Blog Posts - Stone Circle Press

Dreaming the Future: Reimagining Civilization in the Age of Nature by Kenny Ausubel

2/17/2017

REVIEW BY PEGI EYERS

Dreaming the Future: Reimagining Civilization in the Age of Nature is an excellent collection of inspiring essays by social entrepreneur Kenny Ausubel, cocreator (with Nina Simons) of the partnership non-profit Bioneers, provider of environmental and social justice leadership and host of the world-renowned conference of the same name. In the face of massive change, he outlines the radical personal, political and cultural changes we need to make to build a better future, and that many of the solutions are already waiting for us in the natural world.

Divided into three parts, Part One “It’s All Alive” introduces us to the clash of civilizations, old/new concepts of earth connectivity, cocreation stories, the reenchantment of the Earth, “nature’s operating instructions” and resilience thinking. In Part Two “Hungry Ghost Stories” Ausubel describes solutions to the reprehensible and criminal practices of Empire including ecocide, the toxicity of consumerism, public relations wars and corporate greed. With Part Three “Value Change for Survival” he rounds out his discourse with essays on clear thinking, shifting worldviews, the “law of love,” restorative justice, penal reform, peacemaking, clean energy, earth rights, the healing of nature and culture, and the Great Mystery as seen through the eyes of poets and seers.

In Dreaming the Future, Kenny Ausubel introduces us to diverse ideas, proposals, change-makers, visionaries and ecopreneurs from what he calls “a revolution from the heart of nature and the human heart.” Highly recommended. www.bioneers.org

Pegi Eyers is the author of "Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community," an award-winning book that explores strategies for intercultural competency, healing our relationships with Turtle Island First Nations, decolonization, recovering an ecocentric worldview, rewilding, creating a sustainable future and reclaiming peaceful co-existence in Earth Community.
Amazon.com
Stone Circle Press

The Village of Hiawatha: A History

8/23/2016

Heather Y. Shpuniarsky and the Village of Hiawatha Book Committee

BOOK REVIEW BY PEGI EYERS

With vibrant snapshots of people and places rich in familial and collective meaning, the facts, figures, statistics and stories in The Village of Hiawatha form a portrait of Mississauga Anishinaabeg life both past and present. Truly a group effort, the Village of Hiawatha Book Committee was formed to capture this amazing history, and to express a shared love for community and bonds to place. From ancient times to the pre-contact world of the Anishinaabeg, to the early settlement of what was initially called “Rice Lake Village” and the growth of the community through the years, The Village of Hiawatha is a monumental work.

A racist agenda of Settler-Colonialism in the quest to secure lands and power, First Nations reservations were established to hold native populations apart from the great Empire-building project. Sending a contradictory message to “assimilate” while imposing segregation at the same time, generally speaking the Canadian “apartheid” system has been an abject failure. Yet against all odds, the reserve system did give First Nations a precious landbase in their traditional territories, and like the Mississaugas of Rice Lake, have been places of thriving and flourishing community.

One of the objectives for writing this First Nations history was to correct the many Eurocentric terms and concepts on record, and to replace the colonial history with the true Anishinaabeg realities and place names. The Village of Hiawatha successfully meets other objectives to chronicle the remarkable achievements of the people of Hiawatha, to challenge stereotypes, to further respectful nation-to-nation relationships, and to instill pride in contemporary and future generations of Anishinaabeg youth.

Rich in archival lore, Heather Shpuniarsky has done a marvellous job of researching, and includes a cross-section of first-person narratives, oral history, maps, early census and band member lists, photographs, letters, mementos, ephemera, family trees, biographical profiles and wisdom from the Elders. The fascinating history of the area is informed by archaeology with an overview of the ancient culture who built the Serpent Mounds as a burial and ceremonial site, and how the landscape has changed over 4000 years. The chapters in The Village of Hiawatha cover the history of individual families including the very first residents, the early Methodist missionaries and schools, later residential school trauma, treaty relationships and other colonial apparatus, Hiawatha’s contribution to wars since 1759, the governance system, historic buildings, social and cultural events, athletics, sources of economy and other ventures such as eco-tourism, and the perennialism of Anishinaabeg traditional ecological knowledge (TEK).

An interesting discovery from reading The Village of Hiawatha was the importance of the Methodist Church and school system in the early days - a colonizing force yet the source of many benefits and positive outcomes. The Methodist religion was willingly adopted (or combined with their own ancestral traditions) by many Mississauga Anishinaabeg, and the church building itself (later a United Church) was the beloved hub of community life.

