Burning Woman

by Lucy H. Pearce

THE LONG-AWAITED new title from Amazon bestselling author Lucy H. Pearce. Burning Woman is a breath-taking and controversial woman’s journey through history— personal and cultural—on a quest to find and free her own power. Uncompromising and all-encompassing, Pearce uncovers the archetype of the Burning Women of days gone by—Joan of Arc and the witch trials, through to the way women are burned today in cyber bullying, acid attacks, shaming and burnout, fearlessly examining the roots of Feminine power—what it is, how it has been controlled, and why it needs to be unleashed on the world during our modern Burning Times.

Burning Woman explores: Burning from within: a woman’s power—how to build it, engage it and not be destroyed by it. Burning from without: the role of shame, and honour in the time-worn ways the dominant culture uses fire to control the Feminine. The darkness: overcoming our fear of the dark, and discovering its importance in cultivating power. This incendiary text was written for women who burn with passion, have been burned with shame, and who at another time, in another place, would have been burned at the stake. With contributions from leading burning women of our era: Isabel Abbott, ALisa Starkweather, Shiloh Sophia McCloud, Molly Remer, Julie Daley, Bethany Webster ...

Genres: Feminism, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Womens, Witchcraft, Self Help, Unfinished

284 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2016

About the author

Lucy H. Pearce is the author of multiple life-changing non-fiction books, including Nautilus Award silver winners Medicine Woman, Burning Woman, and Creatrix.

Her newest books are Crow Moon: reclaiming the wisdom of the dark woods and The Kitchen Witch Companion, which she illustrated and co-authored with Sarah Robinson.

Her writing weaves women’s archetypal psychology, feminist historical awareness and the healing power of creativity and nature.

An award-winning graduate in History of Ideas with English Literature from Kingston University, and a PGCE from Cambridge University,
http://www.lucyhpearce.com/

Lucy founded Womancraft Publishing, creating paradigm-shifting books by women for women, in 2014. http://www.womancraftpublishing.com/

She is the host of the Creative Magic podcast, where she interviews contemporary creative women. https://open.spotify.com/show/5tipcBA...

Support her work on Patreon http:/www.Patreon.com/lucyhpearce/


Burning Woman - an incendiary initiation to feminine power is her most recent and is blazing trails with its powerful words, a #1 Amazon bestseller in Women and History.

The Rainbow Way: Cultivating Creativity in the Midst of Motherhood was a #1 Amazon bestseller in Creativity and motherhood in the US and UK. it has been credited with kickstarting the creativity of women - and men - around the world, being the inspiration behind numerous creative businesses and even saving lives.

Moon Time - a book that hundreds of women around the world have labelled “life-changing”. The perennial #1 Amazon.com bestseller in its field.

Reaching for the Moon, a soulful guide to the menstrual cycle for girls aged 9-14, trusted and recommended by thousands of parents and their daughters as a nurturing way to approach a key rite of passage.

Reviews

[Trac Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Burning Woman by Lucy H. Pearce was and is a life-changing read for me. I have actually finished this book but still pick it up from time to time to re-read the odd chapter that resonates with where I am in my personal journey right now. I have found this marvellous book truly useful and it has inspired me more than I can really write about. In particular, what was useful that a pattern of events were described that I have been through more than once, this being the baptism of fire. Often I have wondered why I have been through this, I would like to know why l have been through this experience more than once with different situations & somtimes life-changing. However, the last time it occurred EVERYTHING went wrong & how I got out of it in once piece is anyone's guess. To have this described, in writing, from someone else's experiences was wonderful and really liberating, at last I can see the firelight and I know the way.

I cannot reccomend this book enough, The Goddess has always been relevant in my life but now I know in what form she has taken. I feel I can find my way in what I have been trying to do for so long (I am an artist); & at last I am ablaze with possibilities.

[Louisa Leontiades · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me years to admit that my sphere of knowledge was relatively minute and many more to lose my shame about it. Where once I paid lip service to humility believing it to be a route to social acceptance, now my attitude is one of “I know nothing, isn’t it brilliant!” And maybe that’s why it took me until now to read Burning Woman, a book by my respected friend, and even more respected editor, Lucy Pearce. Because as much as I know how little I know, some areas have been out of bounds. Specifically woo, and anything resembling woo. It’s not scientific, it’s not rational… but above all it’s not how a man thinks. It is not socially acceptable.

“I’m aware the opening and closing of it and the poetry will probably be too woo-woo for you,” Lucy said, “but there’s big strong stuff in it which address the heart of what you’re experiencing right now. It’s far more flowery than your approach – but it shares the same heart and the same meat and motivation as yours.”

