Long before a rocket hit the Man in the Moon in the eye in Georges Méliès’s early film Le Voyage dans la Lune, the earth’s lone satellite had entranced humans. We have worshipped it as a deity, believed it to cause madness, used it as a means of organizing time, and we now know that it manipulates the tides—our understanding of the moon continues to evolve. Following the moon from its origins to its rich cultural resonance in literature, art, religion, and politics, Moon provides a comprehensive account of the significance of our lunar companion. Edgar Williams explores the interdependence of the Earth and the moon, not only the possibility that life on Earth would not be viable without the moon, but also the way it has embedded itself in culture. In addition to delving into roles the moon has played in literature from science fiction and comics to poetry, he examines how Elizabeth I was worshipped as the moon goddess Diana, the moon’s place in folklore and astrology, and humanity’s long-standing dream of inhabiting its surface. Filled with entertaining anecdotes, this book is the kind of succinct, witty, and informative look at everything lunar that only comes around once in a blue moon.

This book explores the history of invented encounters between Shakespeare and the Queen Elizabeth I, and examines how and why the mythology of these two cultural icons has been intertwined in British and American culture. It follows the history of meetings between the poet and the queen through historical novels, plays, paintings, and films, ranging from works such as Sir Walter Scott's Kenilworth and the film Shakespeare in Love to lesser known examples. Raising questions about the boundaries separating scholarship and fiction, it looks at biographers and critics who continue to delve into links between these two. In the Shakespeare authorship controversy there have even been claims that Shakespeare was Elizabeth's secret son or lover, or that Elizabeth herself was the genius Shakespeare. The author examines the reasons behind the lasting appeal of their combined reputations, and locates this interest in their enigmatic sexual identities, as well as in the ways they represent political tensions and national aspirations.

An unparalleled exploration of magic in the Greco-Roman world What did magic mean to the people of ancient Greece and Rome? How did Greeks and Romans not only imagine what magic could do, but also use it to try to influence the world around them? In Drawing Down the Moon, Radcliffe Edmonds, one of the foremost experts on magic, religion, and the occult in the ancient world, provides the most comprehensive account of the varieties of phenomena labeled as magic in classical antiquity. Exploring why certain practices, images, and ideas were labeled as “magic” and set apart from “normal” kinds of practices, Edmonds gives insight into the shifting ideas of religion and the divine in the ancient past and later Western tradition. Using fresh approaches to the history of religions and the social contexts in which magic was exercised, Edmonds delves into the archaeological record and classical literary traditions to examine images of witches, ghosts, and demons as well as the fantastic powers of metamorphosis, erotic attraction, and reversals of nature, such as the famous trick of drawing down the moon. From prayer and divination to astrology and alchemy, Edmonds journeys through all manner of ancient magical rituals and paraphernalia—ancient tablets, spell books, bindings and curses, love charms and healing potions, and amulets and talismans. He considers the ways in which the Greco-Roman discourse of magic was formed amid the cultures of the ancient Mediterranean, including Egypt and the Near East. An investigation of the mystical and marvelous, Drawing Down the Moon offers an unparalleled record of the origins, nature, and functions of ancient magic.

Long ago the Greek sisters known as the Fates sang into existence an evil prophecy that will bring about the rule of Erebus and the downfall of Khaos. It will destroy the mortal realms and all of the Tărâm. Evil will reign and the light will be extinguished forever. Together the immortals will have to fight the evil and stop the prophecy from fulfillment. Victor is a vampire lost in grief and misery, prone to fits of blood rage. He is on the verge of turning Moroi. He is searching for his family’s ashes to put them to rest and vengeance for those that dared to harm them. Over the years all the whispers have led him here to Rușavăț, in the Carpathian Mountains near his home. Then he stumbles upon an abused pregnant female, the sister of one of the many that have joined him over the years. He must save her to find the answers to his search. She calms him and keeps him from his rages, giving him hope. But can she save him? Cecilia is a witch from the realm of Mystikus, stolen and abused by Borreau and Eblis at the young age of ten. She trusts no one and has been broken by the evil duo. Pregnant and injured, she escapes her tormentors and is found by a handsome vampire that soothes her heart and makes her want more from life. But can he save her from the darkness that lives in her still?

“The phases of the moon hold enormous power and magic for living. Let Moon Power assist your journey.” —Christiane Northrup, MD, #1 New York Times–bestselling author There was a time when the feminine and her guiding light, the Moon, were all-powerful. Men were seen primarily as consorts to the Great Goddess, as embodied in every woman. In these peaceful, agrarian societies, primal feminine powers—intuition, emotion, sexuality, creation, communion with nature—were honored. And the moon, which waxed and waned in predictable cycles, was a symbol for the birth, growth, death, and renewal of life on Earth. Moon Power’s twelve chapters each represent a moon sign. The introduction describes what’s meant by Moon Power, provides some history about ancient moon worship, and explains why it went underground. The basics of moon phases and the meaning of new and full moons are explained. Simple rituals for connecting with the power of the moon are included. This book offers guidance on working with each sign as the moon passes through it (i.e. when the moon is in Aries, take assertive action, but watch impulsivity). Each chapter includes a profile of a powerful woman who typifies her lunar sign (Angelina Jolie, Aries Moon; Malala Yousafzai, Libra Moon). A Goddess and Power Animal for each moon sign and activities and rituals for connecting with their energy during certain moon phases are also provided. Moon Power will inspire women to recognize and develop their lunar nature. It will show them how, through reflection, ritual, and purposeful action, to understand their emotional nature and inner selves more deeply.

MOON- Mother, (Queen), emotions, how your react to emotions, home life, your peace of mind, the way you think, but do not mistake this for your intelligence, which is ruled by Mercury. We all have emotions, but our intelligence is at different level. Chandra (Moon) represents the mind. It signifies the thoughts and emotions, and the complex psychological faculty that takes input from the senses and tells the body how to respond. The Moon is the single most important planet in Jyotish because the state of mind is responsible for all the emotional responses to life, and therefore defines the subjective perception of life. Conditions affecting the Moon in the chart influence the thinking and feeling processes, mental skills and attitudes, and also responses to the world at large.

Through a twist of fate that the author of Labyrinths himself would have relished, these lost lectures given in English at Harvard in 1967–1968 by Jorge Luis Borges return to us now, a recovered tale of a life-long love affair with literature and the English language. Transcribed from tapes only recently discovered, This Craft of Verse captures the cadences, candor, wit, and remarkable erudition of one of the most extraordinary and enduring literary voices of the twentieth century. In its wide-ranging commentary and exquisite insights, the book stands as a deeply personal yet far-reaching introduction to the pleasures of the word, and as a first-hand testimony to the life of literature. Though his avowed topic is poetry, Borges explores subjects ranging from prose forms (especially the novel), literary history, and translation theory to philosophical aspects of literature in particular and communication in general. Probably the best-read citizen of the globe in his day, he draws on a wealth of examples from literature in modern and medieval English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Greek, Latin, Arabic, Hebrew, and Chinese, speaking with characteristic eloquence on Plato, the Norse kenningar, Byron, Poe, Chesterton, Joyce, and Frost, as well as on translations of Homer, the Bible, and the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. Whether discussing metaphor, epic poetry, the origins of verse, poetic meaning, or his own “poetic creed,” Borges gives a performance as entertaining as it is intellectually engaging. A lesson in the love of literature and in the making of a unique literary sensibility, this is a sustained encounter with one of the writers by whom the twentieth century will be long remembered.