A Goddess Arrives

by Gerald B. Gardner

Gardner's first novel came about as the result of a dream, or rather a series of dreams, in which he seemed to be in charge of constructing a defensive wall in order to repel invaders. He suspected that it may have been a memory from a previous lifetime somewhere in the Mediterranean or Middle East. The dreams were so vivid that Gardner was inspired to write 'A Goddess Arrives'. The novel is based on the historical invasion of Cyprus by the Egyptians in 1450 BCE and tells of how they were ultimately repulsed. The heroine of the story, Dayonis, is described as a witch, but she seems to need animal and in some cases human sacrifices in her rituals. The legend of Venus emerging from the waves is dramatically incorporated into the story.

Genres: Fiction

Paperback

Published January 1, 2000

About the author

Gerald Brousseau Gardner was an influential English Wiccan, as well as an amateur anthropologist and archaeologist, writer, weaponry expert and occultist. He was instrumental in bringing the Neopagan religion of Wicca to public attention in Britain and wrote some of its definitive religious texts. He himself typically referred to the faith as "witchcraft" or "the witch-cult", its adherents "the Wica", and he claimed that it was the survival of a pre-Christian pagan Witch cult that he had been initiated into by a New Forest coven in 1939.
Gardner spent much of his life abroad in southern and south-eastern Asia, where he developed an interest in many of the native peoples, and wrote about some of their magical practices. It was after his retirement and return to England that he was initiated into Wicca by the New Forest coven. Subsequently fearing that this religion, which he apparently believed to be a genuine continuance of ancient beliefs, would die out, he set about propagating it through initiating others, mainly through the Bricket Wood coven, and introduced a string of notable High Priestesses into Wicca, including Doreen Valiente, Lois Bourne, Patricia Crowther and Eleanor Bone.
He also published two books on the subject of Wicca, Witchcraft Today (1954) and The Meaning of Witchcraft (1959), along with a couple of novels, and ran the Museum of Magic and Witchcraft on the Isle of Man, which was devoted to the subject. For this, he has left an enduring legacy on the modern Wiccan and Neopagan movement, and is frequently referred to as "the Father of Wicca".

Reviews

[Hannah · Rating 2 out of 5]

With much love and admiration for “Uncle Gerald,” I must nonetheless confess that this is a pretty terrible novel. The writing style is dry and dull, and the dialogue can be incredibly awkward at times. Truly my biggest gripe might be merely an issue of not being interested in the bulk of the story: the vast majority of the book is dedicated to describing in painful detail the minutia involved in 15th century BCE warfare. If that’s your cuppa, you may find this story much less dreadful. For me, it was an effective insomnia aid at the very least! But there were parts of the story where the plot didn’t revolve solely around battle planning and weapon fabrication, and especially in the last few chapters it genuinely held my attention.

Without risking any spoilers, the rough plot is thus: Robert Denvers and his wife Mina live in 20th century England. Robert is a dull, boring man, and Mina has taken up an affair with Hank Hayward. Hank has an unexplained contempt for Robert that goes beyond what can be explained due to jealousy, and it becomes clear that his desire for Mina is less about her and more about causing grief to Robert. Hank and Mina reveal their affair to Robert, who in his despair falls into a comatose state.

It is in this dream-state that Robert’s consciousness travels back to 1450 BCE and he becomes Kinyras, Karpasian solider of high rank. We follow him as he works to defend Karpas and neighboring lands from Khemite invasion. He quickly meets Dayonis, warrior queen of Aghirda, with whom he falls in love. The novel follows their relationship, the battles they fight, and their various captures. We occasionally flip back to the present with Hank and Mina (and the unconscious Robert), but spend most of our time with Kinyras and Dayonis.

The titular goddess arrival is explained in the final chapters of the story, but otherwise plays no role in the bulk of the text. Curiously, the author’s note in the beginning of the book alleges that the story is meant to show how a woman emerging from the sea could be received as a goddess, but the 18 or so chapters before we get to that point do little to provide necessary context. This is less a story of a goddess, and more one for someone who enjoys - as Gerald no doubt did - imagining the details of ancient war. The general plot is definitely interesting, I just found the actual fleshing-out of it into a novel to be poorly done.

