Inspiring, and a great beginningJanuary 4, 2008 This was the first book I ever bought about witchcraft or paganism. Because of this, it will always hold an extremely special place in my heart and my bookshelf. It is one of those books that makes you want to be a more spiritual person, work harder, and throw off your chains. When I feel myself flagging, this is the book I pick up. Her exercises are excellent for those who have no starting point, because they are not too complicated and they work on developing very essential skills that will be used later, like visualization. Her slant is definitely on the feminist side. However, I would not say that she devalues men. By going for equality in this way, it can be seen as hating men. If you are a man and are planning to get this book, be forewarned. She does not give the same treatment to the God as she does to the Goddess. If you read her notes in the back, she does explain why she didn't, and she helps the situation somewhat. Just be prepared for that. It is called the "Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Goddess" for a reason. Her sample invocations are beautiful, and very different. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants an inspirational, wonderful read.
A must read for every Wicaan!November 29, 2007 I put off reading this book because although I heard about how important and influencial it was for Neo-Paganism, there were many complaints about rampant sexism and politics. I wish I had ignored the negitive reviews and read this book much sooner. It was so beautiful and it really inspired me! I can understand how this book started so many covens and brought so many people to the Goddess. Read this book, and read the updated footnotes. Yes, some of her history has been proven untrue, but she owns up to it in the updated edition. If you are a Pagan of any tradition, this is a must read book!!
Poor Historical Text, But Positive FeminismNovember 4, 2007 I honestly wish that people would lay off this book. Is it the perfect, mystical poem of a text that so many believe it to be? No, but for young pagans today (especially young female ones), this goes a long way towards creating a positive view of themselves, the environment, hearing the call of divinity within, and becoming active in shaping the world in which they live for the better. Do young girls really need this? Absolutely. While boys have role models in sports, business, medicine, etc.; girls are told again and again that their only value is how they look and how many men they can wrap around their fingers. They need to feel the power of the Goddess within, to know that their value exists outside of how anyone else perceives them as being. Young boys need this as well, and I hope that a good male pagan author takes on the task of writing such a book like this for young men (perhaps Buckland or Penczak?). However, there is nothing wrong with writing a book specifically for women in the Wiccan-pagan community. While we all have our yin/yang aspects of self, most young boys will relate to Mars or Jupiter when studying the Gods and most girls will flock to Venus, Minerva, or Juno. This is simply how we relate to mythos. It's not sexist and there's nothing wrong with women (especially women raised in oppressive hypermasculine religious societies) relating and worshipping the Goddess far more than the God aspect. Personally, I believe that there should be seperate covens, with the God being worshipped primarily by men and the Goddess by women. Let's face it: most of us feel more free and open when surrounded by our own gender. If this isn't Gerald's ideal of Wicca so be it, but it's one that appeals to many more people and may actually hold any hope of becoming a major religious force in the modern era.
Other BooksSeptember 3, 2007 0 out of 1 found this review helpful
An interesting look at wicca and neopaganism, with some advice. Despite her superhero name, this is not full of crazy talk and weirdness. It is worth a read of you are interested in that movement, and want to discover what makes them tick, even if you have no interest in being a religious practictioner, or having a religion at all.
Let it be life-changingJuly 14, 2007 This book can change your life and empower you to be in direct contact with Spirit. You don't need to buy or join anything, and it's all about how Goddess and God are immanent, directly and immediately present in heart, mind, soul and body. If you've always wanted to be a genuine lover of God/dess, this book can give you some ideas for how to really do it and feel it deeply at all levels. It helped me to find some doorways to spiritual bliss. And it's so free of the "power-over" trip of so many religions. It can really be a blessing.
