Sparrow's Page

Every creature is a word of God and is a book about God
- Meister Eckhart

Background

I guess it could be surprising that a practicing Pagan is quoting a Christian. It shouldn't be, really. All religions on this planet ultimately have the same aim: to connect with Spirit. Especially the mystics of the many traditions touch Spirit every day, each in their own way. Meister Eckhart was one of them.

Christianity, of the Roman Catholic variety, played a huge part in my life for many years. This is where I made my first discoveries about Spirit. It is the cradle of my spirituality, and I have no personal reason to turn my back on that part of my journey. It is part of who I am now.

It was another Catholic, Matthew Fox, who introduced me to Wicca and Witchcraft. His writings on Creation Spirituality inspired me, and gave the God I had known all my life a distincly female face. In one of his books I found the following quote from Starhawk:

"In the Craft, we do not believe in the Goddess - we connect with Her; through the moon, the stars, the ocean, the earth, through trees, animals, through other human beings, through ourselves. She is here. She is within us all. She is the full circle, earth, air, fire, water, and essence - body, mind, spirit, emotions, change."

I was intrigued and set out to learn more. I surfed the internet and browsed in bookshops. I bought the book that quote came from, and found in it many similarities with what I believed myself. I started to investigate more deeply, and with the casting of my first Circle, sacred space between the worlds, I knew this was the path for me. I have been travelling along it as a solitary practitioner since February of 1998.

In 2003, I started training in shamanic practices and ways of healing with Caitlin Matthews. Her teachings are powerful and practical, and give new depth and inspiration to the work I was already doing. Working in this way has strengthened my relationship with Spirit and the spirits, and I now feel ready to offer my insights to the world through Deer Tracks, my own workshops and shamanic practice.

Since Hallowmas of 2003 I have also been a member of OBOD, the Order of Bards Ovates and Druids, . I joined because I was feeling a need for the support of likeminded people. After five years of working alone, I knew that I wasn't a Wiccan and slowly I began to realise that my ideas were very much in line with Druidry. OBOD has introduced me to a few friendly and inspiring people and supports my further learning with its distance learning course.

But my personal travels around the Wheel of Life have not changed. I still learn every day, just by sitting in my garden and listening, and I am constantly touched by the beauty around me. I am awed by every leaf and every flower, each and expression of Spirit (a word of God), and a gateway to Spirit (a book about God). I want to share my joy and awe with the world, and thanks to the wonders of the internet, I can. Hopefully my thoughts and my images will inspire others to start or continue their own journeys.

E-mail

If you would like to comment on these pages, or share some of your own experiences, please e-mail me on "sparrow dot wheel at firetree dot net" I have given you the address in words so that spammers can't get to it. Just translate it back into a normal e-mail address.

Acknowledgments

This site could not have been made without the patient and sometimes inspired help of my husband Alex, the computer wizz in this house. Thank you for teaching and encouraging me.

All the photographs and artwork on this site are mine, unless otherwise credited at the bottom of each page. I usually give credit by means of a link to the page where I found the picture, but where possible I have put in a link to the artist's own web site.

The ideas on these pages all came out of my head at the time of writing. I do acknowledge the fact that I have learned much of what I know from the thousands of web pages I have visited and from the books I have read. All the authors are my teachers, and I thank them for sharing their knowledge.

Favourite Links

Some web sites I really love. Please go and visit!

The Raven: home page of the London Tamesis Seedgroup, our local part of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids.

Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids: the Order itself - though I hang my head in shame for the design of the web site...

The Druid Network: more druidic inspiration, and a much better design.

Mything Links: a truly cavernous web site full of all things mythological. Hard to navigate, but probably worth it.

Encyclopedia Mythica: every deity you ever came across, and fully searchable, too.

Aeclectic Tarot: A look at ever tarot deck imaginable, and much much more.

Hallowquest: home page of Caitlin and John Matthews, with info about their books and shamanic courses.

Viggo-Works: a site dedicated to a truly inspiring person. Sorry, I couldn't resist. I'm a fan...

My Bookshelf

These are all the books on my bookshelf that are at all likely to have influenced any ideas on this site. The really good ones have a star. In random order. And some of them are in Dutch.

*Earth Prayers from around the world, 365 prayers, poems and invocations for honoring the earth. Edited by Elizabeth Roberts and Elias Amidon, Harper Collins, 1991.

Life Prayers form around the world, 365 prayers, blessings and affirmations to celebrate the human journey. Edited by Elizabeth Roberts and Elias Amidon, Harper Collins, 1996.

Earth Poems, poems from around the world to honor the earth. Edited by Ivo Mosley, Harper Collins, 1996.