There’s some casual racism scattered sparsely throughout (when describing the African Khemites) and more than a small dose of misogyny, usually under the guise of paternalism but occasionally far more outright. Dayonis is nonetheless a powerful character and there’s no that doubt Gerald (through his writing of Kinyras) loves her.

I didn’t have any spectacular “ah-ha” moments as a Gardnerian while reading this novel, but if nothing more I’m proud (or a total sucker) to have powered through.

[Steve Cran · Rating 5 out of 5]

What is your take on reincarnation? Do you believe that groups of people can reincarnate together in groups based on who they knew in their past lives? Or does the soul move on to Heaven, Hell or purgatory after the physical body dies away?
Set in London during the 1930’s and 40’s , Robert Denvers is having marital troubles with his wife Mina. She is having an affair with a man named Hank Heyworth a person involved in the legal system. Denvers himself is an archaeologist with some intense psychic ability. Hank from some unknown reason hates Denvers with a passion. His reason behind stealing Mina away has not so much to do with his attraction for the woman but rather for some unknown hatred against Denvers.
Needless to say the impact of the affair is devastating and Denvers still loves Mina and has ultimate faith in her. Denvers can see things clearly in a visualization down to the nearest detail. He can also read the thought of people while stuck in his vision. Before zoning off into a deep trance, Denvers is examining a Cypriot Temple while clutching hold of a Golden Snail.
Flash back to a dream of the past life or just a day dream that lasts for two weeks. Cyprus is under occupation from Egypt. Many of the countries on that island have fallen to to Egyptian might, except for Karpass. Before the onslaught there is much debate as to whether Egypt will try to over take them. Denvers is cast as Kiranyas, Hank becomes the traitor Hange. Ereli a mercenary is granted kingship by the council. Kinyras and his brother Zadoug are in charge of constructing a wall and military strategy to keep the invading Egyptians out. While spying out Adirgha , Zadoug learns knowledge of a princess held in bondage , and of her escape.
No sooner does Zadoug come home bearing news that Dayonis the pricess arrives at the kingdom’s gates stark naked with Egyptian forces hot on her tail. In company with Kinyras and his soldiers she fights bravely against the Egyptians. She is given admission into the kingdom and into a secret brotherhood of warrior. Mean while hange maneuvers against the Karpassians by spreading rumor that Dayonis is a witch. Ereli, Dayonis and Kinyras have their hands full stopping Hange’s intrigues. At one point Dayanis and Kinyras are forced to flee. They embark on military raid against the Egyptians and fight side by side. Later they will escape to Aghirda and bet married under the auspices of a fictitious god named Jaske. Jaske is an earthquake god who is the patronof Daynis and the Aghirdans. Through out this adventure Kinyras will escape Egyptian capture, meet royal kindred in Paphos. Dayanis become elevated to Goddess status.
But the battle goes on life after life. Will good prevail or evil prevail. You find out.
Gerald Gardner wa s the founder of Modern Wicca, and has written two book of fiction both of which I enjoyed reading immensely. Too bad he did not produce more, he comes up with great stories and plotn lines. Had he focused on this he could have become a famous writer. The book does need some editing. The language can be hard to understand and there are spelling errors and typos.

[Yvonne Aburrow]

It’s hard to review this because it is apparently a fictionalized account of actual past life flashbacks that Gerald Gardner experienced, but here goes.

The characters are engaging but the writing style is very patchy (there is a lot of exposition and not enough dialogue) and there is a lot of violence in both the modern day story and the ancient story. However the plot is good and the scene where the goddess arrives was pleasing. I felt that the portrayal of both Mina and Dayonis was a bit sexist in some ways but perhaps characteristic of the period in which it was written. Nonetheless Dayonis in particular is feisty and independent so that’s good, even if she is impulsive and petulant.

If you’re interested in Gerald Gardner then it’s definitely worth a read, but it’s more of historical than literary interest.

[Tania · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took a while for me to get into it, especially the part when Denvers started his reincarnation dream - but about half way through, I began to enjoy it more.
not a great story, but alright to read!