How exciting~!! Various platforms are now "meme-ing" quotations from Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community.
Platform: Environmental Restoration
Platform: Paradigm Shift
BOOK REVIEW by Sharon G. Mijares PhD  Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community is a very significant book for our time. It challenges current trends toward borrowing and using Indigenous Knowledge (IK) and related practices, and points out that this tendency further precipitates colonial thinking and intrusion upon the ways of Indigenous people. Eyers lays out her case against these ongoing colonial-thinking practices, describing the many ways that white Europeans have intruded into Indigenous societies, particularly those of North America. She challenges the booming trend “to borrow identities from other cultures.” Given the number of white people re-creating sweat lodges, presenting ceremonies (where permitted by Indigenous peoples) and so forth, Eyers challenges these behaviors and asks why people are not, instead, cultivating their own Indigenous roots. For example, why not learn more about the European Indigenous Knowledge traditions of Nordic and Celtic Paganism as well as a host of other EIK traditions from the UK, Baltic, Russian or Siberian lands? In short, Eyers discusses the current quest toward ancient ways of reverencing with ancestral practices and re-connecting to the earth and its spirits, but also asks readers to replace what she illustrates as an intrusive continuance of colonial thinking with practices related to one’s own genetic history. One excellent quote supporting this theme notes that, "Our post-modern culture finds itself in a desperate need for Ancestors right now. The greatest threat today is the unraveling of the Web, which connects us to one another. Tracing the stories of our Ancestors allows us to reach beyond our cultural borders to worlds and not our own. The future may try to monopolize our attention, but some of our most fruitful lessons may come from connecting to our past. May your journey to the Ancestors yield both wisdom & compassion, which are their truest gifts to us." [1] Ancient Spirit Rising is filled with excellent, supportive quotes that add a lot to the author’s points. It is also filled with terms and acronyms, noting the differences between IK (Indigenous Knowledge) and EIK (European Indigenous Knowledge), settler re-indigeneity and indigenous mind, as well as the ravages of Empire, patriarchy, hierarchy, ethnocide, capitalism, ecocide, racism and white privilege, to name a few. Then each of the topics are addressed in depth with significant scholarly support, causing the reader to examine their practices and beliefs. Do we support true unity, or do we contribute to ongoing intrusion into Indigenous people’s communities and lives?
This is a timely book in that humanity is in the midst of a mass migration, as well as the exposure to other cultures supported by modern technologies of the internet as well as travel. It is an unsettling time, and this has probably initiated the widespread urge to connect with nature traditions using ritual practices more connected to spiritual ancestry. The world religions no longer have the appeal of the past. There are differing beliefs and responses within Indigenous communities to this movement. Some are capitalizing on it by earning an income, for example, an Indigenous person teaching students how to build and conduct a sweat lodge as well as other native practices for a fee. There are those who prefer to protect their tribal ways and not allow further appropriation or intrusion by Settlers who, without thoughtfulness, bring the crimes of the past into the present. Then there are also other tribal peoples who go beyond ideas of further segregation and are, instead, joining with all races, nationalities, spiritual backgrounds, and so forth, for the future of all life. Increasing numbers of people are recognizing the important role of Indigenous people in teaching us how to protect the well-being of all life and the future of the planet. Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community brings up many controversial and important issues, and stimulates significant thought. To what extent are we as human beings all connected? The book also brings up the question of whether we are more influenced by our genes or the land to which we are born. Although this is discussed in her book, Eyers does not fully answer the question - primarily because it is an unknown factor. The author directs our intention to knowing our individual ancestral roots, and asks that we quit appropriating those of Indigenous peoples. In addition to formulating our own ethnoculture and eco-identity as connected to place, this appears to be the driving message of the book. In summary, after reviewing Ancient Spirit Rising it is my opinion that it is an important, significant and timely read. I highly recommend reading it, and also recommend keeping it as a resource toward further exploration, thought and referencing on problems of cultural identity, and solutions as found in practices of ecospirituality and the ancestral arts. Eyers has gone to great depths in presenting her thesis. It is well thought out, well written and referenced. Most importantly, Ancient Spirit Rising presents significant issues for the era in which we are living - a time in which all of humanity is confronted by tremendous change. NOTES [1] Niven, Anne Newkirk. “Living the Dream: Letter from the Editor,” Sage Woman: Celebrating the Goddess in Every Woman, Issue 43, “Ancestors" Autumn 1998 This review of Ancient Spirit Rising by Pegi Eyers originally appeared in the Fall 2018 issue of Canadian Woman Studies "Sexual and Gender Violence in Education" available >here<