The Rainbow Journey, seven steps to self healing. By Dr Brenda Davies, Hodder & Stoughton, 1998.

The Arthurian Tarot, a Hallowquest handbook. By Caitlin and John Matthews, Thorsons, 1995.

*The Mabinogion. Translated by Gwyn Jones and Thomas Jones, Dent, 1974.

Heart Steps, prayers and declarations for a creative life. By Julia Cameron, Pan Books, 1999.

Blessings, prayers and declarations for a heartful life. By Julia Cameron, Pan Books, 1999.

Transitions, prayers and declarations for a changing life.By Julia Cameron, Pan Books, 1999.

The Western Way, a practical guide to the western mystery tradition. By Caitlin and John Matthews, Arkana, 1985.

Achieving Emotional Literacy. By Claude Steiner PhD and Paul Perry, Avon books, 1997.

The Goddes, a benginner's guide. By Tessa Moorey, Hodder & Stoughton Educational, 1997.

*The Elements of Natural Magic. By Marian Green, Element books, 1989.

Aspects of the Masculine. By C.G. Jung and edited by John Beebe, Ark, 1989.

Aspects of the Feminine. By C.G. Jung, Ark, 1986.

*A Woman's Book of Herbs. By Elisabeth Brooke, The Women's Press, 1992.

Magical Herbalism. By Scott Cunningham, Llewellyn, 1982.

*Herb Craft, a guide to the shamanic and ritual use of herbs. By Susan Lavender and Anna Franklin, Capall Bann, 1996.

*Journey to Freedom, 13 quantum leaps for the soul. By Leslie Kenton, Thorsons, 1999.

De zetel van de ziel (widely available as The Seat of the Soul). By Gary Zukav, Kosmos, 1989.

*A Woman's Kabbalah, kabbalah for the 21st century. By Vivianne Crowley, Thorsons, 2000.

*Tree Wisdom, the definitive guide to the myth, folklore and healing powers of trees. By Jaqueline Memory Paterson, Thorsons, 1996.

Scottish Fairy Tales. Lomond Books, 1994.

The Gentle Arts of Natural Magic. By Marian Green, Thoth, 1997.

*Hedgewitch, a guide to solitary witchcraft. By Rae Beth, Hale, 1990.

Wicca, the old religion in the new millennium. By Vivianne Crowley, Thorsons, 1996.

*The Celtic Shaman, a practical guide. By John Matthews, Rider, 1991, 2001.

Hallowquest, tarot magic and the arthurian mysteries. By Caitlin and John Matthews, The Aquarian Press, 1990.

*A Witch Alone, thirteen moons to master natural magic. By Marian Green, Thorsons, 1991.

Highways of the Mind, the art and history of pathworking. By Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki, The Aquarian Press, 1997.

Je kunt je leven helen (widely available as You Can Heal Your Life). By Louise L. Hay, De Zaak, 1986.

Jungs psychologische typen in de praktijk. By dra. Karen M. Hamaker-Zondag, Symbolon, 2001.

One Day My Soul Just Opened Up. By Iyanla Vanzant, Simon & Schuster, 1998.

*Original Blessing. By Matthew Fox, Bear & Co., 1983.

Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs. By Scott Cunningham, Llewellyn, 1985.

*The Artist's Way, a course in discovering your creative self. By Julia Cameron, Pan, 1993.

*The Vein of Gold, a journey to your creative heart. By Julia Cameron, Pan, 1996.

Jung on Mythology. By Robert A. Segal, Routledge, 1998.

Learning the Tarot, a tarot book for beginners. By Joan Bunning, Samuel Weiser, 1998.

*I Sit Listening to the Wind, a woman's encounter within herself. By Judith Duerk, Innisfree press, 1993.

*Women Who Run With the Wolves. By Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Rider, 1992.

*Singing the Soul Back Home, shamanism in daily life. By Caitlin Matthews, Element books, 1995.

The Encyclopaedia of Celtic Wisdom, a Celtic Shaman's Sourcebook. By Caitlin and John Matthews, Rider, 2001.

*Simple Abundance, a daybook of comfort & joy. By Sarah Ban Breathnach, Bantam, 1995.

*Fearless Girls, Wise Women & Beloved Sisters, heroines in folktales from around the world. By Kathleen Ragan, Norton, 2000.

*De Keltische Erfenis, riten en symbolen in het volksgeloof. By Eddy Valgaerts and Luk Machiels, Stichting Mens en Kultuur, 1992.

The Gods of the Celts. By Miranda Green, Sutton Publishing, 1993.

*Classic Celtic Fairy Tales. By John Matthews, Blandford, 1999.