This is by far the best book on visualization that I have encountered. The authors were internationally recognized authorities on the Western Mysteries and of the Ogdoadic Tradition, a hermetic school of which the keywords are knowledge and regeneration. This excellent work deals with all the important aspects of visualization: realizing that the source of supply is spiritual, the power of music and song, establishing a desire on the astral, mental and spiritual planes. The authors have a knack for explaining things simply and practically. They show you how to create and maintain an image, and how to infuse it with the power of your higher self, and even tell you how to terminate a process of visualization should you no longer want it to proceed. More advanced techniques include the Star Technique, the Multiplication Technique and the Master Method, all of them very easy to carry out. The appendices include wisdom texts to assist learning and motivation, information on prayer and worship (like building an altar), and advice on maintain sound mental and physical health. There are illustrations explaining the stairway to success and the star technique, plus an I Ching hexagram. This is a classic work in the field and one I would recommend first to those wishing to explore creative visualization.

While it is never explcitly stated, this book provides a Kabbalistic guide to creative visualization. Its theory comes out of the concept of the Four Worlds on the Tree of Life. For those familiar with that theory, this book puts this powerful technique in a framework they already understand. For those unfamiliar, it should still work incredibly well.

The wonder of the Four Worlds is that the idea is so common sense that the authors never even directly mention it. They lay out progressive techniques which access each level of Mind without dwelling on heavy occult theory. In other words, this book is useful to everyone, regaurdless of whether or not you know what the Ruach is.

The book basically takes you through the formative stages of daydreaming, on to planning, concrete visualization, and charging with Divine power. There is also a quikie technique called "the Star" which helps with matters of immediate concern. The Master Technique, as they call it, could easily be modified for use with the Middle Pillar or similar Kabbalistic Exercise.

I'm very impressed with Denning and Phillips in general, and this book is another example of how woderful their work is.

This book started me on creative visualisation. Since then I have created quite a library on the subject, but have yet to find a book in which the technique explained by Denning & Phillips is so well documented and laid out in a practical and down to earth manner. I can attest that it works. Certainly, you have to do the ground work, but the results do come. The book is well laid out, every chapter has study points to emphasize the most important points of what is taught, and it leads, most of all, to the manifestation of what you want.

This is an indispensable book for anyone beginning their studies in Jungian psychology. At 140 pages in length, the text is an easy read with no wasted words and no convoluted passages to unravel. It addresses Jung's entire system and provides succinct, memorable summaries of each concept.

The Book is broken up into seven chapters:
1. Carl Gustav Jung (biographical background)
2. The Structure of Personality (the psyche, conscious, personal unconscious and collective unconscious)
3. The Dynamics of Personality (psychic energy and values, the principles of equivalence and entropy, etc.)
4. The Development of Personality (individuation, transcendence and integration, etc.)
5. Psychological Types (thinking, feeling, sensation, and intuitive)
6. Symbols and Dreams
7. Jung's Place in Psychology.

For more eminently readable Jungian psychology, try Marie-Louise von Franz.

'Got turned on to the great Dr. Jung in '90. 'Fell in love w/the feeling of 'startling disclosure' that results from studying Jung's work and how his postulates apply to one's daily existence. The excellent authors of this book talk about 'startling disclosure.' In fact, they shared the term w/me in this very book - the first book of Jungian concepts I ever bought - which is frankly the last book on Jungian PSY a reader will ever need.

This book is so clearly written that reading it becomes a numinous experience. Dr. Jung's unique knowledge of universal themes in myths, tales, and dreams, and of alchemy, and Eastern philosophy brings, together with the scientific Western approach, new elements to the understanding of the human psyche. Consequently, I would say that this analytic psychology's chief aim is individuation and self-realization. Hall and Nordby address this matter very lucidly showing the importance of transcendence and intergration in the process of individuation. Indeed, this process is one of self-knowledge, "Education is drawing out from the person, something that is already there in a nascent state, and not the filling up of an empty container with academic knowledge" (p.83). Altogether, this book is a cromprehensive work addresing concepts such as; the collective unconscious, archetypes, complexes, the shadow, introversion and extroversion, and it even includes a brief description of synchronicity. Undoubtedly, it is worth reading,

I originally purchased the cards first. However, whenever I did a spread, I didn't know how to interpret it. This book has been an essential tool and now my friends, family, and co-workers have asked me to do card readings for them.

