing practices. This approach provides the steps you can take to bring your body into a lasting state of balance and live a longer life with more energy, less pain, and renewed confidence. She advises you on setting a positive health intention and also provides a 28-day health reset plan to jump-start your journey to optimal health. In the end health is not the mere absence of disease but it’s living a life full of energy and manifesting your true potential.

HEALING ADAPTOGENS by Tero Isokauppila and Danielle Ryan Broida

What are Adaptogens? Fundamentally they are super plants and functional mushrooms whose health benefits have been known and used over the centuries to help with energy, stress, mental function, immunity and more.

They include Turmeric and Cacao and around 700 species of fungi but this book focuses on just the top 21. Neatly dividing them into 3 main categories - Defend, Perform, and Restore - the authors then analyse the science behind how they work, including how they interact with our bodies and what they are made of so you can focus on those that have the properties that fit your needs. This enjoyable book also includes advice on getting the best quality adaptogens and has a handy shopping guide. This book was previously in hardback.

256pp, 229 x 152 mm, Paperback, 2024, RRP £14.99

256pp, 229 x 152 mm, Paperback, 2024, RRP £14.99

❖ Code: 330420 ❖ Non-Member Price: £10.55 ❖ Member Price: £9.50

QUANTUM BODY by Deepak Chopra

FOOD AS MEDICINE by Kirsten Hartvig

336pp, 223 x 141 mm, Hardback, 2023, RRP £16.99

240pp, 228 x 152 mm, Paperback, 2023, RRP £19.99

THE ALKALINE LIFE

by Ross Bridgeford

THE EMOTIONAL ROOTS OF CHRONIC ILLNESS by Jerry M. Kantor

❖ Code: 330428 ❖ Non-Member Price: £10.55 ❖ Member Price: £9.50

I think we know and trust Deepak Chopra well enough to be excited when a new book from him is published. Here he collaborates with physicist Jack Tuszynski and endocrinologist Brian Fertig to explore the challenging and exciting world of quantum science, demonstrating how unlocking its secrets can revolutionise how we live and age and ultimately how we might eradicate disease, based around the quantum body. This lack of awareness of the most crucial part of ourselves negatively effects our lives every day. Through a powerful combination of prescriptive exercises and innovative research into the quantum world, this book unveils seven breakthroughs that will revolutionise the future of everyone’s well-being. ❖ Code: 330447 ❖ Non-Member Price: £13.32 ❖ Member Price: £11.99

We all want to avoid degenerative disease and we can help ourselves by moving towards an alkaline, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidantrich diet. The Alkaline Life will provide you with all the tools you need to meet your nutrition goals and feel better in every way. The author begins by providing the science-backed facts behind the alkaline diet, how to do it, and why it works. Then he dives into how the alkaline diet can work for you specifically based on your own individual goals.

Finally, he provides delicious and nutritious alkaline-orientated recipes that will motivate you to stick with this feel-good lifestyle in a practical way. It’s from the author of The Alkaline Reset Cleanse.

336pp, 229 x 152 mm, Paperback, 2024, RRP £15.99

❖ Code: 330403 ❖ Non-Member Price: £12.21 ❖ Member Price: £10.99

Kirsten Hartvig is an acclaimed nutritionist, medical herbalist, and registered naturopath and the author of this marvellous, comprehensive handbook of natural nutrition, which tackles the complicated nature of using food for your health in a clearly laid out and approachable way. The first part of the book goes into detail about nutrition, from the five basic nutrients and calorific values to dietary deficiency and energy. In the second part we learn how foods stimulate the body’s natural self-healing ability, and the role of specific nutrients in treating everyday ailments, alongside advice on diets and dieting, and naturopathic health principles. As I said, it’s comprehensive so you’ll feel confident in trying to use diet and nutrients in helping you deal with a wide variety of issues. ❖ Code: 330416 ❖ Non-Member Price: £18.87 ❖ Member Price: £16.99

As ever with many of these books the subtitle is descriptive and helpful: Homeopathy for Existential Stress. Homeopathy is a bit of a specialist subject, but I think this book is very useful and it’s something that most Cygnus members would be sympathetic to. Existential stress must be at epidemic levels now and these homeopathic interventions strike me as very good routes into working with stress, using more subtle energetic channels. The book explains a lot about homeopathy and puts it into context and it ends up being an invaluable guide to alternative healing modalities in general – the author is a qualified acupuncturist as well as a homeopath. The text is really intriguing and the author discusses some fascinating philosophical issues, as well as providing practical remedies.

224pp, 228 x 152 mm, Paperback, 2023, RRP £18.99

❖ Code: 330411 ❖ Non-Member Price: £13.32 ❖ Member Price: £11.99

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BOOK REVIEWS – Oracle Decks

THE PRIDE OF DRAGONS ORACLE

by Angelo Thomas

Another dragon deck! It’s good though. The author is channelling 44 dragons from the angelic realms and they are illustrated by a fellow Australian Sonja Hedger. There is also a handy small book to go with it.

