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A Woman's Book of Rituals and Celebrations Complete Ebook Edition

A Woman's Book of Rituals and Celebrations by Barbara Ardinger is a guide to incorporating the presence of the Goddess into daily life through simple and profound rituals. The book emphasizes women's spirituality and offers practical instructions for creating meaningful rituals and celebrations. It serves as an introduction for those curious about the re-emergence of the Goddess and aims to empower readers to connect with their spiritual selves.
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100% found this document useful (8 votes)
482 views17 pages

A Woman's Book of Rituals and Celebrations Complete Ebook Edition

A Woman's Book of Rituals and Celebrations by Barbara Ardinger is a guide to incorporating the presence of the Goddess into daily life through simple and profound rituals. The book emphasizes women's spirituality and offers practical instructions for creating meaningful rituals and celebrations. It serves as an introduction for those curious about the re-emergence of the Goddess and aims to empower readers to connect with their spiritual selves.
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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A Woman's Book of Rituals and Celebrations

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"RiLh \,·ith pol'lr:-, and blessings, chis is a guide to practicing the pres-
ence of the Goddess 111 c,1.:1:vda,\ life. H.iluals are simple and pro-
found; an e.x,cllent in1rodt11.:tion to ,vomcn's spirituality.''
- { ',ya I 1~111 ,\'pirit1111 /ity

·: 1 1r;,,mu1 ;, fl,,,,/.; ,,{ Ritual,• is cl O\\'n-to-eart h in the best and l'u llcst
sensl· ol the tel'ln: rooted in and nourished by the ,visJon1 of our
mother planet. \\'ith 'mirth and n:vcrcnl·e' Barbara Ardingl·r prc-
sl'l1t!> rhe tenets ol ,vhat she calls 'an equal-opportunity religion.' re-

minding us that any \\'lllnan (indeed anyone!) can lu1u,v the Coddess
and practice her prescnC'e in daily life. narhara t\rdinger's pithy
prosl' is a plca:.-urc to read and her rituals arc rich \\'1th poetry, in-
duding an upro,.1nous paean to the Goddess 'Gotch,t!'
Eliz.ilicth Cunninghan,, author
Th,· l(.'/11/'/I ,,lthl' r,·,,,,,,,.,,,,,, f /)il't'III' C,,111,·,)1/, and Th,• rr~·t,J ,//,,tho·
" \ trcativc, du\,·n-to-carth approach to disco, cring I he (;oddcss . ..
\vrittcn lc>r the ,vom,,n "ho is curioL1s about "·hat the re-emergence
of the GoJdess is all about, and an excellent place for the no\'ice to
get her lncs ,,·ct." - Kisma K. Stepan ich
author ol' 71.,,· (iaia li·,uJ1i1i111

··\\'ist·, witt.v and delightfully origin.ii. this 1s an unconvcntion,tl and


user-friendly guide to thl' ,, orld ol' \\'omen 's Spirituality."
- T imothy Roderidc, author
11.,t· 011ct' { 111kn,,w11 Fa111iliar
"Ritual., t·~· Cc!t-hra/1~111,, is trulv
. a trt'asure! \\'o,cn ,vit h heartfelt jo\..
.
tkcp ,vis<lorn, and delightful \\ it, it oll'c-n, mcaningf'ul and en1po\\•er-
ing ritu,,ls, liless111gs, invocations, and even a drumming lesson lor
g11iding us thr·ough the- 1--:arth and Lunar seasons as ,veil .is the inti-
1natc 'scn::.ons' ol' personal transitions. \\'hat a blessing it is lo ha\'t'
this wdl-\\Tittcn, pr,1t tilal, do,, n•IO-earth guidl•book ror helping Us
t·mbracc and honor the (;o<ldess in ollr lives." -Nancy Blau·, author

, 111111/,·1,, ,,1th,· c;,,,JcJI',•,,
"This is <1 ,cry intcre:sting ancl useful acTount l'or thoi-e ,vho refer to
'unt'lll'U111hl're<l ri1ual,' <1nJ for all "·omen ,vho ,vi:,h lo honor anJ ex-
plo1·c Il·rn in inc spirit u.ili ty and \\'01 ncn 's t rad ,tions." - lt/11,11:11 .l,,11rnal


AWOMAN'S BOOK Of

Revised Edition

BARBARA ARDINGER, PH.D.

~i~
NE\\1 \VORLD LIBRARY
SAi~ RAFAEL, CALIFORNIA
() 1995 by Barhara 1\rdingcr, Ph.0.

PublisheJ 6_, Ne\\' \\forld Library


58 Pilul l)rivc
San Rafael, C1\ 94903

Cover design: Kathy \Vdrinner


Text design: Stephanie Young
Composition: Stephanie Eich leay
\Vor<l Proces-- ng: Deborah Eaglebarger

,\JI rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in v,hole or in


pa.rt, 01· transn1ittl'd in any l'onn, \\'ithout ,vritten permission l'ron, the
publisher, except by a reviev,er .., ho n,ay quote bricl passages in a re-
vic,,·; nor m,~\' any part ol' 1h1s book be reproduced, storl'd in a rc-
trit',·,tl ~.vstetn. or transmitted in any ['unn or b.v any mt'ans electronic.
lrll'<.·hanicul. photocop,Ying. recording, or other, ,vithoul \\Titten per-
mi:,sion l'rom the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data


Ardinger, B.1rbaru, 19-l 1-
J\ ,, oman 'g book of ril uals and celcbrarions / by l3arbara
Ardinger. p. crn.
ln cludes bibliographical rclcrcnn!s.
ISBN l-880032-57-0 (acid l'rl'e paper)
1. \\'01nen-Rd igious life. 2. Goddess religion - Rituals.
,1. (;oddcss rdigion- Prayer-boo!,:,, and devotions - English.
-j l)c\'otional calentLLrs. 5. Ritual. I. Title.
l3L6'.2fi.7 \55 199'.2
1CJ l ..'i'8'081-dl20
ISl3N 1-880032-57-0
~ccond l'dition. 1995
10 CJ 8 7 ti 5 ~ ,) 2
DEDICATION

F irst, as alvvays lo 1ny son, Charlei- 1\rdinger. I !e's a true


blessing in 1ny life. 'l'hen to all the God<less's children -
\/\'Omen, men, kids. cat~. snal<es, and flo\,•e rs - that T'vc ,net al
rituals and ,vho have enriched my life. \Ve've danced,
drummed, sung, tall<ed. and giggled togt!ther. \Ve've ..,,.or-
s hippcd an<l played together al large and small. planned and
spontaneous rituals. and \ve\·t: learned ,vhat the pra('tice ol the
presence of the Goddess really is.

V
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2013

http://archive.org/details/womansbookofrituOObarb
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

7\ Jr y g-ooJ friends (;loria Fenian Orenstein, Elcll·r I ligh


Vl .
.l Pricstcss Alarsha Sn1ith Sha\\', and Clarissa I11gc1betse11
have given inc hour:-. ol' \\'Under J'ul conven;ation. good ideas,
and endless support. I\ e also done some extraorJina,:, rituals
\vith then1.
1\ \y literar~ agent. .Judy Semll'r, \\•orks hanJ on rny be hall'
and is a true friend besides.
Special thanks to i\ \arc Allen, President ol Ne,, \Vorld Li-
Lr.u:v. \\'e have "''ondcd ul phone conversations. ln t\pril 199"-/,
he phoned to say they \Vere re-releasing this book. Six rnonths
later, he phoned lo say J LoulJ rc,\-ritc it. Th._1t 1nc,H1t I could
correct n,v •
mistakes and (no doul,t) make a l'c,v nc\\' ones. It's
good to have .:i publisher ,vho aclniircs anc.l supports 1ny ,vork
and I 'in grateful to be \\·orking ,vith 1\ \arc an<l his sta11'.
\\'hen .vou \\Tile books. .vou !ind out "·ho .vour real friends
are. 'fhey're the ones "ho return your phone call~. \\'hose l.'_\'Cs
don't g laze O\'er ,,·hen you lecture then1 about your rcscar·ch.
,vho sy,npathize ,vhen you sputter on about d1l' vagaries ol'
solhvare and publishers, '"ho go. "'l'here. there. it's all right"
,vhen you just si t and star<:.:\\., 1nost patient lriends are Sandra
Caton, Patricia Kelly, Barbara Pogosi,111, Rose Sheppard, ,\r-
lene Solomon, ,\ \arilyn SpivL',\', and ~uzan \\'alter. Their help
on this book. ,vhilc indirect, has been pri<:eless.