Thank you.

As I said in my review of the Rohrig, this highly sensual, sexual deck has a lot of subtle differences from the Thoth or the Rider. This companion book will help you navigate these shifts flawlessly, providing deeper insight whenever you are doing a serious tarot reading.

Carl's (fairly traditional) cyclic interpritation of the Major Arcana is quite beautiful. I've seen the theory stated many times, but never with quite the same impact as this book had.

A must read for anyone who wants to take their reading of the Rohrig to a higher level.

I have never seen such a colorful and exciting deck of tarot cards, and I have looked at a lot of them. This set is completely attractive to a younger crowd of tarot readers and has more symbolism in current times than many of the older tarot cards. If you have an interest in tarot, you have to check out this deck.

This is an inspiring collaboration between a passionate amateur scholar and his professional scholar friends. How delightful to read something that isn't dumbed down. The analysis and induction is nicely supplemented by the "Hymn to Demeter." Much for the brain to chew on!

Wasson et al's revelations of the complexity of the myths that surrounded the Eleusian mysteries are fodder for hours upon hours of thought play about the foundations of our culture today.

The authors of 'Road to Eleusis' - they include Albert Hofmann, the discoverer of LSD, and Gordon Wasson, the white man who in 1957 revealed the continued existence of the pre-Columbian sacred-mushroom rite to the non-Mexican Indian world - argue that a water-soluble alkaloid contained in ergot, a tiny fungus which attacks grains and grasses, was the principal psychoactive ingredient of the 'kykeon', the sacred potion drunk before the celebration of the Mysteries of Eleusis by those awaiting initiation. The philological and psycho-pharmacological argument of 'Road to Eleusis' is compelling but to get the most from the book, read it in combination with 'Eleusis: Archetypal Image of Mother and Daughter' by Karl Kerenyi, a disciple of Carl Jung, which provides an introduction to the history of Eleusis and contains a psychological study of the Mysteries.

In pre-Classical times, it is likely that almost the entire population of Athens walked the fifteen-mile distance to Eleusis at harvest time every year in order to drink the 'kykeon' and experience the sense of the mythic reunion of Persephone, the Daughter, with Demeter, the Mother who taught men how to plant seeds and reap the fruit. The Christ, the draw in the psychological game of chess between the Hellenised Middle East and Israel, speaks distantly but clearly of Eleusis in John 12: 20-24 and Cicero, the Roman philosopher, author and statesman who coined the phrase 'bread and circuses' to damn the spectacular politics of his time, was an initiate.

Iktinos, architect of the Parthenon, also designed the Telesterion, the classical-period temple of the Mysteries of which only broken columns survive. However, scattered throughout 'Eleusis' by Kerenyi are bits and pieces of the psychological vocabulary of the Mysteries which with the help of ancient Greek and Indo-European comparative etymological dictionaries allow a reconstruction of the mind of the initiate. For example, 'tele', from 'telos', the full circle, the crown - today, we hear it many times every day in connection with technology; however, at Eleusis 'tele' had a sacral meaning.

Eleusis was to religion in Athens what democracy was to Athenian politics: essential.

'Road to Eleusis' and 'Eleusis: Archetypal Image of Mother and Daughter' - read both; and when in Greece, don't miss Eleusis, 20 miles south of Athens on the mainland across the water from the island of Salamis, open every day from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. except Monday when the site is closed.

If other books are dynamite, this is nuclear. It documents how the Mystai at Eleusis became Epoptes, a standard rite of passage for all the famous Greek minds we seek to understand. Full understanding is not possible without initiation such as is outlined in this volume. Eleusis is at the end of a line of mystical experience that goes back to 5000 BCE. Is is not so much that the Mystery of Eleusis is revealed, as that it points the sacred way how to unravel the mystery of our own existence. The Greeks knew, and if you do as they did, you can. Wasson tells us what the Greeks did.

I just read the other reviews of this book and feel compelled to add that it had a similarly profound effect on my life. It is only published every 20 years--1947, 1967, 1987 and hopefully again in 2007. It is the best children's book ever--an unrivalled compilation of timeless--and non-commercial--poems and rhymes. Only Shel Silverstein has come close to achieving the same greatness. I learned the whole book by heart as a child and my grown up sisters and I still recite the rounds together when we are feeling silly. Everyone should have this book in their permanent collection.

