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Winds of Spirit: Ancient Wisdom Tools for Navigating Relationships, Health, and the Divine
Winner of the Nautilus Award, Body Mind Spirit President's Choice Award, Indies Finalist and the Readers' Choice Award
"This is truly one of the best books I have read. It is inspiring and unique."--Sandra Ingerman, author of Soul Retrieval, The Book of Ceremony, and Walking in Light
In Winds of Spirit, shamanic healer and podcaster Renee Baribeau shares the rich mythology and cultural significance of wind, while also presenting a powerful system to help you recognize and utilize the subtle energies in your life to heal yourself.
The Wind Work™ system relies on an ancient sacred technique used by farmers, shamans and sailors. It will show you how to navigate your personal path, providing insight into how to manage the wind patterns and shifting conditions affecting you. Winds of Spirit will teach you how to connect with your true inner self (your spiritual magnetic north), use your body as a compass, and never get lost. By working with the omnipresent winds in your life, you can restore harmony and balance, heal the body, and inspire creativity.
In the book, you will learn how to invoke wind deities--gods and goddesses from round the world--and the cardinal winds from the four quadrants of the sky, each of which relate to the inner landscape of your mind, emotions, body, and spirit. In Part Four, there are 28 ancient wind deities for you to choose from. Open to any page to gain a deeper understanding of how these energies might be influencing your thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Experiential practices include wind baths, wind walking, wind knots, and more!
"This is truly one of the best books I have read. It is inspiring and unique."--Sandra Ingerman, author of Soul Retrieval, The Book of Ceremony, and Walking in Light
In Winds of Spirit, shamanic healer and podcaster Renee Baribeau shares the rich mythology and cultural significance of wind, while also presenting a powerful system to help you recognize and utilize the subtle energies in your life to heal yourself.
The Wind Work™ system relies on an ancient sacred technique used by farmers, shamans and sailors. It will show you how to navigate your personal path, providing insight into how to manage the wind patterns and shifting conditions affecting you. Winds of Spirit will teach you how to connect with your true inner self (your spiritual magnetic north), use your body as a compass, and never get lost. By working with the omnipresent winds in your life, you can restore harmony and balance, heal the body, and inspire creativity.
In the book, you will learn how to invoke wind deities--gods and goddesses from round the world--and the cardinal winds from the four quadrants of the sky, each of which relate to the inner landscape of your mind, emotions, body, and spirit. In Part Four, there are 28 ancient wind deities for you to choose from. Open to any page to gain a deeper understanding of how these energies might be influencing your thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Experiential practices include wind baths, wind walking, wind knots, and more!
- GenresSpiritualitySelf Help
272 pages, Paperback
Published February 6, 2018
About the author
Renee Baribeau
2 books5 followersAward-winning Hay House author of Winds of Spirit: Ancient Wisdom Tools for Navigating Relationships, Health, and the Divine (Nautilus Gold Winner). Renee’s groundbreaking work bridges ancient wind wisdom with modern-day tools for personal and collective transformation.
She is the creator of the Wind Walker’s Wisdom Oracle, a 64-card deck and guidebook inspired by ancient wind spirits, designed to help individuals find clarity, purpose, and direction. Her upcoming book, A Pilgrim’s Guide to Walking Wisdom: 11:11 Insights, launches February 5, 2025, offering practical guidance for navigating life’s transitions with grace and courage.
Renee co-hosts the widely acclaimed podcast The Shamans Cave alongside Sandra Ingerman. Together, they share insightful rituals and tools to address humanity’s most pressing challenges, offering wisdom for personal growth and collective healing.
As an inspirational speaker and workshop leader, Renee has delivered transformative programs for organizations such as The Shift Network, Omega Institute, and C4 Addiction Conferences. She is also a sought-after voice in the fields of mental health and addiction recovery, drawing on her 11+ years of leadership experience with Montare Behavioral Health, Renewal Behavioral Health, and Foundations Recovery Network.
A dynamic Soul Coach and Entrepreneur, Renee empowers changemakers to navigate the winds of transformation with confidence. She is passionate about reintroducing Ritual and Ceremony as vital tools for finding balance and direction in our complex world.
She is the creator of the Wind Walker’s Wisdom Oracle, a 64-card deck and guidebook inspired by ancient wind spirits, designed to help individuals find clarity, purpose, and direction. Her upcoming book, A Pilgrim’s Guide to Walking Wisdom: 11:11 Insights, launches February 5, 2025, offering practical guidance for navigating life’s transitions with grace and courage.
Renee co-hosts the widely acclaimed podcast The Shamans Cave alongside Sandra Ingerman. Together, they share insightful rituals and tools to address humanity’s most pressing challenges, offering wisdom for personal growth and collective healing.
As an inspirational speaker and workshop leader, Renee has delivered transformative programs for organizations such as The Shift Network, Omega Institute, and C4 Addiction Conferences. She is also a sought-after voice in the fields of mental health and addiction recovery, drawing on her 11+ years of leadership experience with Montare Behavioral Health, Renewal Behavioral Health, and Foundations Recovery Network.
