December 2007 / January 2008
Jan Morgan Wood

We are encouraged by many wisdom traditions to consider the effect that our life will have on the next seven generations. By the same token, the present situation we find ourselves in is the product of the actions and decisions of the seven generations of our predecessors. This dance of lives is shown here, with the ‘present’ person holding the central position between ancestors and descendants, at the ‘crossroads of time’.

We welcome Jan Morgan Wood to this issue of Inner Tapestry's, Holiday Issue "Walking In Grace". There are volumes to be said as to how this piece is the expression of our title this issue, but sitting silently and allowing in the feelings of actually walking in grace as this work depicts is all that is necessary. Jan has written about her work and this is what I would like to share with all of you.

"For me, life has always been an amazing dance, a journey towards beauty and wholeness. I have followed my soul path as an editor, a writer and primarily a shamanic painter and practitioner. I am blessed to live in a magical place, the Cych valley in West Wales, which is described in the ancient Welsh epic the Mabinogion as a place where the lands of men and faery meet. They still do, and this environment and my rocky hillside garden deeply nourishes my own soul and work. Many of my images come from magical experiences I have received from this land. My hope is that my work will tell others how incredible and beautiful this world of ours is, and to see it through wondering eyes, as if for the first time. I have never lost my own sense of wonder in this amazing planet home of ours, from the widest starfield to the tiniest details of a flower or stone."

"My prints and original paintings are often hung in spaces that are used for healing or meditation, and I am told that the images bring a sense of peace and connectedness that is nourishing to the soul. For this reason I like to call them ‘soul gardens’. At my online gallery you can visit these soul gardens, discover their stories, and maybe find stories of your own."

"When I begin a piece of work I never know quite what to expect. I put myself in the position of creative midwife to whatever colours and images are waiting to be born at that moment in the unseen Web of Creation. I leave the world of everyday reality and enter into an inner landscape that is a place of vision and great beauty. The images that recur in my work of trees, animals and landscapes may originate from everyday reality, or may record my experiences as I journey in the worlds beyond in meditation. I am often guided by my own wonderful spirit helpers who can be quite strict with me to be faithful to the experiences we share."

"I am sometimes commissioned to enter this dreaming state to find specific images to guide and bring harmony to individual clients or to enhance healing spaces and sanctuaries and I am always happy to discuss such work. Sketches for commissions can also be found on my website gallery I also guide individuals and groups in accessing this deep imaginative inner landscape and to build grounding practices to help keep our feet on the ground too! In today’s world our creativity is often in need of nourishment and repair, and we do this through simple earth ritual and reinforcing that we are each a beautiful, vital part in this magical world – we are all related."

For all queries and further information I can be contacted on 01239 682071 or via email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Online gallery: www.janmorganwood.com

For details of workshops and events please visit www.Earthstarcentre.com.