We have just read in the Bristol Post this week that a woman left her teaching job to become a professional mermaid! Maids of the sea, sprung from ancient fish gods, reborn from the tragedy of forbidden love, combined with a seductive power of the half-bird sirens who sang to Odysseus, and a warning against temptation in the Middle Ages, today mermaids exist as everything from birthday party entertainment to a reclaimed site of political and particularly feminist power. Throughout history, everything from manatees and sea-cows to skate and seal have been mistaken for beautiful mermaids. Believed to cure asthma and earache, and warn of danger, here is everything you could ever want to know about these mythical creatures and their aquatic lore. From around the seven seas from Latvia and Iran to Haiti and Estonia, here is the mermaid throughout history and the many names they have been known by like kelpie, nix, sylphe, undine and water nymph and how if they traded their fins for life on land their lifespan would shorten dramatically, they would give up their voices and their tails and in return would be granted terrestrial romance or perhaps even a soul. Beautifully decorated coloured pages with over 100 spectacular artworks. 224pp.

By the author of the bestselling 'The Tutankhamun Prophecies', this book was originally published in 2006 as 'The Celtic Chronicles: The True Story of the Holy Grail'. Using the same knowledge that enabled him to break the codes of the Mayas, Peruvians, Egyptians, and Chinese, Maurice Cotterell now follows the migration of the Celts 4,000 years ago from Asia, across Europe, to Ireland. His account of this epic journey together with his knowledge of the secret codes help him identify and locate the Holy Grail, the actual cup used by Christ and his disciples at the Last Supper. Cotterell explains the true story of the Grail and how it contains the secret super-science of the Sun and the higher orders of spirituality; how it was carried to England by Joseph of Arimathea; how in AD453 it was found by King Arthur who engraved it with the same esoteric information found on the Pyramid of Inscriptions in Palenque, Mexico, and the Gateway of the Sun at Tiahuanaco in Ancient Peru. His discoveries reveal that the Grail does actually radiate light, in accordance with the Arthurian legends, proving that the so-called legends are actually based on facts. Cotterell goes on to show how the holy cup was passed for safe keeping to the Monks of Lindisfarne, who copied the secrets of the Grail into the Lindisfarne Gospels and the Book of Kells. Fleeing from Viking raids, the monks carried their treasures to Ireland, explaining how the cup found its way to the Dublin Museum, where it rests today. 241pp in large softback with many illustrations and dozens of colour images.

Paranormal perception, pre-feeling, perception of time, linear and circular time, time travel, rewriting the past with a visualisation technique, types of psychic abilities, the four clairs, clairvoyants (clear seeing), clairaudience (clear hearing), clairsentience (clear feeling), claircognizance (clear knowing). Check in with your body and learn tips for writing a powerful affirmation. Study your auric field through energy fields, high senses and interconnected universe, multi-dimensional reality, and sensing chakras. Develop your own intuition through self awareness, keeping an open mind, starting a creative hobby, a dream journal, listening to binaural sounds, chanting, candle flames and trees. At least 5,000 years have elapsed since the first attempt to speak with the dead or make future prophecies. For example the Ancient Egyptians used 'scrying' to read patterns created by dropping ink into water. The Mesopotamians did the same with oil, and after tea was discovered as a beverage in 2727BC, the Ancient Chinese began reading tea leaves. This beautiful book is your window into the world of psychic powers, telepathy and astral projection and you can even learn the art of channelling through automatic writing. 208 beautifully decorated gilt-edged golden pages. Gold blocked hardback. New full price publication.

Sub-titled 'A Journal of Magick, Spells and Rituals', the journal includes an introduction to the essentials of witchcraft, writing prompts tailored to each spell allowing you to meditate on your intention, a place to record your practice for future reference and in this way it is both a journal and grimoire to document and reflect on your spell work. The word spell conjure up witchy rhyming incantations and black cauldrons and cruel evil women, but the truth is actually quite different. The Book of Shadows traditionally serves as a diary to record dreams, spells and outcomes, focussing on expert execution of rituals and ceremonies. There is a guide to candles, colours and their meanings such as gold for wealth, masculinity, luck, power, happiness and the sun, and blue for travel, communication and calm. There are herbs, crystals and stones, consecrated water, smudge sticks, flower essences, essential oils all explained. Written a little like a recipe book with plenty of space to write your notes into the journal with the prompts and beautifully decorated with colour artworks. 160pp.

