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Wise, whimsical, witty, and when it's called for, deliciously wicked, America's favorite witch stirs up an empowering brew for working women everywhere.
From receptionist to CEO and everyone in between, what woman wouldn't want to improve something (or many things) about her hectic seven-day work week?
In this gift-worthy guide, Z. Budapest combines down-to-earth tips and traditional magic to help women employ their powers to:
I was born in Budapest on January 30, 1940, on a terrible north-wind-whipped morning. My mother, Masika, then only twenty-five years old, had great trouble delivering me, so I was born by cesarean section. Mother was a famous sculptor who also happened to be a psychic, medium, and palm reader. She came from a long line of witches in the herbalist tradition. Her sister continued the line, becoming a pharmacist.
The Hungarian revolution in 1956 changed my life. I escaped to the West and went to school in Innsbruck and Vienna, and later at the University of Chicago, studying languages. I married and had two sons.
I studied with Second City, then with Viola Spolin, the mother of improvisation, and later at American Academy of Dramatic Art in New York.
In 1970 I discovered the Women's Liberation Movement, which led to another huge change in my life: I became a conscious woman. Feminism gave me so much. I decided to contribute seriously by connecting witchcraft with feminism, thereby sparking the women's spirituality movement. I wrote the first feminist witchcraft book, The Feminist Book of Lights and Shadows, which later became The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries; I followed this with two other books, Grandmother of Time and Grandmother Moon.
When I am not working on a new book I like to work with women at weekend workshops, retreats, and witch camps, where we practice the remembered arts of witchcraft in safe circles of women. We use tools of dance and chanting, candles, and incense to lift our spirits. We take part in guided meditations and pay visits to our ancestors and the Wild Woman. We practice using aromas and Bach remedies for inner balance.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best practical Witchcraft book I've ever read!,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Goddess in the Office: A Personal Energy Guide for the Spiritual Warrior at Work (Paperback)
When I first saw this book, I thought "Oh dear, Z's trying to appeal to the mass market by being cute." But I bought it anyway, if only because Z wrote it and I love her work. With trepidation, I opened the book and started to read. It took mere seconds for that trepidation to evaporate as I realized I was holding in my hands the best practical Witchcraft book I'd ever seen. Every tiny page is packed with useful spells, color ideas, and general all-around advice for getting through the work day with your sanity and soul intact. It also doesn't waste space giving yet another long Witchcraft 101 lecture, which is something I highly appreciated. If you're a woman and you have a dreary office job, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of this book.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fun, useful book for the working Wiccan,
By
This review is from: The Goddess in the Office: A Personal Energy Guide for the Spiritual Warrior at Work (Paperback)
"The Goddess in the Office" is the first women's spirituality book that specifically focuses on our work lives. Many Wiccan and Pagan books focus on family connections, love, and other aspects of home life. Money and careers are addressed more from the standpoint of doing rituals at home that will affect one's professional life, rather than expressing one's spirituality in the workplace. Granted, that's always a dicey proposition, especially for Wiccans.Z. Budapest manages to pack a lot in her fun, tiny book. She starts by describing her image of the Wild Woman, a preverbal creature who howls, moans, grumbles and purrs, and who makes us fall in love at inopportune times with inappropriate persons. Wild Woman gets bored at work, and need a place where they feel grounded. Budapest encourages women to create an unobtrusive "power spot" with tiny stones, perhaps a bird's nest, or other precious tiny things where the Wild Woman will feel at home-in other words, creating a tiny bit of beauty and tranquility in one's workplace. One aspect of "Goddess in the Office" that I particularly appreciated is the extent to which Budapest put me in tune with the energy of each day. I do find that I have a hard time focusing on work when I come in on Mondays, that I do get down to business on Tuesdays, that by Wednesday I'm looking to what I need to do next week, etc. Becoming aware of these energies helps to address the particular challenges that they pose. The chapters in "Goddess in the Office" are organized by the seven days of the week. Budapest begins each chapter by focusing on the day's energy, contemplating on the meaning behind the day's name (for instance, Moonsday has dreamy, introspective connotations), and the goddess associated with that day. (Continuing with the moon theme, Monday's Goddess is Artemis.) After exploring the symbolic meaning of the day, Budapest then suggests scents, gems, and colors to express the day's energy. I particularly liked her suggesting various colors, depending on the energy that would be needed on a particular day. Each chapter also includes a handful of work-related spells (which don't need to be done on a particular day) and ends meditation exercise (to be done at home) for connecting with one's Wild Woman. Budapest acknowledges the importance that weekends play in achieving balance in our work lives. While the Saturday and Sunday chapters seem lighter than the workday chapters, they do provide some good ideas for renewing one's energy and getting ready for the next week. The spells in "Goddess in the Office" are the only one's I've found that specifically address the kinds of challenges that arise at work. Budapest includes spells for computer problems, giving a speech, blessing a project, protecting against sexual harassment, etc. You can follow her suggestions discretely with easily accessible supplies. For instance, the spell for purifying the office involves soaking lemon verbena or a pinch of sea salt in spring water, and scattering the blessed water around the office before co-workers arrive at work. "Goddess in the Office" isn't Wicca 401, by any stretch of the imagination. You're not going to delve into deep spiritual issues. But you just might have fun! The little line drawings of the naked Wild Woman serve as a great reminder that we cannot ignore our playful selves for too long just because we also have to earn a paycheck.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Visualizations, spells, and charms for the cubicle crowd,
By
This review is from: The Goddess in the Office: A Personal Energy Guide for the Spiritual Warrior at Work (Paperback)
If Wicca touches your soul and visualizations are helpful in changing your inner harmony, if you want to get in touch with your inner Wild Woman instead of your inner child, if you seek empowerment from within and ways to achieve it, if you are seeking spells that will help you with the problems you encounter in the modern office, then this is the book for you. Filled with a sense of empowerment and whimsy, this book will inspire and amuse at the same time. Each chapter covers a day of the week and provides advice on the energy of the day, colors and fragrances to wear and surround yourself with, crystals, stones, and herbs to have with you, and a special Goddess for each day and its energy. Included throughout the book are spells to promote cooperation and solidarity, protect or recover property, receive raises or promotions, promote or prevent office romance, ward off sexual harrassment, and for many other common office situations. Although written for women, this will be enjoyed by any male who seeks harmony with the Goddess and her energies in his life.
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