The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

I recently finished The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet for a second time and was again impressed by the author’s character building.

A small criticism I have is the lack of adventure in the tale. Becky Chambers does such a great job creating characters the reader cares about, but then does so little with them.

Still recommended for readers who enjoy light-hearted science fiction.

Review from first read-through:
This is a charming, character driven, space opera-ish, science fiction novel about a crew, made of a bunch of different species, who man a ship that drills holes in space.

The focus of this story is on the relationships of the crew, their histories, and a big job that is going to take them to a distant part of space where very few have gone.

At first, I was concerned this book was going to be too heavy on the technology or psychics, but, have no fear readers, very little technical thinking is required in The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet, which, after a few I’ve read lately, was just what I was looking for.

I loved the different species that Chambers imagined for this universe. From lizard-type aliens to a giant caterpillar with an otter head to a simian creature who shaves his blue fur into concentric shapes, there’s a lot of characters to keep track of but they’re so different that it’s not confusing. It is just plain fun.

Even the AI of the ship, the Wayfarer, is a character named Lovelace: “There were other Lovelaces out there, of course. Her core software platform could be purchased through any AI dealer. There were probably dozens of versions of her traveling through the galaxy- maybe hundreds, who knew. But they weren’t her.” pg 58. Indeed.

The reader gets to learn about space travel and the various ports of call through the eyes of Rosemary, the newest member of the crew, who is carrying a dark secret about her past:

“Rosemary hurried after her crewmates, anxious to not get lost. … Getting lost wasn’t what scared her, exactly. It was more the prospect of getting mugged. Or harassed. Or stabbed. She’d seen a few people that definitely looked stabby.” pgs 109-110. “Looked stabby” made me giggle.

This bit had me laughing too. I had never taken the time to consider what might happen if a cold-blooded creature ate something that was freezing cold: “We’re grown-ups, we can have ice cream for lunch if we want.” “Let’s not,” Sissix said. “Right. I forgot,” Kizzy said, and laughed. “Ice cream makes her mouth go slack.” pg 140

There are a few bits of life advice hidden in this story: “All you can do, Rosemary- all any of us can do- is work to be something positive instead. That is a choice that every sapient must make every day of their life. The universe is what we make of it. It’s up to you to decide what part you will play.” pg 232.

This last section contains my favorite line from the entire book: “She lived up there, in that vast expanse of color. Every day, she saw planets and comets and stellar nurseries right up close, plain as weather. Yes, there was something about being planetside that made it feel different. Perhaps stars were supposed to be viewed from the ground. pg 291-292.

“Perhaps stars were supposed to be viewed from the ground” is it. I have never traveled in space and may never get the chance to, but The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet transports you, if just for a short time, into worlds far beyond ours.

I highly recommend it for folks who enjoy light, character-driven science fiction as there is nothing too heavy or disturbing to be found here.

Thanks for reading!

Monstress by Marjorie Liu

I wasn’t impressed by the graphic novel, Monstress. The story is downright confusing until the end of each issue when the reader is given a history lesson (info dump) by a talking cat with multiple tails. Let me attempt a summary of just the beginning (it gets really complicated after that):

There’s a teen. There’s something special about her but we’re not sure what. She’s purchased by a religious cult with others of her kind. They’re shipped to a prison fortress and tortured- for what, who knows? Maika (the girl) knows that she has to get out of this horrible place, but her “power” is unreliable. There are a bunch of flashbacks to explain where Maika came from and it seems to be as awful as where she is now. Will she survive? Will she figure out what her power is and learn to control it? Will anybody tell me what the heck is going on? Who are these witch/nuns? And why does the fox girl have such big eyes?

I managed to get into the story towards the end, but I was completely turned off by the F-bombs peppered throughout the text. I mean, there’s a whole language to choose from, and that’s the best you can do? I’m not opposed to a few well-timed ones, but it turned into the go-to exclamation. Also, what’s up with the females who are drawn so un-lifelike that it looks like their balloon filled chests are going to float away at any moment? Now, to be fair, they weren’t ALL ridiculously drawn, but some were. I understand that this kind of depiction is a stylistic choice, but it’s not my cup of tea. In addition, there is some seriously disturbing and graphic violence in this. With the popularity of various Tarantino films, I know that this type of art has its audience. But, again, I am not in the audience.

