Within this book are rituals, stories, traditions and experiences of magicians' scholars and artists who work with death. Some of the contributors such as Nema, Mogg Morgan, Louis Martine and Nevill Drury (to name but a few) have helped define contemporary transformative spirituality. Others are less well known but just as learned. As there should be in such a collection there is comedy, anger, confrontation and practicality. This anthology is about who we are, and where we come from. It is also about how we change. A Contemporary Western Book of the Dead contains voices and visions that acknowledge our past, feed our present and guide the direction of our future. "I was musing on Singapore in all its affluent glory still having shrines for the dead on every street corner during 'The Festival of the Hungry Ghosts'. Then I was musing on how the socially mobile of modern western society eschew death rites and grieving in the name of 'holding it together' and being progressive. I thought of which civilisations are falling and which are rising again, and wondered whether acknowledging death and the ancestors is a vital part of maintaining personal identity and our place in society. I remember how my grieving father mourned for all the information he had relied on his deceased wife remembering; information which was now lost. I recalled Michael Crichton's words 'If you don't know (your family's) history, then you don't know anything. You are a leaf that doesn't know it is part of a tree.' Then I thought maybe someone should write about the cults of the ancestors and death, perhaps an anthology, perhaps cross relate experiences of loss to personal spirituality and magick and history. I know that years of working with the dead in the name of art and spirituality, didn't prepare me for the death of my mother. What helped me was the advice of someone from a long tradition of working with the ancestors. I think that collecting the experiences of spiritual practitioners in their working with grief and death is part of a living and necessary tradition that will give respect to the dead and strength, identity and support to our own personal spirituality.' "

The Bloody Sacrifice Charlotte Rodgers is a non denominational magickal practitioner and an animist, and The Bloody Sacrifice is the story of her work with blood. It chronicles her use of road kill and blood in art, ritualised scarification and tattoo work, and the use of venous and menstrual blood in magick. Also included are Charlotte's interviews with tattoo artists; priests from belief systems which utilise blood sacrifice; artists who use their own HIV positive blood as a medium; and those who use mortifications and body modification to effect changes in consciousness and self. All here share a common bond of talent combined with an ability to articulate their beliefs. For example Louis Martinie, a priest in the New Orleans Voodoo Spiritual Temple. Martinie has integrated his Tibetan Buddhist beliefs into his Voodoo practice and in doing so shows how personal spiritual evolution can effect change within a syncretic religion. As a blood related illness affected various parts of Charlotte's life, she was given a chance to explore blood ritual in a very different way. Documenting this part of her journey gives an understanding of AIDS, HIV and HCV, and its effect on spirituality and contemporary blood rites. Blood Ritual, with all its history, baggage and dangers holds a power to create change. Whether this power is held within blood and how much impact is created merely by our perception is for the reader to decide. The Bloody Sacrifice is an honest, modern and thought provoking personal insight into an ancient aspect of our spirituality and creativity. The author was born in New Zealand and after many years of travel, fast living and dodgy magick, now leads a life of quiet eccentricity commuting between England and Asia. She creates, exhibits, and occasionally sells art made from road kill and has had articles published in many magazines.

"P is for Prostitution" is a primer unlike any you will have read before, the ABC approach far from simplistic. Through various episodes the author charts her own insights into addiction and the kind of existence that inevitably goes with this. Each letter marks a step on a journey into the lowest circles of hell in which the "author's creativity and intellect is misdirected towards a chaotic, nihilistic and devastating existence" (reader's foreword). There are moments of black comedy, sexual horror, and final, uneasy redemption in which the author reclaims the trajectory of her life.

Fun Recipes: Cooking With Your Kids is the perfect way to enjoy spending time with your children while making a healthy and delicious meal. With hundreds of creative and easy to make recipes for lunch, snacks, and everything in between, the book has something for everyone, whether your kids like their "Pizza on Rye" or prefer an "Armchair Quarterback Crunch." Compiled by Charlotte Rodgers, Fun Recipes brings a child's joy back into the kitchen without sacrificing culinary excellence. Ms. Rodgers understands that what motivates kids to eat is partly based on what the food is, how involved they are in making it, and how the food is ultimately presented to them. "Teddy Bear Carousel" combines gummi bears, apples, peanut butter, and a fun suggestion for presentation to create the perfect mid-morning snack. "Wagons," meanwhile, jazzes up traditionally mellow celery into an inspiring, imaginative display, sure to energize not only your kids' bodies, but their minds, too. The book even has a "Gross But Fun" section for those kids who won't eat anything that doesn't sound like it should come with a warning "Brain Cell Salad" makes a fun treat out of jello, cottage cheese, and blueberries, with a serving size for "6 psycho surgeons." "Brains on the Half Skull" transforms spaghetti and potatoes into a gruesome feast. Perfect for active kids with vivid imaginations, this section of recipes will satisfy even the most recalcitrant, fantasy-prone eaters. Best of all, the recipes are written to encourage young chefs to demonstrate their so-called chops in the kitchen. Using clear, playful language, Charlotte Rodgers crafts the ideal introduction to learning how to do something simply by reading instructions in a book.