The cards look like they are drawn in chalk and the images aren’t over-elaborate. However each one does look individual and it feels very easy to pick up their message. There are four suits: the Pride of the Fallen, the Pride of the Earthly, the Pride of the Heavenly and the Pride of the Archangels and then on the back of each card is an image of the Pendragon, which rules over all of them. Each dragon then has its own quality: for example, Silent Muse, Iridium Moon and Gaian Star.

I expect that’s where the oracle message comes through. I like this deck - it doesn’t try too hard or overload you.

44 cards and 18-page booklet, 2023, RRP £16.99

❖ Code: 330444 ❖ Non-Member Price: £12.77 ❖ Member Price: £11.50

MANIFESTING WITH THE FAIRIES

by Karen Kay Call upon the fairies to grant your wishes with this magical oracle from a renowned fairy expert. Karen calls fairies the Earth’s original manifesters, and she shows you how to call upon their kindness to bring forth your deepest desires. The deck consists of 44 cards and a guidebook, which offers many spreads and suggestions for working with the cards. Each one will show the wish a particular fairy is granting, along with affirmations and ways you can manifest this wish, all of which is explained in the guidebook. The fairies come from different traditions around the world and aren’t all the classic fairies of our culture. It’s very much “in the light” and doesn’t show the fairies as very complicated or challenging. As you deepen your connection with the fairies, you’ll discover how to open up to your inner power and strengthen your intuition.

44 cards and 136-page booklet, 2023, RRP £17.99

❖ Code: 330434 ❖ Non-Member Price: £14.43 ❖ Member Price: £12.99

INNER CHILD ORACLE

by Amanda Lynn Aisling

So this isn’t really a neutral divination deck that has no deeper connection with you and is only designed to give an “answer”. Rather it’s very much designed for inner child work, for people who are on that journey or embarking on it, and who would like to add a source of inspiration or mystical guidance to that process. There are 44 numbered cards and the imagery on them is in that photographic collage style, with dreamy images of beautiful places, supernatural beings and mysterious temples. There’s a headline on each card, followed by advice. Thus we have: You Know The Way: Trust Your Intuition On This Journey and It Is Okay To Be Misunderstood: Perception is not always Based on the Truth.

It’s a deck for healing your wounds and supporting further growth.

44 cards and 112-page booklet, 2024, RRP £17.99

❖ Code: 330427 ❖ Non-Member Price: £14.43 ❖ Member Price: £12.99

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BOOK REVIEWS – Divination & Intuition 21 DAYS TO JUMP-START YOUR INTUITION by Sonia Choquette

BENEATH A VEDIC SKY

by William R. Levacy

192pp, 197 x 130 mm, Paperback, 2024, RRP £10.99

416pp, 228 x 152 mm, Paperback, 2023, RRP £16.99

111 ORACLE SPREADS FOR EVERY DAY by Krystal Banner

CRYSTALPEDIA by Athena Perrakis

Here is another book in Hay House’s “21 Days” series that is intended to offer quick and practical introductions to various spiritual traditions and skills. All of them up to now have been taken from earlier ebooks but this material is completely new.

Sonia is a skilled and bestselling author, ideal for this material. Studies have shown it takes just 21 days to establish a new habit so this is how to start. Your intuition is the voice of your authentic Self and developing your intuition allows you to recognise that you are a spiritual being, and to connect with the sacred gift that is your sixth sense. This easy-to-follow guide is packed with intuitive guidance, expert teachings, and practical exercises that will help you to trust your vibes so you can live fully, freely, and joyously. PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 13th ❖ Code: 330402 ❖ Non-Member Price: £7.76 ❖ Member Price: £6.99

The author here has come up with a very good idea. With all the tarot decks and oracle cards we might have in our possession, we can get fixated on the cards themselves and the imagery there, and then never get round to making constructive use of them. With this book, we can get confident about reading our cards and coming up with the right spread for the occasion. The spreads are divided into 5 categories - general, love, career, spiritual and astrology - and thus we can become even more skilled in our choice. The book is most definitely not attached to any particular deck and it’s clearly laid out to make consulting the text a breeze. It’s not a profound book but it’s incredibly useful for anyone into their cards.

PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 6th

In this fascinating and comprehensive guide to Vedic astrology, the author, a practising astrologer, shows us the elements that he has identified over the years as ones we must know to allow an effective consultation. He has distilled this into his Seven Skills, from learning the basics of chart interpretation and synthesising the multiple meanings of a chart, to applying corrective measures to improve the quality of a chart and using companion Vedic systems like Ayurveda to interact with it. As a beginner I found this very helpful, and it makes the rest of the guide more approachable. Vedic astrology is clearly fascinating and revealing, and this book is a great starting point into discovering more about what it can tell us. ❖ Code: 330405 ❖ Non-Member Price: £12.77 ❖ Member Price: £11.50

There have been a lot of crystal books recently, I must admit. Because this one is published by Hay House it is priced for the UK market so it will be extremely good value. If you don’t already have a glossy, full-colour, inspiring crystal reference book, I would thoroughly recommend this one. The author is the founder and CEO of Sage Goddess, the world’s largest source of sacred tools and metaphysical education, so she is an absolute go-to authority on this. She started her quest for knowledge when she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and wanted to heal herself the best she could. Stones I think are ideal companions in troubling times because they are solid things that you pick up but also they work on light and energy - you can see this in the way that they refract and reflect the sun’s rays.

