We Borrow the Earth : An Intimate Portrait of the Gypsy Shamanic Tradition and Culture [Paperback]

Patrick Lee (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2000

Gypsies have long been a source of both fascinationa and fear.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Patrick Jasper Lee is a talented Chovihano or gypsy shaman. He is a regular speaker at the Mind Body Spirit Festival and runs a healing retreat centre in Devon called the Puris Foundation. He gives regular retreats and talks.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Thorsons; 1 edition (September 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0722539940
• ISBN-13: 978-0722539941
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #454,022 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Review from a Romany, October 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: We Borrow the Earth : An Intimate Portrait of the Gypsy Shamanic Tradition and Culture (Paperback)

I am a British-born Romany. It is incredibly rare to find a mainstream-published book about Romany life written by a Romany. I am not convinced of the wisdom of sharing such a large portion of a way of life that has been private for centuries with the gaujo world. But that reservation aside, if anyone is going write about us, it may as well be a real Rom rather than one from another race who will twist and misunderstand where we come from, our traditions and our way of life. For that reason, I recommend this book. If you want to know about us - ask US, don't listen to wannabes who think they know and know nothing. For this reason, this book is a good purchase...Romany on Romany.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Believe in the reality of your imagination!, November 7, 2000

By 

Chris (Hamden, CT USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: We Borrow the Earth : An Intimate Portrait of the Gypsy Shamanic Tradition and Culture (Paperback)

The Romani drom (path) calls individuals to believe in themselves and their imaginations. Not a book of initiations or techniques or an anthropological report of a tribe's practices, "We Borrow the Earth" vividly depicts key concepts and experiences in the development of an indigenous Romani Chovihano (shaman) as well as many examples from his students' own journeys to self-discovery. Through a gradual, grounded, earth-based process students of this path face challenges with the aid of fairy tale characters and structures familiar from childhood. Sleeping Beauty, Jack, ogres, castles - the characters and places which populate these journeys resonate with the ancient blood memory of those with Indo-European roots. Through these journeys, exercising our wits and senses, the students can find within what was always there - the courage, honesty, trust, and confidence to deal with the problems and opportunities in their everyday lives. We can learn to believe in ourselves again, as we did when we were children. If you read this book and if your heart is open, I believe you will find a magic key, an ancient memory. And you will find yourself longing to return to your 'wild,' natural and joyous self.

Writing and publishing this book required courage, honesty, and trust in the guidance of his Ancestors for Jasper Lee faced opposition and obstacles to sharing the Romani inner world. Having found the book even more enriching on a second reading, I thank him for facing these obstacles and not allowing his culture to be lost.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must-read for gypsy and shamanic interests, August 11, 2001

By 

Aisling D'Art "artist and author" (Portsmouth, NH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: We Borrow the Earth : An Intimate Portrait of the Gypsy Shamanic Tradition and Culture (Paperback)

Fascinating, warts-and-all first-person account of Gypsy life and traditions. His experiences are rich and his meditation suggestions make the Otherworld far more accessible than most books related to "magickal" studies. In this respect, it's a breakthrough book for shamanic explorations. However, even if you're simply interested in the context of Gypsy life, this can be a tremendously insightful book.