Finding New Goddesses: Reclaiming Playfulness in Our Spiritual Lives - Softcover

Ardinger Ph.D., Barbara

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1550225243 ISBN 13: 9781550225242

Publisher: ECW Press, 2003

Synopsis

Familiar ancient goddesses may help us deal with basic issues like love, prosperity, and health, but to whom do we turn to help us deal with modern-day concerns like parking, haircuts, and computers? With goddesses from A to Z, Finding New Goddesses presents a wildly imaginative new set of deities for the 21st century.

About this title

From the Author:

Why do we need to reclaim humor and playfulness in our old/new religion?

Like it or not, we neopagans are still the children of the society we’re endeavoring to change. Because our Founding Fathers (and Mothers) were too busy establishing civilization in the wilderness to find much humor in their universe, we’re not likely to find much playfulness in early American writing, which was largely created by Puritans, a group not noted for whimsy. And that’s why, "Politically Incorrect" on TV notwithstanding, we find so little humor in public discourse even today. As a society, we just never got out of the old Puritan habit that literary critics call "high seriousness."

The Charge of the Goddess tells us that "all acts of love and pleasure are My rituals. Let there be . . . mirth and reverence within you." We’ve found the love and we’ve found the reverence. I think it’s time to find the pleasure and the mirth. It’s time to lighten up. It’s time to play with our Goddesses.

Reader, these are the days that call out for Found Goddesses. These are the days we need to capture the playfulness of present-day archetypes like Nerdix and Aphasia and Our Lady of Guilt. We need to see the funny side of life that Rentessa and Fandango and Yuckarootie represent. We need to listen to what the Goddess Gotcha has to tell us about the state of the world. We need to pay attention when the Goddess of the Good Old Days, Naustalgica, says, "Lighten up, kids."

From the Inside Flap:

From the foreword by Nancy Blair:

Hold onto your crescent crown and crystal tipped magic wand! You are about to embark on a wise, witty and spirited ride through Barbara Ardinger’s boldly original and punningly poetic pantheon of New Goddesses. Here you’ll find not only a practical parade of wickedly weird, whimsically wonderful and perfectly appropriate female deities for every imaginable occasion demanding divine intervention, you’ll find multiple mind-teasing meaning to humor your everyday spiritual journey.

Tired of all that serious HGTV (Home & Garden Television) decorating advice? Need a little non-sense to shake up your interior spaces? Call up Chi-Chi and Her Evil Twin Sister, Sha-Na-Na for a whirlwind tour de feng shui force that’s sure to make even the most righteous of space smudgers crack a wry smile. Or maybe you’re hankering for a lighter side to menopause, with its midlife letdown and drooping, well, just about everything from libido to the skin on your thighs, then welcome Auntie Gravity, a Crone’s Goddess of amusing delight who cajoles and counsels with tough love and sandpaper wisdom promising that no matter where you find yourself on the time line of life, She’ll eventually find you.

From the forward by Timothy Roderick:

There’s nothing like a good laugh to ground you and to give you some perspective. Laughter is rebellious and insubordinate. It scares the hell out of those who would rather patrol our spiritual activity. Humor can help you recognize that the same "almighty" force that inspired a nun’s severity and a diatribe of fire and brimstone, is also responsible for playful puppies, silly-looking platypuses, maple syrup, sex and human laughter. It may be hard at first to believe, but joy and fun are, in fact, manifestations of this all-encompassing divine energy.

The path of the Goddess is a wonderful cure for religious constipation. The Goddess is everything you can see, feel, taste, hear and touch. She isn’t just the serious stuff. The Goddess has a distinctly playful side. She loves a good joke. She loves a bad one too. She’s patiently waiting, like a Good Mother, for us to loosen up a little so that she can tickle us and help us to feel spirituality again. No more 7:00am masses, says She. Let the world—in all its dimensions--be your church. Let life become religion. And for Goddess’ sake, send in the sacred clowns!

About this edition

• Publisher: ECW Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1550225243
• ISBN 13: 9781550225242
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 220