"A glittering gem of a book!"—Sy Montgomery, author of The Soul of an Octopus

Following dragonflies into the territory between nature and the human mind.

Two decades ago, naturalist and environmental writer Brooke Williams had a powerful dream about a dragonfly, a dream that opened his world by leading to a steady stream of dragonfly encounters in his waking life.

Since then, he has deeply explored the fascinating biology and natural history of dragonflies and has made pilgrimages to see them (he now has 38 species on his life list), while also exploring their symbolic meaning and cross-cultural significance.

Encountering Dragonfly is his account—related through a series of odonate encounters—of being drawn into a different kind of relationship with the natural world. By opening himself to the personal and mytho-poetic meanings of the dragonfly and patiently seeking to understand these creatures, which is based on, but also goes beyond, naturalist observation, Brooke has come to believe in the importance of ‘re-enchantment.’

Throughout much of human history, we lived in an enchanted world where myth and magic, rituals, stories, and spirits shaped every aspect of our lives, defining the relationships between psyche, Earth, and the cosmos. This enchantment ended with the Enlightenment and modernity, when reason and scientific discovery dispelled magic, beginning a process of commodifying nature that has only intensified since then.

Brooke’s personal re-enchantment has required him to believe that material, biological reality is not the only reality; it recognizes symbols and archetypes as remnants of a different understanding, which may—as they always perhaps have—play a role in our long-term survival.

In many cultures, the dragonfly carries messages between the inner and outer worlds. For Brooke Williams, the message of the dragonfly is to ask questions about synchronicity, awe, the collective unconscious, and how to engage with a world that is increasingly out of balance. What are the implications of following a path toward greater enchantment? In a time when the stakes have never been higher, nor the political and biological urgencies of climate change and environmental degradation more pressing, can we afford to choose such a path? Or more importantly, can we afford not to?

Pages: 272, Dimensions: 13.9x13.9cm