This week I’m joined by Isla MacLeod, author of ‘Rituals for Life: A guide to creating meaningful rituals inspired by nature’ which you can find in the OBOD store here
and see her website islamacleod.com

Wishing you all every blessing of the season: within the profound release of Samhain or the joyful blossoming of Beltane, may you find peace, deep connection and healing! /|\

I quote from ‘The Celtic Devotional’ by Caitlin Matthews, and mention she has a substack.

And I mention my latest book The Gift of the Night

And the latest OBOD-sponsored podcast episode of Adventures in Nutopia:

The book that I mention is Tarot for Grief  by Steve Hounsome

Buy a copy of Maria’s book here.

Today is World Mental Health Day, so I thought  I would share with you a resource. Many of you will know the wonderful Steve Hounsome for his work with OBOD, and you might also know he is a fabulously gifted Tarot Reader and author. I had the absolute pleasure of working with Steve on a couple of courses: Transformation Through Tarot and The Tarot Chakra Journey. Steve is also the creator of the Gamble-Hounsome Tarot ~ The Tarot of Gnosis. 

Tarot can be such a powerful tool for helping us to work through difficult events or periods of struggle in our lives and Steve has written a wonderful book –  Tarot for Grief – born of his own experiences with profound loss, sadness and illness. Following the sudden and tragic death of Steve’s eldest daughter, and his wife’s diagnosis with incurable lung cancer, Steve wanted to share his own personal diary of how Tarot played a vital part in his own grieving process, that it might offer insight into how Tarot can help each of us to navigate through personal losses. Steve explains,

Based on the widely-recognised five stages of Grief – Bargaining, Denial, Anger, Depression and Acceptance – the book shows you how to use the Tarot as a mentor to guide you through your Grief. Each card is explored in the context of Grief with suggested exercises for many.

Written with honesty, sensitivity and compassion, this book is a beautiful and poignant testiment to the human spirit and the therapeutic potential of Tarot, and 50% of the proceeds from this book will be donated to MIND, the charity working for better mental health.

You can buy Tarot for Grief here and it can be found in other online stores.

David Bramwell’s podcast exploring radical ideas and social movements is back with four hour-long documentaries. There are shamanic pop experiences, experiments on plants and guests such as the Eden Project’s Sir Tim Smit talking poetically about the climate crisis and power. An absorbing, thought-provoking listen.

Find series 1 & 2 on Spotify, apple podcasts, Youtube. Just search for Adventures in Nutopia!