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The Path of the Priestess

A Guidebook for Awakening the Divine Feminine

Published by Inner Traditions
Distributed by Simon & Schuster

About The Book

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.

Excerpt

Preface
There is a sacred tread of light that runs throughout time and space, as we know it, the light of our divine inheritance. It is a continuum. It arises at the birth of creation and forms a sacred path from the divine into the denseness of matter and back again. As we descend from the fullness of this light, into the depths of the material world, this thread of light is always there to sustain us, the light of the Divine, our inner guide and pathway toward-union and illumination. It is the clear light of truth, virtue and integrity. It is that thread of spiritual awareness or essence that flows through all of our lives and incarnations leading us from the pure light of Divinity, along the path of emanation, to the path of return and reunion with the Primordial Source.
As women, as mothers, teachers and guides, as daughters of the Great Goddess, it is our sacred duty and privilege to hold this light in our hearts and carry it from generation to generation. This is our essential role as women. To hold the pure light of spirit in our hearts, to keep the lamp of inner freedom burning in the darkness, to nurture and protect this light whatever the cost and to transmit it's radiance, it's exquisite beauty to our men and children.

About The Author

Sharron Rose, an internationally acclaimed teacher, writer, performer and Fulbright scholar in World Mythology, Religion, and Sacred Dance, has been investigating and imparting the wisdom of ancient cultures for the past 25 years. Her most recent video release of her Awakening the Feminine series includes many of the exercises presented in The Path of the Priestess . She lives in Washington state.
Sharron is the winner of the 2003 Coalition of Visionary Resources (COVR) Award in the Biographical/self-help catagory which was presented at the 2003 International New Age Trade Show in Denver.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Inner Traditions (January 8, 2003)
  • Length: 304 pages
  • ISBN13: 9780892819645

Raves and Reviews

". . . will raise the feminine power to the level of consciousness needed in the 21st century. Exploring the true nature of women's emotion, the visualizations and meditations are unique and imaginative, as well as effective."

– SageWoman magazine

"Rose is a masterful teacher and writer. . . . Reading this book can be a big step in reclaiming our feminine heritage."

– Maya del Mar, Maya Del Mar's Daykeeper Journal, July 2003

"In this beautifully written book Sharron Rose shares her challenging journey between two diametrically opposed cultures: the ancient, spiritually dominated world of the East and the modern, technologically dominated world of the West. An intriguing tale of an American seeker on the spiritual path."

– Ellen Burstyn, actor and writer

"In this rich and fascinating book Sharron Rose evokes the connection between the Goddess and the luminous energy body in a way that is meaningful to modern readers. Through this process she reveals an ancient and sacred path toward healing ourselves and the world around us. A must read for anyone in the healing and performing arts."

– Alberto Villoldo, Ph.D., author of Shaman, Healer, Sage

"An inspiring read. Sharron Rose takes us on her spiritual journey, unveiling at every turn the presence of the Divine Feminine that has been hidden in this age of spiritual materialism, an age from which we are beginning to awaken."

– Belinda Gore, Ph.D., president of The Cuyamungue Institute and author of Ecstatic Body Postures: An

"Dancer, artist, philosopher, and spiritual adept, Sharron Rose is of the lineage of those bold and luminous women who take the journey to the Goddess wherever and to whomever it may lead. In this potent work Shakti power dances off each page. Here is the Goddess in her many forms, and in her masterful teachings. Here is living witness to the emergence of the light of the Divine Feminine after the long dark night of the patriarchy. Here, in vibrant words, is the transmission of the sacred current that would illumine our reality."

– Jean Houston, Ph.D, author of A Mythic Life and Jump Time

"The Path of the Priestess provides both eloquent insights into the nature of Goddess energy and ways for the reader to realize it for themselves. Goddess consciousness is the evolutionary path of choice for the planet. I give The Path of the Priestess my highest endorsement."

– Penny Slinger Hills, author of Sexual Secrets

"Her knowledge of the Goddess is deep-felt and genuine. Her poetic Goddess imagery can be used for lifting your spirits and for drawing forth the joy of knowing the Divine Feminine in yourself."

– SageWoman magazine

"The Path of the Priestess takes us on a compelling journey deep into the heart of the feminine experience. It presents a glimpse of the essential and significant role of women as caretakers of the psychic, energetic, and emotional landscape of society. . . . surely this book will prove to be a landmark text in this ever-expanding journey of awakening."

– Lesley Crossingham, New Dawn, Nov-Dec 2006

"The conversational tone make it an experience similar to curling up with a close friend with whom you've lost touch."

– Cerridwen Iris Shea, SageWoman, December-March 2004, No.63

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