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Boudica's Profile
Customer Reviews: 316
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Classic Reviewer Rank: 392
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Reviews Written by
Boudica (Ohio USA)
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
The Well Prepared Witches Tool!, November 16, 2008
Again this year I purchased my weekly planner for my binder from Seasons of the Witch. The weekly planner has two formats: spiral bound or filler pages for my binder, and both of these are well put together.
This year the glossy pages are back, with color appropriate seasonal borders for each month, moon phases, daily spell working suggestions and my favorite month at a glance working planner pages.
The artwork for each month is very profession looking with lots of little bits of information, poems and photos. There is plenty of room for daily notes on the weekly pages and each month has an end notes section for personal notation.
This planner has always made an impression on my co-workers and it is one of the most valuable tools in my day to day working in both the mundane and the magical worlds. A must have for any professional, or looking to be professional witch. Boudica
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Earthlite
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Soft light from the Croft Brothers, September 22, 2008
This is the fourth album by the British Croft Brothers. Their focus is ambient that features rhythm to and almost trance like feel in their compositions. It is soft and relaxing while gently reminding the listener it's there. It is natural in feel and yet tickles the senses with electronic sparks.
The inspiration of this CD is "crystals and stones used for the synthesis of sound and light". This is the Croft Brothers interpretation of unexplained natural light phenomena, such as St. Elmo's fire or Min Min lights, Track titles (5 tracks in all averaging 10 minutes each) are earthlite, crystal rays, sand shimmer, lava lamp and stone glow, which allow the listener to focus on what the music is describing and feel the light as it plays to the music.
The CD achieves the ambient form by not being intrusive. It then progresses beyond that into light trance music, which lacks the usual grinding trance beat we find in most trance pieces, but it achieves that focus. The Croft Brothers show here that Trance need not be a pounding beat, as exampled in the "crystal rays" track.
Overall, this is a good ambient CD by Innersense, suitable for relaxing backgrounds to everything from work to meditation, offering original material and new direction to what Ambient and Trance can be. maf
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Spicy Compilation, September 21, 2008
Anyone who is familiar with Waveform Records knows that Forest, who programs the Musical Starstreams show, does one great job when it comes to finding the hidden talent scattered around the world and presenting them to us on these Waveform compilations and in his Starstream radio shows. Waveform has several artists who record exclusively for the label but Waveform really shines with each of its wonderul compilation CD's that they have released over the years which introduce us to artists that we might never hear about otherwise. One AD, Two AD, Three AD and Slumberland are prime examples of the unity that can be had even with a diverse group of artists and now Voodoo Roux joins this distinguished list of releases.
Voodoo Roux (subtitled "it's in the sauce") is a new compilation from Waveform. It is comprised of 9 tracks of electronica from Tosca, deep-dive-corp., Omnimotion, Trance Groove, X.I. S., Potlatch, eer, mk-ultra and Journeyman.
Tosca presents us with Annanas.g-corporation.dub, an Austrian production, who's selection is a subtle and suggestive electronic movement featuring rhythmic motion brought to us by the writing and production team of Richard Dortmeister and Rupert Huber.
deep-dive-corp's "Imagination" from Germany, has more of a beat and a jazzy feel, with vocals and a surprise Aramaic break. This reflects the current trend in the exploration of Aramaic rifts. Again, electronica, well produced and written by Peter Musebrink and DJ Turn.
Omnimotion, by writer and producer Stefan Lundaahl, a Swedish contribution, gives us "Underdub", featuring the vocals of Linda Martio. This is another sexy, sultry electronica work and is enhanced by the vocal work and a rhythmic beat provided by sound effects. With its lush production and its deep bass lines one is reminded of swimming underwater with the muted light filtrating down to where we are in the depths. The sound is laid back and guides us downward into the darkness below.
