WELCOME to the 49th edition of the Edge of the Circle Newsletter. This newsletter has come about as an effort to reach out to the Pagan/ Occult community (particularly in Seattle where we are based) to inform the community of what events are happening at our store. I've got great plans for this newsletter. Hopefully, as time goes by, it will only get bigger and better. Without further ado, welcome, and enjoy.
Regards,
Erica (Raven) Branch-Butler,
Editrix
golanv1@yahoo.com
WHO WE ARE:
Edge of the Circle Books is Seattle's resource for Paganism & the Occult. This newsletter seeks to provide the Seattle community with a place to list events, post articles, and do a bit of networking. We are located at: 701 E. Pike St, corner of Boylston Ave., just two blocks west of Broadway, on Capitol Hill.
Edge of the Circle Books strives to be your ideal Magical Pagan store.
Open 7 days a week, Noon 'till 9pm.
Call: 206-PAN-1999
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We are now on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Edge-of-the-Circle-Books-Events#!/pages/Edge-of-th\e-Circle-Books-Events/106285532728383?ref=ts
Become a Fan, post your event on the discussion page!
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NEW PRODUCTS:
RUNE AND OGHAM SETS
FROM THE GREEN WOLF - ART BY LUPA
Materials: Deer antler, leather, yarn
Dimensions: app. 3/4” - 1" diameter antler slices, 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" pouch
DESCRIPTION:
Elder Futhark rune sets, Celtic Ogham sets, made from whitetail deer antler slices comes in a brown leather pouch made from part of a coat and reclaimed braided yarn drawstrings. Carved but unstained, so you can stain them with Red Ocher yourself as is traditional.
FROM THE ARTIST:
The majority of my supplies are from secondhand sources, such as old fur and leather coats, or beads from old jewelry. Everything made with animal parts is given a full ritual purification according to my spiritual path. A portion of the proceeds is donated to nonprofit organizations such as the Defenders of Wildlife.
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NEW PRODUCTS
COVENTRY CREATIONS
We are now pleased to have in stock the new spell kits, oils and incenses from Coventry Creations, featuring the Motor City Hoodoo line, Tarot Spell Candles, Vampire Virtue Candles, and other items, along with old favorites, the Blessed Herb Candles and Goddess Candles. Among my favorite new items: The “No More Drama” Spell Kit, and the Odin, Aphrodite and Hecate oils.
VUDU CARTOGRAPHY
by Michael Bertiaux
Publisher: Fulgur Limited
Standard edition
708 numbered copies only
landscape 8vo, 245mm x 180mm
192 pages, full colour
hardback in buckram-cloth, dust-jacket
$69.95
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
We are delighted to offer the first entirely new book by Michael Bertiaux for more than 20 years. Vudu Cartography explores the mysteries of Vudu through chants, oracles, seances and a symbolic system of images – all connected by a descriptive narrative which leads us, like a dusty highway, through the shimmering landscape. Drawn from his experiences in Haiti, Bertiaux’s own evocative voudon ‘art brut’ images create a map for those regions of ‘invisible power’, giving the reader ingress to the ‘mysteries and hiddenesses of an exotic theology, with its spiritist twists and turns and esoteric spaces.’
Issued as the second volume in our Bibliotheque de Verseau series, Vudu Cartography includes more than 130 new Vudu images by the artist, all printed in full colour on archival paper. We have produced no other book quite like it, so potent seems the mix, and we hope you will agree.
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PHYLLIS SECKLER (SOROR MERAL)
THE THOTH TAROT, ASTROLOGY,
& OTHER SELECTED WRITINGS
Publisher: The Teitan Press
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
Phyllis Seckler (1917-2004) was introduced to the teachings of Aleister Crowley in the late 1930s and became a regular participant in the activities of Agape Lodge of the Ordo Templi Orientis in California, and rose to become a Ninth Degree member of the "Sovereign Sanctuary of the Gnosis." She was admitted to the A.'. A.'. under the tutelage of Jane Wolfe, eventually taking the now well-known "magical name" Soror Meral and was later confirmed as an Adeptus Minor by Crowley's successor, Karl Germer. Seckler was a key figure in the reinauguration of the O.T.O. in 1969, and a few years later she founded the College of Thelema, with the intention that it would provide important background training and education for aspirants to the A.'. A.'. Although not as widely known as some of her contemporaries, Seckler played a crucial role in the history of Thelema, not only through her efforts to explore and revive Crowley's creed, but also by training a new generation of its students.
