Women’s Spirituality

photo courtesy of Red Wheel/Weiser Books

Recently I got to read Mary Faulkner’s Women’s Spirituality: Power and Grace and it certainly was an interesting read. She does a great job of providing information on ancient matriarchal societies (it’s not what a lot of people seem to think it is!) as well as information on goddesses. She does an excellent job at educating the masses about altars, rituals and devotionals, pagans, native traditions, and various spiritual paths. Overall she provides an amazing framework for anyone to learn a bit about new ways to embrace the Divine, no matter how you see the Divine, as well as encourages women to embrace the Feminine Divine.

However. I personally was not fond of treating the Divine as Jungian archetypes. At times I was a bit confused as she presented the Feminine Divine as Jungian archetypes in some areas and than later on mention the Masculine Divine as a non-corporeal deity. I also felt as if the entire book was set out to make Goddess worship “okay” for those that want Goddess worship in their lives without compromising a patriarchal monotheistic religion that they hold to be truth. The problem I have with that is that it felt as if the Feminine Divine were downgraded a bit to bring in their importance without upsetting anyone too greatly.

The biggest issue for the reader is, what are you looking for? If you want the balance that many of us seem to strive for, you won’t find it in these pages. If you want a Jungian Archetype, this book is perfect. If you are more of a New-Agey kinda person, it’s a great book for you as well. However, if you view all deities as non-corporeal deities and want to bring in more ways to worship Her, read between the lines. There are some great nuggets of history and suggestions for devotion, you just have to get past the tone of the book.

Women’s Spirituality
Power and Grace
Mary Faulkner
ISBN: 9781571746252
Book (Paperback)
Hampton Roads Publishing Company
$21.95