I realised I stopped recommending books to read a while back. My reading became so off piste that it wasn’t worth the risk recommending something that turned out not to be for someone’s taste.
But in studying with Thomas Moore, this week, I’ve learned that the god behind such things as book recommendations is in fact Hermes, who we also know is the guide of souls, and indeed messenger (and friend) of all the other deities.
So I noticed that in not recommending books, I have been ignoring the true force behind these intentions, Hermes himself.
In the spirit of welcoming this fleet footed god back into my life, and because in any event it’s an absolute slam dunk of a book recommendation, I wholeheartedly ask you to pick up a copy of Thomas’s new book The Cure at Walden Pond, everything about it is beautiful, and so very readable, you might even meet Hermes along the way.
I’ve been reading a chapter (three pages or so) each morning, and it’s my new daily ritual.
Here’s a short excerpt from the chapter “the civilised apple tree”, which speaks to the important distinction between soul and spirit, a subject I’m increasingly curious about.
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Carl Jung posted an alchemical image in one of his books showing a stag with a branching rack and a unicon with a single straight horn. The deer represents the lower, multifaceted soul, he said, and the unicorn is the focused, more militant spirit. I feel that way about the apple tree: It conjures up the soul, while the tall oaks clearly evoke the spirit.
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