368pp, 255 x 204 mm, Paperback, 2023, RRP £19.99

160pp, 216 x 135 mm, Paperback, 2024, RRP £11.99

❖ Code: 330410 ❖ Non-Member Price: £13.88 ❖ Member Price: £12.50

HEALING BURNOUT WITH ASTROLOGY AND TAROT

by Jackie Hope

TAROT LIFE LESSONS

by Julia Gordon-Bramer

This book is a unique fusion of tarot and astrology, centred around the decan system within astrology – in which signs are split into three detailed sections, based on degrees – and introducing the concept of tarot correspondences, which can be used alongside the decan system in a detailed journey of reflection over the course of a year. It’s well written and approachable, and every chapter (centred round one decan) includes background and information plus exercises, affirmations, rituals and suggestions on when to turn to oracle or tarot cards for a deeper push.

We don’t normally include tarot books in Cygnus but I thought this book was a deserving exception to the rule. Every major arcana card has a chapter to itself and then every chapter is a story. The author is a professional reader and she has been doing it for decades, so she has a rich store of personal accounts to draw on. It’s refreshing because it feels like you learn about the cards without trying – and regular tarot books can be a bit intimidating. There are also boxes at the end of every chapter on separate subjects like where to do a reading and where to keep your cards; in this way you can see how readings work in real life and how abstract wisdom gets involved with living breathing people.

312pp, 216 x 135 mm, Paperback, 2024, RRP £15.99

224pp, 229 x 152 mm, Paperback, 2024, RRP £16.99

❖ Code: 330401 ❖ Non-Member Price: £8.87 ❖ Member Price: £7.99

❖ Code: 330421 ❖ Non-Member Price: £12.21 ❖ Member Price: £10.99

❖ Code: 330457 ❖ Non-Member Price: £12.77 ❖ Member Price: £11.50

ORDER & CUSTOMER SERVICE LINE ❖ Phone: 020 7859 4375 ❖ Website: www.cygnusreview.com ❖ Twitter @CygnusBooks ❖ Facebook @cygnusbookclub ❖ Instagram @cygnusbooks

15

FROM THE CYGNUS ARCHIVES by Ann Napier

L

ike you, we have been asking ourselves again and again, “Why has our Land, whose very stones breathe sacredness, been allowed to become the scene of such mindless, needless carnage, an animal holocaust?” Day after day, year after year, under our very noses almost, and certainly with our passive consent, millions of animals suffer and are needlessly slaughtered, for no better reason than to provide a so-called “food” which in fact, far from nourishing us, may do all kinds of damage not only to our bodies but also to our souls, as the sages have been telling us since time immemorial.

And why do we stop there, with the plight of animals? Human beings are often every bit as cruel and inhumane to each other, not to mention our selfish pillaging of the Earth itself.

Yes, in recent months, and in fact many times throughout our lives, we have explored pits of dark despair.

What’s a human being to do, to stem this relentless tide of ruin? Nothing seemed, nor seems, enough. The other day though, our brains wrung out like squeezed lemons with all this fretting, this little rhyme emerged like a ray of sunshine from behind the clouds, and we hope it will give you the consolation and courage it gave us.

The Impossible Dream Wherever Light has shone most brightly, shadows gather there most tightly.

Yet…wherever Light has been, It shall surely be again, and shadows that may come between, have no more substance than a dream whose darkness fades when we awake and from it our belief do take.

So let us not make darkness stronger by believing in its power to conquer, but rather choose to fix our sight unwaveringly upon the Light, to it alone our service giving, before no other Master bowing.

MAPS OF CONSCIOUSNESS by Ralph Metzner

Ralph Metzner was an undoubted pioneer of the consciousness explosion of the mid-twentieth century. He worked at Harvard with psychedelic pioneers Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert (later Ram Dass) and wrote this classic in 1971, which is republished here with all its original diagrams. At the time people’s minds were being opened up and they were full of enthusiasm to explore new ways of continuing their journeys and Metzner describes in some detail and with deep knowledge six disciplines available to help with this: I Ching, Tantra, Tarot, Alchemy, Astrology and Actualism. The latter is the only discipline that isn’t well-known today. This is a great primer on these fields from one of the great minds and you can pick up on the optimism of the time when it was first published.