The bad guys in this are really, really bad, like unbelievably so. I think graphic novels are more fun when there are grey areas. Torturing children doesn’t leave a whole lot of room for sympathy.

I wanted to like Monstress as it has a lot of things that I do enjoy: magic, steampunk, gods, fairy-type creatures. But, there was just so much more that I didn’t like, that it soured the experience for me. I understand that I’m in the minority here so if you’re a graphic novel aficionado you may want to give Monstress a read through anyway as many of my friends seemed to enjoy it.

Thanks for reading!

How to Relax by Thich Nhat Hanh

There are very few spiritual leaders who can communicate with the simplicity and succinctness of Thich Nhat Hanh.

As wise as the Dalai Lama is, I’ve only been able to really understand one of the books he’s written and I think that was because he had a co-author. It seems like he contemplates this stuff so much, you know, like it’s his job, that when he’s just trying to talk to a regular person about it, there’s a gap that can’t be crossed.

That isn’t a problem in Thich’s Mindfulness Series.

Thich encourages the reader to find the quiet within. He says: “We already have calmness in us; we just need to know how to make it manifest.” pg 14, ebook.

How do we do this? Through focus, breathing, mindfulness, and relaxation.

One of Thich’s methods for connecting with inner peace that really resonated with me was that we should take “lazy days”: “A lazy day is a day for us to be without any scheduled activities. We just let the day unfold naturally, timelessly. … When we have unscheduled time, we tend to get bored, seek entertainment, or cast about for something to do. A lazy day is a chance to train ourselves not to be afraid of doing nothing. You might think that not doing anything is a waste of time. But that’s not true.” pg 32, ebook.

Not to brag, but I rather excel at “lazy days”.

Anyone out there have a partner who snores? I do. Thich invites us to incorporate the snores into our relaxation practice.

“Sometimes you have to share a room with someone who snores. You may get irritated. But with mindfulness you can bring about compassion. You can lean on the sound of snoring in order to go to sleep. Listen and say that this brings you home to the here and now.” pg 42, ebook.

I think this could be a difficult exercise, but I’m willing to give it a try. 🙂

Ever tell yourself that relaxation/meditation is too hard? Thich addresses that concern too: “When you sit and watch television, you don’t make any effort. That’s why you can sit there for a long time. When you sit in meditation, if you struggle, you won’t be able to sit for very long. Please imitate the way you sit in your living room. Effortlessness is the key to success. pg 76 ebook.

If you can watch tv, you can meditate. It’s silly but it reminds me of that line from Dodgeball: “if you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball”.

Highly recommended for anyone looking to introduce more relaxation into their lives and isn’t that everybody?

Some read alikes: Relax RX: A Self-Hypnosis Program for Health and Well-Being by Steven Gurgevich (very relaxing, all you have to do is listen), Guided Mindfulness Meditation by Jon Kabat-Zinn (simple and relaxing), or 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works by Dan Harris (a regular guy teaches himself to meditate- a light hearted memoir).

Thanks for reading!

The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee

Lilliet Berne has secrets, many secrets hidden in her past and layered upon each other through time and circumstance. Now, she is a successful opera singer but, during a ball one night, a man brings a libretto to her attention that seems to be based on her life. Only a few people know the truth behind the secrets, which one would have made that truth public? Lilliet is going to find out and, along the way, the reader gets to experience the 18th century world from the American Midwest to the Paris Opera to Napoleon’s Imperial Court and beyond.

The Queen of the Night is a glittering, epic historical fiction, reminiscent of Margaret George’s style in that Chee weaves actual historical figures throughout his story. So, you’re learning as you’re entertaining yourself- two birds with one stone. I absolutely loved it.

Who is Lilliet? According to rumor: “I was innocent or I was the devil unleashed, I had nearly caused wars, I had kept them from happening. I was never in love, I had never loved, I was always in love. Each performance could be my last, each performance had been my last, the voice was true, the voice was a fraud. The voice, at least, was true.” pg 7, ebook.

Though true, the voice was not free from rumor either: “There’s a story told of my voice that says it was bought from a witch, the result of an occult surgery. … I never corrected this. … The real answer to where my voice came from is as ordinary as all of life. … I wanted to eat so I learned to sing.” pgs 65-66, ebook. But, as a public figure, Lilliet profited from being a spectacle on and off the stage. She encourages the stories because her notoriety brought her opera parts, connections, and money. Her true background, on the other hand, could ruin her.

