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Touch the Earth, Kiss the Sky: Allowing the Rational Mind to Welcome Magic & Spirituality
Discover a Powerful Integration of Science, Spirit & Magic Touch the Earth, Kiss the Sky is a fascinating blend of spiritual practice and cutting-edge science. Follow the eight Stations of the Sun through an astronomical year with "Touch the Earth" exercises designed to help ground your experience in nature as well as "Kiss the Sky" exercises that will help you get in contact with the Divine and your own inner sense of the sacred. Within these pages, you will explore a scientific account of consciousness and its relationship to magical practice, spiritual energy, and the subtle realms. Profound meditations and exercises lead you to a deeper sense of personal meaning and show you how to make magical changes in your life and the larger reality around you.
240 pages, Paperback
Published March 8, 2020
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54 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 10, 2020
This book tackles a timely and controversial topic with great tact, insight, and nuance. As witches and mages in the 21st century, we grapple both with our own spiritual development, and with the changing landscape of an often pseudo-rational postmodern society that typically rejects the very notion of magic.
We delight in human reason as much as anyone, but reconciling our own very real spiritual experiences with what science seems to tell us can be difficult. It’s a topic addressed in many “magic 101” books, but I think it deserves much more consideration. Diotima Mantineia’s book provides that, and is entirely devoted to this seeming paradox of postmodern magical life.
I was a bit skeptical when I saw that an early chapter focused on reconciling spirituality with modern scientific theories. It shouldn’t have surprised me; the very topic of the book mandates that science be addressed in this context.
It’s unfortunate, but I’m used to reading a lot of bad takes about quantum mechanics and the “Law of Attraction.” Diotima Mantineia’s dive into these topics was a breath of fresh air, though.
As a layperson, I can’t really critique her appeals to quantum physics, except to say that they’re the most nuanced and well-developed that I’ve seen in a spiritual book.
I was stunned at this author’s refreshingly down-to-earth (no pun intended) views on the “Law of Attraction.” She warns against its misapplication, but also notes that the actual order of the cosmos may well be several degrees more complex than any New-Age-prosperity-gospel might have you believe.
This segues quite naturally into a full discussion of spiritual bypassing and the traps of the love-and-light movement. She acknowledges that even people with the best of intentions can fall into toxic mindsets, and gives solid information on crawling out of them.
Did I mention the book is organized around the Wheel of the Year? The author begins with an overview of the Wheel and its origin, and then presents a lesson for each spoke. Each contains a “Touch the Earth” portion or exercise designed to ground to reader and put them in touch with physicality. The “Kiss the Sky” portions deal with the more ethereal side of things. They complete each other wonderfully.
All in all, I can’t help but give this excellent book five out of five stars! I’ve been glancing around for other books by the same author, and have not found any, but I hope Diotima Mantineia will continue writing. I know I’ll be in line to get anything new that she writes!
A fair bit of this book enriched some of the lessons I learned from Laura Tempest Zakroff’s Weave the Liminal. If you want my recommendation, I’d suggest reading this book alongside that one, because they complement each other in a magnificent way. You can kind of pair books together like wine and a good meal, I suppose.
I look forward to future books by Diotima Mantineia, and will likely read them voraciously.
We delight in human reason as much as anyone, but reconciling our own very real spiritual experiences with what science seems to tell us can be difficult. It’s a topic addressed in many “magic 101” books, but I think it deserves much more consideration. Diotima Mantineia’s book provides that, and is entirely devoted to this seeming paradox of postmodern magical life.
I was a bit skeptical when I saw that an early chapter focused on reconciling spirituality with modern scientific theories. It shouldn’t have surprised me; the very topic of the book mandates that science be addressed in this context.
It’s unfortunate, but I’m used to reading a lot of bad takes about quantum mechanics and the “Law of Attraction.” Diotima Mantineia’s dive into these topics was a breath of fresh air, though.
As a layperson, I can’t really critique her appeals to quantum physics, except to say that they’re the most nuanced and well-developed that I’ve seen in a spiritual book.
I was stunned at this author’s refreshingly down-to-earth (no pun intended) views on the “Law of Attraction.” She warns against its misapplication, but also notes that the actual order of the cosmos may well be several degrees more complex than any New-Age-prosperity-gospel might have you believe.
This segues quite naturally into a full discussion of spiritual bypassing and the traps of the love-and-light movement. She acknowledges that even people with the best of intentions can fall into toxic mindsets, and gives solid information on crawling out of them.
Did I mention the book is organized around the Wheel of the Year? The author begins with an overview of the Wheel and its origin, and then presents a lesson for each spoke. Each contains a “Touch the Earth” portion or exercise designed to ground to reader and put them in touch with physicality. The “Kiss the Sky” portions deal with the more ethereal side of things. They complete each other wonderfully.
All in all, I can’t help but give this excellent book five out of five stars! I’ve been glancing around for other books by the same author, and have not found any, but I hope Diotima Mantineia will continue writing. I know I’ll be in line to get anything new that she writes!
A fair bit of this book enriched some of the lessons I learned from Laura Tempest Zakroff’s Weave the Liminal. If you want my recommendation, I’d suggest reading this book alongside that one, because they complement each other in a magnificent way. You can kind of pair books together like wine and a good meal, I suppose.
I look forward to future books by Diotima Mantineia, and will likely read them voraciously.
February 10, 2020
This book really confused me and I ended up DNFing this one because it just didn't work for me at all. I wanted to love it but it just failed to pull me into it and explain things better.
Go Into This One Knowing: confusing
Go Into This One Knowing: confusing
February 25, 2020
Even if it's well written and there's food for thought my rational mind didn't appreciated it and it fell flat.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
December 23, 2021
I felt this was lame. Only read it because some guy was like "if you are agnostic this will rock your world." It's self actualization with your own ritual. *shrugs* it may be great for someone. I was disappointed
December 29, 2019
The author does bring up some nice points and things to do. But I did not connect that well with the writing - where others more likely would.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews