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www.shamansociety.org 33 of his tradition to the people of North America. In the body of the work Oscar takes particular pains to explain the power and importance of ritual in setting our world right. He writes The ritual gesture of composing graceful ceremony is the way we re-member ourselves as an interde- pendent strand within the sacred web of life. This is the way we bring beauty into our hearts. It is how we open our hearts fully to love. He goes on to say that the practice of teaching love by the way we live is in fact the heart of the tradition he teaches. Miro-Quesada places great emphasis on awakening the Pachakuti Mesa the central fixture of his teachings and the an- cient altar of his ancestral teachers in Peru. By teaching the Pachakuti Mesa which he outlines in this book he introduces his students to a simple but powerful way of ordering the cosmos to live a life free of instincts and impulses that lead to chaotic conditions. He states that the ancient ones knew that nature informs purpose and they set up their altars and ceremonies to mirror the beauty of creation. Near the end of the book he describes exactly how to make a Pachakuti Mesa and how to activate it with prayers and visualizations. He then goes on to explain exactly how to use it and apply it for personal benefit or that of others. In addi- tion he explains how to make traditional Peruvian Despachos offerings explains the methods of offering and describes the building of the Apacheta Rock Cairn and explains how to use it. This provides a richness that prevents the book from be- ing too theoretical and instead makes the material more practical and useful. What I particularly liked about the book was his inclusion of a variety of simple but powerful shamanic exercises that can be practiced easily and I find do bear fruit. I enjoyed reading this concise book packed with shamanic wisdom from Peru yet easily understandable without an overwhelming amount of jargon. Miro- Quesado has a way of clearly presenting practical shamanic notions so that the ma- terial is easily digestible for almost anyone. we can do this by remembering the four Ss in a full seidr Song Staff Seat and Spirits. Finally to honor seidr it is important that we respect that the craft and songs are froei demanding skill and we must take our time to learn them well. It is worth it to make the effort to do our best with each seidr knowing that the steps we take today create the tradition of tomorrow. About thE Author Annette Hst based in Copenhagen Denmark has studied practiced and taught shamanism internationally for over two decades. Her 25 years of research and teaching of old Scandinavian shamanic traditions include lecturing on seir at the National Museum of Denmark. She is co-founder of Scandinavian Center for Shamanic Studies with Jonathan Horwitz. For more about her work on shamanism and other articles on seir see www.shamanism.dk. _______________________________ Left Annette Hst.