As an author, it’s terribly uncomfortable if you don’t like your author friends’ work. Because you know how much time and heartache went into producing the work and you think, surely, surely I must be able to find something to like, something to put in the shit sandwich; out of respect for this effort that I myself have spent years exerting, I don’t like to put negative reviews out on Goodreads. But I grappled with my fear and bias and I opened this book. As soon as I hit the acknowledgments, I was hooked. Yes, the acknowledgments that front-piece few read (and that never happens).

“Everywhere I look the walls are closing in on my freedom, the noose is getting tighter and tighter as they demand more money, more perfectly filled out forms, more obedience.” – Burning Woman

In the run up to the U.S. election I have been fighting with my (male) friends. They have said things, done things and been caricatures of people who have made me furious. I’ve written post after post about my sadness and anger that people in my inner circle believe Trump is just another choice on the ballot paper. It’s bigger than that. A vote for Trump cannot just be about his ‘politics’ (steeped in ignorance, personal vitriol and vile beliefs). It is a vote for racism, for misogyny, and for oppression. So maybe that’s why Burning Woman strikes a flint with me right now. Because I have caught alight with incendiary passion.

“Anger is the opposite energetic pole of obedience, passivity, submission. Anger shows your inner fire is still burning when someone else tries to define you, to take your power away and destroy what you love” – Burning Woman

Three weeks ago, I released my memoir–Some Never Awaken–which recounts an abusive relationship in my early twenties. The release of a book is usually cause for celebration–especially since it took me another twenty years to summon up the courage to publish it. But that same night I had a vision that my abuser found me and killed me in front of my children; it terrified me. Consequently I haven’t told anyone but Lucy to whom this same book is dedicated, that its been published. Her response was to send me her book. Because the fear that I sometimes barely perceive and other times overwhelms me, I live in, I live with, day in and day out not just because of my own experience but because of how I see it and other ‘lesser’ aggressions towards women dismissed and mocked by our society. This has compelled me to keep silent. Still. After all this time.

“…as we get closer to our goals in the real world, we start to hear our fears in stereo: reading criticisms of our work, being attacked or threatened by rivals, facing rejection from those we love and respect. And we know that if we step back, if we walk away it will stop. But we will lose.” – Burning Woman

It’s no coincidence that Trump has been able to get so far on the path towards the presidency of one of the world’s superpowers. Burning Women–the Feminine as an archetype, not a prescribed gender–are rising in the form of intersectional feminists, queer activists and angry people of colour. We are the rule breakers and we demand that our voices be heard. And as we get stronger, so the forces which suppressed us wage an ever more fierce war. But they cannot stop us. The tools which have been used to oppress us are being revealed within concepts like rape culture and patriarchy. These systems founded on beliefs that inculcate male hierarchy, they poison the air we breathe until we have all died little by little inside, forced, we think, to live and love by them. But we are all responsible for allowing them to continue whether or not you have actively perpetuated it with despicable acts, or passively let it slide because ‘it’s not a big deal’. Many of us, including me, have dared not actively confront such power because we know it will burn the face off of us and our reality will experience an enormous earth shattering shift. Who would dare to be responsible for unleashing such an unknown and potentially horrific consequence? Not me, or at least only me when I am shielded behind the anonymity of my computer. Faceless.

“What is face? It is the persona or mask we have acquired as defence structure against a world we perceive — or have been told — is dangerous. When the patriarchal system refers to defending honour, it really means defending the persona — the projected, public self and reputation — without which we cannot function effectively within the System.” – Burning Woman

To take the step outside of the system means at the very least, social death and often physical death. The risk is too great, until not stepping outside of it is the greater risk. For me that time is now.

We have to step out of the persona of the Good Girl in order to wear the robes of Burning Woman.

And what of men? Where do they fit in my new reality? Sadly many don’t. We do not see eye to eye. They have no love for me nor I for them and I will not expend my power for them. But there are increasingly more who like me, realise that power is not a scarce resource and that trying to horde it like dragons, only disrespects its true nature and theirs. There are men who flow with ever expanding universal power, who demonstrate respect for power by drawing strong yet permeable boundaries around their own responsibility for consciously regenerating it. That permeability allows for our mistakes. But that strength does not let them pass unchecked… There are men who don’t buy into that long since obsolete alpha male paradigm–the belief that some people, namely ‘othered’ minorities, have and deserve less power than themselves–these are the burning men. We want you.

You are the devastatingly attractive, formidably beautiful men.

