Peter Read is a Canberra based social scientist, and this is his third book that is devoted to the search for the existence and meaning of spirit forces in Australia. Peter interviews Australians from various spiritual backgrounds, from Witches to Buddhists, investigating their perspective of sacred space, and the circumstances in which ghosts make an appearance.
Peter wanders all over Australia, wandering around graveyards at midnight, visiting hospitals in NSW, and walking the CBD of Darwin which, he says, “holds many ghosts”.
I must admit that I was a bit bored by the book until I was about half way through, when the author began describing some of his meetings with Wiccans. He began this section by discussing the implications of having Buddhist and Hindu shrines in areas that were previously regarded as Aboriginal lands, and Peter artfully led this into the problems that witches have in imbuing their rituals with Southern Hemisphere relevance. The author had obviously done his homework regarding Wiccan practices, and spoke with some respected witches regarding their views on this subject.
The other redeeming feature of this book is some brief, distinctly Australian poems in the Japanese form of the haiku. They are exquisite examples of appreciating the moment – living with an acute awareness of the natural beauty that surrounds us.
“Mist-pockets, boulders, a magpie.
The glory of iron sheeting, rusty, corrugated.
Seen through the morning sunshine.”
“Walking all morning, Seeing nothing.
Sitting by the dam.
Hearing the wind.”
poetry by - Mark Elvin
This book explores the “inspirited” landscape that is Australia, interviewing those who were willing to talk about their “special” places. Peter Read writes about the “sacred” experiences of people from various cultures, and he details events such as the summoning of a Chinese ancestor spirit, an exorcism, and the appearance of restless ghosts from our indigenous past.
Author: Peter Read
Published by: UNSW Press
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