The complexity of life in Paris: “Paris, which, when I looked close, was a vast 0péra-bouffe-féerie (opera with elements of comedy and magic in it)- and you did not know your role, I think, until it was too late, and the crowd was laughing at the joke you had uttered in all innocence.” pg 99, ebook. Chee explores many closed societies and the unwritten rules that are followed by them in The Queen of the Night. Among the many scenes examined are: the circus tent, the courtesan’s house, the opera, the French court, the Bohemian music culture, and the couture dressmaker. My favorite parts of this story were the glimpses into these forbidden or, in some cases, defunct cultures and learning the expected behaviors, way of dress, even the preferred perfumes. The fun is in the details.

The Queen of the Night is also a love story: “When love comes this way, the first dream of it feels like a prophecy that has come true. I had never known this feeling until now- he was my first. And so I let myself dream of him again and believe it could be the future.” pg 186, ebook. Swoon… “My theme here is love. Love and the gifts of love, love kept secret, love lost, love become hatred, war, a curse. Love become music. Love and those who died for love. Love- and, especially, first love. My first love, the one I could not keep and could never, will never, lose.” pg 215, ebook. Do you think he could have fit more “love” in there? 🙂

At one point, Lilliet says she feels like she has gotten “Fate’s attention”: “It is a peculiar thing to reach this conclusion, that a god has taken your life in hand. The sensation is not what people might imagine; it is not magic, nor is it a haunting, nor is it a miracle- there’s no storm of roses, no whistle that can put a raging ocean to sleep, no figure in the mirror besides your own.” pg 240, ebook. When I read that, I thought that Chee was going to break down the fourth wall. But, he didn’t. He kept the story flowing but I felt like he winked at me. “Where am I going to take Lilliet now?”, he seemed to say. I didn’t have any idea, but I was definitely along for the ride.

Recommended for readers who want a detailed, slightly (sometimes very) scandalous romp and mystery throughout the 18th century. If you’re into classical music, then it will be an even better fit. Some reads that you may want to explore after this one: The Dream Lover: A Novel of George Sand by Elizabeth Berg (same time period, same country), In the Company of the Courtesan by Sarah Dunant (different time period and country, some similar themes), The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (for the circus parts), and Before Versailles: A Novel of Louis XIV by Karleen Koen (different time period, French court).

Thanks for reading!

Diary of an Oxygen Thief by Anonymous

Did you like the emotionally disturbing/psychological train wreck that was Gone Girl? You may really enjoy this one. The Oxygen Thief may be the male equivalent to Amy Dunne.

Diary of an Oxygen Thief is written as an actual diary by, as you can see above, Anonymous. The story starts in London. He’s an alcoholic who discovers that he loves emotionally abusing women but, as the story progresses, he eventually meets his match.: “… I realized I had found my niche in life. … They say the sea is actually black and that it merely reflects the blue sky above. So it was with me. I allowed you to admire yourself in my eyes. I provided a service. I listened and listened and listened. You stored yourself in me. Nothing had ever felt so right to me. If I’m honest, even today I miss hurting. I’m not cured of it, but I don’t set out to systematically dismantle like I used to.” pgs 6-7 ebook

I don’t know that I’ve ever disliked a character in a book as much as I despised this ‘Anonymous’. That’s saying something: “Why would anyone set out to break the heart of someone he loved? Why would anyone intentionally cause that kind of pain? Why did people kill each other? Because they enjoyed it. Was it really that simple? To achieve a soul-shattering, it is better if the perpetrator has been through the same experience. Hurt people hurt people more skillfully.” pg 9 ebook. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to finish this book, given how much I hated the beginning, but, just like the numerous women in his diary, I was drawn into the Oxygen Thief’s lair and then (gasp) began to feel sorry for him.

