The Path of the Priestess

A guide for personal exploration of the path to the divine feminine and the spiritual power of women.

• Reveals the essential role of women in creating and maintaining the psychic/energetic/emotional landscape of society.

• Explores feminine roles and the archetypal model of the Great Goddess from both Eastern and Western spiritual traditions.

• Includes exercises, meditations, and visualizations drawn from ancient techniques to assist women with their spiritual awakening and self-realization.

The Path of the Priestess takes readers on a journey deep into the heart of the feminine experience. It describes the author's years of first-hand experience in the ancient arts of Tantra, Dzogchen, and Indian and Egyptian temple dance and healing, as well as her research into the feminine principle in the mystic teachings of the Alchemists, Hebrew Kabbalists, and Christian Gnostics.

Beginning with an analysis of the basic issues and frustrations inherent in contemporary society's conditioning of and expectations for women, readers travel back in time to the age of the great temples, schools, and sacred societies in which women still held and transmitted the spiritual light that nourished all of civilization. Through its mythic and historic tales, descriptions of sacred ritual practices, and teachings on the Goddess traditions, The Path of the Priestess provides contemporary women with the means to enter this time-honored path. In keeping with the experientially based teaching methods of these traditions, it also offers exercises and visualizations designed to align women with the powerful, sensuous, and loving energies of the most profound feminine role model that shaped and preserved culture and society--the Great Goddess.

Acknowledgments

Preface


Part One
Mystic Quest: A Modern-day Odyssey to Discover the Mysteries of the Goddess and Her Sacred Realms of Light

1 The Call of the Goddess

2 The Dance of the Dakini

3 Opening the Mystic Eye

4 The Keepers of the Light

5 History and the Feminine Mysteries: Reflections on the Cycle of the Great Yuga
The Golden Age: The Age of Divinity
The Silver Age: The Age of Ritual
The Bronze Age: The Age of Doubt
The Iron Age: The Age of Chaos
The Time of Transition

Part Two
Awakening the Divine Feminine

6 Lifting the Veil from the Face of Modernity
The Feminist Rebellion, Mind Control, and the Cult of Consumerism
Our Modern Cultural Malaise
Spiritual Materialism and the Birth of the New Age
Reclaiming Our Sacred Heritage

7 Discovering Strength and Power
The Goddesses of Strength and Power
The Myth of Durga
The Energy Field of the Strong and Fiery Goddess
The Feminine Art of Emotional Expression
Expressions of Strength and Power

8 Exploring Sensuality
The Sensuous Goddesses
The Legend of Mandarava
The Energy Field of the Sensuous Goddess
The Art of Sensuality
Expressions of Sensuality

9 Experiencing Love and Compassion
The Goddesses of Love and Compassion
The Story of Tara
The Energy Field of the Peaceful Goddess
The Art of Love and Compassion
Expressions of Love and Compassion


Epilogue

Notes

Biblography