Best of
Goddess

2013

Awakening Shakti: The Transformative Power of the Goddesses of Yoga


Sally Kempton - 2013
    Yet most of us, women as well as men, have yet to experience the full potential of our inner feminine energies. When you know these powers for what they are, they heighten your capacity to open spiritually, love more deeply and fearlessly, create with greater mastery, and move through the world with skill and delight. In Awakening Shakti, you will learn how to recognize and invite:Kali, bringer of strength, fierce love, and untamed freedomLakshmi, who confers prosperity and beautySaraswati, for clarity of communication and intuitionRadha, who carries the divine energy of spiritual longingBhuvaneshvari, who creates the space for sacred transformationParvati, to awaken creativity and the capacity to loveWith a wealth of meditations, visualizations, mantras, teachings, and beautifully told stories, Awakening Shakti provides a practical guide for activating the currents of the divine feminine in every aspect of your life.

Goddesses: Mysteries of the Feminine Divine


Joseph Campbell - 2013
    His bestselling books, including The Power of Myth and The Hero with a Thousand Faces, are the rare blockbusters that are also scholarly classics.While Campbell’s work reached wide and deep as he covered the world’s great mythological traditions, he never wrote a book on goddesses in world mythology. He did, however, have much to say on the subject. Between 1972 and 1986 he gave over twenty lectures and workshops on goddesses, exploring the figures, functions, symbols, and themes of the feminine divine, following them through their transformations across cultures and epochs.In this provocative volume, editor Safron Rossi—a goddess studies scholar, professor of mythology, and curator of collections at Opus Archives, which holds the Joseph Campbell archival manuscript collection and personal library—collects these lectures for the first time. In them, Campbell traces the evolution of the feminine divine from one Great Goddess to many, from Neolithic Old Europe to the Renaissance. He sheds new light on classical motifs and reveals how the feminine divine symbolizes the archetypal energies of transformation, initiation, and inspiration.

Shakti Meditations: Guided Practices to Invoke the Goddesses of Yoga


Sally Kempton - 2013
    Shakti Meditations provides an immediate way to experience the many gifts of this divine feminine power. Taught by expert meditation teacher Sally Kempton, these guided inner practices use India’s goddesses of yoga as gateways for discovering and inviting the many dimensions of Shakti.Like rivers flowing through us, each deity carries its own unique energies to help empower and guide us in our spiritual, relationship, career, and creative paths. As we meditate upon them, their virtues and energies begin to arise in such forms as:Durga for strength, protection, and action• Lakshmi for abundance and self-compassion• Kali to ignite our courage and clear inner obstacles• Saraswati to spark creative inspiration and clarify communication• Maha Devi to draw us closer into spacious and liberated consciousnessFor yoga practitioners, healers, meditators, and anyone who needs to call on the power of the feminine, Shakti Meditations gives listeners a powerful method to explore this limitless source of light and energy within us.

The Dancing Goddesses: Folklore, Archaeology, and the Origins of European Dance


Elizabeth Wayland Barber - 2013
    So appealing were these spirit-maidens that they also took up residence in nineteenth-century Romantic literature.Archaeologist and linguist by profession, folk dancer by avocation, Elizabeth Wayland Barber has sleuthed through ethnographic lore and archaeological reports of east and southeast Europe, translating enchanting folktales about these “dancing goddesses” as well as eyewitness accounts of traditional rituals — texts that offer new perspectives on dance in agrarian society. She then traces these goddesses and their dances back through the Romans and Greeks to the first farmers of Europe. Along the way, she locates the origins of many customs, including coloring Easter eggs and throwing rice at the bride. The result is a detective story like no other and a joyful reminder of the human need to dance.

The Dream of the Cosmos: A Quest for the Soul


Anne Baring - 2013
    It seeks to answer the questions: "Who are we?" and "Why are we here, on this planet?" It is offered to those who are looking for something beyond the superficial values of our culture, who may be disillusioned with religious and secular belief systems as currently presented and who question political values which are deeply mired in the pursuit of power. It is written with two voices: one the voice of a personal quest and the other which explores the historical and psychological causes that have brought into being our present view of reality.

Captive Spirits (Legends of Aztar Series, #1)


Mary Adair - 2013
    Fear of those who wield a mystical cruelty holds people as CAPTIVE SPIRITS. All that remains is the waning belief in a savior who will someday come to restore peace to a blood soaked land. Zmeria, an ancient text recovered, brings a Prophecy to life. The leaders of each Region come together with a plan to reunite Aztar's divided people and make way for their savior. They arm themselves with the recently discovered revelation of peace long past. A dream is born and legends revived as Aztar’s people determine to fight the evil and Reclaim Aztar. The Evil’s grasp is strong on the CAPTIVE SPIRITS of Aztar. Leaders know this battle to free the will and spirit of the people will not be easily won. They decree a King must be chosen. One man of the entire world stands out from the rest. Si, the firstborn son of the house of Volcum, is well known for valor and victories in battle. A kingdom must be established. As the center of his kingdom, Si Volcum decreed an ancient, long deserted castle far to the north that contained the lost records of Aztar’s forgotten glory. He accepted his chosen bride, Alexis, unseen from a house as old as his own. Si ruled and the land prospered for fifteen years while evil silently waited. The King did not know when evil struck it would be personally against him or that the price would be so high. The people of Aztar chose well in their King. Si will not hesitate. The King will pay the price. From his love and chosen path, the Saga of Aztar begins with the legend of her first King, Si Volcum. “Reclaim Aztar,” will be their battle cry.

Raver: The Horsecaller: Book One


Candace Carrabus - 2013
    Descended from generations of extraordinary equestrians, Lauren Gallagher longs to be left alone with her horses. When a strange man arrives seeking a particular rider, she and her mount, Pindar, are abducted through the Ravery to Cirq, a dying land bereft of its beloved steeds. There, she encounters Supreme Guardian Leinos who awakens her long-dormant hope for the future. Lauren denies she is the prophesied Horsecaller but is drawn into his quest to return Cirq to greatness. Soon, she's fighting giant venomous birds, a hostile queen, and the unfamiliar yearnings of her own heart.But time is running out. Conspiracy threatens from all sides, and not everyone looks upon "Ravers" with kindness.Will Lauren and Pindar bring Cirq's horses home before it's too late?"A story of life, love, and the secret places we dream about."Includes an excerpt of the upcoming novel, "On The Buckle, " a contemporary romantic murder mystery coming soon from Candace Carrabus.