Partially, it was because he manages to clean himself up in AA. But, the other part, is that he moved to the American Mid-West and experienced some serious culture shock, which I couldn’t help but find charming:“American lawns are loaded with social and political meaning. There is a law somewhere that says you have to maintain your lawn or the neighbors can force you to. I knew nothing of this and immediately reveled in the possibility of allowing my front and back gardens to return to nature. A polite knock on my front door changed all that.” pg 34, ebook. He calls lawns, “gardens”. I can’t…

Like a Shakespearean play, the Oxygen Thief’s eventual downfall is foreshadowed by a beautiful woman he meets in AA: “She’s evil,” said the blonde. She herself had apparently witnessed the awful effect this girl could have on guys. She looked at me for far too long. Like I wasn’t taking her seriously enough. I wasn’t.” pg 50 ebook

I also learned something about the physiology of love and heartbreak: “I read somewhere that when someone is in emotional shock, the area around the heart loses some of its protective fat and is therefore dangerously exposed. One well-aimed punch is not just painful; when the person who has been in shock starts to put the weight back on, the heart remains bruised, and this can lead to aortic fibrillation. It’s not life threatening, but it is uncomfortable. pg 85 ebook Who knew?

There aren’t any likeable characters in this book, but it is impossible to put down, so I had to give it at least three stars for its readability. I was absolutely shocked at the terrible ways in which the Oxygen Thief behaved and then was treated. No wonder people are cynical if there are people like this in the world. I tried to do a bit of research to discover who this “Anonymous” really was, but failed to come up with anything. Maybe, as time passes, his true identity will be revealed.

Recommended for the serious fans of psychological warfare tales or for those who have survived a very nasty relationship and want to compare their battle scars. The author of this book was recently paid for the film rights so we may see a movie made out of it. I don’t know if I could sit through it, but, if made the right way, it could be a very intense examination of the damage that people do to each other in the name of “love”. The obvious read alike is Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn but another book that reaches for the depressing depths of this one is: Black Moon by Kenneth Calhoun.

A couple people have asked if this book is appropriate for teen readers and as a librarian and a mother, I say no. The themes are much too mature, sexually graphic, and emotionally disturbing. 16 or 17+ is my recommendation.

Thanks for reading!

Descender #1 by Jeff Lemire, Illustrated by Dustin Nguyen

I’ve heard a lot of good buzz about Descender and I’m pleased to say that it lived up to all of it. It isn’t easy writing the first entries in a series without descending into character listing and lengthy explanations on setting.Descender manages to introduce itself completely without any of that boring stuff.

On a distant planet in a futuristic setting, an enormous robot lands on the government’s home world. Simultaneously, huge robots land on several other planets. These gigantic machines attack all at once without communication of any kind. Fast forward ten years. A child-like robot named Tim-21 awakens on a mining planet, but he is the only one there. The mining colony had an accident and he has been inactive for a very long time. Since then, all species have declared war on the robots because of the massive attack that occurred ten years previous. But, something about Tim’s operating system is special and now it is only a matter of time before he’s found by government scientists seeking answers or something worse… bounty hunters!

Photo from ew.com

Descender contains a lot of classic science fiction questions like: Can robots dream? Are they able to experience feelings? Do they have souls? And there is the mystery of where the giant killer robots came from and why they attacked. Actually, the beginning reminded me of Sleeping Giants bySylvain Neuvel but only for a moment… so if you didn’t enjoy that book, don’t let that turn you off of this graphic novel.

The artwork is rendered in (at least, it looks like to my very untrained eye) pencil and watercolors. It gives the panels a dreamy quality. I thought it was very pretty.

I highly recommend this graphic novel for fans of science fiction, ages 16+ because of some violence. Some read alikes: Saga, Volume 1 by Brian K. Vaughan (for adult audiences only) or Henni by Miss Lasko-Gross (ok for the teen set, similar themes but doesn’t take place in space).

Thanks for reading!

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi, a review

Spoilers ahead! Readers be warned.

When Breath Becomes Air is Paul Kalanithi’s life story in a memoir. He relates how he got into neuroscience, his exhausting and life consuming training, his illness, and his eventual transition out of this world into the next.

At first, Paul didn’t even want to become a surgeon because his own father was one and he saw how hard it was to balance work and family: “When we did see him, late at night or on weekends, he was an amalgam of sweet affections and austere diktats, hugs and kisses mixed with stony pronouncements … He had reached some compromise in his mind that fatherhood could be distilled; short, concentrated (but sincere) bursts of high intensity could equal.. whatever it was that other fathers did. All I knew was, if that was the price of medicine, it was simply too high.” pgs 24-25, ebook.

