welcome to wonderworks
At WonderWorks we offer tools, both ancient and modern, to help people deepen their view into their own hearts and illuminate their path in the world. We specialize in books about spirituality, creativity, holistic health, and death and dying. At WonderWorks you can also find out about bodywork and Buddhism, tarot and tantra, goddesses and gardens.
WonderWorks is a place where you can find ways to honour all of life's transitions. The Goddess is there in all her forms in our beautiful selection of jewelry statues and artifacts. You will also find journals, tarot cards, music, and a large selection of audio tapes. For those like us who are awed by the magnificent power of plants we have a large selection of Flower Essences.
upcoming events
Tarot Tuesdays 12 - 5pm Weekly with Monica Bodirsky
Tarot Guidelines here (.PDF)
Monica has over 20 years of Tarot reading experience, and is a fourth generation seer whose great-great grandmother provided healing and spiritual consultation. As an artist and a tarot reader, she understands the significance of balancing symbolism and archetypes with intuition. Monica assists her clients through life changes and decisions by helping them connect to the insights offered by the cards.
Rates per session: $40 for ½ hour, $60 for 45 min., $75 for 1 hour.
Walk-in, or pre-book an appointment with Monica: 416 784 9519 or monica.bodirsky@gmail.com
Juicy Fridays! Presents:
The Circle: Encouraging A Culture Of Heart
with James Wells, founder of Circle Ways - Friday November 27th
To sit in circle is to experience the convergence of ancestral council and cutting edge leadership. It is a way to build connection, harvest wisdom, and hold conversations that are progressive and that matter. This evening of circle will inspire you to gather with peers in personal, spiritual, and professional contexts.
All Juicy Fridays are free events presented by Wonderworks and guests, featuring an eclectic range of spiritually related topics and celebrations. Call or email Wonderworks to register. Juicy Fridays begin at 7.
Wonderworks New Bookclub 2nd Meeting - November 13th 6pm
The first meeting of our new bookclub on October 23rd was a smashing success!! We are happy to announce the second meeting as well as the next selected book to be discussed in January.
On Friday November 13th we will reconvene to discuss the second half of
The Passion of Mary Magdalen by Elizabeth Cunningham,
a very juicy tale of the Celtic Mary Magdalene, known as Maeve.
Our next book is the classic novel,
The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
- a magical re-telling of the King Arthur legend from the perspective of the women.
Join us Friday January 22nd 6pm. Contact Wonderworks to reserve copies of the book.
To RSVP, and to get an email with the list of the discussion questions we'll be covering, contact us at: wonderworksbookclub@gmail.com
Bookclub events are free and open to all.
Health News
Wonderworks is offering protection from seasonal flu and pandemic viruses with the help of Perelandra Flower Essence Remedies by Machaelle Small Wright. These preparations are taken orally as drops, once or twice daily as indicated.
We are stocking 1) Flu Season Balancing Solution 2) FSBS+, which is similar to the Flu Solution, but it addresses the body's balance in light of new pandemic flu viruses. We also carry the full series of MBP Solutions (Microbial Balancing Program) that are used to strengthen and support body systems including Immune, Lymphatic, Respiratory, Cardiovascular, Digestive & Nervous System. We also carry the Essence of Perelandra, their newest remedy for overall health and well-being.
Journals and Calendars
It's that time of year... We now have in stock We'Moon 2010 Datebooks and Wall Calendars, and are taking orders for the Maynard Astrological Guides including the Pocket Guide, Day book, and Wall Calendar. Please call or email to reserve your favourite calendar or agenda.
For the first time, Wonderworks is also carrying the much loved Moleskine series of Organizers and Journals. These classic, clean-designed organizers and notebooks are very well suited to both the creative and practical needs of contemporary life. www.moleskine.com
Fleishman Gallery
Opening Reception & Performance October 16th
Mi by Annie Onyi Cheung
Annie Onyi Cheung's work in time-based and three-dimensional media explores themes of memory, identity, shame and vulnerability, as well as generational and cultural difference. Her art manifests as combinations of performance, video and installation. This emerging artist is a recent graduate of Art History and Studio Art from the University of Toronto. The Fleishman Gallery is very pleased to present her first solo exhibition.