The Thoth Tarot, Astrology & Other Selected Writings, is edited by three of Phyllis Seckler’s former students: Rorac Johnson, Gregory Peters, and David Shoemaker. It includes a biographical sketch of Phyllis Seckler drawn from her own autobiographical writings, and two of her most important essays: “The Tarot Trumps of Thoth and Psychology” – a detailed analysis of the psychological and magical symbolism of the Trumps of the Thoth deck – and “Thoth Tarot and Astrology,” a significant study of astrology and the natal chart, with special reference to the cards of the Thoth deck. Both of these essays were previously serialized in Seckler’s journal In the Continuum, but they are here presented for the first time in book form, accompanied by redrawn and corrected diagrams.
In addition to the essays the book also contains a selection of important correspondence between Seckler, Aleister Crowley, Karl Germer and Jane Wolfe. These are followed by a transcript of the last major interview conducted with Phyllis Seckler, in which she recounted the details of her introduction to Thelema and involvement with the old Agape Lodge, her subsequent participation in various Thelemic organizations, and her thoughts on developments within the Thelemic world.
The book is a hardcover, octavo sized (9 x 6 inches, approx 23.5 x 15.2cm), xviii + 390pp. Sewn, printed on acid-free paper. Heavy blue cloth binding, with gilt titling etc to the spine. Black and white frontispiece photo-portrait. Pictorial dustjacket. Edition limited to 777 numbered copies. Price: US $48.95
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BROTHER CURWEN, BROTHER CROWLEY
By Aleister Crowley and David Curwen,
Edited and with an Introduction by Henrik Bogdan
and a Foreword by Tony Matthews.
Publisher: The Teitan Press
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
In September 1944, a fifty-one year old Londoner named David Curwen wrote to Aleister Crowley, initiating a correspondence that would last several years. While Curwen approached Crowley with deference, the relationship that evolved between them was a complex one that defied the accepted parameters of the student-teacher nexus. For David Curwen was no newcomer to the study of the occult, and Crowley soon discovered that the flow of knowledge would not be simply one way. In particular Crowley was tantalized by the deep understanding of the principals of tantra that Curwen had acquired during the course of many years study under a mysterious guru.
At Crowley's urging Curwen joined the O.T.O., but he remained skeptical of many of "the Beast's" claims, and the two ultimately parted company on strained terms. However, Curwen retained his interest in the occult, and in later life he devoted himself to the study of alchemy, publishing the results of his researches pseudonymously in the book In Pursuit of Gold, a work that many believe to be the most significant study ever published of practical alchemy.
In addition to reproducing all of the surviving correspondence between the pair, Brother Curwen, Brother Crowley includes an important biographical Foreword by David Curwen’s grandson, Tony Matthews. The letters themselves have been edited and annotated by the scholar of Crowley and Western esotericism, Henrik Bogdan, who has also contributed an illuminating Introduction that gives context to the relationship between Crowley and Curwen, as well as exploring the history of their interest in sexual occultism and tantra, and the influence that they had in Kenneth Grant.
The book is a hardcover, octavo sized (9 x 6 inches, approx 23.5 x 15.2cm), xlviii + 136pp. Sewn, printed on acid-free paper. Heavy dark green cloth binding, with gilt titling etc to the spine. Black and white frontispiece, and eight pages of black and white illustrations. Pictorial dustjacket. Edition limited to 777 numbered copies. Price: US $48.95
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INVOCATING BY MAGIC CRYSTALS AND MIRRORS
By Frederick Hockley, With an Introduction by R. A. Gilbert.