Her most recent book (edited) A Force Such As the World Has Never Known: Women Creating Change brought women together from around the planet to share their concerns and efforts to better their communities and the world. Her first edited book, Modern Psychology and Ancient Wisdom: Psychological Healing Practices from the World’s Religious Traditions (revised 2016) brings experts representing various religious and spiritual traditions together to demonstrate deep transformative practices inherent within spiritual practices, and has led workshops empowering women in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Egypt, Mexico, Scotland, Uganda, United States and Venezuela. She has earned Shodan rank in Aikido. On a personal level she is a mother, grandmother and great-grandmother currently living in New Mexico. For more info see www.psychospiritual.org REVIEW BY DORI MORDEN  I LOVE Ancient Spirit Rising, which is a sort of "textbook for the rest of us!" If you're not a college radical anymore, especially, and need to get in touch with where we are right now, this is a phenomenal place to begin (though honestly, I think it would also be a great college textbook). Yes, it's true, I started reading Ancient Spirit Rising in May, 2017 - and yes, it's true, I'm not finished with it yet! The first several chapters are a lot to chew on, and for many of us, even those who've put a lot of effort into cleaning up our acts already, it can be a heavy read. I had to put it down and come back more than once, reading some page-turner fiction in between, to assuage the "oops, ugh, and damn I'm sorries." Getting through that, however, brought me to a really great "Ally Checklist" - as in, lots of great advice on how to be an ally without being a guilt-ridden, non-effective, emotional-labor-placing fool. Then, the book took a turn, and honestly, I got a little lost for a minute. Genetically, I'm a European mutt, mostly southern European, but culturally, I have no defined spiritual identity. I'm a fierce defender and protector - yes, a feminist, a mother, a woman with a wife - and I share some common beliefs of what is referred to as "Indigenous Knowledge." But the rest? I don't know yet. Ancient Spirit Rising was written for me.
Recently there was a big discussion on the internet about two little girls who were dressed up in "Indian" costumes for a photo shoot. The photos went viral. The photographer claimed they had "Native heritage" but clearly, they grew up as white girls. They had NOT grown in up in Indigenous culture and thus, were stereotyping, perhaps even MOCKING Indigenous culture. Arguments such as "they're just children" I found to be equally offensive, because seriously - even so, it seems it would be the parents' responsibility to identify and put a stop to this. Because really? That's what you want to teach your kids? That it's okay to appropriate or stereotype a culture because they are children? Erm, nope....... Anyway I digress, but I bring this up because I went through this particular argument with myself while reading Ancient Spirit Rising. How can I "reclaim" something I've never really honestly been a part of? Despite the fact that the majority of my DNA is Maltese (hello, ancient goddess temples!) and the rest is mostly British and Irish, no one REALLY knows who built those temples on Malta or what their practices were. I don't feel a call to Celtic Revival and I haven't yet encountered a "Goddess Spirituality" that is gritty and unappropriative enough for me (sorry but calling in both Quan Yin and Hecate doesn't sit right with me - I get to call for any Goddess I choose? From any culture? I dunno......). I'm not a flowy-white-clothes kinda Goddess girl, either. I'm way more of a "stir the compost" kind of person, and Starhawk's Reclaiming Tradition is, so far, as close as it's gotten to anything organized.  It has been determined that DNA does not define culture, and having .003% "Cherokee" roots does not make you Native. So, how can I reclaim European Indigenous Knowledge? I'm not a Pagan-with-a-capital-P, I'm not a Wiccan, I'm not a Druid, and nothing I've found in modern Strega or vague Hellenic practices shouts "HEY THAT'S ME!" either. So how do I approach this without blindly appropriating other people's spiritual practices in the process? Our sad disconnect is several generations in at this point. Pegi opens many doors to this aspect of the discussion, and offers a massive heap of well-researched advice on how we can approach the dilemma when, like for me, it's not a clear path at all. Also - my goodness, the references! From Ancient Spirit Rising you can read associated materials for the rest of your life and never finish. She's done her research - thank you, Pegi. This book is necessary.