A dynamic Soul Coach and Entrepreneur, Renee empowers changemakers to navigate the winds of transformation with confidence. She is passionate about reintroducing Ritual and Ceremony as vital tools for finding balance and direction in our complex world.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 16, 2018
This is a wake-up book. For those of us looking to connect deeper into Nature, this book will literally open up a new path of awareness. After reading this, I cannot observe the wind in my same old ways. Baribeau cites ancient, historical, and tribal qualities of the wind, which were absolutely fascinating (folklore and myth, legend and anthropology). She takes it beyond, though, into the function of the wind performing at a personal level, and into the realm of “know thyself.” The wind connecting to the soul is the essence of this book—the wind’s time-space intersecting with our own breath. I had not thought of ‘wind consciousness’ but in many poetic and practical ways, it makes sense. We are bathed by the wind every time we step outside. If you consider what Baribeau points out in that ‘the wind is considered the breath of the Creator and uniting all living creatures on earth,’ the book is beautiful and stimulating. Certainly a comprehensive guide to connecting to Nature to find harmony and peace of mind and body. The wind is a teacher and a healer if you know how to feel it and read the signs. Becoming acquainted with the power of the wind is an extraordinary experience. Open a window!
May 18, 2018
-I received this book from Reader's Favorite. This is my honest review.
Winds of Spirit, by Renee Baribeau, is a guide about how to use the winds to help guide you to live a good, healthy life.
The book is separated into four parts. The Winds of Change is about becoming self-aware and how different types of wind can affect you and your surroundings. From What Direction is the Wind Blowing? talks about the four types of winds that affect us, and how they influence our everyday living. When the Wind Blows-Navigating Life describes a variety of techniques of how to influence the wind around you. The Inner Winds-Forces of Nature describes the deities associated with the wind, and the religious practices that are associated with them. Baribeau intertwines these parts with her own struggles, and shows how her experiences can help the reader as well.
I enjoyed the soothing tone I kept hearing whenever I read the book. The author was nonjudgemental in her beliefs, and had incorporated a variety of religions to support her perspectives on the wind. She explained just how the winds were connected to one another, and introduced a number of quotes I found rather enlightening. What’s more, when she started describing the cultural practices involved with the wind, I was ecstatic. I enjoyed the societal significance behind each of them.
The book offers a new perspective on emotional and physical healing. Baribeau incorporates a different alternative health belief that could introduce a good way of healing and finding guidance in everyday living. As such, I would give this book a rating of a 4.5 out of 5 stars, and would recommend it to those who enjoy learning about alternative healing and spiritual guidance.
Winds of Spirit, by Renee Baribeau, is a guide about how to use the winds to help guide you to live a good, healthy life.
The book is separated into four parts. The Winds of Change is about becoming self-aware and how different types of wind can affect you and your surroundings. From What Direction is the Wind Blowing? talks about the four types of winds that affect us, and how they influence our everyday living. When the Wind Blows-Navigating Life describes a variety of techniques of how to influence the wind around you. The Inner Winds-Forces of Nature describes the deities associated with the wind, and the religious practices that are associated with them. Baribeau intertwines these parts with her own struggles, and shows how her experiences can help the reader as well.
I enjoyed the soothing tone I kept hearing whenever I read the book. The author was nonjudgemental in her beliefs, and had incorporated a variety of religions to support her perspectives on the wind. She explained just how the winds were connected to one another, and introduced a number of quotes I found rather enlightening. What’s more, when she started describing the cultural practices involved with the wind, I was ecstatic. I enjoyed the societal significance behind each of them.
The book offers a new perspective on emotional and physical healing. Baribeau incorporates a different alternative health belief that could introduce a good way of healing and finding guidance in everyday living. As such, I would give this book a rating of a 4.5 out of 5 stars, and would recommend it to those who enjoy learning about alternative healing and spiritual guidance.
March 19, 2018
Winds of Spirit
Winds of Spirit: Ancient Wisdom Tools for Navigating Relationships, Health, and the Divine by Renee Baribeau is a guide that shows us how to use the powers of the cardinal winds as well as wind gods and goddesses in our lives to transform and improve our overall well being.
We learn about the wind from each of the four directions and how they impact our lives. We are taught to identify which wind we are currently working with and how to use it in our life. There is also a section on Wind God’s and Goddesses that you can open up to any page in that section and get guidance from that being. I really liked learning about the use of wind energies in different cultures as well.
I think this is a wonderful book on the power of wind energies in our lives.
I would like to thank the author for providing me with a review copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion of it.
Winds of Spirit: Ancient Wisdom Tools for Navigating Relationships, Health, and the Divine by Renee Baribeau is a guide that shows us how to use the powers of the cardinal winds as well as wind gods and goddesses in our lives to transform and improve our overall well being.
