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Return of the Soul Doctor: The 2nd Ashington Casebook, from the diaries of Dr. Jack Rivers
Ash and Jack return for the second of the Soul Doctor series. The second of the Soul Doctor books sees the return of Ash and another set of case histories recorded by his assistant Jack Rivers, involving mysterious psychic disturbances and soul sicknesses unsolvable by ordinary medical means. Set against the background of their residential nursing home on the South Downs, many stories play the unwary visitor to sacred sites who falls into a dangerous trance, the overshadowing of a young artist who paints like a Renaissance master, the deadly haunting of an army camp, the Jacobean play with a reputation worse than that of Macbeth, the man still being stalked by a prisoner put away for life, and the young woman trying to return from a life of abuse. Ash and Jack delve deeper into the human psyche, reaching into the timeless zones to bring healing to shattered lives. This time they face dangers that require them to seek sanctuary themselves. 'Problems often cannot be healed this side of the worlds, because we need to go beyond time and place into eternity and space to find the solutions.'
- GenresFiction
298 pages, Paperback
Published July 22, 2020
About the author
Caitlín Matthews
142 books202 followersCaitlín Matthews is a writer, singer and teacher whose ground-breaking work has introduced many to the riches of our western spiritual heritage.
She is acknowledged as a world authority on Celtic Wisdom, the Western Mysteries and the ancestral traditions of Britain and Europe. She is the author of over 50 books including Sophia: Goddess of Wisdom, a study of Divine Feminine in Gnostic, Jewish and Christian thought and King Arthur’s Raid on the Underworld, a new translation and study of the Welsh poet Taliesin’s extraordinary poem, itself a major cross-roads of British mythology.
Caitlín was trained in the esoteric mystery traditions through the schools founded by Dion Fortune, Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki and Gareth Knight. Her shamanic vocation emerged early in her ability to sing between the worlds and to embody spirits. She has worked in many of the western traditions with companions upon the path including R.J.Stewart. Like him, she teaches the many strands of the ancestral European traditions. She specializes in teaching traditional European spirit-consultation oracles where the diviner draws directly upon the spirits of nature for answers and in the use of the voice to sound the unseen. Caitlín has been instrumental in revealing the ancestral heritage of the Western traditions through practical exploration of the mysteries as well as through scholarly research. Her teachings are couched in a firm historical and linguistic framework, with respect to the original context of the teachings, but never loses sight of the living traditions of these teachings which can be explored through direct application to their spiritual sources.
Trained as an actress, Caitlín is in demand as a storyteller and singer. She appears frequently on international radio and television, and was the song-writer and Pictish language originator for the Jerry Bruckheimer film King Arthur. With John Matthews, her partner, who was historical consultant on the film, she shared in the 2004 BAFTA award given to Film Education for the best educational CD Rom: this project introduced school-children to the life and times of King Arthur. She and John are both concerned with the oral nature of storytelling and its ability to communicate the myth at a much deeper level than of the commercial booktrade. This is apparent in their forthcoming project, The Story Box. For Caitlín, her books are merely the tip of a much bigger oral iceberg which is her teaching.
With her partner, John Matthews, and with Felicity Wombwell , she is co-founder of The Foundation for Inspirational and Oracular Studies, which is dedicated to the sacred arts that are not written down. Their FíOS shamanic training programme teaches students the healing arts as well as hosting masterclasses with exemplars of living sacred traditions. Caitlín has a shamanic practice in Oxford dedicated to addressing soul sickness and ancestral fragmentation, as well as helping clients find vocational and spiritual direction. Her soul-singing and embodiment uniquely bring the ancient healing traditions to everyday life.
Caitlín’s other books include Singing the Soul Back Home, Mabon and the Guardians of Celtic Britain, The Psychic Protection Handbook, and Celtic Devotional. She is co-author, with John Matthews, of the Encyclopedia of Celtic Wisdom and Encyclopaedia of Celtic Myth and Legend. Her books have been translated into more than nineteen languages from Brazil to Japan.
The author lives in Oxford with her husband and son in a kind of book-cave or library, whichever you will. They share their home with a white cat and a black cat.
She is acknowledged as a world authority on Celtic Wisdom, the Western Mysteries and the ancestral traditions of Britain and Europe. She is the author of over 50 books including Sophia: Goddess of Wisdom, a study of Divine Feminine in Gnostic, Jewish and Christian thought and King Arthur’s Raid on the Underworld, a new translation and study of the Welsh poet Taliesin’s extraordinary poem, itself a major cross-roads of British mythology.
Caitlín was trained in the esoteric mystery traditions through the schools founded by Dion Fortune, Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki and Gareth Knight. Her shamanic vocation emerged early in her ability to sing between the worlds and to embody spirits. She has worked in many of the western traditions with companions upon the path including R.J.Stewart. Like him, she teaches the many strands of the ancestral European traditions. She specializes in teaching traditional European spirit-consultation oracles where the diviner draws directly upon the spirits of nature for answers and in the use of the voice to sound the unseen. Caitlín has been instrumental in revealing the ancestral heritage of the Western traditions through practical exploration of the mysteries as well as through scholarly research. Her teachings are couched in a firm historical and linguistic framework, with respect to the original context of the teachings, but never loses sight of the living traditions of these teachings which can be explored through direct application to their spiritual sources.