Publisher: The Teitan Press
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
Invocating by Magic Crystals and Mirrors contains a full color facsimile of an original manuscript by Frederick Hockley, a transcription of the text, an Introduction by R. A. Gilbert, and other related material.
Frederick Hockley (1809-1885) was an important if often-overlooked figure in nineteenth-century occultism. He was an active "seer" who engaged in scrying, and took an interest in ritual magic, alchemy and spiritualism. He was also a Freemason, who later in life joined the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia and other esoteric fraternities, and his work was posthumously used by various members of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. Hockley is also rightly renowned for the manuscripts he created, for he sought out and carefully prepared copies of numerous grimoires and other magical, alchemical and kabbalistic texts that had lain hidden in private collections around England. In addition he compiled a number of his own magical texts, as well as keeping detailed records of his many scrying sessions.
Invocating by Magic Crystals and Mirrors is one of Hockley's own writings. In it he describes the philosophy and method of "crystallomancy" ("crystal gazing" or "scrying through crystals or mirrors"), a practice which has long been associated with ritual magic. John Dee and his seer Edward Kelly were of course famous proponents of the system during the Elizabethan years, and after a period of relative obscurity it had found a new popularity in Spiritualist circles during the nineteenth century. Hockley's is a short work, that is reproduced from an original manuscript, dated 1869, that he presented to Barbara Honywood, a well-known society Spiritualist of the time. Honywood was said to have mediumistic powers, and it seems likely that Hockley prepared and gave the manuscript to her in the hope that it would excite her interest in the process, and perhaps help induce her to act as his "seer."
This Teitan Press edition is the first ever publication of the work. In addition to a full color facsimile of the beautifully decorated original manuscript, Invocating by Magic Crystals and Mirrors also includes a typeset transcription, a fascinating Introduction by Hockley scholar R. A. Gilbert, and the text of the "Invocation of the Crowned Angel," a related work taken from Hockley's manuscript records of his personal scrying activities. Edition limited to 600 numbered copies. Price: US $48.95
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SEPHER RAZIEL
A SIXTEENTH CENTURY ENGLISH GRIMOIRE
By: Don Karr
Imprint: Llewellyn
Specs: Hard Cover with Dust Jacket
English | 296 pages | 7 x 10 IN
Pub Date: September 2010
Price: $65.00
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
Sepher Raziel—also called Liber Salomonis—is a full grimoire in the Solomonic tradition from a sixteenth century manuscript. It contains seven books: the Clavis, concerned with astronomy and star configurations; the Ala, outlining the virtues of stones, herbs, and animals; the Tractatus Thymiamatus, which determines perfumes and suffumigations used in the Art; a treatise on times and hours of the day; a treatise on preparations, ritual purity, and abstinence; Samaim, a treatise on the different heavens and their angels; and finally, a treatise on the figures and properties used in invocation and their ordinances.
Also includes material on consecration and working with orisions, a book of magical directions, a version of Liber Lunae, and more.
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ALL THE KING'S CHILDREN: THE HUMAN LEGACY OF ALEX SANDERS
by Jimahl di Fiosa
Paperback: 204 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace (June 18, 2010)
Language: English
List Price: $18.95
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
Much has been written about Alex Sanders, King of the Witches. But much more is left unsaid about the lives of the men and women who were changed forever through the work of this remarkable man.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jimahl di Fiosa is a respected Elder and High Priest of Alexandrian Witchcraft. His interest in the occult spans many years. He has devoted his spiritual path to exploring the mysteries of the Goddess and to the preservation of Wicca for future generations. In 1999 he caused a big splash in the pagan publishing world when he penned his first book, "A Voice in the Forest, Spirit Conversations with Alex Sanders". The book became an overnight success with critics and readers alike and is now considered to be a classic of pagan literature. Jimahl is an accomplished medium and travels extensively, providing classes in spirit communication to anyone with a sincere interest in spiritualism. In 2009, his long awaited second book was published, "Talk to Me, When the Dead Speak With the Living".
