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Reviews
We’Moon ’09 Astrological Datebook
Mother Tongue Ink, $17.95
We’Moon ’09 Astrological Datebook is a daily calendar which provides insight into the cycles of the moon, sun, planets, and stars as they relate to Earth. Celebrating international women’s culture and earth-based spirituality, We’Moon’09 gives us the chance to record our daily activities right next to the lunar cycles, connecting us and bringing us into alignment with the natural rhythms of the earth, moon and stars.
The theme for 2009 is “At the Crossroads,” symbolizing the turning point that we are all facing at this time. The owl on the cover calmly peers back at you from the branch of a tree, urging you to ponder the direction you will take.
Now in its 28th year of publication, We’Moon ’09 is filled with poetry and art contributed by women from all over the world. Striking photographs and vibrant paintings enhance each page. It is an inspiration to see so many women stepping into their creative power. As I turn the pages, I feel a sense of connection to all women who identify with the feminine divine and are in tune with the earth.
We’Moon ‘09 is a full astrological guide containing a week-at-a-glance format, daily astrological aspects, moon phases and signs, astrological predictions for each sign, and complete planetary movements in 2009.
One of the things I like best about We’Moon is that it demonstrates a true commitment to the earth that sustains us all as a certified green business of Co-op America. Plus, all publications are printed on recycled paper with soy-based ink.
We’Moon ’09 is more than a datebook. It is way for us to understand ourselves and connect to our roots through natural cosmic cycles. It shows us that with all of our varying colors, shapes, sizes and points of view, we are all connected.
Check out the We’Moon Web at www.wemoon.ws. We’Moon ’09 Astrological Datebook, $17.95, published by Mother Tongue Ink. To order, e-mail weorder@wemoon.ws or call 877.693.6666. - EP
I’m a Medicine Woman, Too!
www.bearmedicineherbals.com, $18.50
I’m a Medicine Woman, Too! is a wonderful tale of personal empowerment for children ages three to 12, and is a special delight for adults as well. Author and illustrator Jesse Wolf Hardin is the founder of Animá nature-informed practice and has written seven books on the natural world, healing and spirituality. Charming color illustrations and informative text introduce readers to the worldwide tradition of herbal medicine and women healers, while tracing a young girl’s evolution from self-doubt to self-assurance. Over 50 species of commonly used medicinal plants are accurately portrayed, with many of them featured in the fun two-paged “Name the Herb” game at the end of the book.
Hardin’s daughter Rhiannon served as the inspiration and model for the book, as she first resisted believing she could ever be a Medicine Woman like the herbalists and healers she’d met. But then she realizes that she is already the decisive woman of power she has always wanted to be. “Whether you know it or not,” Hardin advises her, “you’re part of a long chain of women and girls throughout history, reaching out hand to hand from mothers to daughters and teachers to students, from the most ancient human tribes right up until our modern day times.”
Among the 35 color illustrations are 11 portraits of various Medicine Woman archetypes including an Apache with her grinding stones, a Hispanic curendara in her botanica shop, an Anglo herb chef and an Ozark gardener.
“You can feel their hands in yours,” writes Hardin. “They whisper sweet hints in the wind in the trees, in the yard or the shadowy far ends of a neighborhood park. They keep you company like faery friends helping you have wonderful dreams at night. These generations of Medicine Women want to teach you what you need. But even more importantly, they want to remind you of the strength and knowledge that you’ve already got.”
I only wish I would have gotten that message when I was young, as it might have kept me from spending so much of my life looking to the external for affirmation and satisfaction. So many of the problems we deal with as adults begin with feelings of unworthiness when we are kids. Hardin’s new book teaches us all to look to ourselves and to the natural world for healing and strength.
“The job of the Medicine Woman isn’t just to heal sickness,” Hardin concludes, “but to help make everything healthier and more beautiful. Each woman works in her own personal ways to both create and improve the world. Each follows her heart, knows her purpose, and answers her special calling. And each must be brave enough to live her wildest dreams, no matter how hard that ever seems.”
By the end of the book, his daughter agrees. “In that case, it must be true,” she says, “I’m a Medicine Woman, too!”