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Jailbreaking the Goddess: A Radical Revisioning of Feminist Spirituality
Jailbreaking the Goddess is a revolutionary revisioning of the feminine divine. Where the maiden, mother, crone archetypal system is tied to female biology and physical stages of life, the fivefold model liberates the female experience from the shackles of the reproductive model.
In a woman's lifetime, she will go through several different cycles of beginnings, potential, creation, mastery, and wisdom. This fivefold model is not an adaption of the threefold. It is a new system that embraces the powerful, fluid nature of the lived experience of women today.
Join Lasara Firefox Allen as she explores the nature of the five archetypes; gives examples of what areas of life each might preside over; lists goddesses that fit within each archetype; suggests ways to begin building relationship with the different archetypes; and provides simple rituals for recognition, transition, and invocation.
In a woman's lifetime, she will go through several different cycles of beginnings, potential, creation, mastery, and wisdom. This fivefold model is not an adaption of the threefold. It is a new system that embraces the powerful, fluid nature of the lived experience of women today.
Join Lasara Firefox Allen as she explores the nature of the five archetypes; gives examples of what areas of life each might preside over; lists goddesses that fit within each archetype; suggests ways to begin building relationship with the different archetypes; and provides simple rituals for recognition, transition, and invocation.
288 pages, Paperback
First published July 8, 2016
About the author
Lasara Firefox Allen
6 books72 followersLasara Firefox Allen is the best selling author of Sexy Witch (2005), and Jailbreaking the Goddess: A Radical Revisioning of Feminist Spirituality (7/2016), both published by Llewellyn Worldwide. A wild hearted change agent, Lasara delivers tools for transformation, provides strategies for embodiment, and creates vibrant spaces for personal and collective liberation. Lasara’s coaching and teaching work weaves together themes of empowerment, embodiment, body positivity, sexual liberation, feminism, and owning our whole selves.
Lasara has been the proud proprietor of a thriving online teaching and coaching practice for over a decade. She has helped hundreds of clients through major life transitions. Her Entrepreneurial Trainings for Wild Hearts program is rooted in the joy she derives from helping clients find their purpose and make their mark. Lasara loves to help clients transition to online teaching and coaching, and start making money doing exactly the thing that is in them, waiting to be done.
Married to the love of her life, Robert Allen, and mother to two amazing kids, Lasara and her family live in the wilds of northern California, and surround themselves with a community of loving, like-minded souls. Visit www.lasarafirefoxallen.com to find out more, or find Lasara on Facebook.
Lasara has been the proud proprietor of a thriving online teaching and coaching practice for over a decade. She has helped hundreds of clients through major life transitions. Her Entrepreneurial Trainings for Wild Hearts program is rooted in the joy she derives from helping clients find their purpose and make their mark. Lasara loves to help clients transition to online teaching and coaching, and start making money doing exactly the thing that is in them, waiting to be done.
Married to the love of her life, Robert Allen, and mother to two amazing kids, Lasara and her family live in the wilds of northern California, and surround themselves with a community of loving, like-minded souls. Visit www.lasarafirefoxallen.com to find out more, or find Lasara on Facebook.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
July 4, 2016
I had been laid off. My apartment was full of something I was wildly allergic to, and a vicious injury basically kept me from doing anything more strenuous than sitting up for longer than fifteen minutes at a time, three times a day.
And I was just about to learn that the vision of the goddess that I had had for over a decade was steeped in patriarchal baggage.
"No way, nope, there is no possible…wait."
The longer I thought about it, the more I realized this was right—the vision that we have of her has been locked into what man has had for her for years: a virginal maiden, a doting mother, and the wise old crone—and fairly often, a frightening one, to hear men tell of it.
Where was the woman in her goddess?
There is something lacking in this vision of the goddess, but until I this book fell into my hands, I had no idea how to get past that limited view. Lasara Firefox Allen takes that limited view and breaks it into pieces in Jailbreaking The Goddess as she throws you first headlong into the worlds of both feminism and a new world in which the goddess is not threefold, but fivefold, and no longer bound to biology and linearity.
Throughout the book's chapters and exercises, we are introduced to both the faces of the goddess in this new revisioning—Femella, Potens, Creatrix, Sapientia, and Antiqua—as well as famous and notable women and even goddesses who have embodied each of these faces in history both recent and past. But it's not just about the information. While each face of the goddess is explored, a bit of the mental programming around the old vision is broken away, and the energy begins to feel different—not all at once, but gradually. Soon enough I began noticing the difference in the energy, noticing the influences and identifying them in different areas of my life; a project would have the childlike but unfettered feel of Femella in and through it; a sudden discovery would have the lightning strike of Potens all through it; disentangling myself from a difficult situation would have both threads of Antiqua and Sapientia in it.
And for the first time in a long time, She began to feel real to me again.
As a non-binary person of color, this was a very important realization. Far too many interpretations of the Goddess and goddess spirituality take a strange, alienating stance on the transgender and gender-nonconforming, but not this goddess. In fact, a strong point is made on this, as after the examinations of the faces, the work on decolonizing and rewilding begins, with a focus on taking things back from the toxic influences that have had a hold on them for so many years—and yes, this includes the patriarchy (#smashpatriarchy). Exclusion has no place with the Goddess, and here we see that she can welcome and hold all, no matter where they stand in life and what they have to do. To feel welcomed again was phenomenal, a welcome change from what had happened.
In Jailbreaking The Goddess we learn lessons at once profound and occasionally cheeky, while at the same time learning about ourselves and how to potentially change the world around us, and the way that it comes to us is presented in such an organic manner that reading it, you might not realize you've learned something.
If you've been a bit put off with the way the Goddess has been set up to you…it's time to come home.
And I was just about to learn that the vision of the goddess that I had had for over a decade was steeped in patriarchal baggage.
"No way, nope, there is no possible…wait."
The longer I thought about it, the more I realized this was right—the vision that we have of her has been locked into what man has had for her for years: a virginal maiden, a doting mother, and the wise old crone—and fairly often, a frightening one, to hear men tell of it.
Where was the woman in her goddess?
There is something lacking in this vision of the goddess, but until I this book fell into my hands, I had no idea how to get past that limited view. Lasara Firefox Allen takes that limited view and breaks it into pieces in Jailbreaking The Goddess as she throws you first headlong into the worlds of both feminism and a new world in which the goddess is not threefold, but fivefold, and no longer bound to biology and linearity.
Throughout the book's chapters and exercises, we are introduced to both the faces of the goddess in this new revisioning—Femella, Potens, Creatrix, Sapientia, and Antiqua—as well as famous and notable women and even goddesses who have embodied each of these faces in history both recent and past. But it's not just about the information. While each face of the goddess is explored, a bit of the mental programming around the old vision is broken away, and the energy begins to feel different—not all at once, but gradually. Soon enough I began noticing the difference in the energy, noticing the influences and identifying them in different areas of my life; a project would have the childlike but unfettered feel of Femella in and through it; a sudden discovery would have the lightning strike of Potens all through it; disentangling myself from a difficult situation would have both threads of Antiqua and Sapientia in it.
And for the first time in a long time, She began to feel real to me again.
As a non-binary person of color, this was a very important realization. Far too many interpretations of the Goddess and goddess spirituality take a strange, alienating stance on the transgender and gender-nonconforming, but not this goddess. In fact, a strong point is made on this, as after the examinations of the faces, the work on decolonizing and rewilding begins, with a focus on taking things back from the toxic influences that have had a hold on them for so many years—and yes, this includes the patriarchy (#smashpatriarchy). Exclusion has no place with the Goddess, and here we see that she can welcome and hold all, no matter where they stand in life and what they have to do. To feel welcomed again was phenomenal, a welcome change from what had happened.
In Jailbreaking The Goddess we learn lessons at once profound and occasionally cheeky, while at the same time learning about ourselves and how to potentially change the world around us, and the way that it comes to us is presented in such an organic manner that reading it, you might not realize you've learned something.
If you've been a bit put off with the way the Goddess has been set up to you…it's time to come home.
March 30, 2019
Introduction to intersectional paganism with very broad overviews and supplemental ritual and practical information at the conclusion. Geared towards a woman beginning a relationship with spiritual worship of the divine female(s).
Femella, Potens, Creatrix, Sapientia, Antiqua
Disrupts the three-fold narrative of maiden/mother/crone with a five-fold one that seems to differ only in the reproductive model, not the ageist, chronological model. Though it states that a woman can be all, at once. My personal belief is if you can't abandon your physical form then your spirit is trapped.
One critical comment, I don't like cherrypicked statistics; they are appeals to authority when logic fails. Leave them out or provide a broader data spectrum.
While this book is not suited to me, I can see how an individual just beginning their journey might find the broad nature encouraging and appealing. There is a strong focus on intersectionality and reevaluating choices and discussions about privilege and appropriation. For those not familiar, it is an introduction, for more experienced individuals it may seem shallow.
Strength: the workbook nature of the format allows the reader to question and be present in their decision making.
Femella, Potens, Creatrix, Sapientia, Antiqua
Disrupts the three-fold narrative of maiden/mother/crone with a five-fold one that seems to differ only in the reproductive model, not the ageist, chronological model. Though it states that a woman can be all, at once. My personal belief is if you can't abandon your physical form then your spirit is trapped.
One critical comment, I don't like cherrypicked statistics; they are appeals to authority when logic fails. Leave them out or provide a broader data spectrum.
While this book is not suited to me, I can see how an individual just beginning their journey might find the broad nature encouraging and appealing. There is a strong focus on intersectionality and reevaluating choices and discussions about privilege and appropriation. For those not familiar, it is an introduction, for more experienced individuals it may seem shallow.
Strength: the workbook nature of the format allows the reader to question and be present in their decision making.
July 6, 2016
Jailbreaking the Goddess, Jailbreaking your Womanself
Patriarchy has always labeled women´s life by their biological utility in patriarchal society: Young Adult Woman (for sex), Adult Woman (for bearing children), and Old Woman (useless for patriarchy). Goddess Spirituality Movement fixed this oppression through the celebration of the triple Goddess´ faces: Maiden, Mother, and Crone. But the Goddess Movement missed a point: patriarchy imprisoned women in their biology, without acknowledging the plural expression of their selves. And the limited patriarchal pattern remained in the triple Goddess archetype. Therefore, the threefold Goddess approach leaves out many women who don´t fit in these three biological phases, excluding them from recognizing themselves as Goddesses and, in some cases, even excluding them from women´s circles. Lasara Firefox Allen in her amazing book “Jailbreaking the Goddess” addresses this feminist spirituality issue (“we are more than our biology” – she says) as well as others. She talks about the importance of “Seeing Our Face in Her Faces” (as one of the subtitles of the book summarizes it) and proposes phases of a fivefold Goddess to honor the women´s intersectionality (a method of feminist theory): Femella (girl-child Goddess – Have you ever found a girl-child Goddess? I haven´t!), Potens (Woman of Power), Creatrix (She Who Creates – not only babes, but also universes, revolutions, stories, artwork…), Sapientia (Wise Woman – all kind of wisdom, she masters her art), Antiqua (Ancient Woman). You will find many information and correspondences for each of these phases of the fivefold Goddess.
Allen teaches us about Cultural Appropriation, Structures of Power, Colonization and methods of Decolonization. She goes further showing us how to decolonize our magick, coven, magickal tools, the elements, and create rites of passage based on consensus and rite for the five faces of the Goddess. Throughout the book you will find Journaling Questions and Actions, as well as Mini-Bios of women that help and inspire your self-examination process. The appendix presents instructions for beginners on ritual design. I like the Witch´s Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram (WBRP).
I love when she explains how our privilege affects the way we relate to and perceive each other. For instance: White Feminism understood all women´s struggles in Patriarchy through its white privileged lens. Allen says we need humbleness and open-mindedness to learn with the oppressed women, through their experiences. She writes on Indigenous Women, Transgender Women, Black Women, Lesbians, Latinas, and Gender non-conforming people. The Goddess has ten thousand faces and many, many more.
I also love when she emphasizes that the language is also contaminated by colonization, diminishing women´s literature as worthless to the history. Decolonizing the language brings women back as culture makers. Following, Allen discusses the new languages of woman.
And the cover of the book tells it all: flowers breaking free from concrete. Isn´t it amazing when the Goddess takes it back? Brava, Lisa Novak, designer of the book cover.
“Jailbreaking the Goddess” by Lasara Firefox Allen is the aurora of the Sun Goddess of Revolution, arising as a free feminist spirituality. I highly recommend this amazing book!
Patriarchy has always labeled women´s life by their biological utility in patriarchal society: Young Adult Woman (for sex), Adult Woman (for bearing children), and Old Woman (useless for patriarchy). Goddess Spirituality Movement fixed this oppression through the celebration of the triple Goddess´ faces: Maiden, Mother, and Crone. But the Goddess Movement missed a point: patriarchy imprisoned women in their biology, without acknowledging the plural expression of their selves. And the limited patriarchal pattern remained in the triple Goddess archetype. Therefore, the threefold Goddess approach leaves out many women who don´t fit in these three biological phases, excluding them from recognizing themselves as Goddesses and, in some cases, even excluding them from women´s circles. Lasara Firefox Allen in her amazing book “Jailbreaking the Goddess” addresses this feminist spirituality issue (“we are more than our biology” – she says) as well as others. She talks about the importance of “Seeing Our Face in Her Faces” (as one of the subtitles of the book summarizes it) and proposes phases of a fivefold Goddess to honor the women´s intersectionality (a method of feminist theory): Femella (girl-child Goddess – Have you ever found a girl-child Goddess? I haven´t!), Potens (Woman of Power), Creatrix (She Who Creates – not only babes, but also universes, revolutions, stories, artwork…), Sapientia (Wise Woman – all kind of wisdom, she masters her art), Antiqua (Ancient Woman). You will find many information and correspondences for each of these phases of the fivefold Goddess.
