Embracing the Goddess Within: A Creative Guide for Women [Illustrated] [Hardcover]

Kris Waldherr (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1997

This masterfully illustrated sequel to The Book of Goddesses shows women how to incorporate the powers and strengths of goddesses into everyday life. Readers will learn not only the symbolism, qualities, and mythic energies associated with each goddess, but also how to create personal rituals to access their ancient power and wisdom. 2-color sepia & gold interior.

Editorial Reviews

Review

For many American women, the term "goddess" became a part of our contemporary vocabulary when Roseanne spoke of being a domestic one back in the mid 1980's. Not long thereafter, Kris Waldherr published The Book of Goddesses, which became a best-seller and provided a serious treatise on a subject long dismissed as fanciful or indulgent. With her latest book, Waldherr has again broken new ground. A sumptuous and visually stunning work, Embracing the Goddess Within strives to transfer the energy and sensuality that has for thousands of years been synonymous with the word goddess and match this with specific stages and interests in a woman's life. Each goddess depicted here is accompanied by a striking illustration and a recounting of her myth and a simple ritual designed to invoke her power, wisdom and spirit. Now if all this sounds a bit daunting to those who aren't sure they can or should be calling upon the powerful spirits of an ancient age, worry not. Waldherr's book has a larger appeal to women because it celebrates birth, love, creativity, motherhood, death, and any number of other life passages. There is a cross-referenced index listing contemporary women's issues and the goddess associated with that area, and for those familiar with the first book, this serves as a symmetrical companion piece. Again, this is beautifully produced book that encourages women to reach to that deeper place within themselves to find the same elements that made other women (and sometimes they were mortals) into goddesses. Waldherr's notion that all women can share this power through the use of ritual is indeed intriguing. -- From Independent Publisher

Women receive a guide which examines the feminine rites of passage: sections are organized by stories of the goddesses associated with different stages in a woman's life, with contemporary rituals and spiritual wisdom rounding out the introductions. Designed as a companion to Book Of The Goddesses, this also stands alone as a powerful coverage. -- Midwest Book Review

Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: Beyond Words Publishing (April 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1885223498
• ISBN-13: 978-1885223494
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,264,225 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Kris Waldherr is an author, illustrator, and designer whose art has been exhibited in the National Museum of Women in the Arts. She is the author of Doomed Queens, The Lover's Path and The Book of Goddesses, and creator of The Goddess Tarot. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars skimming the surface, August 21, 2000

By 

Heather "Heather" (Gurley, AL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Embracing the Goddess Within: A Creative Guide for Women (Hardcover)

I was very disappointed in the lack of depth of Embracing the Goddess Within. There is approxamately a paragraph stating the history or outline of the story concerning each goddess, then another page devoted to a "ritual" to connect with that goddess. I was aching for more substance... to use a familiar goddess, Aphrodite, as an example, Waldherr basically says that she's a greek goddess of romantic love, unwilling wife of Vulcan, etc. Then the "ritual" is to take a bath in rosepetals. I expected to gain some deeper understanding behind the culture of each goddess, but it's little more than what you would find in a "mythological encyclopedia."

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful Goddess book!, May 6, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Embracing the Goddess Within: A Creative Guide for Women (Hardcover)

This is a wonderfully written and illustrated book which would be wonderful for long time followers of the Goddess or would serve as an excellent introduction for newcomers. There are different sections in the book devoted to Goddesses focusing on specific areas of life. The meditations are simple, but profound. Just reading them immediately gives you a feeling of deeper understanding and connection with the Goddess in all her many guises. A very empowering book! I believe it would make a wonderful gift for anyone, but most especially any woman who is facing times of change or struggle, or one who maybe just needs to be reminded how amazing she is because of the simple fact that she is a woman.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nice introduction to Goddesses around the world, January 15, 2003

By 

M. Jones - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Embracing the Goddess Within: A Creative Guide for Women (Hardcover)

My scholarly devotion to paganism had once followed a decidely Celtic path. That is until I picked up this book shortly after seeing Waldherr's Goddess Tarot. While it does not give an in-depth treatment of the selected goddesses, it gives you a taste of other traditions. The cultural diversity of this book is responsible for piquing my interest in Tara, Sarasvati, Kali Ma and Quan Yin - goddesses I now hold dear. I also think this would be a lovely book to give to your non-pagan girlfriends who you wish to gently introduce to your beliefs. Worth checking out.