Wild Girls: The Path of the Young Goddess [Paperback]

Patricia Monaghan (Author)

Book Description

Maiden, mother, crone; of the three faces of the goddess, the maiden corresponds to the part of a woman's soul that is always questing, exploring, and free to move. She among the most loving, giving, and heroic of the goddess images; like natural wilderness, she lives by her own laws. The stories in this book represent some of the many visions of the "Wild Girl" throughout the world, each is followed by commentary and activities, such as building an altar, creating healing rituals, and working with dreams.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Monaghan, popular author of The Goddess Companion and The Goddess Path, turns her attention to goddesses-in-waiting in this Wiccan manual designed especially for young women. She draws upon 12 myths and legends of young goddesses who can provide life examples for young women today. Thus the story of a Finnish creator goddess becomes an object lesson in unleashing creativity, and the Arctic goddess Sedna, who refused to marry, offers the chance to examine rites of passage into womanhood. The best part of Monaghan's manual is her storytelling; she has effectively reshaped the stories of goddesses such as Austrina, Artemis, Sabulana and Kuan-Yin (who, as she points out, is not technically a goddess but a bodhisattva) into relevant messages for young women. Monaghan clearly desires to speak directly and informally with that audience, resulting in some fine moments but also a few examples of trying too hard ("It may seem hard to believe, in today's society, that there was a time when a girl's first blood was celebrated with parades and parties. Wouldn't that be embarrassing, having everyone know?"). Young women and girls will probably enjoy the book's practical focus, however; the 12 chapters are arranged so that small groups can learn about one goddess a month and try the hands-on learning techniques suggested here, such as forming healing circles, constructing a personal altar or making special teas. Monaghan also offers interesting tips on multicultural awareness, highlighting goddess traditions from around the world. (Apr.)Forecast: Llewellyn found itself with a surprising hit in 2000 with its Witches' Chillers fiction series, which has been snapped up by a growing audience of teenage girls who are interested in witchcraft. This title, which blends storytelling with practical magic, will appeal to the same demographic.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

(It is Booklist policy that a book written by a regular contributor receive a brief descriptive announcement rather than a recommending review.)

The author of The New Book of Goddesses and Heroines (1997) and many other books concerned with goddesses uses the stories of 11 young heroines from goddess traditions throughout the world as a springboard to discussions of how to honor and practice, alone and with friends, such aspects of the goddess as creativity, spirituality, healing, and transformation. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Llewellyn Publications; First Edition edition (April 8, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1567184421
• ISBN-13: 978-1567184426
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 7.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,789,325 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Real girl power, June 11, 2001

By 

Berkeley Bibliophile (East Bay Hills) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wild Girls: The Path of the Young Goddess (Paperback)

This is another positive and powerful book I wish I had when I was young and the only thing the church and my family had to say to me was women are bad and sex is sinful. I'd have worn this paperback ragged. Here Patricia offers the stories of young goddesses and follows each story with an object lesson--on beauty, creativity, meditation, dreams, etc--and then suggests rituals and project ideas. The stories are multicultural. There is Artemis, as we might expect, and there are Native American, African, Korean, Finnish, Baltic, Chinese, etc., stories. Every girl will see herself reflected. There are 12 total, one for each month of the year. This book with a blank journal will make a perfect gift for a first moon celebration or for a pre-adolescent birthday. Imagine a goddess a month for a whole year of meditations and rituals! I definitely recommend it for 10 to 13 year-olds. My 11-year-old nieces are each getting a copy.

The best thing to me about the book is that it talks about "girl power" outside the usual media terms of pretty and fashionable and (ultimately) sexually available. It also avoids all the irritating media fluff stuff that passes for "girl power"--the vampire-killing Buffys and "Charmed" girls who have fantasy magical powers--and brings home the most critical lesson that real power resides in the mind and soul and is there for every girl who seeks it.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a great gift to girlhood!, March 16, 2001

By 

"dawn_work" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wild Girls: The Path of the Young Goddess (Paperback)

To all you young goddesses! (And elders in whom the young girl yearns to fly!) "Wild Girls" is a mythic exploration of the creativity, beauty, strength, evil, limitation, ritual, and power experienced by younger women. Read about such Goddesses as the young Finnish creatress, Luonnotar, Sumerian dreamer Gestinanna, Irish sister Finola, Baltic star Austrina, and a truly wonderful story about the Korean healer Pali Kongju, the Thrown-Away Princess.Girls and younger women can learn how to affirm their power, intelligence and creativity, to struggle against abuse and limitation, and to form their own Wild Girl circles and ritual and magical spaces. This is the book we all wish we had as younger girls of spirit. The book is affirming of many different paths, and can be used by girls and women of many different earth-honoring belief systems. The stories give girls another set of images of themselves, far different from the limited images of TV, video and commercialism. Just by themselves, the stories are wonderful. Also included are suggested activities for further fun, learning and understanding.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars !!!, July 16, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Wild Girls: The Path of the Young Goddess (Paperback)

I really loved this book. At first I wasn't going to read this book because of the title and me being a little bit older than what you would call a girl. In fact I was surprised, some of the stories touched a deep inner part of me that was in need of healing and her advice and projects were great.