THE HEALING POWER OF TREES
SPIRITUAL JOURNEYS THROUGH
THE CELTIC TREE CALENDAR
By :Sharlyn Hidalgo
Publisher:Llewellyn
Specs: Trade Paperback |
288 pages | 6 x 9 IN
Pub Date: November 2010
Price: $17.95
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
From the birch to the willow, Sharlyn Hidalgo invites you to walk in the footsteps of the druids and enrich your life with the sacred power of trees. This wise and inspiring book will introduce you to all fifteen revered trees of the Celtic Tree Calendar and their unique gifts of healing, guidance, and higher consciousness.
Progress through the calendar in sequence or choose a particular month to cultivate a relationship with these majestic spirits of nature. Perform guided meditations and go on journeys to discover the totems, guides, and deities corresponding to each species. Travel through the Wheel of the Year and learn about each tree's astrology, ruling planets, rune symbol, and ogham—its letter of the Celtic tree alphabet.
The Healing Power of Trees is your guide to living the principles of the Celtic tradition—tuning in to the rhythms of nature, respecting the land, and fulfilling your role as a steward of the earth.
Includes information on all 25 Ogham letters, Celtic holidays, and how to conduct a tree-honoring ceremony
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WEST COUNTRY WITCHES
(WITCHCRAFT OF THE BRITISH ISLES SERIES, BOOK II)
by Howard, Michael
Publisher: Three Hands Press
Binding: Paperback
224 pages
Price: $23.50
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
In 1930 a correspondent writing to the Western Morning Post newspaper confidently asserted 'We live in an age when those old twilight beliefs are disappearing'. The beliefs in question were various aspects of popular superstition and the supernatural once widely accepted by people in the West Country. In response to this assertion, a correspondent called Padely Silvanus said he lived on the border of Dartmoor and could introduce the previous writer to a haunted bridge that nobody would cross at night. He could also take him to a dell where faeries were still seen to dance, a place on the moor where an earthbound spirit dwelt and caused terrible accidents, introduce them to a 'well-known and universally respected' lady who had seen a pixy and heard the Wish Hounds in full cry, and take them to visit a witch in her cottage, but at the risk of them being 'overlooked' (ill-wished or bewitched). Silvanus' letter encompassed the surviving belief in ghosts, faeries and witches that for centuries has given the West Country its reputation as a place where the paranormal is an everyday event.
This second volume of the Witchcraft in the British Isles series examines the Craft sorcery and folklore of Devon, Cornwall, Somerset, Wiltshire and Dorset. Rich in folklore and folk traditions, the West Country has always had an aura of mystery and magic, and this is reflected in its past and the various races and their spiritual beliefs who have occupied it down the centuries.
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BACK IN PRINT:
DREAM ILLUMINATI: A GLOBAL REVOLUTION TAKES WING
by Wayne Saalman
Introduced by Robert Anton Wilson
5.5 x 8.5
Paperback: 348 Pages
List Price: $19.95
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
A BRAND NEW REVISED AND EXPANDED EDITION
Nobody quite knew what to make of them. Were they simply fun-loving thrill seekers leaping from surfboards and roaring motorcycles to hang gliders, and then on to the most advanced rocket-propelled jet packs on the planet? Or were they a genuine menace to religious traditionalists who were outraged when the Order began taking over churches, cathedrals and temples for their fiery flying rituals?
Bets swung both ways, but as the self-styled revolutionaries swelled in number and the media culture exulted, zealots turned violent and the press immediately warned of dogfights in the sky, street battles, mind games and soul wars.
Behind the scenes, the Powers That Be were strangely silent. But then word began filtering out that the secret elite were playing the two sides off against each other and there were whispers of a hidden agenda that could shift global power, profits and the future of the world itself.
"This book is pure magick. It made me smile." — Timothy Leary
"Saalman takes us on a quantum leap beyond the collective unconscious into our futures." — Christopher S. Hyatt, Ph.D.
