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Goddess Initiation: A Practical Celtic Program for Soul-Healing, Self-Fulfillment & Wild Wisdom
Everyone possesses the spiritual, psychic, and worldly potential of a Goddess or God. In this breakthrough book, Francesca De Grandis brings years of experience as a shamanic counselor and traditional spiritual healer to reveal how you can cultivate and celebrate the secret, magical side of your nature. This month-to-month program of many practical exercises, rituals, and prayers will help you: Discover your innate wisdom Heal inner blocks to happiness and meaningful action in your life Achieve your goals and feel energized, strong, and capable Unleash creativity and passion for living Celebrate a vibrant and healthy sexualityBased on traditional Celtic culture and the author's own successful and unique Third Road teaching, this enriching journey deep into the heart of shamanism and Goddess Spirituality will appeal to all seekers, not just Wiccans. A lyrical sourcebook of rituals, spells, mysticism, and mirth, "Goddess Initiation" is designed for everyone who wants to integrate commonsense Spirituatity -- and a bit of Faerie dust -- into their everyday lives.
331 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 4, 2009
Hold out your hand, top facing you. See your knuckles? See the small space between your first finger’s knuckle and your middle finger’s? Yeah, that’s about how little "Celtic" this book contained.
Goddess Initiation is based around De Grandis’ own The Third Road®, a 'Celtic' shamanic path which is taught in the book. As Francesca was educated in the Faerie Tradition of Victor and Cora Anderson ("I completed a rigorous seven-year training to become a traditional spiritual healer and Celtic shaman" [page 15:]*), you can bet this influences her work.
There are thirteen lessons total in the book, which should take a month per module. Some of the lessons seem quite meaningful and others are just downright silly. At the end of the twelfth lesson, she honestly says, "Zap, You’re a Shaman!" (page 303). Riiiight. So it’s that easy? Wow, someone should alert the Tungus peoples. Seriously people.
On page 15, she says, "some of what is presented in this book as traditional shamanism Third Road style is what I was taught, but a great deal, whether ritual, ancient Celtic worldview, prehistoric cosmology, or so on, is as I decided it must have been", a.k.a., I made something up and labeled it as authentic and ancient. This is why we have so many new people to the Celtic traditions who are misinformed, deceived, and lead astray. It does not make the lives of those who want to teach the truth about the Celts, like me, any easier. The "Goddess Religion" is not Celtic. The Celts did not worship a "great mother goddess" over all deities. The Mists of Avalon was a book, people, a work of fiction. Things like that are not how it really was.
Overall, while I may have huge problems with this book, I don’t have any doubts that those of the goddess religions (i.e., Reclaiming Tradition, etcetera…) would have any problems with it. And technically, I wouldn’t have as misgivings had she not labeled this a "Celtic program" and decided to make stuff up.
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* Hard to be a traditional Celtic shaman when the Celts didn’t even have shamans, but okay.
Goddess Initiation is based around De Grandis’ own The Third Road®, a 'Celtic' shamanic path which is taught in the book. As Francesca was educated in the Faerie Tradition of Victor and Cora Anderson ("I completed a rigorous seven-year training to become a traditional spiritual healer and Celtic shaman" [page 15:]*), you can bet this influences her work.
There are thirteen lessons total in the book, which should take a month per module. Some of the lessons seem quite meaningful and others are just downright silly. At the end of the twelfth lesson, she honestly says, "Zap, You’re a Shaman!" (page 303). Riiiight. So it’s that easy? Wow, someone should alert the Tungus peoples. Seriously people.
On page 15, she says, "some of what is presented in this book as traditional shamanism Third Road style is what I was taught, but a great deal, whether ritual, ancient Celtic worldview, prehistoric cosmology, or so on, is as I decided it must have been", a.k.a., I made something up and labeled it as authentic and ancient. This is why we have so many new people to the Celtic traditions who are misinformed, deceived, and lead astray. It does not make the lives of those who want to teach the truth about the Celts, like me, any easier. The "Goddess Religion" is not Celtic. The Celts did not worship a "great mother goddess" over all deities. The Mists of Avalon was a book, people, a work of fiction. Things like that are not how it really was.
Overall, while I may have huge problems with this book, I don’t have any doubts that those of the goddess religions (i.e., Reclaiming Tradition, etcetera…) would have any problems with it. And technically, I wouldn’t have as misgivings had she not labeled this a "Celtic program" and decided to make stuff up.
___________________________________
* Hard to be a traditional Celtic shaman when the Celts didn’t even have shamans, but okay.
January 16, 2010
De Grandis is one of my favorite , most knowledgeable pagan authors. She is a treasure. Her writing is passionate, powerful, knowledgeable, and has something to teach all levels of reader.
February 8, 2008
It is a little slow reading. But it has some interesting info. The author suggests you follow along with the rituals and do one a month to meditate on them.
August 16, 2013
I must read for any Pagan woman looking to explore her spiritual identity.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews