Thank you for all the wonderful endorsements, comments and testimonials!
The dialogue continues ~
"Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community by award-winning author Pegi Eyers is an amazing read, and I will never be able to walk the land in the Kawarthas again, without all she has taught me! This book makes me want to be a better human being, and to answer the question, ‘am I who my Ancestors worked so hard for me to be?’ with a resounding YES! Ancient Spirit Rising is a fine guide for this process, a book for our troubled times, and a balm for the reader. Thank you Pegi Eyers for Ancient Spirit Rising ~ hands raised to you.”
Shelagh Rogers, CBC Broadcast-Journalist at The Next Chapter, TRC Honorary Witness, Officer of the Order of Canada and Chancellor of the University of Victoria
"Pegi Eyers really knows her subject, which is quite obvious with her extensive, exhaustive book Ancient Spirit Rising. I give her a tremendous amount of props, and I love the idea of a book that focuses on sustainability and appreciating cultures that connect with the Earth. Overall, the structure of the book is good and the resources are helpful, and I appreciate the hard work that went into Ancient Spirit Rising."
Writer's Digest ~ Best Resource for Writers, Celebrating the Writing Life and What it Means to be a Writer in Today's Publishing World
www.writersdigest.com
"In a globalized society predicated on forgetting and displacement, Ancient Spirit Rising is a bold reminder that our modern lives are still a chapter of an old, enchanting story whose final pages are yet to be written. Pegi Eyers does not flinch in facing down the complexities of our current global crises of identity, ecology, and essential meaning. Rooted in a deep respect for the many threads woven into the realities of 21st century planet Earth, this book fearlessly strikes a chord and bursts into a song that is willing to guide even the utterly lost through a night whose day is long overdue."
C.B. Ó Corcráin, Producer of the film "Occupied Cascadia"
https://milegaiscioch.wordpress.com
“If humans are to survive on Earth, we urgently need to reconnect with the earth-friendly lifeways of our ancestors and become 'indigenous' again to our bioregions. Especially for those of us long separated from ancestral homelands and planet-friendly spiritual guidance, Pegi Eyers’ marvelous new book Ancient Spirit Rising is the practical guide we’ve been waiting for."
Linda Buzzell-Saltzman, co-editor "Ecotherapy: Healing with Nature in Mind" (Sierra Club Books, 2009)
“The work of untangling from colonial structures and re-rooting in ancestral practices has emerged as a quintessential learning and unlearning for our times. There is no escaping what actually happened, try as we might, but we have the depth and capacity to do the work. Pegi Eyers sets the standard for research and practice in this work.”
Shannon Michaela Doree Smith, Women of the Water (WoW)
www.womenofthewater.org
"I was one of the first to talk/write about colonization back in the late 1970's. I recall doing a workshop, and when I introduced the topic, there was a thick, suppressed resistance. It took 20 years to get to the point where there could be an entire journal to discuss the ins and outs! Now I hope those of us with Euro-Indigenous ancestry will read Ancient Spirit Rising and start to decolonize our relationship to our own lands and identities. THANK YOU."
Apela Colorado, Earth Institute, the Wisdom School of Graduate Studies at Ubiquity University www.wisdomuniversity.org
https://1earth-institute.net/about-us/apela-colorado
"I’m a big fan, and your book has changed my life! I have been doing ancestral healing for a while now, but after reading your book I gained a stronger view of things related to cultural appropriation and healing ancestral trauma, and my work is now much deeper. Ancient Spirit Rising has really inspired me, and I found a more confident voice to share my feelings regarding white people appropriating my traditions, and for my work in decolonizing feminism. What I love about your book is how you articulate the issues I have felt for a long time, but never heard anyone talk about! Thank you for the work that you do."
Pilar Mejía (Ometeotl) Decolonizing and Healing Ancestral Trauma
>A Decolonization Movement<
"On this special day, 1-Kame (Maya), that calls us to honor our Ancestors, it is fitting that my Dia de Muertos course begins. I want to especially thank Pegi Eyers, author of Ancient Spirit Rising, Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community, for engaging in good conversations with me about respectfully reclaiming ancestral traditions, identity, healing, social justice, and the preservation of traditional ways. And for her kindness in allowing me to offer recordings of our pláticas for my Dia de Muertos/Day of the Dead classes. I know that all who listen will enjoy and benefit from her knowledge and experience. May the Ancestors enjoy the offerings of copal, sage, and tobacco lifted in their honor, and may they bless our work. For all our relations."
Maestra Grace, Curanderismo, the Healing Art of Mexico
www.curanderismo.org
"The ideas in Ancient Spirit Rising are the exact same themes that interest FUTURE PRIMITIVE the most! As immigrants we are homesick people, but home is actually within us, and accessible through our own memories of indigeneity. What I find absolutely fascinating in your book and in your life, is that you are one of the few people who are really making an effort to define what it is, to remember the indigeneity of being Celtic, or another European person. And that you have blossomed into writing this very learned, dense and heartfelt book, about what you have learned from the land and the First Peoples. The concept of your family being in [so-called] Canada for eight generations is beautiful, as is your evolution into respect and wisdom from the ancient peoples of Turtle Island. As an interruption of the previous generations with integrity and ancestral mind, so much work has gone into this book. We live in an extraordinary era, when the government and the rich are fortifying capitalism, but we know in our hearts that this is our Ancient Spirit Rising moment. What is truly important in your book is the marriage of our DNA with the place where we are rooted, and Ancient Spirit Rising is a beautiful mythology for that process. Thank you."
Joanna Harcourt Smith, FUTURE PRIMITIVE
https://futureprimitive.org
"When so many of us are looking for ways to be in right-sized relationship with the land, right relationship with the First Peoples who have been here forever, and to do right by our own Ancestors, Pegi's book offers so much insight as to how we can lovingly move forward. Ancient Spirit Rising offers righteous critique of the dominant-Empire-culture, and pathways through and beyond toward an inter-connected cosmology, re-enchanting to our own ancestral visions. I am deeply grateful for Pegi and her work."
byron, writer, musician, radio producer and host of "To Know the Land" CFRU 93.3fm Guelph www.cfru.ca/recordings/315
"Ancient Spirit Rising is a hidden treasure! It is rich, intense, evolving, revolutionary and a process of self reconciliation. I did not want to finish reading, and I could not stop coming back to pages that I already read! Ancient Spirit is not just a book, it’s the essence of life."
Carlos Idibouo, Feminist, Human Rights,Diversity/Reconciliation Activist
"I found Ancient Spirit Rising to be very engaging, challenging, and enriching, because it seems to give a framework and a language to questions I didn’t have a framework or language to explore, that I had been struggling with most of my life. I had been feeling rooted to the sea, but confused, i.e. am I a Canadian, and what is a national identity? I found Pegi's research to be rigorous, and her questions challenging by setting up an either/or scenario to shake us into thinking, 'What is the paradigm we are actually struggling with?' We need to get beyond that, because the personal is the planetary. We are at a state now that requires us to engage with ecotherapeutic healing, repair and reciprocity."
Ken MacLeod, MTS, RMFT, Counsellor at the Student Wellness Centre, University of Saskatchewan
"I am very happy and appreciative that I have read Ancient Spirit Rising. As I moved through the book, I found so many good sections. I wish that all the non-indigenous people who are lost and confused about their spirituality (through no fault of their own) would read and reflect on what Pegi is saying. There is a way for non-indigenous people to heal and connect to our great Mother and Creation, without having to appropriate our ways and teachings."
Alice Olsen Williams (Anishnaabe), Pimaatisiwin Quilts
www.pimaatisiwin-quilts.com
Shelagh Rogers, CBC Broadcast-Journalist at The Next Chapter, TRC Honorary Witness, Officer of the Order of Canada and Chancellor of the University of Victoria
"Pegi Eyers really knows her subject, which is quite obvious with her extensive, exhaustive book Ancient Spirit Rising. I give her a tremendous amount of props, and I love the idea of a book that focuses on sustainability and appreciating cultures that connect with the Earth. Overall, the structure of the book is good and the resources are helpful, and I appreciate the hard work that went into Ancient Spirit Rising."
Writer's Digest ~ Best Resource for Writers, Celebrating the Writing Life and What it Means to be a Writer in Today's Publishing World
www.writersdigest.com
"In a globalized society predicated on forgetting and displacement, Ancient Spirit Rising is a bold reminder that our modern lives are still a chapter of an old, enchanting story whose final pages are yet to be written. Pegi Eyers does not flinch in facing down the complexities of our current global crises of identity, ecology, and essential meaning. Rooted in a deep respect for the many threads woven into the realities of 21st century planet Earth, this book fearlessly strikes a chord and bursts into a song that is willing to guide even the utterly lost through a night whose day is long overdue."
C.B. Ó Corcráin, Producer of the film "Occupied Cascadia"
https://milegaiscioch.wordpress.com
“If humans are to survive on Earth, we urgently need to reconnect with the earth-friendly lifeways of our ancestors and become 'indigenous' again to our bioregions. Especially for those of us long separated from ancestral homelands and planet-friendly spiritual guidance, Pegi Eyers’ marvelous new book Ancient Spirit Rising is the practical guide we’ve been waiting for."
Linda Buzzell-Saltzman, co-editor "Ecotherapy: Healing with Nature in Mind" (Sierra Club Books, 2009)
“The work of untangling from colonial structures and re-rooting in ancestral practices has emerged as a quintessential learning and unlearning for our times. There is no escaping what actually happened, try as we might, but we have the depth and capacity to do the work. Pegi Eyers sets the standard for research and practice in this work.”
Shannon Michaela Doree Smith, Women of the Water (WoW)
www.womenofthewater.org
"I was one of the first to talk/write about colonization back in the late 1970's. I recall doing a workshop, and when I introduced the topic, there was a thick, suppressed resistance. It took 20 years to get to the point where there could be an entire journal to discuss the ins and outs! Now I hope those of us with Euro-Indigenous ancestry will read Ancient Spirit Rising and start to decolonize our relationship to our own lands and identities. THANK YOU."
Apela Colorado, Earth Institute, the Wisdom School of Graduate Studies at Ubiquity University www.wisdomuniversity.org
https://1earth-institute.net/about-us/apela-colorado
"I’m a big fan, and your book has changed my life! I have been doing ancestral healing for a while now, but after reading your book I gained a stronger view of things related to cultural appropriation and healing ancestral trauma, and my work is now much deeper. Ancient Spirit Rising has really inspired me, and I found a more confident voice to share my feelings regarding white people appropriating my traditions, and for my work in decolonizing feminism. What I love about your book is how you articulate the issues I have felt for a long time, but never heard anyone talk about! Thank you for the work that you do."
