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Bookviews Book Reviews |
5-29-2006 |
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This little book is a collection of images and words that expresses, in some special way, a connection between the Great Goddess Mother and those who seek Her out. It was curiosity that made me pick up this little book (5x7 with 188 pages), but the content is mighty big and convinced me to keep it. This book is nicely bound on glossy paper and is an excellent print job. The back cover points to contributors such as Margot Adler, Z. Budapest, Starhawk, Merlin Stone, Virginia Woolf, Marija Gimbutas – it reads like a “Who’s Who” of the writers and authors on Goddess spirituality. And if you leaf through the book, there are images and photos that speak of the Great Mother Goddess. The editor herself is the founder of Hands of the Goddess Press, which published the calendars that this book mirrors. The layout of the book is similar: a page of text with an image opposite it. The copyright of this book is 1994, and it is published in Ireland. So, looking at what the editor writes in the introduction, we hear a very feminist point of view, expressing delight at the return of the Goddess figure in our society and discussing the movement to restore Her to a place of respect. She discusses the Hindu tradition of Darshan, or the consideration of an image of the Divine as not so much a symbol but the real thing. This book is filled with images that are meant to be symbolic of the Divine Feminine, are to be considered the Mother Goddess Herself. As you page through the book, you will see images in paint, statues, and photos of the feminine. Most of them lend themselves to the idea sought by the editor. There are a couple of photos of some women who have had an influence on our feminine culture and while I would not consider them the Divine Feminine, I would consider them to be women who represent the element of the Divine Feminine as applied to a specific culture or project. As you leaf through the photos, you will see images of art that represent the Divine Mother, and they are for the most part well chosen and do inspire. The other part to this is the text, which is a mix of quotes, passages, poems and moments of consideration of the expressions of various well known authors on the meaning of the Great Mother Goddess and the Divine Feminine. There are excerpts of stories, lovely thought concepts, ideas and poems to read, contemplate and meditate upon. Some of them are moving and some are surprising. Some might be considered a bit driven. But none of them are disrespectful, and there are many here to choose from. As I wandered through the quotes and images of this book, there are some passages that surprised me, like the quote from the Book of Ruth on “Where you go, I will go.” A form of commitment, no matter who you speak it to, and it can be applied to any person or Deity you choose. Or the excerpt from Walt Whitman Song of Myself. The images, such as Joan Bredin-Price’s Drawing Down the Moon guide you into contemplation. An excellent example is Poetry City Goddess by Leah Korican with the image Crepuscule in Black and Brown:Wendy in which we contemplate the changing times and how the Goddess, while often depicted as the mother and the earth, is also the Maiden and the Warrior and in charge of her own life. The end of the book contains an Epilogue in which the editor reflects on her own path of Goddess discovery and is an interesting ending to the book. It is more of an affirmation for herself and her chosen path and a sharing of this experience more than anything else, but is nice to read. The book also has a list of credits for all the material included. I am not overly feministic, but often I find myself looking at the image of Woman, and how I am/we are reflections of the Goddess. This book offers some additional reflections, some new ideas and a focal point for that moment’s reflection. A nice little addition to your meditative library. Reviewed by Boudica |
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Here is another of those little books off the discount shelf of a local store that called me to review it. I’m always up for a good old fashioned Book of Hexes. But I am disappointed, again. First of all, no Table of Contents. Second, no index. So this is a “hunt through and see if what you are looking for is in here” book. Messy and time consuming. I like my books to have at least a Table of Contents, so I can find what I am looking for in a hurry. But what do you expect for a discount book? I had to hit myself and remind myself that while it lists at $9.95, I paid a tiny fraction of that. OK, you get what you pay for. So I started leafing through the book. Again, big disappointment. First Hex- Hex to Humble Techno Snobs. Hmmm… someone has issues with people who know more about computers than they do. Even the incantation is a bit …. off. And it tends to go on and on. OK, moving right along, we have a hex For People Who Always Tell the Ends of Movies or Books. How droll. This person needs to find some new folks to hang with. Where are the real hexes? Next one is A Spell for People Who Always One-Up You. Gee, this person has some serious people issues to work out, doesn’t she? Personally, so far, these folks are not worth the energy to do a hexing on. I went on and started looking for a real “meat and potatoes” type of hex on someone who really deserves it. The hexes cover “Type-A People”, people who stand you up, or steal your parking space. Wait, now that one is worth it. I looked at the hex itself. Actually, this one is not too bad. Cross the fingers, point at the car and recite the incantation hexing them with car trouble. She then invokes the Goddess Squat to help find another parking spot. Well, not too bad. I prefer Asphalta myself, but we all have our favorite deities. This one was worth marking. There is one for Someone who Cuts You Off on the Road. Beep your horn, make the sign of the horns and a lame incantation. Honk the horn to send the hex. Hmmmm…. very lame. To Banish a Troublesome Co-Worker or Acquaintance she does “doll magic” with a paper doll. Novel but the incantation again is lame. Interesting use of “doll magic” but it needs a little punch. Some of the hexes or spells are reasonable, but most of them lacked something. Most of them are not even woman focused. What’s up with that? Where is the focus on “for Women”? One or two “dumped by a man” hexes and the book gets the “for Women” designation. There is not enough “hex” in the hexing for my taste, and the situations for some of the hexes are a waste of time. I want a good reason to do a hex, and someone giving me a bad haircut is not a reason for a hex, it is more a reason for a law suit. Burglars and thieves deserve a call to 911, not a hex. Or if we are going that route, I prefer an evocation of something small, black and nasty from one of the bottom nine levels of hell sent to hunt them down. Seems some of the situations in this book suggest using a hex rather than calling 911 or seeing a lawyer. Sexual Harassment is a court case with a large cash settlement in my book. Stalkers are more repelled by a court restraining order than by a hex. Or use both, and make sure your hex involves specific body parts. The hexes in this book lack real punch. The author’s incantations limp in some places, stretch for a rhyme in others. Unruly neighbors should get a call to 911, not a hex. A couch potato should be dumped off the couch and told to move – to another house. A hateful letter deserves more than ashes and a feather returned to sender. It deserves at least a real poison pen letter in return. This book I should have left on the shelf even though I paid a fraction of the cover price. It just wasn’t worth it. Even the title of the book lacks punch now that I look at it. Doesn’t even make an interesting conversational piece on the coffee table. And now I pass this along to you, so you don’t make the same mistake. This book is not worth it at any price. Not even as a give away or a joke. As for a hex on someone who sells a bad book, nope, not really worth it. But it does rate a review,which in this case is my "hex" on this book. Reviewed by Boudica |