Janell Moon is a practicing hypnotherapist, writing teacher, poet, and author of Stirring the Waters.. In this imaginative resource, she has created a spur to creativity, self-examination, and wonder.
There are essays for every week of the year. Many of them deal with the natural world and are specifically designed to help us tap into the ample delights of both the good Earth (mud, fractals, spiders, seeds, cows) and the wild parts of our untamed selves. Moon has made good use of folklore, mythology, and symbols in each essay.
In the author's piece on rain, she points out that in the language of symbols, it has been seen as life-giving, a blessing from heaven. The saintly abbess Hildegard of Bingen compared rain to the vital energy of the soul which makes the body flourish. Some Native Americans saw in pouring rain the return of their ancestors whose spirits had gone into water or air. They tried to decipher what messages they were bringing. To this day, rain is often viewed as a charm, something positive. Sadly enough, none of these positive meanings seem to pass through the consciousness of many urban dwellers who become angry or agitated as soon as it starts to rain. Immediately horns start honking and tension fills the air.
Moon has read widely and the variety of material here is positively enticing. We were impressed with her commentary on stones as repositories of energy, wind as a messenger of the gods, the moon as a catalyst to appreciating the mysterious sides of ourselves, the comparison of the roar of the ocean to the sounds we hear in our mother's womb, and the acorn as the symbol of growth and maturation. The Wise Earth Speaks to Your Spirit by Janell Moon is a perfect companion for all those who want to open themselves to the abundant wonders of nature. Each chapter ends with suggested exercises to be done in your journal.