"In a sense, we have all had our wings broken; it remains the major function of such hallowed institutions as organized religion and free compulsory education to see that our wings are broken, or at least clipped, before we reach adulthood. How else will society have the insectoid units it needs to fill the cubicles in its hive economy? But what if we begin to regrow healthy organs of Poetic Imagination and flight? What if we put on the wings and arouse the coiled splendor within as LIBER AL urges? Is it not predictable that society will react with the fury described by Wayne Saalman in this novel? Joyce did not name his emblematic Artist merely Daedalus but Stephen Dedalus after St. Stephen Protomartyr who reported a Vision and was stoned to death for it."
— Robert Anton Wilson from the Introduction.
NEW DIVINATION
TAROT LEARNING CARDS
(SELF STUDY FLASH CARDS)
Price/ea: $19.95
Average Rating:
Authors: Jadzia DeForest and Jay DeForest
Format: Card Deck
Publication Date: August 2010
Dimensions: Card Size - 3.75" x 5.25"
Details: Oversize cards, large font size, double-sided flashcards, printed on quality card stock, packaged in lift off top heavy duty box
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
The Tarot flash card deck was created with the beginner in mind. This is a full deck featuring the traditional 78 cards, with 56 minor arcana cards and 22 major arcana cards. Several instructional cards accompany the deck that include how to use this deck, Numerology, Court cards, Suits and Elements, Terminology, Recommended Reading, and About Reversals.
Each card is double sided with the symbol and name of the card on the front and the description on the back. The card descriptions include the theme, suit, number correspondence, and keywords for both the upright and reversed interpretations. The Major Arcana cards have astrological associations. Zodiac signs and Court theme are included on the Court cards.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
Jadzia has been a professional Tarot reader and instructor for nearly a decade. She teaches Tarot classes of all levels in Portland, Oregon and online through her website www.TarotByJadzia.com . She also leads Tarot workshops and offers readings at fairs, festivals and Metaphysical conferences.
Jay has been a student of Theology and Metaphysics for over 25 years. He is ordained in the Gardnerian & Faerie traditions of Wicca and teaches workshops & classes on Wicca, Elemental Energy, the Wheel of the Year, Shapeshifting and more.
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ASTROLOGY LEARNING CARDS
(SELF STUDY FLASH CARDS)
Price/ea: $19.95
Authors: Jadzia DeForest and Jay DeForest
Publication Date: August 2010
Dimensions: Card Size - 3.75" x 5.25"
Details: Oversize cards, large font size, double-sided flashcards, printed on quality card stock, packaged in lift off top heavy duty box
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
Astrology is a complex system of prediction that includes many pieces. These Astrology Learning Cards are an introduction to western Astrology. This deck includes the fundamentals of the astrological signs, planets, houses, and aspects.
Each card is double sided with the glyph and/or name on the front and the description on the back. The card descriptions for the Astrological signs include theme, element, keywords, symbol, zodiac birthstone, ruling planet, phrase, opposite sign, and the quadruplicity or quality.
The Planet cards have the theme, keywords, a brief description about the planet's influence, the mythological association where applicable, and the sign it rules.
Theme, keywords, and ruling sign are on each of the House cards.
On the aspect cards is the degree of that specific aspect and a paragraph about the aspect's qualities and influences.
The four elements cards include theme, keywords, and the astrological signs associated with the elements.
For quizzing purposes the twelve signs of the zodiac and the planets have extra cards that show the glyph on the card face and the name on the card back.
In this deck there are several informational cards on how the use the deck, Terminology, and Chart Casting. Altogether the Astrology Learning Cards deck has 73 unique cards.
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RUNE LEARNING CARDS
(SELF STUDY FLASH CARDS)
Authors: Jay DeForest and Jadzia DeForest
$19.95
Format: Card Deck
Publication Date: August 2010
Dimensions: Card Size - 3.75" x 5.25"
Details: Oversize cards, large font size, double-sided flashcards, printed on quality card stock, packaged in lift off top heavy duty box
FROM THE PUBLISHER:
Runes are an ancient system of divination from the Norse. These symbols started out as an alphabet and were then used for insight and prediction. This deck of flash cards was developed to use as a study tool for learning rune casting. There are twenty-five runes in a set, usually made of stone, clay, or wood. This deck has fifty flash cards, half of the cards feature the rune symbol on the front and description on the back. The other twenty-five cards have the rune name on the front and the symbol on the back for quizzing.