VII
FOREWORD

D ear Reader, Congratulations. on you_r. fi_nc litc~·.uy taste,


and on your keen psychic sens1t 1v1ty ! 11 lJarbara
Ardinger's excellent and extren1ely user-friend ly book on
'-''O men's rituals and celebrations has called out to .vou today,
'
il
is certainly because .vou arc s01neone for \vhom the tin1e has
~

no,v corn e to connect ,vith the creative t'osmic cneqrv here


ide ntifieJ as that of the Goddess.
Undoul>teclly .vou have a lready absorbed e nough info,·ma-
tion about th e in1portance of reclairning the GoJ<less (and the
ccof'cn1ini st values She both en1bodies and personifies) in o ur
,vorld to be ready to take the next step, that ol' learning to in-
corp o rate the Path or the Goddess into your personal life. Jt is
not b,v t hance that you have begun to read this book no,v. On
the contra ,-v. •
if this book h as dra,vn •vou to read this Car. it is ob-
vious ]'y because ..\'OU are read...V to n1ove (01,\ arcJ in \ 'O lli' re-
"-

sponse to the lile-affi n11ing ,nessage of GoJdess spiritua lit)·.


Since this is the case, I a n1 pl eased to announce that there is one
thing I can absolutely guaran tee. I can pro 1nise you a ioun1ey
into the ,vorld o l' Goddess Thealogv and practice that will posi-
ti\'ely c hange your life (,\'hile a lso incn~asing the ·1uantily and
qual ity of Light in 1he \\'Orld) \Vithoul ask ing you t<.> 1nake any
radi cal changes in your pre~ent lilesly te.
Pracl i<.: ing th e Prest.'ntc of 'J'h e Goddess is no harder Lhan
cooking a line ,neal. accordi ng l o Barbara ,\t·dinger. She \\'ill
personally guid e and Jirct t you in ho,v lo transl'onn the si1np le,
everyday objects in yo ur home and the seen1ingly onlina1·y
events oF,vour life into po,vcrful ritu.11 tools and into s,H:reJ n10-
1nents ol' GoJJcss revelation.
Barbara is both a literary scho lar and a practitioner ol'
\Vi cca (a Pries tess or a \\Titch), bllt one or a vc~· "d<l\Vn home"

IX
x RITUALS & CELEBRATIONS

variety-as all the genuine "\Vise \\lo rnen ·· o [' the past have
. been. She has \v 1·itten a hool< that is scholarly
al\v,1vs . .ts \Veil as
pr.-u:tit·al. She cncouragl's you to make J\\agic happen in your
O\vn lire b,\ using ,vhatcver is avai lal>lc and meaningful to .vou.
Barbara proY1dcs the step-b_y-step instructions, sho,v-ing you
ho\,· to produce the n,agical cl'fects ol' "abracadnora" in any
area of life's journey that .vou choose to illun,i nate ,vith the ,·acli-
ance ol' the teaching~ of the Goddess.
·'{our dail_, at· ts ,nake a huge di ffert.'nct.' in our \vo ,·ld. Per-
haps you ha\'e never thought of yourself in tha1 v:ay before. If
noL this book "'·ill sho,v .vou ho\v wh" .v,111 are. ,,·hat .vou /,t'lte1•e, 1111d
ll'hat y,,u ,J,, 111ath·r,,, and ho\v it all'ects ever:vthing in the universe
fro1n a grain ol' sanJ to the fate of' nations. If, as the Goddess
teat·hes, e\'er:vthing is in1erconne1:ted, then the \vay you live
ynur life rnuy just t·reatc the ripple that gro,vs into the "avt.'
.
that mav l ur·n thL· tide in the course of t hl' his tor,· . ol' lil'e on
Earth.
r'our desire to heal 1\lother Earth no\v that She is ailing
and your prayers for pe:1ce, balance, and hat n1ony in the \\'oriel
have oeen received. )'ou havt.' been "called" to becon1e a vi tal
part of' the solution. to become Go th ihe "changer" and the
"changed." Rl'ading this book \viii con\'ince you t hal even the
. .vou hrcathe can make a di!Tcrcnce.
\\'av
.\s you ,viii learn, the act of reading this book 1:,, in itselr. a n
initiation. But, contrary to l)ante, \vhose patriarchal Christian
Theology k·d him to ,varn his reaJers to "t\bandon I lope, all ye
\\'ho enter here," Barbara i\rdinger, ,vhose teachings en1bracc
the 1natristic Goc.lclcss/Earth J\\other The,,logy. n1ight actua lly
c11t·ourag-e her readers Lo: "Take r lope, all :ve ,vho enter here!''
For this is a book that certainly resto ,·es I lc)pe, and one that
,viii bring Light into your Ii, es as ,veil. \\'elco,ne to the Path of
I he (~oddess. and 11lesscd Be!
Clona Fe1nan Orenstein
Dece,nber 9, 1991
CONTENTS

INTRODUCTJON . . . . . . . . . . . . . ' ..................... .


/l St·l/~8/c. ,,,i,_q . . . . . . . . . .... .. ........ .... ...... (>
1

/ 1 Blt·,1,,i11,1 /~w ()ur 1'~1ro1111/ he,., . . . . . . . . . . . ....... . 9 '

/ l Blt!, 111_,11;,,. lhu· l 'hd,h·,·11 ...................... . 12


1, 1

Pi\RT I: Practicing the Presence of the Goddess . . . . 17


l 1\ n i'\1- \\'onl. T,\ o \\'- \\lords, and an R- \Vord ......... 19
rl Riluo/.f;,,. tht' J>ath 11/,lly Fai"th .................. 21
2 The Practice of tht' Presence ol' the Goddess . . . . . . . . . ~8
, 1 Rit11t1! "/ R,•1111·111/,o:/id111'<•d .....•....••.•......•• 3-1
3 Approaching the Goddess . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
1•/,It'
I ("" ) ) /' I
U1( ( t',I,! ti ft.It'

Ltl,l//111,1 ••.• , , , , , • , , • , .• , . , , . . • . ..f9
A Jiilut1! t,1 Ct.'l,•/,rt1I,· the (;o,)t),.,,., ,i, 1r1,,,,,.II ......... 62

PART JI: U nencumhercc:I Ritual ...................... bi


A Rit11,d ,,/ !'t·1~1,11111! Po11•1r •...••..••....•.....•... 71
4 Looking at the Traditions ............................. 73
5 ,\ltering )'our ,\ltar .. .. . . . . . . . . . . .............. 90
rl Ritual lt1 RI.•,,,, (<. ~,11,wcr,1/1•) }i,11r rl/tar T11t1I., •... I 08
6 Lnvoking and Stin·ing Up the Po,,·ers ............... 111
7 I lo,v to Talk to a [)cit\ . . . . . . . . . 120

............. 12..f

PART Ill: Time in the Goddess ..................... 131

8 Rituals for the Gro,\'ing Light: Nl'\\' /\\oon, Candle1nas,


Spnng, l3cltane . . . . , . . . . . . . .... , .......... 136
1Vc111 Lf /0011 J{itual: Pla11/i11_t7 ._\"'t.·c,J., 1111d rr1:,h1·,, ...... 137
( , il/1{,U"lllll,'
)' ( 't"U'(l/"{l
I I l ' 11· 1Ill·, /(1
t 1,111: ,)t' · I.U 1ll • . . • • . . . . . . · I ,)9

XI


XII - RITUALS & CELEBRATIONS

................ 143
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 148
9 Rituals for lhe Bright Light:
Full 1\\oon, 1\lidsum,ner ..... .................... 152
1'it!I 1l!t1t1n Ril1uz!: !Jrau•in.'1 !Jow11 tLw 1l/t1(lll . . . . . . . . 152
(Jtht r Rit1111/.,.f;,,. IJ'~1.\·i,1.q L,:qht: L,,•t· a,u> ,Tloney . .
1
155
1lfi<J,111111111t'I' C,:!t•!w11lio11: P1•r,1011al Po,l't'I'. . . . . . . . . . . 160

IO Rituals for the Grovving Dark: \\'ani ng /V\ oon, Larnmas,


Fall, Hallo,vs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
1r;11,i11y ,I /0,111 Ritua!: Rt·!ea,,c 1111d l'lcarr,,i11.1J . . . . . . . 167
La111111a., ('e!t•/,ra/1~111: Pt·ace ...................... I 68
f~z/1 c.,fehrafli1rr: llnrc•t•,,1 ........................ 173
I/allow,, C.·lt·hralti111: llt111t1rti1_q (}ur !)t'1u) . . ........ I 77

11 Rituals for the Deep l)ark: [)ark 1\ \ oon, Yuletide .... 184
Dark tl/0011 Rit ua!: Ri•1•1•r,,i11.,1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
J'ult·IL,Jc l ~clclwa11in1: Rc,,t anti Rt·1•i1·11I . . .•........ 190

