Earth And Air

"A treasure trove of practical magic for both novices and more experienced practitioners...beautifully crafted spells that invoke the alchemy of possibility."—PanGaia A leaf from an oak tree...a wildflower...water from a sparkling stream...dirt from a cool dark cave—these are the age-old tools of natural magic. Born of the earth, possessing inherent power, they await only our touch and intention to bring their magical qualities to life. The four elements are powerful magical tools. Using their energies, we can transform ourselves, our lives, and our world. This much-loved, classic guide offers more than seventy-five spells, rites, and simple rituals you can perform using the marvelous powers of the natural world. Scott Cunningham was a greatly respected teacher and one of the most influential members of the modern Craft movement. A practitioner of elemental magic for twenty years, he wrote more than fifty books, including the seminal Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner.

The book describes the structure, composition and evolution of the Earth, the main geological processes occurring on it, and how some crucial environmental matters that are amply debated in the media (e.g. pollution, greenhouse effect) can be fully understood by placing them in the holistic context of the system Earth as a whole. It provides basic information on a series of key geological issues, from the structure and composition of the Earth to the large-scale processes that characterize our planet, such as rock alteration and sedimentation, magmatism, geomagnetism, seismicity, plate tectonics, cyclical migration of chemical elements through various Earth reservoirs (Geochemical Cycles), and evolution of the planet from Hadean to present. It intends to reach a wide readership, which is interested in our planet and wish to have a general and comprehensive view of its origin, evolution and activity. Potential readership includes undergraduate and advanced undergraduate students in Geology and other scientific disciplines, and any moderately- to well-educated people interested in the surrounding world and eager to gain a basic knowledge of the Earth and to reach an integrated view of how our planet is working.

This is the second of two volumes of transcribed lectures Darby Costello presented for the CPA in which she shared a dynamic and imaginative exploration of the four astrological elements. Poetic and comprehensive, this volume is a must-have introduction to the elements. Part One: Earth. Discover the nature and meaning of the earth element beginning with the importance of the earth rituals of archaic cultures. Next, explore the meaning of planetary placements in the three earthy signs, and the qualities of the planetary rulers of those signs. The complexity and subtlety of earth is further revealed through an analysis of the chart of Teilhard de Chardin, the remarkable Christian mystic and scientist who integrated two apparently disparate yet intimately connected dimensions of earth which form the great paradox of this element - its rationality and respect for facts, and its profound sense of the magic and transpersonal mystery inherent in the heart of material reality. Part Two: Air. The air element is often mistakenly thought to be "merely" rational. In this seminar Darby takes us on an expansive flight into the upper regions of the mind, exploring first the meaning and nature of air, and then examining planetary placements in the three airy signs and the attributes and mythology of the airy planetary rulers - which, according to traditional astrology, each govern both an earthy and an airy sign. The fluid and effervescent spirit of air is further revealed through the chart of the great poet W. B. Yeats, whose vision, fertility of ideas, and love of beauty in form and idea portray the essential nature of this most elusive of the astrological elements.

The result of a five-year airborne odyssey across five continents and sixty countries, The Earth from the Air is the bestselling and most popular book of aerial photography ever published. This updated edition of the internationally acclaimed original features an updated text and over 100 breathtaking new photographs. New editorials by such renowned authors as Jane Goodall, Matthieu Ricard and Olivier Blond consider such perpetual issues as agriculture, climate and biodiversity, as well as the latest concerns - refugees, new technologies and environmental movements. A classic of its kind, this book will heighten everyone's awareness of today's urgent ecological issues. Now more than ever, The Earth from the Air stands as a call to action.

Forced to interact with the natural elements that invigorate a built structure and co-determine a building's experiential reality during construction, one ought to keep in mind their brute powers - earth's crushing heaviness, the erratic character of water, air's thermo-dynamic cataclysms, or the dangerous benignity of fire. Affective in a direct way, they act as guiding principles in the process of realization: While the earth targets the foundations, the roof shields from water, the openings control the flow of air, and the walls protect from the gleaming sun.

For centuries it was believed that all matter was composed of four elements: earth, air, water, and fire in promiscuous combination, bound by love and pulled apart by strife. Elemental theory offered a mode of understanding materiality that did not center the cosmos around the human. Outgrown as a science, the elements are now what we build our houses against. Their renunciation has fostered only estrangement from the material world. The essays collected in Elemental Ecocriticism show how elemental materiality precipitates new engagements with the ecological. Here the classical elements reveal the vitality of supposedly inert substances (mud, water, earth, air), chemical processes (fire), and natural phenomena, as well as the promise in the abandoned and the unreal (ether, phlogiston, spontaneous generation). Decentering the human, this volume provides important correctives to the idea of the material world as mere resource. Three response essays meditate on the connections of this collaborative project to the framing of modern-day ecological concerns. A renewed intimacy with the elemental holds the potential of a more dynamic environmental ethics and the possibility of a reinvigorated materialism.

Prince Roehl holds Calla's fragile heart in his cruel hands. In a wicked twist of fate, Roehl captures the two men Calla loves most. By his command, she will come to him in Aquaris... or both will be put to death. It may be a fatal mistake, but that's the risk Calla is willing to make when she leaves her friends behind and races through the Argent Sea. Roehl has proven his vile heart will stop at nothing to get Calla in his clutches and use her power for his own twisted agenda... even if it means killing all who dare cross him. Calla's only chance to defeat him, is by partnering with newly formed allies who are eager as she to see the malicious prince's reign of terror end.

Uses myths, legends, images, and ideas from around the world to tell how four basic natural elements have inspired people in the past.