The exhibition, Mi, includes a wall-mounted paper grid which documents the calligraphy practice of elementary-level traditional Chinese vocabulary and family vernacular, examining each character's construction and pronunciation. The video component Untitled (She Me) is a continuous loop featuring a dream-like narrative. The subtitle, 'She-Me' refers both to the phonetic Chinese pronunciation of 'wash rice' as well as the self-reflective quality of the video's world of interiors.
The installation will also be accompanied by a third element, a performance piece to take place during the opening reception, featuring both the artist and her mother. The exhibition continues until November 20th, 2009. Please visit:
www.onyi-ajar.com
Call for submissions:
The Fleishman Gallery is currently accepting submissions from artists. Work selected may be in any media, including film/video installation, photography, performance art, and mixed media. The curatorial approach of the WonderWorks gallery will consider themes and issues around spirituality, personal exploration, identity, feminism, alternative practices and contemporary culture.
Download floorplan .pdf here.
Submission packages should be comprised of the following:
1. Artist CV and contact information
2. Artist statement relating to the proposed work to be shown *please tell us what your work is about and how it would be of relevance to WonderWorks - max 1 p.
3. One of the following formats of visual support material: a.10 slides b.CD or DVD c.sketch or photo of proposed work - max 3 pages
4. Return postage (SASE) if you would like your material returned to you.
5. Please do not send copies of press materials or catalogues – thank you.
Please mail or drop off your submission to:
Gallery Submissions – The Fleishman Gallery
79A Harbord St.
Toronto, ON, M5S 1G4
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fall newsletter '09 |
Upcoming Workshops
Ecstatic Trance Body Postures with Ingrid Cryns
Wednesday November 14th 6:30 - 9:30
An exploration of specific body postures that act as a biological door, or gateway to the Alternate Reality. Experience the science of Shamanism & ecstatic body feeling. While sitting or standing in a very specific posture, listening to a rattle shake in a steady manner for only 15 minutes, participants enter into a trance state. Learn from direct experience & raise your immune system.
By Donation +/-$25 For more detail visit: www.meetup.com/consciousness-195/
Contact Ingrid Cryns 416 656 4444 info@somaearth.com
'Losing It All...But In A Good Way' with Marina Ford and Irina Petrova
Saturday November 21st Aggression... 1 - 4pm
Welcome to a series of 3-hour experiential workshops about facing adversity in a courageous way and growing from it. What do you fear losing the most? House? Money? Reputation? Health? Relationship? How does this fear limit your life? This workshop will explore fear of loss, grief, acceptance, and making the most of new opportunities. Marina and Irina are Psychotherapists working with Gestalt. Upcoming themes are: Aging. Quitting. Conflict. (Winter 2010)
Registration per session: $75. Contact: 416 843 4963 or visit: www.inagoodway.ca
Learn to Dowse Accurately with Susan Collins
Tuesday November 24th 6:30-8:30pm
Dowsers detect, transform and balance many types of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual energy. This workshop will get you dowsing accurately with pendulums, L-rods, bobbers and your body. Wonderworks welcomes Susan Collins, a full time, professional dowser who teaches and practices internationally. She was President of the Canadian Society of Dowsers from 2003 - 2006 and Dowser of the Year in 2006.
Cost: Early bird registration $20. by November 20th via www.dowser.ca: At the door: $25.
Contact: Susan at 905 833 2440 susan@dowser.ca
Sound Healing Ceremony - presented by Vibrancy Inc.
Thursday, December 3rd 7:30 pm
Sound Healer David Jesse Kennet invites you to join him in experiencing a journey into the magical world of sound. David performs using his voice, crystal singing bowl, drum, Tibetan bowl and tingsha. David's background in singing stems from having his voice "opened" by philosopher and composer Kenneth G. Mills. Kenneth also studied with renowned sound healer Tom Kenyon (Songs of Magdalen CD).
For more information about David, please see http://www.vibrancy.ca/david_kennet.html
Donations will be gratefully accepted. Please RSVP by calling 416 850 4186 or info@vibrancy.ca
Intuition Development with Monica Bodirsky
Tuesday December 1st 6:30 - 8pm
Join Monica for an informal talk and mini-workshop about intuition and how to hone your sometimes neglected 6th sense. The discussion will include: mediumship, tarot readings, dreams, and, accessing and increasing your intuitive skills.
Registration: $20.
