Customer Reviews

Goddess Initiation: A Practical Celtic Program for Soul-Healing, Self-Fulfillment & Wild Wisdom

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I am a member of a Goddess-centered women's circle and am always looking for good materials for our group. When I read the reviews of this book I decided to order it, thinking that the invocations, prayers, and exercises would be great new resources. Sadly, this book just does not measure up to the many other excellent Goddess books out there.

First of all, the very fact that the author has sought and obtained a service mark for her "Third Way" is grating. Right off, this smacks of an unpleasant commercialism. By and large, I have noticed, bona fide spiritual systems and guides are not that concerned with protecting their intellectual property rights through trademarks and service marks. They are more concerned with getting their message to as many people as possible. Throughout the book, I get the sense that the author is extremely interested in taking credit for starting a wholly new and revolutionary system, and in getting the recognition she feels is her due.

Second, the author claims to have spent seven years in intense study of Celtic shamanism. What on earth took so long? Med school is four years, and there is a LOT more material. Let's face it, her "system" is neither Celtic nor shamanism. It is a shallow amalgam of several other spiritual systems mixed with some pop psychology. True Celtic spirituality, what little we know of it, is quite different from the facile and purely American ideas she brings forward. And shamanism's core lies in the trance journeys that seem to be mere afterthoughts here.

De Grandis keeps saying that God tells her things--in particular, things that people who come to her for guidance should do. I don't know about anybody else, but in these days of religious fanaticism, anybody who claims to have clear and certain knowledge of what God wants makes me VERY nervous. (If someone tells me that God wants me to do something, I make it a policy to run the other way.) (By the way, she calls God "her"--which is right up there with saying "When Man first stepped out of her cave"-- but never calls the Goddess "him," I notice. So much for gender blindness.)

The meditations and invocations are unfocused and just don't measure up to the material created by such people as Starhawk and Barbara Ardinger. For example, in the Kissed By a Star meditation, she does not lay any meditative groundwork through relaxation techniques or trance induction, just tells readers to "imagine a star" and instructs us to send our blocks to the star to be kissed and healed. The description of this and other meditations is so ungracefully written that it is hard to pluck out the worthwhile material from the dross. Maybe I feel disappointed because it is a very good idea for a meditation, it just doesn't live up to its promise--a problem with virtually every exercise in the book.

I was also annoyed yet amused by the description of how the author was ready to undergo an elaborate and awe-inspiring initiation with another spiritual teacher in the supposedly ancient Faery tradition (which in truth dates back some 80-90 years at most, despite its adherents' claims) but the two had some doctrinal falling out on the day of the big event and he pettishly refused to initiate her. Is this supposed to inspire us? She also brags about how she had, all on her own, come up with a self-initiation that was almost the same as the terribly powerful Faery initiation that supposedly can drive one mad if done wrong. When I read that, my BS Warning Alert System went into the red zone. I am by no means unaware of the power of a well-done ritual, having participated in and even created some myself, but let's be real here.

The book is full of stray bits of misinformation, like the author's contention that the word "wine" in many ancient spiritual texts is a mistranslation and really was supposed to be "milk." Where on earth did she get that? The word for "wine" is one of those concrete and easy-to-check words that is almost impossible to mistranslate: Is she suggesting that Dionysius got inebriated on milk? I can understand and sympathize if she chooses not to use alcohol, but for heaven's sake, just say so, don't make things up.

The biggest problem, though, is the lack of any real spiritual core here. De Grandis calls herself a spiritual healer, but a lot of the book is taken up with anecdotes of superficial psychotherapy (even though she insists that's not what she does). If a practitioner tells her client that his biggest issue is getting rid of the negative messages from his father, for example, you can call it anything you want, but that's psychotherapy.

I bought this hoping to find a clear and spiritually powerful method of gaining greater insight into the Goddess, and instead got a pastiche of not-very-original material in a rather disorganized jumble. The only reason I gave this book two stars instead of one is that I don't think the author is actually malicious. I am saddened, though, to see the deeply meaningful and rich traditions of the Goddess cheapened by this obvious commercialism.

I didn't care much for DeGrandis's first book, but I thought the ideas behind this one were good and wanted to give it a try. I ended up reselling it almost immedately.

It's not that I think it's terrible; it's certainly more unique than much else that's out right now in the Pagan genre. There were just a lot of little quibbles I had with her information, style, and substance that made it hard to get through the book.

First of all is her apparent lack of credible scholarship; she calls her tradition Celtic and Faery but gives you no reason to believe it's either other than her word. (Oh, and all the Victor Anderson anecdotes) The Fae are only involved directly in one of the rituals; the same with two Celtic deities. Other than that her system is very generic despite her claims to authenticity as a "Celtic shaman" (whatever that means these days).

