The Storyteller's Goddess: Tales of the Goddess and Her Wisdom from Around the World

by Carolyn McVickar Edwards

The Storyteller's Goddess is a collection of more than 30 stories from 20 cultures that celebrate the goddess. They are organized around seven healing goddess principles and are inspired by traditional goddess lore and ancient artifacts. Each one is introduced by placing it in its cultural and historical context, telling the story's origins, and describing props that can be used to invoke that story's goddess -- from Kali and Hecate to Shekina, Kuan Yin, Athena, Mary, and Lilith.

Genres: Mythology, Spirituality, Goddess, Paganism, Nonfiction, Feminism, Witchcraft

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

Reviews

[Allison · Rating 2 out of 5]

The stories are fun and interesting, but the author definitely takes liberties with the mythology to cast a very New Age/Wiccan message to the stories. Some are blatantly like, while others are only vague. Almost all stories allude to very sexual actions. There are some very obvious shots taken at Judeo-Christian tradition. The Story of the Virgin Mary is completely unrecognizeable and feels more like a mismash of general beliefs surrounding the idea of the Goddess.
All in all while is was interesting to see new versions of old tales, I felt the liberties and New Age messages clash with the anciet stories and take away from each goddesses' individual personality.

[Caitlin H · Rating 1 out of 5]

As of right now, i am shelving this as DNF. This book, to me, is worryingly revisionary with regards to the myths. This would be okay if it were coming from the cultures themselves, but in this case, it isn't.

Of course, some of the myths, like that of Inanna, are from an ancient civilization, but the differences McVickar Edwards made make no sense to me. Why give Ereshkigal a husband? Why not keep the myth the way it originally was, where Inanna descended to the underworld for her own reasons? Isn't that more empowering?

Other myths are from cultures that still exist today, including cultures that have had to fight to preserve their stories and ways of life. This makes the author's revisions even more frustratingly uncalled for. The fact that the author does, as others have noted, try to fit the stories into a New Age/Neo-Pagan framing is also problematic for this same reason.

I was hoping this book would be retellings of the tales, not revisions.

[S. Wigget · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's redundant with other Goddess books I've read, and the stories are creative fiction with some poetic license, but I certainly enjoyed reading this book. It was as much a journey for the author as it is for the reader.

[Nadia · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Stories of the primordial feminine re-synthesize the power of femaleness hidden and maligned by a culture that polarizes both actual and ideological gender, and still so persistently elevates what is associated with the masculine at the expense of what is imagined to be the feminine... This is almost certainly due to the culture's persistent erasure and diabolization of the divine feminine. The implications of this are stifling for all who are identified with Other... Goddess stories begin to glue together the archetype of the great feminine that has been shattered by the culture's stereotypes and habits of repression. Even if we choose not to worship her, we find in goddess stories images of our true inner and outer selves. Goddess changes our posture: no longer do great and feminine seem contradictions in terms. Like children with role models, our eyes melt before these ways we can copy, and we find ourselves growing - feet sure, stomachs round, voices bold and free. Our relationships with body, earth, self, and each other are come new."
Chapter VI - Goddess as Archetype - pg.183

This book is divided into seven chapters based upon Goddess principles, such as Constant Change: The Everlasting Cycle; The Force of Life: Sexuality and Creativity; Surrender, etc., and within each chapter five to six Goddesses are discussed. Firstly with a brief introduction to who She is, followed by a story created by Carolyn based on a myriad of sources, such as, cultural myths and the works of Authors, such as Merlin Stone. I enjoyed the introductions and even though I'm very familiar with most of the Goddesses included, there were a few I wasn't conscious of, such as, Shapash of the Levant, the area we now know as Lebanon, Syria, Israel; Saule of the Balts, which is present-day Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia; and Arunta of the Aborigines. Where this work is unsatisfactory for me is in the stories that are all scant, in some cases so much so that the reader is left hanging, making the whole piece seem undeveloped, ill-defined, and rushed. As an older book with its' first edition from 1991, it would have been a good addition to the limited resources on this subject at that time; however, 30 years later and it seems antiquated.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some really beautiful thoughts and concepts, while admittedly taking many liberties with myths and religions of many cultures. I am grateful, though, for being exposed to them so I can dig deeper on their own terms.