Trance Groove, a German 7 piece performance group, provides a live performance called "Paris". The track is memorable for both the music and the vocals of Nicole Meyer. Trance Groove presents us with a sleek, rhythmic feel to this track yet still remains jazzy and laid back. The horns offer us a traditional jazz feel to the whole atomosphere of the song which would be just at home in a smoky jazz bar late at night. A very enjoyable and memorable presentation.
X.I.S. (Xploring Inner Space) is another German offering in "Sun Walker" written and produced by Thorsten Janert and Holger Buchholz. This has more rock, some light vocals and a bubble backdrop to a hard rock rhythm.
Potlatch is from Seoul, Korea, and their track is entitled "Vacuum Conversation". Written and produced by Jun Kim and DJ S-min, this track has a mysterious flavor, darker vocals, rock beat and some well mixed synth sounds that glide above the beat that holds the piece together. This was the sophomore effort of Potlatch and is heard here on this compilation for the very first time.
eer is a group from Paris, and their contribution to this collection is "Hand Car". Rhythmic as a train, almost trance like in its appeal as the beat holds the other aspects together and allows eer to work their magic with the synths and the sound effects. Soft electronica that is pleasant as it leads you through the various movements of the piece.
MK-ultra's "lll" is written and produced by Jeff/Mk-ultra and comes to us from Canada. This is a piece that is best described as psycho-tronic in flavor allowing the BPM to move the listener into a trancelike state. Good solid beat with some nice improv on the keyboards and synths.
The final track by Journeyman called "3001 (matrix II) is a U.K. contribution by Frankland/Waterton. This is electronica with hip-hop dubbing, featuring vocal samples taken from the movie Tron which adds to the listeners enjoyment of this composition and creates the perfect sci fi feel to the whole track. At times it reminds you of space music but on steroids and with a pulsing beat. While a little out of step with the other tunes on this CD it makes for a great ending to a well thought out compilation.
Waveform presents us with yet another collection of some hard to find, new, international, original material that makes a fine addition to their already great and ever growing library of outstanding music. maf
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
A Reference Book for all those Great Wicca Discussions, September 15, 2008
What if there was a book that referenced many of the sources for our modern day Wiccan practices that we could reference whenever a conversation came up as to why we do this and that in Wicca? What if it offered documentation for possible explanations for why we do what we do? What if this book does not suppose to offer "the" answer but rather offers many possible answers, giving various sources, citing references and documenting historical documents for each of the instances that are discussed? Wouldn't this book be an ideal element to augment your studies, or to add to the discussion of your group? Would you find this an essential tome for your studies and library?
From the text, Sorita d'Este and David Rankine stared this work based on their own group discussions and questions. They researched the material for rituals, practices and more in Traditional Wicca and pulled it all together in one volume as a reference. The material discusses British Traditional Witchcraft only, so it looks at the basis of the Wicca Traditions, which is the basis for much of our own traditional material today.
Covered in this book are the Books of Shadow, Drawing Down the Moon, the Rede, circle casting, chants, the Sabbats and more. There are also discussions on Cernunnos, magical grimoires, and elements origins. Each section discusses what was originally included in Gardner's practice of Wicca and explores possible origins. d'Este and Rankine include document names, authors and quotes. The Appendices include some brief
discussions, such as "magic or magick" and "Perfect Love and Perfect Trust". The Bibliography is impressive and extensive, to say the least.
The book includes a very detailed index for reference, and a good table of contents. Overall, this is an exceptional book of references and one which I was hard pressed to find fault with. The material here will spark some interesting discussions, to say the least. But that is what this book is all about, and I found it to be exciting in it's content and there were many "Ah, ha!" moments for me.
OK, it's obvious. I love this book. I've been talking to some friends about this, recommending this book even before I finished reading it. Currently it is an English publication and is available in the US. A "must have" for anyone's library and one that you will find essential to your studies. It's a darn good read. boudica
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Other Pursuits of Victor Hugo, September 15, 2008
This book is fascinating, really. The depth of the material here covers three years in great detail, as well as giving you a very in depth look at the time covered, the man and the material presented.