Overall, The Village of Hiawatha is a beautiful and important contribution to the much-needed resurgence and rejuvenation of the Mississauga Anishinaabeg. Like the restoration of the wild rice beds that is our vital work today, this historic survey charts the return of cultural pride, and should be required reading for all those seeking to become informed about regional First Nations history and traditions.

The award-winning book The Village of Hiawatha is available from The Old Railroad Stop Gift Shop at Hiawatha First Nation, or from Ningwakwe Learning Press >www.ningwakwe.ca<

Pegi Eyers is the author of "Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community," an award-winning book that explores strategies for intercultural competency, healing our relationships with Turtle Island First Nations, decolonization, recovering an ecocentric worldview, rewilding, creating a sustainable future and reclaiming peaceful co-existence in Earth Community.
Amazon.com
Stone Circle Press

Magical Gardens by Patricia Monaghan

8/23/2016

REVIEW BY PEGI EYERS

In November of 2012, the Feminist, Goddess Spirituality and Pagan community mourned the passing of foremother, author and activist Patricia Monaghan. She was a powerful and prolific writer, poet, academic and educator, and her work was highly influential to Goddess scholars, Goddess worshippers and Pagans everywhere. The delight and wisdom in her many books was a huge inspiration to my own progression on the Celtic Spirituality and Goddessian paths, and I am deeply honored to review Magical Gardens. Originally published in 1997, Patricia revised and expanded the original text, and it stands as a beautiful tribute to our timeless connection with the green world in joyful cultivation. Bracketed by earth-connected ancient tales, and myths that have blossomed from gardens and paradisaic Edens all over the world, this gorgeous book describes our reciprocity with nature, our endless innovation in creating gardens, and the transformative power of planting, tending and harvesting.

According to Patricia, there are three components to magical gardening: “becoming aware of traditions and narratives that hold insights into the connection between self and earth; becoming conscious of the earth’s special needs, the better to craft a connection to her; and becoming knowledgeable about specific plants and techniques that lead to gardening success - myth, mulch and marigolds, respectively.” Magical Gardens covers the basics of sun exposure, soil type, climate, and best plants for your site; plus composting, controlling pests and weeds and caring for plants at all growth stages. We discover powerful magic and meaning at the heart of our cooperation with the green world, and find that we share these sacred spaces with Goddesses, Gods, elves, fairies and devas. Unlike other mainstream gardening manuals, we are guided to explore both ancient knowledge and modern resources to deepen our magical bond in co-creation with nature, and honor the seasonal cycles of the land with mindful meditation and blessings. Winter is a time to dream and plan the garden’s shapes, colours and plants that are personally meaningful; Spring to consecrate the soil and seedlings with petition-prayers to encourage and sustain new growth; Summer to perform the endless and enjoyable garden tasks; and Fall for harvesting, clearing, taking stock and taking care. Patricia reminds us that giving back to the soil with composting, mulch and other methods is the highest form of love and nurture, and that gardening itself is “prayer offered to the earth”.

Gardens enhance our spiritual connection to the land, and we are offered rituals for honoring nature’s cycles, earth spirits and our plant allies. Gardens are sacred green spaces for celebration and marking the transitions in our lives, and Patricia’s advice has inspired me to think about my own work with outdoor labyrinths in a new way, with the potential for public rituals, community happenings and even garden parties(!). She takes us on a marvelous tour of public botanical gardens devoted to magical themes, such as the Chicago Botanic Garden with its extensive Japanese gardens; re-creations of famous historical gardens such as the medieval herb garden at the Cloisters in New York City; and unique gardens by eclectic individuals such as Niki de Saint-Phalle’s Tarot Garden in Italy! So inspiring. My absolute favorite section (in line with my current “Earthing” practice!) is “Care of the Soil” which reverses negative perceptions about the soil, highlighting the many health and spiritual benefits from close contact to the ground of our being.

