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Folklore and mythology are more than childrens tales. John Bierhorst wrote "myths are what others have, we ourselves have scripture or 'history.' Myths have been used to transmit oral history, natural phenomenon, to tell of important people--they are based on fact and are as important and valid as any "history" we fill our libraries with today. My books attempt to show how universal these myths are, how valid folklore is from one country and people to another. They are all based on universal themes that describe how people have lived, thought, worshipped, feared, waged war with both man and demon, viewed the world and the cosmos and gone on to the Underworld. These beliefs and histories must not die but must be kept alive. They are at once common and uncommon, natural and supernatural. Through my writings you will be exposed to the beginnings of religion, and the continued practice of witchcraft and the fear of superstition. You will also read about some of the most fascinating creatures that may, at one time, have actually existed in some manner. These creatures include giants and fairies, sea monsters and mermaids, demons and the gods of nature. I am continuously fascinated with symbolism as well and have spent considerable time in exploring those ancient symbols that can still be found on contemporary buildings and in our cemeteries. Please check in often as I am, as one of my publishers noted, a rather prolific writer and have several books going at any one time. You are invited to email me as well at gary_varner@yahoo.com. You may also want to check out my other website at Authorsden (www.authorsden.com/garyrvarner). I am a member of the American Folklore Society.
Please note: My new book, The Owens Valley Paiute - A Cultural History is now available.
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Print: $16.95 Download: $4.00 Living as long as five thousand years in the arid Great Basin, the Owens Valley Paiute and other Native groups survived to create a rich oral and ceremonial tradition, subsisting on what the earth provided. A peaceable and social culture they were overwhelmed by the ever advancing flow of American settlers, explorers and profit seekers. This is the story of the Paiute Nation, their social structure, mythology, religion, art, folklore and enduring spirit. It is also the story of their great leaders Sarah Winnemucca and Wovoka and the creation of the Ghost Dance religion which ultimately resulted in the massacre of the powerful Sioux at Wounded Knee.
Illustrated with 28 pages of photographs.
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Print: $17.95 A 2010 full color, 18 month calendar of prehistoric rock art of California, including the Owens Valley Paiute, the Luiseno and Diegueno of Southern California and the Northern California Maidu and Miwok.
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Print: $15.95 Download: $5.00 Amulets and charms have been used since mankind evolved from its distant origins millions of years ago. They have been used to protect and to harm, and in both the practice and avoidance of witchcraft and sorcery. They are made of wood and stone, clay, metal, plants and dead animals. They are carved into crude shapes and in the most exquisite forms. They may also be composed entirely of words, which are believed to have great power and magical properties.
Used by pagans, Christians, Jews and followers of every faith and tradition known across the world, they are considered direct links to the gods and local spirits. All are links to the supernatural.
Regardless if they are called amulets, charms or talismans, these objects are credited with providing cures, causing evil, and bringing health and prosperity. This book, using ethnographic studies, ancient records and folklore, will explore the history and use of amulets and will show that they continue to be an important part of our modern culture.
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Download: $5.00 Hardcover Print: $28.50 Amulets and charms have been used since mankind evolved from its distant origins millions of years ago. They have been used to protect and to harm, and in both the practice and avoidance of witchcraft and sorcery. They are made of wood and stone, clay, metal, plants and dead animals. They are carved into crude shapes and in the most exquisite forms. They may also be composed entirely of words, which are believed to have great power and magical properties.
Used by pagans, Christians, Jews and followers of every faith and tradition known across the world, they are considered direct links to the gods and local spirits. All are links to the supernatural.
Regardless if they are called amulets, charms or talismans, these objects are credited with providing cures, causing evil, and bringing health and prosperity. This book, using ethnographic studies, ancient records and folklore, will explore the history and use of amulets and will show that they continue to be an important part of our modern culture.
