SEEING THINGS

This Magical Mystery Tour of the Berkeley scene in psychic phenomena and women's lib has a lot going for it--maybe too frenetically much. Painter's triad of heroines, Selena, Carrie and Luna (representing three generations of Woman) have a huge supporting cast of weirdos who are so appealingly drawn you almost don't mind bouncing after them through the time and space warps which comprise the narrative. Philomen, their spirit guide, provides an overview of these skittery events leading up to a so-called Psychic Reality Wedding at the local Grand Hotel and climaxing with the peaceful demise of earthmother Selena onto that astral plane toward her next incarnation. Only first the whole Intergalactic Cosmic Hookup has to defeat an ecological conspiracy headed up by Rumpelstiltskin (whose appearance in the desert is a very funny Castaneda put-on) to exterminate all womankind by turning her into fertilizer. Painter's cheerful nonsense exploits all the self-serious angles of these movements of the times, if not all her considerable talents, and the tricked-up, futuristic photo illustrations by Lloyd Patrick Baker are an entertaining plus. You'll enjoy.