Twilight Goddess: Spiritual Feminism and Feminine Spirituality

by Thomas Cleary, Sartaz Aziz

Goddess worship is among the original forms of human religious expression. Thomas Cleary and Sartaz Aziz show how the Divine Feminine has never really disappeared from religion—in spite of its suppression by patriarchal culture. Whether conceptualized as divine person, saint, mythic figure, archetype, or abstract principle, the Divine Feminine inevitably arises, manifesting in hidden as well as obvious ways. This book is a guided tour of the feminine principles, symbols, and imagery found in Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism, and the Sufi tradition of Islam, with insightful meditations on the deep meanings of these manifestations of the Divine.

Genres: Buddhism, History, Spirituality, Goddess, Nonfiction, Religion

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Dr. Thomas Francis Cleary, Ph.D. (East Asian Languages and Civilizations, Harvard University; J.D., Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California, Berkeley), was a prolific translator of Buddhist, Taoist, Confucian, and Muslim classics, with a particular emphasis on popular translations of Mahāyāna works relevant to the Chan, Zen, and Soen systems.

Reviews

[Carolyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating stuff, but I think they're protesting a little too much. There's no such thing as the sacred feminine in Islam unless you count the local glory hole. Read the qur'an, you'll see for yourself.