Indigenous Cultures - African

Orishas are gods and myths from an ancient magic transformed through time and continents and are still alive today. This Tarot opens a path to the beneficial and natural forces of the orishas that can be drawn upon for cures meditations or rituals. The divinities of Brazilian Santeria unite with the Tarot archetypes with surprising ease.

Drawing on diverse African traditions, the authors take us on a fascinating journey of magical divination practices--from Venda tablets and divining bowls to Zulu & 'bone' casting, Yoruba seashell casting, and Tikar spider cards.

. Comes complete with an eighty-card divination deck based on the Tikar spider cards

. Illustrates in detail how to make and use many different traditional tools of African divination

. Explains the history and myths behind the methods

. Includes sample readings to help the reader evaluate results

. Interest continues to build in the ways and wisdom of tribal people

In this introductory volume, Baba Ifa Karade provides an easily understandable overview of the Yoruba religion. He describes 16 orisha and shows us how to work with divination, to use the chakras to internalize the teachings of Yoruba, and describes howto create a sacred place of worship. Includes prayers, dances, songs, offerings, and sacrifices to honor the orisha and egun. Illustrations, charts, glossary, bibliography, and index.

One of the world's oldest living societies the Juhoansi of the Kalahari Desert or Bushmen offer profound insights into what is fundamental to human existence. In the face of outside pressures that threaten the complete disruption of their communal way of life the Juhoansi are working to communicate to the modern world a message about cultural survival. They are finding deep spiritual resources in their traditional healing dance - an indigenous method of healing individuals that is also an affirmation of the community. The healing dance promises to be the crucial factor that allows this inspiring cultures to preserve itself and continue into the twenty-first century. Filled with evocative colour photographs of the Kalahari and its people this book teaches us to look beyond the false promises of modern technological society in search of the peace we so desperately need. Richard Katz the author of BOILING ENERGY: COMMUNITY HEALING AMONG THE KALAHARI KUNG AND THE STRAIGHT PATH: A STORY OF HEALING AND TRANSFORMATION IN FIJI lives in Saskatchewan Canada. Megan Biesele an anthropologist and development worker in Austin Texas currently returns to the Kalahari each year as an educational consultant for the Juhoansi. Verna St. Denis a Cree Metis is a professor of Indian and Northern education at the University of Saskatchewan.

"Ojise" is a journal of the rituals the author encountered on his quest for priesthood in the Yoruba religion. This is his pilgrimage of healing, growth and discovery as he speaks directly to anyone searching for their heritage, aiming to enhance spirituality and promote positive identity.

The Dogon people of Mali West Africa are famous for their unique art and advanced cosmology. The Dogon creation story describes how the one true god Amma created all the matter of the universe. Interestingly the myths that depict his creative efforts bear a striking resemblance to the modern scientific definitions of matter beginning with the atom and continuing all the way to the vibrating threads of string theory. Furthermore many of the Dogon words symbols and rituals used to describe the structure of matter are quite similar to those found in the myths of ancient Egypt and in the daily rituals of Judaism. THE SCIENCE OF THE DOGON offers a case-by-case comparison of Dogon descriptions and drawings to corresponding scientific definitions and diagrams from authors like Stephen Hawking and Brian Greene then extends this analysis to the counterparts of these symbols in both the ancient Egyptian and Hebrew religions. What is ultimately revealed is the scientific basis for the language of the Egyptian hieroglyphs which was deliberately encoded to prevent the knowledge of these concepts from falling into the hands of all but the highest members of the Egyptian priesthood. THE SCIENCE OF THE DOGON also offers compelling new interpretations for many of the most familiar Egyptian symbols such as the pyramid and the scarab and presents new explanations for the origins of religiously charged words such as Jehovah and Satan. The whole text reveals striking similarities between Dogon symbols and those used in both the Egyptian and Hebrew religions with amazing implications for the history of civilisation. The material is an advance on the revelations that made Robert Temple's The Sirius Mystery an international bestseller.