The Diva Digest

Due to a number of situations that seem to be leading us to the same outcome (and we don’t like to ignore those taps on the shoulder lest they become bludgeonings from the Universe), The Diva Digest is going on hiatus.  Many thanks to all of the wonderful publishers who worked with us in the review process and to all of the readers who have come to read our thoughts.  We may be back at a later time, depending on where the wind at our back leads us.  Meanwhile, previous reviews will remain active for the research of readers as needed.  It’s been a great 7 years, folks and 7 is our lucky number.  May you have many blessed 7’s in your life.

Katrina Rasbold & the Staff of The Diva Digest

 No, this isn’t spam.  It’s more like a miracle!

So…are you a dedican or a dedican’t ?  Sorry, I could not resist that one.

I must admit a great degree of hesitancy in reviewing this book.  I have tremendous respect for the Llewellyn publishers, publicists and authors and I hate to post a review that is anything but glowing because the company has been so instrumental in providing quality Pagan material to the general public and continues to produce very fine material on a regular basis.

Fortunately or unfortunately, I feel I have to be honest in my reviews and while this book contains a wonderful overview of the path of Wicca in places, the author paints herself into a dangerously naive box by justifying her deliberate interchanging of the words “Wiccan” and “Witch.”  This is the second review, two different publishers, in which I have seen this problem today, so I know it is an ongoing issue, but typically, as with the first review, it is done inadvertently.  Ms Calafia does so without apology by clarifying that the only distinction that she makes between the two is that, just as she would “not refer to someone as a doctor until they’ve graduated medical school, [I] don’t refer to someone as a Witch or priest/priestess until they have been initiated as such.”  This completely insults an entire segment of the Pagan population that does not observe ceremonial Craft, but still works prolifically as a Witch.

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Wow!  What an amazing book!  The tag line is “A Divine Guide to Finding Love and Happiness,” which makes it sound like something along the lines of a quick fix Wiccan spell book.

This book is, instead, a guide to life; specifically, the living of the magickal life every day in every situation.  If more women would read this book, internalize the very wise lessons and embody the Goddesses as they are represented here, we would surely rule the world (and find love and happiness as well).

Thirty-six Goddesses or so are divided up into categories such as “Love and Romance,” “Work and Finance,” “Family Life and Friendships” and such.  The choices of Goddesses represented span many different pantheons and are a perfect mix for imbibing Average Woman with grace, self-respect, compassion, independence and just about every other attribute we should be expressing into the world.  Each section has an entry detailing who the Goddess is, how to invite Her into your life and how to keep Her with you.

This book is a must-read for women and a beautiful copendeum of information about the Female Divine.

Based on the research and experiences I have had with Shamanic Craft, along with basic gut reactions, my impression is that it is a more Earthy, grass-roots, no-frills form of Paganism that is experientially seated in explorations and encounters both in the physical worlds and the worlds beyond.  

It has long had an appeal for me as I tend to operate as a “no frills” Witch.  I brought this optimism and interest into the reviewing of this book and overall, I was not disappointed.

One stumbling block I encountered as I read the book is the feeling that Ms. Wood confuses the paths of Wicca and Witchcraft when it would have been very easy to include a very brief discernment between the two.  Clearly, she herself is a Wiccan and a Witch, but on a very broad level, this is not usually the case.  Many Witches do not indentify themselves with Wicca and the words seem to be used interchangeably in several places in the book, which I feel lends unnecessary confusion and misrepresentation.

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Often, when a work is labeled as “ambitious,” it is a tounge-in-cheek way of saying that the author aimed for a high mark and missed or wandered off in the Land of Verbosity, never to be seen again.

In this case, the author does neither.  Instead, my impression is that she shot high and hit the mark dead on.  To be specific, in almost 30 years of paranormal and magical study, I have never encountered a more complete and fully applicable instruction manual for trancework and astral travel, as well as many other considerations that come into play when we begin exploring words beyond our own physical landscape.

The book is appropriately cautious without being paranoid.  It is instructional without being condescending or lecturing.  It is never dry or overstated.  Thoroughally examaning all aspects of working on the inner plane, the reader will be very well prepared to begin this sort of adventure without fear of unexpected or dangerous experiences.

Part of me thinks I should recuse myself from reviewing this deck considering that Juliet Sharman-Burke is one of my favorite Tarot writers and was also one of the first I ever read decades ago when I first began exploring the Tarot.  In my mind, she can do no wrong.

I was eager to review this deck, however and very excited to get it in my hot little hands.  I am less familiar with Giovanni Caselli’s work unless you consider the other Giovanni Caselli - small factoid here - who invented the first fax machine around 1856.  

The deck is reminiscent of the many decks put out by Lo Scarabeo (which this is not) in that the majority of the figures in the cards are fairly expressionless and the color themes are mostly in pastels.   

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Been checking on the return of some of my own favorite TV shows and thought I’d bring you up to date in case they are your favorites as well.

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For those suffering in spirit, body and mind from Polycystic Ovary Syndrome, I cannot imagine a more complete and useful reference being in existence.  The authors have assembled an exhaustive concondance that will answer literally any question a person could have about the condition, including herbal remedies for many of the accompanying maladies and an assessment of the effects of natural intervention such as acupuncture, reflexology and aromatherapy.

The balance between natural treatments and contemporary medical break throughs in addressing this condition is aptly reached, making this volume a near-mandatory reference for those with PCOS to have on hand.  It is easy to read and easy to navigate, so reading only the sections that specifically apply is also an option.  I can’t imagine anyone putting this book down once they have started reading it.  There is much more valuable information included than one would ever imagine they need to know…until they find it.  It is truly a treasure.

You simply will not find a more fun book to read.  For those of you who were fans as a kid of the Ripley’s Believe It or Not series (As I was!  *Hand proudly in the air!*), you have found a happy home in this fantastic collection of “freaky facts & strange stories.” 

Did you know that after all of the battling, Atilla the Hun died of a nosebleed?  On his wedding night?  That chimpanzees have been recorded as using up to 13 different herbs medicinally?  That Aldous Huxley and C. S. Lewis both died the same day John F. Kennedy was assassinated?

This is bathroom reading at its very finest and trust me, that’s a compliment.