New Age Retailer's review of Good Fortune and how to attract it

"This book/oracle risks offering us a modern interpretation of the Chinese Book of Changes, commonly known as the I Ching. The metaphors used in the original Book of Changes reflect social norms (and limitations) that have changed dramatically. Titania Hardie brings those metaphors into the 21st century with respect for the fluidity and wisdom of the ancient oracle. In doing so, she offers us traditional wisdom but also leaves plenty of room for personal judgement and responsibility."
-New Age Retailer, June 2008

The Oracle's review of Good Fortune and how to attract it

Globalgoddess.org publishes a quarterly e-zine, the Oracle, which features personal stories, timely spells and meditations, and book review. . The Beltane 2008 issue includes a review of Good Fortune and how to attract it by Titania Hardie. Reviewer Dawn "Belladonna" Thomas wrote "it is full of a lot of good quality reading. I highly recommend it for anyone that would like to delve into the realm of I-Ching." Click here to read the full review.

Lupa's Review of Good Fortune and how to attract it by Titania Hardie

I like creative reworkings of old systems (at least as long as they don’t claim to be the original!). Good Fortune is just such a book. Titania Hardie offers her own modernization of the I Ching; she argues that as the original was created in an entirely different culture, including one in which women weren’t even allowed to use it, a form friendly to both men and women was in order. I am pleased by this.

The first section of the book describes what the basic concept is, how to throw and read the coins, and the different personality types that affect the outcome of the reading. There’s also some interesting elemental correspondence worked in there as well. It was a bit complex to understand at first, but a little closer study made it make sense. The readings rely on a grid with numbers on it; the way the coins fall in six throws, and the lines created on the grid by recording these throws, determines what the answer is. With a little practice, it’s a wonderfully effective divination system.

I’m a bit on the fence about the personality types, specifically the element of birth order which is used to help determine what the dominant aspects of your personality are. According to The Birth Order Book by Dr. Kevin Leman, one’s sex isn’t as important as Hardie makes it out to be; it’s more about the interactions of the family members. Hardie covers that too, though, so it’s a more thorough view. I’m not a big fan of rigid gender/sex dichotomy, and occasionally a bit of “female-nurturing, male-doing” sentiment got to me a bit, especially with the “Mother always equals Earth and Father always equals Sky” aspect. Overall, though, personal biases aside, it adds a useful dimension to one’s reading and understanding of how who you are affects what may occur and how you react to it.

Quibbles and bits aside, I did thoroughly enjoy this book. It’s quite possibly one of the prettiest books, with some spectacular layout and design work. Don’t let the loveliness fool you, though–this is an effective system of divination suitable for anyone who resonates with it. Don’t expect classic I Ching; you’ll be disappointed. Instead, open yourself up to a new derivation that goes in some creative directions.

Four and a half pawprints out of five.

A practitioner of paganism and magic for over a decade, Lupa is the author of three books and is working on her fourth. Read her reviews of other books on her pagan book review blog.

Karolina Blaha-Black's Review of Good Fortune and how to attract it by Titania Hardie

Titania Hardie’s Oracle of Good Fortune is one of the best that I’ve consulted in a long time. Based on the ancient I Ching, also known as the Chinese Book of Changes, this little book is a treasure trove of ancient knowledge, adapted by Hardie to modern use.

By casting the three enclosed Sun/Moon coins while concentrating on our wish or question, the oracle shows us not only our future, but also how to win at the game that’s life. As the author points out, a lot of times obstacles to our success are only in our minds. This oracle helps us to conquer the problems one may struggle with in their life and to improve our future for the better. We are also encouraged to shed the old views of how other people or family members see us and start being ourselves.

The oracle is based on the seasons of the year, and how we are affected by those seasons into which we were born. As the first step, the oracle prompts us to choose a Personality Profile, which is defined by Chinese nature elements, such as Sky, Earth, Thunder, Wind, Fire, Water, Lake, and Mountain. Our nature element is given by our order of birth determined by the relationship to the mother.

For example, after completing my Personality Profile, I found out that I am a Wind, as a first-born daughter of my mother. I also identified as Autumn Wind in the Northern Hemisphere and Spring Wind in the Southern Hemisphere, since I was born between Sept. 22- Dec. 21^st. In the elements section of the book I learned that Wind can be energetic and moody, and it strives to awaken the life force in all. Wind can also be ambitious, has an artistic flair, and wants perfection. On the negative side, it lacks energy, can become envious and frustrated, and puts too much emphasis on appearances. Describes me to a T!