A modern seer's complete guide to developing intuitive abilities and mastering time-honoured tarot techniques used for divination. This big glamorous box set includes a 32 page colour illustrated guidebook, a deck of 78 full-colour large tarot cards guiding you through the most popular readings including Past, Present, Future and The Celtic Cross. Helpful illustrations assist deciphering every card in the deck as you learn each meaning, both upright and reversed. Understand the deeper meaning of ordinary events and reveal what your future might hold. Box measures 18.8 x 25cm.

Magic, religion and science are intertwined, and archaeology teaches us as much about ancient settlements and cultures and the history of magic in the human and spiritual world. 'From the steppes of Mongolia to the palaces of London and Paris, from prehistory to today, told through the lens of magic that has always existed alongside and within religion itself, here is a gripping ride of astonishing span. There are colourful characters, shaman, witches, kings, esoteric rites and revelatory research in this highly entertaining historical treasure trove' says Simon Sebag Montefiore. With his own magical touch, Gosden brilliantly reveals the place of magic in human societies from the Ice Age to the present day and this is of increasing relevance as we witness the growth of extreme cults in the post-truth era. Chapters include Magic in Mesopotamia and Egypt 4,000-1,000BCE, Chinese Magic 20,000BCE to the Present, Jewish, Greek and Roman Magic, The Magics of Africa, Australia and the Americas and Modern and Future Magic among them. There is a timeline of the global history of magic and many maps and illustrations including tomb artefacts throughout the text. Penguin paperback, 482pp.

The popular boardgame Catan is a timeless world waiting for you to explore, build and settle - and solve! The book even if you are unfamiliar with the game itself has 100 original puzzles providing a narrative adventure that allows you to discover the unsettled island of Catan, win resources and victory points which lead to success. The puzzles may be solved on their own or as part of a narrative that runs through the book which is fantastically illustrated throughout with more than 150 in-world artworks. The various puzzles affect your budding band of workers and tradesmen and you will be rewarded with a resource like lumber, ore, wool, grain or brick or reach an achievement like roads, settlements, cities and knights. After landing on these lush shores, guide your fellow settlers to peace and prosperity. You will need to keep your wits about you assigning jobs, managing resources, and decoding cryptic maps at the start of your perplexing responsibility. 100 puzzles, 10 themed chapters. Colour artworks, 224pp, softback 15.2 x 21cm.

Beginning with the work of the master builders of antiquity, Frank Joseph shares his personal investigations into ancient mysteries and paranormal enigmas in America and abroad examining Old World connections with the New World sacred centres. These include similarities between Ohio's Mound City and the pyramids and tombs of the Giza Plateau, ancient American cities of the Sun, China's Great Pyramid, and the possibility of a Templar treasure on Oak Island. He explores modern sacred sites such as Iowa's Grotto of Gems, Tennessee's Greek Temple of the goddess Athena, and Florida's Coral Castle. He investigates pre-Columbian sites and underwater pyramids in the Midwest, Wisconsin's UFO hot-spot, lost Aztec Cities of Gold in Kansas, and giant-built constructions in Illinois and the afterlife. He details how the intriguing acoustics of Newgrange in Ireland are echoed in its spiral carvings, and explores ritual uses of altered states, looking at the practices of Minoan snake handlers, Mayan shamans, and prophets through the ages. Plus EVP or Electronic Voice Phenomena, the Bermuda Triangle, Atlantis, and the Ark of the Covenant and extraordinary personalities including Jules Verne, Sir Francis Bacon, Mother Shipton and the real-life inspiration for Indiana Jones. 308pp in large well illustrated softback.

Sub-titled 'A Beginner's Guide to Zen Meditation', it is still possible to find stillness of mind even amidst our everyday activities. Beloved Zen master John Daido Loori shares the way of Zen meditation with easy-to-understand instructions, practical lessons and short but sweet titbits of useful information: 'One thing, all things, move among and intermingle without distinction...' The key is continuity and consistency, meditating for just ten minutes in the morning and ten minutes at night, and making an agreement with yourself to sit each day for a set period of time. This is when Zazen is best practiced, and if you wish, set up a little altar and hold your hands in the cosmic mudra with the active hand held palm up holding the inactive hand, mid knuckles overlapping and thumb tips touching lightly forming an oval frame. With every detail about positioning and centring the body, the head and hands, breathing and relaxation exercises and even walking meditation, it?s a perfect guide to home practice. 80 page illustrated paperback from Shambhala.

Seek out new destinies and new points of view with the official Tarot Deck inspired by the TV show Star Trek: The Next Generation and featuring original art of Captain Picard, Data, Wolf, Counselor Troi, Commander Riker and many more, in beautiful colour images. The pack includes a fully illustrated 78 card tarot deck and 128 page mini guidebook as we travel the stars and seek our fortunes with the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-O.