Endorsements
“Rowena has combined all the major cosmologies from human history into a coherent model of Being, embracing current understanding from physical and biological science within the deep mystical traditions of the world’s religions. Her artistic vision reveals the harmonies: in light and color, sound and music; unfolding the sacred geometry formed by the fundamental forces of the universe.” —Bernard O. Williams, Ph.D.
President, International Society for the Study of Subtle Energies and Energy Medicine
President, The Center for Environmental Energy Medicine Studies, Lawrence, Kansas
Professor, Holos University Graduate Seminary, Fairgrove, Missouri
Professor and Dean of Graduate Studies, Energy Medicine University, Sausalito, California
"I wasn’t able to devote the kind of concentration ROBES OF LIGHT deserves, but just enough to see and say that it is an astonishing piece of work. The paintings are spectacular. Your text combines erudition with real spirituality - without ever descending into the airy-fairy...no mean feat! You are right that it’s not how I’d treat the subject but that’s fine. There’d be no need for you to do it if that’s how I’d do it!"
—John Anthony West, author of Serpent in the Sky and other works
"Visionary Genius you are! I exclaimed years ago, to my friend Rowena Pattee Kryder as I read her horoscope. During Gaia Matrix Oracle intensives she guides people in visualizations of all the symbols and archetypes of this multidimensional system, her "Magnum Opus," a cornucopia of esoteric wisdom. Cosmic Voices (three audio cassettes) is a result."
—Robert Aiken, astrologer, Vancouver, B.C., from North Shore News, March 31, 1996
"I find that Rowena’s entire life has been given over to this process of transition, we are passing through, in a way that no one else has undertaken." —Roberta Schumaker-Beal, art therapist
"Rowena has choasen the hardest path time and time again, which she says in the easiest. What shows in her eyes isn't strain, stress or sorrow. One sees there a radiant joy and fervor for life. The archetypal roles are the divine guide posts for us all when we seek to know ourselves. We are in the process of realizing new archetypes relevant to new culture. We are the generation that is being gifted with the extraordinary visions and voices to fulfill a destiny that has been waiting to be fulfilled for centuries. Rowena is one of the people who grounds visions and voices for those of us who choose the true path no matter how hard it may seem. She does so daily as she walks her forests, paints her paintings and writes her books."
—Ron Starwolf, THE LIFE OF A VISIONARY, Halo and TANTRA Magazine, 1991, 1995
"As we approach,the millennium, and the environment sends up warning signals like ozone layer depletion and melting polar ice caps in response to years of abuse and neglect by humankind, Rowena Pattee Kryder sees a way for us to restore the natural balance to our planet and ourselves by following our intrinsic, inherent inner knowing as a guide.
"Having seen a new life program or path, she writes: take action to embody and live your vision. Engage your whole self. Take heart. Have courage. You can be who you really are."
—FROM SACRED GROUND TO SACRED SPACE by Karen Potter Morrione, Georgia Newspaper, 1995
"The home is a monumental testament to the awesome creativity of Rowena Pattee Kryder. Splendorously adorned with panoramic, symbolic mosaics which she created, the white stucco, unorthodox home in Montecito which she designed and built is approached by a narrow gravel portal appropriately inscribed "Cave-of-Dawning.
"Primarily sefl-taught, Rowena is a life-time artist, sometime teacher, published poet, musician and filmmaker. As a designder and builder, she resurrected her magnificent dwelling from the ruins on the former Avery Brundage estate, which burned in the 1964 Coyote fire.
"Wearing a simple, long golden shift, a necklace of beads and purple suede sandal boot, Rowena lead the way along brick paths that lace the gardens containing plots of delicate flowers, a round empty pool, a towering stone fountain, tree stump benches and a mosaic Grotto, a symbolic creation which Rowena exlplains furses precepts from the major religions."
—Mary Every in PEOPLE: Rowena Pattee Kryder's Life Mosaic of Creativity in Santa Barnara News Press, March, 1979
"In parallel with the new technology, a new paradigm, or ecology, is also emerging: an ecology based on global information. Rowena Pattee Kryder made several insightful observations on the information age:
"With the realization that electronic technologies are criss-crossing the globe, we have the potential to each stand and express the truth that lies within us and to be heard. Technology aloneis not enough, however. We need the depth of wisdom and caring that makes our expression integral and coherent with the whole of life. . ."
—Steven MaFadden, The Wisdom Conservancy, 1994
"Rowena Pattee Kryder, mystic shaman, learned scholar, visinary artist, as well as courageous leader/way shower through our collective birthing, has willingly allowed her creative fires to lead her through the labyrinth. Enriched by her own process of self discovery and artistic expression, she deeply honors our collective connection to one another, the planet and all life.
