TITLE: Along the
Wheel of Time: Sacred Stories for Nature Lovers
RELEASE DATE:
June 25, 2016
AUTHOR: Rev.
Judith Laxer
KEYWORDS: nature,
magic, pagan, paganism, ceremony, seasons, earth/air/water/spirit, spiritual,
rituals, life cycle
CATEGORIES:
Magical Realism/Paganism
PAGE COUNT: 196
ISBN: 978-0692736340
IMPRINT: Gaia’s Essence
ONE LINER:
The various characters in this collection of magical
short stories demonstrate how the changing seasons are a spiritual model for
the soul.
SYNOPSIS:
A young woman follows her lover and finds her
spiritual calling in the Autumn realm of the dead; a first-time mother gives
birth on the Winter solstice; a daughter’s grief heals in a Spring garden; a
joyous ceremony of mature sexuality celebrates the peak of Summer: these
stories and more explore magickal realism in ordinary life. Following the Pagan
Wheel of the Year through the experience of the characters, this collection of
stories demonstrates how the changing of the seasons is a spiritual model for
the soul.
GUEST
POST:
My Writing Process:
It
used to be that I’d wait until I was inspired before I put pen to page, or rather
fingers to keyboard. And while the creations that emanated from those direct
inspirations left me heady and satisfied, I came to know that this was an
unreliable method. I needed to develop practices that would serve me as a
writer despite the finicky moods of the Muse. If I waited around until She decided
to visit, I’d find myself waiting around quite a bit and way too much.
The
good news is that I know what inspires me: nature-first and foremost-but also
beauty, certain types of music, demonstrations of kindness, humor, a clever
turn of phrase, visionary thinkers, strong women working to defy patriarchal
suppression. The bad news is that sometimes, often, I’d get lost in nature or
listening to music, or just spend time reading articles and interviews of those
whose words lifted my heart and soul. One
can love things fiercely but do so from afar. One can desire experiences but
not make time for them. One can dream of living an artists’ life, but not take
the necessary actions to manifest one.
My
former profession, before I became a Priestess and founded my ministry for the
Divine Feminine, was in the performing arts. I started out as a dancer and
singer in musicals. Dancing is a labor of love for sure, with the emphasis on
labor. No one becomes an expert dancer without the discipline it takes to put
hours of time into practice. Writing is no different. When I got serious about
writing, I began to apply the discipline I once knew as a dancer to this
endeavor. Every day, every day, even if just a little, get words on the page.
Correspondence doesn’t count. Journaling, lists of ideas, even just a sentence,
a part of a paragraph. Something. Anything. Daily.
I
was also lucky enough to be invited by a friend to join a writing group she was
starting. It met once a week. I found the structure immensely helpful, the
accountability instrumental, the comradery and support invaluable. We wrote
together, read and listened to one another’s work, provided feedback so we knew
how our words were landing, what made sense and what didn’t, when we hit our
marks and when we fell short.
But,
as all things must in time, change brought the end of our meetings, and my
writing production began to lag. I came to see that, although the writing life
is often solitary, connecting with colleagues was crucial for me to continue to
produce. So I started another writing group that didn’t really gel, and when it
ended, I started another. I didn’t give up because I know how important it is
to me to. I have learned so much from writing with other writers.
I
also study the craft of writing. I continually strive to improve my skill set.
I am lucky to live in Seattle where I can take advantage of the classes at Hugo
House, the writers’ collective and school. But I have also studied on line, and
have traveled a bit for writing intensives in other places. For a while there, all the classes I took
were on generating new material. In these classes, I also learned how to dive
deeper into the subject matter, become more honest, less afraid. How to take
one thought and develop it, one theme and expand on it, one idea and run with
it.
For
a while there, I felt a bit guilty that I was spending so much time on
something from which there was no guarantee of income. But then I realized that
the time I spend writing does not interfere with my paying work, and if I can
choose to spend my free time writing, then why not? My life is actually richer
because I do.
Because
being inspired is ideal, I make the effort to remain so, but I have something
to fall back on to get me going when inspiration is elusive. I might not always
write something worthy of printing, or even sharing with anyone at all, but
words no longer fail me.
AUTHOR BIO:
Rev. Judith Laxer is a
modern-day mystic who believes that humor, beauty and the wonders of nature
make life worth living. The founding Priestess of Gaia’s Temple, an inclusive,
earth-based ministry, Judith also enjoys a successful private practice as a
psychic, spiritual counselor, hypnotherapist, shamanic practitioner and teacher
of women’s mysteries. A keynote speaker and author of Along the Wheel of
Time: Sacred Stories for Nature Lovers, Judith has presented classes and
workshops on the re-emergence of the Divine Feminine since 1993 at conferences
nationally. She dedicates her work to restoring the balance between feminine
and masculine energy in our culture. www.judithlaxer.com, www.gaiastemple.org
AUTHOR LINKS: http://www.judithlaxer.com
http://www.judithlaxer.com/#!blog/cbhg
http://www.twitter.com/revjudithlaxer
https://www.facebook.com/judith.laxer?fref=ts&ref=br_tf
What they’re saying:
Along
the Wheel of Time: Sacred Stories for Nature Lovers beautifully illuminates the
heart of earth-based spiritual practice. Rev. Laxer, a contemporary Priestess,
weaves stories of modern life infused with the sacred and with ancient ways of
worship. I loved this book. -Shawna Carol, author of The Way of Song: A Guide to freeing the Voice and Sounding the Spirit
In
Along the Wheel of Time: Sacred Stories for Nature Lovers the personal and the
mythical intertwine, which is how sacred story should be. Page after page,
Judith Laxer pours out the mystery of time and being like a wondrous broth and on
it we dine. We are served nourishment through our seasons from her lips, from
her heart, and from the voices that move through her beyond the veils of time.
–Normandi Ellis, author of Awakening Osiris: the Egyptian Book of the Dead. www.normandiellis.com
Rev.
Judith Laxer’s Along the Wheel of Time: Sacred Stories for Nature Lovers seamlessly
melds the mythic journey of the seasonal holy days to sacred stories of diverse
human relationships. Through the mirror if Judith’s storytelling this unique
juxtaposition transforms the mundane to the sacred and the sacred mysteries
deepen. -Ruth Barrett, author of Women’s Rites, Women’s Mysteries, Intuitive
Ritual Creation. www.dancingtreemusic.com
Buy Links:
AMAZON US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HC4OEIA AMAZON UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01HC4OEIA
AMAZON CA: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01HC4OEIA
BARNES & NOBLE: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/along-the-wheel-of-time-rev-judith-laxer/1123953263;jsessionid=DD1A8CE26242A839A39FF219CF064AC0.prodny_store02-atgap10?ean=2940153239224
KOBO: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/along-the-wheel-of-time-sacred-stories-for-nature-lovers
GOOGLE PLAY: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Rev_Judith_Laxer_Along_the_Wheel_of_Time?id=WVtuDAAAQBAJ&hl=en
iBOOKS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1125895996
CREATESPACE: https://www.createspace.com/6332748
PAPERBACK: https://www.amazon.com/Along-Wheel-Time-Sacred-Stories/dp/0692736344/ref=sr_1_2_twi_pap_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1466920200&sr=8-2&keywords=along+the+wheel+of+time
A
reminder to the reader ~ before you leave be sure to take a look at the
Come
back and visit again.
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