Al'ter,vord ................................. 20 1
Note:, ..................................... 203
1\ppendix ................................. 207
Bibliography .............................. 213
Resources ................................. 221
I)iscograph_\ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ?23
About the Author .......................... 225
Let U.1 NoH, Practice Her Pre.1e11t·e
Once upon c1 I L·1ne
a,7eJ
. c1n,) aqe,1
. bt·/;1,.t'
- Ihe ( _,'ardt.•11 o/
. R,),,,1 wa,, co11,1/ rllclcd
,11u) h,u) a landlord a,u) wall, a,u) /1~·1:11 an_11,·/_,711ar,J,, -
Onct' upon a I i11u•
a_qe,1 a,u) a_qt•,, l1t~/;>rt' Wt' //1.·,J lo thert1pt'llltt· ct1uche,1
a,u) /,t'Clllllt' Llcltdl ( 'hildre11 ()/ -
Once upon a t,111,·
.f~,,. a_qe., and a_,7,·., hej~,rt• I,i11e
Wt' li11ed 1l'ith Olli' 1n,1th,,,.._, and ()ur ,llothc,:

Onc:e upon a ti,ne


we planted and reapec) a,u) laho1't'<) and da,u·t'd !1~1Je!her
ll't' Ii«·<'<) ancJ lay ,Jown f<~tJctht'r in honor
and we ll't're all Lhe fhildrc11 t!f-
two-1,:tJ.<Jt!<), a11cJj;1ur-le_,7.,7c,J, a ,uJ 111<1 ny-lc:,7.q,·,)
11•1i1_qed a1u)_hi1nccJ and rooted
cry.,talli11t' a,uJ cloudy-
11•e wert' all flt·r children,
an,) the powt'1.._, ol the Powt'r Wl'f't' p1y,w11/ t'n our l,·,,e,,.
Once upon a lin1t•
She ll'll,, pre,,cnl in Olli' li,•c,,
e,•e,:11 day and in t'1 e1:11 ta.,k
1

n,u) t'l'e1:vboc>.v kn,·w I he f,ac>y ,!/ I h,• lan,J,,.


Bui 11011• wt ,,trelch lo find }fer pn•,1c11ce i11 lht· la,u)
and we reali~e that Iler t/nu• that ,,nc,• wa,,
,:, ca111i1~tJ rollnd ,~qain
rlnc) once upon a tinu' 1:, llt'arly 11011'.

XIII


INTRODUCTION :
LOOKING FOR AN EQUAL -
OPPO RTUNITY RELIGION

A ,von1an is sitLing on a Jeep-green llnor pillc)\\' in F1·ont


her altar·. She's \\'t•aring co1nlortable clot hing. perhaps her
bathrobe, perhaps a [-t,·orite T-shirt an<l .,ol't, roon,y pants. and
of

around her neck lies a string of CO\\Tte shells she hought for $5
at a thrilt store. The people she lives ,vith kno,v thaL this is her
private time, so thcy\·c son1c\\·hcrc else, though the c:ats have,
ol' course, strolled in to help ,vith ,vhatever's going on.
1\\usic is pla,ving (ma,vbc ,\ \ozart, n1aybe Suzanne Ciani).
and a vanilla potpoun·i is s1n1111cring nearby. On her altar (her
n1other's hope chest covered ,vith scarves or a yard ol' paisley-
print collon fron, tht' re1nnant talile) stand a can.eel \\ooden
o,v l, a pack of t\ngcl 1 " Cards scattered in a shallo,v dish. and a
Christmas tree angel su, rounded hy a c ircle or roun<l black
stones.
The ,,•on,an takes half' a dozen deep. t!asy breaths, strokes
the purring cat snuggled up bcsidt.• her, and lights the t,vo violet
candles on the altar.

J\\osl ol' us ,vcrt• introduced lo religion in a church that


looked pretty 1nuth lil<e a courtroon1. 'l'hc.· spectators (us) ,,·t·n.•
lined up in rc)\vs and it ,vas expt·<..tcd that \\'C ,voulJ pay atten-
tion and be on our be~t behavior. l3ct\veen the 1'1·ont ro,v ol'
spectators and the plat'l.' ,vhere the 11nportan1 people stood \\'as
an en,pty ~pace 01 even a lo,v rail or a ~encc. 1'he ofliccrs or this
chun:h/<:ourl " 'e1·c mostly men ,vho stnocl het,vccn us and the
holy place and talked to us like frLthcrs addressing not-quitt·-
\\'e ll-beha\'ccl t·hildn:n. The judgc ,vas absent. though \\'C all