320pp, 228 x 151 mm, Paperback, 2023, RRP £25.00

❖ Code: 330435 ❖ Non-Member Price: £17.76 ❖ Member Price: £15.99

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Thus we hasten much the day when Light shall gain the Victory!

But…how do we know that beliefs like these are not mere escapism or wishful thinking? These same doubts were explored, and brilliantly resolved, in The Man of La Mancha, that wonderful 1970s musical about Don Quixote.

In an age of base materialism and cruelty, Don Quixote dedicated himself to upholding the outmoded ideals of chivalry, loving-kindness and courtly love. Despite all attempts to dissuade him from his faith, he held onto a vision of the soul, the wonder and the magic in every person, thing and circumstance…and, for his pains, was considered mad and a laughing stock, as he doddered along with his “golden helmet” that was really only a brass shaving bowl, and his “shining sword” that was really only a rusty old skewer.

“Surely”, said his fellows, “to believe in such ideals in a world like ours is just escapism and selfdelusion? For in reality is not life merely ‘nasty, brutish and short’?”

“No!” said Don Quixote, “for to believe reality is merely ‘how things appear to be’ is to set foot on a road that can only lead downward, into cynicism, despair and misery. And that is no help to anyone! Reality is far more. It is not ‘how things appear to be’, but rather, ‘how things should be’.” And by his actions, Don Quixote proved that to choose to believe in things as they should be, is not madness or escapism at all, but the highest act of sanity and realism.

And if life does not appear to have granted us a shining sword to fight with, but only a rusty old skewer like the one the Man in La Mancha had… right then! The rusty old skewer will do. And if the darkness appears to knock us down because all we’ve got to protect our heads is a dented old shaving bowl…right then! We’ll just get up again.

Dear friends, let us never lose courage, and never give in. Love will win, for only Love is real.

ORDER & CUSTOMER SERVICE LINE ❖ Phone: 020 7859 4375 ❖ Website: www.cygnusreview.com ❖ Twitter @CygnusBooks ❖ Facebook @cygnusbookclub ❖ Instagram @cygnusbooks

BOOK REVIEWS – Healing SELF-HEALING WITH REIKI

by Penelope Quest

SOUND HEALING by Farzana Ali

288pp, 198 x 126 mm, Paperback, 2024, RRP £12.99

256pp, 216 x 135 mm, Paperback, 2024, RRP £12.99

This book was first published more than 10 years ago and has returned in an elegant new edition. It’s from Piatkus, which is now a mainstream publisher, so it isn’t cutting edge but would be great for anyone new to this path. It includes new ways of using Reiki to heal the whole person, from the subtle energies of the aura to the physical body, for a healthier and more balanced life and unique methods of using Reiki more creatively for spiritual development and self-understanding. There are also some exclusive special meditations. The author does make Reiki look like an amazing tool for healing mind, body and spirit in many aspects.

As I said, it might be a bit introductory for some of us, but it made me, a non-practitioner, into an interested fan. ❖ Code: 330453 ❖ Non-Member Price: £11.10 ❖ Member Price: £9.99

This is an interesting read. We all know how certain sounds are soothing, but not why. Here Farzana Ali delves into the science of sound and shows us the amazing therapeutic benefits it has, especially in combating stress and anxiety.

Thus we learn about the effect of sound on the brain, the different types of sounds and how they work, plus what connects sound healing to mindfulness and being in nature.

With practical tips and activities that we can use in our daily lives, and helpful information on what other techniques to use alongside sound healing, this book really makes it easy to tune into and use this soothing form of healing. It includes a link to a free digital sound recording that we can use as a basis for their own practices at home, so in this regard it will be helpful to have a smartphone or a computer. ❖ Code: 330456 ❖ Non-Member Price: £9.44 ❖ Member Price: £8.50

AURA ALCHEMY

by Amy Leigh Mercree

WHY CAN’T WE BE MORE LIKE TREES? by Judith Polich

280pp, 216 x 135 mm, Paperback, 2024, RRP £13.99

192pp, 229 x 152 mm, Paperback, 2023, RRP £14.00

Amy Leigh Mercree is a gifted healer, spiritual teacher and medical intuitive, and in her spare time she is also a prolific author. Here she looks at auras, fusing her knowledge of particle physics and spirituality in her examination into the truth behind these electromagnetic fields.

We learn about energy fields, quantum mechanics in action and how to “see” auras with her observational techniques, then how to understand what we see with her broad investigation of colour meanings. There are also chapters on cleansing auras, shamanic aura work and medical intuitive aura healing. It’s both a fascinating guide and a useful tool to help us manifest our best life. PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 13th ❖ Code: 330404 ❖ Non-Member Price: £9.98 ❖ Member Price: £8.99

HEALING TRAUMA THROUGH FAMILY CONSTELLATIONS AND SOMATIC EXPERIENCING by Efu Nyaki

Peter Levine started developing Somatic Experiencing 50 years ago and his work has gone from strength to strength.

