Naming the Goddess

by Trevor Greenfield

Naming the Goddess is written by over eighty adherents and scholars of Goddess and Goddess Spirituality.

Genres: Goddess, Wicca, Mythology, Nonfiction, Reference, Religion, Paganism

351 pages, ebook

First published September 26, 2014

Reviews

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was thrilled to get a chance to review this book early. I had known about it because a dear friend has an essay within, but that just made the book extra special. Now that I have read it, I realize I have discovered what will be a much-valued book for my collection. Enough so that I will be purchasing a hard copy to keep on my shelf. Sometimes a book is great enough that a pdf file simply won't work.


Naming the Goddess is a remarkable collection of critical essays concerning modern Goddess Spirituality along with a large section of essays covering over seventy goddesses from around the world. I don't think there was a single essay I didn't enjoy. It has such a variety that it's easy to find something you are interested in, or if, like me, you like to learn about different perspectives and pantheons, then you will find plenty to catch your curiosity.

I was pleased at the vast variety of authors. Some essays were more scholarly, while others spoke straight to your soul. A book such as this is special in that whatever mood you are in you will find someone to match it. And of course the best part... A book of so many writers, so many topics and so many goddesses means that no matter what you expect, you will find some hidden gem pop out of nowhere. I admit, I have taken to randomly flipping to a page to see what delight will show up. Somewhat like divination, I have discovered that each time the essay will be relevant to my life at that time and give me some wise answer to a question I didn't necessarily know I needed to ask. This may not be the book's purpose, but it has become an added joy for me.

There isn't much to say other than get this book! If you are a follower of the Goddess, interested in mythology, or simply want to get an idea of exactly what children of the Goddess believe, then pick up a copy for yourself. You won't regret it!

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is divided into two sections. The first and shorter section involves moderate length essays about various aspects of goddess worship and ways to approach the goddess. This section is the strength of the book and I found myself wishing there were more of these type of essays. The second and longer section involves 70 short essays each about a different goddess. The essays are roughly 3 pages and tend to be heavy on historical context and mythology. I found myself wishing they had been written from a more personal perspective, about how the individual or tradition approaches each particular goddess. While the section as is serves as a nice reference, I found sitting down and reading one after the other to be rather tedious.

[Vyviane Armstrong · Rating 3 out of 5]

The essays on here that are good are great. Others fall completely flat.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m very happy I finally decided to read this book. It covers so many aspects and different facets of The Goddess, some that were new to me and some that were comfortingly familiar. Wonderful.

[Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Embarrassingly I actually started this book in 2014. I put it down for about a year in the middle there, and this year (2016) I got determined to finally finish it.

Like any book of essays, I loved some of them, felt neutral about some, and disliked others. Overall, I appreciate that part I is full of diversity* in terms of opinions and topics. Part II however is vastly different. Part II is hard to read in one sitting, because it's essentially a short encyclopedia of goddesses.

One thing I found frustrating was that the majority are [white] European goddesses. The exceptions I could find were:

- Corn Mother**
- Ereshkigal (ancient Sumerian goddess)
- Hathor (ancient Egyptian)
- Inanna
- Ishtar***
- Isis
- Kali
- Kwan Yin (technically not a goddess)
- Lakshmi
- Meretseger (Egyptian)
- Nut
- Pomba Gira (Afro-Brazilian)
- Raven Woman****
- Sedna (Inuit)
- Sekhmet
- Selket (anglicized version of an Egyptian goddess)
- Tlazoteotl (Aztec)
- White Buffalo Woman
- Yingarna (Australian aboriginal)

I'm torn on what to feel about the fact that they only included these non-European goddesses: on the one hand, I'm glad the editors mostly did not include culturally appropriative information in their book. On the other hand, are there really no pagans of color who worship outside of the European pantheons? Really?? Hmmm.

Overall, interesting read but I'll likely never reference the second half of this book again. The first part is something I may go back to.


* Diversity of opinion, not sure about the diversity (racial, ethnic, sexuality, gender, class, etc) of the authors.

** This entry was particularly irritating, because the author addresses the issue of cultural appropriation, and then promptly ignores their own comments.

*** Though do Inanna and Ishtar really merit two separate entries, given that they're names of the same goddess.

**** Note that while Raven Woman is included, this has nothing to do with the goddess as she is traditionally known, but rather as she appears to the author personally.

[Katie Oman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating book for those wishing to immerse themselves in goddess mythology and anthropology. Full of interesting essays and information, it really gives you not just a glimpse at this topic, but a chance to delve deep into the depths.