Patricia Telesco

Table of Contents:

Money Magick - Reviewed by Mike Gleason
Gardening with the Goddess - Reviewed by Mike Gleason
Cyber Spellbook - Reviewed by Mike Gleason

Title:	Money Magick
Author:	Patricia Telesco
Publisher:	New Page Books
Original Copyright:	2001
Reviewer:	Mike Gleason
Contact Information:	gleason.mike@verizon.net
Category:	General Magick
Review:	Every once in a while I receive a book for review and I have to wonder if the fates and/or gods are trying to send me a message. My family has been going through tough financial times this year - even tougher than normal. We are finally beginning to aee light at the end of the tunnel, and have decided we need to begin the year 2002 on a more positive note. Not being sure what to do to celebrate the change in our fortunes, and how to encourage it to continue we were considering various possibilities when this book arrived in my mailbox. This book is NOT an instruction manual to cause the wealth of the world to migrate to your bank account. Nor is it a book filled with esoteric secrets. What it is, is a book of practical advice concerning ways of stimulating your awareness of potentials in your life. Ms. Telesco stresses, as she does in all her books I have read, the practical side of magick. You won’t find formulas for creating the philosopher’s stone, nor for compelling gnomes to bring you gems from the bowels of the Earth. What you will find, among other things, are recipes and advice for making yourself more open to abundance and prosperity. Please note that I said abundance and prosperity, NOT wealth! She gives ideas for saving money on a variety of things, which leaves more money to be spent on what you truly desire or need. She is not advocating miserly behavior, however. As she points out, the soul and spirit must also be nourished, so don’t hesitate to pick up a new magickal tool, or a book to read. Set aside time to renew yourself through pleasurable pursuits. She reminds us to look towards the old knowledge - those superstitions we all learned when we were younger, but not to become bound by them. If they inspire you to see alternate symbolism, the use what is comfortable for you. She does not limit herself to recipes and symbols. Thus she includes a section on Feng Shui. She reminds us to use all our senses. Thus she includes aromatherapy amongst more traditional magickal practices She also reminds us that the subconscious is a potent force to be reckoned with, so she includes information on names, charms, amulets and rituals, all of which work on a subconscious level. Colors and Feng Shui also play their parts in helping us to a more abundant, prosperous life and lifestyle. It isn’t necessary to incorporate all of these disparate elements into a single unit, but she gives us enough options to pick and choose from, to make our own selections. Ms. Telesco reminds the reader, as she does in each of her books, that what she is providing is a starting point for each individual to work from. Do not be afraid to experiment is one of her ongoing bits of advice. This is not High Ceremonial Magick, conjuring demons and elemental forces to your bidding. This is the magick that your Gran used to do on a winter’s night, in the kitchen. She reminds us that maximum cost does not necessarily guarantee maximum benefit. If we are doing work to increase our cash flow, for example, it is foolish to empty our bank accounts in the attempt. My one complaint, and it is only a very minor one, is that occasionally she steps outside the "basic" teacher mode without warning. One good example is her use of the word "periapt." Without a good dictionary close at hand, or a really good grounding in English, the average reader may find themselves scratching their head and asking, "What the heck does that word mean?" (For the record, it is another work for a method of drawing good fortune; a charm or amulet.) This is a book which will undoubtedly sit on many a bookshelf, when its proper place would be on the bedside table so it can be browsed whenever the urge strikes.
Review submitted:	06-12-01

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Title:	Gardening with the Goddess
Author:	Patricia Telesco
Publisher:	New Page Books
Original Copyright:	2001
Reviewer:	Mike Gleason
Contact Information:	gleason.mike@verizon.net
Category:	Neo-pagan
Review:	Ms. Telesco once again has produced a volume which appeals to the novice, and yet contains ideas which also appeal to the more experienced individual. She stresses what has worked for her as a starting point, then encourages the reader to go beyond that and to try what feels right for the individual. She gives a variety of Goddess forms and then lists relevant plants and herbs, as well as stone and colors which will complement them. She tells you how to enhance the flavor of your herbs, repel bugs, and improve the growing of your plants She gives some ideas for laying out the garden, depending on what one wishes to accomplish. But, and this is important for many of us, she does not forget the apartment dweller, giving ideas for growing plants in a window box, or indoors in pots. Her ideas apply equally well to the apartment dweller and the person who has acres of land available. Once again she reminds the reader that no one book or author (not even herself) is an ultimate authority on any topic. She reminds us that we must be open to our own interpretations and observations, and that the only hard and fast rule is that there are no hard and fast rules. I'm not much of a gardener (I have a "brown thumb") but this book can serve even those of us who don't garden, by becoming a source of inspiration for plants, stones and colors associated with various aspects of the Goddess. It may also help us in cooking for the festivals and such, by suggesting appropriate flavorings for the feasts, colors for decorations, etc.
Review written:	05-07-01