With beautiful themed designs for gardens that you can create in your own land, backyard or patio-space, Magical Gardens has easy-to-follow plans for an “Angel Garden”, “Fairy Garden”, “Sorcerer’s Secret Garden”, “Unicorn Meadow”, “Camelot Garden”, “Artemisia Glade”, “Kuan-Yin’s Garden of Mercy” and many more. With this amazing book, visionary Patricia Monaghan has left us with a treasury of sacred expressions that connect soil and spirit - messages from Gaia that integrate us harmoniously with nature’s cycles, and we hear her timeless words, “As you garden, let Gaia sing through you, testify with your actions to Her grand power. For there is nothing more important that you can do.”

Thank you Beloved Ancestor and Green Goddess Patricia!

This review originally appeared in SageWoman magazine, 2014

Pegi Eyers is the author of "Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community," an award-winning book that explores strategies for intercultural competency, healing our relationships with Turtle Island First Nations, decolonization, recovering an ecocentric worldview, rewilding, creating a sustainable future and reclaiming peaceful co-existence in Earth Community.
Amazon.com
Stone Circle Press

Wild Things for the Soul by Maia Heissler

8/23/2016

REVIEW BY PEGI EYERS

From her own experience and deep bond to the cycles and elements of the natural world, artist Maia Heissler has written a beautiful handbook to connecting with nature’s beauty and magic. Blending spiritual memoir, nature writing and DIY modalities, Maia’s goal is to re-sensitize people to the wisdom of nature and inspire us to love the earth. She includes cultivated gardens in her discourse, as they ground us in the wonder of the “green fuse” - the regenerative and nurturing power of all green growing things. Our teachers and outdoor classrooms, gardens can be a peaceful sanctuary as well as a joyful and ever-changing means of personal expression. Maia’s narratives show how spending time in nature directly observing can lead to magical and oracular experiences. Her beautiful rune stones (Lifestones) came about by allowing space for the deep meaning inherent in the movements of animals, birds, insects, wind and water; and the shapes of leaves, seed pods, roots and branches to come to her as insights which she translated into beautiful symbols. Maia also shares stories of the “wild places and wild things” she visits regularly and communes with as co-creator, setting up sacred sites such as a labyrinth walk and a “remembering tree” for obituaries. She offers great ideas for bringing nature indoors by creating personal altars, and for the crafting of items such as candleholders, planters, walking sticks, mobiles and spirit houses by emulating the interconnectivity of wild nature. Wild Things for the Soul is a significant contribution to the genre of eco-literature.

Pegi Eyers is the author of "Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community," an award-winning book that explores strategies for intercultural competency, healing our relationships with Turtle Island First Nations, decolonization, recovering an ecocentric worldview, rewilding, creating a sustainable future and reclaiming peaceful co-existence in Earth Community.
Amazon.com
Stone Circle Press

Following Nimishoomis by Helen Agger

8/23/2016

REVIEW BY PEGI EYERS

When looked at closely, the collective worldview that the Europeans brought with them to Canada was based largely on elements of resource extraction and military rule. The domination and control of the ecosystem allowed the Empire to take root, and progress and privilege to flourish. A heinous side effect of this unimpeded growth was the genocidal devastation of many earth-connected Indigenous peoples, landscapes and wildlife species. As today’s societal problems worsen and environmental degradation intensifies, it has become clear that the unsustainable worldview of our founding fathers is highly destructive to the Earth and all life.

Among other insidious concepts brought to the “New World” by the settler society was the idea of “Terra Nullius” - that the land was empty and devoid of life, requiring a European presence and sensibility to make it bona fide. This is exactly why books like Following Nimishoomis, an account of Anishnaabe culture just prior to and during contact, are of primary importance to all Canadians. Beyond our urban cocoon we learn that this beautiful country is a four-season paradise, and that there are actually people who have lived here happily for millennia, and survived and thrived and flourished! But more importantly, we learn that human beings are meant to honor the Earth in all they think, say and do, and that there is a better, more harmonious way for us to live, interconnected with nature and all life.

Following Nimishoomis is based on the stories and recollections of Helen’s mother Dedibaayaanimanook (now in her 90’s and going strong) who is also the mother of Alice Williams, Curve Lake’s renowned artisan quilt artisan. The voices of Dedibaayaanimanook and her relatives come through on every page, illuminating their traditional values and lifestyle of following game, fishing harvests, wild rice, berries and healing plants in seasonal migrations. Deeply bonded to the earth and each other, they exhibit gentleness, kindness, good manners and appropriate protocol in their respect and care for all living things.