Pilar Mejía (Ometeotl) Decolonizing and Healing Ancestral Trauma
>A Decolonization Movement<
"On this special day, 1-Kame (Maya), that calls us to honor our Ancestors, it is fitting that my Dia de Muertos course begins. I want to especially thank Pegi Eyers, author of Ancient Spirit Rising, Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community, for engaging in good conversations with me about respectfully reclaiming ancestral traditions, identity, healing, social justice, and the preservation of traditional ways. And for her kindness in allowing me to offer recordings of our pláticas for my Dia de Muertos/Day of the Dead classes. I know that all who listen will enjoy and benefit from her knowledge and experience. May the Ancestors enjoy the offerings of copal, sage, and tobacco lifted in their honor, and may they bless our work. For all our relations."
Maestra Grace, Curanderismo, the Healing Art of Mexico
www.curanderismo.org
"The ideas in Ancient Spirit Rising are the exact same themes that interest FUTURE PRIMITIVE the most! As immigrants we are homesick people, but home is actually within us, and accessible through our own memories of indigeneity. What I find absolutely fascinating in your book and in your life, is that you are one of the few people who are really making an effort to define what it is, to remember the indigeneity of being Celtic, or another European person. And that you have blossomed into writing this very learned, dense and heartfelt book, about what you have learned from the land and the First Peoples. The concept of your family being in [so-called] Canada for eight generations is beautiful, as is your evolution into respect and wisdom from the ancient peoples of Turtle Island. As an interruption of the previous generations with integrity and ancestral mind, so much work has gone into this book. We live in an extraordinary era, when the government and the rich are fortifying capitalism, but we know in our hearts that this is our Ancient Spirit Rising moment. What is truly important in your book is the marriage of our DNA with the place where we are rooted, and Ancient Spirit Rising is a beautiful mythology for that process. Thank you."
Joanna Harcourt Smith, FUTURE PRIMITIVE
https://futureprimitive.org
"When so many of us are looking for ways to be in right-sized relationship with the land, right relationship with the First Peoples who have been here forever, and to do right by our own Ancestors, Pegi's book offers so much insight as to how we can lovingly move forward. Ancient Spirit Rising offers righteous critique of the dominant-Empire-culture, and pathways through and beyond toward an inter-connected cosmology, re-enchanting to our own ancestral visions. I am deeply grateful for Pegi and her work."
byron, writer, musician, radio producer and host of "To Know the Land" CFRU 93.3fm Guelph www.cfru.ca/recordings/315
"Ancient Spirit Rising is a hidden treasure! It is rich, intense, evolving, revolutionary and a process of self reconciliation. I did not want to finish reading, and I could not stop coming back to pages that I already read! Ancient Spirit is not just a book, it’s the essence of life."
Carlos Idibouo, Feminist, Human Rights,Diversity/Reconciliation Activist
"I found Ancient Spirit Rising to be very engaging, challenging, and enriching, because it seems to give a framework and a language to questions I didn’t have a framework or language to explore, that I had been struggling with most of my life. I had been feeling rooted to the sea, but confused, i.e. am I a Canadian, and what is a national identity? I found Pegi's research to be rigorous, and her questions challenging by setting up an either/or scenario to shake us into thinking, 'What is the paradigm we are actually struggling with?' We need to get beyond that, because the personal is the planetary. We are at a state now that requires us to engage with ecotherapeutic healing, repair and reciprocity."
Ken MacLeod, MTS, RMFT, Counsellor at the Student Wellness Centre, University of Saskatchewan
"I am very happy and appreciative that I have read Ancient Spirit Rising. As I moved through the book, I found so many good sections. I wish that all the non-indigenous people who are lost and confused about their spirituality (through no fault of their own) would read and reflect on what Pegi is saying. There is a way for non-indigenous people to heal and connect to our great Mother and Creation, without having to appropriate our ways and teachings."
Alice Olsen Williams (Anishnaabe), Pimaatisiwin Quilts
www.pimaatisiwin-quilts.com
TESTIMONIAL ON ANCIENT SPIRIT RISING BY FUTURE PRIMITIVE
"Ancient Spirit Rising honors the ancestors and our own lineage, and affirms that we are connected to the Earth and to all of life. Author Pegi Eyers has a passion and mission to bring that insight and wisdom to each one of us, so that by weaving the past and the future together we can create a new dream for the planet. As an advocate for the ancestors and an advocate for the earth, Ancient Spirit Rising captures the essence of deep connection and the honouring of our past, and how to bring that forward to heal self, community and world. I absolutely love this book!"
Teri Griffin Williams, Author & Radio Host ~ Soul Practices: The Art of Impeccable Soul Care & Soulful Living Radio www.soulpractices.com
"If you wish to untangle yourself from our colonized mentality, then run, leap into the wisdom that Pegi Eyers is so generously offering. For me, Ancient Spirit Rising is a profound guide to really looking at my 'white privilege,' and to begin the journey of unlearning and learning from my ancestral bones! With gratitude for your wisdom and remembering, for the blood, sweat and tears, and for the sacrifice and beauty. I am in awe - you are a most potent voice for the times we are living. Ancestors smiling upon you! Pegi is a blessed gift to this world, and Ancient Spirit Rising is a must read."
Bonewoman (Reda Rackley) True to Her Nature
Bonewoman Outsider Art / Bonewoman Speaks Facebook Group
Bonewoman Wisdom & Outsider Art (book)
"Dear Pegi ~ I'm in the process of reading Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community, and there is so much of importance in your book! Besides being interested in European Indigenous roots (and the reclamation & responsibility of that), I am also appreciative of your words about the appropriation of the Indigenous cultures of the Americas. Including allyship, the topics you cover are all critically important at this time, and yet in many ways oddly rare. You have an incredible ability to bring the unspoken into language, and are a really good translator between the linear and non-linear worlds. I am so happy to have had you as a guest on Pivot Point, to share your thoughts over the airwaves with Northern California. Your book is truly an essential compendium for change! Thank you, thank you for your contributions and the work you have done - with enduring gratitude for Ancient Spirit Rising!"
Christy Wagner, Producer/Host, Pivot Point, KZYX Mendocino County Public Radio
"Ancient Spirit Rising is an important and eye-opening book that everyone needs to be reading! If you are looking to understand what it means to be a true ally and deepen your connections to ancestral roots this book is a must. The conversations opened by Pegi Eyers are deeply nourishing and validating - thank you for being part of my online courses and offerings~!"
Nikiah Seeds, Spirit Worker/Healer/Northern European Animist Tradition http://www.nikiahseeds.com
"I am reading Ancient Spirit Rising and this is one of the most brilliant, profound, insightful, and dimensional books I have ever encountered. I feel like I will need to read it three more times to absorb the magic contained within as fully as possible. I feel inspired, challenged, validated, thrilled, and very much enlivened whenever I read it. It is a sacred text. With deep respect and gratitude."
Sadee Whip, The Hag in the Woods: Reclaim Your Magic
https://thehaginthewoods.com
"Ancient Spirit Rising is a fearless and radical call to action. In this bold work, author Pegi Eyers challenges us to approach, with deep humility and respect, the complex issues of cultural identity, privilege, and ecology. Her book is a valuable contribution to some difficult, but necessary, conversations, ultimately aimed at fostering positive social change, equity, and peace."
Chloé McFeters, Director of the film "You Look a Lot Like Me"
www.youlookalotlikeme.com
"Pegi Eyers offers some very profound research, heart-based intuitive wisdom, and spiritual insights that those of us on a 'spiritual path' can reference to unpack, dismantle, and redefine our belief systems. Following her work continues to help us come back home into our own internal knowing of what is true and right for us on intellectual and moral levels.....with room to continue to play, grow, expand and explore in the mystical realm."
Alexandra Pallas, "Pallas: Ancient Wisdom for Healing, Life
Empowerment, and Unapologetic Self-Care" www.apallas.com
"Give yourself the gift of Ancient Spirit Rising by Pegi Eyers, and you will have this guide forever. It has become a comfort in times of uncertainty in how I feel, what I should do, and how I should be myself. Thank you Pegi, for this education and spiritual awakening!"
Cathi-Anne Galbraith, Community Advocate, Greenwood Coalition
www.greenwoodcoalition.com
"Ancient Spirit Rising is a very significant book for our time. It challenges current trends toward borrowing Indigenous Knowledge, and points out that this tendency further precipitates intrusion on the ways of Indigenous peoples. Pegi Eyers lays out her case against colonial thinking, and challenges the booming trend to borrow identities from other cultures. Given the numbers of white people re-creating sweat lodges etc. Eyers challenges these behaviors and asks why people are not cultivating their own indigenous roots. Why not learn more about the European IK traditions of Nordic and Celtic paganism as well as a host of others from Nordic, Russian or Siberian lands? Eyers discusses the current quest toward ancient ways of reverencing, ancestral practices and re-connecting with Earth and its spirits, but she also asks readers to replace colonial thinking with practices related to one’s own history. Ancient Spirit Rising is an important, significant and timely read, and I recommend keeping it as a resource toward further exploration and thought. Pegi Eyers has gone to great depths in presenting her thesis, and it is well thought out, well written and referenced. And 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."
Sharon G. Mijares, PhD, Psychologist, Speaker, Professor and Author/ Editor of "Modern Psychology and Ancient Wisdom: Psychological Healing Practices from the World’s Religious Traditions"
www.psychospiritual.org
"Ancient Spirit Rising is a really important book and highly informative, especially as more and more people start digging into decolonization, Indigenous rights and allyship. There are an incredible amount of footnotes, and yet Ancient Spirit Rising is not "collegiate." It is the perfect teaching text, and totally accessible to the layperson who has begun delving into these concepts and wants to learn more. I am learning more and more about my own southern European roots, the spiritual practices and IK of that region, and reclaiming it for myself. It has been a beautiful process, especially as I learn to ally with the local Indigenous people where I am currently living. Thank you so much, Pegi, for writing this book!"
dori mondon, Abundant Content http://abundantcontent.com and
Faerwear: Enchanted Adornments for Lovers of the Natural World www.faerwear.com
"Thank you very much for your book Ancient Spirit Rising, it has meant a lot to me. You are one of the voices I turn to often."
