Catherine Blackledge

A spellbinding tale of prophecy, power, and politicsa biography of the 17th-century astrologer whose controversial celestial forecasts of the future changed the course of the English Civil WarWinter, 1643: Astrologer William Lilly is gazing at a chamber pot. Parliament has asked him to help: Will leader John Pym live or die? Using an ancient astrological technique called horary, Lilly predicts Pym will die in eight days time. He is correct. In the pages of his best-selling pamphlets, Lilly enthralls the civil war-torn nation with his uncannily accurate astral forecasts of who will triumph in combat. He advises the New Model Army on when to fight based on his judgment of King Charles Is horoscope; the key battle of Naseby is won with this astrological intelligence. Foreseeing the Kings death seals his status as the nations arch magus. But not everyone is happy with Parliaments new prophet and his enemies begin to plot their revenge . . . Can Lillys astonishing gift help him best those in powerand save his profession and his life? With a cast of star-gazers, soldiers, and scryers; politicians, priests and prophets, internationally acclaimed author Catherine Blackledge grants fresh insight into a tumultuous period, illuminating William Lillys extraordinary life and revealing the secrets of his astonishing foresight.

A meticulous guide not only to the vagina but to changing perceptions of womanhood OBSERVERAn empowering and enlightening book IRISH TIMESThe vagina is the ultimate symbol of female power. Sexual power, creative power and the power to prevent harm. For too long, though, the true extent of vaginal power has been ignored, hidden and misrepresented. Raising the skirt: the unsung power of the vagina reveals this revolutionary view of female genitalia and points the way to a new understanding of what it means to be female. An inspiration for millennia, the vagina is actually a muscular marvel of engineering - sensitive and strong, fluid and flexible. Far from being a passive vessel, female genitalia control the most important role of all: the survival of the species.Originally published as THE STORY OF V: OPENING PANDORAS BOX

Durante demasiado tiempo el verdadero poder de la vagina ha sido ignorado, escondido y mal interpretado. Más de dos milenios de información errónea han dado lugar a una cultura occidental en la que, incluso hoy dia, resulta tabu mencionar o mostrar el sexo de la mujer. Aunque la ciencia ha empezado a esclarecer las funciones de la vagina y el importante papel que desempeña en el placer sexual y la reproduccion, los genitales femeninos siguen envueltos de una gran cantidad de misterios, mitos, prejuicios y creencias obsoletas.Lejos de ser un recipiente inerte, la vagina es una maravilla de la ingenieria muscular y tiene una funcion vital: la supervivencia de la especie. Con una amplia perspectiva que abarca arte prehistorico, historia antigua, linguistica, mitologia, teoria de la evolucion, biologia reproductiva y medicina, Catherine Blackledge nos señala el camino hacia una nueva comprension de lo que significa ser mujer y las armas para una revolucion vaginal.