We learn about the wind from each of the four directions and how they impact our lives. We are taught to identify which wind we are currently working with and how to use it in our life. There is also a section on Wind God’s and Goddesses that you can open up to any page in that section and get guidance from that being. I really liked learning about the use of wind energies in different cultures as well.
I think this is a wonderful book on the power of wind energies in our lives.
I would like to thank the author for providing me with a review copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion of it.
December 7, 2019
It's a lifestyle thing. Not for everyone. If you've never used a wind whistle or worked with the energy of the wind (through shamanic culture), you won't get it.
I bought it for a reference use, as an older book I had (not this authors) was lost awhile ago and is not in reprint or available used anywhere. This is a good second choice.
I bought it for a reference use, as an older book I had (not this authors) was lost awhile ago and is not in reprint or available used anywhere. This is a good second choice.
May 20, 2021
This is a very powerful book, well researched and enjoyable to read. Using the book as a divination tool has been uncannily accurate. Highly recommended.
October 18, 2023
I must admit to being a weather witch prior to reading this book. I follow Renee and Sandra in their blog and first learned of this shamanic approach through that blog and other resources. Using the wind as part of my regular practice, I thought it would be a nice resource.
But this book goes so much farther than that. Yes, it has an AMAZING resource of the different wind spirits in the "back," that is well researched and written, easily accessed and fun to read. Useful too!
But it's the first half of the book, before the Wind Spirit roll call that got me hooked right away. Renee's writing speaks to me, and it was an easy read, like a conversation, instead of being lectured to. One of the things I love most about my experience with Shamanic Practice is the lack of "powerful egos" in those I meet and look to as mentors in some way. Renee's writing is also this accessible, and it makes learning and growing in my practice a welcoming and friendly place.
The narrative, instruction, education and exploration in this book is so worth it. I'm excited about developing deeper more meaningful relationships with the wind spirits.
But this book goes so much farther than that. Yes, it has an AMAZING resource of the different wind spirits in the "back," that is well researched and written, easily accessed and fun to read. Useful too!
But it's the first half of the book, before the Wind Spirit roll call that got me hooked right away. Renee's writing speaks to me, and it was an easy read, like a conversation, instead of being lectured to. One of the things I love most about my experience with Shamanic Practice is the lack of "powerful egos" in those I meet and look to as mentors in some way. Renee's writing is also this accessible, and it makes learning and growing in my practice a welcoming and friendly place.
The narrative, instruction, education and exploration in this book is so worth it. I'm excited about developing deeper more meaningful relationships with the wind spirits.
January 3, 2026
If you are looking for a book about the element of Air, consider Renee Baribeau's Winds of Spirit. This book delivers on its subtitle promise of "Ancient Wisdom tools for "Navigating Relationships, Health, and the Divine." While the topic of air & wind, at first seemed simple & straight forward, Baribeau's book showed that there is more to wind & air them most people with think. This four-part format is engaging & includes information on 29 Wind God and Goddesses. The author combines lore, years of experience, personal challenges and activities/"spells" to do to help the reader through life's challenges while describing the meaning of the directions Wind takes.
December 27, 2018
Note: I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
There are two main parts to this book. The first part describes the wind and how to harness it for spiritual growth. The second part describes wind gods/goddesses according to a multitude of cultures around the world. While the first part is certainly informative, I much preferred reading about the different cultures and how they see wind as a part of their lives and as a force of nature. I wouldn't mind learning more specifically how other cultures view the world in relation to nature.
There are two main parts to this book. The first part describes the wind and how to harness it for spiritual growth. The second part describes wind gods/goddesses according to a multitude of cultures around the world. While the first part is certainly informative, I much preferred reading about the different cultures and how they see wind as a part of their lives and as a force of nature. I wouldn't mind learning more specifically how other cultures view the world in relation to nature.
March 2, 2019
Winds of Spirit is a deep dive into the ancient wisdom of one of the most important creative elements of life— air. In Winds of Spirit, Baribeau introduces us to global teachings on the scared nature of wind and how to read the spiritual messages that come on the wind. This book awakens our awareness to heed the calls of the wind in our lives so we may know when to enjoy the breeze, tap the tailwinds, and when to take cover from crosswinds. A beautiful and insightful book connecting us with nature’s life force.
August 5, 2022
The only book I've found about wind spirits related to shamanism. Book places a great deal of focus on the four cardinal directions and the energy and life force that comes from each. Final third of te book offers an encylopaedia of wind spirits from around the world.
July 22, 2018
Different from what I expected. So I decided to stop reading after Chapter 1. In Chapter 1, there were lots of repetitions about the author's personal problems.
July 28, 2024
Good information
This is good information about all the wind deities and how to connect to them along with why you want to connect to them. Enjoy all the information.
This is good information about all the wind deities and how to connect to them along with why you want to connect to them. Enjoy all the information.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews