In 1973, Mary Garden abandoned a promising academic career to spend seven years in India at the feet of such gurus as Rajneesh, Sathya Sai Baba and an enigmatic yogi in the Himalayan jungle - Swami Balyogi Premvarni. The Serpent Rising is her own story of the heaven and hell she experienced as she fell under the spell of self-appointed 'god-men'. What was thought to be a passing fad of the 1960s and 1970s has not disappeared. People still search for something better, and still surrender their minds and bodies to gurus and yoga teachers. The #MeToo movement has exposed countless men guilty of sexual harassment and assault. Now #MeToo is shaking the yoga world and gurus who claim to be enlightened, but who are in fact sexual predators. Most of their groups are sex cults. Recent documentaries such as Wild Wild Country (Rajneesh/Osho), Yogi, Guru, Predator (on Bikram Choudhury) and The Vow (Keith Ranierre, Nxivm) shine a light on how easy it is to fall under the spell of these charlatans.

Kundalini Serpent Goddess: Rising from the Borderlands is the memoir of a former college professor of Sociology turned into a Kundalini Yoga Teacher, and her struggle in overcoming chronic pain and fibromyalgia-a disease that affects more than 10 million people in the United States, ninety percent of whom are women. Originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Karin bridges many cultures in her quest for home after having lived in New York City, the East Coast, Dominican Republic, California and Puerto Rico. Without losing her feminine essence and connection to Spirit, her narrative takes us deep into chronicles of Tupi-Guarani gaucho life, immigrant life in the Borderlands, Indigenous and Yoruba Goddess archetypes, and shamanic journeys.Dealing with illness, rejection, patriarchy and neo-colonialism, Karin triumphs in embracing her own Shakti power and feminine spirituality and in facing the shadow of her mixed background, liberating her family's ancestral trauma rooted in patriarchy, oppression and colonization. Her narrative is an example of otherworldly ecofeminism, debunking our ideas about patriarchal Christianity, Western Medicine, and the role of women in society, offering a new vision for Mother Earth that reflects back our global life transition into the new paradigm of the Aquarian Age. Since childhood, Karin was connected to a Serpent Goddess that grew out of her imagination. As an adult woman navigating her own demons, the Serpent demands Karin tells her truth in order to heal. Together, they unraveled family secrets and forge new relationships with other Latina immigrant women that become a testament to the resilience of the human spirit. Karin becomes the heroine of her inner and outer worlds, unveiling white privilege in Latin American families, the hardships of immigrant life in the United States, and the denial of Womb Medicine across female lineages, finding her way back to the one religion that united the world in a spirituality that celebrated Creation. After many challenges, she's ready to embrace the wisdom and knowledge readily available to all yogis and women since ancient times, unearthing women's spiritual connection to Earth and the unique feminine understanding of the mysteries of life and death for humanity's healing and transformation. "True and honest... naturally outspoken! This memoir is an extraordinary example of how to transcend difficult life experiences. All the way back to her ancestors, Karin becomes a strong voice, speaking up from her heart and womb without losing her integrity and feminine essence. Story after story, she delightfully engages the reader-as herself and the character, Kundalini Serpent Goddess become one and the same." Jess Rodriguez, LMT, Bodyworker, RMT, Wholistic Therapist Yoga Teacher, Founder of The Core StarMoonSky Universal Healing."Astonishing and Awakening! Karin's narrative is deep and profound, setting herself on a path of spiritual connection to feminine " Shakti" power, as well as mythical characters as she relies on anthropological and archeological findings that spur her imagination. Karin beautifully intertwines photographs and different voices through time as well as several places and cultures that remind me of the novel, Rayuela by Julio Cortázar. Her dynamite twists for action offer an insightful look into her social and spiritual life that are moving and inspiring, and make her story unique and valuable-for ages to come." Ruth Figueroa, Yoga Professor, Wellness & Holistic Travel Coach."An epic journey turning pain into power. From analytical to intuitive, fear to faith, powerless to powerful, loss to gain, professor to yoga teacher. Karin releases the conditioning of her past to heal the trauma of societies' handcuffs for women. She is the Phoenix rising, a Goddess Warrior who embodies the balance of being feminine, fierce and focused." Sierra Bender, author of Goddess to the Core and 4Body Fit TM Sierra Bender Empowerment Method.

A multidisciplinary compilation of nineteen incisive essays ranges from the formality of traditional art criticism to intimate, lyrical meditations as they explore nuclear test sites, the meaning of national borders and geographical features, and the idea of the feminine and the sublime.

*Please note that the Standard Edition is in black and white, and it includes a password to access the coloured digital images online. The Deluxe Colour Edition is in full colour, and so is the Ebook. The Magus: Kundalini and the Golden Dawn is the culmination of my Spiritual journey through the Western Mystery Tradition after experiencing a full and sustained Kundalini awakening. Once I joined a secret and esoteric school called the Golden Dawn, I was introduced to Ceremonial Magick-a Spiritual Alchemy practice geared towards Chakra tuning and cleansing-whose ultimate purpose is personal transformation and Enlightenment. I have found that this sacred art of energy invocation not only alleviated the intense fear and anxiety I was left with after awakening Kundalini, but it furthered my Spiritual progression tenfold in a short period. As such, I dedicated myself to mastering the entire Golden Dawn system. After leading a Golden Dawn group in Toronto, Ontario, I left the organised system but continued to teach Ceremonial Magick to other Light Seekers. I realised that the world was missing a unified and comprehensive system of Magick that combines Eastern Spirituality and the Western Mysteries, whose presentation is clear and concise, without the usual cryptic occult connotations. What emerged is The Magus-a Universal science of energy that we all partake of as human beings. You don't need to be a part of a Magickal Order to get the full benefit of being initiated into the energies of our Solar System. Everything that can be gained from Ceremonial Magick practice can be done from the comfort of your home. If you dedicate ten minutes a day to this practice, you can advance substantially in your Spiritual evolution. Ceremonial Magick exercises in The Magus are presented as part of Spiritual Alchemy programs whose aim is to help you connect with your Higher Self and tap into your highest potential as a Spiritual human being. These programs go hand-in-hand with knowledge lectures on the Qabalah, the Five Elements, the Seven Chakras, Astrology, the Tarot, Divination, meditation, Hermetic Philosophy and Alchemy, the Christian and Egyptian Mysteries, Enochian Magic, and more. The Magus also contains a wealth of knowledge concerning the Kundalini from both Eastern and Western perspectives. As your connection with your Creator strengthens through the work in The Magus, your personal power will increase, enabling you to manifest the life you always wanted. By becoming the best version of yourself, you can be the hero of your own story and experience the joy and excitement of being alive. The end-game of The Magus is the completion of the Great Work and the expansion and unification of the individual consciousness with Cosmic Consciousness.

