Elements of Goddess

There isn't a great deal to add to DE's detailed review - I only want to say that this was one of the first books I ever bought about paganism and the Goddess, (nearly twenty years ago!) and it has been an inspiring work that I have read again and again over the years. It's a great pity that it's currently out of print.

Matthews, who has published over 30 titles on the Western Way, Celtic spirituality and goddess worship, can be counted on for consistently thoughtful, original, scholarly and yet immediately readable books. While this book in the compact "Elements of" series is not one of her best known, it nevertheless rewards careful study and re-reading. Though it is intended as an "introductory" text, there is much here that a more experienced devotee can benefit from as well. In addition to providing numerous stories from many cultures that reveal valuable insights and paths to the Goddess, Matthews includes exercises, visualizations, images, questions and challenges to help readers find their own way. "There is no virtue in the written word unless it can be translated into real experience." She also notes that the challenge of working "within existent Goddess religions" makes us "realize that there may be symbolic and cultural problems which we had not considered. It takes a very long time to be symbolically at home within a religion whose cultural basis is different from our own." And with her characteristic insight and balance, the author disposes of much careless thinking that confuses gender, sex and polarity. "Energies, by nature, have no gender: love, strength, insight, justice or protection being neither more nor less suitable to men than to women." What I find of greatest value is Matthews' discussion of nine potent aspects of the Goddess: Energizer, Measurer, Protector, Initiator, Challenger, Deliverer, Weaver, Preserver, and Empowerer. With illustrations of each of these drawn from Christianity, Celtic religion, Hinduism, Buddhism, Native American religions and many other sources, Matthews helps readers discover how to perceive their spiritual purpose, establish a personal connection to the Divine Feminine, and become aware of and enter the Temple of the Goddess. She suggests ways to make a Goddess rosary, offers some lovely examples of prayers and invocations, and cites numerous quotations from worldwide sources to show the pervasive presence of the Goddess throughout history. "What is written in these pages is necessarily very condensed, due to the format of this series, but with consistent and devoted meditation on the Goddess, you will be able to prove-or disprove-this material for yourself."