I thought I was the only one who remembered this book. Its so hard to find a copy these days I was starting to wonder if I had imagined it's existence. It was this book and NOT Dr. Sydney Friedman, of M*A*S*H fame that can be credited with the gem, "Ladies and Gentlemen take my advice, take off your pants and slide on the ice." Among other things, this book shaped and validated my sense of humor.

I read this book at least 100 times and I still love it to this day, 26 years later.

As a matter of fact I never read this book but the film caled "Left luggage" was based on that book so please all of you who read this book enjoi whatching this film.

The Shovel and the Loom was originally published in Holland as "Twee Koffers Vol", which means: two loaded suitcases. Actually, the best translation could have been: 'Left Luggage'. This is also the title of the film of the book. The film, starring a.o. Isabella Rossellini and Maximilian Schell and Topol as 'Apfelschnitt' has been directed by Jeroen Krabbe, the Dutch actor/painter and will be released in the U.S. next spring. The film is a breathtaking adaptation of the novel.

Don't read The Shovel and the Loom until you have read Nightfather. Author hits a nerve to all the children of the Holocaust survivors. The social and religious questions we asked during our youth are answered on the pages in a real moving story. There is no known English background of this author but she again illustrates the voice of my generation.

For 10 years I have been struggling with eczema. Creams and treatments only did so much, and it never went away for long. I found that stress provoked my eczema and thought that there were underlying psychological reasons, but didn't know where to get help. Desperate I turned to the web and found this excellent book that details the reasons behind skin conditions, how to relieve the condition and to explore and deal with the underlying problem. The exercises to relieve itching work and the accounts of other people's conditions are enlightening.

The program Dr. Grossbart presents in his book Skin Deep is impressive and effective.The book provides not only a vivid account of what he does in his office in Boston, but a wide range of practical techniques that people can use on their own. As a colleague, I've referred many people to him. I've seen the approach work with psoriasis, eczema, herpes, warts , and other skin diseases. Often symptoms disappear, or are substantially reduced in frequency or severity. People come away with both skin help and markedly increased self-understanding that leads to improvements in many other areas of their lives. I've heard that people with skin problems that have not responded to the usual medical treatments come from all over the world to see him. I think this is justified. His program is "the real thing."

This is the best self-help book I've read. The healing exercies oulined by the authors are not in the least bit "new-agey" and etheral, but are parctical and down-to-earth. As a reader you are encouraged to dig deep into your own psyche to discover the sensitive issues behind your skin problem and you are emotionally supported every step of the way as if you were actually in the doctor's office. Anyone with the drive to acquire self-knowledge will gain valuable insights from reading this book. For me personally, the "animal test" and the sections on "what if it got better/what if it got worse" were particularly enlightening. This book should be a mandatory read for all doctors applying for board certification in dermatology.

This book is exceptional because it is geared toward everyone who wants to improve their game. Young/new officials will find this book helpful and it clearly explains each point. Each set of rules are clearly defined in the book (NCAA, USSF, & Federation), which allows it to be used as a wonderful teaching tool. The topics covered are relevant to today's game because the author is still very active in soccer.

Once you have memorized the rules, read this book in order to learn how to be an official. This book takes the rules off of the printed page and onto the field of play. The spirit of the game is emphasized over the letter of the law. Many excellent illustrations make it easier to understand the mechanics of soccer officiating. The reader should be able to understand the nuances of rules differences between FIFA, NCAA, and USSF.

From my experience with the Baseball Umpire Guidebook, I knew, sight unseen that I would love the Soccer Officials Guidebook. This book is full of information and excellent diagrams that will help not only new referees, but veterans as well. Any fans that always wondered about the officials positioning, or rules applications, will also find this book almost impossible to put down. This was my first purchase using Amazon.Com, and I'm sure it won't be my last.