Secondly is the infomercial-like tone of the whole book. Almost every paragraph has an endorsement of her self-created tradition; the reader is repeatedly but subtly advised to read her other book, visit her website, buy her album. Every chapter is punctuated with testimonial-like stories about her clients/students, to the point that I expected someone to pop out and yell, "But wait! For just ...plus shipping and handling, you can get..."

Third, she uses the words Wicca, Witchcraft, shamanism, Faery Wicca, and others interchangeably, and that is a bit grating to those of us who think there is an actual difference among these words. Many will agree that the word Wicca, for instance, describes a particular religious path with particular tools, beliefs, and methods; there are things about her tradition that are definitely *not* Wiccan. For the beginners out there, if you read this book please read others. Lots of others. (that should be standard advice anyway) You'll start to see the difference between what DeGrandis calls Wicca and what the vast majority of Wiccans actually do.

Fourth, the rituals, prayers, testimonials, and so forth come off more like psychotherapy than spirituality. The rituals gloss over some important points, even though the book is supposedly suitable for beginners. It doesn't "feel" like magic, or religion--it feels like make-believe. (I freely admit there's a fine line; she just seems to cross it more often than not)

It is, unfortunately, symptomatic of the Pagan Community at large that people feel that in order to have a valid tradition they have to use other traditions' labels and vocabulary or claim that their ideas are descended from Celts/Faeries/Unicorns/Great Grandma/or whatever, or that their rituals just happened to be almost exactly like ones that existed previously. There's nothing wrong with making something totally new. Every religion has to start somewhere, right?

I am an initiate of Francesca's Third Road Tradition and I offer three separate and equally valuable reviews of her new book.

A Standard Review:

Goddess Initiation (hereafter GI) by Francesca De Grandis is a year-long course of self-empowerment culminating in an initiation into the Third Road tradition of witchcraft. GI is unusual in Wiccan literature in that one's first impression on reading it is that it is simply a self-help book. You won't find endless lists of candle color correspondences, Wiccan tools (athames, pentacles, etc.), and sabbats. What you will find is a rigorous training program in how to embody magic in a mundane world.

Based on the oral tradition that she has taught for many years, GI largely consists of chapters which each contain one month's worth of lectures, assignments and rituals and which culminate in a self-initiation ceremony at the end of one year's work. GI also includes three introductory chapters, a post-initiation chapter (titled "So what if you're an initiate? Go wash your dishes and call your mother") and a couple of appendices pointing you to further resources.

Francesca's lectures provide the intellectual framework for increasing your psychic abilities. She includes frequent examples which are usually made up to protect her client's identities but which accurately reflect her many years of experience as a professional shamanic counselor and teacher. She is quite clear and precise in her discourse.

Her assignments are often shockingly simple (month one includes finding a notebook which will become your Book of Shadows), but equally often quite profound in what they reveal to yourself about yourself. For instance, when I received the notebook assignment in the oral training I bought a gray three-ring binder containing recycled paper. I wanted to be invisible and simply observe in those early classes since becoming a witch was a frightening thing to me as a Presbyterian Elder. I wanted to able to remove and rearrange pages if needed. And, finally, I wanted to be as eco-friendly as I could to honor our Mother. All of those things were brought to consciousness for me when I did that assignment.

The rituals are beautiful, and, personally, I would buy the book simply to get her circle-casting which she titles "The Mother's Cloak: A Circle of Protection and Love" I have seen her use this lovely casting in public rituals, but she has not, in general, passed it on to her students. This casting should be of particular interest to Neo-pagans in general since it completely avoids the "Oh, mighty foo of the East" directional invocations which is a beautiful but confining legacy of ceremonial magic.

The book only hit the bookshelves two weeks ago, and so clearly I have not applied this program to my life as it was designed to be done: over the course of an entire year. Nevertheless, I was trained in the oral tradition for over two years and then initiated, and I can vouchsafe that all of the essential material is there in this book. I can tell that if you follow this course diligently that you will experience profound and wonderful changes in your life, and that these changes will be accomplished safely and effectively. This book is a profound gateway into Faerie.

A Personal Review:

Darn it, here I spent two years and well over a (dollar amount) (it's even more expensive to study with her now) learning the Third Road Tradition, and now she's GIVING it all away for a mere (dollar amount). Well, actually I don't begrudge the time or expense at all because it was a lot of fun, and we got to friends, and I got to tease and mock her frequently (which is a sacred thing to do to each other in our Trad). My first reaction to GI (which I'd think any of the oral trad students might have) was to pick out everything that is "missing" in the book.