Marybeth Bonfiglio, Writer, Teacher, Ancestralist
www.marybethbonfiglio.com
"I recently finished Ancient Spirit Rising, and I really appreciate the clear, comprehensive research and analysis you offer. It's quite a piece of work - congratulations on birthing this wisdom into the world! Ancient Spirit Rising helped things click into place for me in a whole new way, and I am sure I'm not the only one. Thank you as well for your contributions to Youth Passageways - I am so grateful for your wise counsel, generous support, and visionary work!"
Darcy Ottey, Staff & Leadership Circle, Coordinator, Youth Passageways and Pacific Quest
http://youthpassageways.org www.pacificquest.org
Teri Griffin Williams, Author & Radio Host ~ Soul Practices: The Art of Impeccable Soul Care & Soulful Living Radio www.soulpractices.com
"If you wish to untangle yourself from our colonized mentality, then run, leap into the wisdom that Pegi Eyers is so generously offering. For me, Ancient Spirit Rising is a profound guide to really looking at my 'white privilege,' and to begin the journey of unlearning and learning from my ancestral bones! With gratitude for your wisdom and remembering, for the blood, sweat and tears, and for the sacrifice and beauty. I am in awe - you are a most potent voice for the times we are living. Ancestors smiling upon you! Pegi is a blessed gift to this world, and Ancient Spirit Rising is a must read."
Bonewoman (Reda Rackley) True to Her Nature
Bonewoman Outsider Art / Bonewoman Speaks Facebook Group
Bonewoman Wisdom & Outsider Art (book)
"Dear Pegi ~ I'm in the process of reading Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community, and there is so much of importance in your book! Besides being interested in European Indigenous roots (and the reclamation & responsibility of that), I am also appreciative of your words about the appropriation of the Indigenous cultures of the Americas. Including allyship, the topics you cover are all critically important at this time, and yet in many ways oddly rare. You have an incredible ability to bring the unspoken into language, and are a really good translator between the linear and non-linear worlds. I am so happy to have had you as a guest on Pivot Point, to share your thoughts over the airwaves with Northern California. Your book is truly an essential compendium for change! Thank you, thank you for your contributions and the work you have done - with enduring gratitude for Ancient Spirit Rising!"
Christy Wagner, Producer/Host, Pivot Point, KZYX Mendocino County Public Radio
"Ancient Spirit Rising is an important and eye-opening book that everyone needs to be reading! If you are looking to understand what it means to be a true ally and deepen your connections to ancestral roots this book is a must. The conversations opened by Pegi Eyers are deeply nourishing and validating - thank you for being part of my online courses and offerings~!"
Nikiah Seeds, Spirit Worker/Healer/Northern European Animist Tradition http://www.nikiahseeds.com
"I am reading Ancient Spirit Rising and this is one of the most brilliant, profound, insightful, and dimensional books I have ever encountered. I feel like I will need to read it three more times to absorb the magic contained within as fully as possible. I feel inspired, challenged, validated, thrilled, and very much enlivened whenever I read it. It is a sacred text. With deep respect and gratitude."
Sadee Whip, The Hag in the Woods: Reclaim Your Magic
https://thehaginthewoods.com
"Ancient Spirit Rising is a fearless and radical call to action. In this bold work, author Pegi Eyers challenges us to approach, with deep humility and respect, the complex issues of cultural identity, privilege, and ecology. Her book is a valuable contribution to some difficult, but necessary, conversations, ultimately aimed at fostering positive social change, equity, and peace."
Chloé McFeters, Director of the film "You Look a Lot Like Me"
www.youlookalotlikeme.com
"Pegi Eyers offers some very profound research, heart-based intuitive wisdom, and spiritual insights that those of us on a 'spiritual path' can reference to unpack, dismantle, and redefine our belief systems. Following her work continues to help us come back home into our own internal knowing of what is true and right for us on intellectual and moral levels.....with room to continue to play, grow, expand and explore in the mystical realm."
Alexandra Pallas, "Pallas: Ancient Wisdom for Healing, Life
Empowerment, and Unapologetic Self-Care" www.apallas.com
"Give yourself the gift of Ancient Spirit Rising by Pegi Eyers, and you will have this guide forever. It has become a comfort in times of uncertainty in how I feel, what I should do, and how I should be myself. Thank you Pegi, for this education and spiritual awakening!"
Cathi-Anne Galbraith, Community Advocate, Greenwood Coalition
www.greenwoodcoalition.com
"Ancient Spirit Rising is a very significant book for our time. It challenges current trends toward borrowing Indigenous Knowledge, and points out that this tendency further precipitates intrusion on the ways of Indigenous peoples. Pegi Eyers lays out her case against colonial thinking, and challenges the booming trend to borrow identities from other cultures. Given the numbers of white people re-creating sweat lodges etc. Eyers challenges these behaviors and asks why people are not cultivating their own indigenous roots. Why not learn more about the European IK traditions of Nordic and Celtic paganism as well as a host of others from Nordic, Russian or Siberian lands? Eyers discusses the current quest toward ancient ways of reverencing, ancestral practices and re-connecting with Earth and its spirits, but she also asks readers to replace colonial thinking with practices related to one’s own history. Ancient Spirit Rising is an important, significant and timely read, and I recommend keeping it as a resource toward further exploration and thought. Pegi Eyers has gone to great depths in presenting her thesis, and it is well thought out, well written and referenced. And 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."
Sharon G. Mijares, PhD, Psychologist, Speaker, Professor and Author/ Editor of "Modern Psychology and Ancient Wisdom: Psychological Healing Practices from the World’s Religious Traditions"
www.psychospiritual.org
"Ancient Spirit Rising is a really important book and highly informative, especially as more and more people start digging into decolonization, Indigenous rights and allyship. There are an incredible amount of footnotes, and yet Ancient Spirit Rising is not "collegiate." It is the perfect teaching text, and totally accessible to the layperson who has begun delving into these concepts and wants to learn more. I am learning more and more about my own southern European roots, the spiritual practices and IK of that region, and reclaiming it for myself. It has been a beautiful process, especially as I learn to ally with the local Indigenous people where I am currently living. Thank you so much, Pegi, for writing this book!"
dori mondon, Abundant Content http://abundantcontent.com and
Faerwear: Enchanted Adornments for Lovers of the Natural World www.faerwear.com
"Thank you very much for your book Ancient Spirit Rising, it has meant a lot to me. You are one of the voices I turn to often."
Marybeth Bonfiglio, Writer, Teacher, Ancestralist
www.marybethbonfiglio.com
"I recently finished Ancient Spirit Rising, and I really appreciate the clear, comprehensive research and analysis you offer. It's quite a piece of work - congratulations on birthing this wisdom into the world! Ancient Spirit Rising helped things click into place for me in a whole new way, and I am sure I'm not the only one. Thank you as well for your contributions to Youth Passageways - I am so grateful for your wise counsel, generous support, and visionary work!"
Darcy Ottey, Staff & Leadership Circle, Coordinator, Youth Passageways and Pacific Quest
http://youthpassageways.org www.pacificquest.org
"I wanted to express my thanks for your work at Stone Circle Press, especially one article in particular, Are White People Indigenous? which I have referenced in my writing. This work is just as valuable for those of us in the 'Old World.' Especially when it comes with the endorsements of traditional and Indigenous culture workers and leaders - which, surprising as it may seem, is not always visible to us. It really helps to give the real cultural workers in our communities visibility outside of their own small niches. It helps that a big part of your work is exposing and combatting the fake racist and New Age versions of cultural reclamation that so often plague these efforts. It helps to have 'tough allies' who both defend us and hold us to account simultaneously, as the root cultures of other white folks worldwide. Many of the culture workers on this side of the Pond are just as besieged and undervalued in their communities as those in 'the colonies' but I have hope that the dial is gradually shifting as things unravel globally. I'm not sure how often you get such acknowledgments, so I wanted to let you know I see you and value your work as a culture worker, decoloniser and ally of life in these difficult times. Thank you and kudos to you!
Andrew Beck, University of Edinburgh
"The 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Award is a well-deserved prize for Ancient Spirit Rising, a superbly researched book. A book that you'll think has absolutely nothing to do with you, but it does. It certainly blind-sided me with some punches I wasn't expecting!"
Jude Lally, Celtic Soul Craft https://celticsoulcraft.com
“I am loving Ancient Spirit Rising, thank you so much for taking the time to write it! This is the first book I've read in a long time that gives me hope for humanity. Ancient Spirit Rising is thought-provoking, enlightening and powerful, and very important for anyone who wishes to understand and connect with their own ancestry. Your words speak my heart and soul, and have validated my own journey of discovery to my Indigenous Celtic roots. I am honored to have this book in my personal library, and I hope more people will acquire copies and immerse themselves in the wisdom and knowledge within its covers.”
Sharon Smith, Writer/Editor, Girl God Books
"What I find remarkable about Pegi Eyers is that she is an academic, but is also committed to being an ally on the front lines, and to taking a stand at times when people don’t want to hear. I have a great deal of respect for her, and Ancient Spirit Rising is probably one of the best resource books I have ever seen. It was 3 years in the writing process, and what I love is the Bibliography, which is 40 pages long. The amazing thing, is that she gives credit to the First Nations and individuals she has consulted with, which is extremely rare. She shares information in a loving and respectful way, and is someone I really look up to. Ancient Spirit Rising says it all~!"
Victoria Sage, Executive Director, Center for Sacred Studies
"Ancient Spirit Rising by Pegi Eyers was a critical book for me when I read it four years ago, as it brought the words and articulated the concepts I could not voice at the time. It is indeed one of the books that has grounded my awareness, and has opened a vast world to rigorously embracing the shadows of my culture, and taking responsibility for ongoing perpetrated harms. Pegi has achieved a remarkable in-depth overarching work, ranging from historical research to her own felt experience as a white colonial settler. No sugar-coating, no romantic lens, just arriving with what is and recognizing the violent culture we are in. This book is a must-read!"
Sofia Batalha, Author, Poet, Podcast Host, Symposium Organizer, Designer, Psychologist and Publisher of the free online magazine "Vento e Água" www.sofiabatalha.com https://serpentedalua.com
"Thank you Pegi Eyers, beautiful author of Ancient Spirit Rising for sharing your life’s work - with the interfacing of Turtle Island First Nations and settler society, personal ancestral recovery, social justice and earth emergent healing, among so much more !! Your generous offerings, your consistent diligence in assisting so many of us to come home to acknowledging the truth of these times and our existence with history - ongoing still – and how we might weave critical settler thought, clear thinking, conscious action, Turtle Island Honoring, and personal ancestral honoring into the beauty of our lives, with life-giving Mother Earth is so appreciated ! Thank you for shining light so that we can truly recover what is so near and dear, and has never left the essence of our hearts. Thank you for assisting us with clarity over not appropriating First Nations ways, ceremonies and teachings, and for remembering how to spiritually recover our own and return to peaceful relationship with Earth Community. Love & Gratitude for You !!"