"Rowena has been a self declared "nature mystic" since childhood. . .drawing tremedous energy and nourishment from her interactive experiences with nature, art, and the divine source that she's also deeply accessed via meditation. Her life expereinces have been rich, varied and permeated by immense courage to make conscious the deep inner wealth expereinced at the subconscious and super conscious levels. She has walked her talk, manifesting outwardly the vast variety of subttle energies she identifies via her inwardy journey."
—ART FOCUS: Rowena Pattee Kryder - Visionary Catalyst for our Evolving Spirit by Gayla Reiter, Insight, Napa, California
"Today, large, ambitious gardens map the ground. Gleaming red tiles and clean white walls replace the crumbling walls, Rowena Pattee Kryder, an artist-cinematographer and new owner of the property, has renovated the entire estate, turning it into a personal art statement. And an unconventional art piece at that! Kryder christened the new place "the Cave-of-Dawning." She plans that the estate serve as a gathering place for seminars on art, spirituality and creativity in general.
"I doubt Avery Brundage would feel as uneasy with Kryder's renovation as some of her former neighbours. Brundage professed an affinity for Eastern aesthetics, and he extensively collected Eastern art objects and religious statues and icons. Even the San Francisco Asian Museum which inheriated Brundage's treasures, can only show a third of his collection at one time.
"The Cave-of-Dawning seems eaqually crammed with art. In only two years, Kryder has produced six symbolic mosaic murals. Some over 100 feet long present the sensibilities and symbols of astrology and the ancient philosophies of Greece, Egypt and India..
"Art dominates the interior of the house as well. The rooms are literally awash with hundreds of Kryder's drawings, paintings, canvasses and sumie-ink paintings.
"According to Kryder, behind myths of the world are basic universal laws and philosophies that run constant throughout different cultures. Based on mathematical patterns, she wants to develop her system to a point where she can help people discover the harmony and order which is inherent within our universe. We shoul discover these cosmic laws rather than try to impose our own laws upon nature."
—Dan Gheno, ART, Santa Barbara City News, 1977
"Rowena Pattee Kryder's 42 acres are reached by a gravel road rising into the Eddy range. Her dwelling is a California version of the outback monastary: ornate and spiritually eclectic. Its 12 intricately patterned sides were inspired chiefly by the zodiac. There's no bedroom: Kryder sleeps by the Heart of the Sun Temple, an altar constructed largely of rose quartz to manifest the essence of the heart.
"A sturdy, plum-cheeked woman, she is a New Age priestess of sorts, as well as a doctor of religious studies. Her role in this life, she says, is teacher and visionary. What she teaches is the path to what she envisions: the Celestial Earth.
"She performs rituals in the shamanic guise of the Egret Woman. She leads retreats to accelerate spiritual growth under the aegis of her Creative Harmonics Institute. She writes books such as Sacred Ground to Sacred Space.
"Kryder moved to Shasta seven years ago, after creating a temple in Point Reyes and teaching sacred art and world mythology in San Francisco at the California Institute of Integral Studies."
—San Francisco Chronicle, 1995
"Over the years past Rowena Pattee Kryder has proven to be one of the finest minds and artists depicting the spiritual traditions of humankind. I have known her for all these years and she has always continued to amaze me with her deep insights and powerful mystical artwork. In Robes of Light she explains with profound vision the meaning of the ancient Egyptian nine bodies of light sometimes referred to as the nine souls. Indeed Rowena sheds considerable light upon the spiritual light of ancient times. This book is a wonder and belongs with the great books of spiritual teaching such as the works of Manley P. Hall."
—Fred Alan Wolf, Ph.D., author of many books including, The Yoga of Time Travel and the audio CD Dr. Quantum presents: User's Guide to Your Universe.
"Rowena Kryder is provocative, original, and under-recognized major asset to contemporary culture. That's because as artist, filmmaker, architectural designer, mother, PH.D. scholar, college professor, mythographer, author, shaman, Zen Buddhist, and visionary, Rowena is a maker of culture. For Rowena, culture is made—and changed—from that bold imagining of possibilities brought forth into the world from the solitude of vision. Not only is she a first-rate visionary, but as a practising artist, she's brought her insight from the spirit worlds right into the practical world, planting them as original seeds of a new global culture. Even more imopressive, she's modest and uninterested in being another American savant-celebrity."
—Richard Leviton, author, a section of a reprint from Yoga Journal, October, 1991