You are the strong, eternal and unfettered men.

Your power is limitless and I would gladly dance in the fire with you.

I’ve got your backs, just as you have mine. In our new reality there is power enough for everyone and more to infinity; we can bathe in its spray, create ever more and let the flames of it consume us, until we rise as phoenixes reborn together.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! Fiery. Passionate. Honest. Complex. I feel like it made a space to honor and acknowledge women's anger in a way that is so often overlooked, ignored, minimized, suppressed, or denied (just like women's voices around the world).

[Marisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn’t finish this, it was awful. I feel bad that I hated it so much.

[Kathleen O'Neal · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book left me thinking “What the fuck did I just read?” At times this book was interesting and profound - the chapter entitled “A History of Burning Women,” the sections on grounding power and trauma and energy blockage, and the section on body image issues. But mostly I found the book highly repetitive and too focused on one somatic narrative of what it means to be a woman. I had always thought the slur “white feminism” was misplaced in many cases but if this is what those saying it are getting at, I understand it. Overall I think this author was too invested in one understanding of women’s experience that she took to be universal but that is really not. There was a lot of focus on vague unexplained wisdom to be gained via childbirth, the menstrual cycle, and other bodily processes but I didn’t see a lot of value there in the way in which it was presented. (I think those aspects of female embodied experience could be presented valuably but this was not that.) I think that a lot of contemporary feminists are too quick to ignore female embodiment and what that means politically, spiritually, etc. but I did not find the way it was dealt with here particularly useful. The author struck me as a loving and compassionate person, but one whose life experiences may have kept her from appreciating the full diversity of all women’s lives and identities. Overall, I think the author was just really obsessed with getting naked and dancing around a fire and somehow built up an entire ritual, career, book, archetype, and personal philosophy out of that theme.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

i didn't finish it. i couldn't. i really didn't like it. it acted like there are no female warriors to help or to look up to - i think there are many. it was so angry, but didn't do anything constructive with that anger. so... we are angry women and should just be angry and rejoice in it? i get that anger is an important emotion we must make room for it in our lives, but no. maybe this book just hit me at the wrong time in my life.

it was hard to read, and i didn't like the content. i wasn't the target audience, or i got the wrong message, or it was just a bad book.

[Dale Seavey · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me longer to read this book then any I finished in the last year. The reason, It was thought inducing. I liked reading about her take on woman power. As a woman who has howled with the wolves and danced naked in the wilderness, it was a good reminder about shedding masks and embodiment of one's purpose.

I think this book will show up if you are calling upon a read of truth and continued exploration of what that is. I wouldn't suggest it to anyone, I 'd let them find this one.

[Char · Rating 2 out of 5]

I intensely disliked this book. If it hadn't been part of a reading challenge, I would not have finished it. The reasons I am giving it two stars and not one are (1) I have only given one book before now one star and that was a short story where nothing happened but for a dog being shot, and (2) I understand and agree with the intention behind the book - to empower women. However, I had thought this book would delve into the persecution of women throughout history, with accounts of things such as the witch trials and strong women (Boudicca, Joan of Arc, Queen Elizabeth). But what this book in fact was was a lot of words to say... Well, not much, really. Pearce drones on and on and on (and on and on and on...) about "burning woman" being this, that and the other (exhausting every metaphor and pun in the book for "burning" that my eyes nearly got stuck in the back of my head from rolling them there every time I heard a new one) without actually saying anything of value. She mentions a few times about women being sentenced to die and us "burning" due to the patriarchy, but her stories are a real stretch to fit her narrative. She talks at one point about going into a cave as part of a tour and it being down narrow stairs and death was close. What? You were on a tourist's wander around a cave. Stop being dramatic! This happens throughout the book, where Pearce talks about these massive OTT situations and scenarios but they are all such drivel. She talks about periods as "monthly initiations" and childbirth as this uniquely female rite of passage. She also touches on BDSM, as seen in Fifty Shades of Grey, being controlling over women. By doing all of this, she shows her ignorance of other women's experiences (as she does when she shits over make-up, plastic surgery and the beauty industry). This is a shallow and pointless book, crammed with half-truths which portray women as victims. I actually ended up thinking all the stories Pearce tells were more indicative of general anxiety, rather than being a woman who hadn't "realised her power". Oh, and the constant reference to the word "history" as "his story" really got on my tits, as did the implication that the word heresy comes from "her" because women were seen as heretics. Um, no. I am glad I have finished this book so that I can go and enjoy being a woman on my own terms, without being told how to by some wishy-washy, whingy and self-righteous book which lacks any ounce of substance.