Susan Estep MS, MS, NCC, Deerheart Counseling
"Ancient Spirit Rising by Pegi Eyers is focused on Turtle Island, and yet the encompassing conversation about the common patterns of learning we have assumed from the dominant society - cultural/spiritual appropriation and addressing the need for those of European ancestry to return to European Indigenous Knowledge (EIK) - is relevant to all of us. I would encourage anyone (especially my Pagan friends) to invest in the book and increase awareness. There is always room for learning, transforming and revitalizing our sense of belonging through our own cultural lineage on this brief journey through life."
Louise Hewett, artist, Egg & Serpent Studio, and author of the Pictish Spirit series "Mist," "Wind" and "Flowers"
"Those of us living in earth-destructive, industrial societies may not realize that the presently dysfunctional human relationship with the rest of nature is of fairly recent vintage and specific Western origin. Many Indigenous, earth-centered cultures and village societies around the world watch us with dismay. We have much to learn from these cultures about how to live in harmony with the rest of nature. Amazingly, a number of elders and teachers from cultures we have abused and decimated are willing to share their recommendations with us. But we need to be humble in our approach, extremely sensitive to the dangers of cultural appropriation and not rush to undertake wilderness fasts, smudging, sweat lodges or other wonderful Indigenous practices that may be specific to a particular culture or nation. Pegi Eyers, an ecospiritual writer and author of Ancient Spirit Rising, recommends that before adopting other cultures’ practices, those of Western European descent explore the nature-based, pre-Christian practices of Old Europe."
Linda Buzzell-Saltzman and Craig Chalquist, editors of Ecotherapy: Healing with Nature in Mind >Chalquist.com<
"Ancient Spirit Rising kick-started me to address the shame I’ve felt at coming from a lineage of colonizers, and to embrace my personal Indigenous European roots. It can be a jarring read, especially in the beginning as the author outlines the problems of cultural appropriation and oppression in Shamanic/Spiritual communities. This book will ask you to take a hard look at the rituals, teachings, and ceremonies you facilitate, AND it will inspire you to find authentic-to-you practices. Through exploring this material, I discovered ways to bridge my current location/ecosystem (Southern California) with my genetic heritage (Saxon, Germanic, Celtic, and Norse) and my initiations into Peruvian shamanism. My ceremonies now feel more aligned and potent than ever, and I feel more solidly rooted in my practices and local herbal studies."
Lola Medicine Keeper, Ancestral Detective, Wild Playground
https://wildplayground.com
"A truly handsome, deeply considered and broadly researched collection of inspirations, Ancient Spirit Rising is a definitive statement of the social, spiritual and ecological havoc colonialism and the appropriation of indigenous cultures has wreaked. Pegi Eyers 'Unsettles the Settler Mentality' and brings us into the light of what this consumptive 'progress' and frontierism at all costs has done to affect our psycho-social and planetary environments. She reminds us that 'we are all indigenous to the Earth,' and shares soulful and centered ways to live a life of Earth-honoring, eco-spiritual activism and deep ecology - if only we will. Thank you Pegi Eyers."
Marcie Telander, Founding Director, Earth Wisdom Institute Mystery School, President of East River Counseling and Creator of the Vinotok Environmental Activism Theatre Festival, Crested Butte CO
"The issues we are having conversations about in the podcast - the First Nations Peoples of Canada and the Americas, colonization, genocide, cultural appropriation and knowing whose land you are on - all these things are in Ancient Spirit Rising by Pegi Eyers. Her book is about reclaiming for white folks our Indigenous European knowledge, so that we can stop looking so much to the Indigenous Knowledge of people from the Americas. Eyers is a good critical thinker, and she quotes a LOT of different people. It’s almost like a compilation of thoughts coming from Native American and First Nation communities, as it is a book structured around her own discourse. Especially for people who might be confused about these issues, or feel like, 'what exactly are people talking about here?' or 'what’s right?' or 'what’s wrong?' - it is a good resource. Ancient Spirit Rising is very dense - it’s thick - but it’s well worth it. And as an almost 100% European-ancestored person, something I’ve talked a lot about on Mythic Medicine is reminding people that we have Indigenous Wisdom in our own lines as well. We don’t have to go back very far at all in time - a few thousand years - to find ancestors who were of the land, which is what “Indigenous” means. I highly recommend Ancient Spirit Rising."
Amber Magnolia Hill ~ MYTHIC MEDICINE PODCAST
https://mythicmedicine.love/podcast
"Pegi's voice is fundamental to understanding what it means to find your ancestral connection. This book is changing my understanding of so many things. A must read! Thank you Pegi, for all the research you have done and the sharing of so many truths."
Barb Phillips, Thanadoula, Educator & Contemplative End-of-Life Care, Whispering Pines Studios www.barbphillips.ca
"As a white woman, I have learned from Pegi Eyers and her book Ancient Spirit Rising, and she has opened doors to learning that I would have lacked without that connection. She has been a way-shower, and I have been introduced to writers and leaders from Indigenous communities that I may have struggled to discover, from where I am in the UK. For this I am grateful. Pegi has encouraged me when I have been at my wit’s end regarding cultural appropriation in Glastonbury, and she has also been supportive for setting up my reading group with peers. I highly recommend Ancient Spirit Rising!"
Stephanie Mathivet, Priestess, Goddess House Healing, Glastonbury, UK
Andrew Beck, University of Edinburgh
"The 2017 Next Generation Indie Book Award is a well-deserved prize for Ancient Spirit Rising, a superbly researched book. A book that you'll think has absolutely nothing to do with you, but it does. It certainly blind-sided me with some punches I wasn't expecting!"
Jude Lally, Celtic Soul Craft https://celticsoulcraft.com
“I am loving Ancient Spirit Rising, thank you so much for taking the time to write it! This is the first book I've read in a long time that gives me hope for humanity. Ancient Spirit Rising is thought-provoking, enlightening and powerful, and very important for anyone who wishes to understand and connect with their own ancestry. Your words speak my heart and soul, and have validated my own journey of discovery to my Indigenous Celtic roots. I am honored to have this book in my personal library, and I hope more people will acquire copies and immerse themselves in the wisdom and knowledge within its covers.”
Sharon Smith, Writer/Editor, Girl God Books
"What I find remarkable about Pegi Eyers is that she is an academic, but is also committed to being an ally on the front lines, and to taking a stand at times when people don’t want to hear. I have a great deal of respect for her, and Ancient Spirit Rising is probably one of the best resource books I have ever seen. It was 3 years in the writing process, and what I love is the Bibliography, which is 40 pages long. The amazing thing, is that she gives credit to the First Nations and individuals she has consulted with, which is extremely rare. She shares information in a loving and respectful way, and is someone I really look up to. Ancient Spirit Rising says it all~!"
Victoria Sage, Executive Director, Center for Sacred Studies
"Ancient Spirit Rising by Pegi Eyers was a critical book for me when I read it four years ago, as it brought the words and articulated the concepts I could not voice at the time. It is indeed one of the books that has grounded my awareness, and has opened a vast world to rigorously embracing the shadows of my culture, and taking responsibility for ongoing perpetrated harms. Pegi has achieved a remarkable in-depth overarching work, ranging from historical research to her own felt experience as a white colonial settler. No sugar-coating, no romantic lens, just arriving with what is and recognizing the violent culture we are in. This book is a must-read!"
Sofia Batalha, Author, Poet, Podcast Host, Symposium Organizer, Designer, Psychologist and Publisher of the free online magazine "Vento e Água" www.sofiabatalha.com https://serpentedalua.com
"Thank you Pegi Eyers, beautiful author of Ancient Spirit Rising for sharing your life’s work - with the interfacing of Turtle Island First Nations and settler society, personal ancestral recovery, social justice and earth emergent healing, among so much more !! Your generous offerings, your consistent diligence in assisting so many of us to come home to acknowledging the truth of these times and our existence with history - ongoing still – and how we might weave critical settler thought, clear thinking, conscious action, Turtle Island Honoring, and personal ancestral honoring into the beauty of our lives, with life-giving Mother Earth is so appreciated ! Thank you for shining light so that we can truly recover what is so near and dear, and has never left the essence of our hearts. Thank you for assisting us with clarity over not appropriating First Nations ways, ceremonies and teachings, and for remembering how to spiritually recover our own and return to peaceful relationship with Earth Community. Love & Gratitude for You !!"
Susan Estep MS, MS, NCC, Deerheart Counseling
"Ancient Spirit Rising by Pegi Eyers is focused on Turtle Island, and yet the encompassing conversation about the common patterns of learning we have assumed from the dominant society - cultural/spiritual appropriation and addressing the need for those of European ancestry to return to European Indigenous Knowledge (EIK) - is relevant to all of us. I would encourage anyone (especially my Pagan friends) to invest in the book and increase awareness. There is always room for learning, transforming and revitalizing our sense of belonging through our own cultural lineage on this brief journey through life."
Louise Hewett, artist, Egg & Serpent Studio, and author of the Pictish Spirit series "Mist," "Wind" and "Flowers"
"Those of us living in earth-destructive, industrial societies may not realize that the presently dysfunctional human relationship with the rest of nature is of fairly recent vintage and specific Western origin. Many Indigenous, earth-centered cultures and village societies around the world watch us with dismay. We have much to learn from these cultures about how to live in harmony with the rest of nature. Amazingly, a number of elders and teachers from cultures we have abused and decimated are willing to share their recommendations with us. But we need to be humble in our approach, extremely sensitive to the dangers of cultural appropriation and not rush to undertake wilderness fasts, smudging, sweat lodges or other wonderful Indigenous practices that may be specific to a particular culture or nation. Pegi Eyers, an ecospiritual writer and author of Ancient Spirit Rising, recommends that before adopting other cultures’ practices, those of Western European descent explore the nature-based, pre-Christian practices of Old Europe."
