• Reviews

    Book Review – Flower Magic of the Druids by Jon G. Hughes

    Book Review Flower Magic of the Druids: How to Craft Potions, Spells, & Enchantments Written by Jon G. Hughes Publisher: Destiny Books 200 Pages Release Date: May 2, 2023       Reading Flower Magic of the Druids; How to Craft Potions, Spells, & Enchantments by Jon G. Hughes reminded me of both the traditions of our Druidic Ancestors and the more modern flower traditions of my western life growing up here in the United States. Although Jon Hughes is mostly speaking to the flower landscapes of Great Britain and the United Kingdom, I was able to relate and extract much wisdom from his thorough teachings and guidelines as well…

  • Monthly Columns

    Communing with the Essence

    Relating with Raindrops and Communing with Cups of Tea; The Ecstatic Dance of Life — Our mind is not the only part of ourselves that communicates. A hot cup of tea communicates; maybe through a warning indicating, “careful hot”, or maybe through a comforting warmth or a soothing relaxation, maybe it signals, “it is time for self”. It has been raining these past few days and the rain is communicating with my body. It is not always pleasant or soothing, sometimes it’s distracting and unwanted. Just like Nature, all of Life is communicating with us. Our past, our present, and our future communicates. Parts of ourselves we wish would go…

  • Reviews

    Book Review – A Walk Through the Forest of Souls; a Tarot Journey to Spiritual Awakening by Rachel Pollack

    Book Review A Walk Through the Forest of Souls; A Tarot Journey to Spiritual Awakening Written by Rachel Pollack Publisher: Weiser Books 288 Pages Release Date: May 1, 2023       Oftentimes Tarot books are written to give detailed instruction, formal information, and point us readers towards a final destination of comprehension. Rachel Pollack’s book, A Walk through the Forest of Souls exploded those concrete rules and dogmatic disciplines into a multifaceted, multidisciplinary journey of incomprehensible mythological, spiritual, historical, and religious complexities, back into the profound mystery. She guides us through paradoxes and contradictions, dismantling as well as respectfully illuminating all that has been said about the origins and…

  • Reviews

    Book Review – The Cult of the Yew by Janis Fry

    Book Review The Cult of the Yew: Tree of Life, Mystery, and Magic Written by Janis Fry Publisher: Moon Books 480 Pages Release Date: April 1, 2023       It is not often a book summons you from the Forest of your Soul and takes you on a journey through time and out of time back into a richer, freer, and more integrated Forest of your Eternal Soul. Janis Fry’s The Cult of the Yew was that catalyst for me. The Yew trees first started whirling in my awareness after a random conversation in the Forest one day with a neighboring woman I met on the trail. She shared…

  • Monthly Columns

    Communing with the Essence

    Communing Essence-ly — There is an opening, a space between mental chatter and unconsciousness or even sleep. It’s not a Void but I’ve confused it to be that many times. It is a deeply connected place where you and another, whether pen to paper, hand to tree, belly to water, heart to Soul, or footsteps to Earth merge into pure presence and the rest of the world seems to disappear, at least for those moments. In aesthetics this space is often called The Zone. In the Arts it’s coined as being in the Flow. Meditative studies can be a gateway into this realm, but so too can the full engagement…