A beautiful flower...love or obsession? Ari Adams is sure that her best friend, Jane Frank, doesn't have to worry about the mysterious orchids that appear in more and more personal settings. One of Jane's spurned lovers is likely the identity, but the aid of a professional puts both their minds at ease. After her own recent brush with murder—nearly her own—Ari is relieved to solicit help from local private investigator Elizabeth "Biz" Stone to uncover the identity of Jane's secret admirer. What Ari doesn't expect are the sparks that fly every time she and Biz meet. Her heart is already spoken for by Detective Molly Nelson, and with orchids appearing in increasingly creepy circumstances, it's not the time to confuse it. Then an orchid arrives for Ari...
Santeria, a religion whose origins can be traced back to the Yoruban tribes of West Africa. Brought into the United States and Latin American countries through the slave trade, it is now practiced in Cuba and the Latin American countries and has over 20,000 followers in the United States. Inside this book learn: The Practices of SanteriaThe Orisha of Truth Who Killed His Own MotherThe Reason Oshun Was Shunned After Giving Birth to TwinsThe Punishment Babalu Aye May Deliver Out As well as a few Santeria spells.
A new edition of the only stand-alone guidebook on Haiti available, fully updated and with expanded content reflecting Haiti’s recent tourism expansion, and packed with practical information covering everything from accommodation, eateries and travel routes to wildlife and ‘Vodou’. A comprehensive section on birdwatching and insightful information on Haiti's rich artistic and musical heritage ensure birdwatchers and cultural enthusiasts are well catered for. Paul Clammer discusses the medicinal merits of Haitian rum, how to catch a Port-au-Prince taptap (bus) and how to check into the Graham Greene suite of the Hotel Oloffson. This new edition includes even more information on living in Haiti, more festivals – from local fêtes to big celebrations – and coverage of new tourism developments at the Citadelle, Haiti’s only UNESCO World Heritage Site. Also covered are details of other new museums either under refurbishment or soon to open. Sharing the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic, Haiti is culturally the most African of Caribbean countries, and one that is largely unknown to visitors, except through popular clichés of aid dependency and Vodou culture. An early pioneer of Caribbean tourism, since the earthquake of 2010 it has been slowly repositioning itself as an exciting new travel destination. Visitors will find historical sites to explore, such as the World Heritage-listed Citadelle (the largest fortress in the Americas), hidden beaches, and a proud people rebuilding their country and ready to welcome visitors once more.
Imagine a world without beauty, myth, celebration or ritual. It seems that to feel fully and vibrantly alive, these experiences are essential to us. Devotional ritual speaks this language of the heart, but can be a confronting aspect of Buddhism for some people in the West. Skilfully steering us through the difficulties we may encounter, Sangharakshita leads us through the sevenfold puja, a sequence of devotional moods found in Tibetan and Indian forms of Buddhism
The life and work of the legendary “Pope of Voodoo,” Marie Laveau—a free woman of color who practically ruled New Orleans in the mid-1800s Marie Laveau may be the most influential American practitioner of the magical arts; certainly, she is among the most famous. She is the subject of songs, films, and legends and the star of New Orleans ghost tours. Her grave in New Orleans ranks among the most popular spiritual pilgrimages in the US. Devotees venerate votive images of Laveau, who proclaimed herself the “Pope of Voodoo.” She is the subject of respected historical biographies and the inspiration for novels by Francine Prose and Jewell Parker Rhodes. She even appears in Marvel Comics and on the television show American Horror Story: Coven, where she was portrayed by Angela Bassett. Author Denise Alvarado explores Marie Laveau’s life and work—the fascinating history and mystery. This book gives an overview of New Orleans Voodoo, its origins, history, and practices. It contains spells, prayers, rituals, recipes, and instructions for constructing New Orleans voodoo-style altars and crafting a voodoo amulet known as a gris-gris.
This book collects recent works on the subjects of sacrificial offerings, ritualized violence and the relative values thereof in the contexts of Scandinavian prehistory from the Neolithic to the Viking era. The volume builds on a workshop hosted at the National Museum of Denmark in 2018 which inaugurated the beginning of the research project ‘Human Sacrifice and Value: The limits of sacred violence’ and was supported by the Museum of Cultural History at the University of Oslo. The volume brings together research and perspectives that attempt to go beyond the who, what and where of most archaeological and anthropological investigations of sacrificial violence to address both the underlying and explicit forms of value associated with such events. The volume re-opens investigations into notions of value relating to diverse evidence and suggested evidence for human sacrifice and related ritualized violence. It covers a broad spectrum of issues relating to novel interpretations of the existing archaeological materials, but with a focus on the study of value and value dynamics in these diverse ritual contexts, engaging in questions of identity, cosmology, economics and social relations. Cases span from the Scandinavian Late Neolithic and Nordic Bronze Age, through to the well-known wetland deposits and bog bodies of the Iron Age, to Viking era executions, ‘deviant’ burials and contemporaneous double/multiple graves, exploring the implications for the transformation of sacrificial practices across Scandinavian prehistory. Each contribution attempts to untangle the myriad forms of value at play in different incarnations of human offerings, and provide insights into how those values were expressed, e.g., in the selection and treatment of victims in relation to their status, personhood, identity and life-history.
The most detailed set of studies ever on all aspects of one of the most beautifully decorated Egyptian non-royal tombs, new in paperback This lavishly illustrated book is the culmination of a project to document and conserve the tomb of Menna, one of the most beautiful and complex painted tombs of the ancient Egyptian necropolis at Luxor. Through conservation, the tomb, which previously lay open to environmental influence, was brought back to its former glory. Aided by non-invasive methods of scientific analysis, the historical and cultural importance of Menna’s paintings can now be viewed and studied and enjoyed by a worldwide audience. High-definition photography and drawings complement specialist essays by scholars, scientists, and technicians, who discuss the artistic and cultural significance of the paintings, their architectural context, and scientific importance. Directed by Dr. Hartwig and administered by the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) as part of its Egyptian Antiquities Conservation Project, the project was funded by a grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), sponsored by Georgia State University, and carried out in collaboration with Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities. Contributors: Cristina Beretta is based in Edinburgh, Scotland Pieter Collet lives in the Netherlands Katy Doyle lives in Boston, Massachusetts (USA) Elsa van Elslande, Laboratoire d’Archéologie Moléculaire et Structurale (LAMS), CNRS is based in Paris, France Renata García Moreno, University of Liège, Belgium Melinda Hartwig, Georgia State University, Atlanta (USA) François-Philippe Hocquet, University of Liège, Belgium Gregory Howarth is based in London, England Alexandra Kosinova is based in London, England Kerstin Leterme, University of Liège, Belgium Bianca Madden is based in Oxford, England François Mathis, University of Liège, Belgium Mark Perry is co-director of the Perry Lithgow Partnership Ltd., Chipping Norton, England David Strivay, University of Liège, Belgium Douglas Thorp is based in London, England Peter Vandenabeele, Ghent University, Belgium
Immerse yourself in this exploration of the roles, goddesses, and Orishas of this West African spiritual tradition. Discover why these figures are revered, their history, and the roles they play in shaping this rich culture. Learn how the power of the goddesses and the Orishas spread west into New Orleans and beyond. This book will show you how to celebrate and cultivate the traits of the goddesses and Orishas. It will teach you what you need to know to draw upon their strengths and use that to empower your life. Inside, you’ll also discover: • Who the Orishas are • How important a role they play • Who the Lord of the Crossroads is • Astrological correspondence • Sacred offerings • Who Chango is and why he is revered • And more that are part of this fascinating spiritual practice! Use this book as a guide for your transformational journey.
