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Twisted Tree
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Twisted Tree
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From the
Bookshelf is the review page of the Twisted Tree website.
Here we review books, music, magazines and other media which relate to aspects
of paganism.
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Music review
Magicfolk is produced by £12.99 inc p&p
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Magicfolk Originally founded by Michelle and Ben Glover as a trio this now seven piece band have released their first album, and what a “dilly”. It’s as well a crafted piece of folk-rock as I come across in many a year. Michelle and Ben have individually or in concert written every track on the CD and with Michelle’s vocals fronting the band have produced a most worthy work. In addition they have designed a most attractive cover for the album. A couple of genuine all-rounders it appears. Classifying themselves as “psych-folk” (A new one to me. Pardon my ignorance) they have a mixture of ‘Tull, West Coast rock & Fairport Convention with the cadences of Pentangle and a touch of Clannad thrown in for good measure and if you find that hard to imagine then go to the website and have a listen. The lyrics, as one might guess with a band called Magicfolk are inspired by folklore, mysticism and all things esoteric. There’s a variety of different sound on offer from “ Persephone” with its more traditional folk sound to “Furies” much rockier presentation and interesting use of background speech (in Greek) reminiscent of “Friends of Mr. Cairo” from Jon & Vangelis. Then there’s good acoustic guitar work on “Little Spirit”, the richer sound provided by the clarinets on “Heliopolis”, evocative lyrics of “Egypt” and all topped off with “Sea Priestess” which brings to life that magnificent work by Dion Fortune. This is an album worth adding to your collection and personally I’m already looking forward to their next offering. The Magicfolk website is worth a visit too. Not least because it’s one of the ways to purchase the album, but its nice design, inclusion of bio’s, news and gigs etc. makes it a good piece of promotional work for the band and a pleasure to surf.D. James 2008
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Music review
Deep Well in the Wild Wood Available from http://www.rjstewart.net $15.00 + shipping
Or by writing to;
BCM Hallowquest, London WC1N 3XX
£14.00 Inc p+p
Cheques payable to Caitlin Matthews
More information about Caitlin Matthews and her works can be found at http://www.hallowquest.org.uk
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Deep Well in the
Wild Wood Those of you who are familiar with the works of Caitlin Matthews will also be aware of her fondness for singing. Few of us are aware that she is a prolific songstress. Her original lyrics have been performed and recorded all over the world, for example in Bruckheimer’s “King Arthur” (2004) for which she wrote “Song of the Exile”. Given that, it’s somewhat surprising that “Deep Well in the Wild Wood” is Caitlin’s first venture into the world of commercial recording. It’s less surprising that she should chose to do it with the help of her long time friend and associate; Bob Stewart. So what has Caitlin chosen to give us on her début album ? Here we have a mixture of traditional folk songs and ballads, religious songs and original lyrics all set to both traditional and original music performed by the redoubtable R.J. Here are songs of magic brought to life from the deep well of the lands mystical past. Chants to work to, Rhythms to dance to, all intended to help evoke and encourage links with our spiritual ancestors. From “Wild Wood” with it’s evocative lyrics and haunting melody through the dramatic ballad that is “King Orpheo” and the magical “Song of the Spindle” to the Shaker song of “I will bow and be simple”, Caitlin gives us a wide range of emotions and sensations, all delivered in her indomitable style on this “live” recording. As far as the production goes; It’s a well produced CD though for me it would have been good to hear more tracks finish rather than fade. The recordings of Caitlin’s voice are live and not enhanced or re-mastered giving us a delivery in “true spirit” as it were. R.J. is, as always a master tunester and I particularly like his work on the 80 string psaltery. It would have been nice to see a lyric sheet, especially for some of the more evocative numbers and more information about the tracks themselves although on the cover you are directed at www.rjstewart.net/DeepWell.html where there is a comprehensive amount of information concerning how the CD was created though still no lyrics. On the whole a most interesting first offering. Thank you. D.James 2007
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Now in Second
edition About the author:
Maria Kay Simms, a professional astrologer o f
30 years experience and a Wiccan High Priestess, has woven
together her vast astrological knowledge of lunar phenomena with
Goddess mythology, meditation, ritual and the
practical wisdom of Crone to provide a valuable tool for personal and spiritual development.