After we build our Personality Profile, it’s time to play with the three coins (my favorite part). The seeker decides on a question that can be generic, specific, or as simple as one requiring a “yes” or “no” answer. Keeping the question in mind, we cast the coins six times. Each time we throw, we record the line of the coins with how many sun/moon combinations we threw, working from the bottom up, until we have tablet of six throws. We assign a specific symbol to each row, as the oracle instructs, and, by taking the symbols of the first three and the last three throw lines, we match them to a special chart presented in the book. Where the vertical and the horizontal line meets on the chart is our special forecast number.

Then we just simply turn the pages of the book to that number and read the answer to our question. The answer, as was in my case, is not always obvious, so we have to consider what the forecast means in relationship to our question that we kept in mind throughout the casting of the coins. According to the author, the oracle shows us the best outcome for our present situation or predicament, but we have to ponder it in order to see it.

My favorite thing about the oracle was that the book is compact and portable with three little cubby holes for the coins in the front cover. The pages are accompanied by pretty illustrations, and the book feels friendly in the hand. Easy enough to be tucked in one’s bag while traveling for a quick consultation of pressing matters, if one doesn’t have time or room to do a tarot spread.

This is a great oracle for anyone who wants to attract good fortune and success in their lives, young and old alike. They can also learn a great deal about themselves in the process. Highly recommended!

Karolina Blaha-Black has reviewed for SageWoman and the Beltane Papers and has a feature in Crone magazine's 1st issue, which will be out in September 08. She lives in Texas.

The Oracle's Beltane Issue will feature a review of Good Fortune and How to attract it by Titania Hardie!

Belladonna, the editor of Global Goddess' Oracle, wrote wrote that Good Fortune and how to attract it, by Titania Hardie is "a great little book full of so much information. The throws that I did were very accurate and I was impressed by the depth of the information covered in the book. Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to review this book. It is an area of divination that I have wanted to try but never seemed to be able to connect with the traditional I-Ching."

Katie Kelley's Review of Good Fortune and how to attract it by Titania Hardie

I just finished reading Good Fortune by Titania Hardie. It was great. It gives you the tools including the coins to do some amazingly detailed readings in a short amount of time. When I picked it up I was concerned about how thick it was but with 64 readings and additional information for each the reading and understanding of the process is quick to learn and can be discribed as somewhat addictive. All you need is included in the book and it is both fun and enlightning.

Katie Kelly is a Reiki Master/Teacher, avid reader and photographer who plans to spend the next few years visiting the "power points of the world." She's traveled throughout the U.S., Canada, and Mexico and will visit Europe soon. Her spirit guides are a counsel of Druids and she lives in Colorado.

Mike Gleason's Review of Good Fortune Book and how to attract it by Titania Hardie

The basic concept of THIS book is simple – update the 3,000 year old classic – the I Ching (Book of Changes). After all, that is the foundation of the original work – change. Ms. Hardie has eliminated many of the assumptions inherent in ancient Chinese life. The author has included three uniquely designed coins to be used with the book. She has taken a classic method of providing insight into one’s life and made it more appealing to the modern reader.

The sixty four forecasts in this book, while still quite broad in their basic interpretations, have been additionally fine-tuned by the addition of family position and a personality profile modified by the season of birth.

The symbols have changed (suns and moons instead of simple lines) but these are merely cosmetic changes. The method for determining the symbols remains the same, as does the method of transmuting the moving lines.

It goes without saying, but I will say it anyhow, that this is a book which is designed to be used, not read. You won’t gain any benefit from sitting down and reading it, without putting in the effort to use it.

This book is filled with color. Each page is vibrant and eye-catching. Fortunately, the text is set in a basic black format, which makes it easier to read. Each forecast is given, and is then followed by the meaning of the moving lines (if any).

Each explanation of the moving lines is preceded by the relevant instructions, reminding the reader that the first line is on the bottom while the sixth line is at the top. Although this may seem overly repetitious, it serves a useful purpose since (in the Western world) we tend to think top to bottom. This repetition helps to avoid confusion.

Each forecast has two images, relating to family position, associated with it. The lower trigram image is in the lower left, while the upper trigram is in the upper right. A glance at these can reveal extra significance if either (or both) matches the symbol of your family position.

Each forecast image page also contains a representation of the coins which compose the trigram, which is a nice reminder.

Overall, I was impressed by the quality of this book on multiple levels. In terms of the format – it is easy to use and understand the layout. In terms of its appearance – it is a convenient size, nicely bound and (with its distinctive plum-colored cover, easy to spot. In terms of its content – it captures the wisdom of its ancient predecessor while taking into account the necessary evolution caused by changing cultures (ancient Chinese thought is very different from modern Western thinking), our understanding of familial relationships, and other varying factors.

If you have never used the I Ching system before this is an excellent introduction to it. If you have used the original system, this may help you expand your understanding. In either case, I strongly recommend this book. It offers new insights coupled with advice which has stood the tests of time.

Mike Gleason sends his book reviews to over 15,000 people in the pagan community.