Raven Kaldera

If the subtitle hasn't made it clear, this isn't your typical "how to interpret your chart" astrology book. This is an astrology book for Pagans. Now most times that astrology is discussed in a Pagan context, it never gets beyond the phase and sign of the Moon, or perhaps an explanation of how planetary hours work and how they can enhance your magic. Kaldera does devote chapters to both Moon magic and the planetary hours, but his vision is larger than that. Pagan Astrology is a book designed show more to help you use all the planets in your magical work.

The book is divided into three parts. After a basic introduction to astrology, the second section will probably feel the most familiar to Pagan readers. Here Kaldera gives ideas for spellwork for all the combinations of planets in signs. He suggests using these to "borrow" the energy of a particular combination if you need it, or to help you come to terms with that energy if it's already in your life and being difficult. With the third section, the author goes into an area rarely touched by Western astrology. In India, it's common for astrologers to offer their clients remedies to help them deal with difficulties in their charts. These are often along the lines of "wear this stone" or "offer prayers to that god." What Kaldera has done in "Magical Prescriptions" is to devise a list of remedies that fit into Western culture, many of them involving working with charities. If performed sincerely, these are designed to propitiate the planetary energy involved, similar to propitating the deities.

I see this as a second astrology book for Pagans who are already magically experienced. I'd hesitate to make this anyone's introduction to either astrology or Paganism, not because it's poorly written, but because it covers so much territory that the intro material is pared down by necessity. Although Kaldera has a chapter for astrologers who are unfamiliar with the whole Pagan/magic/remedies concept, the book is written for an audience who gets that part and wants more. I suspect a reader who's neither Pagan nor familiar with astrology will just be overwhelmed by the whole thing, even if they're open-minded about the subject matter. But a somewhat experienced reader may find Pagan Astrology intriguing. show less

In plain language Raven Kaldera explores the intersection of polyamory and power exchange relationships. Useful suggestions and honest exploration illustrate the best ways to approach negotiations and maintenance of these complicated dynamics. The essays in the second half of the book are written by participants in some of these dynamics and provide eye opening examples of the wide variety of situations that fall under this umbrella.

Highly recommended for D/s folks looking to explore polyamory. Otherwise, not so much.

I finished Power Circuits with mixed feelings. As someone who identifies primarily as polyamorous but has had kink in my relationships since before I knew what polyamory was, I was really looking forward to a book that brought the two together.

That book... isn't this one.

What this book is, is a mostly-solid practical guide for couples in D/s relationships looking to open up their relationships. It has a show more very heavy focus on situations where the D-type wants to open the relationship and little space is given to s-types who are drawn to polyamory for their own reasons.

For what it is, this book is very good. But the description made it seem like a book that was more balanced in it's presentation and it's focus on D/s folks opening up leaves this polyamorous & kinky person kind of disappointed. show less

Lots of books discuss Sun-sign astrology. This is a book of Moon-sign astrology. In fact, it's a deluxe book of Moon-sign astrology, because the author not only talks about the Moon in each of the twelve signs of the zodiac, but also traces it through each of its eight phases. 12 x 8 = 96 descriptions to enjoy. Each sign/phase combination has three parts: an in-depth description of the archetype Kaldera has chosen to symbolize the pairing (Queen's Moon, Shield-Father's Moon, etc.), some show more suggestions on activities for the few days each year the Moon is in that phase and sign, and a description of what people who have that sign/phase combination in their charts are like.

Like Kaldera's other books, I found Moon Phase Astrology to be a good read. Each description builds on the descriptions that come before it, so there's a story about growth and maturing for each of the twelve signs. I think this book fits in almost as a bridge between Mythastrology: Exploring Planets & Pantheons, which uses myths to illustrate all the planets in the signs, and Pagan Astrology: Spell-Casting, Love Magic, and Shamanic Stargazing, which has suggestions for rituals, altars, and activities for the different features in an astrological chart. My only major concern is that I had trouble recognizing myself or other people I know in Kaldera's descriptions of how these Moon phases manifest in real people's lives. I plan to look into this further however. But even if the descriptions never do ring bells with me, I still found the book to be worth reading. show less