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Print: $16.95 Download: $4.50 The symbols and strange images that we find in our cemeteries, religious structures, banks and in our parks are the same symbols that have been part of the framework of the human psyche for thousands of years. While contemporary man may think that they are simply decorative manifestations of a by-gone era, they represent the fears, dreams, ideas, beliefs and struggles that humankind has endured since we began to walk upright. This book surveys many of these icons and will give a meaning for them both in the context of ancient history and folklore as well as a meaning that is suitable for our contemporary times. Illustrated with dozens of photographs, this book will be of interest to anyone interested in historic preservation, ancient symbolism, the Green Man and the universal application of imagery.
Gary R. Varner has written numerous books on ancient traditions, folklore, the environment and contemporary issues. He is a member of the American Folklore Society and the Foundation for Mythological Studies.
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Print: $15.95 Download: $3.50 In his seventh book on folklore and symbolism, Gary R. Varner provides a look at strange and grotesque images we see everyday on our churches, banks and in our cemeteries. Images with origins far older than the structures they adorn.
What are the meanings behind these grotesque creatures, why are carvings of griffins and dragons, unicorns and Green Men found throughout the world on churches and cathedrals, government buildings and even apartment buildings?
Illustrated with over 50 original photographs, Varner explores the meanings of the carvings found on both old and contemporary buildings, from France and Great Britain to New York and California. In addition, Varner explores strange images that are commonly seen in our cemeteries, engraved on grave-markers and tombs.
This is a book for anyone interested in symbolism and folklore, architectural history and the development of religion.
Gary R. Varner is a member of the American Folklore Society and the Foundation for Mythological Studies.
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Print: $19.95 Folklorist Gary R. Varner takes a lengthy look at various myths, legends and beliefs of Native Americans in this book. Included are stories and archaeological finds from various lands that suggest cultural contacts between explorers from China, Japan, the Mediterranean and Europe with Native Americans in pre-Columbian times.
Native American folklore and myths are examined including the universal legends of the flood and stories of the mysterious god-men such as Quetzalcoatl, Votan and Chinigchinix, who brought the arts, technology and civilization to indigenous cultures. Mysteries of Native American Myth and Religion is a fact-filled, yet fascinating story of the original inhabitants of North and South America.
Varner has written several books on folklore and mythology and is a member of the American Folklore Society and the Foundation for Mythological Studies.
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Hardcover Print: $28.95 Folklorist Gary R. Varner takes a lengthy look at various myths, legends and beliefs of Native Americans in this book. Included are stories and archaeological finds from various lands that suggest cultural contacts between explorers from China, Japan, the Mediterranean and Europe with Native Americans in pre-Columbian times.
Native American folklore and myths are examined including the universal legends of the flood and stories of the mysterious god-men such as Quetzalcoatl, Votan and Chinigchinix, who brought the arts, technology and civilization to indigenous cultures. Mysteries of Native American Myth and Religion is a fact-filled, yet fascinating story of the original inhabitants of North and South America.
Varner has written several books on folklore and mythology and is a member of the American Folklore Society and the Foundation for Mythological Studies.
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Print: $15.95 Download: $7.66 The Dark Wind provides a survey of witches around the world, their prehistoric origin and how society has viewed them throughout history.
Folklorist Gary R. Varner explores the use of magic, spells and curses among indigenous groups as well as state approved religions such as those observed in ancient Rome and Greece, and how even contemporary Christianity uses many of the same "magic" combinations. Also examined is the current "witch craze" in several countries where thousands are being killed as witches,the underlying reasons for this tragedy and the history of anti-witchcraft laws.
The Dark Wind is a book for everyone interested in anthropology, archaeology, ancient history, religion and the occult. Illustrated with contemporary woodcuts and drawings.
The author is a member of the American Folklore Society and the Foundation for Mythological Studies.
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Print: $15.95 Download: $4.00 Today the majority of humankind worships a single God. Although this God is said to be all loving and wanting peace for his worshippers there is very little peace among the three religions based on common theology. Judaism, Christianity and Islam all foster hatred for one another, causing millions of deaths and untold suffering for hundreds of years.
This book explores the mythic, historical, and archaeological record to illustrate the history of these conflicts. The Gods of Man also looks at how monotheism eventually dominated and destroyed the ancient and peaceful goddess traditions that had existed for thousands of years before.
Is the God of today simply used to enforce government edicts, justify war and to control society?
