Sacred Earth: The Spiritual Landscape of Native America »

Arthur Versluis is the editor-in-chief of Esoterica and the founding president of the Association for the Study of Esotericism. He is the author of numerous books, including Sacred Earth, Restoring Paradise, The New Inquisitions and The Secret History of Western Sexual Mysticism. He lives in Michigan where he is a professor of American Studies at Michigan State University.

This eye-opening journey through the terrain of Native American spirituality contrasts contemporary society's rejection of the sacred--and its arrogant belief in its own power to control the cosmos--with native traditions of reverence for the earth. The author reconstructs the archetypal and symbolic significance of indigenous rituals and sacred sites, placing Native American spirituality in the context of the world's great religions. The comparison illustrates the richness and universality of the native approach to the earth as a cherished being and reveals the poverty of our present-day attitudes toward the natural environment and its living creatures. This book is an urgent call to rediscover and become firmly grounded on the sacred earth again.

Arthur Versluis is Professor of American Thought and Language at Michigan State University and the author of many books, including Wisdom's Children: A Christian Esoteric Tradition, also published by SUNY Press. He is also the editor of the journal Esoterica.

Library Journal

Through discussion of how the religions of Native Americans compare to traditional religions, Versluis finds ground for a common spirituality. Necessary reading for a greater understanding of Native American spirituality.

Introduction

Part I. Foundations
1. Nature as Theophany
2. Wakan, Orenda, Manitou
3. Timelessness and Time
4. Totemic Revelations
5. Sacred Man and the Great Mystery

Part II. Spiritual Symbolism
Introduction
1. Inscriptions in Stone
2. The Great Horned Serpent
3. The Stone Man
4. The Great Lodge as Microcosmos
5. Initiation and Its Inversions

Part III. Spiritual Landscape
Introduction
1. Language of the Earth, Language of the Sky
2. Celestial Agriculture, Celestial Journey
3. Spiritual Landscape
4. Mountains and Fire, Winds and Waters
5. The Council Fire
6. The Songs of Solitude and Silence

Conclusion

Appendix Notes Bibliography Index