Allen teaches us about Cultural Appropriation, Structures of Power, Colonization and methods of Decolonization. She goes further showing us how to decolonize our magick, coven, magickal tools, the elements, and create rites of passage based on consensus and rite for the five faces of the Goddess. Throughout the book you will find Journaling Questions and Actions, as well as Mini-Bios of women that help and inspire your self-examination process. The appendix presents instructions for beginners on ritual design. I like the Witch´s Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram (WBRP).
I love when she explains how our privilege affects the way we relate to and perceive each other. For instance: White Feminism understood all women´s struggles in Patriarchy through its white privileged lens. Allen says we need humbleness and open-mindedness to learn with the oppressed women, through their experiences. She writes on Indigenous Women, Transgender Women, Black Women, Lesbians, Latinas, and Gender non-conforming people. The Goddess has ten thousand faces and many, many more.
I also love when she emphasizes that the language is also contaminated by colonization, diminishing women´s literature as worthless to the history. Decolonizing the language brings women back as culture makers. Following, Allen discusses the new languages of woman.
And the cover of the book tells it all: flowers breaking free from concrete. Isn´t it amazing when the Goddess takes it back? Brava, Lisa Novak, designer of the book cover.
“Jailbreaking the Goddess” by Lasara Firefox Allen is the aurora of the Sun Goddess of Revolution, arising as a free feminist spirituality. I highly recommend this amazing book!
May 12, 2017
to see if it's not super cissexist
Actual Review: 5/12/17
I was really excited to read this book, but in the end, i don't think it was meant for me.
The information and viewpoint of the book, for me, wasn't new. I was glad to see it and read it, knowing that others would read it & have a new viewpoint to try. I'm really surprised that Llewellyn, of all publishers, published this book, with its talk of cultural appropriation, decolonization, and accepting trans women as women (among other points).
But aside from that, it wasn't anything ground-breaking for me, personally. For me, maybe because i'm younger & used to use Tumblr religiously, these concepts were almost matter of fact. Of course cultural appropriation is bad, of course trans women are women, etc etc.
I think this book is more for Pagan people who hunger to see themselves in Paganism, as well as those Pagan people who are open to having their minds expanded. As in: POC Pagans, trans Pagans, elderly Pagans, and those who subscribe to concepts like the Triple Goddess & "wombyn", but are receptive to having their views changed.
It could also be because i don't identify as "a Pagan". I can be pagan, have Pagan tendencies, etc, but i don't consider myself one. I don't do ritual, so those parts of the book were not of interest to me (especially in part 2). I also don't identify as a woman, despite my pronouns, so the emphasis on "We are Women, we Know Things" was uncomfortable at times.
On the whole, i would encourage people to read this book and build off of it. It would be great if it would open up new conversations and lead people to reevaluate their beliefs, especially those based in gender essentialism and white supremacy. For myself, however, it wasn't anything new.
Actual Review: 5/12/17
I was really excited to read this book, but in the end, i don't think it was meant for me.
The information and viewpoint of the book, for me, wasn't new. I was glad to see it and read it, knowing that others would read it & have a new viewpoint to try. I'm really surprised that Llewellyn, of all publishers, published this book, with its talk of cultural appropriation, decolonization, and accepting trans women as women (among other points).
But aside from that, it wasn't anything ground-breaking for me, personally. For me, maybe because i'm younger & used to use Tumblr religiously, these concepts were almost matter of fact. Of course cultural appropriation is bad, of course trans women are women, etc etc.
I think this book is more for Pagan people who hunger to see themselves in Paganism, as well as those Pagan people who are open to having their minds expanded. As in: POC Pagans, trans Pagans, elderly Pagans, and those who subscribe to concepts like the Triple Goddess & "wombyn", but are receptive to having their views changed.
It could also be because i don't identify as "a Pagan". I can be pagan, have Pagan tendencies, etc, but i don't consider myself one. I don't do ritual, so those parts of the book were not of interest to me (especially in part 2). I also don't identify as a woman, despite my pronouns, so the emphasis on "We are Women, we Know Things" was uncomfortable at times.
On the whole, i would encourage people to read this book and build off of it. It would be great if it would open up new conversations and lead people to reevaluate their beliefs, especially those based in gender essentialism and white supremacy. For myself, however, it wasn't anything new.
January 4, 2018
I really wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. It didn't feel like it accomplished being a radical revisioning as effectively as it wanted to be. It felt like a book for white Pagans unpacking racism / colonization / white privilege, which is a perfectly worthwhile topic for a book, but I would have expected something calling itself a "radical revisioning" to actually decenter whiteness instead of just using white privilege as a platform to explain how to maybe sort of start thinking about what decentering whiteness might be like...without actually doing it. It also felt frustrating that the author started out by naming an intention to include transgender people, but didn't really do that throughout the book, and rarely if ever made efforts to fully include nonbinary people. Again, it's perfectly valid to have a book focusing on women and women's experiences, but this book claimed to be a "radical revisioning of feminist spirituality", and I think that to effectively accomplish that goal it would have needed to have done more than merely acknowledging that transgender people exist.
July 20, 2016
We already have a copy, and I finished ittoday. This book absolutely blew my mind and challenged assumptions and ideas about feminist spirituality, in a very good way. It took me a long time to read through it, as I had to read and process slowly, it's very deep and gives A LOT to think about. It made me re-think a lot about where we are as Pagans in our evolution. Lasara is re-visioning the three fold aspects of The Goddess, and breaking away from the connection of the feminine divine to the female uterus. She explains clearly why she thinks this matters. She posits instead a five fold Goddess, that celebrates all the other aspects of Woman that the three-fold model ignores. She goes deeper into the Pagan mysteries than any other book I have read has gone, even talking about spirit possession, or Drawing Down. She clearly leads the reader through the steps of creating ritual, and a spiritual practice, and the emotional and spiritual benefits that we may find in doing so. This is a very important book, and is very much worth your investment in time and money. Hurray for this book. It's time to break the Goddess, (and women) (and our society) out of the Patriarchal prison they are in. Thank you, Lasara Firefox Allen
July 5, 2016
Jailbreaking the Goddess by Lasara Firefox Allen- A Radical and Refreshing Rethinking
Trying to discuss the intersection of spirituality and activism is a funny thing. Especially when you’ve been kind of distanced from both for a while. I had the pleasure of meeting Lasara in Los Angeles this past spring at a "Jailbreaking the Goddess" workshop at the Crystal Matrix store, during which she discussed some of the key points of her recent work. It was the kind of thing that broke my brain immediately. I expected stale and huggable material about femininity anchored in 1970s ideas that I didn’t agree with. Instead I was jolted awake by her reconceptualization of feminine (which she reworks into the term “feminal”) identity both within Pagan spirituality and the secular world.
