Author: Cassandra Eason
Trade Paperback, 338 pages
Publisher: Crossing Press
Publication date: 2003
List: US$14.95
ISBN: 1580911501 Price & More Info: Click Here
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Ms. Eason makes the statement in her introduction (page 7): "Blindly
following the rules of others as I used to do, no matter how expert those
established rituals may seem, stifles personal creativity.", and "Leave the
pages of this and any other book as soon as possible and follow your natural
instincts." This is the sort of advice which cannot be given too often,
especially in such highly personalized pursuits as psychic development.
Ms. Eason is a prolific author, and has produced books on a wide variety of
topics, ranging from divination to general psychic development to children's
books.
Over half this book is dedicated to various forms of divination, before
branching into out-of-body experiences, magic, magical alphabets, ghosts,
etc. It is obvious that the author has a lot of experience in the field of
divination. Her understanding of other occult fields is also extensive.
Unfortunately, her description of creating a dream catcher is woefully
inadequate. There is a technique for the creation of this item, which she
is obviously unfamiliar with. Part of the construction technique includes
the individuality of the pattern which is created, yet she mentions the use
of old badminton rackets, old fruit bags (with a net pattern), etc.
Her approach to magic is similarly simplistic but, in this case, represents
a valid approach to folk magic (as opposed to Ceremonial or Wiccan). She
continues to stress the need to use your feelings and intuition, and not to
rely on the words of others. Folk magic works based on personal need or
desire. She gives the reader some ideas to get started with, and then
leaves you to your own devices.
Throughout the book, her approach to accomplishing things remains very
common-sense and down-to-earth. She goes out of her way to avoid making
things mystical. She doesn't shy away from mystical experiences; she simply
couches them in day-to-day terms and references. She doesn't espouse any
particular style of training. Nor does she over-emphasize the possibility
of negative results.
Once you move beyond the sections on divination (about the first half of the
book), you will find a wide variety of topics covered. In her usual style,
each of the chapters can stand alone, so you can pick and choose what you
want to learn in whatever order appeals to you.
Once again, in my opinion, the recommended reading list is a little thin.
The book is divided into 29 chapters (in eight sections), but the Further
Reading list only includes 42 titles. Given the range of topics, I would
have expected a list of at least twice this length. On top of that, seven
of the books (one out of every six) are by this author, which seems to be a
disproportionately high percentage to me.
Because of the way I was trained, I have a problem with her suggestions for
absent healing. I was always taught to obtain permission from the person
being worked for (with a couple of specific, restricted, exceptions) and I
thus fins her suggestion of healing people you hear about on radio or
television, or see in the newspaper, without getting their specific
permission, not to be appropriate. As I say, this is a result of the way I
was trained. Others may not find this a problem. It is up to the
individual to decide what is appropriate.
Reviewed by Mike Gleason
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