REVIEW BY MAX DASHU  Ancient Spirit Rising by Pegi Eyers is dense with insight, resources, useful naming, and a no-holds-barred analysis of what decolonization means. She quotes liberally from Native writers such as Lee Maracle, Leslie Marmon Silko and John Mohawk, who speak of “the spiritual call of the re-indigenization of the world." Eyers examines the mythologies of “race” and racism, and the loss of respectful intercultural (as well as interpersonal) protocols. She looks deeply into what cultural appropriation is, and critiques the commercialization of “shamanism” on the New Age market. Among her many suggestions on how to go about "correcting course," she discusses the quest for recovery of European IK - Indigenous Knowledge, alongside the principle of “respectful non-interference." She warns about New Age ideologies and tokenism, and points to the importance of authentically sourced knowledge - in other words, “Who Gave You Permission?" In the chapter "New Age Thinking" Eyers has assembled a very educational list of statements by white seekers - I’ve heard many of those myself - defending and denying their privileged appropriation of Native spiritual culture, against the rightful holders trying to protect their IK. The examples, illustrations, and suggestions for white allies she offers will be meaningful to many. The “white” Settler perspective has been centered for so long that it forms an unconscious backdrop of assumptions, and very little meaningful knowledge about Original Peoples. That wall of ignorance and entitlement has to be taken apart, and Ancient Spirit Rising provides many insights on how that can be accomplished. Thank you Pegi Eyers, for all the work that went into writing this book ~! Max Dashu has spent over 48 years excavating the western canon for evidence of women of power in Old Europe, early medieval history and indigenous societies. She founded the Suppressed Histories Archives in 1970, and her ongoing research engages with "Herstory" worldwide. As an author, activist and artist, she continues to offer a rich collection of visual presentations, exhibits, courses, workshops, webcasts, and keynote talks that highlight women's resistance to patriarchal oppression, challenge stereotypes of race and class, and interrogate the structures of Empire. Max Dashu's most recent book is Witches and Pagans: Women in European Folk Religion 700-1100 available from Veleda Press.  Image © Max Dashu
"Ancient Spirit Rising" by Pegi Eyers              Recovering Ancestral Wisdom8/14/2018 REVIEW BY WENDY STOKES  Anglo-Settlers, colonizers, and the dominant culture oppressed the Native Peoples of the Americas, and Indigenous spirituality, language, ceremonies, fashions, rituals, songs, handicrafts and traditions that were handed down through the generations were outlawed. Now, when First Nations and Native Americans try to research and recover their valuable heritage, they often find it has been badly imitated and distorted by white people, without asking permission for what is Indigenous intellectual property, owned by Indigenous people and given to them by their own Ancestors! To currently take the wisdom of these sophisticated Indigenous societies for personal gain, only repeats past colonial abuses. Cultural appropriation lifts cultural and spiritual property from Indigenous groups who were cruelly treated for generations, and this is a violation, as well as ignorant and destructive. First Nations are saying, "Find your own ancestral traditions - don't adopt ours!"
Pegi Eyers is a cultural visionary who challenges worldviews, and tells us a paradigm shift is required to recover ancestral wisdom and traditions, to honor our Ancestors, live in wisdom and health, and save other species and our planet's health. The Roundhouse Project in Wales The Celtic Roundhouse Bunkhouse Airbnb, Wales Building a Celtic Roundhouse Lower Merripit Roundhouse, Seventh Wave Music, Dartmoor This review originally appeared in The Circle Network, July 2, 2018
REVIEW BY LOUISE M. HEWETT  On the contents page of Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community by Pegi Eyers, we find two subheadings: Stolen Treasure and Authentic Treasure. But this book is in itself a treasure! With a great amount of research, detail, vision, passion and compassion, Pegi Eyers invites the reader on a quest to unravel and heal the harms that the colonization of indigenous peoples by white Europeans has caused. She addresses those of European “white” ancestral background, those who by virtue of their birth have inherited the spectrum of privileges from dominant Western colonizing culture, and while her focus remains on the people of Turtle Island the reality of colonial invasion, theft, possession and appropriation rings true for the experience of Indigenous peoples worldwide. And that makes this book relevant to us all. No “stone” remains unturned in this exploration of the why, what and how regarding colonial attitudes, racism and spiritual appropriation manifest in our time. A very important and relevant subject that is discussed, particularly given that this book is at the root a book about re-membering and re-weaving ancestral indigenous knowledge and eco-spiritual practice, is the critique of New Age spiritual philosophies and practices, both esoteric and consumerist. Offering different perspectives on ideas proliferating in the contemporary alternative spirituality marketplace is a way of challenge, refinement, and of course, a call to integrity. Ancient Spirit Rising is packed with excellent and pertinent quotes, and a sturdy bibliography of resources and sources consulted. With sub-sections covering cultural appropriation, racism, white privilege, unpacking the New Age, and indigenous mind - just to give an idea of the comprehensive resource list - there is ample guidance for where to go, once your mind, heart and spirit have been stimulated to query, critique and explore the path ahead. This path calls those of us of European ancestry to return to our own indigenous roots, and restore meaning in our own lives and communities, as well as decolonizing our minds and bodies while working to create healthy co-existence with the First Nations with whom we share our environments. I will be returning to this book again and again for personal need, and in the community and spiritual work I engage in, as a writer and artist. In my mind, Ancient Spirit Rising is a call to action, and a beacon of hope!
