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Women's Rites, Women's Mysteries: Creating Ritual in the Dianic Wiccan Tradition

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Ruth Barrett is one of the more recognizable leaders in the Dianic Wiccan Tradition that had its birth here in the United States, along with names like Zsuzanna Budapest and Shekhinah Mountainwater. Ruth Barrett actually learned from Z. Budapest, and was ordained a priestess by her in 1980. She took over Z's work and has been High Priestess to the Dianic community in Los Angeles ever since.

This book is an extension of the original work by Z. Budapest, adding to and expanding her work to be more inclusive of the rituals that have been added since Z's original work "The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries" published in 1980. The material is by Ruth Barrett and is intended to be used as a "guide and resource for individuals and groups, both beginners and experienced ritualists alike."

The book is not only a collection of rituals intended for and for use by woman-only groups, but it is also a complete outline of what ritual is, how to express it and what to expect from it. It covers just about every stage of a woman's life as taught by Z. Budapest and adds a few more as well.

The Dianic Wicca Tradition is female oriented Goddess worship. To use Ms. Barrett's own definition provided in the book "Dianic tradition is a Goddess- and female-centered, earth based, feminist denomination of the Wiccan religion which was revived and inspired by author and activist Zsuzsanna Budapest in the early 1970's. Dianic tradition is a vibrantly creative and evolving Woman's Mystery tradition, and is inclusive of all women."

The focus of the book is clear. This book explains how to approach the Woman's Mysteries through ritual intended to focus on and be performed by women in the Dianic Wiccan Tradition.

Having interviewed Z. Budapest a few years ago, and knowing her love for things theatrical I wandered through the book and its rituals and you could see Z's influence on the material. These rituals are expressive, while not being encumbering. They allow for personal exploration or group participation. They are focused. Ms. Barrett takes the time to set up each ritual with full explanation of where you are going with this and what to expect. "We do not all think alike, nor do we express ourselves in the same ways. " When applying ritual to groups she allows each woman to express herself in a way that she can relate.

You can see the years of experience that Ms. Barrett has being carefully laid out in this book and she passes along much of her wisdoms and experiences. She references other authors and material that she feels will help you to understand the experiences you are about to have and it gives new depths to the work.

The rituals covered can be grouped, as she explains, into "thematic categories: creation/manifestation, release/transition/transformation, honoring and celebration." She very expertly explains how ritual can combine elements of each of these categories. She covers how to set up everything from your sacred space to your altar. She covers the Goddess and the elements, invocation and revocation, tools, and the Dianic Wheel of the Year with all the celebrations and their meanings. Nothing seems to be lacking in her teachings of ritual and how to carry it out and follow it though.

The writing is very clear, the concepts are very understandable and the directions are concise and easy to follow. The rituals are adaptable for individual work or for group workings. Meditations are provided, as well as follow up for after the ritual, for personal reflection on what you did or did not achieve.

The reasons for the seasonal celebrations of the Wheel of the Year are explored and discussed in depth. The Woman's Mystery's are also discussed and covered in this book. To name a few: first blood, birthdays, weddings, celebrating sacred sexuality, conceiving a child, birthing and welcoming the child, or choosing not to have children and honoring this choice, and croning. They are not laid out as rituals so much as the ideas and reasons for having rituals to celebrate these rites of passage in your life. The idea is to incorporate these focuses into ritual as explained and learned in the first part of the book.

Also included is a discussion on ritual specifically for the Lesbian lifestyle. These ceremonies are based on the original works of Z. Budapest, who first published rituals for lesbian unions, or "Trysts" back in 1980. Ms. Barrett expands this to include a "coming out" ritual.

There are also healing rituals, as for someone who has been divorced or survived a sexual assault.

There are some very valuable chapters in this book, such as Every Ritual is a Teacher, which is self explanatory and can apply to anyone who wishes to perform any kind of ritual. Her chapter on The Priestess begins with the statement "The roll of the priestess awaits re-definition in the twenty-first century. Its keynote must be service, not power." For anyone considering the roll of priestess in their community, I feel this is a very good overview of the history of the priestess and their present and future roll in the Wiccan community. This is another chapter which can apply to anyone looking at their place as priestess in the Wiccan community.

