REVIEW BY DORI MORDEN
I LOVE Ancient Spirit Rising, which is a sort of "textbook for the rest of us!" If you're not a college radical anymore, especially, and need to get in touch with where we are right now, this is a phenomenal place to begin (though honestly, I think it would also be a great college textbook). Yes, it's true, I started reading Ancient Spirit Rising in May, 2017 - and yes, it's true, I'm not finished with it yet!
The first several chapters are a lot to chew on, and for many of us, even those who've put a lot of effort into cleaning up our acts already, it can be a heavy read. I had to put it down and come back more than once, reading some page-turner fiction in between, to assuage the "oops, ugh, and damn I'm sorries." Getting through that, however, brought me to a really great "Ally Checklist" - as in, lots of great advice on how to be an ally without being a guilt-ridden, non-effective, emotional-labor-placing fool.
Then, the book took a turn, and honestly, I got a little lost for a minute. Genetically, I'm a European mutt, mostly southern European, but culturally, I have no defined spiritual identity. I'm a fierce defender and protector - yes, a feminist, a mother, a woman with a wife - and I share some common beliefs of what is referred to as "Indigenous Knowledge." But the rest? I don't know yet. Ancient Spirit Rising was written for me.
The first several chapters are a lot to chew on, and for many of us, even those who've put a lot of effort into cleaning up our acts already, it can be a heavy read. I had to put it down and come back more than once, reading some page-turner fiction in between, to assuage the "oops, ugh, and damn I'm sorries." Getting through that, however, brought me to a really great "Ally Checklist" - as in, lots of great advice on how to be an ally without being a guilt-ridden, non-effective, emotional-labor-placing fool.
Then, the book took a turn, and honestly, I got a little lost for a minute. Genetically, I'm a European mutt, mostly southern European, but culturally, I have no defined spiritual identity. I'm a fierce defender and protector - yes, a feminist, a mother, a woman with a wife - and I share some common beliefs of what is referred to as "Indigenous Knowledge." But the rest? I don't know yet. Ancient Spirit Rising was written for me.
 |  |
Recently there was a big discussion on the internet about two little girls who were dressed up in "Indian" costumes for a photo shoot. The photos went viral. The photographer claimed they had "Native heritage" but clearly, they grew up as white girls. They had NOT grown in up in Indigenous culture and thus, were stereotyping, perhaps even MOCKING Indigenous culture. Arguments such as "they're just children" I found to be equally offensive, because seriously - even so, it seems it would be the parents' responsibility to identify and put a stop to this. Because really? That's what you want to teach your kids? That it's okay to appropriate or stereotype a culture because they are children? Erm, nope.......
Anyway I digress, but I bring this up because I went through this particular argument with myself while reading Ancient Spirit Rising. How can I "reclaim" something I've never really honestly been a part of? Despite the fact that the majority of my DNA is Maltese (hello, ancient goddess temples!) and the rest is mostly British and Irish, no one REALLY knows who built those temples on Malta or what their practices were. I don't feel a call to Celtic Revival and I haven't yet encountered a "Goddess Spirituality" that is gritty and unappropriative enough for me (sorry but calling in both Quan Yin and Hecate doesn't sit right with me - I get to call for any Goddess I choose? From any culture? I dunno......). I'm not a flowy-white-clothes kinda Goddess girl, either. I'm way more of a "stir the compost" kind of person, and Starhawk's Reclaiming Tradition is, so far, as close as it's gotten to anything organized.
Anyway I digress, but I bring this up because I went through this particular argument with myself while reading Ancient Spirit Rising. How can I "reclaim" something I've never really honestly been a part of? Despite the fact that the majority of my DNA is Maltese (hello, ancient goddess temples!) and the rest is mostly British and Irish, no one REALLY knows who built those temples on Malta or what their practices were. I don't feel a call to Celtic Revival and I haven't yet encountered a "Goddess Spirituality" that is gritty and unappropriative enough for me (sorry but calling in both Quan Yin and Hecate doesn't sit right with me - I get to call for any Goddess I choose? From any culture? I dunno......). I'm not a flowy-white-clothes kinda Goddess girl, either. I'm way more of a "stir the compost" kind of person, and Starhawk's Reclaiming Tradition is, so far, as close as it's gotten to anything organized.
It has been determined that DNA does not define culture, and having .003% "Cherokee" roots does not make you Native. So, how can I reclaim European Indigenous Knowledge? I'm not a Pagan-with-a-capital-P, I'm not a Wiccan, I'm not a Druid, and nothing I've found in modern Strega or vague Hellenic practices shouts "HEY THAT'S ME!" either. So how do I approach this without blindly appropriating other people's spiritual practices in the process?
Our sad disconnect is several generations in at this point. Pegi opens many doors to this aspect of the discussion, and offers a massive heap of well-researched advice on how we can approach the dilemma when, like for me, it's not a clear path at all.
Also - my goodness, the references! From Ancient Spirit Rising you can read associated materials for the rest of your life and never finish. She's done her research - thank you, Pegi. This book is necessary.
Our sad disconnect is several generations in at this point. Pegi opens many doors to this aspect of the discussion, and offers a massive heap of well-researched advice on how we can approach the dilemma when, like for me, it's not a clear path at all.
Also - my goodness, the references! From Ancient Spirit Rising you can read associated materials for the rest of your life and never finish. She's done her research - thank you, Pegi. This book is necessary.
 | Pegi Eyers is the author of "Ancient Spirit Rising: Reclaiming Your Roots & Restoring Earth Community," an award-winning book that explores strategies for intercultural competency, healing our relationships with Turtle Island First Nations, decolonization, recovering an ecocentric worldview, rewilding, creating a sustainable future and reclaiming peaceful co-existence in Earth Community. Stone Circle Press |