Even though he started out as an English major, Paul’s own interests led him towards the medical profession anyway.

Isn’t it funny how life leads us down paths we may never have envisioned for ourselves?

I was glad that he made the decision to follow a different life path because it seemed to be the perfect fit for him. In this book, Paul’s stories reveal his passion about the field of medicine and commitment to making the best decisions for the patients in his care. He was interested in what makes life worth living and how the brain’s functions effect quality of life.

I was particularly interested in that last bit. Sometimes, and I’m not going to point any fingers here, doctors and professionals of all stripes get caught up in the power, prestige, and monetary rewards that come with a position, forgetting the reason why they started in their field in the first place- to help people.

Paul never has that trouble.

This is what he had to say after a sobering visit to a home for people who had suffered severe brain injuries as children: “Only later would I realize that our trip had added a new dimension to my understanding of the fact that brains give rise to our ability to form relationships and make life meaningful. Sometimes, they break.” pg 34

It was really difficult for me, personally, to read the parts of this memoir that dealt with Paul learning how to make life and death decisions for ailing patients. He talks in depth about taking people off of life support because they didn’t want their bodies to be kept alive while their brains were gone.

I was reminded of how my grandfather, though he never suffered any debilitating brain injury, was kept alive through endless medicines and machines to reduce the water around his heart. He eventually refused to eat and refused a feeding tube, so he slowly withered away.. this from a man who described the joys of consuming a fresh peach in summer as one of his favorite memories from a life full of such every day enjoyments. It was heartbreaking.

In this passage, one of Paul’s professors is talking about the same type of situation with his own grandma: “But “what was most evident,” he continued, “was the slow drawing away from life… By the time Bubbeh stopped praying, she had stopped virtually everything else as well.” pg 41 ebook.

So, you may want to avoid this memoir if you have any fresh or lingering grief that you’re dealing with, as this book brings it all bubbling to the surface.

Empty hospital room with bed, chair, monitor, and sunset view — An empty hospital room glows softly in the evening light, with a neatly made bed facing the window. Image generated with WordPress AI.

Paul studies so hard to become a doctor to learn the secrets of life and death. Eventually, he begins to realize, that as a doctor, he’ll constantly deal with these mysterious passages from one form of existence to another, but never truly understand them: “I began to suspect that being so close to the fiery light of such moments only blinded me to their nature, like trying to learn astronomy by staring directly at the sun. I was not yet with patients in their pivotal moments, I was merely at those pivotal moments.” pg 56

Then, Paul develops his own life-threatening illness and concludes that, even though he’s seen death and suffering throughout his job, he really knew nothing about it: “It occurred to me that my relationship with statistics changed as soon as I became one.” pg 82.

The rest of the book is so very sad, but one thing is clear, Paul Kalanithi finally found the moment when breath becomes air, what he had been searching for his whole life.

Neurosurgeons write really fine memoirs. At least, that’s been the case for nearly every one I’ve come across.

Some read alikes, if you’re interested: A Thousand Naked Strangers: A Paramedic’s Wild Ride to the Edge and Back by Kevin Hazzard (not a neurosurgeon, but Kevin talks about the burnout that comes in the medical community), Medicine, Miracles, and Manifestations: A Doctor’s Journey Through the Worlds of Divine Intervention, Near-death Experiences, and Universal Energy by John L. Turner (neurosurgeon), Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon’s Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart by James R. Doty (neurosurgeon), or Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon’s Journey into the Afterlife by Eben Alexander.

Thanks for reading!

Heidi

Light Congress gate symbolism: a deep breath, grief, a peach

What’s the Light Congress? I thought you’d never ask: https://www.patreon.com/collection/2256731

A Brief Tour of High Consciousness: A Cosmic Book on the Mechanics of Creation by Itzhak Bentov

If you’ve been following this blog for awhile, you know now that I really enjoy “fringe” non-fiction that chronicles out of body experiences and remote reviewing. This is another of those books.

If you’re not into those topics, my apologies in advance. 🙂

A lighthearted yet profound guide to the realms of higher consciousness and the ultimate nature of reality.
Goodreads

My research into consciousness exploration continues with A Brief Tour of Higher Consciousness by Itzhak Bentov.

