"The introduction
alone could be used as the basis for a course in women's spirituality –
informative, logical and clearly written. This sets the stage for the rest of
the book....
Intellectually exciting and spiritually satisfying, this new classic is highly recommended."
–The Beltane Papers
About This Book Readers praise Goddess Spirituality for the 21st Century
as an outstanding statement of where Goddess spirituality is today, as well as a
glimpse into its future potential. Judith Laura starts with the basics, clearly
explaining concepts such as transcendence and immanence, dualities, and the
nature of the Goddess. The book then presents the first in-depth feminist
critique of two influential forms of mysticism which include divine feminine
imagery–Jewish Kabbalah and Western Esoteric Qabalah–and
re-envisions their central symbol, The Tree of Life, in a way that is more
female-affirming and gender-balanced. The book also shows how Goddess concepts are
compatible with the findings of cosmology and quantum physics and how modern science can
be incorporated into practices drawn from ancient sources. Also included are rituals and
guided meditations that may be used as part of the discussion, or done experientially, so
that the concepts understood intellectually are also comprehended on a deeper level.
Ritual material from this book has been included in the "Dancing the Goddess
Home" ritual of the Goddess 2000 Project, and in the poetry anthology
A Pagan's Muse (Kensington/Citadel 2003). Other excerpts have been published in
The Beltane Papers and the online journal Matrifocus.
Topics for Discussion
1. Think about the religious tradition in which you are currently involved or in which you
grew up. How is gender of divinity presented in language? theology? Do you feel any need
for change? Do you feel change is possible?
2. How (and why) do you feel you could best understand Goddess: As a Being? As many
beings? As a process? A form of energy? A metaphor? Some other way?
3. What is the effect of understanding female/male and light/dark as complements rather
than opposites?
4. Why does Laura dislike the equations female/ feminine=passive; male/ masculine=active.
Do you agree? Disagree? Why?
5. How did the Jewish form of mysticism known as Kabbalah change over the centuries in its
description of creation and in the concepts of the female or feminine within the divine?
6. What are the meaning and gender of the Hebrew noun "Hokmah"? How is the word
used in the Proverbs? What gender is Hokmah in Kabbalah? What conclusion does Laura draw
from this?
7. What are the implications of the kabbalistic Tree growing downward from its roots?
8. What does Laura say the kabbalistic doctrines of Isaac Luria succeed in doing
regarding: the relationship of body and spirit? the role of the female in divinity? the
role of women in religious life?
9. How does Western Esoteric Qabalah, such as used by the Order of the Golden Dawn,
portray the relationship of the physical and the spiritual? What is the place of the
female or feminine within this framework?
10. In what new ways did the Golden Dawn use the kabbalistic Tree?
11. How does the divine imaged in terms of polarities that need balancing and mediation
affect your view of creation? Of day-to-day relationships among people? Of sexuality?
12. What is the traditional gender representation for each of the round areas on the Tree
of Life known as sefirot in Jewish Kabbalah? How many are masculine, how many feminine?
Are there any that are neither/both?
13. What is the gender for each of the sefirot in Qabalah? How many are feminine? How many
masculine? Are there any that are neither/both?
14. What is the basis for Laura's re-envisioned Tree? What is the gender for each of the
sefirot in Laura's re-envisioning? How many of each gender are there? Are there any that
are neither/both? What is notable about the pattern that the sefirot now make? In what way
does the re-envisioned Tree include sexuality that is not hetero-?
15. How does Laura compare Kabbalah and quantum physics in terms of metaphor and
literalness?
16. This book points out several concepts of quantum physics and cosmology that are
similar to those of Goddess spirituality. What are they? Do you know of any other
scientific information that verifies Goddess beliefs?
17. How important is it to you that spiritual beliefs be verified by science?
18. Do you think it's useful to incorporate similarities between science and Goddess
spirituality in explanations of Goddess thought and in rituals or ceremonies? If so, how
would you do this?
About the Author
Judith Laura has been involved in Goddess spirituality since the late 1970's and is also
author of She Lives! The Return of Our Great
Mother, and the novels, Three Part
Invention and Beyond All
Desiring. Her rituals and articles have been published in WomanSpirit, SageWoman, Of
A Like Mind, Voices of Women, and The Beltane Papers, where she has
written a column, Thealogical Musings, since 2002. Her poetry and fiction have been
published in literary magazines and anthologies. She lives in the Washington DC area.
Additional Study Help Additional Study Guide for Kabbalah/Qabalah chapters, with color graphic of Re-envisioned Tree, available from Lulu.com. Art print of same graphic available from
at http://cafepress.com/judithlaura3g
and http://www.zazzle.com/judithlaura.
JudithLaura.com
