The Way of the Rose Quotes

“In the beginning was the Word,' says the Gospel of John. But the truth is, words came later. In the beginning was the rose.”
― Perdita Finn, The Way of the Rose: The Radical Path of the Divine Feminine Hidden in the Rosary

“Any human being on the planet today can take off their shoes and stand in the dirt and instantly know everything there is to know.”
― Clark Strand, The Way of the Rose: The Radical Path of the Divine Feminine Hidden in the Rosary

“The purpose of the Genesis story is to explain the loss of that long, slow paradise that today we call the Paleolithic—an epoch of history in which our ancestors lived not only in a sustainable relationship to the Earth but in a joyous and loving one as well. In one of the greatest bait and switches of all time, that loss is blamed on Eve, whose name means, tellingly, “Mother of All Life.”
In a final bid for patriarchal power, the Bible separates the Goddess from one of her oldest animal allies. For tens of thousands of years before Genesis was written, the serpent was the ultimate symbol of reincarnation and renewal. The ouroboros (a snake swallowing its own tail) signified the eternal cycles of birth, death, and rebirth that were the source of the Goddess’s power. In Genesis that life-sustaining circle is broken, and the serpent becomes evil instead. The natural world was no longer considered sentient and divine. The mutilation and exploitation of our Mother’s body could continue uninterrupted down to the present day.
And yet, the final victory is always hers. Empires rise and fall. Whole civilizations vanish into vast deserts of geological time. But life remains. The Mother remains.”
― Perdita Finn, The Way of the Rose: The Radical Path of the Divine Feminine Hidden in the Rosary

“There are no unfinished lives, because there are no single lives. Life goes on and on. If you knew how many lives there were to work with, you would learn to be patient and know that some things just take time. Lives are being given to you—more lives than you could imagine—over and over again.

Those who learn to manage time gracefully will be happy from one lifetime to the next. Those who are thrown off-balance by time will live with anxiety and confusion. You must know that this is not the only life, and not the only time. You can learn this if you will.

Just as the birds move easily from tree to tree with nothing to block their passage, I can teach you to move freely from one lifetime to the next. With this confidence, much that seems difficult in this lifetime will become possible for you. Healings and reconciliations that seem unlikely can easily be obtained, and the joy that has eluded you can be found close at hand.

You cannot trace the path of your soul from life to life in the same way that you follow your days from week to week, your months from year to year. But know that your lives are longer than you realize, and pray and remain open to the wisdom that is yours. That wisdom is the birthright of having a body.

It is best for this learning, however, not to be anxious or afraid. There is nothing you have now that cannot be given to you again. There is no one you have loved who is forever lost to you. Nor are you condemned to repeat the same mistakes and follies. The long story of your soul is wiser and more generous than you know.

The human concept of the soul is like a shiny coin faceup on the ground. It is flat. The most you can imagine is flipping it over to see what is on the other side. I want to show you the full length and brightness of a soul. I want you to feel its amplitude. It is incalculably long and old. A soul is so much deeper, so much brighter than you imagine. The universe is astounded by every soul. The universe is not big enough to contain a soul.

Know that you can pick up the thread of your own soul in this lifetime the moment you pick up the rosary. So don’t lose heart, and never give in to fear. Live with confidence, knowing that there are reasons for all things that happen. You do not live in a random universe because you do not live in a Motherless universe.

You know by now that it was I Who, through your mothers, gave birth to your bodies. Know also that I have given birth to your souls—and a soul may never be destroyed.”
― Perdita Finn, The Way of the Rose: The Radical Path of the Divine Feminine Hidden in the Rosary

“The Great Goddess is a virgin in the same way that a forest is a virgin—able to call forth life from within herself with the help of nothing but the golden light of the Sun. In fact, the word virgin meant something very different in the ancient world from what it has come to mean today. It came from the Latin for strength and power, the root that gives us the same generative energy as virility.
When the ancient goddesses—Ishtar, Astarte, Inanna, Isis, Diana, Athena…and, yes, Mary—were described as virgins, it didn’t mean that they had never been touched, had never felt desire, or had never experienced sexual union. It meant that no man could own them or defile them. They were not pure or chaste, but green and powerful, these virgins—able to resurrect the land and remake the world with the coming of every spring.”
― Perdita Finn, The Way of the Rose: The Radical Path of the Divine Feminine Hidden in the Rosary

“When the ancient goddesses—Ishtar, Astarte, Inanna, Isis, Diana, Athena…and, yes, Mary—were described as virgins, it didn’t mean that they had never been touched, had never felt desire, or had never experienced sexual union. It meant that no man could own them or defile them. They were not pure or chaste, but green and powerful, these virgins—able to resurrect the land and remake the world with the coming of every spring.”
― Clark Strand, The Way of the Rose: The Radical Path of the Divine Feminine Hidden in the Rosary

“When you understand where the words dirty and holy intersect, you will have found the secret to everything.”
― Clark Strand, The Way of the Rose: The Radical Path of the Divine Feminine Hidden in the Rosary

“The end is just another beginning when a Mother is in charge of the world.”
― Clark Strand, The Way of the Rose: The Radical Path of the Divine Feminine Hidden in the Rosary

“The rosary is not a spiritual practice to be perfected with effort. It is a devotion that reminds us of our connection to a Mother whose very body is our planet and our home.”
― Clark Strand, The Way of the Rose: The Radical Path of the Divine Feminine Hidden in the Rosary

“Am I not here who am your Mother? Are you not under my shadow and my protection? Am I not your source of joy? Are you not in the folds of my mantle, And in the crossing of my arms? Is there anything else that you need?”
― Clark Strand, The Way of the Rose: The Radical Path of the Divine Feminine Hidden in the Rosary

“Without the Earth, the Sun would be light only, not life.”
― Clark Strand, The Way of the Rose: The Radical Path of the Divine Feminine Hidden in the Rosary

“Like our simian ancestors, we are born clinging to our mothers, and for the rest of our lives we will reenact that first embrace, reaching out for something to hold on to—both in moments of joy and in moments of distress.”
― Clark Strand, The Way of the Rose: The Radical Path of the Divine Feminine Hidden in the Rosary