If you’re working with the Feminine Divine—or as it is called in this work the “Divine Feminine”—there aren’t a lot of resources to choose from for daily spiritual reference. I have Patricia Telesco’s 365 Goddess on my bookshelf, which is an excellent book and very similar to Loar’s work in many respects. While comparisons are inevitable, I must say that I prefer the simplicity of Goddesses for Every Day.
For each goddess, Loar provides the date, a keyword, a page about the mythology, and a “contemplation”—a statement to consider on that particular day. For example, the contemplation for the Greek goddess Maia is, “I celebrate the rites of spring by dancing around a maypole or just blissfully twirling in my pajamas.”
Each page provides just enough information, but not too much that it is overwhelming; no ritual suggestions, suggested activities or symbols are included. The book gives the reader the opportunity to focus on one goddess a day and really consider the effect of the feminine divine on her/his life.
The book is also divided up by astrological signs, which each goddess placed in a chapter in chronological order, starting with January 1 and the New Year. So if you’re looking for a particular astrological flavor of female deity, it’s best to start at the beginning of the sign and flip through to see what you find. While the New Year occurs during Capricorn, Loar did not short-change that sign, beginning and ending the book with Capricorn goddesses.
The introduction begins with “Every woman wants to feel like a goddess,” so it would seem hat the book was intended for a female audience. While it might be rare for a man to buy this book, I highly encourage men who are embracing the Feminine Divine to jump right in. This is especially true if you are trying to balance the male and female natures within yourself. Gentlemen, you’ll have to trust me when I say a solid dose of Loar’s work will only improve what is already there.
Once you get your hands on this book, you’ll do what we all do: Look up the goddess associated with our special day. I was very pleased to find that on my birthday Panacea, the Greek goddess of healing, is there. That’s a great way to get started working with this book, especially if the Feminine Divine is new to you. From there, look up the birthdays of the women in your life and see what wisdom you can come away with. My wife will be thrilled to know that on her birthday, Al Lat, the female equivalent of Allah, is represented, and her name means “goddess”. [PS: Julie, I was already aware my wife is a goddess, but thank you for the reminder just the same.]
If you are at all interested in mythology, this is an excellent reference to have close to hand. Many different pantheons are represented here. If you walk a Pagan or Wiccan path, many of the goddesses may already be familiar to you. But Loar goes the extra mile and includes others from unexpected places just to keep things interesting. You could fill the whole book with Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Norse, and British goddesses, to be sure, but I found Nepalese, Hawaiian and Native American goddesses as well. You’re sure to find a goddess that suits your spiritual needs.
~review by John Marani
Author: Julie Loar
New World Library, 2010
pp. 384, $16.95