Ancestral knowledge and the consciousness of Indigenous people are embedded in the land, and the cultural meaning this provides is essential to their individual and collective identity and well-being. Dedibaayaanimanook’s story will assist in correcting the misconception that Canada was a tract of “wilderness” devoid of human history, whereas every square centimeter of this continent was someone’s traditional homeland.

Following Nimishoomis is available on Amazon ~

Pegi Eyers is the author of "Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community," an award-winning book that explores strategies for intercultural competency, healing our relationships with Turtle Island First Nations, decolonization, recovering an ecocentric worldview, rewilding, creating a sustainable future and reclaiming peaceful co-existence in Earth Community.
Amazon.com
Stone Circle Press

Dancing On Our Turtle's Back: Stories of Nishnaabeg Re-creation, Resurgence and a New Emergence by Leanne Simpson

9/30/2015

REVIEW BY PEGI EYERS

I am a person of Celtic descent, rooted for five generations in the beauty of the Ontario landscape, and my particular soul journey is to recover my own European Indigenous Knowledge (EIK) and reclaim a sacred relationship to Earth Community. As a relative newcomer to Turtle Island, I am well aware of my limitations in any reading or comment on the work of those Indigenous to place, and my bonds to the land will always be preceded by the much deeper attachments of the original First Nations.

As a beautifully-crafted clarion call, Leanne Simpson’s Dancing on Our Turtle’s Back :: Stories of Nishnaabeg Re-Creation, Resurgence, and a New Emergence is specifically directed to the Nishnaabeg Nation and the Mississauga Ojibway, the original inhabitants of the Kawarthas in Southern Ontario. This exceptional book is a blending of wisdom teachings from the Elders, stories that flow from myth and the oral tradition, illuminations of heart-knowledge (Debwewin “truth”), studies on the Nishnaabeg language and stages of life, and solid research interspersed with brilliant observation. Dancing on Our Turtle’s Back gets to the core of the Nishnaabeg experience, identifying exactly what the challenges have been, and the path toward transformation and "Mino Bimaadiziwin," the Good Life.

Leanne speaks of “celebrating our resistance, our survival, our continuance, that after everything we are still here.” She says that resurgence is most powerfully found in the recovery of Nishnaabeg intellect and holistic values as embedded in the ancient stories and traditions, and lifeways that promote well-being in government, education and restorative justice. Storytelling and contemporary performance also evoke spaces of resistance, freedom and justice, and have their ultimate value as practices that lift the burden of colonialism and transform reality. She goes on to say that nurturing the next generation by modeling Nishnaabeg ethics, core philosophies and egalitarian leadership styles to the children is of critical importance, and the greatest hope for the emergence to come.

Dancing on Our Turtle’s Back also presents important learning opportunities for all Canadians. The descendants of the Settler Society need to understand the extent of the racist policies of the colonial system, and the horrific genocide, dispossession, forced relocations and assimilation as experienced by First Nations. When we know this truth, we will be obliged to embrace new intercultural competency skills, and as allies, to support decolonization and the emergence of a strong and recovered Nishnaabeg Nation. Leanne Simpson is a guiding light in the movement toward Nishnaabeg empowerment, and among other powerful truths, she tells us that ”our creation story tells us another world is possible, and that we have the tools to vision it and bring it into reality. I can’t think of a more powerful narrative.”

Pegi Eyers is the author of "Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community," an award-winning book that explores strategies for intercultural competency, healing our relationships with Turtle Island First Nations, decolonization, recovering an ecocentric worldview, rewilding, creating a sustainable future and reclaiming peaceful co-existence in Earth Community.
Amazon.com
Stone Circle Press

Cultural Appropriation Queen

10/28/2014

REVIEW BY PEGI EYERS

This book is a complete fabrication! "Coming Full Circle" is a fictional romp through Lynn Andrews’s fantasies and so-called “teachings” driven by her delusional need to be a guru for other white people. The Indigenous women she claims to know are tokenized and essentialized, and it is highly unlikely that within the reality of colonization and dispossession, any Indigenous woman would be interested in tolerating the white-privileged presence of her "transcendental" high-priced New Age narcissism.

