Monday, March 21, 2011

The recent full moon.

This last weekend, on Saturday, we went through a cycle of our moon known as a "Super Moon". It was a full moon phase where the moon itself was closer to the Earth than it has been since March of 1993. I have always enjoyed the moon's presence in our skies, and as a Pagan it holds a strong spiritual significance for me. I am always interested when there is news and buzz about solar system and its bodies. Over the weekend there was a lot of buzz about the concern of scientists that the gravitational pull of the moon might trigger the Earth's tectonic plates to move and cause a serious earthquake. Because of the recent series of quakes and massive tsunami in Japan, the world has been reminded of just how little we are in control of our planet's natural forces. The moon-driven earthquake never came, and I personally thank the moon for not destroying my coast and my home.

Friday, March 11, 2011

The First Post

So I guess my first post for this blog will be a book review. I could write a lengthy introduction for myself and my purpose for starting this blog, but I would rather not beat around the bush and just get strait in to what I want to write about.

One of my favorite historical fiction/fantasy books is by Susanna Clarke and is named Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. It was a New York Times Best Seller, so chances are you may have heard of it. In case you have not, it focuses on Napoleonic Era England in which practical magic has disappeared from public view. Magic is studied by uppercrusty gentleman but is considered something that only lower class individuals attempt to perform. When a couple of the York Society Magicians take it upon themselves to rediscover England's magic, they come across Mr. Norrell who almost begrudgingly brings practical magic back for the country's use. This book is filled with fantastic stories of wartime use of magic and mysterious beings from the land of Faerie. One of my favorite aspects of this book is that Clarke has filled the book with footnotes that reference a myriad of fictional texts that she seems to have created a whole library of for this particular story.  At 800 pages, it is an undertaking to read, but well worth it, especially if you are fascinated by the occult.