_The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche_ is one of the better volumes out of the Princeton/Bollingen series of Jung's collected works, and is absolutely essential for any serious Jungian. I will go over the essays in sequence:

First comes an essay entitled "On Psychic Energy". This is the most difficult essay in this volume. Generally, Jung discusses his concept of the "canalization of libildo". This is interesting in that Jung tries to redefine "libido" by moving away from its traditional, purely sexual connotation. For Jung, libido is simply a generic form of psychic energy which can be redirected or "canalized" into both sexual AND non-sexual activities, such as religious rituals, dances, chants, and incantations. It is only when our intrinsic need for ritual is supressed that we find our libido forced to direct its energies into sexual perversion. Although the concept is interesting, the writing style of this essay is rather vague and opaque, and if you find yourself bogged down, I strongly suggest you skip this first essay. Don't worry - it's all downhill after this essay. The rest of the book is much more lucid and readable.

Next comes an essay called "The Transcendent Function", which basically deals with the healing breakthrough which is the goal of the patient in psychotherapy. Next is an essay dealing with the "Complex Theory". This essay deals with word-association tests in which the experimenter observes the subjects reations and hesitations when given a word that evokes embarrassing or painful memories. Both of these essays are very useful and informative.

Next we have about three more short but very profound and informative essays. Then comes the centerpiece of the book, a potent and spectaculuar classic of 20th century psychology entitled "On the Nature of the Psyche". This, along with "Answer to Job" is one of Jung's very best essays. It deals with an astounding range of topics, including the limitations and paradoxes associated with epistemology, and the dualistic and paradoxical interrelationship between subjective, inner psyche and the objective/outer world. This essay has much to say about the limitations of our subjectivity, and the degree to which we depend on other people and the outside world to attain consciousness. Jung does an excellent job in demarcating the thin line which divides the outer world and the sum of our subjective perceptions. Overall, this essay is a mind warping trip into a sea of paradoxical mysteries of the psyche.

After a short essay dealing with spirits, we come to a series of three great essays: "Spirit and Life", "Basic Postulates of Analytical Psychology", and "Analytical Psychology and Weltanschauung". These fantastic essays deal expertly with the delicate issue of fate and determinism vs. freewill, and the idea of achieving an objective attitude or "Weltanscauung". Jung warns against attempting to unite everyone under one objetive attitude or "ism". This can only lead to repression, nationalistic, racist, and PATRIOTIC BIAS, and ultimately, war. According to Jung, when one nation unites under an "ism" or Weltanschauung which is erronously believed to be objective and appropriate for everyone, we will end up with a repression of indivdual, diverse opinions at best, and at worst, will have a worldwide tragedy resulting from our quest to force this attitude on other people. (and yes, according to Jung's book, DEMOCRACY also counts as one of those "ism's" that we should not try to force on to other people). Of course this tragedy will be carried out under the banner of patriotism.

Next we have three more short essays which are very good, especially "The Soul and Death". After that, we have the famous essay, "Syncronicity", which is available by itself in paperback if you only want that. This is a fascinating essay dealing with paranormal psychic phenomena such as psychokinesis, ESP, and telepathy. If you want to see more details on this essay, see my corresponding review for the stand-alone paperback version.

Overall, _The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche_ is a monumental, epic work. A true magnum opus of psychology, I recommend this volume to anyone who is willing to take on a challenge for the pursuit of self-knowledge.

This book is hardcore Jung explaining with his famous spectrum analogy the "third thing" of the psyche, that imaginal space wedged between matter and spirit. Very technical.

This is the most practical description of the structure and dynamics of the psyche available. It is a working reference that enables real self-understanding, the understanding of others, and the understanding of the dynamics between the two. With all of the mis-spent resources in the last ninety years on the study of behavior, and the growth of the behaviorists, this reference really enables a person to learn the details of the pre-cursors to behavior. In today's so-called knowledge-based work environment, a solid understanding of the psyche is essential, since 90% of the work is not what one would consider observable behavior. It's nice to know that such a valuable book is still available and still useful. It should be paired with Jung's Psychological Types, and the Two volume set of William James, practical psychology books. Wes Stillwagon

This book took my Tarot work to a whole new level.

Don't let the title throw you -- you don't need to be a psych major to understand the ideas presented in this book. The author relates the path laid out in the Major Arcana to life, so everyone should be able to relate.

This book is also a good reference. The book contains discussion of each major and minor arcana card, combining the symbolism of the suit with the card's number, and tying that into the image. As an advanced beginner, this was helpful, since it took me beyond associating keywords with cards, to using my intuition in my interpretation. After checking it out from the library for the third time, I knew this was one that I should own.