You may know Victor Hugo from school, as his poetry and literary works are very well known and considered classics. Amongst his most recognizable are "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1831) and "Les Miserables" (1862).
The book contains background to the period of history in France that Hugo lived in. The author John Chambers provides some very good material to give you the basis from which the three years Hugo spent working with the spirit world meaning. Hugo was in exile from France (during the reign of Napoleon III) on the Isle of Jersey from 1852. In 1953 he was introduced to a phenomenon that was sweeping France at that time - turning tables or tapping tables. A very long and drawn out process, the turning table taps out letter of the alphabet which turns into words to answer questions asked of spirits from the other side. This book is mainly about those three years that Hugo spent recording his conversations with some of the most prominent dead people of the centuries, as well as some mysterious souls who shared conversation with him. Hugo was very careful to record all the séances he performed, which because of the method used, could take hours.
Hugo's life is also inspected here. Chambers discusses his political views, his personal opinions and the consequences of some of his actions. Hugo was all about politics and it is very much reflected in his personal works as well as his discussions with the spirit world. The life of Hugo is not without its tragedies, and the book also looks at all of Hugo's influences, as well as his ego, his sense of humor and his family, who were instrumental in his work.
This is a very well presented biography, focusing on the three years that Hugo spent conversing with the spirit world. There are transcripts included that make this book extremely interesting, and whatever conclusions you draw from the material presented, I assure you that you will be entertained, amused and will find yourself pondering the conversations included in this book. It is a fascinating volume of work, and one which, if you are interested in either the life of Victor Hugo or in the various forms of Spirit Contact that are documented, you will find this an important addition to your library. boudica
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
Beautiful Art But , September 15, 2008
First, this is not a tarot deck. There are 36 cards in the deck, to be used as a self examination tool. The kit contains a deck of cards. a nice little silver nylon bag to keep the cards in, a fairy charm on a ribbon necklace and a book explaining the deck. The fairy necklace is cute, and tells me the deck is focused on the young adult. And going into the book, this is very clear. But let's examine the contents that make you want to buy this kit.
The deck is beautiful. This is classic Galbreth material. I've seen many of these illustrations on Jessica's site and if you ever wanted to own copies of her work, there are 36 cards here of some of her best work. The deck is very eye appealing. The titles of the works go with the images. Most of the images are female, with male counterparts in two couple scenes, a Green Man, and Cernunnos presented with a female figure. There is a pregnant mother figure and a mother with child. The balance of the deck is young female figures. This again suggests a young adult and is limiting itself to a young female user.
The titles follow the suggested fantasy theme. Dark Enchantment, Dragoness, Maiden Moon, White Magic; these all give a very "mystical" feel to the deck. However, looking for symbolism to read the images left me a little perplexed, so I pulled out the book and started looking at the meanings. And this left me even more perplexed. Gothic Rose indicates change. The only hint in this card may be the moth at the top of the card, but the roses and the lady did not indicate this. The Silver Moon Fairy indicates keeping your secrets to yourself. Other than her crossed arms, there was nothing else to suggest this. Gothique suggest there is something you fear. Sorry, that card did not instill fear as a rather lovely young Goth lady, and I think there may be a few Goths who may not like that association. Gypsy Rose suggests you have been over doing it and should take a break. Well, if I looked that good overdoing it, I wouldn't worry too much about it.
In the final analysis, the book and the meanings were drawn around the cards. The whole deck concept was drawn around using the beautiful artwork of Jessica Galbreth in a deck. The cards, in this instance, do not seem to be drawn for the deck or the meanings in the book. This leaves the user having to learn all the meanings from the book to interpret the cards, rather than looking at the cards for the symbolism to speak to the reader.