Lasara states at the book’s start that her primary goal with this work is to “find a new format for experience and worship of the divine through an archetypal system that welcomes, includes, honors, and offers representation to all women seeking a home in a shared concept and vision of the feminal divine.” Personally approaching this material as an agnostic/humanist/skeptical Pagan with a bare minimum of ritual practices, there were plenty of sections of the book that didn’t pertain to me, but that will provide rich resources for others. What hooked me the most was Lasara’s commitment to intersectional feminism as well as a deep reworking of Pagan belief structure. She proposes that feminal identity be broken down into five archetypes that can describe the phases of a woman’s life as well as individual moments in what Lasara calls the “nonlinear” version of life—moment-to-moment embodiment of different energies.
"Jailbreaking the Goddess" is an opening statement in a larger conversation about gender equity, revolution and spiritual practice. Lasara begins the book by deconstructing her own privilege in the conversation and asking where it’s possible for the rest of us to participate. Examples of each feminal archetype from the global activist world and from a variety of pantheons provide illustration. Journaling exercises in the book offer an experiential component. For readers who might not resonate with a certain level of spiritual practice, there’s plenty of discussion about activism, decolonizing practice and generally information on how to construct a ritual if one is simply curious as to how rituals work.
This book was life-changing for me for its own unique reasons. Not because of the offer of a spiritual path or the renewal of particular practices. But for opening my eyes further to how activism works. It’s not just for those of us who have the privilege and resources of taking to the streets, of blogging publicly, or civilly disobeying. It is present in our conception of the Divine, from our punk rock DIY altars, to our kitchen witch blends, to our teaching moments with children. Activism and change are a possibility down to our smallest cells. That is what "Jailbreaking the Goddess" taught me.
Trying to discuss the intersection of spirituality and activism is a funny thing. Especially when you’ve been kind of distanced from both for a while. I had the pleasure of meeting Lasara in Los Angeles this past spring at a "Jailbreaking the Goddess" workshop at the Crystal Matrix store, during which she discussed some of the key points of her recent work. It was the kind of thing that broke my brain immediately. I expected stale and huggable material about femininity anchored in 1970s ideas that I didn’t agree with. Instead I was jolted awake by her reconceptualization of feminine (which she reworks into the term “feminal”) identity both within Pagan spirituality and the secular world.
Lasara states at the book’s start that her primary goal with this work is to “find a new format for experience and worship of the divine through an archetypal system that welcomes, includes, honors, and offers representation to all women seeking a home in a shared concept and vision of the feminal divine.” Personally approaching this material as an agnostic/humanist/skeptical Pagan with a bare minimum of ritual practices, there were plenty of sections of the book that didn’t pertain to me, but that will provide rich resources for others. What hooked me the most was Lasara’s commitment to intersectional feminism as well as a deep reworking of Pagan belief structure. She proposes that feminal identity be broken down into five archetypes that can describe the phases of a woman’s life as well as individual moments in what Lasara calls the “nonlinear” version of life—moment-to-moment embodiment of different energies.
"Jailbreaking the Goddess" is an opening statement in a larger conversation about gender equity, revolution and spiritual practice. Lasara begins the book by deconstructing her own privilege in the conversation and asking where it’s possible for the rest of us to participate. Examples of each feminal archetype from the global activist world and from a variety of pantheons provide illustration. Journaling exercises in the book offer an experiential component. For readers who might not resonate with a certain level of spiritual practice, there’s plenty of discussion about activism, decolonizing practice and generally information on how to construct a ritual if one is simply curious as to how rituals work.
This book was life-changing for me for its own unique reasons. Not because of the offer of a spiritual path or the renewal of particular practices. But for opening my eyes further to how activism works. It’s not just for those of us who have the privilege and resources of taking to the streets, of blogging publicly, or civilly disobeying. It is present in our conception of the Divine, from our punk rock DIY altars, to our kitchen witch blends, to our teaching moments with children. Activism and change are a possibility down to our smallest cells. That is what "Jailbreaking the Goddess" taught me.
July 5, 2016
I received an e-copy of this book for review purposes.
Reading Jailbreaking the Goddess was like reconnecting with a long-lost friend. Every few paragraphs I found myself saying “Yes! She gets it!” or “Of course! That makes perfect sense!” The questions Lasara poses are challenging, because they require us to look deeply at our own spiritual practices and see if we are honoring or appropriating with our religious practices; if we are helping others for our own spiritual and political gain or because we are working towards a common goal.
There are many strands of feminist spirituality that have relied heavily on Maiden, Mother and Crone archetypes, but Lasara shows how this relies on the assumption that women exist to bear children for men and is deeply problematic because it deprives women of agency. The five-fold model she proposes is fluid, allowing us to move between archetypes or phases as we need to. It was great to read a book on feminist spirituality that I could recommend to any of my LGBTQI friends without a second thought.
Her emphasis on decolonizing our spiritual traditions is also something I gladly welcome. She tackles cultural appropriation head on, which is something I see a need for in the larger Pagan spiritual community. I think my favorite part was the section on intention- it reminded me of a very dear mentor of mine.
This is a book I will be rereading and referring to again and again. I am going to be incorporating the five-fold goddess model and sigils into my own spiritual practice because they matched my own experiences on such a deep level. I also loved Lasara’s term “organic magick”- now I finally have a term for what I’ve been doing all along!
Reading Jailbreaking the Goddess was like reconnecting with a long-lost friend. Every few paragraphs I found myself saying “Yes! She gets it!” or “Of course! That makes perfect sense!” The questions Lasara poses are challenging, because they require us to look deeply at our own spiritual practices and see if we are honoring or appropriating with our religious practices; if we are helping others for our own spiritual and political gain or because we are working towards a common goal.
There are many strands of feminist spirituality that have relied heavily on Maiden, Mother and Crone archetypes, but Lasara shows how this relies on the assumption that women exist to bear children for men and is deeply problematic because it deprives women of agency. The five-fold model she proposes is fluid, allowing us to move between archetypes or phases as we need to. It was great to read a book on feminist spirituality that I could recommend to any of my LGBTQI friends without a second thought.
Her emphasis on decolonizing our spiritual traditions is also something I gladly welcome. She tackles cultural appropriation head on, which is something I see a need for in the larger Pagan spiritual community. I think my favorite part was the section on intention- it reminded me of a very dear mentor of mine.
