Pagan Tama
I like the concept of this book. It’s a collection of folkish tales, which the author says are “channelled from the earth, from the ancestors.” They are inspired by her meditations as a healer, as well as existing Native American folklore. Like so many Pagans I enjoy folktales, so the idea of combining storytelling with spiritual practises appealed to me, and Whispers from the Earth is the first book I’ve read that attempts this directly.
The stories are all nicely written, with an elegant simplicity that makes them enjoyable to read. Many of them use traditional folk motifs – animals, villagers, nature – to talk about issues that are of particular interest in contemporary times, such as self-image and emotional problems (many of the stories seemed particularly relevant to adolescents). My particular favourites were “Why Pheasant’s Face is Red,” which could be interpreted as a warning against self-victimisation, and “How Fox Taught the Owls to be Wise,” which felt like the most traditional folktale due to its moral ambiguity. I felt that some of the other tales were a little too obliquely didactic or sentimental.
I did come away feeling that this work is somehow incomplete. It’s a slim read (there’s 16 stories in total, all of which are very quick), and there seemed to be a lot of potential left undeveloped. The chapters on incorporating storytelling with spiritual work were very short, and I felt that there was so much more that could have been said. Having been introduced very briefly to the idea of connecting storytelling with meditation and nature worship, I wanted to know more. It would have been good if Thornton expanded on this, perhaps by including some exercises for channelling stories, or a little information about the Bardic tradition, or analysing the spiritual significance of folktale motifs.
Whispers from the Earth has piqued my interest in the relationship between storytelling and spirituality. If this book is a “prototype” of some of the ideas that Thornton has about stories and spiritual seekers, it has potential. I wonder if we’ll see more from her in the future…?
All product images from Amazon.co.uk
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