By Sharon Paice MacLeod  illustration (c) Christian Schloe Drawing upon cultural studies and aspects of contemporary social justice, Ancient Spirit Rising is a unique contribution to the ever-expanding library of books of interest to modern Pagans, and goes into more depth than most. Eyers explores the loss of vital ethnocultural connections to tribe and place, undoubtedly a major factor in the collective soul loss and environmental crises we currently experience. The book is dense and informative, and contains much food for thought: it is best read through slowly and contemplatively. Ancient Spirit Rising contains two main sections, “Stolen Treasure“ and “Authentic Treasure.” In Part One, the author discusses cultural appropriation, colonialism, race and racism in spiritual and cultural contexts, as well as thought-provoking discussions of Neo-Pagan and New Age “theft” of aspects of native spiritualities. Pagans “not of ancestral origin” who live in North America, Australia, and other countries are faced with the baffling conundrum of how to walk respectfully on an earth-honoring path without harming those whose land it is. As a result, the book may be of special service to leaders of Neo-Pagan traditions, as they contemplate the ways in which they incorporate various elements into their practices. Eyers presents many interesting quotes and useful endnotes from a wide variety of academic and indigenous sources, and her passion for respecting native cultures is evident throughout.  The Equinox Stone, The Hags Cairn at Loughcrew Co Meath, (c) Anthony Murphy In Part Two, readers are presented with a smorgasbord of ideas and suggestions on how to connect deeply with the land, and ultimately with pathways of ancestral origin. She discusses tracing one’s ancestry, and writes lovingly about such topics as “Earthing,” “Animism,” “Ecomysticism,” “Earth Love” and “Rewilding.” The author treads fearlessly where others may fear to tread, and suggests that instead of co-opting the ancestral wisdom of other cultures, pagans of European origin may consider finding their way back to their own ancestral traditions as sources of deep connection. Overall, Ancient Spirit Rising provides many evocative suggestions for connecting with the land, the spirits of nature, and one's inner wildness. Sharon Paice MacLeod, or Sharynne MacLeod NicMhacha is a Celticist, Grant-funded Researcher, Teacher, Gaelic Singer & Professional Musician, Ban-fili and author of Celtic Myth and Religion: A Study of Traditional Belief, The Divine Feminine in Ancient Europe, and Queen of the Night: Rediscovering the Celtic Moon Goddess.
by Waaseyaa’sin Christine Sy  "Birch Tree Landscape" by Jennifer Vranes Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots and Restoring Earth Community by Pegi Eyers is a comprehensive, candid, and critical foray into the problem of Settler spiritual loss and Settler appropriation of Indigenous spiritual practices on Turtle Island. Exemplifying what is means to genuinely listen to Indigenous peoples in the lands she calls home, Eyers takes seriously the cue offered by Anishinaabe Elder James Dumont that all humans have Indigenous Knowledges for which they are responsible for recovering and practicing. This is the solution to the appropriation of Indigenous spiritual practices. Written for a white Settler population who are seeking a critical and ethical spiritual practice in Indigenous lands, Ancient Spirit Rising unabashedly tackles multiple issues common in a variety of spiritual practices while offering resolution through the reclaiming of European Indigenous Knowledges (EIKs). Eyers is transparent in her intentions and deeply engaged in advancing one of many important paths required to live ethically, critically, and spiritually in a world that is shaped by Empire, but is not finitely determined by it. While the link between Settler spiritual restoration on Turtle Island based on EIKs and Indigenous sovereignty movements and material inequities in Turtle Island are not punctuated, this book is an excellent example of the generative and life-affirming possibilities that are created when Indigenous peoples of reputable practice are sincerely listened to, and when Settlers are genuinely oriented towards developing their own earth-based spiritual practices on Turtle Island. It is a timely and much-needed articulation of critical Settler thought on spirituality on Turtle Island. I hope it contributes in positive ways for generating good life for all humans and the natural world, and encourages a commitment to engaging in reparations with Indigenous peoples in spheres beyond the spiritual.