This is a book I will be rereading and referring to again and again. I am going to be incorporating the five-fold goddess model and sigils into my own spiritual practice because they matched my own experiences on such a deep level. I also loved Lasara’s term “organic magick”- now I finally have a term for what I’ve been doing all along!
February 25, 2019
Maiden. Mother. Crone. How often do we hear or work with this image of the Goddess in Pagan circles? It seems that every Pagan has encountered Her three faces at least once on their path, even if only in passing. Jailbreaking the Goddess: A Radical Revisioning of Feminist Spirituality by Lasara Firefox Allen speaks of a different view of the Goddess.
In this book the Goddess is described through FIVE faces. There is the inner child, Femella. Potens stands much like the maiden. Creatrix who's name says it all (and gets rid of that silly notion that we all must have children). The woman in her peak is the Sapentia. Finally, the crone is re-envisioned as the Antiqua. The first half of the book goes into depth describing each face of the Goddess. There are ideas for worship and meditations. It's easy to read but still gets you to question some long held beliefs you might have had.
I'll be honest. I had never really considered how limiting the Maiden, Mother, Crone Goddess could be. It had been such a relief coming from Catholicism that I didn't really question it. My thoughts on Deity had always leaned more towards Animism, but the Goddess as all encompassing Deity was an empowering shift for me. This book was another great shift in my understanding and thoughts on Deity.
The second half of the book goes into the ways we can take these ideas into our communities. A great deal of time is spent on educating and expanding ideas around identity. This sets the stage for the ritual work and ability to step out into your community to affect real change through magic. I found this section less exciting, but still a great source of many ideas that help move Paganism into a more progressive culture.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. I'm going to keep it on my shelf for a while and see if it becomes a keeper.
~On a side note, this book had a TON of journal prompts scattered throughout the pages. It annoyed me. I couldn't tell if it's just I've been reading too many Pagany-How-To books lately or if it really was too much.
In this book the Goddess is described through FIVE faces. There is the inner child, Femella. Potens stands much like the maiden. Creatrix who's name says it all (and gets rid of that silly notion that we all must have children). The woman in her peak is the Sapentia. Finally, the crone is re-envisioned as the Antiqua. The first half of the book goes into depth describing each face of the Goddess. There are ideas for worship and meditations. It's easy to read but still gets you to question some long held beliefs you might have had.
I'll be honest. I had never really considered how limiting the Maiden, Mother, Crone Goddess could be. It had been such a relief coming from Catholicism that I didn't really question it. My thoughts on Deity had always leaned more towards Animism, but the Goddess as all encompassing Deity was an empowering shift for me. This book was another great shift in my understanding and thoughts on Deity.
The second half of the book goes into the ways we can take these ideas into our communities. A great deal of time is spent on educating and expanding ideas around identity. This sets the stage for the ritual work and ability to step out into your community to affect real change through magic. I found this section less exciting, but still a great source of many ideas that help move Paganism into a more progressive culture.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. I'm going to keep it on my shelf for a while and see if it becomes a keeper.
~On a side note, this book had a TON of journal prompts scattered throughout the pages. It annoyed me. I couldn't tell if it's just I've been reading too many Pagany-How-To books lately or if it really was too much.
September 15, 2016
What can I say about such a revolutionary book? It's a whole new way to think about the goddess that doesn't rely on biology. It's more than refreshing. It really is revolutionary.
I am not a Mother and I am not a Crone, I'm somewhere in between but the old way of looking at it doesn't have a place for me, a 45 year-old perimenopausal cisgendered woman. In Lasara's system, I would say I'm Creatrix and Sapientia but there's also the playful Femela and some Potens as well. (Read the book to find out more about these phases.)
We can be in any of these phases at any time of our lives, several at a time. It's not a linear system. Because this system is not tied to biology, these can apply to anyone of any gender.
Lasara also invites us to enter into different, non-hierarchical relationships with our deities, and in our covens. She gives us guidelines for decolonizing our approach to magic.
This is both a book to read as well as a workbook to make the fivefold-goddess an integral part of our lives. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants (or needs) a different way of looking at the goddess.
I am not a Mother and I am not a Crone, I'm somewhere in between but the old way of looking at it doesn't have a place for me, a 45 year-old perimenopausal cisgendered woman. In Lasara's system, I would say I'm Creatrix and Sapientia but there's also the playful Femela and some Potens as well. (Read the book to find out more about these phases.)
We can be in any of these phases at any time of our lives, several at a time. It's not a linear system. Because this system is not tied to biology, these can apply to anyone of any gender.
Lasara also invites us to enter into different, non-hierarchical relationships with our deities, and in our covens. She gives us guidelines for decolonizing our approach to magic.
This is both a book to read as well as a workbook to make the fivefold-goddess an integral part of our lives. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants (or needs) a different way of looking at the goddess.
October 6, 2016
Finally a look at the Goddess through a different lens, one the empowers the spectrum of life in all its forms. Very impressive. Highly recommend!
January 22, 2018
It was refreshing to read a book on Witchcraft and Paganism that discussed colonization, cultural appropriation and transphobia so overtly. The fact that this book creates space for decolonizing magickal thought is revolutionary in and of itself. So much of pagan belief and work has shied away from addressing this, or has fallen into knee-jerk reactionism when attempts have been made. It is important to recognize this book as setting up a new discourse on how we talk about Goddess worship.
This book is very adaptable for any kind of practitioner - whether they be curious about witchcraft/paganism to those who are coveners who follow established magickal traditions. Allen writes in an appoachable, discursive manner far from the sometimes lofty writing styles of past neopagan writers. The author makes it abundantly clear that what she lays out in terms of ritual practice are simply there to use as a jumping board, as well as stays clear of any dogmatic rhetoric.
I could see more secular practitioners being a bit uneasy when it comes to certain thematic elements in this book, but for those who do follow some or all aspects of goddess worship when embarking on their magickal endeavors should find this quite interesting.
A definite game-changer and highly recommended!
This book is very adaptable for any kind of practitioner - whether they be curious about witchcraft/paganism to those who are coveners who follow established magickal traditions. Allen writes in an appoachable, discursive manner far from the sometimes lofty writing styles of past neopagan writers. The author makes it abundantly clear that what she lays out in terms of ritual practice are simply there to use as a jumping board, as well as stays clear of any dogmatic rhetoric.
I could see more secular practitioners being a bit uneasy when it comes to certain thematic elements in this book, but for those who do follow some or all aspects of goddess worship when embarking on their magickal endeavors should find this quite interesting.
A definite game-changer and highly recommended!
February 12, 2020
Let me start off by saying that the first 50% or so of this book delivered exactly what I expected and hoped for. Maybe even more. As with many others, the archetype of the triple goddess never seemed to resonate with me no matter how hard I tried to make it fit. Though I don't plan on taking the five-fold model into practice, the ideas presented widened my perspective and gave me permission to find inspiration in the modern day, rather than forcing myself to find meaning in outdated, unrelatable archetypes interpreted from ancient mythology. For that, I'm thankful.
