Customer Reviews

The Goddess in the Office: A Personal Energy Guide for the Spiritual Warrior at Work

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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.

"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.

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.

A breezy, yet detailed book on making your workplace goddess friendly and dealing with everyday, mundane reality in magical ways.

Every working woman needs this book. The suggested rituals are great for a new beginning for a new job or a fresh start at your current job. Great way to start an office conversation about the workplace.

Zsuzsanna ("Z") Budapest (born 1940) is an American author of Hungarian origin who is the High Priestess and founding mother of the Susan B. Anthony Coven #1 (the first feminist, women-only, witches' coven). She is also the director of the Women's Spirituality Forum, had a cable TV show called 13th Heaven, composed the song "We All Come From the Goddess," and has written books such as The Goddess in the Bedroom: Passionate Woman's Guide to Celebrating Sexuality Every Night of the Week, A , The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries, The Grandmother of Time: A Woman's Book of Celebrations, Spells, and Sacred Objects for Every Month of the Year, Grandmother Moon: Lunar Magic in Our Lives--Spells, Rituals, Goddesses, Legends, and Emotions Unde, etc.

She wrote in the Introduction to this 1993 book, "This book is your daily guide from Monday through Sunday. It is your personal energy guide to show you how to navigate through the week as a gentle spiritual warrior... This book comes from the pen of a feminist witch to your hands. So for the first time in herstory you, my most respected ones, have access to Goddess magic in the workplace. Use it wisely and carefully. Enjoy your newfound power and remember that every time you make a choice, 'Thou art Goddess!'"

Here are some additional quotations from the book:

"To repel sexual advances, wear lavender. I know it is the scent of trust, but it is also the antidote for lust." (Pg. 33)
"If you have tried all your personal spells and protections and the harrassment continues, it's time to combine real-world action with magical action..." (Pg. 43)
"Trend predictors and futurists all say the Information Age is coming. Women have always been considered to be naturally better at communicating than men, so this should be a golden opportunity for us to shine... Women are the natural heirs of the communication power in the universe." (Pg. 55-56)
"Tarot cards are my favorite tools, but runes and the I Ching are great, and so are the many more exotic means---reading tea leaves or chicken bones, taking omens from the winds or birds---that people have invented to peer into the depths of the universe." (Pg. 132)

From the first page, it's filled with wisdom and whimsy. It's a good guide to using your spiritual life to cope with and/or improve your workday, and includes practical spells and Goddess Lore. The tone is warm and friendly, and the small drawings always bring a smile. It may look like a small, trendy book, but it's a true gem.

One of the freshest, to-the-point books loaded with use-this-minute ideas. You'll increase your power & confidence in business (and everyday) settings, from an earth-based viewpoint. Brilliant. Delightful from the first page. Cover art makes me smile. What more can I say? Highly recommended! If you gently smiled at "Re-Enchantment of Everyday Life," this one will make you chuckle out loud... and then you'll try some of this stuff and be amazed.