When the Maestros and his entire extended family are killed in an inter-dimensional fight, the only part of the Wizard King’s bloodline remains with a young man named Will who was banished to Earth with his mother, Margaret.
Now as Will takes the throne, his enemies, and his father’s enemies, are on the move. Will he be able to retain power or, in these uncertain times, his life? We shall see.
The artwork of this series is amazing. From the colors to the style, each page has eye-catching illustrations. Well done, Steve Skroce!
This graphic novel is rated Mature and it is easy to see why. There’s nudity, graphic violence, and some depictions of torture. So, librarians, please categorize it correctly.
Despite its mature, and occasionally disturbing, elements, I enjoyed the story in this comic quite a lot. It is a fantasy-laden coming-of-age tale that asks the question: does absolute power corrupt absolutely?
Highly recommended for mature comic book readers. Thanks for reading!
“The goal of this book is to teach skills that underlie the spiritual practices of a variety of traditions, from the ceremonial to the shamanic. But acquiring the ‘gifts of the spirit’ cannot be an end in itself. They have to be used.” pgs xv-xvi
Author Diana Paxson pulls from a variety of spiritual traditions in an effort to teach readers the basics of going into trance.
The first few chapters are about how to prepare yourself, set up cues for trance work, and to do the exercises “safely” which include setting up wards and how to come back out of trance.
“All of the senses can provide cues for psychic or magical work. By repetition, we condition ourselves to move into a particular state when we experience a specific stimulus.” pg 64
The next chapters delve into what practitioners may find once they’re in trance and how to navigate this other state of consciousness. This includes how one might find guides, how to behave, and how to deal with the various entities that may be encountered.
The final parts of the book tackle the difficult topic of spiritual emergencies and give some suggestions for group trance work.
Overall, this book covers a wide variety of topics that spiritual practitioners may need when they begin the practice of going into trance. In that way, it could be an invaluable addition to your library.
On the other hand, I didn’t agree with all of the advice given. It didn’t make sense with my experience of the trance work I’ve completed and I think it might scare beginners away.
The particular advice that I’m referring to is the idea that if you come out of trance too fast that you might leave parts of your soul behind, which you will then need to retrieve before you are able to feel like yourself again.
I understand, from the book, that soul retrieval is a common enough shamanic practice. Still, I feel like we are doing beginners a disservice to plant in their minds the idea that this is something that could happen.
Why not instead say it is best to come out of trance slowly and leave it at that? Anyone who falls asleep knows that it is more pleasant to wake up slowly than to be shaken to consciousness. Do we leave portions of ourselves behind when we’re jolted awake by an alarm clock? I say no.
In addition, when Paxson talks about the kinds of entities one may encounter in trance, including animal guides or even gods, she gives them all of the foibles that go along with being a part of the human race. In the section about developing a relationship with a god or goddess, she talks about how practitioners may have to deal with divine jealousy.
I think it might be better to say, you bring your entire self with you when you go into trance. Your strengths and failings are on full display in your interactions with what or who you find there. Again, this avoids planting any negative expectations for practitioners while still providing ample warning.
Recommended with reservations for spiritual seekers who are looking to add trance work to their repertoire.
Dr. Jonn Mumford takes the complex topic of tantra and attempts to translate it from its Eastern roots for the Western mind. He is somewhat successful, but gets bogged down in the history of tantra coming to the west as well as the etymology of tantric terms.
“The Tantrist seeks freedom (Moksha) through life (sensation, sentient, sensual) and not through escape (abstinence, abstaining, absence), using the body as an instrument of evolution.” pg 47
I think when Westerners consider tantra, they generally think about exotic sexual positions. This book tries to show that tantra is so much more than that.
Through the recognition of the divine in your partner, tantra can be a method of reaching divine states of being. I think it is more of a mindset than any particular exercise.
“The key secret of the Western tradition lies in the demonstration that the sexual function has deeper implications than procreation.” pg 30
Dr. Mumford provides a few rituals in this book so that readers can choose to practice some of his interpretations of tantra if they choose. He also includes illustrations of various chakras in order to encourage meditation upon the complex symbolism they contain. Through these practices, he says, one can begin to investigate the mystery that is tantra and the self.
“Although the major topic of this book has been sex magic and Tantric sexual practices, it must not be assumed that the whole of Tantra is concerned with these aspects. Tantra is the life science concerned with producing true individuals.” pg 122
I’m dubious about the efficacy of some of the exercises described in this book, like the practice of sucking ones bodily fluids back into oneself after expulsion. Maybe some of these things were meant to be metaphorical rather than literal? Who’s to say…
If you don’t allow yourself to be caught up in the strange (at least to my mind) details, there is some wisdom to be found in these pages. But the biggest problem of this book is that it tries to tackle too much.
It begins to do a comparison of witchcraft to tantra, which I feel could fill an entire book on its own. It also touches on similarities between tantra and western sex magic. Neither of these topics receive a thorough treatment, which was rather disappointing.
He also does a brief history of tantra coming to the west which I felt was over-simplified. History buffs might find that section off-putting.
However, if you’re looking for a brief introduction to tantra written for a Western audience, this might be a good place to start.