Gary R. Varner has written several articles and books on ancient religions, folklore and mythology. He is a member of the American Folklore Society and the Foundation for Mythological Studies.
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Print: $8.95 Download: $4.00 For the most part Hecate is seen today as the Goddess of Witches and Sorcery—but this wasn’t always so. Hecate was at one time both protectress of women and children and Goddess of Death. She was, in her trinity aspect, goddess of fertility and prosperity, Goddess of the Moon, and Queen of Ghosts, shades and the night. It is interesting that she was seen both as the goddess of fertility and life as well as death.
“Hekate can poison as well as intoxicate,” wrote Nor Hall, “turn ecstasy into madness, and cause death where incubation—or a short journey—was intended.”
This book will examine her many facets and bring about a truer sense of the primal goddess known as “The Distant One” and “The Nameless One.” One of her titles places these in a softer light, for she was also called “most lovely one.”
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Print: $9.50 Download: $3.00 María Lionza is at once a native girl, born in the 16th century to an Indian chief in the Venezuelan region of Yaracuy, and a goddess of nature, peace and harmony to over eight million Venezuelans in the 21st century. Her name means “Mary of the boar,” taken from her full name “Santa María de la Onza Talavera del Prato de Nivar”—a title given by the Catholic Church in the attempt to Christianize her cult.
This book is María’s story, as much as can be told. Other than a few scholarly articles, the existence of María Lionza and her following is unknown in Western literature. Gabriel Ernesto Andrade of La Universidad del Zulia in Maracaibo, Venezuela wrote “If I would have to find one word to describe the María Lionza religion, it would be ‘mysterious’.” And so María, as well as her origins and how she became regarded as the goddess of the people of Venezuela, remains a mystery in many ways. And that is as it should be.
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Print: $15.95 Download: $5.00 The Roots of Witchcraft provides a survey of witches around the world, their prehistoric origin and how society has viewed them throughout history. Folklorist Gary R. Varner explores the use of magic, spells,curses and wands among indigenous groups as well as state approved religions such as those observed in ancient Rome and Greece, and how even contemporary Christianity uses many of the same "magic" combinations. Also examined is the universal fear of the "Evil Eye" and the current "witch craze" in several countries where thousands are being killed as witches. The underlying reasons for this tragedy and the history of anti-witchcraft laws are explored. The Roots of Witchcraft is a book for everyone interested in anthropology, archaeology, ancient history, religion and the occult. Illustrated with contemporary woodcuts and drawings. The author is a member of the American Folklore Society and the Foundation for Mythological Studies. This is a revised edition of The Dark Wind.
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Hardcover Print: $24.50 The Roots of Witchcraft provides a survey of witches around the world, their prehistoric origin and how society has viewed them throughout history. Folklorist Gary R. Varner explores the use of magic, spells,curses and wands among indigenous groups as well as state approved religions such as those observed in ancient Rome and Greece, and how even contemporary Christianity uses many of the same "magic" combinations. Also examined is the universal fear of the "Evil Eye" and the current "witch craze" in several countries where thousands are being killed as witches. The underlying reasons for this tragedy and the history of anti-witchcraft laws are explored. The Roots of Witchcraft is a book for everyone interested in anthropology, archaeology, ancient history, religion and the occult. Illustrated with contemporary woodcuts and drawings. The author is a member of the American Folklore Society and the Foundation for Mythological Studies. This is a revised, dust jacketed hardcover edition of The Dark Wind.
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Print: $9.95 Download: $3.00 A small book packed with the history and lore of the sword. Profusely illustrated, The Sword and Dagger in Myth & Legend explores the origins of the sword, its history from the bronze and iron ages to the modern day. It also explores such legendary and mystical weapons of Excalibur and the Durendal, swords which belonged to King Arthur and the hero Roland, El Cid’s sword Tizona, Kusanagi from Japan and Mohammad’s sword Zulfiqar. It also examines a real sword in the stone still existing in Tuscany, that of St. Galgano.
This is a book for everyone interested in folklore, the history of weapons and the common themes of legend.
Gary R. Varner is a member of the American Folklore Society and the Foundation for Mythological Studies.
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