Linda Buzzell-Saltzman and Craig Chalquist, editors of Ecotherapy: Healing with Nature in Mind >Chalquist.com<
"Ancient Spirit Rising kick-started me to address the shame I’ve felt at coming from a lineage of colonizers, and to embrace my personal Indigenous European roots. It can be a jarring read, especially in the beginning as the author outlines the problems of cultural appropriation and oppression in Shamanic/Spiritual communities. This book will ask you to take a hard look at the rituals, teachings, and ceremonies you facilitate, AND it will inspire you to find authentic-to-you practices. Through exploring this material, I discovered ways to bridge my current location/ecosystem (Southern California) with my genetic heritage (Saxon, Germanic, Celtic, and Norse) and my initiations into Peruvian shamanism. My ceremonies now feel more aligned and potent than ever, and I feel more solidly rooted in my practices and local herbal studies."
Lola Medicine Keeper, Ancestral Detective, Wild Playground
https://wildplayground.com
"A truly handsome, deeply considered and broadly researched collection of inspirations, Ancient Spirit Rising is a definitive statement of the social, spiritual and ecological havoc colonialism and the appropriation of indigenous cultures has wreaked. Pegi Eyers 'Unsettles the Settler Mentality' and brings us into the light of what this consumptive 'progress' and frontierism at all costs has done to affect our psycho-social and planetary environments. She reminds us that 'we are all indigenous to the Earth,' and shares soulful and centered ways to live a life of Earth-honoring, eco-spiritual activism and deep ecology - if only we will. Thank you Pegi Eyers."
Marcie Telander, Founding Director, Earth Wisdom Institute Mystery School, President of East River Counseling and Creator of the Vinotok Environmental Activism Theatre Festival, Crested Butte CO
"The issues we are having conversations about in the podcast - the First Nations Peoples of Canada and the Americas, colonization, genocide, cultural appropriation and knowing whose land you are on - all these things are in Ancient Spirit Rising by Pegi Eyers. Her book is about reclaiming for white folks our Indigenous European knowledge, so that we can stop looking so much to the Indigenous Knowledge of people from the Americas. Eyers is a good critical thinker, and she quotes a LOT of different people. It’s almost like a compilation of thoughts coming from Native American and First Nation communities, as it is a book structured around her own discourse. Especially for people who might be confused about these issues, or feel like, 'what exactly are people talking about here?' or 'what’s right?' or 'what’s wrong?' - it is a good resource. Ancient Spirit Rising is very dense - it’s thick - but it’s well worth it. And as an almost 100% European-ancestored person, something I’ve talked a lot about on Mythic Medicine is reminding people that we have Indigenous Wisdom in our own lines as well. We don’t have to go back very far at all in time - a few thousand years - to find ancestors who were of the land, which is what “Indigenous” means. I highly recommend Ancient Spirit Rising."
Amber Magnolia Hill ~ MYTHIC MEDICINE PODCAST
https://mythicmedicine.love/podcast
"Pegi's voice is fundamental to understanding what it means to find your ancestral connection. This book is changing my understanding of so many things. A must read! Thank you Pegi, for all the research you have done and the sharing of so many truths."
Barb Phillips, Thanadoula, Educator & Contemplative End-of-Life Care, Whispering Pines Studios www.barbphillips.ca
"As a white woman, I have learned from Pegi Eyers and her book Ancient Spirit Rising, and she has opened doors to learning that I would have lacked without that connection. She has been a way-shower, and I have been introduced to writers and leaders from Indigenous communities that I may have struggled to discover, from where I am in the UK. For this I am grateful. Pegi has encouraged me when I have been at my wit’s end regarding cultural appropriation in Glastonbury, and she has also been supportive for setting up my reading group with peers. I highly recommend Ancient Spirit Rising!"
Stephanie Mathivet, Priestess, Goddess House Healing, Glastonbury, UK
"Pegi Eyers is to be commended for her deeply thoughtful and intelligent, inspiring and passionate compendium text Ancient Spirit Rising. The knowledge, spirit, and generosity of this book is of priceless value. It is an honest testimony of the past and a vision into the future. Ancient Spirit Rising can be experienced slowly one chapter at a time, and the book concludes in poem prayer (poesis - to make, to create) to begin again, that we as Earth's Children remove our blindness so that we may truly see. Ancient Spirit Rising awakens us. It is an essential, important, and healing experience to be taken into hand, heart and mind, again and again."
Diane Leslie Kaufman, Arts Medicine for Health and Healing
www.artsmedicineforhealthandhealing.com
"In my opinion, the way forward is the process of reconciliation, the intentional work of deprogramming and challenging the systems of oppression that all of us were handed, and working toward a society of inclusion for all. Marginalized communities who bear the brunt of that oppression are already doing that work; it falls on the rest of us to join in and build a better context for all of our descendants. Part of that work also includes settler descendants becoming, as Dr. Kimmerer puts it, indigenized to an area; that is, learning to build an authentic and long-lasting relationship with the land. Building relationships with Indigenous neighbors means approaching them with integrity. I believe doing so will go a long way to solving many issues of identity crisis that settler communities find themselves facing, and to begin to heal ancestral trauma. Many of these issues are at the core of the work of Ontario author and artist Pegi Eyers, whose own ancestors originated from England and Scotland. In her tome, Ancient Spirit Rising, Eyers explores how disconnection from an authentic relationship to land has caused many white individuals in alternative spirituality communities to adopt or appropriate Indigenous traditions. This is done as a way of minimizing the feeling of being adrift from ancestral traditions and relationships based in homelands they do not live in, while also rejecting what is perceived to be oppressive dominant forces such as Christianity. This appropriation of Indigenous traditions and co-opting of Indigenous relationship to this land does nothing to build authentic relationship. Eyers discusses in depth many specific ways settlers can reconnect with ancestral story and connect to the land they inhabit, while also respecting and celebrating Indigenous relationships to the same land. This building of a new type of relationship, which both acknowledges the incredible harm already done and removes settlers from the center of the social story, offers the opportunity to write a new story with new parts for all of us." Ben Stimpson, "Ancestral Whispers: A Guide to Building Ancestral Veneration Practices" Llewellyn Worldwide, 2023
“I found Ancient Spirit Rising to be a fascinating read with a volume of information, including amazing footnotes and quotations. Pegi Eyers reminds us that becoming aware of First Nations traditions brings us closer to the earth spirituality that was lost in our own white culture, and opens the door to learning about our own European Indigenous Knowledge.”
Kris Steinnes, Founder & Co-leader at Women of Wisdom Foundation, Host of Voices of Women Radio Show, and owner of Krysalis Leadership
“Ancient Spirit Rising by Pegi Eyers is magnificent work. This book needs to be read by all women who are part of contemporary spiritual movements today.”
Patricia Fero, therapist and author of “What Happens When Women Converge: How Reverent Engagement Unearths the Potency of the Collective Feminine” www.patriciafero.com
"Ancient Spirit Rising is an excellent resource for all people who wish to continue educating themselves about Canadian history, as well as solid solutions for moving into a peaceful and healthy future. I am savoring every page of this insightful, clear, direct, and very compelling book! Pegi Eyers delves into the many ways local communities are working toward transition, stable off-grid and self-sustaining networks, and how international and particularly European communities can return to their own Indigenous roots. We can rediscover our own Indigenous Knowledge no matter where we live or where we came from, and re-connecting with our own ancient and undeniable relationship with the Earth must now be our primary responsibility! Ancient Spirit Rising is full of descriptions, resources, research material, references, explanations, guides and inspiration - all helping to steer us back to our own connection to each other and Earth Community."
Patricia White, Front-Line Activist and Revered Elder
"Ancient Spirit Rising is a good read - very well-written and excellently researched - and it’s easy to see that Pegi Eyers speaks from the heart. This beautiful book has been an enormous amount of work, and I commend Pegi for that effort. She definitely has a gift for writing, and we desperately need people who can present coherent thoughts about challenging issues, to keep us informed of both our human history, and as we prepare to live in the future as a global community. Effective communication such as this is in danger of becoming a lost art! Thank you Pegi for your ongoing support of First Peoples."
Jean Koning, Elder & founder of the Kawartha Truth & Reconciliation Support Group (KTRSG) www.kawarthatruthandreconciliation.ca
"Ancient Spirit Rising is an important part of the conversation surrounding the recovery of culture and ancestral traditions for those of us who are descended from the European diaspora in the Americas. Focused both on reclaiming European Indigenous Knowledge and combating appropriation and the colonization of Indigenous cultures, she tackles concepts that have been (until now) difficult to articulate. Pegi has found new ways to explore these two conflicts in the North American psyche, as well as the answers that healing them demands. By following her into the wilderness of our own unknown Indigenous Knowledge, we often find it’s been there buried in Grandma’s recipes and the imagery of our dreams all along. The healing required of the homogenized American mind before we can authentically join Earth community, is at hand. Thank you Pegi, for carrying this bright torch!"
Allison Peacock, Teacher, Consultant, Coach ~ White Horse Medicine
http://allisonpeacock.com
"Can we be honest about our ancestral past? Can we have a truthful conversation about the stolen treasures and cultures of virtually every indigenous society as a result of a small minority group that has thrived on exploitation, violence, and greed? Pegi presents these conversations and personal observations with a clarity and depth that allows the reader to see the truth not found in traditional history. Once we acknowledge the past for what is truly was, we can begin to rebuild an authentic society based on our own indigenous values - not someone else’s."
Dawn James, Author of "Raise Your Vibration, Transform Your Life"
www.raiseyourvibration.ca
“Ancient Spirit Rising is full of hard facts, yet is both poetic and mystic at the same time. This is a book I don't just *suggest* that people read, but dare them to read! I dare them to strip themselves of invisible layers they didn't know were there. I dare them to attempt a confrontation. I dare them to travel down a road full of crestfallen ancestors and a power that has long awaited our awakening. Ancient Spirit Rising may provoke you and push you into action, but most of all, it will make you true.”
Lisa Marchant, Eco-Artist and proprietor of “The Green Butler,” a gardening & sustainable agriculture business.
"Ancient Spirit Rising is an incredibly important book for our times, and a monumental work addressing the ever-evolving relationship between the traditional Indigenous people of Turtle Island and their Eurocentric political dominators, a situation which demands immediate redress."
Suzanne Stratton, Homestead Publishing
"Pegi Eyers is an organic intellectual. Her wide reading and first-hand experience in First Nations community for which she is an articulate advocate, makes her work original, accessible and important at this time in Canadian history. No more borrowing of cultural identity! Ancient Spirit Rising is an excellent guide for discovering our own ancestral roots."