If you are a big fan of Jessica Galbreth and love her artwork as I do, the deck may hold appeal for the art alone. But if you are a hard core deck reader as I am, the deck will hold little appeal for general use unless you intend to use the book for reference till you have the meanings memorized. Personally, this is a pretty deck that will probably sit on my shelf and get pulled out only when a discussion on beautiful deck artwork comes around as a topic. And the fairy charm will probably end up with my little grand-niece who will appreciate it more than I do. boudica
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Make Your Tradition Special, September 15, 2008
I enjoyed this book because of the concept. I was surprised at the amount of material that Grimassi covers for this process. The contents of this book puts it all together to show you how it's done.
Tradition is the foundation of our spiritual system. Each person sees the Wiccan path as a personal path. Gardner did it, Buckland did it, even Grimassi did it; establishing a system of spirituality that worked for them, and enabling it to work for others.
Raven Grimassi presents a "system" here to establish your own Tradition. In it he also includes all the trappings and tools and beliefs and reasons to do so. It is a complex method, with all the basics, all the elements and all the workings that we may want to include.
The discussions on establishing a tradition are well worth the read. Realize that by establishing a tradition, you will then be passing it along, and this will mean setting up a coven, working a teaching plan, examining all the basic beliefs and all the tools that will be associated with it.
This is by no means as simple as it sounds. While the spirituality can be simple, establishing a Tradition requires putting together many of the elements that are included in this book. I did find that there was a lot of "stuff" that the individual can sort through and eliminate if it will not be appropriate to their own personal Tradition. This may simplify the task, but it still requires more than just getting an idea.
Grimassi included all the bits and pieces that someone may want to include, or wonder if it should be included, and then allows the individual to decide what to incorporate, what fits the Tradition. The individual then chooses the elements of their tradition based on how close to the original traditions they want to be.
Overall, a good book for those looking to establish their personal beliefs into a system and maybe pass it along to family, friends or others interested in their way of spirituality. This is quite a volume of work, and one which will be appreciated by many. boudica
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Old Fashioned Primer, September 15, 2008
This is a Craft handbook that works its way from basic practices and exercises in the Craft and advances itself along to enable the reader to master their practice. It is based on the practice of Moonsilvered, a Craft teacher with the Crossroads Tradition. This is her first published work, released with a publisher in England and printed here in the U.S. The book is an interesting look at the Craft from the perspective of a teacher/student basis.
The book is a primer, as in the old fashioned concept. There are steps to follow, from personal health to self introspection to mapping your own personal growth. The book focuses on a Three Step progression from preparation of the practitioner in the first steps, to working the craft in the second steps, to polishing the practice in the third step. It is a practical learning process and works well in any tradition and any magical practice. This book touches on a little experiential material, making this one of the better handbooks.
The material, while extensive, is covered as an overview. There are times when I found myself wanting the author to go into a bit more detail regarding what she was discussing. There is a great deal of material covered here, and this book is only touching the tip of the iceberg, rather than exploring the vastness of the practice. More often than not, books of this nature tend contain more filler than essential material, but not so with this book This book left me looking for more discussion. This was a little bit of a disappointment, as I feel Moonsilvered could have gone into more detail on some of her topics.
Her style of writing keeps your interest and is easy to understand. It is clear and concise. But she is also brief and limited, which is why I feel she could have expanded on some of her practices a bit more. As in all handbooks, there is material for practicing the arts. She focuses on herbals and their preparations, basic astrology and includes many tables of correspondences.
Moonsilvered's Craft practices are interesting; this book gives the student a good overview of the learning process of her particular tradition, while offering other craft teachers a look at a well put together, if brief, overview of one teacher's tradition and practice. A nice book to include in your library. boudica
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Cream of the Crop, September 8, 2008
This is not just another tarot deck; this is a beautiful tarot deck that comes with a most wonderful and beautifully put together tool. Ciro Marchetti is the artist who brought us the "Gilded Tarot". He told me, at that time, that he was working on another deck.