What made me take a hard left was the second half of the book, which I did not finish and probably never will. Forgive me. I'm sure the author meant to both educate and empower the reader, but the social justice soap box moments felt too poetic and vague to do either. Maybe the delivery improved later on, but I felt like I got all that I was going to get from the book by the time I reached the 60% mark.
What made me take a hard left was the second half of the book, which I did not finish and probably never will. Forgive me. I'm sure the author meant to both educate and empower the reader, but the social justice soap box moments felt too poetic and vague to do either. Maybe the delivery improved later on, but I felt like I got all that I was going to get from the book by the time I reached the 60% mark.
July 21, 2021
This is essential reading for anyone on a Goddess Spirituality, or GS-adjacent path! We have so many out-of-date, inaccurate, and at times frankly problematic books and teachings that continue to circulate - this book calls that out and offers the alternative.
Jailbreaking brings feminist spirituality into the 21st century, reminding us of our responsibility as feminists and/or followers of the Goddess/es to ensure that our practices and teachings are intersectional, inclusive, accessible, and decolonised. There are many 'aha' moments and opportunities for personal reflection in this book.
I really hope that all Goddess Spirituality teachers out there read and integrate this work into their classes. I cannot emphasise how important I believe this to be.
This book renewed my faith in Goddess Spirituality (though it is not how I identify these days), where many others have left much to be desired. This book has shown me how much the personal is political and the spiritual is political. It has really awakened in me how we do not exist in spiritual bubbles of self-centred self-actualisation and that we can all transform this world for the better. I wish this book was representative of GS today, but its going to take a lot more work to see that happen.
Jailbreaking brings feminist spirituality into the 21st century, reminding us of our responsibility as feminists and/or followers of the Goddess/es to ensure that our practices and teachings are intersectional, inclusive, accessible, and decolonised. There are many 'aha' moments and opportunities for personal reflection in this book.
I really hope that all Goddess Spirituality teachers out there read and integrate this work into their classes. I cannot emphasise how important I believe this to be.
This book renewed my faith in Goddess Spirituality (though it is not how I identify these days), where many others have left much to be desired. This book has shown me how much the personal is political and the spiritual is political. It has really awakened in me how we do not exist in spiritual bubbles of self-centred self-actualisation and that we can all transform this world for the better. I wish this book was representative of GS today, but its going to take a lot more work to see that happen.
April 23, 2020
Goodreads says a 2-star rating means, "It's okay." That seems pretty accurate. The book is fine. Just fine.
I found myself frequently writing in my notes (it's a library book, so I didn't mark up the actual copy), "Why didn't the author bother to unpack this?" The ideas aren't necessarily worthless, but my main problem with the book is that the author seems content with a lot of surface-level explanations. It's an ambitious book and may have simply tried to tackle too much too quickly, and that in only 267 pages.
The single most valuable material in it is probably the discussion of how the Mother archetype(s) is/are usually conflated with Woman, and that motherhood must resonate with all women in a similar way.
By the end, my feeling was that the author wanted the credit for or reputation of being "radical" but either didn't put in the work to follow through or didn't have that work make the final manuscript.
The journaling/writing exercises might be useful for someone who hasn't done much personal writing about spirituality and archetypes. The list of "further reading" is entirely too short, but what's there is good.
I found myself frequently writing in my notes (it's a library book, so I didn't mark up the actual copy), "Why didn't the author bother to unpack this?" The ideas aren't necessarily worthless, but my main problem with the book is that the author seems content with a lot of surface-level explanations. It's an ambitious book and may have simply tried to tackle too much too quickly, and that in only 267 pages.
The single most valuable material in it is probably the discussion of how the Mother archetype(s) is/are usually conflated with Woman, and that motherhood must resonate with all women in a similar way.
By the end, my feeling was that the author wanted the credit for or reputation of being "radical" but either didn't put in the work to follow through or didn't have that work make the final manuscript.
The journaling/writing exercises might be useful for someone who hasn't done much personal writing about spirituality and archetypes. The list of "further reading" is entirely too short, but what's there is good.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 11, 2016
I loved the 5 aspect Goddess that the author proposes, however it's so clear to me that the target audience is white women. I also noticed that a couple of different orisha were mentioned for more than one aspect, but it would've been nice for her to have gone into more detail using mostly--if not all--examples from goddesses of non-white/European cultures.
Shout out to Lasara Firefox Allen for helping lay some foundational work though. I definitely think that the next generation has a lot of space to build upon the work that she and others are laying down for us.
Shout out to Lasara Firefox Allen for helping lay some foundational work though. I definitely think that the next generation has a lot of space to build upon the work that she and others are laying down for us.
December 19, 2016
My wife and I had a discussion a while back about her discomfort with the procreation-centric aspects of the threefold Goddess model, so when I saw this in Booklist a week or so later it caught my attention. Not being a Goddess worshipper myself, I don't feel I was the book's intended audience, but the author works very hard to maintain mindfulness of societal power structures, potential issues of appropriation, and inclusivity of all women, not just white DFAB women, and I appreciated that.
March 17, 2016
Yes and more yes to this new model, which moves us out of the expectation of conformation to outdated cultural norms. One of the things I love most about this book is how it allows for other forms to exist within it (and you!) It's an opening of possibility for all women to re-divine all parts of ourselves. Blessings on this beautiful book! May it grace many, many bookshelves all over the world!
July 17, 2016
An excellent read. The author did a fantastic job of writing about the Female/Goddess and showing an alternate way of thinking about women in the form of 5 aspects - Femella, Potens, Creatrix, Sapientia, and Antiqua, rather then the usual 3 - Maiden, Mother, Crone. Positively done, and without the emphasis on a woman being useful when she's popping out kids. Thoroughly enjoyed this book.
April 26, 2020
I wanted to like this book so much more than I actually did. I loved the idea of this book, but the execution left a lot to be desired. If you’re looking for an intersectional feminist paganism book, here it is.
I found the author’s invented five faces of the goddess to be overlapping and unnecessarily distinct. It was not inspiring.
I found the author’s invented five faces of the goddess to be overlapping and unnecessarily distinct. It was not inspiring.
September 3, 2016
I'm not even into Goddess spirituality, but I would join a coven or group centered on the fivefold Goddess introduced in this book.
October 15, 2016
Full review/ artwork to come.
July 20, 2020
Let's start with what I liked: As someone who is only just beginning her journey into pagan spirituality, I found the model of five faces very interesting. The additional information (such as deities that might embody one of those faces) is a good jump-off point for further reading, the journalling questions and activities are thought-provoking. The suggestions for rituals, altar design, etc. are also very suitable for someone who is only just starting out and I also really appreciate the author's humility in repeatedly emphasising that she's not the arbiter of spirituality and that the reader should do what feels right for them.