Rosemary Ganley, founder, Jamaican Self-Help, and author of "Jamaica Journal: The Story of a Grassroots Canadian Aid Organization"
www.yellowdragonflypress.ca
Diane Leslie Kaufman, Arts Medicine for Health and Healing
www.artsmedicineforhealthandhealing.com
"In my opinion, the way forward is the process of reconciliation, the intentional work of deprogramming and challenging the systems of oppression that all of us were handed, and working toward a society of inclusion for all. Marginalized communities who bear the brunt of that oppression are already doing that work; it falls on the rest of us to join in and build a better context for all of our descendants. Part of that work also includes settler descendants becoming, as Dr. Kimmerer puts it, indigenized to an area; that is, learning to build an authentic and long-lasting relationship with the land. Building relationships with Indigenous neighbors means approaching them with integrity. I believe doing so will go a long way to solving many issues of identity crisis that settler communities find themselves facing, and to begin to heal ancestral trauma. Many of these issues are at the core of the work of Ontario author and artist Pegi Eyers, whose own ancestors originated from England and Scotland. In her tome, Ancient Spirit Rising, Eyers explores how disconnection from an authentic relationship to land has caused many white individuals in alternative spirituality communities to adopt or appropriate Indigenous traditions. This is done as a way of minimizing the feeling of being adrift from ancestral traditions and relationships based in homelands they do not live in, while also rejecting what is perceived to be oppressive dominant forces such as Christianity. This appropriation of Indigenous traditions and co-opting of Indigenous relationship to this land does nothing to build authentic relationship. Eyers discusses in depth many specific ways settlers can reconnect with ancestral story and connect to the land they inhabit, while also respecting and celebrating Indigenous relationships to the same land. This building of a new type of relationship, which both acknowledges the incredible harm already done and removes settlers from the center of the social story, offers the opportunity to write a new story with new parts for all of us." Ben Stimpson, "Ancestral Whispers: A Guide to Building Ancestral Veneration Practices" Llewellyn Worldwide, 2023
“I found Ancient Spirit Rising to be a fascinating read with a volume of information, including amazing footnotes and quotations. Pegi Eyers reminds us that becoming aware of First Nations traditions brings us closer to the earth spirituality that was lost in our own white culture, and opens the door to learning about our own European Indigenous Knowledge.”
Kris Steinnes, Founder & Co-leader at Women of Wisdom Foundation, Host of Voices of Women Radio Show, and owner of Krysalis Leadership
“Ancient Spirit Rising by Pegi Eyers is magnificent work. This book needs to be read by all women who are part of contemporary spiritual movements today.”
Patricia Fero, therapist and author of “What Happens When Women Converge: How Reverent Engagement Unearths the Potency of the Collective Feminine” www.patriciafero.com
"Ancient Spirit Rising is an excellent resource for all people who wish to continue educating themselves about Canadian history, as well as solid solutions for moving into a peaceful and healthy future. I am savoring every page of this insightful, clear, direct, and very compelling book! Pegi Eyers delves into the many ways local communities are working toward transition, stable off-grid and self-sustaining networks, and how international and particularly European communities can return to their own Indigenous roots. We can rediscover our own Indigenous Knowledge no matter where we live or where we came from, and re-connecting with our own ancient and undeniable relationship with the Earth must now be our primary responsibility! Ancient Spirit Rising is full of descriptions, resources, research material, references, explanations, guides and inspiration - all helping to steer us back to our own connection to each other and Earth Community."
Patricia White, Front-Line Activist and Revered Elder
"Ancient Spirit Rising is a good read - very well-written and excellently researched - and it’s easy to see that Pegi Eyers speaks from the heart. This beautiful book has been an enormous amount of work, and I commend Pegi for that effort. She definitely has a gift for writing, and we desperately need people who can present coherent thoughts about challenging issues, to keep us informed of both our human history, and as we prepare to live in the future as a global community. Effective communication such as this is in danger of becoming a lost art! Thank you Pegi for your ongoing support of First Peoples."
Jean Koning, Elder & founder of the Kawartha Truth & Reconciliation Support Group (KTRSG) www.kawarthatruthandreconciliation.ca
"Ancient Spirit Rising is an important part of the conversation surrounding the recovery of culture and ancestral traditions for those of us who are descended from the European diaspora in the Americas. Focused both on reclaiming European Indigenous Knowledge and combating appropriation and the colonization of Indigenous cultures, she tackles concepts that have been (until now) difficult to articulate. Pegi has found new ways to explore these two conflicts in the North American psyche, as well as the answers that healing them demands. By following her into the wilderness of our own unknown Indigenous Knowledge, we often find it’s been there buried in Grandma’s recipes and the imagery of our dreams all along. The healing required of the homogenized American mind before we can authentically join Earth community, is at hand. Thank you Pegi, for carrying this bright torch!"
Allison Peacock, Teacher, Consultant, Coach ~ White Horse Medicine
http://allisonpeacock.com
"Can we be honest about our ancestral past? Can we have a truthful conversation about the stolen treasures and cultures of virtually every indigenous society as a result of a small minority group that has thrived on exploitation, violence, and greed? Pegi presents these conversations and personal observations with a clarity and depth that allows the reader to see the truth not found in traditional history. Once we acknowledge the past for what is truly was, we can begin to rebuild an authentic society based on our own indigenous values - not someone else’s."
Dawn James, Author of "Raise Your Vibration, Transform Your Life"
www.raiseyourvibration.ca
“Ancient Spirit Rising is full of hard facts, yet is both poetic and mystic at the same time. This is a book I don't just *suggest* that people read, but dare them to read! I dare them to strip themselves of invisible layers they didn't know were there. I dare them to attempt a confrontation. I dare them to travel down a road full of crestfallen ancestors and a power that has long awaited our awakening. Ancient Spirit Rising may provoke you and push you into action, but most of all, it will make you true.”
Lisa Marchant, Eco-Artist and proprietor of “The Green Butler,” a gardening & sustainable agriculture business.
"Ancient Spirit Rising is an incredibly important book for our times, and a monumental work addressing the ever-evolving relationship between the traditional Indigenous people of Turtle Island and their Eurocentric political dominators, a situation which demands immediate redress."
Suzanne Stratton, Homestead Publishing
"Pegi Eyers is an organic intellectual. Her wide reading and first-hand experience in First Nations community for which she is an articulate advocate, makes her work original, accessible and important at this time in Canadian history. No more borrowing of cultural identity! Ancient Spirit Rising is an excellent guide for discovering our own ancestral roots."
Rosemary Ganley, founder, Jamaican Self-Help, and author of "Jamaica Journal: The Story of a Grassroots Canadian Aid Organization"
www.yellowdragonflypress.ca
"For white women in the Americas who are drawn to the Goddess Path, few boundaries exist in our search for spiritual expression. But we need to acknowledge that our adoption of Indigenous or shamanic identities and practice of 'Native Spirituality' may in fact harm and demean the very groups we profess to admire. In Ancient Spirit Rising, Pegi Eyers lays out clearly the difference between cultural appropriation and cultural exchange, and how we can do better. In fact, our pursuit of authentic practice rooted in our own ancient pre-colonial heritage(s) may be an effective way to undo the internalized imperialism and patriarchal homogenization in ourselves and others. Ancient Spirit Rising is an in-depth guide to reclaiming our root cultures (including those of Old Europe), and rejuvenating an earth-connected worldview that reflects our interconnectivity with all life."
Karen Tate, Host of "Voices of the Sacred Feminine: Conversations to ReShape the World" and author of "Walking An Ancient Path: Rebirthing Goddess on Planet Earth." www.karentate.net
"Ancient Spirit Rising is a well-researched and inspiring book. Thank you so much Pegi Eyers for this amazing, ethical, and timely work of mind, heart and soul! Your inspiring and guiding work figures prominently in the recovery project, on both the micro and meta levels. Beaming huge energy of gratitude your way, to energize and animate your purpose on the planet. Virtual hugs!"
Sel M. Mullins www.selmullinsrmt.com
"For anyone who has awoken to the fact that this modern neo-capitalist culture has forgotten something profound and vital, please check out Pegi Eyers's work. It is a deep call for those of us whose ancestors are not from Turtle Island to return to a different way of relating to one another and the land."
Mark Erde, Nature Guide at Medicine Kitchens
"I have appreciated reading through Ancient Spirit Rising. Pegi's book helps to begin the conversation on how to heal the Euro-North American soul. She bravely challenges some Neo-Pagan 'orthodoxies,' but as well highlights a path towards regaining our own ancestral path and how to live accordingly in this world."
Daniel J. Miess, Author & Editor, Blue Dandelion Blog
https://bluedandelionblog.wordpress.com
https://danieljmiess.wordpress.com
"Ancient Spirit Rising kick-starts the conversation that First Nations and Settlers need to be having........"
Linda Post (Odawa), author of "Ojibway Drive from Crumpled Sheets"
Enaajmotaaged Publishing
"I am opposed to violence, but now IS the time for a revolution. A pencil, a pen, a typewriter or a computer are the perfect weapons, and Ancient Spirit Rising is the perfect array of bullets. I highly recommend the work of Pegi Eyers as a means for people to find their own roots, and not appropriate the teachings of First Nations."
Rita Gonzales (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw/Squamish)
"Ancient Spirit Rising is a timely Canadian contribution to the growing field of critical whiteness theory, which is very dominated by the American experience of race, racism, and white privilege. I believe many white Canadians are looking for a deeper understanding of their own complex histories and identities, and Eyers’ extensive research and urgent call to action provides us with much to think about. A very rewarding read for anyone concerned about justice and our ability to live in harmony with our environment!"
Debbie Harrison, Human Rights Educator, Coordinator of Diversity, Accessibility & International Student Support, Fleming College, Peterborough http://ruralantiracistwhite.blogspot.ca
"So excited! I have Pegi Eyers' new book Ancient Spirit Rising, and I am beside myself with joy! This is going to be one heckuva intense read. I can't wait to get through my marketing tasks today to dive into the book. Thank you Pegi, for having written this book! Quite a brave task, especially considering the subject matter. Or rather, matters."
Cher Edwards, ZINGHA www.nzingha.ca ZINGHA is a social business that seeks to increase inclusiveness, and combat sexism and anti-Black racism through positive self-education. We create and sell Black-positive products to empower those of African descent and their allies. >>Afrocentric, Black-Oriented, Afro-Canadian, African American<<
"Ancient Spirit Rising is a powerful and well-researched voice that advocates ending the erasure of Indigenous peoples through cultural appropriation. Indeed, Pegi Eyers encourages all who are non-native to explore their own indigenous roots, be they Celtic, Nordic, or other. The end goal is to recover a close and essential connection to Mother Earth, and Eyers offers strategies for 'rewilding our thinking' to create a sustainable future and 're-landing local community' in peaceful co-existence. Ancient Spirit Rising is an important contribution to the discussion on racism and ethnic identity. Much can be done to rectify injustices - both past and, shockingly, present - and with the alternatives as offered by Ancient Spirit Rising, Pegi Eyers gives us much to contemplate."