[Geri Kirby · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful collection of mythological tales surrounding the powerful Goddesses. This is a book you go back to read again and again.

[Tonya Hall]

A very long read and at times the stories were kind of boring.

[Rosemary Bloom · Rating 4 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed this book from start to finish. I really enjoy mythology, although at times it is hard to find simply stories and not historical listings of temples and accounts of worship. Most of these stories were completely new to me, and lightened up my heart as I read them. I really enjoy how there is a large mix Goddesses from different cultures and religious backgrounds. Each story is short, between two and five pages, and before each story the author includes an equally short piece of background/historical information on the culture the story comes from. The book is a very quick and enjoyable read.

Although, there are some other parts of this book that make me want to give it 3 stars instead of 4. The author separates the stories into themes that didn't quite make sense to me. She also includes personal anecdotes, such as ways the stories have helped her in her life and "I use a blue cord and suchandsuch herb to invoke (nameofGoddess)" - which isn't bad in itself, but at times seems quite a bit cheesy. Also, during the introductions for each story, she often relates it to other Goddesses - something very easy in mythology, seeing as there is so much common ground - but I grew extremely annoyed when I would read 5-8 stories in a sitting and kept seeing "similar to Juno (see story), Astarte (see story), Athena (see story)" - basically, the words "see story" started to really rub me the wrong way, especially when I would glance over them 20 times in one reading session. Also, some of the stories struck me as a bit cheesy, with some adjectives being forced.

Structure of the book aside, this was very enjoyable. I especially like her beautiful rendition of Mary, Queen of Heaven (although the Church may see it as extremely offensive, I find it delightful), alongside countless others. I highly recommend this book to all fans of the Goddess.

[Olga]

So far the majority of the stories are adapted from Ancient Mirrors of Womanhood, but the author puts a nice twist on them.

In the story of Cerridwen, she and her son actually work together, and Gwion's motivation is made more interesting (or at least discussed!)

Story of Bridget is very similar to Stone's, but much better told and crafted. I liked the images of four fires -- poetry (from the head), compassion (heart, obviously), smithing (hands), and healing (hearth).

Nice ecofeminist take on the story of how Freyja solved the land dispute between Ottar andAngantyr.

[Jennifer Risley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this in 2009 on the July 15... so it has taken me 4 years to read this book. Really i only liked the some of the stories, some of the details in she gives in her inspiration. This book is really a series of essays of other material that was written. for being that these are great work, i support everyone putting pagan literature out there. It strengthens the community.

However, she brings up her struggle with Christianity and the Virgin Mary up way to much, especially in the second half (which is where i picked the his book back up) and i think if she wan't to write a book about dealing with her past issues with Christianity she should have done that in a separate book then one dedicated to the Goddess(ess).

[emperorcupcake]

I thought this was a collection of folklore, but it is more stories written by this author based on folklore, to fit a narrative. It's a narrative I'm interested in and I enjoyed reading about the goddesses, but I'm more interested in the traditional stories than looking at them through a modern lens. Not rating because I skimmed parts, but I'm not mad I picked this up either.

[Nancy Szul · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got a little too deep for me but the myths and legends from around the world made Joseph Campbells teachings more credible. The book tells stories and shows how they're all almost the same story, even though the times and locations were worlds apart. Makes ya wonder...........

[Peggy · Rating 3 out of 5]

not very detailed but many good stories.. short but with wisdom if you are open to it... Longer isn't always better

[Gwyneth · Rating 5 out of 5]

a great book that i loved growing up. it's full of great stories from the depths of different cultures. yes, i do have a degree in anthropology - does it show?

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

beautifully written

[Bernadine Rosso · Rating 5 out of 5]

fun stories integrating goddess mythology and wisdom. so fun to share with others!

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book found me when I was lost.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This wasn't what I was expecting. I thought it would be a book of stories that were either well known or not at all due to me not having read the corresponding mythology. However, the authoress has invented new stories for these various goddesses and blended some old stories with a new touch. The result is a fascinating look at myth, women's herstory, feminism and the authoress' own journey into the Goddess religion. Very well written, full of knowledge and story.