Trained as an actress, Caitlín is in demand as a storyteller and singer. She appears frequently on international radio and television, and was the song-writer and Pictish language originator for the Jerry Bruckheimer film King Arthur. With John Matthews, her partner, who was historical consultant on the film, she shared in the 2004 BAFTA award given to Film Education for the best educational CD Rom: this project introduced school-children to the life and times of King Arthur. She and John are both concerned with the oral nature of storytelling and its ability to communicate the myth at a much deeper level than of the commercial booktrade. This is apparent in their forthcoming project, The Story Box. For Caitlín, her books are merely the tip of a much bigger oral iceberg which is her teaching.
With her partner, John Matthews, and with Felicity Wombwell , she is co-founder of The Foundation for Inspirational and Oracular Studies, which is dedicated to the sacred arts that are not written down. Their FíOS shamanic training programme teaches students the healing arts as well as hosting masterclasses with exemplars of living sacred traditions. Caitlín has a shamanic practice in Oxford dedicated to addressing soul sickness and ancestral fragmentation, as well as helping clients find vocational and spiritual direction. Her soul-singing and embodiment uniquely bring the ancient healing traditions to everyday life.
Caitlín’s other books include Singing the Soul Back Home, Mabon and the Guardians of Celtic Britain, The Psychic Protection Handbook, and Celtic Devotional. She is co-author, with John Matthews, of the Encyclopedia of Celtic Wisdom and Encyclopaedia of Celtic Myth and Legend. Her books have been translated into more than nineteen languages from Brazil to Japan.
The author lives in Oxford with her husband and son in a kind of book-cave or library, whichever you will. They share their home with a white cat and a black cat.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 25, 2020
“Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.”
Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
What seems improbable to others, a world just beyond this one, is the world where Dr. Jack Rivers and Psychologist/Healer Richard Ashington find the answers to cases there seems no answers to. Often putting their careers and personal safety in jeopardy, they combine intuition, logic, and knowledgeable mysticism to aid their clients. Balancing the record keeping necessary in this world, with the very real answers found in others, is difficult. The Beacon (residence/clinic) finds its future in question.
Return of the Soul Doctor is Caitlin Matthews’ second book in this series. I do believe you can read it first, as each case is written separately, but I wouldn’t. The growth of relationships between the characters, and the growth of each character’s experience and beliefs, is an important part of this story as a whole.
Yes, it is reminiscent of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes and Watson diaries, which is what drew me in. But once inside The Soul Doctor’s world, I discovered a difference. Respect, patience, and a slower pace are possible there. Ash shares his successes, holds his temper with others, feels no need to compete, and doesn’t prove his intelligence by belittling. It is the difference between knowledge and wisdom. It is what has drawn me most to these books. I often feel calmer after reading a case, as if the rituals, prayers, and suggestions were reaching out from the pages towards me. It will absorb you in the best of ways.
If you are curious, interested in psychic vampires, shadowing, life beyond this one, and so much more...you’ll want to read these cases. But remember, journeys into the soul can be dark, be prepared and know that Jack and Ash will be waiting to help.
Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
What seems improbable to others, a world just beyond this one, is the world where Dr. Jack Rivers and Psychologist/Healer Richard Ashington find the answers to cases there seems no answers to. Often putting their careers and personal safety in jeopardy, they combine intuition, logic, and knowledgeable mysticism to aid their clients. Balancing the record keeping necessary in this world, with the very real answers found in others, is difficult. The Beacon (residence/clinic) finds its future in question.
Return of the Soul Doctor is Caitlin Matthews’ second book in this series. I do believe you can read it first, as each case is written separately, but I wouldn’t. The growth of relationships between the characters, and the growth of each character’s experience and beliefs, is an important part of this story as a whole.
Yes, it is reminiscent of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes and Watson diaries, which is what drew me in. But once inside The Soul Doctor’s world, I discovered a difference. Respect, patience, and a slower pace are possible there. Ash shares his successes, holds his temper with others, feels no need to compete, and doesn’t prove his intelligence by belittling. It is the difference between knowledge and wisdom. It is what has drawn me most to these books. I often feel calmer after reading a case, as if the rituals, prayers, and suggestions were reaching out from the pages towards me. It will absorb you in the best of ways.
If you are curious, interested in psychic vampires, shadowing, life beyond this one, and so much more...you’ll want to read these cases. But remember, journeys into the soul can be dark, be prepared and know that Jack and Ash will be waiting to help.
August 17, 2026
Another excellent series of stories in the style of the Doctor Taverner stories of Dion Fortune. Ten all new stories, with one a special tribute to one of Fortune's. Don't worry, nobody gets left for the morning coal delivery here.
Book is well made, but it has a slightly blurry cover image (which might of course be an artistic "style" choice I suppose). However the paper is of very good quality, pages cut evenly, and binding solid, sometimes worries for smaller presses, and overall it feels nice and solid in the hands. There are a few continuity or other issues that another careful editorial pass might have sussed out that presented momentary distractions from an otherwise absorbing read.
Book is well made, but it has a slightly blurry cover image (which might of course be an artistic "style" choice I suppose). However the paper is of very good quality, pages cut evenly, and binding solid, sometimes worries for smaller presses, and overall it feels nice and solid in the hands. There are a few continuity or other issues that another careful editorial pass might have sussed out that presented momentary distractions from an otherwise absorbing read.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews