Magus leaves circle by the doorway, goes to Postulant, and says, "Since there is no other brother here, I must be thy sponsor, as well as priest. I am about to give you a warning. If you are still of the same mind, answer it with these words: 'Perfect Love and Perfect Trust.'" Placing the point of the sword to the Postulant's breast, he says, "O thou who standeth on the threshold between the pleasant world of men and the domains of the Dread Lords of the Outer Spaces, hast thou the courage to make the Assay? For I tell thee verily, it were better to rush on my weapon and perish miserably than to make the attempt with fear in thy heart." Postulant: "I have two Passwords: Perfect Love and Perfect Trust." Magus drops the sword point, saying, "All who approach with perfect love and perfect trust are doubly welcome." Going around behind her, he blindfolds her, then putting his left arm around her waist and his right arm around her neck, he pulls her head back, says, "I give you the 3rd password, a Kiss to pass through this dread Door," and pushes her forward with his body, through the doorway and into the circle. Once inside, he releases her saying, "This is the way all are first brought into the circle." Magus closes the doorway by drawing the point of the sword across it three times, joining all three circles, saying, "Agla, Azoth, Adonai," then drawing three pentacles to seal it. Magus guides Postulant to south of altar, and whispers, "Now there is the Ordeal." Taking a short piece of cord from the altar, he ties it around her right ankle, saying, "Feet neither bound nor free." Taking a longer cord, he ties her hands together behind her back, then pulls them up, so that the arms form a triangle, and ties the cord around her neck, leaving the end dangling down in front as a Cable Tow. With the Cable Tow in his left hand and the sword in his right hand, the Magus leads her sunwise around the circle to the east, where he salutes with the sword and proclaims, "Take heed, O Lords of the Watchtowers of the East, (name), properly prepared, will be made a Priestess and a Witch." Magus leads her similarly to the south, west, and north, making the proclamation at each quarter. , clasping Postulant around the waist with his left arm, and holding the sword erect in his right hand, he makes her circumambulate three times around the circle with a half-running, half-dancing step. He halts her at the south of the altar, and strikes eleven knells on the bell.
Essential for understanding the living history of modern-day witchcraft, this ground-breaking work opened the door for the modern revival of Wicca and neo-paganism as the first sympathetic book written from the point of view of a practicing witch. According to the author, 'The meaning of witchcraft is to be found, not in strange religious theories about God and Satan, but in the deepest levels of the human mind, the collective unconscious, and the earliest developments of human society.'"--
The Gardnerian Book of Shadows contains Wicca rituals and pagan magical ceremonies; first published between 1948 and 1961, much of the contents herein constitutes a summation of Wiccan practice. Paganism's popularity blossomed in the mid-20th century, as more people curious of the rituals and ceremonies of religions and witches became involved in covens - clandestine groups of pagan practitioners. A standard set of instructions for rituals, celebrations and initiations was publicized, in order to ensure that groups disparate in location would correctly and authentically perform their duties as per tradition. This book contains the complete Gardnerian texts, as compiled by Gerald E. Gardner, a leading practitioner of Wicca in England. Gardner's writings are a suffusion of lore, drawing upon witchcraft rituals described in several books by authors such as Margaret Murray. An authoritative and thorough introduction to pagan ceremony; while no substitute for membership and participation in a coven, the reader may herein gain an impression of the witch-cult and its practices.
Don't be surprised, Pussycat," said Helen Gurley Brown, still flirtatious at eighty-four, "We're all survivors and proud of it. We want to talk about it." And they do. Eighty of America's most famous eighty year-olds reflect on their journeys to the big 8-0 and describe the passions that keep them young. They all have opinions about today's world what is good about being eighty and what keeps them vital. The members of this generation have spent eighty-plus years honing the art of living and they have secrets to share. Their personal stories are truly inspirational. "My answer to growing old at any age, whether you're growing to be twenty , or forty, or sixty or eighty, is to fall in love and stay in love." --Ray Bradbury, 86, author "It's interesting to me--my career has taken off now that I'm ninety-five. It's totally taken off. I had to wait 'til I was ninety-five to be this popular." --Kitty Carlisle Hart, 95, singer "I say quite sincerely that this is the best time of my life." --Hugh Hefner, 80, founder and editor-in-chief of Playboy Contributors to the book include: Mike Wallace, Helen Thomas, Sid Caesar, Carl Reiner, Lena Horne, Kitty Carlyle Hart, Ray Bradbury, Art Buchwald, Norman Lear, Robert Byrd, George McGovern, and Jack Valenti. Advanced Praise for 80: "Everyone from 9-90 needs this book, because save for the two or three mad people in the world, everyone wants to live & never die. The selected people in "80" have with, charm and ensusiance revealed how they have survived, with passion, compassion, humor and style. I hope Gardner and Bellows will do another one on 90 - I am in for the long run."