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As a general rule I don’t do
book reviews and when I was asked to review "Moon Tides, Soul Passages"
I at first thought; "Another astrology book ? I don’t think so." But
after I had read the publishers blurb and taken a quick look at what
other reviewers had said, I changed my mind. "Moon Tides, Soul Passages" is not "just another astrology book". As its title implies, it focuses on the importance of the Moon and how its many aspects affect our lives and does not concern itself with Solar aspects which are common in other volumes. I confess that at first, considering its title and subject, I was concerned that it might lean to heavily towards the feminist end of interpretation to be of interest to both genders and so was pleasantly surprised to find that this was not the case. It does have a feminine bias mainly because of its subject matter but this doesn’t get in the way. What did catch my imagination was the authors stated leanings in interpretation towards Wicca. Maria Kay Simms marries Lunar astrology, the Goddess and Wicca in a most interesting way, giving not only the necessary interpretations of lunar aspects but also rituals based around those interpretations. She uses different Goddesses to illustrate the phases of the Moon as it traverses the various signs and houses and then introduces rituals for eclipses, the eight phases and more. Two other things also contribute to make this book worthy of note; The inspirational artworks by Maria Kay Simms and Molly Sullivan which have been reproduced within its covers and the free computer software program which accompanies the book. The software by Rique Pottenger is a very easy to use program and will come as a pleasant surprise to those of you, like myself who have spent years trying to get to grips with other complicated astrology programs. Key a few basic pieces of information, make the calculation and you are presented with a digest of all the relevant lunar aspects which you can then, using the book, begin to interpret. It’s possible that some pagans and non-pagans might find the wiccan pitch of "Moon Tides, Soul Passages" a little irritating but the information contained within its pages is concise and delivered such a way that it becomes a pleasure to read. "Moon Tides, Soul Passages" is a worthy addition to the bookshelf of any person remotely interested in astrology and a very useful tool for any wiccan reader. D.James 2006
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Music review
Available from: $15.00 www.thundervisionrecords.com ThunderBeat travels to many of the ancient sites around the world taking inspiration for her music from the ambient energies and the atmosphere she finds. Mayan Landing 2012 was inspired by sounds and rhythms that were experienced during her visit to the Mayan temples on Mexico.
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Have you ever been to Sedona, Arizona ? It’s a place worth visiting for its geology alone. Then there are the Vortex’s. Centres of energy that are palpable to us mere mortals. Is it any wonder then that Sedona seems to have become something of a Mecca for the “New Age”. “What has this to do with a music review.” I hear you ask. Well it seems to me that a vast amount of “New Age” culture is being produced by those people who live and work surrounded by the rich red rocks of Sedona. ThunderBeat is no exception. Originally from Rochester NY she is a Native American of Shawnee & Choctaw heritage who now resides in Sedona. Best known for her drumming she has for the last 20 years worked and toured with many international artists. As an example of “New Age” music “Mayan Landing 2012” can certainly hold it’s own. It’s fusion of tonal and tribal rhythms and mix of exotic instruments combines with the expert drumming of ThunderBeat to produce a musical experience worthy of any collection. “The Jaguar Speaks” did it for me with its clever use of didgeridoo to represent the voice of the Jaguar and rather up tempo beat it caught my attention and refused to let it go. So much so that the first time through I completely missed the nicely spoken words that accompany the track. “The Shamen say the Jaguar is the ruler of the land. Without them, the Humans cannot exist”. The other tracks are equally as good as their exotic sounds and rhythmic drumming draw you further into the Mayan landscape. “The earth will not be destroyed on Dec 21st 2012. Mayan view this as a date of rebirth” So says the cover notes. Which is a relief because I’ll just bet that you’ll still be listening to this CD long after that…..
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twistedtree.org.uk
with the relevant details and a brief description.
We cannot guarantee that submissions for review will appear on
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