Francesca's intention in GI is to move the written Tradition away from the trappings of Feri Tradition. You won't find Hawaiian magic and psychic anatomy, the Guardians, most of the Gods and Goddesses (though, strangely, Ana and Arddu make an appearance near the end) or the Circle Script. For those of you outside of the tradition you CAN find virtually all of these things on the Internet, but I wouldn't recommend it. The training is FAR more important than the trappings.

And that's the thing.

I think that she's really succeeded in putting the training into book form. There are moments when the poetry of Faerie speaks through her words on the pages, and …bzzzap… you are there.

I, for one, am looking forward to working with all the initiates this book produces. I know that that fact's true, because when I was nearing the end of the book I had a true Teletubby moment of "Again! Again!" Not that I wanted to reread the book immediately, but that I wanted to be in Francesca's class again. Taking notes. Writing poetry. Chatting at break. Sweeping the floor at the end. I am continually astonished by the beautiful things that Third Road initiates produce, and eagerly await the new black-cords that this book will produce.

A Poetic Response:

I am the Rhymer
At the crossroads of Being.
See that overgrown footpath:
That's the hard-scrabble road to Heaven.
And there, the broad avenue:
The well-paved road to Hell.
But twixt the two
Hidden in a smile:
There lays the road to Faerie.
This is the Third Road
The road that chooses you.

The book is broken down into months, each of which then consists of 4 weeks of exercises. Exercises include medications, rituals, writing, etc. At the end of the book you reach the Initiation ceremony, with the theory that the months of work before have properly prepared you.

In "Goddess Initiation," De Grandis manages to take the tone of a friend without oversimplifying the material or being condescending. Some of her prayers are pure poetry. I think De Grandis takes her teachings one step further (from "Be a Goddess!") in "Goddess Initiation," and it seems to require a more dedicated approach.

I found this book at the bookstore by accident, but it was exactly what I needed. A clear, laid out plan for self improvement, wisdom and clarity with activities and explanations every week that anyone with just a little dedication can benefit from.

Many traditions require a student to study for at least a year and a day before undergoing intitiation into the mysteries of the Goddess, but today many people have no access to an elder who can teach them. Thus, this book fills a much needed role. "Goddess Initiation" provides a thorough, powerful, and structured program of self-preparation for entry into the mysteries. As in her first book, De Grandis combines a playful writing style with a keen insight into the processes necessary for true spiritual growth. Her program is safe for the inexperienced seeker, yet has enough substance to be challenging and insightful even for those whose spiritual journey is well underway. Even if you're working with a teacher and will receive your initiation through your teacher's lineage, the wisdom of "Goddess Initiation" can help you along your way.

I am a Celtic Reconstructionist, but please don't stop reading. I was once a Witch and Goddesss person and do NOT begrudge ANYONE their take on God. As I said above, her book is still very high quality. In fact, if you are tempted to buy some Llewellyn published bull instead--DO NOT. Buy this. It is heads, shoulders and several floors above anything out there on Craft.

Let me start with the critique of her Celtic claims (you will be rewarded if you read through it to the other stuff)

Francesca has elements of the ancient Druidic philosophies in her book--it appears in her take on paradoxes, and other subtle understandings of the spirit. But she IS a Wiccan, maybe a Celtic focused Wiccan, but Wiccan nonetheless--with Buddhist overtones. It is NOT Celtic/Druidic to divide the Gods up into a Goddess and God. It is coming to light that the Celts probably didn't believe in personifying the spirit world--i.e. they probably did not take the Gods and Goddesses in their mythology as literal fact only representations of Truth. She may claim to be Celtic, but she is not by strict definition of the word.

Reconstructionists try to reconstruct the Druidic/Celtic faith through researching their history and mythology. When they make something up, or just feel that the Celts might have said, done or believed something they show you the evidence as to why they make that assumption and tell you that they are making an assumption. None of their research is based on Magaret Murray or any of the other "history" that has been proven to be wishful imaginary musings. They do not assume that because the Celts took the "best" beliefs from everyone they conqured or married and because they believed in the power of the Imagination--through spells, song, story etc, that that gives us permission to make everything up as we go and call ourselves Celtic. (This is a common Neo-pagan/Wiccan excuse for a spiritual free-for-all. I don't think de Grandis does this. I think she is honest and makes no excuses.)

Now to continue. Why, you might ask, did I buy this book anyway? Because she has put down in written form what I had to do from scratch for myself. I wanted to see her approach. (You see, I became a Witch coming upon 13 years ago when there were only 3 books on the market and I wanted to use the Craft the way Starhawk seemed to promote it to be used for: making myself a functional, peaceful, non-neurotic adult.) Her approach to magick and ritual is exactly how I approached it and still do.