Having predominantly read books like this by artists (Jurgen Ziewe and Kurt Leland come to mind), it was refreshing to have a first person narrative by an engineer. Itzhak’s lens of perception is so different than my own- I loved it.

There is a part towards the end, What is a Hologram, and a chapter by another author, Essay on Cosmology by Edward Apgar, that I didn’t resonate with at all. But, perhaps for the most scientifically-minded, those parts will be your favorite.

Hologram image from nationaldefensemagazine.org

Itzhak has simplistic doodles scattered throughout the text which brings a “Randall Munroe” feel to the book- the use of simple pictures to illustrate complex and abstract ideas. This author definitely feels to me as if he was a bit ahead of his time in both his presentation and materials.

Bentov doodle from ritamarrpositivechange.wordpress.com

Itzhak’s explanation of “lens of consciousness”: “As consciousness evolves and information starts pouring in, the information is couched in a language best understandable to the person involved. For instance, a poet will be shown the nature of Creation in poetic images, an artist in visual symbols, and a mathematician in abstract equations; a nuts-and-bolts fellow like myself will have it shown to him as structure.” pg 5

I was reminded of Robert Monroe’s Journeys Out of the Body in which he puts emphasis on recording and comparing out-of-body experiences for consistency and real world applications to bring legitimacy to the practice.

I’ve heard that we’re all made of star dust and I really liked Itzhak’s description of it in this passage: “Stars collect into clusters or galaxies, and as they die, they explode and create cosmic dust, which again condenses into new stars and planets. Everything in the entire universe, including our bodies, is made of one cosmic substance. We contain atoms from the most distant galaxies and are thus connected to the whole universe.” pg 13

Stars in the sky from wikipedia.org

Everything is vibration: “In short, consciousness in a vibratory state manifests itself as our familiar matter, from which the different forms that we see around us are made. The table, the flowers, the scent of the flowers, and our bodies are all made of rapidly vibrating consciousness.” pg 20 Wild!

A discussion of how to interact with devas (an ant deva to be precise, which is kind of silly, I realize), which Itzhak describes as “The name given to a being that is the rudimentary consciousness of any structure”: “To negotiate with her, the currency of exchange is love. Just send the ant deva a lot of love, which will stimulate her evolution. Even ant devas need love, in order eventually to know their Creator.” pg 33

In my meditations, I’ve frequently experienced what Itzhak describes in this next passage. It was nice to finally have a reason why: (While in a meditative state) “Wiggle your body. This causes a disturbance, a vibration, to spread … (This is similar to a fly falling into a spider web. The vibration of the web signals the spider and it shows up to investigate its dinner.) The deva .. appears immediately, looking worried and saying something like “What do you want?” or “Who are you?” pg 35

I’ll close with this excerpt of Itzhak’s philosophy: “There is nothing absolute and final. If everything were iron-clad, all the rules absolute and everything structured so no paradox or irony existed, you couldn’t move. One could say that man sneaks through the crack where paradox exists.” pg 78

If you enjoyed this book, you may want to take a look at Otherwhere by Kurt Leland or Multidimensional Man by Jurgen Ziewe. If you liked the doodles of complex concepts and want more of that, try Thing Explainer: Complicated Stuff in Simple Words by Randall Munroe.

Thanks for reading!

How to Use a Pendulum for Dowsing and Divination by Dr. Ronald L. Bonewitz, a review

I read a book a couple of years ago called Extraordinary Knowing: Science, Skepticism, and the Inexplicable Powers of the Human Mind by Elizabeth Lloyd Mayer. She opens the book with a chapter about how her daughter’s instrument was stolen and she called a professional dowser, though she didn’t believe in such things, to help her find it.

And guess what happens. 🙂

Pendulums work along the same kind of lines as dowsing and, after reading that, I thought maybe there is something to this.

You can watch Elizabeth Mayer talking about her experience on YouTube by clicking this sentence.

There used to be holistic shop (it has since closed) in my town that I liked to pop in for “fringe” books that libraries don’t purchase (but I love!) and, one day, the owner had a huge collection of pendulums for sale. I picked one up, not knowing anything about it beyond what I had read in that book, and it has sat on my meditation table for months, just looking mysterious and interesting.

Then, last week, I saw this book and was so excited to finally have some concrete instructions!

