Kuan Yin, the Compassionate One or literally 'the one who sees and hears the cries of the world' is the principal goddess in the eastern firmament. She is centuries older than the Christian Virgin Mary, but not unconnected with her in that in most illustrations she holds a rosary, suggesting purification of the cycle of birth and death, and a willow branch, a symbol of Buddhist virtues. Kuan Yin's image can be found wherever there are Chinese or Japanese speaking people in the world - in homes, restaurants, workplaces, small urban temples, Buddhist, Taoist and Shinto shrines - and the ritual of consulting her has brought solace, hope and insight to countless people. It continues to be an integral part of the lives of tens of millions of people throughout the East today. Stephen Karcher's interpretation of this ancient text presents 'The 100 Poems of the Goddess', to be as relevant today as they were 1000 years ago, leading the reader to answers to specific questions about family, professional success, travel, health and love.

In the midst of the religious ferment, foreign invasions, and internal political strife that beset Italy before the full effects of the Counter-Reformation, the powerful and humble alike turned to popular prophecy for guidance and solace. Ottavia Niccoli examines here the forms of these prophecies--including interpretations of natural disasters, abnormal births, floods, and planetary conjunctions--and gives examples of how they were transmitted from the lower classes to the elite through street singers, apocalyptic preachers, astrologers, and printers. By tracing the ongoing revision of the prophecies, Niccoli reveals them as an indication of how various levels of society viewed events of the time, as a form of propaganda for such causes as anti-Lutheranism, and as a reflection of the interaction between "high" and "low" culture.

Based on popular leaflets, diaries, civic chronicles, and iconographic sources, this book explores the expression of a culture in which nature, religion, and politics formed a unified system with a uniform code of interpretation. It connects the decline of prophecy in Italy with the end of the Italian wars and the beginning of the Counter-Reformation, when popular preaching was banned and charismatic religion discouraged.

How to use the ancianet art of Vedic astrology to find your path through life's complex challenges. The Vedas call astrology the eye by which man can see and understand. The author systematically unties the knots of the complex science of Vedic astrology, and presents it in a very simple and lucid manner. Astrology began when man looked up at the sky for answers to questions about life, himself and people he knew. He found the knowledge he was looking for in the universe around him, a wisdom that reached its pinnacle in the Vedic age. This one-of-its-kind book not only makes Vedic astrology easy, it also shows you how to use it yourself. The knowledge of the ancient Vedas can now be yours to use when life throws up complex challenges