The narratives of so-called “wisdom” as recounted by the fictional “Sisterhood of the Shields” sound more like the rehashing of various New Age ideologies than genuine Indigenous Knowledge (with the needs of Lynn Andrews squarely at the center of each encounter). Did it not occur to Lynn Andrews that the Indigenous women of Hawaii, Alberta or Guatemala would have their own Indigenous Knowledge, and would have no interest in spouting New Age nonsense? And did it not occur to Lynn Andrews to research the authentic cultural traditions and IK (Indigenous Knowledge) of the various groups she claims to know? Her glaring lack of scholarship, underhanded racist statements, Eurocentric white perspectivism, and cultural appropriation are just a few of the monumental problems with this ridiculous fiction that is being passed-off as fact. For the sake of solidarity with real Indigenous people and their real challenges in the real world, please boycott this book!

Pegi Eyers is the author of "Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community," an award-winning book that explores strategies for intercultural competency, healing our relationships with Turtle Island First Nations, decolonization, recovering an ecocentric worldview, rewilding, creating a sustainable future and reclaiming peaceful co-existence in Earth Community.
Amazon.com
Stone Circle Press

"Occupation Nation" by Chet Singh

10/28/2014

REVIEW BY PEGI EYERS

It is always exciting to see new forms of literary and poetic expression morph and evolve, such as the flourishing of spoken word performance and dub poetry in Canada. A phenomenon that arose in Jamaica in the 1970s, dub poetry is a powerful artform that layers the style, rhythm, chants and drama of poetry with reggae, funk, jazz, fusion and other forms of experimental soundscape. That there are more dub poets in Toronto today than anywhere in the world (next to Jamaica!) is a marvellous comment on a city that embraces and celebrates cultural diversity. Considered “subversive” by some and “essential activism” by others, dub poetry is primarily concerned with political commentary, the critique of current events and social justice issues. One of the best artists in the genre is Chet Singh, Lakefield resident and college professor, who has released his 6th compilation entitled Occupation Nation, a brilliant weaving of much-needed decolonial reality-speak and innovative dubs.

Born in Jamaica, Singh is founding member of the renowned Dub Poets Collective, former board member of the Ontario Arts Council, member of the band One Mind, and recipient of many awards for excellence in teaching and leadership. In addition to his many achievements, he is recognized as of one of the pioneers of dub poetry and spoken word in Canada. Embracing both the creolization processes of the Caribbean and the diverse cultural landscapes of Canada, he uses the metaphorical force of music and poetry as a continuum of his human rights activism. Singh not only seeks to expose the fiction of a “post-racial society,” but also explores the normalization of dominance, racism and injustice, and shows how the silence or denial from the majority makes all of us complicit. As the title suggests, themes of occupation are the focus of Occupation Nation, with tracks on debunking settler colonial narratives ("Madawaska"), the oligarchy-generated propaganda that continues to manufacture “the other” ("Among the Bombs"), our domination of the natural world, which is also a form of occupation ("Highway 115"), and the gentle reclaiming of our authentic eco-selves ("Natural Nature"). In step with the fire lit by the recent Idle No More movement, Chet’s poetics remind us that First Nations, subordinated through imperialism and Eurocentric pedagogy, have been engaged in the monumental work of resisting the Settler State for centuries now, and the struggle continues ("Red Canoe").

A collaboration of top-notch producers and musicians add texture to the solid foundations of Chet’s poetry in Occupation Nation, and for those unfamiliar, the intellectualism and social justice agenda of dub is definitely worth exploring. As the Dub Poets Collective website states, “dub poetry is not a cultural ornament. It is a vocal instrument of social engagement.” Even though Chet Singh continues to challenge the destructive ideology of Empire by “speaking truth to power,” he remains optimistic that equity will unfold, that humanity can do better, and that “there will be no peace without justice for all of us” ("Map of Violence").

Chet Singh

Watch the YouTube video for Occupation Nation >HERE<
Chet Singh and Occupation Nation on Tumbler >HERE<
Chet Singh and Occupation Nation on MySpace >HERE<

Pegi Eyers is the author of "Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community," an award-winning book that explores strategies for intercultural competency, healing our relationships with Turtle Island First Nations, decolonization, recovering an ecocentric worldview, rewilding, creating a sustainable future and reclaiming peaceful co-existence in Earth Community.
Amazon.com
Stone Circle Press

The Hopi Survival Kit

9/10/2014

The Hopi Survival Kit:
The Prophecies, Instructions and Warnings Revealed by
the Last Elders

by Thomas E. Mails

REVIEW BY PEGI EYERS

Thomas E. Mails was chosen by the Hopi Elders to deliver their prophecies and warnings to the world. These millennia-old prophecies address the contemporary crises such as environmental degradation, fraudulent politics and unhealthy technology that have the potential to lead to collapse and massive change. Additional instructions are given by the Elders on averting disaster and acquiring spiritual equanimity. Survival is hopeful for the people who are connected to Earth's rhythms, those that blend with nature and celebrate all life. The material in The Hopi Survival Kit is fascinating and the keepers of this wisdom are beyond reproach, and the value of the traditional Hopi worldview is without question equivalent to a World Heritage Treasure.