Now some points of criticism: Although the author tries to be inclusive, she occasionally falls back into a rather traditionally gendered view of spirituality that I really can't personally relate to at all. At times it felt like she was just trying to pick up people where they are, so to speak, but then there's things like the description of Creatrix including "Her vulva swells with life" - which is, quite frankly, a bit off-putting even for me as a cis woman and I suspect it would detract from people who actually don't have that particular body part seeing aspects of themselves reflected in the description, as the author repeatedly emphasises she wants people to.
The author also buys into the idea of universal sisterhood a bit too much for my taste, which is perhaps most readily apparent when she describes how women seek out women's spaces because they can focus on what's important to them more than if men were around, using "We" to refer to women throughout that entire paragraph. As a woman, I have not had that experience with single-sex vs. mixed spaces at all and really wish authors (she's by far not the only one who does this) wouldn't "we" all over the place when talking about their personal experience of womanhood. To me it always feels quite alienating, like I'm being defined out of existence because I'm a woman who can't relate.
With regard to the social justice chapters of this book, it's all very Social Justice 101 - which is fine, you have to start somewhere. Unfortunately, the author expresses her ideas for e.g. a decolonised spirituality in such a poetic fashion that I would have found it practically impossible to derive any actionable advice from the text, if I hadn't already encountered the concepts in plenty of other spaces. I think a bit more straight-forwardness might have done those chapters good.
All in all, it's an interesting book for starting out and I will definitely use some of its ideas but I will have to adapt heavily to fit them into my own spirituality, which, to be fair, the author specifically wants people to do, so there's that.
Now some points of criticism: Although the author tries to be inclusive, she occasionally falls back into a rather traditionally gendered view of spirituality that I really can't personally relate to at all. At times it felt like she was just trying to pick up people where they are, so to speak, but then there's things like the description of Creatrix including "Her vulva swells with life" - which is, quite frankly, a bit off-putting even for me as a cis woman and I suspect it would detract from people who actually don't have that particular body part seeing aspects of themselves reflected in the description, as the author repeatedly emphasises she wants people to.
The author also buys into the idea of universal sisterhood a bit too much for my taste, which is perhaps most readily apparent when she describes how women seek out women's spaces because they can focus on what's important to them more than if men were around, using "We" to refer to women throughout that entire paragraph. As a woman, I have not had that experience with single-sex vs. mixed spaces at all and really wish authors (she's by far not the only one who does this) wouldn't "we" all over the place when talking about their personal experience of womanhood. To me it always feels quite alienating, like I'm being defined out of existence because I'm a woman who can't relate.
With regard to the social justice chapters of this book, it's all very Social Justice 101 - which is fine, you have to start somewhere. Unfortunately, the author expresses her ideas for e.g. a decolonised spirituality in such a poetic fashion that I would have found it practically impossible to derive any actionable advice from the text, if I hadn't already encountered the concepts in plenty of other spaces. I think a bit more straight-forwardness might have done those chapters good.
All in all, it's an interesting book for starting out and I will definitely use some of its ideas but I will have to adapt heavily to fit them into my own spirituality, which, to be fair, the author specifically wants people to do, so there's that.
January 27, 2018
I struggled, at first, with the five fold female projections... I miss mother, but I guess that's creatrix while we are dealing with women who aren't in touch with motherhood. If the mind is willing, it takes nine months to develop and achieve, but not all minds are open to this...
For me, this book has been very helpful as a new introduction to the realm of the spirit. I've been through an interesting ride, where I found that my ancestors were, in fact, much more spiritual than I was allowed to know. Witchcraft was considered dangerous, when my parents were growing up, so, it was clandestine. Now, understanding my background and my sense of self, I'm much more open to the ideas that were introduced... I'm very grounded, as a woman, and feel that the author gives presence to grounded women who are satisfied, in and of themselves, without having to be modified in order to meet high standards. There is depth and serious thought to the essence of womanhood. I also appreciate the application of rituals to help determine how to honor the projections as well as explanations of deities, colors stones etc, to help define them.
At the moment, I can't do the work asked for, so, I'm buying the book to work through, later on. What's rewarding, for me, is the fact that the author explains experiences that I've felt, without being given an understanding to the attachments and reactions that my emotional well being has allowed me. I've felt safer, in my relationship to the Goddesses, I've connected with, than to the real people who, I consider, a strong part of my Bhakti personality.
For me, this book has been very helpful as a new introduction to the realm of the spirit. I've been through an interesting ride, where I found that my ancestors were, in fact, much more spiritual than I was allowed to know. Witchcraft was considered dangerous, when my parents were growing up, so, it was clandestine. Now, understanding my background and my sense of self, I'm much more open to the ideas that were introduced... I'm very grounded, as a woman, and feel that the author gives presence to grounded women who are satisfied, in and of themselves, without having to be modified in order to meet high standards. There is depth and serious thought to the essence of womanhood. I also appreciate the application of rituals to help determine how to honor the projections as well as explanations of deities, colors stones etc, to help define them.
At the moment, I can't do the work asked for, so, I'm buying the book to work through, later on. What's rewarding, for me, is the fact that the author explains experiences that I've felt, without being given an understanding to the attachments and reactions that my emotional well being has allowed me. I've felt safer, in my relationship to the Goddesses, I've connected with, than to the real people who, I consider, a strong part of my Bhakti personality.
February 26, 2018
This one has been on my radar for a long time, and I am glad that I've finally taken the time to work through it. To begin, I think this is a much-needed volume in the pagan/witchy world. The amount of weird gender essentialism and downright cultural appropriation that fills pagan texts is astounding. Allen's book is a great step in the right direction, asking readers to reconsider certain tried-and-true aspects of their practice that may be harmful rather than helpful. She gives little lessons on privilege, appropriation, and trans*-inclusivity, which I know a lot of folks in the community will do well to read. My favorite part of the book was her descriptions of the five faces of the Goddess, which were poetic, a little whimsical, and altogether alluring. After reading these, I find myself identifying Her faces in situations I encounter in a way I have never engaged with before. As a non-believer in anthropomorphic deities, this is a new experience for me.
My complaints about this book have to do with both structure and content. I found the title to be misleading because the section that actually works through the five faces of the Goddess is less than half the book. The rest is fairly scattered and reads like Social Justice 101. Frankly, I was wishing that the theology here would be even more radical than it was, but I fully admit that to be a pipe dream. I still think it's an important step in the right direction for the pagan community, and I hope to see even more radical tomes from Llewellyn in the near future.
My complaints about this book have to do with both structure and content. I found the title to be misleading because the section that actually works through the five faces of the Goddess is less than half the book. The rest is fairly scattered and reads like Social Justice 101. Frankly, I was wishing that the theology here would be even more radical than it was, but I fully admit that to be a pipe dream. I still think it's an important step in the right direction for the pagan community, and I hope to see even more radical tomes from Llewellyn in the near future.