[Bethan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have so many thoughts on this book that I’ll try to concisely put down here.

I found the book to be rambling without clear direction and often found myself tuning out whilst reading. It went over the same points multiple times and didn’t offer much else.
The premise of the book is a good one, one that could have been great with better editing.

Now, this may be controversial but I’m bored of ~ feminist ~ books centering women as victims, and I’m not discounting that utter shit we as women have gone through and still go through living in a patriarchal world but we claim no power back by constantly being victims.
Yes be angry, overthrow the whole fucking system but this book just harped on and on about how hard we’ve had it without actually discussing how we could overcome this? For a book that is about burning it all down it seldom does that, rather gives some journalling prompts, I’m sick of journalling prompts being seen as the way to ~ heal ~ 🙄

Also, it’s a very very white/able body centred centred book, the author is white, so can only write from her experiences but there was little to no inclusivity of how marginalised women, women of colour, women with disabilities etc have had even more prejudice, shaming and violence towards them than a white, healthy, socially acceptable woman has.
There can be no feminist uprising without inclusivity and unfortunately this book was completely lacking in that.

Oh and finally the whole changing history to her-story really fucks me off, if it’s the least amount of effort you can do to dismantle the patriarchy but is one that is applauded and seen as a feminist win, it’s lazy.

2 stars because the premise of the book had merit.

[Adva · Rating 3 out of 5]

It reads very much like a personal journal. Not as many cited facts to back up claims as I'd like and a somewhat grating overly dramatic, poetic style. Still, it has something worthwhile to offer women who struggle to own who they are.

[Nicole Gagliardi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book I find myself going back to over and over again. There’s so much wisdom in these pages and the writing is beautiful.

[Arianne · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a generous 2⭐️

It felt like the author had a word count requirement to insert some version of the word patriarchy. Every 100 words must mention patriarchy in some way regardless if it makes sense to the subject at hand.

It also felt like the author googled top 10 feminist topics of 2000s and then proceeded to just list them. Not expanding and discussing global impacts. Just here’s a list of terrible things that women experience around the world.

At one point, the author sited Wikipedia as a source. And I feel like that says all else that needs to be said.

[Samantha Peirce · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an incredible read. For every woman who questions the way things are done in this patriarchal society. Every woman who has been belittled, silenced, held back. This book takes a deep dive into the way women are treated in patriarchal societies, shows you misconceptions, and reinforces why women feel the way we do. Women are the backbone of society, givers of life. But we are not treated that way. We are treated as less than, not enough, never going anywhere. Enough of that. It’s not and will never be good enough. Women were meant for so much more, and it’s time we started acting and treating ourselves and others like that.

I loved this question in the book: “The question isn’t who is going to let me, but who is going to stop me?”

The answer is simple. No one. No one else will stop us from connecting to our true feminine selves and lifting others up around us. Do yourself a favor and read this book! Recommend it and share it with all the fabulous burning women in your life as well!

[Irina Prokofieva · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read the intro piece on Kindle and bought this book immediately, thinking I'd enjoy it a lot. Now after having read over 70% of the book, I must say I'm rather disappointed. This book is clearly not what I expected and at times I didn't even want to finish it.

What I liked:
- her personal stories
- the introduction

What I didn't like:
- too much focus on being burned alive. I know this is "poetic", but there was just too much of it
- excessively dramatic tone with no real message
- too many assumptions about how women are - I find it portrayed a very uni-dimensional version of women and I personally couldn't identify with most of it
- too many generalisations - the author clearly assumes that most women are like her, which is clearly not the case
- excessively repetitive
- pretty much everything else.

I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.

[Nadya Booyse · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you are just starting to feel into your feminine power, this may be a good option. Or maybe it works really well for a certain kind of voice.
Personally I just couldn’t connect. I found it flimsy and lacking in real substance even at its best, and my overall experience was of a personal diary or stream of consciousness writing; it could have been widdled down a lot if all the fluff had been cut. Sometimes a not-so-great book is really well disguised by lots of pretty words and flowy sentences. After saying to myself for the umpteenth time ‘just get to the point already!’ and then realising I was only 30% into the book, I knew it wasn’t for me.

[G. Lawrence · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this would contain more on the history of women, with reference to how fire has been used against them, Joan of Arc, etc. leading into the present day where acid burnings and 'honour killings' still exist in many cultures. There was a brief part on this and the rest was more an emotive call to arms to become a burning woman, a feminist theory of being. It wasn't a bad read and many of the author's personal experiences comprise the best parts of the book, but it wasn't what I was expecting and as a manifesto for feminist theory, I found it lacking a little.