Somatic body work in various forms is now everywhere. Peter wrote the foreword to this book. Efu tells the story of the Snail Clan in Tanzania where she comes from and how that people would use snails to heal wounds. She developed that wisdom along with other strands – especially the two mentioned in the book’s title – to help women in her community to heal trauma, and she now does the same work in Brazil. This is her story and it includes accounts from around the world of healing and recovery. It also guides us with practical exercises for healing ourselves.

192pp, 229 x 152 mm, Paperback, 2024, RRP £14.99

❖ Code: 330422 ❖ Non-Member Price: £10.55 ❖ Member Price: £9.50

In her subtitle, the author calls trees “The ancient masters of cooperation, kindness and healing”. They can be our teachers and wayshowers and this is what this book is all about. It has a great endorsement from shamanic teacher Sandra Ingerman, who calls the book “remarkable” and underlines how beautifully written it is.

Judith is at pains to stress that we humans, like trees, thrive when we are connected and cooperating together, and she goes on to look at the science behind altruism and its benefits. Our behaviours and tendencies are becoming greener, and this book carries a plea for us to push even further and become more like trees. As Cygnus readers we are strong on the instinct to connect, but we can always do a better job of it. ❖ Code: 330463 ❖ Non-Member Price: £9.98 ❖ Member Price: £8.99

THE GIFT OF THE NIGHT

by Philip Carr-Gomm

We know Philip best as the former head of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, but he is also a very experienced psychotherapist. There are a lot of books out there now about sleep, because it’s an area of such stress and anxiety, but he is able to combine his knowledge of sleep science and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) with rich techniques drawn from spiritual traditions and even insights from the emerging field of psychedelic therapy. More than one third of adults suffer from insomnia or some other kind of sleep disorder, and here he presents a fast and easy six-step approach for addressing these problems. He recommends 13 natural ways we can drift into a deep sleep, including hypnotherapy, Yoga Nidra, sophrology and progressive muscle relaxation, and provides scripts for 5 of these techniques.

192pp, 228 x 152 mm, Paperback, 2023, RRP £14.99

❖ Code: 330417 ❖ Non-Member Price: £10.55 ❖ Member Price: £9.50

ORDER & CUSTOMER SERVICE LINE ❖ Phone: 020 7859 4375 ❖ Website: www.cygnusreview.com ❖ Twitter @CygnusBooks ❖ Facebook @cygnusbookclub ❖ Instagram @cygnusbooks

17

BOOK REVIEWS – Traditional Beliefs QUEENS OF THE WILD

by Ronald Hutton

HOW TO TRAIN A HAPPY MIND

by Scott Snibbe

256pp, 198 x 128 mm, Paperback, 2023, RRP £10.99

248pp, 216 x 135 mm, Paperback, 2024, RRP £14.99

HANDBOOK FOR HARD TIMES

by Gelong Thubten

INTUWITCHIN by Mia Magik

I can thoroughly recommend this book. It looks great - it’s a hardback with gold leaf on the cover. It’s endorsed by Annie Lennox and Ruby Wax. The author is a Tibetan Buddhist monk but he was born in the UK so you feel he is familiar with “the Western experience”. The most interesting thing is that he is deeply immersed in Tibetan practice but he has also suffered from profound depression and anxiety, which didn’t just end when he was ordained. In fact he describes an attack that he had when he had just started a four-year meditation retreat on a remote Scottish island. So you feel that he knows what he is talking about when he offers teaching on challenging mental states, and that the meditations and techniques he offers in this book are going to be a great help if we suffer from depression or anxiety.

Intuwitchin is full of positive bright energy and it’s very motivating. It is written for younger people or at least the younger at heart so be prepared for that. As you might guess, it very much focuses on intuition, which for her is the power that takes you past the superficial and the everyday and that puts you in touch with something magical. It contains many rituals, magical practices, journalling prompts etc that will help you on your way. None of it is new or surprising – there is material about tarot, astrology and numerology for example – but I think it would be ideal for a beginner or even someone more experienced who is feeling a bit jaded. I like it: the author is well-versed in modern concepts like being wounded and manifestation, but she writes well and includes plenty of illustrative stories.

224pp, 223 x 141 mm, Hardback, 2023, RRP £16.99

264pp, 229 x 152 mm, Paperback, 2024, RRP £13.99

THE FIRST ALCHEMISTS

by Tobias Churton

ENTER THE JOURNEY

by Rosanna Ienco

This is a fascinating book which sheds an analytic light on various goddesses and mythical figures in the mythology of these islands. Professor Hutton is an ally of pagan beliefs but here he actually does a lot of debunking. However the text is fascinating and what he finds out serves as a corrective to a lot of possibly lazy attitudes people have when it comes to apparent folklore. He looks at four stalwarts of our mythological pantheon: Mother Earth, the Fairy Queen, the Lady of the Night and the Cailleach.