Written by a leading authority on Shaktic and Tantric thought, this book is considered the prime document for study and application of Kundalini yoga. It probes the philosophical and mythological nature of Kundalini; the esoteric anatomy associated with it; the study of mantras; the chakras, or psychic centers in the human body; the associated yoga and much, much more. Two important Tantric documents are included: The Description of the Six Chakras and Five-fold Footstool.

Wik Lamley is a dowser working for the police to locate missing people when he uncovers a bizarre series of murders - with all the bodies found in ancient wells along the legendary St. Michael and St. Mary Alignments traversing southern England and belatedly discovrs that the strange woman he has fallen in love with is the next target. Wik's desparate rescue mission leads him to an elite political group testing electronic methods of mass mind control. The hunter becomes the hunted when he realises he can trust no one and his search becomes a struggle for survival... www.jiroolcott.com

Carter and Sadie Kane face the impossible task of defeating Apophis, the serpent of chaos, before he can destroy the mortal world. Unfortunately, the magicians of the House of Life are on the brink civil war, the Gods are divided, and the young initiates of Brooklyn House stand almost alone against the forces of chaos.

Rowan faces her most dangerous monster-slaying challenge yet, confronting what could be the most infamous monster of all, in the third book in this fantastical series by New York Times bestselling author, Kelley Armstrong. Rowan is Tamarel's Royal Monster Hunter, and her twin brother, Rhydd, will be its king. After the events of The Gryphon's Lair, Rowan, along with her friends, her brother and an entourage of monstrous companions, makes her way back to the Dunnian Woods to deal with the pack of dropbears the group trapped in an abandoned cabin after a vicious attack. The dropbears are just one of a number of rare monster species acting erratically in Tamarel. After a swarm of colocolos nearly tramples the group, Rowan becomes convinced that someone (or something) is driving these monsters out of their natural habitats. But nothing can prepare the Royal Monster Hunter for the truth of the matter: monsters even bigger and deadlier than gryphons have returned to the world, and their nest-building, as well as the actions of the humans trying to drive them out, has upset the balance of nature in Tamarel. Do Rowan's "monster magnet" skills work against the most fearsome monsters imaginable? Find out in this exciting third book in the Royal Guide to Monster Slaying series!

The Serpent of Stars (Le serpent d¢étoiles, 1993; reprinted 1999 Grasset) takes place in rural southern France in the early part of the century. The novel’s elusive narrative thread ties landscape to character to an expanse just beyond our grasp. The narrator encounters a shepherding family and glimpse by glimpse, each family member and the shepherding way of life is revealed to us. The novel culminates in a large shepherds’ gathering where a traditional Shepherd’s Play—a kind of creation myth that includes in its cast The River, The Sea, The Man, and The Mountain—is enacted. The work’s proto-environmental world view as well as its hybrid form—part play, part novel—makes The Serpent of Stars astonishingly contemporary. W.S. Merwin’s "Green Fields" begins, "By this part of the century few are left who believe/in the animals for they are not there in the carved parts/of them served on plates and the pleas from slatted trucks..." This novel leaves the reader believing not only in the animals, but the terrain they are part of, the people who tend them, and the life all these elements together compose.

Named to ten BEST OF THE YEAR lists and selected as a William C. Morris Award Winner,The Serpent King is the critically acclaimed, much-beloved story of three teens who find themselves--and each other--while on the cusp of graduating from high school with hopes of leaving their small-town behind. Perfect for fans of John Green's Turtles All the Way Down. "Move over, John Green; Zentner is coming for you." —The New York Public Library “Will fill the infinite space that was left in your chest after you finished The Perks of Being a Wallflower.” —BookRiot.com Dill isn't the most popular kid at his rural Tennessee high school. After his father fell from grace in a public scandal that reverberated throughout their small town, Dill became a target. Fortunately, his two fellow misfits and best friends, Travis and Lydia, have his back. But as they begin their senior year, Dill feels the coils of his future tightening around him. His only escapes are music and his secret feelings for Lydia--neither of which he is brave enough to share. Graduation feels more like an ending to Dill than a beginning. But even before then, he must cope with another ending--one that will rock his life to the core. Debut novelist Jeff Zentner provides an unblinking and at times comic view of the hard realities of growing up in the Bible belt, and an intimate look at the struggles to find one’s true self in the wreckage of the past. “A story about friendship, family and forgiveness, it’s as funny and witty as it is utterly heartbreaking.” —PasteMagazine.com “A brutally honest portrayal of teen life . . . [and] a love letter to the South from a man who really understands it.” —Mashable.com “I adored all three of these characters and the way they talked to and loved one another.”—New York Times