This is a very interesting book. If you want to know more about auras, read "How to read & see the Human Aura" by Judith Collins. She's one of the few people in this world who trully knows a great deal about auras.

This book is one of the most detailed I've read on auras. It doesn't just say things in general about auras;she gives you in-depth energy analysis of individuals along with a painting of their aura. These descriptions can help you understand "details" you may be getting in reading an aura, but other books don't always address. Good book for intermediate/advanced readers.

This book is a theosophically based treatment of the fairies, which in this case means those members of the spirit kingdom generally associated with the processes of nature, and which are more evolved than the elementals, but lower on the chain of being than the angels. They are also the most like humans, and the most interested in our species of all the elementals. Van Gelder uses scientific methodology to describe this branch of the spirit world, in particular when she discusses the anatomy and composition of the fairy body, and in her taxonomy of the different species of fairy. As she says, there are more fairies than she can classify in this book, but her work will someday be the blueprint for a more thorough treatment of the group.

It was these sections which interested me the most: Van Gelder's descriptions of the different fairies show the evidence of a sort of evolutionary process akin to the development of various features in similar animals. Just as the desert fox has evolved long ears to radiate heat away from its body, while the arctic fox has shorter ears to reduce heat loss, so too have the fairies developed or been designed--the author does not make clear which--to fit into their environments. The wood and garden fairies are a case in point. In New England they are green-bodied with a tan face, matching the surrounding terrain; in Florida their scarlet and purple bodies blend in with the tropical vegetation, while in California they favor gold and pastels, in keeping with the pastoral shades common here. These patterns reflect beautifully the order of the universe.

Aside from a description of the basic fairy body, the book also includes chapters on the basic fairy groups, which include earth, garden, tree, mountain, water, fire, and air fairies. In each chapter Van Gelder gives a description of and outlines the activities of the various types of fairy, and connects them, if possible, with their counterparts in our folklore. This last point raises an interesting question: are the fairies that she describes actual beings, or are they merely her projections onto energy which flows throughout the world? I suspect it is the former, but she does not provide a definite answer. In any case, she explains how one can begin to see them (I have been inspired to attempt this recently, and have had already had some success!) and how important they are to our planet's survival.

This last point is the most important feature of this book. We are part of a huge organism which materialist science sees as an inanimate lump of clay; in fact the earth is the mother of us all, and we are in danger of destroying her, ourselves, and the rest of her children as well. The fairies wish us to preserve our connection with the earth; only by reestablishing contact with the spirit kingdom and keeping that awareness in our minds on a daily basis can we avoid that doom which awaits us if we do not take care of the earth. The future of our species and our home, and the home of all the other creatures on the planet, spiritual and material, are in danger, and this book, in its own way, can help lead us out of our present straits and back onto the right path. And how often is work of such import so much fun? By merely trying to see those nature spirits which are all around us, and seeing their games and the pleasure that they take in their work, we can make a change for the better for the entire planet! We can only hope that it is not too late to prevent the destruction of the entire ecosphere.

I bought this book (original version)in a New Age store over 10 years ago. I was searching for something I had lost many years ago. As a child, I played daily with garden fairies and tree sprites (I called them). I believe that Dora had a different name for them. I have always known that there are other worlds or dimensions that exist with ours. I believe that people are really capable of multi-dimensional sight over 3-D, but only a very few have crossed over to experience it. I no longer see fairies. I wish I still did. I know they are there.

Reading Dora's book gave me a wonderful feeling of knowing that there were others that feel the same way. She has explained this unexplainable world in such a talented manor. Her clarivoyance is a rare and beautiful gift. I would love to have known her and spent time with her.

For a long time, I've recommended this book, especially for those who believe fairies can be seen. The forward of my 1977 edition begins by saying "...the borderline between the 'transcendental world' and the concrete world is less definite and stable than you think. The term real world has no validity." It's an opener that gets your attention, and the rest of this excellent book does the same.

In her book, Van Gelder discusses the importance and fallibility of senses writing "...the desire to know sooner or later creates the necessary organs and instruments of knowledge." Through her animistic view, she sees fairies and writes of the clairvoyance that is needed to view them and the world in which they live. She acknowledges that part of the reason fairies are rarely seen is that few people try once they are grown up.

Van Gelder describes devas, elementals and angels, writing that while we live in a world of form, "...they live in a world of life." Her descriptions are clear and vivid as she describes a world in which everything is alive and expressed in rhythm.

She also gives insight into the world of plants and trees, water spirits, and the inter-relatedness of earth, sea and sky, which she maintains is watched over by a higher form, angels. As a person with clairvoyance, her descriptions of communication with angels are fascinating, saying that they give her "...a great number of mental pictures combined with feeling. There is only one difficulty in communicating with an angel. What he considers to be one idea to us is about twenty, and thus it takes a long time to digest what he expresses."

The most fascinating part of her book is her description of storm devas and the energetic work that takes place in an area as a storm grows. She describes a feeling that many of us perceive as the weather changes and clouds begin to build.

While at first glance, her ideas may seem strange and fantastical, it is easy to intuit the truth within her words.

I don't profess to see fairies, but I learned a lot from Van Gelder's brilliant depictions and much of it mirrors my intuitive beliefs. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in clairvoyance, communication with nature spirits, or angelic/devic hierarchies. Seeing is believing, but to paraphrase the author, believing is can be seeing as well.