Please register early as space is limited.
Contact monica.bodirsky@gmail.com to reserve your spot.
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our feature in the toronto star! |
Working wonders
for women
Mar. 8, 2006
by DAPHNE GORDON
THE CONSTANT SHOPPER
THE ITEM: Canadian Forest Tree Essences
THE COST: $20 each
WHERE TO BUY:
WonderWorks bookstore
(79A Harbord St.). |
CARLO OSORIO/TORONTO STAR
Canadian Forest essences are made from such trees as silver maple and white pine, and are said to ease emotional challenges. |
It's International Women's Day and the Constant Shopper suggests a visit to the speciality bookshop WonderWorks as a means of celebrating all that is naturally and powerfully feminine.
I've long been a fan of this spiritual bookstore and meeting place on Harbord St. near Spadina. With a space in the back of the shop available for Goddess gatherings and healing seminars (see http://www.gowonderworks.com/workshops.html), the shop has become a resource on the subjects of creativity, spirituality and healing over the past 20 years, under the ownership of Mary Anderson.
Anderson recently sold the store to a new owner, and the Constant Shopper is excited about Rochelle Holt's plans for WonderWorks.
Holt, 40, will continue to stock the books, audio and video tools, and healing flower essences for which WonderWorks is known. But there will be some subtle and interesting changes.
With a degree in art history and a background as administrator in the local visual arts scene, Holt is poised to renovate the workshop space into an art gallery, and will show work that addresses ideas of spirituality.
It's a subject that has long been avoided in the art world, says Holt, who previously worked at A-Space, an artist-run centre that focuses on experimental work, and Leo Kamen gallery, a successful commercial gallery. She has always been attracted to works that examine the role of women and spirituality in the wider culture.
"In the '70s and '80s you had a huge outpouring of Goddess imagery. It was very important and very political. But we're moving to a more conceptual, challenging imagery around spirituality," she says, pointing to the first exhibition at the WonderWorks gallery, a video installation by local artist Deanna Bowen (http://www.deannabowen.ca) called (truth)seer, as an example of such challenging work. The show opens this summer.
Holt is also a practising Wiccan and she plans to expand the shop's selection of books, tools and accessories devoted to the pagan religion. Despite its ancient roots, Wicca is relevant to the lives of modern women, she says.
"It's an earth-based religion, and reverence for the earth is hugely important for us as humans, to understand that the earth is part of us and we are part of the earth," she says, explaining that environmental activism is a natural extension of Wiccan beliefs.
To fill the shelves with modern spiritual tools for pagan practitioners, Holt is planning a road trip, with a fellow Wiccan friend of hers, to Salem, Mass. The area is a pilgrimage for Wiccans, particularly at the spring equinox, and the shopping is said to be wicked. There, Holt will source modern Tarot cards, challices and swords — necessary tools for performing ancient pagan rituals.
The store has always been a resource for books and tools related to natural healing methods. Expanding on that focus, Holt plans to invite a Shiatsu practitioner to work at the store. And she wants to create an online shopping site devoted to flower essences, aiming to serve rural and suburban customers who can't buy the healing tinctures close to home.
She's also added a unique line of essences made from trees native to our forests. Formulated in Quebec, Canadian Forest Tree Essences are said to have a healing effect on the body, emotions and psyche. (For more info, see http://www.essences.ca.)
Holt's goal is to bring spirituality and contemporary culture together, she says, noting that WonderWorks customers aren't all new age hippies. Alternative practices have gone mainstream.
"You've got corporate types meditating and using flower essences and going back into a big meeting," she says. "We're really waking up to the body and waking up to the spirit. People are becoming aware of the need to integrate all of these levels of experience."
IN THE NEIGHBHOURHOOD: The strip of Harbord St. between Spadina and Bathurst is a shopping hot spot for women who love books. Visit the Toronto Women's Bookstore (73 Harbord St.) for a wide range of estro-charged books both fiction and non, Caversham Bookseller (98 Harbord St.) for self-help and psychology resources, Atticus Books (84 Harbord St.) for scholarly finds about anthropology, art history, philosophy and religion, and Good For Her (175 Harbord St.) for erotica.
Daphne Gordon's Constant Shopper column appears every Saturday in the Shopping section and Monday to Friday online at http://www.thestar.com/constantshopper. |
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