Pagan Portals - Pathworking through Poetry: Pagan Pathworking through Poetry: Exploring, Knowing, Understanding and Dancing with the Wisdom the Bards Hid in Plain View

by Fiona Tinker

Poetry talks to the heart as well as the head. It can move us, make us think and guide us. This book explores how poetry can help develop a Pathworking through exploring wisdom hidden in plain view. It is a look at creative processes, inspirations, how nature and the Divine move us – and how to apply this on a personal level to Pagan Pathworking.

Genres: Poetry

89 pages, Paperback

First published December 7, 2012

About the author

Fiona Tinker was born in and grew up in Scotland. Life later took her through three countries, where she met many interesting people on the way.

She taught English at Secondary School level in both Scotland and England for the majority of her working life.

Fiona served as Depute Presiding Officer for the Scottish Pagan Federation for two terms. She was also an SPF Legal Celebrant and the SPF’s Education Officer.

Now retired, Fiona lives in the North of Scotland and is enjoying reconnecting with her early Pagan roots and teachings.

Reviews

[David Salisbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fiona Tinker's book Pagan Portals: Pathworking Through Poetry is one of the most unique works I've read in quite awhile. As someone who reads a great number of Pagans books on a constant basis, I found it very refreshing to read something like this - something that has truly not been done before.

Tinker's book focuses on the work of three poets who found their home in the British Isles: MacLeod, Yeats, and O'Sullivan - all early contemporary Pagans of centuries past who found their place in the world through their moving spiritual poetry. Tinker guides us through some of their poems that we can use as a guide for deeper connection via the tool of pathworking - the ability to traverse the inner realms.

Through this book, I found myself intrigued by classical poetry in ways I never have before. The ways in which Tinker weaves the work into the goal of deeper self-knowledge and spiritual revelation is revolutionary. I recommend this book to anyone who wishes to ignite the flames of the poet within. This is a book for all those who wish to look to the great creative works of the past in the hope for greater connection to the present self.

[Dorothy Abrams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I especially liked the premise of this book. William Butler Yeats was one of my favorite poets in my undergrad studies. I enjoy reading interpretive lit. crit. and of course this book included meditations and spirit contacts with the fey. What a treat! I am teaching a series of classes to beginners about Wicca/Witchcraft. In setting their own goals for their learning 2 or 3 said they wished more information about Celtic paths. Aha! I will encourage them to buy this book.

[Kenneth · Rating 3 out of 5]

So much of a books rating is expectation. What did I expect and did the book deliver. There are a lot of ways that expectations can not be met that aren't the fault of the book. For some reason I thought this would be about writing poetry rather than reading. Not totally sold on the pathworking side of it, that felt underdone. Not a bad book, probably deserves another star, but not what I wanted it to be.

[JHM · Rating 3 out of 5]

The idea of using spiritually-inspired poetry -- in this case, poems by Irish and Scottish authors -- as an entry-point for pathworking is a good one, but I didn't find this book particularly helpful. The poems illustrated beliefs about the Celtic deities, but the pathworkings themselves were not as closely related to the poems as I expected them to be.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely short book about poetry as magic, particularly with Scottish and Irish poetry as examples.