Wild Girls: The Path of the Young Goddess

I loved how this books has a wonderful balance of mythology that bridges practical application of the stories lessons. There is so much in this book for the young girl. Not only is it a wonderful educational tool in that it teaches about other cultures but it also offers a plethora of stories about strong women throughout the ages. A must read for anyone, young or old, who are interested in furthering their spiritual and intellectual base.

I really loved this book. At first I wasn't going to read this book because of the title and me being a little bit older than what you would call a girl. In fact I was surprised, some of the stories touched a deep inner part of me that was in need of healing and her advice and projects were great.

This book is intended for teens, but I enjoyed it even as an adult. I liked the format, each chapter beginning with a myth starring a heroine Goddess and then continuing with complementary activities and explanations that let the reader explore her spirituality and empower herself, either working by herself or with other young women. The book concludes with a description of the Maiden/Mother MoonCircle, an example of a mother/daughter circle that readers can use to create their own circles. Imagine mothers and daughters, or teen girls, working together to explore their spirituality, creativity, divinity, and empowerment. The world will be a better place. I'm so happy that books like this are coming out for young women today. You can't go wrong with Patricia Monaghan.

This is another positive and powerful book I wish I had when I was young and the only thing the church and my family had to say to me was women are bad and sex is sinful. I'd have worn this paperback ragged. Here Patricia offers the stories of young goddesses and follows each story with an object lesson--on beauty, creativity, meditation, dreams, etc--and then suggests rituals and project ideas. The stories are multicultural. There is Artemis, as we might expect, and there are Native American, African, Korean, Finnish, Baltic, Chinese, etc., stories. Every girl will see herself reflected. There are 12 total, one for each month of the year. This book with a blank journal will make a perfect gift for a first moon celebration or for a pre-adolescent birthday. Imagine a goddess a month for a whole year of meditations and rituals! I definitely recommend it for 10 to 13 year-olds. My 11-year-old nieces are each getting a copy.The best thing to me about the book is that it talks about "girl power" outside the usual media terms of pretty and fashionable and (ultimately) sexually available. It also avoids all the irritating media fluff stuff that passes for "girl power"--the vampire-killing Buffys and "Charmed" girls who have fantasy magical powers--and brings home the most critical lesson that real power resides in the mind and soul and is there for every girl who seeks it.

To all you young goddesses! (And elders in whom the young girl yearns to fly!) "Wild Girls" is a mythic exploration of the creativity, beauty, strength, evil, limitation, ritual, and power experienced by younger women. Read about such Goddesses as the young Finnish creatress, Luonnotar, Sumerian dreamer Gestinanna, Irish sister Finola, Baltic star Austrina, and a truly wonderful story about the Korean healer Pali Kongju, the Thrown-Away Princess.Girls and younger women can learn how to affirm their power, intelligence and creativity, to struggle against abuse and limitation, and to form their own Wild Girl circles and ritual and magical spaces. This is the book we all wish we had as younger girls of spirit. The book is affirming of many different paths, and can be used by girls and women of many different earth-honoring belief systems. The stories give girls another set of images of themselves, far different from the limited images of TV, video and commercialism. Just by themselves, the stories are wonderful. Also included are suggested activities for further fun, learning and understanding.