Diane Taylor, author of "The Gift of Memoir: Show Up, Open Up, Write" https://dianemtaylor.com
"I bow to you, your heart, your integrity for the Sacred, and to your beautiful book Ancient Spirit Rising. You have created a powerful addition to the body of human history. With much appreciation to you! As a scholar of Settler/First Nations relations you are a brilliant resource for those wanting to learn more. I am excited to share your insights with as many folks as I can, for this is an important book. I highly recommend this fascinating read."
Constance McClain, Ventura College and the University of California at Santa Barbara https://mindfulpaths.com
"I think Pegi Eyers work is amazing and unlike anything else out there for pointing out ways Europeans co-opt Indigenous Knowledge in the present. It is my belief that we've been doing it for thousands of years, that we covered up its origins, and that to this day 'Western' (aka 'white') civilization is laying claim to intellectual, philosophical, scientific and mathematical systems that we didn't invent." El Jah Khem
"Ancient Spirit Rising describes the spirituality of Turtle Island, and how the values of Indigenous societies can be a role model for all people, without appropriation or identity theft. Creating a sustainable future, and living in harmony, humility and respect for the planet, each other and other species, is imperative and possible for today's world. Pegi Eyers is a cultural visionary who challenges worldviews and tells us a paradigm shift is required to recover our ancestral knowledge and tradition to honor the Ancestors, live in wisdom and well-being, and save other species and the health of our planet."
Wendy Stokes, author and columnist, http://www.wendystokes.co.uk
"Ancient Spirit Rising is a passionate and urgent call to non-aboriginal peoples to listen deeply and to act with respect and great care in acquiring the necessary intercultural competencies to bring us through the challenging relationship-righting between First Nations and Settlers. The book offers a profusion of reasons and actions for doing so, including many helpful sources for tracing one's own European Indigenous Knowledge and spiritual ancestry."
Cheryl Lyon, Transition Town Peterborough
www.transitiontownpeterborough.ca
"Blessings and congratulations! To work through these ideas requires openness, determination, self awareness, respect and courage. Only you could have told this story, and the confluence of writer and ideas will enrich readers lives. With much gratitude."
Steve Guthrie CHEX TV Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
Karen Tate, Host of "Voices of the Sacred Feminine: Conversations to ReShape the World" and author of "Walking An Ancient Path: Rebirthing Goddess on Planet Earth." www.karentate.net
"Ancient Spirit Rising is a well-researched and inspiring book. Thank you so much Pegi Eyers for this amazing, ethical, and timely work of mind, heart and soul! Your inspiring and guiding work figures prominently in the recovery project, on both the micro and meta levels. Beaming huge energy of gratitude your way, to energize and animate your purpose on the planet. Virtual hugs!"
Sel M. Mullins www.selmullinsrmt.com
"For anyone who has awoken to the fact that this modern neo-capitalist culture has forgotten something profound and vital, please check out Pegi Eyers's work. It is a deep call for those of us whose ancestors are not from Turtle Island to return to a different way of relating to one another and the land."
Mark Erde, Nature Guide at Medicine Kitchens
"I have appreciated reading through Ancient Spirit Rising. Pegi's book helps to begin the conversation on how to heal the Euro-North American soul. She bravely challenges some Neo-Pagan 'orthodoxies,' but as well highlights a path towards regaining our own ancestral path and how to live accordingly in this world."
Daniel J. Miess, Author & Editor, Blue Dandelion Blog
https://bluedandelionblog.wordpress.com
https://danieljmiess.wordpress.com
"Ancient Spirit Rising kick-starts the conversation that First Nations and Settlers need to be having........"
Linda Post (Odawa), author of "Ojibway Drive from Crumpled Sheets"
Enaajmotaaged Publishing
"I am opposed to violence, but now IS the time for a revolution. A pencil, a pen, a typewriter or a computer are the perfect weapons, and Ancient Spirit Rising is the perfect array of bullets. I highly recommend the work of Pegi Eyers as a means for people to find their own roots, and not appropriate the teachings of First Nations."
Rita Gonzales (Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw/Squamish)
"Ancient Spirit Rising is a timely Canadian contribution to the growing field of critical whiteness theory, which is very dominated by the American experience of race, racism, and white privilege. I believe many white Canadians are looking for a deeper understanding of their own complex histories and identities, and Eyers’ extensive research and urgent call to action provides us with much to think about. A very rewarding read for anyone concerned about justice and our ability to live in harmony with our environment!"
Debbie Harrison, Human Rights Educator, Coordinator of Diversity, Accessibility & International Student Support, Fleming College, Peterborough http://ruralantiracistwhite.blogspot.ca
"So excited! I have Pegi Eyers' new book Ancient Spirit Rising, and I am beside myself with joy! This is going to be one heckuva intense read. I can't wait to get through my marketing tasks today to dive into the book. Thank you Pegi, for having written this book! Quite a brave task, especially considering the subject matter. Or rather, matters."
Cher Edwards, ZINGHA www.nzingha.ca ZINGHA is a social business that seeks to increase inclusiveness, and combat sexism and anti-Black racism through positive self-education. We create and sell Black-positive products to empower those of African descent and their allies. >>Afrocentric, Black-Oriented, Afro-Canadian, African American<<
"Ancient Spirit Rising is a powerful and well-researched voice that advocates ending the erasure of Indigenous peoples through cultural appropriation. Indeed, Pegi Eyers encourages all who are non-native to explore their own indigenous roots, be they Celtic, Nordic, or other. The end goal is to recover a close and essential connection to Mother Earth, and Eyers offers strategies for 'rewilding our thinking' to create a sustainable future and 're-landing local community' in peaceful co-existence. Ancient Spirit Rising is an important contribution to the discussion on racism and ethnic identity. Much can be done to rectify injustices - both past and, shockingly, present - and with the alternatives as offered by Ancient Spirit Rising, Pegi Eyers gives us much to contemplate."
Diane Taylor, author of "The Gift of Memoir: Show Up, Open Up, Write" https://dianemtaylor.com
"I bow to you, your heart, your integrity for the Sacred, and to your beautiful book Ancient Spirit Rising. You have created a powerful addition to the body of human history. With much appreciation to you! As a scholar of Settler/First Nations relations you are a brilliant resource for those wanting to learn more. I am excited to share your insights with as many folks as I can, for this is an important book. I highly recommend this fascinating read."
Constance McClain, Ventura College and the University of California at Santa Barbara https://mindfulpaths.com
"I think Pegi Eyers work is amazing and unlike anything else out there for pointing out ways Europeans co-opt Indigenous Knowledge in the present. It is my belief that we've been doing it for thousands of years, that we covered up its origins, and that to this day 'Western' (aka 'white') civilization is laying claim to intellectual, philosophical, scientific and mathematical systems that we didn't invent." El Jah Khem
"Ancient Spirit Rising describes the spirituality of Turtle Island, and how the values of Indigenous societies can be a role model for all people, without appropriation or identity theft. Creating a sustainable future, and living in harmony, humility and respect for the planet, each other and other species, is imperative and possible for today's world. Pegi Eyers is a cultural visionary who challenges worldviews and tells us a paradigm shift is required to recover our ancestral knowledge and tradition to honor the Ancestors, live in wisdom and well-being, and save other species and the health of our planet."
Wendy Stokes, author and columnist, http://www.wendystokes.co.uk
"Ancient Spirit Rising is a passionate and urgent call to non-aboriginal peoples to listen deeply and to act with respect and great care in acquiring the necessary intercultural competencies to bring us through the challenging relationship-righting between First Nations and Settlers. The book offers a profusion of reasons and actions for doing so, including many helpful sources for tracing one's own European Indigenous Knowledge and spiritual ancestry."
Cheryl Lyon, Transition Town Peterborough
www.transitiontownpeterborough.ca
"Blessings and congratulations! To work through these ideas requires openness, determination, self awareness, respect and courage. Only you could have told this story, and the confluence of writer and ideas will enrich readers lives. With much gratitude."
Steve Guthrie CHEX TV Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
"Ancient Spirit Rising is a work of genius, uncompromising in its presentation of many viewpoints and supported by extensive documentation. The book is both encyclopedic in scope and focused on the central theme of earth-grounded spirituality, its multi-various roots, and how they manifest today. These studies form an essential part of the emerging consciousness that may sustain us in resolving the predicaments we face. Ancient Spirit Rising is valuable in helping to think through a viable and well-mannered approach to indigenous knowledge for living successfully on Earth. It also makes clear the need to support the many indigenous peoples actively opposing threats to the integrity of their lands, now endangered by an imperial economy of exploitation."
Philip Kienholz, Author & Poet, New Roots Press
“I am so glad I did not have the assignment to write this marvelous book. Thank you, Pegi Eyers! You have written what I deeply know and don't have the skill to write in such grand fashion. One thing I love about Ancient Spirit Rising is that it encourages individuals to get back in touch with their own Indigenous roots, and the value held there. I also highly recommend it for all who are examining issues of racism. I am honored to share wisdom from Pegi's book, and suggest you purchase a copy.” Sharon Riegie Maynard, author of Remembering Earth Mission
"As stated so well in Ancient Spirit Rising, our European Indigenous Knowledge systems emphasis the cosmological dynamics of the universe, in which the human, earth and cosmos form an interconnected triad. And as we conceptualize our way into the future, Ancient Spirit Rising can be a significant tool in that process. Pegi Eyers’ organic intellectualism and marvelous summations such as ‘Eco-Soul’ have much to contribute. For our collective future, thank you Pegi for giving us the language, quotations and insights to communicate with others more meaningfully the deepest values of Ancient Spirit Rising!"
John Devan, Elderberry Connection, a group that celebrates the unfolding story of the universe, and fosters a planetary spirituality to inspire and support action for ecological and social justice. Our inspiration is Thomas Berry, and the elderberry tree, rich in life-giving properties and creation mythology.
"Ancient Spirit Rising is a marvelous and important book full of learning for these challenging times of awakening in right relations. Pegi Eyers is deeply involved in decolonization work, and Ancient Spirit Rising provides all the factual details I have yearned to have at my fingertips. Many thanks for all the good work you are doing in the world, as I continue to read this wonderful book!"
