Let’s talk about books. As spiritual people, we gain a large amount of information about our spiritual outlooks and practices from books. Obviously, after a time it’s always helpful to put the books away and to start practising but that’s another post! I just wanted to discuss some of the books that have helped shape my path over the years. I should mention that this isn’t an exhaustive list, and poorer books have also shown me the way (albeit what I don’t believe).
So, here’s my top six spiritual books that have helped me on my spiritual journey.
1. Drawing Down the Sun: Rekindle the Magick of the Solar Goddesses by Stephanie Woodfield.I’ve been interested in Brigid the Celtic goddess of fire for some time. This book helps shed light on her as a representative of the sun goddess. I’m very drawn to the imagery of light within the darkness; which happens to be an aspect of the sun goddess. She’s someone who descends every night into the underworld to reborn again each morning. The book discusses the Victorian (and modern) scholarly bias towards seeing the moon as feminine and the sun as masculine. This is a bias that has filtered down into modern ideals. Victorian society saw women as passive and mysterious, like the moon, which suited their sensibilities. This feminine moon, masculine sun is common in Mediterranean cultures. However, this isn’t the case for much of the rest of the world. Woodfield explores the many different sun goddesses from around the world and describes some great ways you can honour her. It’s a fantastic resource for exploring a little known/maligned archetype. Highly recommended!
2. Holistic Energy Magic by Tess Whitehurst.I really like Tess Whitehurst’s work. If anyone embodies the label ‘Lightwitch’ it’s her. She’s a good mix of new age and pagan witch, which I totally vibe with. This book very clearly describes how you can practice magic on an internal level; i.e. you don’t need any tools or ingredients, just your mind. I love the fun and whimsical ideas she infuses her magic with. You can tell she doesn’t take it too seriously and actually enjoys her spiritual practice! I’m a Gemini, thus I take very little seriously, so I appreciate that.
3. Lamp of the Goddess by Rae Beth.I read Lamp of the Goddess a long time ago and it definitely felt like a pivotal work within my spiritual life. I love re-reading it, especially when I’m interested in exploring the dark goddesses. The book is made up of Rae Beth describing her past lives in Atlantis and her work with the dark goddess. It’s pretty interesting if you’re into past lives and it’s beautifully written!
4. Light is the New Black by Rebecca Campbell.Light is the New Black is an uplifting and positive book (I actually really enjoy using it for bibliomancy). It falls on the new age side of things and discusses Lightworkers. I really appreciated some of the wisdom within it and I liked that she felt our life purpose is to shine and to be the light. Her philosophy of follow your joy is something that resonates with me! Light is the New Black isn’t a how-to book but more of a stream of consciousness piece that’s framed around her own spiritual journey.
5. In the Dark Places of Wisdom by Peter Kingsley.I read this book a long time ago. It’s a philosophical piece and centres around the writings of the ancient Greek philosopher Parmenides. It’s very easy to read and discusses what the author feels is the true roots of Western spirituality. It delves into the spiritual motif of descending into the underworld and rising again. While also connecting it to the healing cults in ancient Greece. I’ll leave it at that because it’s super interesting!
6. Code Red by Lisa Lister.One for the women! This book talks periods, patriarchy and societal BS. I loved it and I’m fully embracing women as cyclical beings (whether you’ve ever had a period or not). She discusses how you can embrace the bleed, using essential oils and affirmations for each stage of your cycle.
7. Standing in the Light: My Life as a Pantheist by Sharman Apt Russell.I identify as a pantheist and let me tell you, there aren’t many books written specifically about pantheism. I’m not sure why it’s taken me this long to read Standing in the Light but I’m so glad I did! Sharman recounts the history of pantheism spanning the likes of Marcus Aurelius to Spinoza to Walt Whitman. This historical information is set against the backdrop of her autobiographical account of her own spiritual journey. She talks about her life on the Gila River and her membership of the Society of Friends. It’s a really personal, beautiful book which I recommend to everyone. It explores the beauty and divinity of the world and one woman’s search for meaning.
8. Jailbreaking the Goddess: A Radical Revisioning of Feminist Spirituality by Lasara Firefox Allen.I’ve only just finished reading Jailbreaking the Goddess and I LOVED it! This book proposes getting rid of the traditional Maiden, Mother, Crone archetype and suggests something more unifying and holistic. She proposes a five fold goddess which is more in line with what women do then what they’re biologically capable of. You’ll notice the Maiden/Mother/Crone triple Goddess is purely based on biology and is hardly a good representation of the feminine. I’m not here just to breed! When we go down that road of biological imperative we start to get into to dangerous territory; see a Handmaids Tale by Margret Atwood. Here are the five aspects the author propses: Femella (girl), Potens (potential), Creatrix (mother, author, creator), Sapientia (wise woman, teacher, leader, scientist) and Antiqua (old woman). She describes how you can call on these aspects and when you can celebrate them during the wheel of the year. If you like deconstructionist ideas or just plain hate the threefold archetype then read this book!
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