July 3, 2023
I'm completely in love. Finally, a Goddess-centered book that isn't chalk full of TERF/anti trans bigotry. It's sad that a "radical revisioning of feminist spirituality" basically boils down to "womanhood isn't defined by having a womb and what it can do/trans women are women" but unfortunately in this particular community it is. You'd think this would be a no brainer, but... well. The Dianic community has a lot of brainless folks puttering around who are way behind the times on this. It makes me embarrassed to define myself as a Dianic pagan. I love love love having a book in my library that I can actually recommend to people that's in this wheelhouse.
This book makes you work and think. I highly recommend snagging the workbook that goes along with it, or at least busting out a notebook and pen as you go along. If you have Former Gifted Kid Trauma like me you'll probably fill out every single question as you go along, but there's plenty of room for folks to pick and choose what's most useful for them.
A big focus of this book is on unpacking layers of privilege for us cis white women in the Pagan community, and frankly that's work that a lot of us haven't done. Our community is rife with this demographic loudly going around acting like we've won the Oppression Olympics like it's still the 1970's when that wasn't even true then. I wish I could make everyone in our community do this work, or at least acknowledge that it needs doing.
This book makes you work and think. I highly recommend snagging the workbook that goes along with it, or at least busting out a notebook and pen as you go along. If you have Former Gifted Kid Trauma like me you'll probably fill out every single question as you go along, but there's plenty of room for folks to pick and choose what's most useful for them.
A big focus of this book is on unpacking layers of privilege for us cis white women in the Pagan community, and frankly that's work that a lot of us haven't done. Our community is rife with this demographic loudly going around acting like we've won the Oppression Olympics like it's still the 1970's when that wasn't even true then. I wish I could make everyone in our community do this work, or at least acknowledge that it needs doing.
April 11, 2023
This book takes an incredible dive into the divine feminine. Similar, but much more diverse, to a book I read on the feminist interpretation of Artemis.
While I don’t feel an exact alignment with all she says, I do feel kinship. This book absolutely got me thinking and looking at things differently.
Maiden. Mother. Crone.
This triad never spoke to me. Never felt like it fit. So I never invested much into learning more about it.
A more open, more accurate, scale for the life of a woman is needed - and this book takes you in that direction on one person’s path.
A nonlinear, overlapping reference of the stages of life. You can spend time in any of these stages at any point in your life.
Still working on my reference line.
Currently sitting with:
Child/Student-Explorer/Warrior-Creatrix-Guide/Mentor-Sage/Mystic
While I don’t feel an exact alignment with all she says, I do feel kinship. This book absolutely got me thinking and looking at things differently.
Maiden. Mother. Crone.
This triad never spoke to me. Never felt like it fit. So I never invested much into learning more about it.
A more open, more accurate, scale for the life of a woman is needed - and this book takes you in that direction on one person’s path.
A nonlinear, overlapping reference of the stages of life. You can spend time in any of these stages at any point in your life.
Still working on my reference line.
Currently sitting with:
Child/Student-Explorer/Warrior-Creatrix-Guide/Mentor-Sage/Mystic
August 6, 2017
This is a revolutionary book. I cannot say enough good things about it.
If you, like me, are pretty much any flavor of Goddess worshipper that doesn't hold with Z. Budapest's anti-trans nonsense/heterowitchery/all the attendant junk that's generally associated with Goddess worship/modern witchcraft, this is absolutely the book for you. This is especially true if you found it difficult to connect with the Triple Goddess model, given that you are not/do not wish to be a Mother.
Firefox Allen posits a five-fold Goddess model, and that's only the first fantastic thing about this book. She talks about the importance of decolonizing your magic and why cultural appropriation matters. She writes about ways to question yourself, gives lots of opportunities for self-reflection (something all witches should be doing imo), and writes in a way that I believe is applicable to many readers.
If you are a baby witch, this is the book for you. If you are a seeker, feeling unfulfilled with mainstream organized religion, this is the book for you. If you are a veteran witch, this is the book for you. Hell yeah, this is one of the best pagan books I've read in my lifetime (and I've read a lot of those types of books).
If you, like me, are pretty much any flavor of Goddess worshipper that doesn't hold with Z. Budapest's anti-trans nonsense/heterowitchery/all the attendant junk that's generally associated with Goddess worship/modern witchcraft, this is absolutely the book for you. This is especially true if you found it difficult to connect with the Triple Goddess model, given that you are not/do not wish to be a Mother.
Firefox Allen posits a five-fold Goddess model, and that's only the first fantastic thing about this book. She talks about the importance of decolonizing your magic and why cultural appropriation matters. She writes about ways to question yourself, gives lots of opportunities for self-reflection (something all witches should be doing imo), and writes in a way that I believe is applicable to many readers.
If you are a baby witch, this is the book for you. If you are a seeker, feeling unfulfilled with mainstream organized religion, this is the book for you. If you are a veteran witch, this is the book for you. Hell yeah, this is one of the best pagan books I've read in my lifetime (and I've read a lot of those types of books).
May 10, 2017
Firefox unravels the tangled web of patriarchal influences hiding in plain sight in the thealogy and practice of Witchcraft. Well thought out, easy to comprehend, and big on critical thinking, I would recommend this book to anyone who wishes to examine how their current spiritual practice might be transformed by incorporating intersectionality and feminism into their spiritual work and play. The five-fold model of the Goddess is a brilliant addition that examines the Divine "Feminal" from a contemporary perspective that does not necessarily center around reproduction and motherhood. Journal prompts throughout provide an opportunity to engage your own inner wise woman, and the appendices provide a quick and dirty guide for those new to Witchcraft.
September 1, 2019
Got 75% through, then did not finish, but Id read enough to count it in my “read” pile.
I really did like the book, but it just started to get beyond me and I couldn’t bring myself to finish, as I didn't plan on getting as in-depth with the material or working seriously with any of the practices offered as you get deeper into the book. Its just not my style.
That all said, I really appreciated that such depth was offered and would happily recommend this book to anyone wanting to explore any sort of goddess spiritualities in a new and deeper way.
I loved the reimagined aspects of the divine feminine and these ideas will probably stick with me going forward, even in my perception of my own womanhood.
I really did like the book, but it just started to get beyond me and I couldn’t bring myself to finish, as I didn't plan on getting as in-depth with the material or working seriously with any of the practices offered as you get deeper into the book. Its just not my style.
That all said, I really appreciated that such depth was offered and would happily recommend this book to anyone wanting to explore any sort of goddess spiritualities in a new and deeper way.
I loved the reimagined aspects of the divine feminine and these ideas will probably stick with me going forward, even in my perception of my own womanhood.
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