ABOUT THE COVER ©
by Tira Brandon-Evans
Children of the EarthTira Brandon-Evans - 2008
"Should you really open your eyes and see,
you would behold your image in all images.
And should you open your ears and listen,
you would hear your own voice in all voices."
(
Sand and Foam, Khalil Gibran)
ABOUT THE COVER ART
This digital art was created by Tira Brandon-Evans from uncopyrighted images found in various places on the web. The individual animal images were digitally altered and combined into a composite image, which then overlaid on a background. The background is a digitally altered bitmap of a dandelion meadow. This same bitmap was the also the background underlay of the Earthsongs title graphic.
"Now that summer is here I am working in my garden, harvesting the first greens, turnips, and carrots. I have been getting to know the children of the earth as I come into contact with them every day. Some – like the slugs and snails – compete with me for the food. Others – like the spiders, snakes, toads, and beetles – eat the snails and slugs. The moles eat worms, which are beneficial to the earth and to my garden. They also tunnel through the roots of the plants and leave them bare, unable to feed themselves from the disturbed soil, unable to soak up water from the earth. The worms and the ants both build the soil and act as beneficial agents in keeping the earth healthy. This balance of life and death in my little garden is a never ending joy to behold. I wanted to commemorate this part of nature in the Lughnasadh cover to honour the earth and my first harvest in the new garden."
ABOUT THE COVER VERSE
"Should you really open your eyes and see,
you would behold your image in all images.
And should you open your ears and listen,
you would hear your own voice in all voices."
(
Sand and Foam, Khalil Gibran)
Kahlil Gibran was born in Lebanon in 1883. He died at the age of 48 in New York. Gibran was a poet, a visionary, and spoke out for justice and human dignity wherever he lived. Born to a family of Marionite Christians in an area of the Middle East then under the control of the Ottoman Turks, Gibran witnessed the effects of prejudice and religious intolerance from an early age. After their home was confiscated by the government and his father jailed, on a possibly spurious chage of tax evasion, Gibran's mother took her children and emigrated to the United States. Kahlil was deeply affected by the fact that because of Arab prejudices his own sisters were not allowed to attend school and he spoke out for women's rights whenever he could.
Growing up an immigrant in the slums of Boston was not easy or pleasant. Gibran turned inward, into his own shining spirit and away from the poverty, dirt, and despair surrounding him. Kahlil was both an artist and a poet. His drawings illustrate many of his books including The Prophet, a book which has brought healing, peace, and wisdom to thousands upon thousands of grateful readers for many years.
To read this life changing book go to: The Prophet.
Tira Brandon-Evans is the Founder and Moderator of the Society of Celtic Shamans, editor of Earthsongs: Journal of the Society of Celtic Shamans, and is, herself, a Faery Shaman. Her books, The Green and Burning Tree: A Faery Shaman's Handbook, Portals of the Seasons: A Celtic Wheel of the Year, Through the Unremembered Gate: Journeys of Initiation, The Labyrinthine Way: Walking Ancient Paths in a Modern World, and Healing Waters, are all published by Elder Grove Press. She is presently writing a book about the Ogham. You may contact Tira by email at info@faeryshaman.org.
About the Cover copyright © 2008 by Tira Brandon-Evans, all
rights reserved. Used with permission. Top of Page
Earthsongs: International Journal of the Society of Celtic Shamans copyright © 2008 by Elder Grove Press and content providers. All rights reserved. International copyright laws prohibit reproduction of or distribution of this page by any means whatsoever, electronic or otherwise, without first obtaining the written permissions of the copyright holders. We retain legal counsel to protect our copyrights.