SECTION II - BOOK REVIEWS AND FAMILY VALUES

Southern Edition

Nocturnal Values, By Konstantinos - Review by G. Rain
Mythical Musings Website Reviews - Laurel Reufner
Promoting Pagan Family Values - Selene Silverwind

Nocturnal Witchcraft
By Konstantinos

Reviewed by ~ G. Rain
C&B South 2002

Truly a first book of its kind, Konstantinos's new book Nocturnal Witchcraft delves into the dark side. No, not black magick but the power of the night and its effect on the magical mind. The author will first teach you the basics like circle casting, ethics, and reaching the divine but he adds in a little dark touch. Citing the need for black candles and midnight rituals.

Relaxation, meditation, and visualization techniques are the very core and foundation of Noctournal Witchcraft. You'll also find a little of this and some of that like "Skrying," mind reading by touch, and a spell or two. Death, dreaming, and coven talk are also topics debated within the pages of this gothic book.

Overall, I enjoyed reading it, but the author has a tendancy to ramble on slightly and there really wasn't as much magick as one is led to believe. However, with those minor quibles aside, I truely commend Konstantinos's effort. He is quick to explain that darkness is not evil . . . it is alluring, inviting, and enchanting.

If you're in the market for something a little different, and a little dark than you might want to pick up a copy of Nocturnal Witchcraft.

Rating: 4 out of 5 wicked broomsticks!

Mythical Musings Website Reviews
By Laurel Reufner

Here I am again, bringing you hopefully helpful reviews of mythology related websites.

Myths and Legends
[http://members.bellatlantic.net/~vze33gpz/myth.html] is the place to go when you don't know where to start your search. Nothing more than an organized, annotated collection of mythology links, this frame-based site has a table of contents on the left-hand side that breaks all of the links down by either sphere or geographic location. I sometimes have to wade through several sites that all have the same information presented in slightly different ways before hitting pay dirt, but it still saves me time from having to wade through the hits a search engine might produce. The biggest downside is occasionally hitting a broken link, but with that many sites listed, you're bound to have that happen once in awhile.

Encyclopedia Mythica
[http://www.pantheon.org/mythica.html] is the next place I head to when starting out. This site is a collection of encyclopedic entries on thousands of deities. The downside? You may only find the same two points you already know about a deity. On the other hand, you might find a tidbit of something you didn't know. And if you're really lucky, you'll find an image as well. The entries are broken down by geographic sphere and there is a search engine. Also, there is inter-linking among the entries. The entry on Flora contained links to Chloris, her Greek equivalent, and Robigus, a Roman god of wheat rust.

And finally we have Headline Muse
[http://www.headlinemuse.com/], an _archetypal e-zine published the 6th of every month. _ this isn't your standard encyclopedia-type site. It's an online journal written by mythologists who try to apply mythology to modern life situations. The current issue has an article on the 2002 Oscars, the stories behind the traditional wedding processional and recessional, and a sort of free flowing essay by a woman who was given a chemical skin-peel and compares her transformation to discovering Aphrodite. If you're into it, and I urge you to check it out, there's plenty of thought-provoking stuff. And if you aren't into it, you'll be pretty bored wondering why folks spend so much time pondering this stuff.

Promoting Pagan Family Values
By Selene Silverwind
SeleneSilverwind.com

Beltane is a day of merriment and celebration, a day of fun and frolic. I see Beltane as an early kick-off to summer, a way to bring fun into my heart and keep it there. Kids seem to have a knack for doing this all year long.

This month, instead of teaching your kids a lesson, let them teach you. Declare one day a kid-rule day. Whatever the kids want to do, that's what you do. Whatever they want to eat, that's what you eat. Ask them questions about the Gods and nature and see what wonderfully inventive explanations they come up with. Some of their answers might be right on target. Get out the crayons and paper and make art, ride bikes, walk around the park. Let the children be your guide to experiencing the world through their eyes.

Your kids aren't out of school yet, but I'll bet they're itching to be. It's so hard to stay inside in May. So take your child's class outside for an art lesson. Show them how to make etchings by placing leaves, twigs, flowers, and other objects between a piece of paper and something hard like a clipboard and rubbing a crayon over the paper to the details of the object come through. Send the kids all over the schoolyard collecting things that have fallen to the ground, then have the kids sit in a circle and arrange the items in the center. They can use any of the objects to make etchings and scenes. Be sure you make an etching for yourself too. Instead of telling them what these pieces of nature mean, let them tell you what everything means to them.

Throw a neighborhood party, but this time let the neighborhood children do all the planning. With the help of their parents, they can make the food and decorations. Let them decide what will be happening at this party, what time it will be, and how long it will last. Ask all your guests to dress as child-like as they can (overalls, jeans and t-shirts, Keds, face paints, and temporary tattoos), then let your inner children come out and play.

Enjoy your child-like summer. It's not every day we get be kids again.