Kathie Wallace, Sacred Earth Network on Facebook
"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."
Sharon Paice MacLeod, author of Celtic Myth and Religion: A Study of Traditional Belief, and The Divine Feminine in Ancient Europe
"Phenomenal Work by Pegi Eyers, author of Ancient Spirit Rising! Valuing the enlightening principles within this timely book of wisdom and insights, that invite us to re-connect more deeply, more consciously and more courageously, with the natural world and our sovereign selves. The time is now. For those in the western world benefiting from Empire and the privilege of whiteness, it is time to wake up (!) and actively re-examine the toxicity of inherited conditioning. And, by choosing not to continue culturally-appropriating, we can choose liberty for all, and actively dismantle these abusive cycles. All levels of acceptable, casual racism must end, and Ancient Spirit Rising offers healthy alternatives to the dehumanizing perpetuation of white supremacy. We can, at the individual level, each awaken to our inner knowing, our uniqueness, and our personal responsibility."
Jay Pat, Creative Nature Club
"Ancient Spirit Rising is phenomenal - a must-read!"
Wendy McConkey, TESL Trainer, ESL Tutor, Executive Administrator, One World ESL School, Peterborough, ON
"Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community is a brave approach to reconciliation with the Earth and with one another."
Peace Council Peterborough Facebook Page
"I've been reading your book for just a short time now, but I want you to know I think it is a complete masterpiece. Thank you so much for birthing this marvel into the world."
Phoenix Laurel, Roots of Activism
"Ancient Spirit Rising is a passionately written volume, as most dealing with cultural appropriation will be, and there is much to ponder and learn here. The author’s relationship with Turtle Island First Nations is fascinating, deeply felt, and supported by some thoughtful analysis. As one would expect, her discussion of historical colonialism and its effects on Indigenous cultures in Part One is not an easy read. From my own experiences with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, I am aware of the adoption and cultural theft of practices and spirituality, and as such I appreciate much in this book. Well researched and crammed with references and footnotes, this is a volume that gives food for thought, but no easy answers."
Paul Pearson, Greenmantle Magazine
"Congratulations on the publishing of your new book! May it travel far and encourage many hearts."
Dennis Rivers, author and activist, Resources for the Great Turning, www.earthcitizens.net
"Pegi Eyers is an explorer, working to find an escape route for our long journey home. Her book Ancient Spirit Rising presents readers with a wide variety of ideas, and forces us to do a lot of thinking. I’m glad that I have taken the time to explore the history of my own bloodlines, and to better understand who I am. For now, my plan is to strengthen my connections to the Circle of Life in the here and now, the world outside my door. I have much to learn. As Eyers tells us, 'We must all face directly our innate need to be at one with wild nature, to enjoy the blessings of Mother Earth and Her many creatures, to experience green spaces as an opening to mystery and magic, and to work tirelessly at preserving nature for nature’s own sake.' "
Richard Adrian Reese, Author of "What is Sustainable"
http://wildancestors.blogspot.ca
"An important title ~ kudos to Pegi Eyers for producing such a labor of love! For more readers than I can imagine, this admirable compendium will prove a valuable guide back to the home territory of earth-rootedness, that we all most desperately need in these fraught times. I believe wholeheartedly in every one of the valuable messages in Ancient Spirit Rising, and submit gladly to the author’s wonderful spell."
William R. Stimson, PhD, author of "Glimpses From Beyond The Ego: Dreams, Zen, & Nature"
"I so appreciate the work that you are doing in re-weaving the healing cloak of the ancients, comprised of all the threads – new and old – from all over the world. Thank you so much for your work with Ancient Spirit Rising, and for your part in restoring herbal medicine as the people’s medicine today."
Susun Weed, Natural Health, Herbal Medicine and Spirit Healing the Wise Woman Way www.susunweed.com
"I am really enjoying Ancient Spirit Rising – so much of it resonates with me, and you bring up things I’ve never thought of before! I keep thinking about your suggestion that we re-connect to the indigenous roots of our own lineage. This is something I will try to incorporate into my own life."
Cathy Kuntz, Cottage Wordsmith and Personal Historian
"Thank you for your care toward the journey of right relations."
Cathy Underhill, Centre for Christian Studies
http://ccsonline.ca
"With Ancient Spirit Rising, Pegi Eyers offers her extensive research, study and insight, and reminds us of how necessary it is for all people to work towards planet-friendly eco-spiritual guidance. Thank you Pegi!"
Phyllis Kirk, Designer & Visual Artist www.phyllis-kirk.com
Philip Kienholz, Author & Poet, New Roots Press
“I am so glad I did not have the assignment to write this marvelous book. Thank you, Pegi Eyers! You have written what I deeply know and don't have the skill to write in such grand fashion. One thing I love about Ancient Spirit Rising is that it encourages individuals to get back in touch with their own Indigenous roots, and the value held there. I also highly recommend it for all who are examining issues of racism. I am honored to share wisdom from Pegi's book, and suggest you purchase a copy.” Sharon Riegie Maynard, author of Remembering Earth Mission
"As stated so well in Ancient Spirit Rising, our European Indigenous Knowledge systems emphasis the cosmological dynamics of the universe, in which the human, earth and cosmos form an interconnected triad. And as we conceptualize our way into the future, Ancient Spirit Rising can be a significant tool in that process. Pegi Eyers’ organic intellectualism and marvelous summations such as ‘Eco-Soul’ have much to contribute. For our collective future, thank you Pegi for giving us the language, quotations and insights to communicate with others more meaningfully the deepest values of Ancient Spirit Rising!"
John Devan, Elderberry Connection, a group that celebrates the unfolding story of the universe, and fosters a planetary spirituality to inspire and support action for ecological and social justice. Our inspiration is Thomas Berry, and the elderberry tree, rich in life-giving properties and creation mythology.
"Ancient Spirit Rising is a marvelous and important book full of learning for these challenging times of awakening in right relations. Pegi Eyers is deeply involved in decolonization work, and Ancient Spirit Rising provides all the factual details I have yearned to have at my fingertips. Many thanks for all the good work you are doing in the world, as I continue to read this wonderful book!"
Kathie Wallace, Sacred Earth Network on Facebook
"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."
Sharon Paice MacLeod, author of Celtic Myth and Religion: A Study of Traditional Belief, and The Divine Feminine in Ancient Europe
"Phenomenal Work by Pegi Eyers, author of Ancient Spirit Rising! Valuing the enlightening principles within this timely book of wisdom and insights, that invite us to re-connect more deeply, more consciously and more courageously, with the natural world and our sovereign selves. The time is now. For those in the western world benefiting from Empire and the privilege of whiteness, it is time to wake up (!) and actively re-examine the toxicity of inherited conditioning. And, by choosing not to continue culturally-appropriating, we can choose liberty for all, and actively dismantle these abusive cycles. All levels of acceptable, casual racism must end, and Ancient Spirit Rising offers healthy alternatives to the dehumanizing perpetuation of white supremacy. We can, at the individual level, each awaken to our inner knowing, our uniqueness, and our personal responsibility."
Jay Pat, Creative Nature Club
"Ancient Spirit Rising is phenomenal - a must-read!"
Wendy McConkey, TESL Trainer, ESL Tutor, Executive Administrator, One World ESL School, Peterborough, ON
"Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community is a brave approach to reconciliation with the Earth and with one another."
Peace Council Peterborough Facebook Page
"I've been reading your book for just a short time now, but I want you to know I think it is a complete masterpiece. Thank you so much for birthing this marvel into the world."
Phoenix Laurel, Roots of Activism
"Ancient Spirit Rising is a passionately written volume, as most dealing with cultural appropriation will be, and there is much to ponder and learn here. The author’s relationship with Turtle Island First Nations is fascinating, deeply felt, and supported by some thoughtful analysis. As one would expect, her discussion of historical colonialism and its effects on Indigenous cultures in Part One is not an easy read. From my own experiences with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, I am aware of the adoption and cultural theft of practices and spirituality, and as such I appreciate much in this book. Well researched and crammed with references and footnotes, this is a volume that gives food for thought, but no easy answers."
Paul Pearson, Greenmantle Magazine
"Congratulations on the publishing of your new book! May it travel far and encourage many hearts."
Dennis Rivers, author and activist, Resources for the Great Turning, www.earthcitizens.net
"Pegi Eyers is an explorer, working to find an escape route for our long journey home. Her book Ancient Spirit Rising presents readers with a wide variety of ideas, and forces us to do a lot of thinking. I’m glad that I have taken the time to explore the history of my own bloodlines, and to better understand who I am. For now, my plan is to strengthen my connections to the Circle of Life in the here and now, the world outside my door. I have much to learn. As Eyers tells us, 'We must all face directly our innate need to be at one with wild nature, to enjoy the blessings of Mother Earth and Her many creatures, to experience green spaces as an opening to mystery and magic, and to work tirelessly at preserving nature for nature’s own sake.' "
Richard Adrian Reese, Author of "What is Sustainable"
http://wildancestors.blogspot.ca
"An important title ~ kudos to Pegi Eyers for producing such a labor of love! For more readers than I can imagine, this admirable compendium will prove a valuable guide back to the home territory of earth-rootedness, that we all most desperately need in these fraught times. I believe wholeheartedly in every one of the valuable messages in Ancient Spirit Rising, and submit gladly to the author’s wonderful spell."
William R. Stimson, PhD, author of "Glimpses From Beyond The Ego: Dreams, Zen, & Nature"
"I so appreciate the work that you are doing in re-weaving the healing cloak of the ancients, comprised of all the threads – new and old – from all over the world. Thank you so much for your work with Ancient Spirit Rising, and for your part in restoring herbal medicine as the people’s medicine today."
Susun Weed, Natural Health, Herbal Medicine and Spirit Healing the Wise Woman Way www.susunweed.com
"I am really enjoying Ancient Spirit Rising – so much of it resonates with me, and you bring up things I’ve never thought of before! I keep thinking about your suggestion that we re-connect to the indigenous roots of our own lineage. This is something I will try to incorporate into my own life."
Cathy Kuntz, Cottage Wordsmith and Personal Historian
"Thank you for your care toward the journey of right relations."
Cathy Underhill, Centre for Christian Studies
http://ccsonline.ca
"With Ancient Spirit Rising, Pegi Eyers offers her extensive research, study and insight, and reminds us of how necessary it is for all people to work towards planet-friendly eco-spiritual guidance. Thank you Pegi!"
Phyllis Kirk, Designer & Visual Artist www.phyllis-kirk.com
 | "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 |