I believe each person who discovers the Tarot is a seeker of wisdom and knows there is a Power greater than ourselves. The Tarot reflects the combined wisdom of humans who have sought an understanding of the Will of the Divine or as Joseph Campbell has said it the Will of "the thing that stands behind."

My own path originated in a diverse religious upbringing, winded through an academic setting filled with various social science perspectives, encompassed therapy, developmental workshops, spiritual retreats, etc., and came to rest in a 12-step program. After all these experiences, I recogize the Tarot as a cumulative human effort that places a face on the sum of my experiences. I too started as "the fool" and discoved the world.

A knowledge of Jungian psychology will help one understand and appreciate Karen Hamaker Zondag's TAROT AS A WAY OF LIFE. If you've taken a Myers-Briggs personality test, read Joseph Campbell's works on 'The Hero' or seen the Moyers-Campbell interviews, are familiar with T.S. Elliot's poem 'The Wasteland', or ever been in a 12-step program, you've been exposed to Jungian concepts.

Using Jungian concepts, Zondag explains how the Tarot deck can help the individual develop and use an organizing principle for living. Each of the cards of the Major Arcana represents some aspect of life that occurs for every conscious human being. Zondag divides the cards of the Major Arcana into three components: the basic drives; the construction of the ego; and the integration of the consciousness and unconsciousness. Zondag uses illustrations from several sets of Tarot cards to show why she prefers the Waite Tarot Deck illustrated by Pamela Coleman Smith over others.

Some who work with the Tarot use only the Major Arcana, but Zondag uses both the major and minor decks. The Minor deck has four "suits" comparable to a regular deck of playing cards: Cups (Water, Hearts, Wine, Clergy); Wands (Fire, Clubs, Rue, Peasants); Swords (Air, Spades, Angels, Ivy, Needles, Aristoi); Pentacles (Coins, Diamonds, Salt, Commerce).

Zondag associates the Yin/Yang principle with the cards. Thus Cups and Pentacles are receptive or feminine and Swords and Wands are creative or masculine. Interestingly, the Yang cards are frequently associated with strife and anger as well as building and accomplishment, whereas the Yin cards are associated with passivity, love, wealth, and happiness. There are Yang Queens and Yin Kings, so one cannot argue the cards are stereotypes in a negative sense although they may be "types" in a positive sense. Each person regardless of sex can exhibit any of the aspects reflected in the Tarot cards.

Zondag offers several ways to do a Tarot reading. Readings are designed to "guide" the recipient, not "forecast" the future. Conceivably, if one chooses to ignore the cards one can, and suffer the consequences. I've done several readings for a female who is a Leo with an IQ of 165, has red hair and a temper to match. We keep turning up the Queen of Wands who sits on a throne where lions serve as arm rests. Zondag says this card combines the receptivity of the Yin with the independence and activity of Wands. "The Queen of Wands is no stanger to the desire for attention. Her penchant for getting involved, and her natural activity, often result in firey enthusiasm, which she is mature enough to keep within bounds...the Queen of Wands provides a powerful stimulus to action." I always tell my Leo that she holds the key to her destiny in her own hands. The cards merely reveal the situation at hand and point to possible outcomes.

This is a book that not only tells you what the Tarot cards mean--in plain English--but also gives a concise, credible explanation for why each card means what she says it means. She draws heavily on Jungian psychology in her interpretation of the Major Arcana, and on numerology (filtered through folklore and mythology) for the Minor Arcana, but in both cases she refers directly to what's actually on the cards--helping the reader see them as a coherent symbolic system, not just mysterious pictures. (She mostly uses the Rider-Waite deck, but gives an extended justification for her choice, comparing it symbolically with other popular decks.) I don't know that I necessarily agree with every one of her interpretations--but that's actually one of the book's great strengths. After reading it, I felt that I understood enough of what was going on in the Tarot to begin to have my own opinions. Hamaker-Zondag, who's a noted astrologer, includes a chapter on attempts to combine Tarot and astrology--and concludes that it may not be possible. She also includes straightforward, common-sense advice on how to conduct a reading and lay out the cards--instructions that are far more helpful than those in other Tarot books I've read. The one thing I don't like about this book is the title. It sounds like it's inviting you to join a cult. It's really one of the most feet-on-the-ground introductions you're likely to find.