However, Thomas Mails' delivery couldn't be more jumbled, pompous or paranoid. The rhetoric, tedious opinions and manipulative language found in The Hopi Survival Kit do not do justice to the beauty and truth of these ancient teachings. If only they had been presented concisely with a clear progression of ideas, not as a miscellany of bad metaphors, constant repetition and finger-pointing. Mails' claims that elements of Christianity are identical to Hopi cosmology are ridiculous - as if a culture in a different time and place could not have developed a completely unique and original relationship to the Great Mystery! Interpretations of a divine order or Creator without male monotheism, hierarchy, patriarchy or control DO exist.

I wish it were otherwise, but the significance of the Hopi's message is compromised by Mails' inept writing skills and his lack of objectivity. In the book he discusses his own erratic writing style (!?) and claims that expediency is the only thing required for the delivery of the Hopi message, not competent writing. Well, I disagree. Concise unbiased writing can give a book credibility and the potential to reach far more people. Perhaps a re-write by a brilliant First Nations author would give the Indigenous Knowledge (IK) of the Hopi the wider exposure it deserves! It is time for IK to be highly valued, held sacred even, for these Hopi teachings can contribute to the restoration of sanity to the human race, and balance to our entire Earth Community.

Pegi Eyers is the author of "Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community," an award-winning book that explores strategies for intercultural competency, healing our relationships with Turtle Island First Nations, decolonization, recovering an ecocentric worldview, rewilding, creating a sustainable future and reclaiming peaceful co-existence in Earth Community.
Amazon.com
Stone Circle Press

Lioslaith: Last of the Painted Ones by George C. Myles

3/23/2014

In our quest to recover sustainable lifestyles and return to an authentic connection with the Earth, it is helpful to examine our own ancestral knowledge, and how the cultural wisdom of Old Europe can benefit us today. Those of us in the Celtic diaspora have a wealth of pre-colonial histories to draw on, and fragments of the Old Ways can be found in Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales, Brittany, Cornwall and the Isle of Man. From myth, folklore and the oral tradition we learn that our ancestors lived in balance with the natural world, and that their wild egalitarian souls gave rise to flourishing tribal societies. Fictional accounts are an important part of this reconstruction such as Lioslaith Last of the Painted Ones, that bring to life the ancient ways of the mysterious Picts, whose territories ranged over what is now Scotland.

The various Anglo-Saxon, Briton and Gael tribal divisions are well-known to historians and genealogists, but tracing the Pict society has been more challenging, due to their abrupt disappearance from the historical record through displacement or assimilation. By locating the coming-of-age story of the young woman Lioslaith during the critical decade in Scottish history (836 AD) when the Pict reign was drawing to a close, author George Myles does a remarkable job of developing authentic characters and portraying Pictish lives and challenges. Little is known about the Picts during this transitional time, when the Norse were invading and colonizing the Hebrides, yet Myles elaborates on their integration with their land base, their villages, clan systems, roles of women, herblore and healing, woad tattoos, ogham stones, rituals, agricultural projects, warrior societies, Dunadd, the Whitecleuch chain, the legend of the Wicker Man, the battle of 839 and the Treachery of Scone.

Bringing the reader under the captive spell of the Old Ways, the story of Lioslaith Last of the Painted Ones is a joy for all those seeking to re-connect with their heritage, and affirms that good historical fiction can be another way to root ourselves within our ancestral traditions, and reclaim our sacred relationship with the natural world.

www.lioslaith.com

This review originally appeared in the Spring Solstice 2014 edition of "The Link" www.the-link.ca

REVIEW BY PEGI EYERS

Pegi Eyers is the author of "Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community," an award-winning book that explores strategies for intercultural competency, healing our relationships with Turtle Island First Nations, decolonization, recovering an ecocentric worldview, rewilding, creating a sustainable future and reclaiming peaceful co-existence in Earth Community.
Amazon.com
Stone Circle Press