I am 33 years old and have just come through 13 years of the exact type of initiation that de Grandis speaks about in her book. I used spells and ritual to get what I needed done--just like she advocates. I, in fact, went through several years of loss of faith as an athiest as part of this initiation road. I NOW concider myself a 1st degree, no longer a novice and initiate for any spiritual tradition. BUT THAT's IT. AFTER 13 years! So, I'm saying her approach works! I have yet to do it, but... it works. I hope I'm making sense.

Off topic for new seekers for a sec:

[JUST A note to all you people interested in Wicca and want to get all your degrees and stuff. Keep the above fact in mind when getting your degree and especially when getting involved in groups and/or finding a teacher. It takes YEARS of rigerous personal growth and years of hard work to be able to get a meaningful degree. I have just been through the internal-personal training, I have just recently started on the stuff that is required of a 2nd or 3rd degree Witch or neo-pagan, which is public ritual, dealing with the public, spiritual counceling and teaching.]

So, in the end, I would highly recommend both of de Grandis's books. They teach you how to be a REAL Neo-pagan, Witch, shaman...whatever. There is REAL, HONEST spiritual depth here unlike in any book I've read on the subject since Starhawk's Spiral Dance--believe me I've read a lot. If you are looking into Celtic spiritual tradition Jean Markale's books are superb as well as Alexei Kondreitiev (sp) his book is called _Apple Branch_ and Erynn Laurie's (sp) book about building a Celtic Rosary.

After working through the year long training in this book, I have found myself less stressed out, more focused, and more in charge of my own life. There are a lot of meditation books out there, but this book is different in that it promotes practical rituals and meditations that don't require a lot of accoutrements to get the job done. Francesca speaks to the heart and makes spirituality accessible. You won't find lists of boring facts in this book. It is not a reference work, but a true training in the Craft.
I recommend it highly and with total enthusiasm for the dedicated Seeker. It is not your average "teen witch" book. There is deep healing here, and the author focuses on what really counts. Very readable and very do-able.

I bought the author's other book, Be a Goddess! when it first came out, and found it amazingly helpful and a wonderful read. After 20-odd years on my path, I wasn't sure if it would have anything new for me, but it did - new ideas, and older ideas with a whole new twist. I gained a lot from that book, and shared it with friends whose lives were radically changed (for the better).

I recently purchased Goddess Initiation, and wondered if there would be anything new in it for me after reading Be a Goddess! Again, I was presently surprised. The two books/systems complement each other beautifully, but they are two entirely different systems. As such, of course some aspects will repeat - as another reviewer pointed out, both go over creating a Book of Shadows, but even that is different in each book. I have read Goddess Initiation through, and am now starting the monthly exercises as set out in the book. I'm looking forward to the growth and experience I'm sure to experience.

Thank you, Francesca, for another fabulous self-help book. Blessed Be!

A little over four years ago, I worked through the 15 weeks of lessons in Francesca's first book, Be a Goddess: A Guide to Celtic Spells and Wisdom for Self-Healing, Prosperity, and Great Sex, and found, to my great surprise and pleasure, that these lessons were fun, inspiring, and, most of all, life-transforming. The psychology was sound, the spirituality was amazing, and the teacher was warm and caring.

With the very positive experience I had working through Be a Goddess, I was very excited when Goddess Initiation was released. Designed to take a little more than a year to work through, Goddess Initiation has even more to offer than its predecessor. I didn't think that was possible!

Goddess Initiation is essentially a workbook to help you gain personal insights, remove your inner blocks to joy and healthy sexuality, and discover your own creative passion for living. A shamanic method of self-empowerment and spiritual growth, the tools in this book are valuable regardless of your gender, sexual preference, or cultural or religious background. Francesca says, "Mine is an interfaith Goddess, who is perfectly happy helping all people regardless of their religious beliefs or lack thereof."

Francesca is warm, intuitive, and truly magical! As someone who has not only worked through her books but has also worked extensively with her in person, I can tell you that the work she presents in her books is a result of many, many years of dedication to the Old Gods and to helping her students, her readers, and anyone else who comes into her sphere of influence to develop their innate talents, spiritual growth, and healthy self-esteem.

The book's writing is gorgeous, its humor is uplifting, and its inspirational message is needed nowadays. The book draws on Francesca's many years as a spiritual healer and teacher, so is neither glib nor trendy. This is real stuff: spiritual answers that are helping me sustain my spirit as well as improve my life and the world. Buy a copy for a friend in need no matter what their religion is, or even if they're not religious. Francesca offers practical relevant solutions; I'm gonna have to get my mother her own copy of Goddess Initiation because she keeps stealing mine! And she never reads this sort of book! Francesca was a student and friend of the Wiccan elder, Victor Anderson. Victor, a major influence on the Goddess Spirituality movement, taught Starhawk and other major leaders. He passed away two weeks ago. Goddess Initiation is a fitting tribute to Victor and his life work.