1
2 RITUALS & CELEBRATIONS

knev.- he \vas an ol<l man in a long robe, and the altar, which ""as
on an elevated platf'onn, al,vays reminded us that he \Vas both
po\verlul and judgn1ental. llt'k11t'11' if\.ve'd been good or Gad.
There ,,as no question about ,.vho " 'as in charge.
I\\an.v of us are no longer satisfi ed ,vith this setup. \\ 7e ,vant
open acc:ess to the di, ine. and \,ve've figured out that the divine
essence of the ,vorl<l manifests as the world-in people, in
plants and anin1als, in rivers and rocks. !\'l any of us ha, e read
the books chat explain ho\.v people used to ,vorship a 1\lother
Goddess ,vho created the ,vorld and en1bodied the earth. \Ve've
read ho,v people used to honor each other, hov" "thou shalt not
kill" once rcal~v meant someth ing. \Vc've read some oF the stan-
Jarc.l ,vorks. like Tl"'hcn G,,,d Ir,,., t1 rr~////(1//, Th,· Ci,•ili:11/t(III ,{ /he

Gt1ll(Jc,,,,, and The (,'rc·at l ,,,.,111ic 11/othe,; 1 that desc1·ib<> the remains
ol' the earliest religions, re ligions that ,vcre a ll but erased l'rom
existence hy the later steppe- and desert-born religions. \\1e've
read ,vhat t.1nce ,vas anc.l ,vondered if it cou ld be again.
Not onlv . that. but we've also sePn ,vith 0L1r o,vn eves'
the
cond ition of our planet. the polluted air and ,vater, s trip-mined
and dun1pcd-on land, oyerdevelopn1ent at the expense of'
lorcsts and plains. t\s rnore and 1nore people begin to under-
stand that the ea,·th itsell' has value, ,ve unders tand the value of
an earth-based religion th«\t teaches us lo nourish and protect
the earth and all of its inhabitants (even the ugly, unfriendly,
and inanimate ones).
\Ve 've also begun to recognize the hann that imbalance be-
t,vccn the sexes has ,vrought on all of us-on the violent men
,vho have never lca1·ned any other ,,ay to be, on the abused and
p0Ye11y-stricken ,vomcn and children ,vho remain at the bot-
to1n of' the pecking order, on both 1nen and ,vo1nen who ,,v ant lo
explore their sensi1ive and intuitive natures but don't l<no,v
ho,v. IJ' ,ve 're going to survive as individuals or as a planeta,:v
con1n1unity, ,ve need the Goddess and all Her gifts.
INTRODUCTION - 3

lnluitivcly, seriously, playfully, "ve\:e come lo a ne,v appre-


hension of ,vhar laith is about and vve're creating an equal-op-
portun ity religion. L3asecl on inlages and figures found in caves
and rubble and on hints found bet,veen the lines of the stan-
dard-brand ho l.v books and dissertations, ""c're reinvenu11g and
re-creating the .<J,'lllltiie old-time religion. \\'c'rc building 1node1n
versions ol the archaic religion ol' tbe (;real (;oddcss, ""' ho ,vas,
and still is, the Queen ol I leaven. Earth. and thc Undcnvorld.
\\'hen ,vc can, "'·e gather together to celebrate the eight fes-
tivals that mark the turning of' the "''heel ol the ye,ir, the events
that change our lives, and the phases of the rnoon that touch
our lives.
1\'\ost of the ti rne, ho,vc,·er, ,vc see1n to be alone. \\'e're not
ahvays

sure "ve <.an reveal ,vhat \VC reallv

believe, and ,ve !"eel.
deep do,vn, that ,vhat people believe is a private ,natter. So
v.•hen ,ve attend to the Goddess, ,vc.· <lo it alone or ,vith a le""·
close friends.
This book and its riLuals '"ere created to be used by a
,vo1n an (or rnan) at her private altar in her personal space.
'l'hcse rituals are personal and unen<.:urnhered; that is, they
don't require special l.!quiprnent <)r e laborate scripts. They're
personal. mystical poetry and visualization that touch the heart
as ,vell as t he mind an<l help Evci~V\VUman practice 1he presence
of' the Goddess in her evcrvdav
• •
life.
Some of these rituals can also bL· used by groups, staged
\vith c horal r·eading and dra1natic costt1n1cs and props. 'You can
use the1n as a point of insp iration to create additional poet!)',
beautiful altars, and ,vonderful niusic and mo,·cmenl.
\Vhat do -\'OU need to use this book? Not a lot. reallv.
. Herc's
a starter kit:

• Your active. !eadess in,agination


• An hour or t"vo of quiet tin1c in your living roon1 or

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