Larkie’s Library: “The Color of Magic” by Terry Pratchett (Discworld #1)

Another quick “witchy” type book review comes from none other than one of Terry Pratchett’s books and the first in his famous Discworld series “The Color of Magic.” I have never actually read any books from the Discworld, so this was a long time coming. I also did not realize just how many books there are in this magical universe and I am hoping I’m not in over my head because of it! 😉 
In “The Color of Magic” we are introduced to the Discworld which rests atop the backs of three large elephants who are riding on the shell of the Great A’Tuin (a large space turtle) who swims steadily through vastness of space. The Discworld is flat and has a very literal edge to it; it also has an eighth color in it’s spectrum, called octarine, which happens to be associated with all things magical. Wizards, barbarians, monsters, and real-imaginary dragons exist in the Discworld which is watched over by multiple Gods/Goddesses (or really entities); Fate, the Lady, and (of course) Death are just a few who watch the drama unfold and even play into it a bit.
The main players are Rincewind, a sort of wizard who only knows one spell, and a traveller from the other end of the Discworld named, Twoflower, who is an eternal optimist and dangerously curious about everything which gets them into trouble. It is written in such a fashion that I picture everything playing out as an almost Monty Python type set-up. They get into situations that you see almost no way out and somehow manage to eek by, but not through skill. Usually they find themselves victorious through perfectly timed clumsiness or just plain dumb luck and I found it to be hilarious at times.
There were a couple occasions that I laughed out loud, ran to my husband, and read the excerpt to him just so I could share the ridiculousness of the situation. And say that last part with love. It definitely wasn’t a 5 star book (there were a couple moments where the story jumped from one perspective to another, which can be confusing and during one of them I actually felt a little lost which resulted in me having to read a bit more carefully to be sure I didn’t somehow miss something), but I’m more than happy giving it a 4. It was a quick, enjoyable read and if this was any indication of how the rest of the series will go, then I’m really looking forward to it and am happy to add it to my Spring/Summer reading list.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Blessed be!

Lark

Celebrating the Vernal Equinox (Ostara)

Happy Ostara (Vernal Equinox) everyone! I felt inspired today since it was a beautiful day yesterday and not as rainy today and decided to celebrate by doing some heavy-duty Spring Cleaning. I cleaned areas of the house I’ve been neglecting, reorganized my closet, and found some items to donate or toss out that we simply aren’t using anymore. I still have more to do, but I’m trying to mark out time throughout the week to continue the process.

I instantly felt cleaner and lighter by the decluttering and clearing of the spaces that all of that stuff was taking up (which is a bit comical since I’m actually a neat freak, so I was shocked at how much I had hiding at the back of closets that we just don’t need anymore.) It’s re-energized me in several ways and after I had finished, I felt inspired to finally play with my tarot deck since I finished the manual over the weekend.

I found this tarot spread that was based on introducing yourself to your tarot cards on Pinterest a couple of months ago. I’m really glad I kept it to work with. I shuffled my deck by spreading the cards out face down and swirling them around in a clockwise, then counter-clockwise pattern. Then I gathered them up into handfuls, adding each one to either the top or bottom of the deck as it built up. Finally, I did a traditional card shuffle three times. I then laid them out, cut the deck, and drew the cards after reading the question pertaining to that specific card out loud.

My spread was as follows:
Card #1: Nine of Arrows – Dedication
My deck will teach me dedication. I took that as not only a dedication to my path or the current passions I have, but to know what true dedication is and to be a better dedicated person in all aspects that require it.

Card #2: Ten of Vessels – Happiness
My deck needs happiness from me. I took this as that my deck wishes for me to know happiness, but not by design of its work, but of my own discovery. It wants me to feel good thoughts when considering the deck, it wants me to approach it with calmness and positivity. It wants a feeling of mutual safety and purity between us. This is a good reminder, since the political atmosphere has me feeling none of these things a lot of the time.

Card #3: Six of Arrows – Transition
My deck and I’s relationship will surround a transition or multiple transitions really. I took this to mean a lot of things. This is my first tarot deck and, therefore, my first attempt at reading the cards, not to mention this is just another part of my return to the Pagan path which is a transition in and of itself. There’s a lot of learning and growing I need to do here. I’ve also been getting involved in other things outside of spirituality, work, etc. and am attempting to make changes to myself and my life, so I’m interpreting this to mean my tarot deck will be a nice part of that growth and change.

Overall, I was very pleased with this reading and I’m very happy I was able to follow my gut on this purchase. This tarot deck really jumped out at me and after this reading, I feel like it was a good decision. I’m really looking forward to getting more acquainted with the deck and it added onto my feelings of lightness and cleanliness from the organizing I did earlier.

Hoping every had a very productive and happy Vernal Equinox!
Blessed be!

Lark

Larkie’s Library: Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children Trilogy

Thought I’d end my blog absence with a quick book review…well, more like three book reviews. I recently finished the Peculiar Children Series and thought it was “witchy” enough that it might be fun to mention here. It didn’t take long to finish and was actually pretty scary at times, which I rather enjoyed.

The first, “Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children” was probably the ‘scariest’ for me. Maybe because I wasn’t yet used to the creepy photos in the book or the description of the evil creatures hunting the children known as hollowghasts. The writing wasn’t spectacular, but it definitely drummed up excellent imagery for me (highly active imagination as it is) and my heart picked up speed at the dramatic points in the story. You follow the story narrated by the main character, Jacob Portman, as he discovers the peculiar past of his grandfather. He meets Miss Peregrine and her wards, gets into trouble with hollows and wights who hunt peculiars, and then goes on a journey to save Miss Peregrine’s and the children’s home/lives. (I know that’s not a great summary, but I don’t want to give too much away). It ends with Jacob and his new friends heading out on their mission and left me excited to start the second book.

The second book, “Hollow City” was actually my favorite. It felt action packed from start to finish and was nearly impossible to put down (the first was much the same as far as difficulty in putting down, but obviously not quite as gripping since, as it should be, the first book in a series has to set up the story). It was less scary, but more mysterious and filled with a lot of close calls and not-so close calls. You learn (along with Jacob and the other peculiar children) a bit more about the world of the peculiar in this book. The ending was such a twist that I went out and bought the third book the very next day.

The third book, “Library of Souls” is the conclusion of Jacob Portman’s story in his mission to stop the wights and hollows and essentially save all of Peculiardom. I finished this book in about 24 hours. It was no longer so much scary as it was frustrating; it seemed at every turn they were hitting roadblocks or perfect chances were slipping from their fingers. There are a couple of battles and a few more twists in this story. You’ll meet characters you aren’t sure you can trust and learn if your gut was right or not. And once everything seems to be fairly packaged up, another wrench is thrown in the gears. Ultimately, I loved the book and thought the story was well put together.

The series as a whole was a lot of fun and a great escape from reality. The world is not only peculiar, but magical and helped me get back to a more witchy mindset. As a result, I’ve started reading my actual witchy books again and am feeling motivated to keep on myself in doing weekly meditation and yoga sessions to keep my mind clear and at more peace (which has been a difficult feat as of late). So if you haven’t read these books yet, I definitely recommend them for an easy and exciting read to clear your mind and escape for a bit.

Blessed be!

Lark