The Witch - Modern Connotations versus Real Folklore

Mention the word witch today and it likely conjures up images akin to the Wicked Witch of the West – ugly, scarred with moles, dressed in black and purely evil.  However, the modern connotation of a witch is a far cry from the early history of witchcraft.  The term witch is believed to be thousands of years old, dating back to the time of worship of Mother Nature.  In ancient societies, people sought the services of a witch not just for magical powers, but for healing herbs, potions and other simple remedies.  In addition, witches often acted as talented midwives and healers whose knowledge was passed down through the generations.  These women were revered members of society, not the permutation found today.

The drastic change in the public’s view of witches likely began in early Christian times for several reasons.  First, witchcraft is in fact a type of religion whose followers worship the natural world, not the tenets of the church.  This fact lead to witches being labeled as pagans.  Second, witches directly competed with priests and other church officials as to who people turned to in times of need.  The Christian church proclaimed that a witch’s power came from the Devil himself and lead to the persecution and death of thousands of women branded as witches.  However, in many countries, witchcraft is undergoing a resurgence through the practice of Wicca.  To understand this resurgence, it is important to know the folklore and mythology of witchcraft.

The Virago Book of Witches ‘covers the subject of witches like no other.’ The book is the result of research into the subject of witches and includes folklore and mythology from 50 countries.  The book includes tales of both good and evil witches.  For example, Jewish folklore tells of Lilith, who in the strictest tradition is considered the first wife of Adam who rebelled against God.  Alternatively she is portrayed as a female succubus – a demon who seduces men.  She is found in the story “Lilith and the Blade of Grass.”  From Germany comes the tale of Mother Holle, who rewards hard work with riches and laziness with pitch.  The diversity of stories in The Virago Book of Witches is a must read for people who wish to know the real folklore of witches.

The Virago Book of Witches is available in the Kindle edition from Amazon – click here

Gun of God by David Cudlip: Good Concept, Poor Execution

First theorized in the early 1970s, gene therapy has been touted as the key to curing all human diseases.  It involves replacing the DNA sequence of a mutated gene with a normal one, carried into the body using a vector such as a virus.  Since its very conception, gene therapy has been an extremely controversial subject.  There are well-founded concerns that in the hands of unscrupulous persons, genetic manipulation could create a house of horrors with devastating effects on the world.

When one thinks of curing diseases, one of the first thoughts in many people’s minds is pharmaceuticals.  The pharmaceutical industry generates trillions of dollars a year in sales, leading to the question that is being asked frequently – do these companies actually want a cure for all diseases found or do they attempt to suppress such efforts to maintain their vast revenues?

The controversial nature of gene manipulation has long been rich fodder for authors.  Decades before the concept became reality, Aldous Huxley wrote of a society where humans have been engineered for perfection.  Several non-fiction books have been written about a machine, developed by a physician in the 1930s, which could cure almost every disease and was ultimately suppressed and destroyed.

Gun of God tries to intertwines all of these issues but the author does a poor job combining these ideas. The book is a compilation of very loosely connected chapters with characters suddenly appear in random places around the world.  Thomas Courmaine is a rogue among Jesuit priests – he’s also a geneticist whose scientific ideas are against religious doctrine.  He is supposedly banished to Africa, where of all places he discovers the key to gene therapy.  Not very believable place for major discovery and no real reason is given. 

When his discovery is made public, the pharmaceutical industry tries to bring him into the fold, but he refuses to play by their rules.  Funded by the only person willing to do so, his ‘gene gun’ soon fires – a shot heard round the world – but soon the intent of his discovery is adulterated.

Using his discovery, competition among people begins of who can become more – more beautiful, more intelligent, and stronger.  Courmaine watches his cure become a curse as the Law of Unintended Consequences wreaks havoc on society.  He must now attempt to undo what has been done, while being turned on by his financial backer and losing the woman he now loves.  Can he stop the madness in time and save the human race – and himself?

We will give this book two stars for a good concept but a poor execution.

