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Staff of Laurel, Staff of Ash: Sacred Landscapes in Ancient Nature Myth Kindle Edition

by Dianna Rhyan (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 6 ratings
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At the crossroads of nature and the human imagination, Earth is sentient, fertile, and eloquent. When ancient goddesses, outcasts, heroes, and poets speak, they speak on her behalf to reveal living myths that first enchanted sacred landscapes. Their primal stories emerge from wilderness and rise from buried libraries to jolt us awake. We meet a lone goddess battling fifty giants, a beguiling wife who is secretly a serpent, a radiant lyre about to sing her own poetry, and an ogre whose heart is his forest. When oaks and rivers call for justice, when furies and monsters counter king and plow, let us turn our ear to hear. As we listen, mythic fragments lead us from marble palaces to nymph-haunted gardens, on a quest that teems with strange immortals. Along the way, a goddess of desolation, a mistress of animals, ash tree spirits, and a trickster water god appear as guides. Primeval green wisdom emerges from abyss, forest, and borderland, hidden in myths we almost lost forever, in ancient images that say things we no longer can.

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  1. Print length
    193 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Moon Books
  5. Publication date
    May 26, 2023
  6. File size
    6169 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"An inspirational collection of interwoven contemplations on landscape and myth; on enchantment, disenchantment, and reenchantment. I strongly recommend it to anyone with an interest in these themes. Rhyan draws strength from marginal and wild spaces; I see her as making a great contribution to making 'intensely alive myth' visible once more." -James Nichol, contemplativeinquiry

"The writing is stunningly beautiful. Rich with ideas and fascinating read. A spell of falling in love with the land, and seeing the sacred world around us. This is a beautiful book and like nothing else I have ever read." -Nimue Brown, Druid Life

A fascinating, compelling, informative, thought-provoking, truly memorable study that will be of immense interest to studies of Gaia representing a sentient planet Earth, Staff of Laurel, Staff of Ash: Sacred Landscapes in Ancient Nature Myth by mythologist Dianna Rhyan is a welcome and unreservedly recommended addition to personal, professional, community, and academic library Metaphysical & New Age study collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists. -Midwest Book Review

About the Author

Dianna Rhyan is a mythologist and therapist whose work focuses on nature goddesses and the spirituality of sacred landscapes. She has a PhD in Ancient Greek and Latin, taught college for thirty years, and has been a visiting scholar for archaeological excavations in Greece and Cyprus. When not delving into archaic myth or studying Sumerian, she can be found exploring the Cuyahoga Valley trails of Northeast Ohio.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0C1WFN225
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Moon Books (May 26, 2023)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 26, 2023
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 6169 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 193 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 1803411961
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 6 ratings

About the author

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Dianna Rhyan

Dianna Rhyan

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Dianna Rhyan is a mythologist and therapist whose work focuses on forgotten voices, nature goddesses, and the spirituality of sacred landscapes. She has a PhD in Ancient Greek and Latin, and taught college for thirty years. She has been a visiting scholar on archaeological excavations in Greece and Cyprus, where she explored women's devotion to rural shrines, and the ancient evidence for women's veils. When not delving into archaic myth or studying Sumerian, she can be found exploring the Cuyahoga Valley trails of northeast Ohio with her swift-footed husband, hiking crone companions, and assorted wise dogs.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
6 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

C.V. Kirkstadt
5.0 out of 5 stars Imagine – Listening to nature, learning from stories
Reviewed in the United States on October 12, 2023
Verified Purchase
This book, “Staff of Laurel, Staff of Ash” by Dianna Rhyan is a collection of stories. Some of the stories are from long ago — ancient myths that can inform us today. Some of the stories are about Dianna’s ramblings in the Cuyahoga River Valley in Ohio as she “shakes off the trance of civilization.” Some of the stories speak of the conflict between the demands of civilization and the responsibilities of stewardship of our natural world.

Throughout the book, Dianna poses interesting and challenging questions. She says “mythic questions never have a single answer.” She also tells us that the wisdom of the natural world speaks to us and we should listen. An example, “a much-transplanted tree doesn’t thrive.”

Dianna’s writing style is almost like reading poetry. I liked the many quotes from ancient sources (her Bibliography lists 24 pages of references).

Several of the stories are about living water. You may want to take a look at Masaru Emoto’s work regarding water. Science tells us that the adult human body is up to 60% water, are you listening to what water is telling you?

When reading this book the words of a favorite hymn came to mind. “This is my Father’s world, and to my listening ears — all nature sings, and round me rings, the music of the spheres.”
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Annarella
4.0 out of 5 stars Recommended
Reviewed in the United States on July 29, 2023
It's a good book to use for meditations as it's a series of scenes and it's hard to review as it's up to mood or taste to judge if you love them or not.
I liked the style of writing and some parts were full of food for thought.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine
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Christine B#
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and thought provoking
Reviewed in the United States on September 9, 2023
The writing is beautiful, evocative and peaceful. The knowledge that we as humans can never be separated from our natural world is clear and these pages tell of the timelessness of that bond.
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