The Holy Wild: A Heathen Bible for the Untamed Woman

Dusky offers a beautiful and evocative reimagining of the stories of the lost women of the Bible. This is not a Christian book, but a good book for those raised in a dominant Christian culture who are aching to reconnect with the Divine Feminine. It is not about Norse spirituality as the previous reviewer lamented nor does it address the Divine Masculine. Written for all genders, the author includes countless prompts, meditations, exercises, and rituals to help readers tune into their own Anima. It is a generously interactive read worth owning in physical form. If you've enjoyed Toko-pa Turner's "Belonging" and Sharon Blackie's "If Women Rose Rooted", you might enjoy "The Holy Wild" as well.

I was first mislead by the term "heathen", as that term is used primarily by Norse pagans. While the author didn't necessarily use the word incorrectly, I can't help but wonder if she didn't decide on the use of the word because of its connection to a specific spiritual path, therefore drawing as much attention to her awful book as possible. The viewpoint of the book is so lop-sided it's ridiculous. This author is so feminist that she's casting aside the divine masculine altogether, which presents an uneven situation that throws everything out of balance and is NOT a good thing. Couple that will the insistence on rejecting male pronouns to the point of writing the word "history" as "her-story" and it creates a narrative that feels downright immature and irritating to read. I got a headache from trying, as a matter of fact. There's little in the book that I could gather that discussed spirituality. The whole thing appears to be a feminist daydream written by a woman that couldn't cut it as a fiction author. I don't recommend this book. I don't see much value in it to most witches or spiritual folk. You'd be better off finding something else and spending your hard earned dollars on that instead.