Drawing Down the Feminine Divine

 How to contact a goddess and have her with you and influence you....this is a book you could well be looking for. I have read books before on trance work and have also read books on how to contact spiritual allies. These techniques are similar .

The first technique is walking with the goddess. Walking with a deity is sort of like having a conversation with a goddess as you are walking. It is reminiscent of a Jewish practice called “hisbodedut “ where in someone can our out there heart to a deity . This connection is more casual. The goddesses she uses to illustrate this technique are Bloodwould and Persephone. Bloodwould was a maiden created from flowers and Persephone was the Greek goddess abducted by Hades. The author renders her experience with each of the goddesses,. She illustrates two goddesses per technique. At the end of each section .

The second technique for connecting with deity is research. That is right you can read up on your deities through scholarly works and their mythology. The two goddesses she illustrates this with are Isis and Mary. After this section there is a creative exercise involving writing and creative expression.

The third technique is dedication. This method of connecting with deity means that you are dedicated to that deity for a specific time period. Usually it is for a year and a day. The goddesses that she uses this technique with are Ereshkigal and Aphrodite. There are ritual suggestions at the end of the section for dedicating oneself to deity.

Presencing is when you invite a deity into your ritual and/ or life and allow them to become part of things. The focus is on the relationship between you and deity. The goddesses she works with using this technique are Freya and Nephthys. At the end of the section there is a chapter on creating your altar and another chapter on developing aspects of the deity within yourself.

Enacting a myth during ritual is when you sort of make a play out of the myth and everyone acts out there part. Gives new perspective into the old mythology. The Goddesses that works with using this technique are Inanna and Ariadne. At the end of the section on enacting a myth and another chapter on finding your own story within the myth. The process is rather creative

Aspecting is when you let the deity take partial or full control of your body. One can give the deities various amounts of control and that is something to be negotiated. The goddesses she uses this technique with are the Star Goddess and Eve from the Bible.

The end of the book discusses grounding, invocation and entering and leaving trance states. The chapter on grounding talks about the importance of grounding but I wish there was more information on grounding techniques . The section on invocation taught abut the different flavors and invocation may have for a certain goddess. The invocation focused on an aspect of the deity. Entering and leaving trance states was excellent and the role of the person tending the person going into a trance.

A word to thee wise, you can use these techniques for gods as well as goddesses and if you are into Chaos magic then you can use these techniques for imaginary deities and servitors.