Superstitions and second-hand stories are all very well and good, but it doesn’t help you when one goes about actually using a mystical item for its intended purpose.

Brass pendulum over open book — A pendulum on a string, suspended above a wooden table. Image produced with WordPress AI.

First of all, some background info: “(Divination practices) most directly related to pendulum use fall under the general category of sortilege- the casting of lots. The word ‘sortilege’ comes from the Latin word sors, which means lots, and the title Sortilegus was given to the person who was the reader or the diviner via means of this process. Broadly, the practice involved (and still involves) holding an object or group of objects in the hand or hands while imbuing them with the question for which an answer is sought, then casting them through the air. It was believed that the answers were ‘in the air’, and that, as the lots moved through it, they became impregnated with the answer, causing them to fall in a certain pattern. The answer is then divined from the pattern made by the objects in their landing positions. The movements of the pendulum are derived from the same source.” pg 11

Ah, those Romans, they had such interesting divination practices. My favorite from the historical record is their Augury, a priest who read the signs from the gods utilizing wild birds. This practice was called taking the auspices.

Though it sounds silly to modern ears, it was very serious to the Roman people at all levels of life. No major war campaigns or public events were begun without taking the auspices.

What is divination anyway?: “Divination lifts up and beyond the normal. Divination is all a question of moving the self into a deeper consciousness, a totality of awareness, of discovering messages and information as we seek, passing between the mind of the great architect of the universe and the mind of man. Divination is a state; it is not a technique. But, you can use techniques to develop your ability to be in that state.” pg 15

I’ve always used meditation for that and it has worked quite well for me. See my journal of my visionary pathwalkings, which I call The Light Congress here: https://www.patreon.com/collection/2256731

Back to How to Use a Pendulum for Dowsing and Divination…

I thought that the authors took the use of pendulums a bit too far in this part where they advised bringing your pendulum with you wherever you go ‘just in case’: “Carrying your answers with you- Pendulum work is extremely useful in your everyday life, whether at home or abroad. For instance, at the local market or the supermarket, if you can’t decide which grocery to put in your basket, use your pendulum. You can also use it for yourself, for those times when you’re wondering ‘Is this product good for me?’ Maybe, maybe not. It’s helpful to be informed. Before purchasing anything, you can check.” pg 56.

Intriguing idea, but I just can’t see myself doing that. Should I recommend THIS book to that patron or THAT book? THIS treat or THAT treat? How about both?

Abstract pendulum ripples in indigo teal gold

A pendulum looking all mystical and magical. Image produced with WordPress AI.

I found this passage about how the human body connects to the spirit like a pendulum to be absolutely fascinating: “Just as the pendulum connects into this (spirit) flow, so we, too, connect in physically. In past times, there was a consciousness of the fluid flow from the brain. Initially, it was equated with palmistry. Napoleon, for example, always had his palmist with him. He- among many others at that time- was convinced of the belief that the brain directed fluid (spirit) flow down through the top of the head, along the arm, and over the top of the wrist, hand and fingertips, and that it even created the lines on the palms of the newborn child. This was revered as a map of the child’s future. It has also been shown that a hand that is paralysed becomes void of any lines.” pg 68

I didn’t know any of that. Do I believe it? I’m not sure. I think I’ll need some first-hand experience with the thing to decide or not. I can say that Napoleon didn’t have a very good end, so where was his palmist at the critical moment to avoid disaster?

Also, just a hint of warning, I proceed very cautiously when someone makes a pronouncement about the human body and its supposed connections to the mysteries of creation. Much harm has come from beliefs that spiritual truths or whatever you’re looking for can be perceived by taking things at face value like physical weight, eye and skin color, etc.

Looks can be deceiving, no? Warning dispensed.

Though I enjoyed the information it contains, I was disappointed to discover that there are some minor binding errors in this book. It has half a dozen or so blank pages in the middle. These things happen, but I bet the author was somewhat disappointed with the result. I hope the next printing was corrected.

I’m not entirely convinced about this pendulum thing, but, for total novices like me, How to Use a Pendulum for Dowsing and Divination is a good place to start.

While you’re waving your divination tools around, please also use your common sense and be kind. That’ll take you places you’ve never imagined.

Thanks for reading!

Heidi

Light Congress gate symbolism: a pendulum, a harp, birds in the sky

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