The deck that was sent to me contains 80 cards, in a large 3.5 X 5.5 format. They are gloss finished and sturdy cards. Probably the only thing I was concerned about was the size of the cards. I prefer cards a bit smaller, but the artwork in the designs made the larger cards more desirable in this case, and I bypassed my preference in favor of the
graphics.
The deck comes with a spare card that is numbered and signed by the artist. The box gives us a lovely presentation, all glossy and covered in graphics. It houses the deck, a nice gauzy bag to hold your deck and a CD that I will cover further down.
The deck is very traditional in feel, looks and design and has a very Qabalahistic flavor, with the reference card in the deck being the Qabalah Tree of Life. The deck has 21 Major Archana cards, and four suits: Swords for Air, Wands for Fire, Coins for Earth and Cups for water. The Swords/Wands reversal is present here for fire and air. Also, coins have been chosen to represent earth, rather than pentacles. Each card is labeled clearly as to the name of the card, the number and the suit, as well as the Sphere of Influence, which is noted on the Major Archana along with the astrological association.
The Minor Archana notes two astrological associations on each card. The imagery and designs are stunning, the symbolism is for the most part traditional, interesting and easy to follow. Much is traditional, but developed to seem timely, current and all of this has a very "dreamy" feel to it, hence the name of the deck.
Looking at the cards, we see the journey of the Fool followed in the Major Archana, with the designs helping the reader to follow this journey. I love the images, the Fool with no face but having a jesters hat and mask; the very motherly Empress; the Hierophant replaced with a card called "Faith", excellently chosen; the Wheel of Life simply the Wheel, so mechanical yet so mystical in appearance; Death is haunting yet not horrible, the Devil is menacing yet gives a feeling that we have created our own trap there. The cards draw the reader into them, and allows the reader to hear them speak quietly and yet strongly.
The Minor Archana is done just as well. The deck keeps to the traditional meanings and provides some new insights. There is the feeling of Divine in many of them, more so than the materialistic feeling some other decks have. They appear more inspired than threatening. The Court Cards are the traditional Page, Knight, Queen and King cards, with very elemental influences.
The colors are rich, deep hues. The Minor Archana cards all keep to the same color family so it makes it easy to tell where you are by looking at the borders surrounding the designs. I am accustomed to swords being fire, and wands being air. With this deck, the wands are done with rich red tones in the borders and the designs are predominately red, making fire obvious in this suit. The same with the swords, with sky blue being the dominate color, making the association, again, very obvious. Earth is a rich emerald green and water is a golden color.
Instead of having a small booklet or book, this deck has a CD. This is expertly produced and contains some surprises as well as what you usually expect to find in a book accompanying a tarot deck. It is a wonderful tool! There is an opening introduction of music and graphics, which is lovely to watch. Do give this a look all the way through. It is the artists message about his deck, and is very simply expressed with his artwork. The menu is a rendition of the reverse pattern on the deck, a sun/starburst with the elemental symbols. The menu contains a bit more in the way of adding direction to the various parts of the CD. You can choose to explore the Major Archana, the various suits or some extras the artist has included, such as production, credits, symbols & spreads and some links. The extras include a screen saver, wallpaper, a copy of the Orphalese Tarot Reading software for installation on your computer, and other such goodies.
As you choose the areas of the cards to browse, the card is presented with some associations and suggested meanings. This is the handbook part of the deck, and is nicely done. It is recommended that you load this onto older machines, as it will run faster and more smoothly. I ran it from the disk, but I also have a new and much faster machine, but it still took time for the graphics to load. The "goodies" also includes animated Major Archana cards. The cards are presented as they appear in the deck, and then are animated, or put into motion, to present some additional aspects of the card that may aid the reader. The animations are gorgeous, insightful and a lovely addition. I played with this CD for a few days, exploring all the information contained in it, and found it most useful, wonderful eye candy, and fun to play with.