While the focus of this book is the Dianic Wiccan tradition, and it is very feminist in flavor and focus, it also contains much information that can be applied by anyone looking at personal focus on being a woman and anyone who wishes to focus on the Goddess spirituality in their lives. Ms. Barretts discussion, insights and visions are clear and focused and this is a large handbook for anyone who is focusing on the Dianic Wiccan Tradition, and anyone who is looking for some very powerful insight into Woman's Rites and Mysteries in ritual. boudica

This is the most refreshing and challenging book I have ever read on paganism. Ruth Barrett takes ritual to a deeper level, focusing on celebrating, recognizing and honoring the aspects of women's lives that are so often glossed over in our culture. This book is much more thorough than your average wiccan book and requires the reader to participate on a much more active and personal level. Barrett helps you to see what you are missing in your spiritual practice, and gives you the mental tools to create truly meaningful ritual. Her book is written for women, but I think would be an eye opener for men as well. If you are looking for a completely new approach to designing your rituals, and you want to honor yourself and your life passages this is the book for you!

Unfortunately this otherwise excellent book demeans itself by covertly attacking transsexual women. It is a valid point that ritual designed specifically for non-transgendered women (so-called "women-born-women") is not all suitable for transgendered women. And while there may be many reasons to want certain types of women's space to be reserved for non-transgendered women, Ms. Barrett specifically insults transsexual women by calling them men who have been altered by hormones and surgery, descriptions which are essentialist, biologically determinist and frankly inaccurate. It doesn't behove a wise womyn who herself has been abused and discriminated against to turn and do the same to a group of women, transsexual women, who badly need the mentorship of non-transgendered women and who are most easily hurt by misinformation which already abounds.

I would like to address the blatantly inaccurate assault on this title by Artemesia.
trans·gen·dered (trns-jn'drd, trnz-)Adj.
Appearing as, wishing to be considered as, or having undergone surgery to become a member of the opposite sex.
Of or relating to a transgendered person or transgendered people.

trans·sex·u·al /trænsskul/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[trans-sek-shoo-uhl] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
-noun 1. a person having a strong desire to assume the physical characteristics and gender role of the opposite sex.
2. a person who has undergone hormone treatment and surgery to attain the physical characteristics of the opposite sex.

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When someone attempts to demean the hard work and over two decades of practice and experience, because they take personal offense to the truth, it is an insult not only to their personal character, but in this case, to the purpose and intent of this title. As defined by the aforementioned entries, Ms.Barrett is essentially correct in her description of transsexual persons. If they are women today, after the procedure, they were formerly men. That are now appearing as women through the advent of surgery and hormones. Hormones they shall be taking for the rest of their natural life in order to maintain the appearance of a female person.

To imagine this book, because of that true description of the processes involved in the transformation of a man into a woman, is invalid is absurd and indicative of someone that is bitter for their own personal reasons and have decided to especially indict this authoress with bias, as an outlet for that angst.

This book is a valuable tool for ANY woman that wishes to practice the art and lifestyle of Dianic Wicca! Period! This book is not intended as a Bible. It is not intended as holy writ to be taken as absolute, when Ms.Barrett exercises her RIGHT to an opinion about Transsexual persons. Rather, it is a tool, a guide, bound wisdom gleaned from decades of experience in the craft. And it is intended to be used as a guide to making one's own path, their own rites and rituals, dedicated to what they personally understand and define, live, as a Dianic Wiccan woman!

If one can not get past personal commentary in a book that articulates this much information on the practice of Dianic Witchcraft, they have no business believing they are ready or capable of wielding the powers alive in magic and ritual. Because it's all personal , it's all innate and all books of shadows are diaries and advice, not dogma and absolutes!
This book is a boon for any Dianic witches personal occult library. And if one is a new practitioner of the Dianic way, this book is the best book one can hope to begin their studies with. But know this, the book of power in any magical practice is inside you. These titles but call to that deeper wisdom, that deeper knowledge, that affinity for the powers of creation some call Goddess!

As the wisdom says: If you do not find what you seek within, you shall never find it without.