WINDHORSE WOMAN: A Marriage of Spirit

Beverly Hills medicine woman Andrews is back, setting her sixth spiritual adventure in Nepal and Tibet. Aided yet again by the Cree Indian woman Agnes Whistling Elk, Andrews now goes after a sacred book, winning a spirit husband in the process. This time around, though, even Andrews seem tired by the shameless, high-altitude hokum. Hiding behind a sweeping disclaimer (""This book does not illustrate traditional shamanic traditions from Nepal and Tibet""), Andrews turns the gorgeous and tragic homeland of Tibetan Buddhism into a psychotherapy theme park. Journeying to Nepal with the ever-ready Agnes, Andrews discovers that she is to play a key role in a prophetic drama: She is to locate a sacred book called The Sacred Child, the text of a prehistoric matriarchal religion buried by the patriarchal traditions of Buddhism and the native shamanistic traditions that predate Buddhism. The key to her mission has something to do with a little soapstone carving of a mustang that Andrews carved in Canada; in Nepal, this ""windhorse"" symbolizes the strong, dark spirit husband who stalks Andrews on horseback, plucking her up into the saddle and carrying her off. Andrews swoons in his strong arms and they are married--but never mind. All the external stuff is but a dream. Her Nepalese teacher Ant rings Tibetan bells and mentions mandalas, but Andrews seems more attuned to western culture's increasingly popular 12-step programs. The purpose of Ani's and Agnes' existence, in fact, seems to be to show Andrews the addictive nature of Andrews' relationship with the evil sorcerer Red Dog, now deceased. Thanks to the cool visions and meditations that Ant provides, Andrews gels to a healthy space inside: 'If my identity would fringe off into yours and yours into mine, we would he in what we call a co-dependent relationship."" A jumbled, joyless little book that rips off Tibet's hard-earned and authentic spiritual reputation. As far as spiritual offerings go, this is flea-market level at best.