Goddess Companion: Daily Meditations on the Feminine Spirit

I have gone almost a full year (the complete book) with this book providing me with comfort, inspiration, and food for thought each day. I have another book which claims to offer Goddess inspirations in the same day by day format, but it doesn't touch this one, which obviously comes from a learned, thoughtful, spiritual, experienced writer. I read quotes from each book each day, but I save this one for last, because it is by far the best. The quote from a folk song or classical work followed by an insightful elaboration on the theme is always just enough - not too long, not too short. Thank you, Ms. Monaghan, for enriching my life each day.

Now here is a goddess meditation book with some depth! The daily poems and songs from ancient texts are rich in beauty, pointedly as diverse as the goddess herself. They are a wonderful source for personal and communal ritual. What I love the most is Monaghan's own reflections. It is so rare to have a poet scholar with the emotional depth, wisdom and incisive mind that strips away illusion to find both the succulent fruit and the flesh stripped bone. Life is beautiful and hard. For me, a meditation book needs to touch where my life touches. This one does. I cheat. I prowl around this book, not being obedient to the prescribed day. February 26 is one of my favorites. "I have eaten from her drum./ I have drunk from her cymbal./ I have carried her sacred objects./ I have prayed in her secret chamber." ( Greek initiate prayer). Monaghan writes, " The silence of the centuries tells us as much as a written script might about the mystery of life and death. The goddess reigns over them both. She is both our speech and our silence." Many have written using Monaghan's works as their source. In this book we have the real voice. I recommend The Goddess Companion very highly.

This fine book stays by my altar and I cherish the time I spend reading it each day. I'm very grateful for the incredible research Patricia Monaghan put into the book and also for her personal wisdom that brings such rich understanding of the meaning of the Divine Feminine in everyday life. To have these powerful meditations with which to begin my day is a great gift. The meditations about Brigid were especially precious to me when I was in Ireland in February. This book is an awesome collection of Goddess lore and wisdom from all around the world that feeds my spiritual needs and brings me great joy.

Patricia Monaghan's new book has become a part of my everyday life, just as it is designed to do. With poems for 366 days selected from an extraordinary range of traditions, Monaghan's book provides daily nourishment and inspiration. Her meditations on the poems provide a model for how we may connect more deeply with them. The collection of poems is also a wonderful resource for ritual and liturgy. Though there is a poem for each day of the year, I also enjoy opening the book at random, trusting that just the poem I need in that moment will be there.

This is by far the best book I have seen of meditations on the female aspect of divinity. Monaghan has done careful research and culled authentic prayers and poems to Goddesses from cultures as diverse as that of ancient Sumer to the American Indian. Each prayer is placed on an appropriate day in the wheel of the year, along with the author's insights into women's lives today and the search for the spiritual self in which so many are engaged. Educational, inspirational, and beautifully written, this book is a treasure for those who meditate as well for those those who simply want to learn more about Goddess Spirituality.