K.W.

Beautiful, excellent narration

Revisado: 09-21-23

Wonderful material as important and applicable today as when it was written. This material also resonates with me in that there are so many parallels between it and what the Eastern mystics have written and with my own indigenous perspective. The vocab is different but the message is the same — set the nonsense aside.

For anyone with a concern about the terminology, I recommend looking up the archaic definitions of words that seem odd or asking ChatGPT to explain certain passages/words. You get used to it so probably will only have to do that a bit in the beginning.

Narrator has perfect diction and reads with appropriate intonation that helps convey meaning. Contrary to another reviewer, I felt that his performance enhanced my experience of the material and I would happily listen again. I’ll also look for this narrator’s name on other books.

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Thought provoking, beautiful

Revisado: 09-21-23

Biblical scholarship, thoughtfulness, and the complexity of the human experience all beautifully explained. The professor gives the historical context, which makes the choices and ideas the writers made finally make sense. He also skillfully explains the nuances in such a way that includes every kind of listener so that a total non-believer and a devoted believer can both benefit and enjoy the listen. I think if someone somehow were to disagree with his lectures it would be more about dogmatic views rather than the material that’s actually in the Bible. He really sticks to what’s in there and even though I’ve read the whole thing twice through on my own when I was younger, now with some life experience and with his guidance, so much makes a lot more sense. And now I understand more about different Christian groups and about the history of the Jewish people from when the different books were written. This is a wonderful way to get through the whole Bible.

For some of it, I had the Bible open and would read sections as he was referring to them, but ultimately, I found it more rewarding and immersive just to listen.

As an aside, I found that many, but not all, of the things he talked about, like the meaning of Hebrew, Greek, or Aramaic words from the source materials are also noted in the extensively annotated Nabre Catholic Bible, so in a way that particular Bible is a great accompaniment to this series. I’m glad to have that Bible as a reference to jog my memory on the points he made.

I think this lecture series would be especially interesting for the thinking person who welcomes questioning their own understanding.

There’s so much beauty in this presentation that just his having done it the way he has feels as if it were an act of kindness on its own.

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Excellent and important

Revisado: 03-01-23

Regarding those reviewers who mentioned the cellular stuff, sometimes the material is pretty dense, which sometimes made me glaze over a bit, but you need it to understand the larger implications. Just keep listening as it could really inform you regarding health. I learned so much and I’m so happy I put in the time to listen all the way through. This is an excellent series and has already influenced my approach to and understanding of sleep. By the end of this course I truly understood that sleep is one of the most important things we do and now I emphasize this as a parent. I always made a point to encourage good sleep in my family but now I have lots of info to back it up as well as a much broader understanding. I loved listening to the instructor because I just liked his manner and voice. He seemed like a friendly guide in a maze of the mysterious. I wouldn’t recommend listening to this with kids around. Though most of it is fine for kids (though the science might be too deep for them sometimes), some of it is mature and some even frightening (and this would be especially so for a younger person without broader context and experience). The stuff I wouldn’t want to have kids listening to comes up here and there in the second half/last third, so the first lectures are fine. The more mature topics are fascinating though, but just be aware before hitting play in the car on the way to school if you’ve gotten far into the series.

I really liked the professor and as a former teacher, admire the way he structured and presented the content. He’s very skilled, knowledgeable, and a delight to listen to. If he gave lectures near me I’d totally be a groupie.

Another reviewer said the recording skipped. Mine never did, though I had that happen on other audible books, and I suspect that is due to app issues or possibly connectivity. After I turned off cellular data for Audible it never happened again. So I don’t think that had anything to do with this lecture series.

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Unbelievably important

Revisado: 08-22-22

This book made me love the people in my life more. By the end I was tearful. Please listen to this book. You’re not alone.

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So much excellent info

Revisado: 03-26-21

I finished this book in just a day and a half. The performance by the narrator is excellent (I'll look for more of her reading, for sure). This book gives so much context for Hekate in history as well as for current/contemporary study. I look forward to listening to it again. Whether your interests are purely historical or if you are a follower of Hekate, this book is required reading. Wow, I'm really impressed and grateful for the hard work that the everyone put into this. Thanks all.