I found reading this deck was actually almost distracting at first, going over all the graphics and designs, but as the newness wore off, I found readings went much smoother, and the ease of reading this deck was a big plus. It is surrealistic in feel but traditional in design. It is a wonderful interpretation of well known material, and will not hinder the experienced reader in the slightest. The new reader will also find this deck easy to work with. It can be used by anyone and is not path specific.
This deck is, for all intents and purposes, a piece of art, and this is reflected in the price. However, if you feel as I do that the deck and the art are inseparable, and quality decks are preferable, then the price for this deck is very reasonable. I have seen artistic decks go for much, much more. The quality is here in this deck, and the artwork is far above average.
For the deck collector, the serious tarot reader and the lover of art, this is a winning deck. It will grace the hands of any competent reader and compliment any reading done with them. It will dazzle your xlients. And it will open yet another window for the reader to explore with their client, one colored and styled by the dreams of a very talented artist. boudica
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Pagan Music at it's Best!, September 7, 2008
Many of you may have heard Michelle and her group at some local festivals; others may have her previous CDs. Her very successful first CD The Promise was a great hit on mp3.com and introduced the public to her rich, silky vocals and folksy guitar style.
This CD is an introduction to a series Michelle is putting out of chants for each of the turns of the Wheel of the Year. This is music for pagan celebrations, focusing on the meaning of Beltane. There are nine tracks. This is a well produced CD, with good sound and quality studio work.
The range of chants on this CD run from traditional to classical melodies with some very well developed lyrics. I was impressed with Evoking Beltane which uses music based on a Bach piece and some really nicely worked out lyrics. Michelle's strong vocals give us a lovely introduction to this work.
Snake Woman/Spiral of Life is another strong adaptation by Michelle. I found myself singing with it before it was over, a very catchy tune and easy to learn. Yabbo is another memorable tune, and Michelle is joined by singer Heather Alexander on this track. Music Weavers is in this same vein, a kind of a round that can be learned easily enough and worked by most anyone.
Making a Connection is just... magical. A nice round with a spark of genius in the "connection". Michelle tells me that this is a chant that has been used at "handfastings" or pagan weddings for years, usually spoken in time to clapping. She said she has always heard a melody for this in the back of her mind and she finally has put it together, quite successfully I might add.
Fireleap returns to the more traditional, and you get an idea that Ms. Mays can handle a variety of styles and do them all well. Her strong vocals shine in this piece, along with some lovely harmonies with Phebe Smith who works on this CD with Michelle.
Michelle also treats us to her ever popular rendition of Gently Johnny. I remember her and her group doing this one at some events I have attended, and I always enjoy this light hearted and very sexy composition. Michelle's rich voice lends to the air of this being a very "titillating" song.
Creation is a story, a prayer and a lesson for Beltane. Very nicely put together and wonderfully put to music, Michelle speaks this composition
allowing her rich voice to control this piece and again, a nice production.
The final track Earth My Body is a traditional piece that many folks may already know. It features sounds from "outer space", the sounds that are made by the earth and have been recorded from space. They are added with the appropriate permissions from the University of Iowa, to allow the earth to speak for itself. Michelle creates some great harmonies, and with some help from some very special folks, presents this piece in a very pleasing and satisfying arrangement.
I can see this CD being used by groups for some nice new additions to their Beltane ritual music or for other ritual events, whether it be using the CD as a background for their celebration, or learning the material with their group to sing at their gathering. The CD itself is a great learning tool, as well as being a nice addition to a solitary working as background and sing along.
The material all relates to the Celebration of Beltane, having a very "fertile" appeal in either content or suggestion. Some of the pieces are clever in their lyrics and composition. There is good material here for group chanting.
If you love Michelle Mays work, as I do, this is a must add just for her arrangements and vocals. If you have a group and are looking for something different and upbeat to add to your Beltane Celebrations, this is an excellent choice to work with. Either way, this is a great CD. Download it today! boudica
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(Ohio USA)
