A STILL SMALL VOICE
A Psychic’s Guide to Awakening Intuition
by ECHO BODINE
New World Library
$12.95 (softcover)

reviewed by Arlene Arnold

A Still Small Voice is a simple, straightforward guide to discovering, using, and trusting your intuition in every aspect of your life. Many of the ideas expressed here are not new, but Bodine’s clear explanations and personal examples remind us to use what we know.

Have you ever wondered if the voice you are listening to is truly your inner intuitive voice? Bodine offers a simple litmus test to distinguish intuition from other voices, as well as a simple guide that will let you know whether you are acting on universal will or your own personal will.

WITCH CRAFTING
A Spiritual Guide to Making Magic
by PHYLLIS CUROTT
Broadway Books
$25 (hardcover)

reviewed by Charles Alkire

Phyllis Curott’s memoir, Book of Shadows, was a chronicle of her discovery of the Goddess and her eventual initiation into a Wiccan coven. Despite the fact that something like a dozen new titles about witchcraft appear on bookstore shelves every month, this one got noticed in a big way, perhaps due in part to the author’s professional credentials. Educated at Yale, Curott was a successful attorney at a prestigious Manhattan firm when Book of Shadows was published. Lawyer by day, high priestess by night — talk show hosts formed lines to ask, "What’s up with that?" As an image, it didn’t seem very, you know, witchy. Where was the flowing, tie-dyed, Earth Mother dress? The fingers dripping with silver jewelry, the Celtic knotwork, the gobs of crystals on cords of woven hemp? What do you mean, she showed up for her interview wearing Armani and there wasn’t even a trace of patchouli in the air? Doesn’t she at least have a black caftan?

THE WISDOM OF MENOPAUSE
Creating Physical and Emotional Health
and Healing During the Change
by CHRISTIANE NORTHRUP, M.D.
Bantam Books
$27.95 (hardcover)

reviewed by Ariele M. Huff

Writing The Wisdom of Menopause was clearly the next logical step for Dr. Christiane Northrup. Her bestseller Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom began a process that, even in a time of more open communication on the topic, was unique in its clarity and honesty.

As a physician, Northrup has seen the battle intimately from both sides: the side of the woman who needs health care and for whom it is not adequate, and the side of the doctor who is trying valiantly to create a new paradigm.


ONLINE reviews by Maria Marsala

"Serenity" is not usually a word that comes to mind when people describe the holidays. This year, use the sites and tools below to have
a serene holiday season.

Quotes & Affirmations
<http://open-mind.org/Quotes.htm#c>
If you're learning to provide yourself with affirmations, these will get you started.

An Introduction to Meditation
<http://www.serenityseating.com/aboutmed.html>
Although this is a commercial site, it includes an excellent primer on meditation for beginners. Read how 5-1=0 here.

Serenity Sideroad
<http://www.blindsurf.com/serenity/gallery1.html>
What does serenity look like? Find out by viewing these three galleries of scenes from around the world.

Serenity Self-Care Cards
<http://www.coachmaria.com/documents/serenitycards.pdf>
Download your own Serenity Self-Care Cards: fifty cards to use when you're stressed out, overwhelmed, or just in the mood for some extreme self-care. (You need to have Adobe Acrobat, available free on the Internet, to access this page.)

Serenity
<http://thriveonline.oxygen.com/serenity/>
This site contains the jackpot of ways to relax and play, and contains an online forum too.

Maria Marsala is president of Maria’s Place for Holistic Evolution, a firm offering coaching and consulting services. Subscribe to her free weekly e-zine, "Growing You and Your Business," at <http://www.coachmaria.com/>.