He looks at their origins in our culture and – instead of underlining their genesis as pre-Christian figures that survived the Christian takeover – he finds that they actually emerged in later years, after the advent of Christianity. ❖ Code: 330448 ❖ Non-Member Price: £9.44 ❖ Member Price: £8.50

❖ Code: 330419 ❖ Non-Member Price: £14.43 ❖ Member Price: £12.99

Tobias Churton is a great author for highly readable yet well-researched accounts of historical figures involved in spiritual work or of esoteric movements or moments in history. In his latest book he describes the early alchemists, usually operating in the classical world, like Zosimos of Panopolis and Theosebeia, who both lived in Egypt.

It’s serious and not full of knockabout anecdotes, but in learning about this phase of history, we learn more about esoteric inquiry and the foundations of both chemistry and the occult. We also learn a lot in a conversational way about a subject that can be quite challenging. The secrecy that surrounded their work helped give the lustre or mystery to what’s known as The Royal Art. 320pp, 229 x 152 mm, Paperback, 2024, RRP £25.00

❖ Code: 330415 ❖ Non-Member Price: £17.76 ❖ Member Price: £15.99

18

Scott Snibbe perfectly describes his book as A Path for Buddhist Experts Adapted for Sceptical Beginners. A Buddhist himself, he has taken elements of the ancient path to enlightenment and presented only those that modern science and psychology can back up, thus shedding those pieces of the path that those new to both Buddhism and meditation may find difficult to accept or understand. However, what remains is still thoughtful and provides in-depth context as he takes us through his 8 stage programme designed to help us build positive mental habits and train the mind towards more helpful thought patterns. Each stage includes guided visualisations and other tools needed to reach the best version of ourselves by letting go of the problems that hold us back. ❖ Code: 330425 ❖ Non-Member Price: £10.55 ❖ Member Price: £9.50

❖ Code: 330429 ❖ Non-Member Price: £9.98 ❖ Member Price: £8.99

Shamanism is a spiritual path that lends itself to great stories. Here we have a narrative account of Rosanna’s adventures all around the world as she tries to make her way into the light and towards selfrealisation. Two of the great writers in contemporary shamanism – Sandra Ingerman and Denise Linn – endorse this book, and I think again this indicates the sort of book this is. It’s an optimistic book that will make the reader positive about finding meaning in life and about their own hero’s journey. It’s full of mysterious hidden teachers and strange encounters as she travels from Arizona to the Arctic via Australia. What’s innovative about this book is that she also offers visualisations based in some of these places so that we too – albeit remotely – can profit from their power.

240pp, 214 x 140 mm, Paperback, 2023, RRP £15.99

❖ Code: 330413 ❖ Non-Member Price: £12.21 ❖ Member Price: £10.99

ORDER & CUSTOMER SERVICE LINE ❖ Phone: 020 7859 4375 ❖ Website: www.cygnusreview.com ❖ Twitter @CygnusBooks ❖ Facebook @cygnusbookclub ❖ Instagram @cygnusbooks

THE ROOTED WOMAN by Sharon Blackie

THE ROOTED WOMAN ORACLE

by Sharon Blackie

The Power of the Feminine Peregrina O mother of the sea lend me a wave that is strong and true to carry me from this Age which unbinds me.

This is very exciting - a deck by the bestselling author of Hagitude, When Women Rose Rooted and The Enchanted Life. As with her books, it will honour the deeper power of the hidden feminine and connect people (especially women) with their mythological heritage and their spiritual side. Sharon is great because she is intelligent, academic and a great writer but she is also aware of Spirit and how it can support us and keep us upright, even if it means different things to different people.

There are 53 cards and again a lovely small book to accompany the deck. The images are rich and they trigger our deeper selves. I can imagine it would be indispensable for the heroine’s journey, both as an oracle guiding the way and a set of inspiring images that will work on the mythic level.

53 cards and 160-page booklet, 2024, RRP £19.99

❖ Code: 330449 ❖ Non-Member Price: £15.44 ❖ Member Price: £13.99

I do not need a ship, mother, but make it a buoyant swell to bear me up and float me on the sea’s dreaming then beach me on some lighter shore.

When I land there, mother, give me warp and weft again, and an urchin quill to remind me how the prettiest barb can lodge under your skin and leave you undone.

Only lend me a loom and I will take up the threads of this unraveled life.

I will weave a braid from three strands of seaweed I will wind it three times around my finger I will dig my salt-encrusted hands into the soil and wed myself to the thirsty brown roots of a new beginning.