Each description card is double-sided with the glyph on the card face and the information on the back. The card descriptions for the Runes includes name, letter in the alphabet, pronunciation, theme, keywords, uses for magickal working, key phrases and reversed phrases where applicable.
In this deck there are the traditional twenty-four Runes plus the modern addition of the Rune “Wyrd”. Several informational cards come with the deck that include topics on how to use the deck, History and Origins of the Runes, Understanding the Runes, Rune Casting, and Layouts.
The total number of cards in the Runes deck is 55.
CALENDAR:
ONGOING AT EDGE OF THE CIRCLE BOOKS
SUNDAY , NOVEMBER 7th
(first Sunday of each month)
SEATTLE CHAOS MAGIC
We meet at 3:33 pm. on the first Sunday of each month, at Edge of the Circle Books, 701 E. Pike St., Seattle, WA 98122.
Anyone practicing, curious about, or otherwise interested in Chaos magic is welcome to attend.
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 1st
(Every 1st Monday of each month)
CELTIC RECONSTRUCTIONIST GROUP 7-9PM
For More Information:
http://www.seanet.com/~inisglas/
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 22nd
(Every 4th Monday of each month)
BLACKSUN AND SHADOWHAWK PRESENT:
A NIGHT OF WITCHERY
For the past 30 years, we have been teaching the basics of Wicca, lecturing at festivals, writing articles and books on Paganism, and acting as priest and
priestess of StarWyrm Coven. We are now starting a new series of meetings for the those sincerely interested in Wicca, open to all seekers. If you are seriously considering making Wicca your own brand of spirituality but wonder what you might be getting into, this is a great starting point. This is NOT a recruitment or any sort of proselytizing device. The aim of these meetings is to give information and trade perspectives so you may make up your mind.
Blessed be,
Blacksun and Shadowhawk
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 25th
(Every 4th Thursday of each month)
WITCH'S MEETUP 7-9PM
SERVICES AVAILABLE AT EDGE OF THE CIRCLE BOOKS
TAROT READINGS / SPIRITUAL ADVICE
UNCOMMONSENSE TAROT
Tarot readings by Erica (Raven) Branch-Butler
“ I've been reading Tarot for more than thirty years, and reading professionally at the Edge for nearly a decade. My belief is that Tarot is best used for putting you in touch with your own subconscious, allowing you to make healthy decisions that can change your life for the better. My readings tend to be rather commonsensical (hence the name) and are geared toward helping the client circumvent the often self-imposed obstacles in their lives, so that they can achieve their goals and fully enjoy the fruits that life has to bring.”
Please inquire about Tarot Parties, classes and other events.
Available every day except THURSDAYS-- 12:30-8.30PM.
Sundays 12:30-8:30 PM
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TAROT BY COMPASS
Every THURSDAY from 12:30-8:30 PM
“I've been reading cards for 20 years and doing readings professionally for nine. I've been reading cards at folk life and Bumbershoot for nine years along with various fairs and festivals on the west coast.
I believe the tarot works as an interpersonal growth tool that on some levels works like the childhood game of "broken telephone." Everyone of the 78cards in a tarot deck have a central meaning. Depending on where they fall in a spread, how they are dignified, and any colloquial non-sequiturs that happen to come out of my mouth create a personalized story of what's going on in ones life. The cards are great about "speaking" of the past and present. They can pick up on energies that are starting to manifest in ones life but ultimately after a reading is over everyone has free will and it is their choice how they deal with those energies. My job as a reader is multifaceted, from channel to help alleviate blocks; to sounding board as a listener. I've found that I get a wonderful thankful response from people I've given readings to.”
This concludes our Newsletter for this month.
Look for us again DECEMBER 1st 2010!
HAPPY, THANKSGIVING!
Sincerely,
Raven
Editrix, Edge of the Circle Books Newsletter
golanv1@yahoo.com
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