Light on Life brings the insight and wisdom of Indian astrology to the Western reader. Jyotish, or Indian astrology, is an ancient and complex method of exploring the nature of time and space and its effect upon the individual. Formerly a closed book to the West, the subject has now been clarified and explained by Hart de Fouw and Dr. Robert Svoboda, two experts and long-term practitioners. In Light on Life they have created a complete and thorough handbook that can be appreciated and understood by those with very little knowledge of astrology.

The notion of designing and respecting sacred space has been around for centuries, recognized in such current culture trends as Feng Shui, Wabi Sabi, and even the push to make homes greener. Vastu-India's ancient science of architecture and design for buildings and gardens-is the origin of traditions like Feng Shui, and finally gets a proper introduction in Vastu: Transcendental Home Design In Harmony with Nature ($29.95; Hardcover; Gibbs Smith, Publisher, October 2007) by Vastu sacred space design consultant Sherri Silverman.

Vastu is a beautifully illustrated and detailed guide to harnessing the tremendous power of this ancient tradition to create tranquil, attractive living spaces that bring the home-and everyone in it-back to center by enhancing inner peace, joy, prosperity, and relationships through attention to the structure and design of living and work areas. Vastu actually enables one to not just leave a light footprint on the earth, but to also improve the environment while living in a home that supports, nourishes, and protects health, happiness, and fulfillment.

Vastu covers all rooms in the home, as well as directions (north, south, east, west, northeast, northwest, southeast, southwest, center), the five elements (earth, water, fire, air, and space), the importance of beauty and natural materials, clearing of clutter, and air quality. Vastu also provides tips that teach how to use the power of meditation, love, grace and gratitude, sacred archetypal energies, mantras, and yantras to bless a house, and much more.

With five sections explaining the fundamentals of this ancient Vedic system, Vastu clearly and simply tells homeowners and apartment dwellers how to apply its principles to create a truly tranquil home, whether building new, or improving an existing space. Learn what Vastu is, and how it creates home as sanctuary. Discover the detailed components one should consider when creating a Vastu home to gain greater support for relationships, health, finance, and career. Walk through the house and yard for tips on the arrangement and décor of each area, and discover related, complementary techniques that can be applied to bless and energize the house. Finally, Vastu offers resources for further study, a detailed glossary, bibliography, and index.

Sherri Silverman, PhD has taught meditation, yoga, breathing techniques, and sacred text courses from the Vedic tradition since 1974. She holds a PhD in Creativity, the Arts, and the Sacred Application of Asian Concepts. Through her firm, Transcendence Design, she works with clients nationally and internationally, sharing the principles of Vastu for home, businesses, and community buildings. She lives in Santa Fe.

"Sound is more than simply a medium of artistic expression. Sound has practical and powerful applications in the real world."

Mantras, or simple chants, are short phrases packed with energy and intention--specifically designed to generate powerful sound waves that promote healing, insight, creativity, and spiritual growth. Healing Mantras is the practical, how-to guide that makes the strengths and benefits of mantras available to everyone. The transformative power of sound has been passed down to the present from the sages of India, the classical scientists of ancient Greece, and the medieval monks of Europe. Mantras, sounds, and chants have inspired, comforted, and mended the lives of individuals, religious orders, and even entire cultures. Even though the science and discipline of chanting and formal prayer are practiced in every religion around the world, this is the first time that ancient Sanskrit mantras have been explained and adapted to Western needs.

One of the few Western experts in Hindu and Buddhist mantras, Thomas Ashley-Farrand has practiced mantra-based spiritual disciplines for twenty-five years. In this illuminating book, he explains how and why mantras work and shows how to use them for everything from controlling habits to overcoming fear, from curing specific ailments to finding inner peace. In each of the more than fifty mantras, all translated from the original Sanskrit, Ashley-Farrand unlocks the power of every word, explains its appropriate application, and tells you how to pronounce it in easy-to-follow phonetic symbols. Inside, you'll find mantras for

- Health - Worldly Success - Habit Control - Protection - Grief - Anger - Controlling Fear - Personal Attraction - Wisdom - Concentration and Mental Clarity - Healing Life Issues - and more!

These mantras can be repeated aloud or in silence and can be used by people of any religion or spiritual practice, "as you wash dishes, as you drive on the freeway, as you meditate, or as you cook." Sound can help and sound can heal, and Healing Mantras now makes this sound medicine available to everyone.

In his latest book, Dr. David Frawley unlocks ancient astrological understandings of the human body's inherent weaknesses based on positions of the planets and stars at birth. In so doing, he guides us to avert sickness by applying detailed traditional Vedic remedial measures and then helps us understand the karma behind illnesses when they do manifest.

In Path of Light, Volume 1: Introduction to Vedic Astrology, James Kelleher presents a comprehensive introduction to the science of Jyotish, the astrology of India. The first of a two-volume set, Volume 1 covers the principal building blocks of Jyotish, describing the signs, planets, houses, and nakshatras in a lucid style. Path of Light s treatment of the Nakshatras delves deeply into the symbolism and mythology of the 27 lunar constellations. It introduces many of the ancient myths and stories related to the nakshatras, opening a largely unexplored goldmine of archetypes, valuable to both advanced and beginning students of Vedic astrology. It also presents 27 original paintings done by a Rajasthani master artist, vividly depicting the nakshatra-related myths in a traditional style. Volume 1 contains a substantive section on the houses of the horoscope, including a methodical treatment of planets and house ruler placements in the houses. This makes the book a valuable reference for any serious student of Jyotish. James Kelleher also provides a free chart calculator on his website (www.jameskelleher.com), which makes all of the material in this book accessible to the beginning student or even the non-astrologer. The book is digested wisdom, not just standardized information or New Age fluff. It covers nearly everything the beginning Vedic astrologer would want to know, in both depth and detail. - Dr. David Frawley, author of over 20 books on the Vedic sciences.