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.

Sharron Rose, an internationally acclaimed teacher, writer, and performer and Fulbright scholar in world mythology, religion, and sacred dance, has been investigating the wisdom of ancient cultures for the past twenty-five years. She lives in Los Olivos, California, with her husband and hermetic scholar, Jay Weidner.

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