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esto le resultó útil a 9 personas

This is the one

Revisado: 03-01-21

I think this version might have been put out in response to people not wanting an edited version and the publisher delivered.

Even though her work is criticized for culturally outdated content, the content that IS still relevant far outweighs the outmoded opinions. The outdated worldviews are jaw-dropping, but having the entire text available gives important context (thanks to the publisher for including everything). If a reader is a student of the occult, then seeing past these things should be magic circle 101.

In some other review (for the print edition, I think) someone said it was like sitting with their stuffy, but interesting aunt. We should remember however, that Fortune was groundbreaking at the time as a woman, an author, and an outspoken representative and critic of the occult world.

The reader is excellent, seeming to embody the author with her beautiful elocution. I'd love to listen to her read everything by Fortune — and really, anything else for that matter.

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esto le resultó útil a 11 personas

More Matthew Wood books please!

Revisado: 02-27-21

This review is for the audiobook (sometimes the reviews get all mixed up for differing formats).

This book is excellent. If you've ever wondered what Western Herbalism is in a deeper way, this is where you can find a serious answer. In so many books, Western Herbalism is presented as an amalgam of Ayurvedic, Chinese, with science slathered all over it, yet the foundational philosophies that underpin the system are never delved into (imo because they've been ignored because they aren't understood). Wood examines Western Herbalism on its own terms, without hand wavy gestures, restoring integrity to an ancient system. I come from an indigenous tradition and Wood is the only Western herbalist I've found who talks about plants the way we do.

The reader speaks a bit slowly for my tastes, but I am fine adjusting the speed. His intonation (kind of newscaster or an announcer, rather than like an herbalist) isn't quite my style either, but honestly, I'm just so grateful to have a serious book about herbalism on audio that the choice of narrator isn't a deal breaker. When you just search "herbalism" on audible there aren't many serious books available. Please give us every single Matthew Wood book unabridged on here. Please!!

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esto le resultó útil a 11 personas

In-depth, honest, eye-opening

Revisado: 09-02-20

This book needs to be required reading for anyone in alternative religions/spirituality while living within the Western mainstream. It focuses on contemporary Paganism with incredible historical context. I came to this as an indigenous person from a traditional path, so my experience is similar in some ways and different in others. I nodded at the times the author mentioned quotes or thoughts from native peoples. Now I can articulate why I feel a friendliness toward Paganism (before reading this, it was just a feeling) and why, at times, Paganism doesn't touch me the way my native tradition does. This book did help me understand where I might fit in all this as a native who feels very strongly about my native ways and to have more compassion for modern pagans, heathens, witches, druids, and other like-minded practitioners. <3

Also, I really liked the narrator. She was easy to listen to, has perfect diction (sign of a pro), has a natural rate of speech, and lovely intonation.

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esto le resultó útil a 10 personas

Excellent

Revisado: 07-15-20

Cunningham's the best and Paul Brion did such a perfect job. More of both please!

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esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

Perfect

Revisado: 09-14-18

Gaiman wrote and performed this piece perfectly. Usually, when someone who is known for their fiction writing takes up something like a mythology or cosmology, I brace myself for the impending bludgeoning of a deep and rich tradition with the writer's ego and agendas, but Gaiman has a better head on his shoulders than that and in keeping true to the material, shows a deep reverence for it. He was able to do the material justice, even honor it, while presenting an immediacy of experience.

It makes me, as a reader and listener, trust him and where he will lead the story, which is vital to the continuation of the story through time. Maybe in this way, through the integrity Gaiman maintains in the retelling of the Norse mythology, the stories will continue to hold a secure place in our collective conscious.

The other day, in a book my little boy brought home from his school library, there was a mention of Odin and the author had written some disparaging and untrue comments about him. I was stunned (how could any modern human being dislike Odin??). Let works like this one by Gaiman stand as a testimony to the real tradition so that misinformation can be shown for what it is. I immediately began playing this book in the car on the way to school so my kid would hear stories of the Odin I know. (You'll probably never see this, but thank you, Mr. Gaiman.)

So, go give this one a listen. Really.

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