A Jungian lecturer and astrologer searches for the sacred in the commonplace on a Celtic pilgrimage to the Isle of Iona, in Scotland. "Iona," the Hebrew word for dove, became home to St. Columba, whose name in Latin means dove, in the year 563 on the Eve of the Pentecost -- the day of the ascent of the Holy Spirit in the Christian calendar, also symbolized by a dove. And so the narrative goes on, finding synchronicities of understanding at every turn.
I am now an old lady of 83 and have lived quite an unusual life. From the age of 5 to 25, I never lived in a home but grew up in hotels and boarding schools abroad, never more than 3 mos. in one place. By the time I was 15, I had been in over 30 countries, so the adventures of Teak in my THE BEEJUM BOOK are mostly autobiographical. By contrast, when I came back to the U.S. and married an artist and had 4 children, we never went out to dinner in 19 years! I taught children for 18 years and eventually, thanks to a lifetime of study, I went on to teach at Jung Institutes and to lecture worldwide on the value of seeing astrology as a symbolic language of archetypal processes and the individual chart as a unique description of how a person is likely to process experience and thus a helpful diagnostic tool as well as a guide to spiritual growth. Two of my books THE DOVE IN THE STONE and THE WEB IN THE SEA are devoted to the reemergence of feminine wisdom and are set on the Isle of Iona in the Scottish Hebrides.
The 8 books I offer have all been written since I was 60 years old which should encourage other late-bloomers! My second and beloved husband Walter Andersen gave me a computer and the encouragement! My books are all easy to read, as my mission in life, is to convey serious ideas as simply as possible with humor and delight.I am indebted to the wonderful teachers of all kinds, too numerous to mention here.
I am now a widow and live in an old house in a hamlet of 800 souls in the Berkshires of New England surrounded by beauty. As I had a stroke 8 years ago, I am handicapped and cannot use my right hand, but keep in touch with the world through a Jungian group on the Internet. I am helped by the proximity of one of my daughters and her husband. Am now the proud grandmother of 10 grandchildren and 2 1/2 great-grands. I live with a remarkable pussycat Bunky and am resigned to being eccentric but not yet cackling!