SHARON BLACKIE

ORDER & CUSTOMER SERVICE LINE ❖ Phone: 020 7859 4375 ❖ Website: www.cygnusreview.com ❖ Twitter @CygnusBooks ❖ Facebook @cygnusbookclub ❖ Instagram @cygnusbooks

19

BOOK REVIEWS – Spirituality THE PSYCHIC PSYCHOLOGIST

by Amanda Charles

SELF-AWARENESS AND MEDITATION

by Charles Attfield

304pp, 229 x 152 mm, Paperback, 2024, RRP £14.99

304pp, 216 x 140 mm, Paperback, 2023, RRP £19.99

LIFE IS A SONG OF LOVE

by Sally Patton

LOVE UNLEASHED

by Nicola Amadora

416pp, 313 x 246 mm, Paperback, 2023, RRP £22.99

488pp, 216 x 140 mm, Paperback, 2023, RRP £27.99

MEETING THE MOMENT WITH KINDNESS by Sue Schneider

SHIVA’S HOLOGRAM

by Padma Aon Prakasha

184pp, 216 x 140 mm, Paperback, 2023, RRP £13.99

520pp, 216 x 140 mm, Paperback, 2023, RRP £24.99

I think this book will have great appeal to Cygnus readers as it’s written by an author with strength in both fields – the psychic and the psychological. Amanda was a fully chartered psychologist but she kept getting accurate intuitions and messages from the other side. She went on a course with renowned medium and author Gordon Smith, in a sense to rid herself of these psychic tendencies but instead she was his star pupil and she finally relaxed and accepted her gift. He has continued to endorse and support her and he has written a preface to this book. So it’s a psychologically sound manual for becoming who you are supposed to be and living a more realised life by someone who is aware of the metaphysical aspects of existence, works with the energy body and does ancestor work. ❖ Code: 330446 ❖ Non-Member Price: £10.55 ❖ Member Price: £9.50

Patton didn’t start to write this book until she was 68 and had already been on a long, thoughtful spiritual journey described in this book with intensity, love and passion. Her narrative is centred around her analysis of the divisions caused by the domination of the patriarchy for so many years; she believes that this domination has caused divisions everywhere, not just between men and women, and that by acknowledging this, we can start to heal them and journey towards wholeness. She draws upon channelled non-dual teachings from Yeshua and Mother Mary, combined with a variety of teachings from many faith traditions and spiritual paths. The resulting book is both joyful and optimistic. ❖ Code: 330431 ❖ Non-Member Price: £15.54 ❖ Member Price: £13.99

Sue Schneider is a medical anthropologist, integrative health coach and certified mindfulness instructor, and brings this wealth of knowledge and experience to this thoughtful new look at mindfulness in everyday life (and how to achieve it!).

While drawing on neuroscience, psychology, contemplative studies and compassion research to bring as much heft to her narrative, she also shares her personal experiences, classic Buddhist teachings, insights from her students and even the wisdom of her son to make it all the more relevant to the reader. Chapters include Meeting our Unconscious Habits, Remembering to Pause and Attune and Freeing Our Compassion Energy and at the end of each there are short practices designed to help our awareness. ❖ Code: 330436 ❖ Non-Member Price: £9.98 ❖ Member Price: £8.99

20

The material in here is profound and it describes meditation within the Indian tradition. The subtitle calls it an “advanced guide” and it won’t be that interesting to beginners or people who just do mindfulness. It’s a journey from illusion to truth, in a search to find the Self, which is our true nature. One of the chapters is about the Chakras, which are an important facilitator for the spiritual journey, and another discusses the Kundalini, which again is an important esoteric aspect of our bodies. There is a chapter about dreams, which is quite unusual for a book on deep meditation. The book is serious but there is a helpful glossary of terms and a comprehensive bibliography, so I feel that any experienced meditators who want to work with the book will be rewarded or at least educated. ❖ Code: 330452 ❖ Non-Member Price: £13.88 ❖ Member Price: £12.50

“I know firsthand that love’s presence does turn lives around, and what is possible for our planet through its brilliance. Love is an answer for hungry people and a world on the edge.” Nicola Amadora has written this book with passion, purpose and above all love. It’s an epic, but it’s so authentic, powerful and at times moving, that you want to keep reading it, jumping ahead from chapter to chapter to see what’s next, what stories, wise words of wisdom and pertinent and practical suggestions are coming. Amadora started from such absolutely dreadful beginnings (she tells us about them) that her ability to be filled with love herself and share it with us is nothing short of a miracle. It’s an expensive book but totally worth it. ❖ Code: 330433 ❖ Non-Member Price: £19.98 ❖ Member Price: £17.99

I worry sometimes that we do some books that are a bit lightweight for the Cygnus membership: this though is not one of them. The subtitle is The Maheshwara Sutra, which is attributed to Shiva and passed on to us around 2200 years ago.

It is a record of the world being created by sound. The different sound keys are supposed to create vibrational shifts in us.

