Moonwatchers Companion by Donna Henes

 Did you ever wonder how mooning originated? Need to know? You can find out in The Moonwatchers Companion by Mama Donna Henes. It is a slim volume, 128 pages, full of every little thing you could possible want to know about the moon. It is a unique collection of Moon trivia, facts, history, lore, legend and terminology which would make any research buff or trivia afficiando happy.

The book is broken down quite tidily into sections. The first section, Faces of the Moon, deals with how the moon appears to us. The section on Phases of the Moon deals with how it affects us. The third section, Facts About the Moon, deals with what we know about the Moon, its origins, natural attributes and the history of our exploration of the Moon. Each of these main sections is further broken down to cover such diverse areas as Moon Riddles, Lunar Inhabitants, Lunar Terminology, Celebrating and Calibrating the Cycles of the Moon, Lunar Calendars, Lunar Bestiary and Moon Wisdom.

Some beautiful poetry, hymns, fairy tales and literary references to and about the Moon are to be found scattered through the book. The section on Moon Mother is especially near and dear to my heart. Anyone exploring a Goddess based or Earth based spiritual practice would enjoy the lovely shared insights.

"The Greek Hera, Demeter, Artemis, Thetis, Phoebe and Selene; the Roman Luna, Mana and Diana; and Gala or Galata of the Gaelic and Gaulish tribes, were also associated with the moon. The Virgin Mary, who is referred to as Queen of Heaven, is frequently displayed standing upon a crescent moon. In central Asia the moon is said to be the mirror of the Great Goddess which reflects everything in the universe." P.17

Many ancient cultures felt that death resided on the Moon and the Moon was often perceived to be the guide and the guardian of death. Ancient Egyptians thought that heaven was located on the Moon. This little volume is full of these pearls of wisdoms and insight.

This is an excellent resource book and is an extremely rich volume of information all about that big, old silvery moon. Mama Donna Henes is an internationally respected author, teacher, lecturer, artist and Urban Shaman. She is making a unique and valuable contribution to the cosmos with her teaching of traditional rituals and comtemporary ceremonies celebrating celestial events. She has written Celestially Auspicious Occasions; Seasons, Cycles and Celebrations and Dressing Our Wounds in Warm Clothes. Her latest book endeavours deal with finding the Queen of Myself within ourselves - a look at life between the Mother and Crone stages.

Please visit her website at http://www.donnahenes.net/ for more information. You can order a copy there, find out about her next Greek Goddess Cruise, and request a complimentary copy of her newsletter, Always in Season.