Customer Reviews

Woman's Mysteries: Ancient & Modern

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Please do not let this book fall into the Out-of-Print Abyss! This book is a must for anyone studying or wanting to comprehend the feminine nature, personally and archetypally. The forerunner of all current Woman Studies, its a fundamental must. Why start with the copied, watered - down versions? A classic stands the ultimate test of time, expresses the Eternal. Most women- oriented movements have given way to a Full Moon biased, illuminated consciousness, once again letting the Darker, Waning Moon consciouness disappear out of sight. Harding presents a very insightful piece on the darker more instinctual feminine, "Our women have learned human manners and emotions-pity, consideration,love;but not so far beneath the surface, slumbering in unconsciousness, the old primitive form of feminine instinct lurks, ready to spring up again and perhaps even to reassert its power over consciousness in any critical situation(p50,1971)." It takes not only someone who has achieved great Logos through her scholarly background, but someone who has lived it as well. Esther Harding is a lesser known American Treasure that needs to be brought back to life so she can continue to inspire all women striving to connect to their true feminine nature.

This is a wonderful book for exploration of women's mysteries and the relation to instinct and the moon. I would recommend it with a warning about two things, however:
1. MANY assertions of fact in the book needed citations and had none, leaving me asking where she got the particular assertion she was making at that time.
2. There were a number of factual errors of which I am aware (and possibly more I don't know), such as claiming millions of witches were burned during the Inquisition period - a faulty claim made by Margaret Murray which has been reputably refuted since.
If one reads this book with a critical eye to the information presented as facts, however, this book does have a lot to offer, and I would recommend it.

I was handed this book in 1985. It was required reading for my training as a follower of Wicca. I can not recommend it highly enough. Dr. Harding's book was difficult to read at times, but very necessary for me. The way she wrote about intuition and history changed my life.