The Sacred Biodiversity Oracle

“These magnificent images—particularly the remarkable icons of endangered species—help us look at what we’re doing to the world in a new frame. Which is exactly what we need art to be doing right now.” * Bill McKibben, climate activist, Schumann Distinguished Scholar, Middlebury College *“In her remarkable animal portraits, Angela Manno has found a way to combine exactitude with meaning in the faces of her subjects, no less than if they were in Nature’s studio looking out to the friendly observer.” * Edward O. Wilson, eminent conservation biologist, Research Professor Emeritus, Harvard University, a *“Angela Manno’s recovery of the classical mystical tradition through icon painting combined with themes of ecology and the cosmos is a profoundly creative and spiritual interpretation of our present situation. Her images of the Earth from space encompass the present and project us into the future.” * Ewert Cousins, world-renowned theologian and pioneer in inter-religious dialogue *“I was almost struck speechless by the beauty of Angela Manno’s icons of endangered species. What she has done is remarkable. Presenting these exquisite beings in their rightful dignity gives a spiritual power to the contemplation of their fate.” * Joanna Macy, author A Wild Love for the World *“’Everything that lives is holy,’ said the poet William Blake. But it can take a lifetime to feel, understand, and explore the profound depth of that realization. Fortunately, Angela Manno is willing to meet us on the trail or help us start that journey. These cards are deeply spiritual, just a touch mystical, and yet grounded in a factual scientific understanding of the sacred miracle of life on this living world.” * Carl Safina, PhD, ecologist and author of Beyond Words and more *“Angela Manno has created a visual chorus to the magnificent species with whom we share this planet. Her icons sing of the intelligence and complexity of these creatures. May this awaken us to a new hymn of praise and protection for the Living Earth Community.” * Mary Evelyn Tucker, coauthor of the Journey of the Universe film and book *“Looking at these beautiful cards that remind us of the sacred beings we share the earth with, one is moved to sadness and grief on the one hand, but hopefully to action on the other, to slow down the holocaust of creatures now taking place on Earth… This moving book wakes us to the future of beauty — or its absence — on our ailing Earth. Are we watching and listening? Do we still have the eyes and heart to respond? What price can be put on the loss of the sacred?.” * Rev. Dr. Matthew Fox *“Angela Manno’s brilliant artworks confront the tragedy of the Anthropocene and provide humankind with a contemplative tool. Her iconography responds to the spiritual wound of mass extinction by returning vulnerable plants and animals to where they rightfully belong as beings we must protect and venerate as teachers, neighbors and kin.” * Kierán Suckling, Executive Director, Center for Biological Diversity *“Angela Manno’s wonderful Sacred Biodiversity Oracle is a luminous bridge between reverence and action: icon-like portraits that let each being look back at us until kinship wakes. The guidebook’s sacred seeing turns information into relationship, then into vows. Importantly, each card in the deck includes QR codes that link to conservation organizations actively protecting the featured species, facilitating the shift from awareness to concerted environmental action.” * John Seed, deep ecologist *“Sacred Biodiversity Oracle upholds one of Dr. Jane Goodall’s strongest beliefs: Every species has a role to play, and every species is essential in the great tapestry of life. Angela Manno uses her masterful artistry to uplift so many essential species, from the charismatic to the quirky, and let their true beauty shine.” * Anna Rathmann, Executive Director, Jane Goodall Institute USA *

Angela Manno trained with a master iconographer from Russia and studied at the San Francisco Art Institute, Parsons School of Design, and l’Ecole des Arts in Lacoste, France, through Sarah Lawrence College. Her work has been exhibited in private and public collections around the world, including NASA, the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, and the National Museum of Women in the Arts. She works with the Center for Biological Diversity on its endangered species programs and lives in New York City.