Sound is everything. The book is over 500 pages long and includes all sorts of commentaries and glossaries that involve quantum physics, sacred geometry and varied streams of classical Indian wisdom. I don’t claim to understand one tenth of it, but the author has written many other books on connected subjects and I trust what he says. Books like these can lead to astounding spiritual journeys. ❖ Code: 330465 ❖ Non-Member Price: £17.76 ❖ Member Price: £15.99

ORDER & CUSTOMER SERVICE LINE ❖ Phone: 020 7859 4375 ❖ Website: www.cygnusreview.com ❖ Twitter @CygnusBooks ❖ Facebook @cygnusbookclub ❖ Instagram @cygnusbooks

BOOK REVIEWS – Personal Development MONEY TALKS

by Ellie Austin-Williams

MY LIFE IS ART by Emmanuel Jal

Ellie Austin-Williams is a financial journalist with her own online community which she created to open up the conversation around money, especially from a woman’s perspective. It’s refreshing to find someone actually confronting the stresses and strains of dealing with finances, an area of life so often pushed under the carpet and one a lot of people find difficult to manage.

With this book she is sharing her knowledge and experience across all the aspects of life that are affected by money - work, relationships, family, work/life balance, peer pressure, cultural expectations and the sometimes disastrous effects of not knowing enough to make sensible decisions. It is well-written, comprehensive, reassuring, and empowering in equal measure, so a great gift for anyone you know who is starting on or in the midst of life’s journey.

You may know Emmanuel Jal from the documentary War Child, or from Children in Need. Growing up in Southern Sudan he witnessed atrocities that drove him to become a child soldier, so he has seen and experienced many truly awful things, but in his introduction he tells us that even as these things happened, “...pillars of support were building beneath me. Together they would form a structure of such solidity that even the all-consuming grip of the worst sinking sands would never be able to topple either it or me”. In this book he describes these pillars and reveals the strength and positivity they have given to him and he hopes in turn to us. Each pillar has a name: Meditation, Yearning, Leading, Ideas, Focus, Endurance, Intuition, Sagaciousness, Action, Read, Train, and if you look closely, they explain the title of his book. This is both a powerful and approachable guide to transforming our lives.

192pp, 216 x 135 mm, Paperback, 2024, RRP £12.99

336pp, 237 x 159 mm, Hardback, 2023, RRP £18.99

WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE

by Rob Kendall

THRIVE by Richard Sutton

❖ Code: 330437 ❖ Non-Member Price: £9.44 ❖ Member Price: £8.50

We have featured one of Rob’s books - Blamestorming - before because he has a knack of getting to the nub of a problem.

In this case, he’s highlighting the common issue that many of us have of misunderstanding what someone is saying to us (or vice versa) whether in person, on the phone or by some sort of text communication, and what was a perfectly pleasant conversation switching into a bad-tempered exchange. This book shows us the 4 main types of “bad conversation” and walks us through a series of techniques and case studies to help us both identify the warning signs and have the tools to stop a conversation descending into a row.

❖ Code: 330439 ❖ Non-Member Price: £13.32 ❖ Member Price: £11.99

Richard Sutton has helped some of the world’s most successful athletes - Michael Phelps and Michael Jordan to name a couple - to achieve their full potential, so his track record is impressive. Here he shares his knowledge and the tools he has used when helping these superstars, so we too can thrive. His focus is on resilience which, he argues, is the key to overcoming the many hurdles of modern life, and in this book helps us calculate our own resilience score and then shows us how to improve it. With fascinating stories from the amazing people he has helped, and a host of practical skills and tools that we can easily apply in everyday life, this is an approachable, helpful and uplifting book.

288pp, 234 x 153 mm, Hardback, 2024, RRP £18.99

224pp, 214 x 135 mm, Paperback, 2023, RRP £12.99

❖ Code: 330458 ❖ Non-Member Price: £13.32 ❖ Member Price: £11.99

INFINITE RECEIVING

by Suzy Ashworth

SOBERISH by Kayla Lyons

When you get a review from Kyle Gray, you know you have to pick up the book: “When I got the news that Suzy Ashworth was finally writing this book, I was so excited for the world! …This book is a must for anyone who’s ready to live a full and whole life filled with prosperity in all forms.” Ashworth has a fresh and invigorating approach to helping us to receive all the wealth we desire, whether it’s financial or emotional, and her vision is that, using her Four Pillars, she’ll help us tap into and energetically align with a frequency that unlocks a whole new world of joy, abundance, and ultimately – perhaps most importantly – a whole new level of peace.

PUBLISHED FEBRUARY 6th

The (mis) use of alcohol and how to have a positive relationship with it have been re-examined by the younger generation and they have found new ways to deal with alcohol and drug-related issues that stretch well beyond the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. Kayla Lyons is part of this generation and in this book she shares some of these new ways with us. It’s an inclusive and non-judgemental guide that provides scientifically backed tools that help to create a relationship with alcohol that works for each of us individually, from cold exposure therapy to sound healing and beyond. She explores the roots of drinking behaviours and triggers, advises how to overcome backsliding behaviours, and gives tips and advice on real-life scenarios.

272pp, 216 x 135 mm, Paperback, 2024, RRP £12.99

336pp, 215 x 136 mm, Paperback, 2023, RRP £12.99

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