[Jax · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic, beautifully written and empowering book! Lots of tags and highlights in my copy.

A couple of favourite quotes from the book:

- The visionary is the one who brings her voice into the world and who refuses to edit, rehearse, perform, or hide. It is the visionary who knows that the power of creativity is aligned with authenticity" Angeles Arrien (page 241
-"Stop holding back, and waiting, and trying to do it right, and not upset anyone." Lucy H. Pearce (page 239)

[Raquel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes, yes, yes, yes, YES. Essential reading for all women, and all people, regardless of gender. Tuning in to healthy expressions of femininity and understanding the empowerment of the Burning Woman archetype is encouraging, inspiring, and comforting. I loved this book, filled it with notes, and will be returning to it repeatedly.

[Nette Jordan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to stop reading this book. I really wanted to love it but the more I read the more it angered me. Constantly telling me how unsafe I feel when I don’t. I kept hoping that it would start to be positive about something but it didn’t. There’s enough negativity in the world. Enough “us and them”. I was really hoping this would be different, but it’s not.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incadescent. Audio book read by author Lucy Pearce hits all the feels in authenticity and self-experienced awareness. The appendix invites deeper self-awakening. Choose this book when you hear the call of the Goddess, you'll know how to answer it. Light it up, burn brightly.

[Sierra Melcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

an incredible book .for every woman to read. rally a must read.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received the book as a gift from another woman friend & that in itself meant a lot to me having an idea of the book's themes. Indeed it is a powerful read & the author does not mince words. I think one must have an open mind/heart and be ready for it's content if that's even possible. Part of me wishes I'd had this book in my hands years ago, but on the other, it was timely to receive personally and from a global perspective. I'll love to see how it continues to awaken and inspire me as I go on in my days. I especially appreciated & gained much validation/ insight from the section on the feminine dark. I honor the author and the voices of other women echoed in it's pages. A book to share with other women and also to refer back to again and again.

[Megan Gordon]

DNF-ed at 50 ish %. This book just isn't for me. In reading the synopsis I felt like it would really speak to me but the verbiage feels twenty years in the past. I am all for empowerment and "hoorah go women" but there wasn't enough intersection and nuance for me; and too much focus on the binary. We as women don't need our wounds explained to us (or maybe I should just speak for myself?) and that wasn't what I wanted. I wanted a book about harnessing personal power, and integrating fully into our humanity rather than the outdated modalities of 'feminine' and 'masculine'. That being said there are certainly people who will probably get a ton out of this book, I'm just not one of them.

[lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars!
I had to be in the right mood to enjoy this book. A lot of it was somewhat cryptic, and definitely requires a creative open mind to read it- not something to get into when you’re feeling logical.

I liked the diary prompts and they really facilitated learning more about myself and asking myself questions I’ve never thought about before.

At times I loved this book, at others I found it really annoying. But overall glad I read it and would probably recommend it to another woman that needs to feel empowered but is also open to the poetic and personal perspective that this book provides

[Blue · Rating 5 out of 5]

Burn, Baby! Burn....

Light upon light!
Read & re-read. Burn incense. Light candles. Meditate on the flame(s). Immerse yourself in water. Run through flames. Put pen to paper & talk to yourself - hear yourself. Believe you. Listen. Dance. Paint. Draw. Read this again. Rinse & repeat. Please.

[Geeske · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, poetic book on the Burning Woman archetype. A woman that stands in her power and follows her passion and intuition. I could relate to this archetype very much. Also to the Good Girl archtype that I used to embody. I love all the quotes by different women. I would definitely re-read this book.

[Runa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely a thought provoker. No matter what your faith there are major things to think about with this. If you run a circle or red tent this is a really good read on a new archetype you may not have thought much about before.

[Lisa Raie · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Beware! Beware the woman who burns!” for when she burns with passion she finds herself!

To be able to read this book in two days even whilst doing the exercises and firestarters pronounces the power that the book has had on me.

For women doing the work- YoU NEED To READ THIS BOOK

xox

[Layla, the Witch next door · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book can be summarized in a few words; powerful, thought provoking, educational, emotional and empowering. This book probably isn’t for everyone but as a woman who is in recovery and works with women in recovery, it’s an empowering read.

[Chloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chills, darkness, flames, freedom, and burning within. I feel like Lucy knew my deepest parts since birth. I hope this book finds every woman who is ready to burn… and likely has been ready for centuries. This is for us.