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Title:	Cyber Spellbook
Author:	Sirona Knight and Patricia Telesco
Publisher:	New Page Books
ISBN:	1-56414-582-4
Original Copyright:	2002
Reviewer:	Mike Gleason
Contact Information:	gleason.mike@verizon.net
Category:	Technomancy
Review:	I have read books by both Ms. Knight and Ms. Telesco before and have found them to be useful works. They have covered lots of useful, basic information. While the current offering has the same concept, I have a few problems with it. Before I begin to discuss the shortcomings of this book, let me reassure people that, like most of the offerings I have read from New Page Books, it is book which has many good points, and which will stimulate you to think in ways which are (at times) quite unconventional. My first problem with this book is the title. Throughout, the material refers only minimally to what I consider to be "cyber" topics. I asked my son, who is totally non-magickal in his outlook, what he thinks of when he hears the word "cyber." Being a child of the computer age his response was immediate: "The Internet." That is also the first thing I think of. Yet throughout this book, there is little mention of the Internet (or even the computer). Nor is it a spellbook, since only about the last 50 pages actually are dedicated to spells. While they are interesting, they hardly qualify as "cyber" spells. Although they constantly use the phrase "Cyber Witch," in my opinion they could just as easily (and more accurately) have used the phrase "Modern Witch" or "Techno Witch." This work focuses more on the uses of modern technology in general, than on the use of cyber space, which is what I expected from the title. On page 14 the following statement is made: "The ancient alchemists concerned themselves chiefly with taking ordinary metal and turning it into gold." This statement, coming from individuals who should know how to "read between the lines" bothers me. It is such a gross misrepresentation of alchemical work that I don’t even know how to respond. Transmutation of base metal into gold was only the "cover story" used by alchemists in order to get the funding for their real work. The authors remind the reader, early on, that personal feelings about a spell are far more important than the "proper" items according to some general correspondence list. In fact, they encourage the reader to make up their own correspondence list, which is something I highly recommend. You could start with a "standard" list (available in many books dealing with magick) and tweak it by substituting items with personal significance as you discover them. Their ritual suggestions border on the Discordian, insofar as the symbolism is concerned, and this is a refreshing change from the overly serious (and dare I say, pompous) attitude displayed by many magickal workers and authors. I ran into another problem on page 27, where it is stated "initiation implies some type of groups acceptance or training." Although, in my experience, initiation can signal such, it can also be an occurrence between two individuals, with no group involvement. Many perceive initiation to be a "connection" to a magickal current. The list, on pages 32 and 33 on determining if you are a Cyber Witch is a paraphrase of "You Might Be a Techno Pagan if" which has been circulating for a number of years on the Internet. It might have been nice to acknowledge this, although since it is an anonymous compilation, they were under no obligation to do so. On page 113 the authors state "Most Cyber Witches celebrate the eight Solar Sabbats that mark the annual cycle of the seasons." I have a minor problem with this statement, since only four of the Sabbats are actually Solar in nature and orientation (the Solstices and Equinoxes). The other four Sabbats are agricultural in nature. It’s a minor point, but one which I feel is significant. Then, on page 117, they say "Most Cyber Witches coordinate their spells with the cycles of the moon called the Esbats." In twenty-five plus years of working in the Craft community, this is first time I have ever heard the lunar CYCLE referred to as an Esbat. The rituals celebrating the Full Moon, surely, but the lunar cycle itself? Never. This is not a spellbook, since it contains very little in the way of spells. It is a good book to encourage folks to look at the modern conveniences many of us take for granted, and to see how they relate to our spirtual paths and pursuits. Chapter Five (Cyber Spells) starts off with one of the most important admonitions, and in my opinion, one that I feel is frequently forgotten. They remind us that we need a personal connection to the symbols used. If it doesn’t work for you on some level, it may work against you. One item they failed to reinforce in this chapter is the need to keep records of the work you do, so you can evaluate effectiveness at some later time. Unfortunately, the more I read of this book, the more disagreements I had with it. In the section of Divination on page 139, the authors say, "If you don’t like a particular reading, just keep clicking on until you do." As one who has ignored readings that didn’t suit me (much to my personal regret), I have to call a halt here. If you don’t like the results of a particular reading, then perhaps you shouldn’t have asked the question. Of course, you could do further readings to clarify some points, but to "just keep clicking" until you are happy with the results is a bad idea. On page 174 they tell the reader to "inscribe the rune of protection on it (it looks a bit like a capital Y)." They then suggest using another series of runes, but give no descriptions of them. In my opinion, they should have included illustrations of the runes in question. Not everyone is familiar with the runes. Once again, New Page Books, and these authors in particular, have given the reader a different slant on things. Their approach is unconventional, but eminently practical. It is unorthodox and thought provoking. It will, most likely, spark unusual connections and approaches. As long as the reader is aware it is less about cyber-space, and more about technology in general, it is a book well worth purchasing.
Review submitted:	30 May 2002

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