Thank you for all the wonderful endorsements, comments and testimonials! |
 | "Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community" is an award-winning book that explores strategies for intercultural competency, healing our relationships with Turtle Island First Nations, uncolonization, recovering an ecocentric worldview, rewilding, creating a sustainable future and reclaiming peaceful co-existence in Earth Community. Stone Circle Press |
 | Ancient Spirit Rising reviewed by Dawn James, author |
If I had to use one phrase to describe what I felt as I read Ancient Spirit Rising.......it is "honesty will set humanity free." Can we be honest about our ancestral past? Can we be honest about the past failures and flaws of the mega-experiment of the Eurocentric empire in the Americas? Can we have a truthful conversation about the vast stolen treasures and stolen cultures of virtually every indigenous society on the planet as a result of a small minority group that has thrived on exploitation, violence, greed and oppression?
Pegi presents these conversations and personal observations with clarity and depth, supported by historic accounts – that allows the reader to see many truths not found in traditional history books. Once we acknowledge the past for what is truly was, we can begin to rebuild an authentic society based on our own IK (indigenous knowledge) values - not someone else’s.
What I truly appreciate is that Ancient Spirit Rising offers us a bridge to revitalize indigenous societies both in the Americas and Europe. It begins with establishing a new value system based on our own IK. Ancient Spirit Rising offers us a path to move away from capitalism, materialism and global pollution towards eco-consciousness, eco-living and the acknowledgment of Earth Rights.
Ancient Spirit Rising also encourages the reader to explore their own ancestry, their own IK and above all, a call for humanity to live in peaceful co-existence with each other and the planet. Honesty will set us free.
Pegi presents these conversations and personal observations with clarity and depth, supported by historic accounts – that allows the reader to see many truths not found in traditional history books. Once we acknowledge the past for what is truly was, we can begin to rebuild an authentic society based on our own IK (indigenous knowledge) values - not someone else’s.
What I truly appreciate is that Ancient Spirit Rising offers us a bridge to revitalize indigenous societies both in the Americas and Europe. It begins with establishing a new value system based on our own IK. Ancient Spirit Rising offers us a path to move away from capitalism, materialism and global pollution towards eco-consciousness, eco-living and the acknowledgment of Earth Rights.
Ancient Spirit Rising also encourages the reader to explore their own ancestry, their own IK and above all, a call for humanity to live in peaceful co-existence with each other and the planet. Honesty will set us free.
ANCIENT SPIRIT
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Testimonials
& Reviews
& Reviews
Ancient Spirit Rising
is the recipient of a
2017 Next Generation Indie Book Award
in the Current Events/ Social Change category!
is the recipient of a
2017 Next Generation Indie Book Award
in the Current Events/ Social Change category!
ARCHIVES
Memeing Ancient Spirit Rising
Significant and Timely: Ancient Spirit Rising ~ Review by Sharon G. Mijares PhD
Ancient Spirit Rising ~ A Great Guide for Reclaiming Culture ~ Review by Dori Morden
Ancient Spirit Rising: On the Importance of Authentically-Sourced Knowledge ~ Review by Max Dashu
Ancient Spirit Rising by Pegi Eyers: Recovering Ancestral Wisdom ~ Review by Wendy Stokes
Ancient Spirit Rising: A Treasure ~ Review by Louise M. Hewett
On Ancient Spirit Rising ~ Review by Sharon Paice MacLeod
Review of Ancient Spirit Rising by Waaseyaa’sin Christine Sy
TESTIMONIALS
Praise for "Ancient Spirit Rising"
Honesty Will Set Humanity Free ~ Review by Dawn James
Memeing Ancient Spirit Rising
Significant and Timely: Ancient Spirit Rising ~ Review by Sharon G. Mijares PhD
Ancient Spirit Rising ~ A Great Guide for Reclaiming Culture ~ Review by Dori Morden
Ancient Spirit Rising: On the Importance of Authentically-Sourced Knowledge ~ Review by Max Dashu
Ancient Spirit Rising by Pegi Eyers: Recovering Ancestral Wisdom ~ Review by Wendy Stokes
Ancient Spirit Rising: A Treasure ~ Review by Louise M. Hewett
On Ancient Spirit Rising ~ Review by Sharon Paice MacLeod
Review of Ancient Spirit Rising by Waaseyaa’sin Christine Sy
TESTIMONIALS
Praise for "Ancient Spirit Rising"
Honesty Will Set Humanity Free ~ Review by Dawn James