Loss of Faith in Humanity and Power of Media to Lift Spirits

In today’s world it seems more and more people are losing their faith in humanity as a whole.  It is not difficult to understand why this has happened.  News channels constantly bombard with stories of crime, war, and disease.  The financial crisis that began in 2008 has touched almost every life in the United States and untold numbers of people around the world.  Many people have lost jobs, homes, and hope.  

Loss of faith in humanity is not a new phenomenon.  The great physicist Albert Einstein said in his era that “perfection of means and confusion of ends seems to characterize our age.”   One example of a loss of humanity people today are all too familiar with are those who witness an injustice and do nothing – except take a video of it with cell phone cameras to post online.  This, too, is not something limited to our age.  Einstein also commented on this issue, saying that “the world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.”

Fortunately, television and movies can have a positive effect on a person’s faith in humanity as well.  Television series such as Touched by an Angel and Highway to Heaven helped depressed or troubled people and showed there is still goodness in human kind.  There are few people who have not at least heard of the movie It’s a Wonderful Life, where a kind-hearted man falls into despair but has his faith renewed.

Through the years, the written word has also had a powerful influence, and often times authors can have a profound effect on the opinion of the masses.  The author of Charlotte’s Web, was a strong supporter of a writer’s duty to uplift the human spirit.  In 1973, the author received a letter that spoke of the letter writer’s loss of faith in humanity.  The author’s response is a testament to the power of the written word to uplift:

         As long as there is one upright man, as long as there is one compassionate 

         woman, the contagion may spread and the scene is not desolate.  Hope is the thing 

         that has left us, in a bad time.

Now, more than ever, people need uplifting prose to remind them why humanity is not a lost cause. Lisa Boucher’s Jesus, Mo and Cheese Puffs is just such a manuscript.  Flo and Mo Brown, the main characters, are an elderly couple who have seen their share of adversity.  Their only son died as a teenager.  Flo has a deformed eye from a car accident.  Yet through all this, Flo has never lost her faith in Jesus or her love for Mo… and oh yeah, a love of cheese puffs.  Mo is a bit more jaded, but Flo has a way of making him see the best in most things.  When Flo wins on a scratch off lottery ticket, there are so many things they could do, but Mo has an idea.  He wants to take Flo to a TV doctor in California for plastic surgery on her eye, and the two set out from Indiana for an appointment in California.

But, as with real life, the couple is often sidetracked along the way.  In every place they stop, they find people in need – some financially, some spiritually – and Flo being who she is cannot help but help them.  Mo is wise enough to follow Flo’s lead, sometimes leading to new outlooks on life.  Every person Flo touches is uplifted and has at least a little faith in humanity restored thanks to her kindness.  In the end, Flo learns a great lesson about herself and how often the only limitations people have are those they put on themselves.  

Jesus, Mo and Cheese Puffs is available in Kindle edition on Amazon - click here

My Favorite Sci Fi (aka How eBook Daily Deals site helps me pursue my interest)

My younger days were before the popularity of Young Adult novels (and well before eBooks), so when I outgrew children’s “Chapter Books” I started reading more adult books – Stephen King and Michael Crichton in particular. These brought me into a world of sci-fi, and I was solidified as a sci-fi fan when I picked up Carl Sagan’s “Contact”. This book is a “it could happen” type sci-fi adventure. It is based on Earth (although, at this point, it’s pre-cell phones, internet, and social media, so it’s not a very realistic Earth now) with a bunch of individuals that are able to make contact with life outside of Earth. Will they be able to leave the planet to make face-to-face Contact? The story deals with life outside of Earth, but also humanity itself and what it means to believe.

The greatest thing about falling in love with a genre at a young age is the many years you spend being able to enjoy classics and new works. I have a long list of sci-fi eBooks that I intent on catching up on, but then I’m always attracted to the eBook deals that let me find a new author and a new storyline to fall in love with. They don’t all take me away like Carl Sagan did, but it’s nice to let my mind dance around in the worlds created by other authors. One thing is for sure, reading great books like Contact gives you a craving for more, and if it weren’t for eBook Deals Daily  website would never be able to afford my reading appetite!