ABOUT THE COVER ©
by Tira Brandon-Evans

ABOUT THE PICTURE

Greenman


This is the Steall Waterfall, (An Steall Bán - The White Spout) in Glen Nevis. The 120 metre fall is the second highest in Great Britain. To reach An Steall Bán you must climb a steep and dangerous path through Glen Nevis Gorge., second highest waterfall with sheer drop of 120 metres. The waterfall is found in Glen Nevis, and is reached by an increasingly dangerous path through the Glen Nevis Gorge. This picture may be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steall_Waterfall. It is published under the GNU Free Documentation License.

To the original graphic I added The Whitefield Green Man a woodcarving by artist Paul Sivell. Paul carved this amazing Greenman into a dead section of a living tree. The photograph of the The Witerfield Green Man is under the GNU Free Documentation License and this image may be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Whitefield_Green_Man_by_Paul_Sivell.jpg

Paul Sivell is a self-taught sculptor and wood carver who specializes in transforming damaged, dieing, fallen, or dead trees into sculptural features. He is lives on the Isle of Wight but undertakes commissions throughout the world. His approach to this art is very organic. Paul allows the grain and character of the tree to dictate the form of the sculpture. For more on Paul Sivell and his amazing creations visit: The Carved Tree

ABOUT THE WORDS

This is the place of my song-dream,
The place the music played to me.
Here, in this holy place,
Here if anywhere,
Surely we shall find Him!

(The Wind in the Willows, Chapter VII,
The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
- Kenneth Grahame - 1917)


When I first read this chapter from the Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame I could not have been much above the age of eight or nine. The entire book enchanted and amused me, but the Piper at the Gates of Dawn slew me with rapture. The beauty of the morning river, the sleeping baby otter, and the great Lord of the Forest — the Great God Pan — awakened in me something that has never since rested. This divine discontent and longing for the greater world is present in all shamans and, to me, this one chapter of this one book best expresses it.

The Wind in the Willows was published in 1908, the same year its author Kenneth Grahame retired from his position as secretary of the Bank of England and spent the remainder of his days near the banks of his beloved river.

The Disneyfication of the Wind in the Willows is one of the most egregious acts of literary sacrilege ever committed. If you have children, read to them from the book itself. If you do not have children, read the book for yourself if you would be enchanted.



Tira Brandon-Evans is a Chartered Herbalist, the Founder and Moderator of the Society of Celtic Shamans, editor of Earthsongs: Journal of the Society of Celtic Shamans, and 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 © 2009 by Tira Brandon-Evans, all rights reserved. Used with permission. Top of Page



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Earthsongs: International Journal of the Society of Celtic Shamans copyright © 2009 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.