January Book Review: Spirit Stones by Dianne Ebertt Beeaff

When I received the book “Spirit Stones Unraveling the Megalithic Mysteries of Western Europe’s Prehistoric Moments” I must admit I immediately opened it to the middle to look at the awe-inspiring pictures.  I had anticipated a daunting experience of reading an analytical study of stone mythology.  Dianne Ebertt Beeaff caught me completely by surprise with her weaving tale. 

Plate 2  The eight-foot monolith
inside Callanish Stone Circle
Page 137

While there are analytical theories presented, the pages of this book are alive.  One is carried through a shamanic journey into the tapestry that is our ancient culture.  Yet, even the journey is only part of the tapestry.

“The great gift of life, therefore, is to be lived in the present.  To live in the moment is to live in eternity.  As it was for the Old Norse, it’s our journey that’s important, not our destination.  We can all celebrate the present, both the grand moments and the small.”  The journey back in time is presented in a contemporary application of teaching the stepping stones for present living.  Dianne has unraveled the mysteries of the past in a captivating and enlightening artistry. 

It is difficult to draw an accurate canvas in a few words of what can be discovered within the pages of this brilliantly written look at our ancestors other than to share a few sentences which can be found in the introduction, “We are each the product of a boundless past.  Stone monuments, as part of that past, can renew our sense of the mystery and wonder of life, of the great gift of being and the continuity of the human spirit.  There’s no shortage of books on either megalithic prehistory or spiritual growth.  What we celebrate in this book is their connection.”  I will add it is not only the connection that can be discovered, but the truth that all things being connected are within each of us.  The discoveries to be found are cross cultural, without boundaries, and reveal to our ancestors there was no distinguishing labels between the spirit world and the secular world.  It was one.

The shamanic waters look back into Neolithic and Bronze ages, the stones, the spiritual sacred connection, and how we may honor our ancestor’s by applying their wisdom and knowledge that still holds as truths today.   Though I have never visited the sites of these symbolic structures, through the words and artistry painted by Dianne, one is transported to walk the circles for themselves.  Dianne shares the aspects of geomancy - why circles and squares were used to create sacred space - to sacred beliefs in burial and birth into the skies and why it is relevant to life today - to discovery of the what may be the first dome structures expressing the female Earth Mother principle.

Whatever your journey, the threads woven by Dianne will enchant and draw a myriad of canvases as you dive into the shamanic waters found in “Spirit Stones”.    This is a book that everyone who is seeking, expanding, and exploring will want to read.  It is also one I will return to over and over again. 

Dianne Ebertt Beeaff

A native of Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, Dianne Ebertt Beeaff has traveled the world extensively and combines a lifelong love of history with a quest for present-day understanding. An acclaimed artist and writer, Dianne has authored two works of nonfiction—Homecoming and A Grand Madness, Ten Years on the Road with U2. Her award-winning first novel, Power’s Garden, was published in 2009; her poetry, watercolors, graphite sketches and magazine articles have been featured for decades throughout the United States and Canada.  For more information on Dianne and the book "Spirit Stones" visit 

www.spiritstonesbook.com.

Disclosure:  I was given a complementary copy of this book for review purposes.