--Maya Angelou "80 is the new young! These inspiring stories of vibrant, active octogenarians are the best kind of tonic for warding off worries about old age."--Tom Brokaw "Once, almost nobody was eighty. Now many of us are and more of us are going to be soon. So Gerald Gardner and Jim Bellows give us a wonderful book about being eighty and more."--Jimmy Breslin "A joy to read and a guaranteed attitude adjustment. These people are hope! And Gerald Gardner and Jim Bellows know how to edit down their famous lives to the fearless truths."--Gail Sheehy, author of Passages and Sex and the Seasoned Woman "Jim Bellows' and Gerald Gardner's 80 made me laugh, 80 made me think, and 80 actually made me look forward to reaching and to enjoying that Grand Age"--Mark Shields, syndicated columnist and PBS commentator "80 is the most heartening book on old age I've read since De Senectute (Cicero, you callow sub-octogenarians, Cicero). The 80 old folks in 80 make 80 sound so fascinating, I feel short-changed by being forced to wait until 2010 to be among their number."--Tom Wolfe "I love this book. What a pleasure: great interviews, lovely wise people."--Ånnie Lamott, author of Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on Faith
Gerald Gardner, creator of Who's in CHarge Here? widens his satiric view to offer a collection of his irreverent balloons over the heads of the mighty world leaders of the countries of Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Lithuania, East and West Germany, and many others--lampooning recent evens that are turning the world upside down.
The EGOT-winning composer of The Way We Were and A Chorus Line recounts his remarkable life from childhood to Broadway and Hollywood. The son of Jewish Viennese immigrants, six-year-old Marvin Hamlisch’s early musical talent and discipline led him to Julliard, where he studied for more than a decade. From there, Hamlisch got his start as a rehearsal pianist for Funny Girl starring Barbra Streisand. He went on to co-create the classic American musical A Chorus Line and wrote the Oscar Award–winning musical score for The Way We Were. Hamlisch is one of only a handful of people to achieve EGOT status—winning an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony. In this autobiography, Hamlisch tells the tale of his life and career, revealing personal stories of his childhood, his marriage, and his friendships with stars including Liza Minnelli, Groucho Marx, and others. It offers an intimate view of his life and a compelling portrait of Broadway and Hollywood through the second half of the twentieth century.
The issues of our presidential elections and the virtues and flaws of our candidates come into sharp focus when illuminated by the wit of political observers. America's humorists brighten the electoral scene, reminding us that we needn't always look at presidential campaigns with a solemn air. Thanks to the satiric insights of America's wits, we are able to keep a sense of perspective about the candidates, particularly when their follies and foibles are most intolerable. It is the presidential campaign humor created by America's comedians, humorists, journalists, editorial cartoonists, and the candidates themselves that writer Gerald Gardner celebrates in Campaign Comedy. He reviews the humor, from the caustic to the comedic, that most recently targeted Bill Clinton, George Bush, and Ross Perot in the explosive 1992 election. He also focuses, in a campaign-by-campaign format, on the humor generated by the presidential campaigns ranging back to the epochal struggle between John Kennedy and Richard Nixon in 1960. Candidates including Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, and Lyndon Johnson, and the men they defeated are also the subject of the hilarious or vicious wit that is chronicled here. Campaign Comedy is brimming with relevant and pithy humor from Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, Art Buchwald, Mark Russell, Bob Hope, Mort Sahl, Garry Trudeau, and the closet wits who supplied the presidential candidates with the "spontaneous humor" that they employed during their campaigns. Gardner also highlights the campaign humor of television's most famous political shows, "That Was the Week That Was," "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour," and "Saturday Night Live." Gerald Gardner provides a delightful reminder that humor is a basic form of communication through which the media, the humorists, and the candidates convey their skepticism, anger, and differences. He makes it clear why humor is the most essential element in a democracy and why it is the one ingredient that no totalitarian society seems to possess.
Four centuries of African American preaching has provided hope, healing, and heaven for people from every walk of life. Many notable men and women of African American lineage have contributed, through the art of preaching, to the biblical emancipation and spiritual liberation of their parishioners. In African American Preaching: The Contribution of Dr. Gardner C. Taylor, Gerald Lamont Thomas offers a historical overview of African American preaching and its effect on the cultural legacy of black people, noting the various styles and genius of pulpit orators. The book's focus is on the life, ministry, and preaching methodology of one of this era's most prolific voices, Dr. Gardner C. Taylor, and should be read by everyone who takes the task of preaching seriously.
Following the enormously successful Who's in Charge Here? 1984, Gardner's newest and funniest photo caption book depicts the absurdities of the most outrageous, blundering, brassiest bunch of politicos ever--the 1988 Presidential candidates. To be featured on Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show.
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