The Goddess Celebrates

An illustrated seasonal celebration of goddesses "The Goddess Book is a joyful celebration of perennial goddess wisdom that nourishes, expands, and inspires.” —HeatherAsh Amara, author of Warrior Goddess Training This is a book of mediations that celebrate the divine feminine. It is an exploration of representations of the goddess throughout history. Here are heroines, queens, witches, healers, proud princesses, courageous daughters, and cranky crones. Organized by the four seasons, author Nancy Blair groups these goddesses according to the seasons in which their energies are most potent. These meditations and affirmations challenge readers to: Awaken the divine feminine Join the seasonal circle of goddesses Create meaningful, simple, heart-nourishing rituals Let the goddess inform daily life Create the life you want Here is a book of earth-based spirituality, informed by perennial goddess wisdom. The words and the stunning art of artist Thaila Took create a sacred space that will nourish women around the world. From Aphrodite, Brigit, Hekate, and Lilith to Baba Yaga, Kuan Yin, Oshun, and Sekmet this is a treasury to let the goddesses empower and inspire you. "Every woman needs this book on her bedside table. An active and animated must-read.”—Emma Mildon, bestselling author of The Soul Searcher’s Handbook and Evolution of Goddess

A collection of writings on ritual by women who are reclaiming Goddess centered spirituality - Z Budapest, Starhawk, Carol Christ, Uzuri Amini, Shekhinah Mountainwater, Penina Adelman, Jeannine Parvati Baker, Claudia L'Amoreaux, Marion Weinstein, Norma Joyce, Jay Goldspinner, Antiga & Caridwyn Aleva. ..".this collection will be greatly appreciated by women looking for guidance in making their own rituals and will stimulate discussion among the growing number of readers interested women's spirituality." - Booklist "Rituals and commentaries sure to spur others to join the fun and profundity of Goddess religion." - WATERwheel "This is an enjoyable and insightful collection full of information and creative ideas useful to anyone working with rituals." - Elisa Robyn, editor Owl Feather Diane Stein is author of All Women Are Healers: A Comprehensive Guide to Natural Healing, Casting the Circle: A Women's Book of Ritual, Essential Reiki: A Complete Guide to an Ancient Healing Art and several other books. She also recently released a children's story entitled Rachida Finds Magic: A Girl's World Tale. She is a strong voice in the women's spirituality and health movement.

Celebrating Seasons of the Goddess restores the original vision of celebrating cultural and natural landmarks from the perspective of Goddess feminist activism. By taking such categories as time, seasons, nature and the female divine as a point of departure, this book brings modern minds out of patriarchal holiday conventions and invites the reader to join the sobering chorus, led by our 35 authors-writers, researchers, poets, artists, ritualists, photographers and activists from around the world. At an individual level, this book presents a wide range of thealogical expressions in 88 chapters that are self-transcending and metamorphic. Its Goddess Spirituality, which may be called Engaged Goddess Spirituality, is characterized by the impetus to derail the cultural and spiritual paradigm of patriarchal religions. In other words, this book, fueled by the commitment to feminist social change, undertakes the task of undercutting the main nerve of patriarchal advancements that peril the terrestrial community at an ever-magnifying scale. However, Celebrating Seasons of the Goddess does not stop there. Summoning the time/space of the Primordial Mother, HERE/NOW, it re-channels seemingly isolated spiritual practices of the world to the consciousness of WE in S/HE. In short, it is a multi-faceted practical book that accompanies one's process of awakening and commitment to Engaged Goddess Spirituality. This book aims at the following: Discovering and owning Nature's female rhythms Personalizing cosmic time Riding Earth's seasons Countering foreground patriarchal propagandas Politicizing female experiences as salvific Commemorating Goddesses and gynocentric cultures Befriending non-human members of the terrestrial community Supporting Indigenous struggles Exploring nature-based lifestyles Engaging spirituality with feminist activism Awakening the deep memory of WE Cultivating the primordial consciousness of the Creatrix Section titles are: Section One: Time, Nature and the Goddess Section Two: The Chorus in Poetry, Art and Ritual Section Three: The Wheel of Seasons Section Four: A New Beginning, Winter Solstice Sections One, Three, and Four follow thematic categories, while Section Two is a collection of such genres as poetry, prose, art, and photography, which therefore stands as an autonomous booklet that contains the themes of the other three sections. Readers may opt to read this book perennially (Section One, Two, and Three) and seasonally (Section Four for Winter Solstice).

Explores the contemporary nature and the diverse narratives, rituals, and performances of the Navar?tri festival. Nine Nights of the Goddess explores the festival of Navarātri—alternatively called Navarātra, Mahānavamī, Durgā Pūjā, Dasarā, and/or Dassain—which lasts for nine nights and ends with a celebration called Vijayadaśamī, or "the tenth (day) of victory." Celebrated in both massive public venues and in small, private domestic spaces, Navarātri is one of the most important and ubiquitous festivals in South Asia and wherever South Asians have settled. These festivals share many elements, including the goddess, royal power, the killing of demons, and the worship of young girls and married women, but their interpretation and performance vary widely. This interdisciplinary collection of essays investigates Navarātri in its many manifestations and across historical periods, including celebrations in West Bengal, Odisha, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and Nepal. Collectively, the essays consider the role of the festival's contextual specificity and continental ubiquity as a central component for understanding South Asian religious life, as well as how it shapes and is shaped by political patronage, economic development, and social status.

For centuries tales of the goddess's creativity, strength, and suffering have sprung forth from every civilization and corner of the world. Editor Jalaja Bonheim, Ph.D., has compiled a unique and culturally diverse anthology of goddess-related literature and art. This elegant volume is created with a non-partisan perspective to appeal to a general audience. 120 full-color illus. 20 bandw illus.

To give her family and friends a deep experience of earth-based spirituality, Jane Meredith holds eight rituals per year, celebrating the solstices, equinoxes, and cross-quarter festivals. 'Rituals of Celebration' provides accounts of the most memorable rituals she's organised, as well as how-to instructions for creating the rituals.