Books about Priestesses from Amazon.com

Karen McCarthy Brown's classic book shatters stereotypes of Vodou by offering an intimate portrait of African-based religion in everyday life. She explores the importance of women's religious practices along with related themes of family and of social change. Weaving several of her own voices--analytic, descriptive, and personal--with the voices of her subjects in alternate chapters of traditional ethnography and ethnographic fiction, Brown presents herself as a character in Mama Lola's world and allows the reader to evaluate her interactions there. Startlingly original, Brown's work endures as an important experiment in ethnography as a social art form rooted in human relationships. A new preface, epilogue, bibliography, and a collection of family photographs tell the story of the effect of the book's publication on Mama Lola's life..
Price: $13.99 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Not since The Mists of Avalon has there been such a powerful and mesmerizing portrait of goddess-powered womanhood and women's spirituality In Priestess of Avalon, the legendary Marion Zimmer Bradley once again reaches back in time to create a magnificent prequel to her undying classic of Camelot.

Priestess of Avalon tells the timeless story of Eilan-known to the Romans as Helena-a British princess raised on the holy isle of Avalon as she grows from maiden to mother to wise woman. It is Helena's destiny-at a crucial turning point in Western history-to bridge the pagan world of the goddess and the new Christian empire founded by her own son, Constantine. When Helena embarks on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land she will find the intrinsic truth that transcends both the old religion and the new.

The legions of fans who cherish The Mists of Avalon will find its promise brought to rich fulfillment in Priestess of Avalon. For those new to the series, undreamed-of enchantment awaits.

Abridged. Four Cassettes, six hours.
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The Seven Addictions and Five Professions of Anita Berber is the first contemporary biography of a notorious actor/dancer/poet/playwright who scandalized sex-obsessed Weimar Berlin during the 1920s.

In an era where everything was permitted, Anita Berbers celebrations of "Depravity, Horror and Ecstasy" were condemned and censored. She often haunted Weimar Berlin's hotel lobbies, nightclubs and casinos, radiantly naked except for an elegant sable wrap, a pet monkey hanging from her neck, and a silver brooch packed with cocaine. Multi-talented Anita saw no boundaries between her personal life and her taboo-shattering performances. As such, she was Europe's first postmodern woman.

Among those Anita Berber claimed as members of her vast sexual harem were Marlene Dietrich, Magnus Hirschfeld (the founder of modern sexology and gay liberation), Klaus Mann, Conrad Veidt, Lawrence Durrell, and the King of Yugoslavia. Berber acted in Fritz Lang's Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler and starred in the silent epic, Lucifer. Even Leni Riefenstahl credits Berber for inspiring her controversial career. After sated Berliners finally tired of Anita Berber's libidinous antics, she became a "carrion soul that even the hyenas ignored," dying in 1928 at the age of 29.

The Seven Addictions and Five Professions of Anita Berber chronicles a remarkable career, including over 150 photographs and drawings that recreate Anita's enduring "Repertoire of the Damned."

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Price: $13.70 [Notify me when price goes down.]

For generations in Jerusalem, a fabled mansion has been the retreat for foreign correspondents, diplomats, pilgrims and spies–but until now, few have known the true story of the house that became the American Colony Hotel or its bizarre history of tragedy, religious extremism, emotional blackmail, and peculiar sexual practices.

During the boom years following the Civil War, in the country’s heartland capital, Chicago, a prominent lawyer Horatio Spafford and his blue-eyed wife Anna rode the mighty wave of Protestant evangelicalism deluging the nation. When suddenly tragedy struck, the charismatic Spaffords, grieving, attracted followers eager to believe their prophecy that the Second Coming was at hand and in 1881 sailed with them to Jerusalem to see the Messiah alight on the Mount of Olives.

No sooner had they settled into the Holy City than the U. S. Consul and the established Christian missionaries declared them heretics and whispered of sexual deviance. Yet Muslims and Jews admired their unflagging care of the sick and the needy, and Jews were intrigued with their advocacy of a Jewish Return to Zion. When Horatio died, Anna assumed leadership, shocking even her adherents by abolishing marriage and established a dictatorship that was not always benevolent. Ever dogged by controversy, she and her credulous followers lived through and closely participated in the titanic upheavals that eventually formed the modern Middle East.

Written with flair and insight, American Priestess provides a fascinating exploration of the seductive power of evangelicalism and raises questions about the manipulation of religion to serve personal goals. A powerful narrative, the story sweeps through the dramatic collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the establishment of the British Mandate, and finally the founding of Israel where Anna’s house in East Jerusalem, now the American Colony Hotel, stands as an exemplar of beauty and comfort, despite its turbulent history..
Price: $12.15 [Notify me when price goes down.]

HEKATE - Keys to the Crossroads A collection of personal essays, invocations, rituals, recipes and artwork from modern Witches, Priestesses and Priests who work with Hekate, the Ancient Greek Goddess of Witchcraft, Magick and Sorcery. Hekate is one of the most fascinating Goddesses of the Ancient World. Loved, feared, hated and worshipped by people throughout history, the Witch Goddess of the Crossroads, facing three-ways, with her three faces, remains an image of power and awe in the modern world today, amongst those who understand and respect her power. This book "Hekate : Keys to the Crossroads" brings together the experiences and perceptions of more than twenty modern day Witches, Priestesses and Priests all of whom work with this awesome Greek Goddess in the UK today. Through their essays, rituals and artwork they present a unique view into the realms of this multi-faceted and popular Goddess. Part I - Hekate's History, Myths & Powers Here author and Priestess, Sorita D'Este, presents a detailed and comprehensive study of the history, myths and powers of Hekate. This invaluable section offers the reader insights to some of the roles, relationships and powers Hekate held in the Ancient World. Part II - Hekate's Witches This section contains essays by sixteen Witches, Priestesses and Priests who work with Hekate on a regular basis. Each contribution is as unique as the person who wrote it, clearly illustrating through both their differences and similarities that the many faces presented by Hekate in the ancient world continue on today in the twenty-first century. Hekate is a Goddess of transformation, initiation, childbirth, death and rebirth. She is the Mistress of Magick, Witchcraft and Sorcery. She is the key-bearing Goddess of Night who illuminates the paths through the mysteries with her bright torches, guarding the entranceways and guiding travellers through the realms of Heaven, Earth and Sea. Powerful and respected by Gods and mortals alike, she has the power to bestow gifts and blessings upon those who call upon her with honour and truth. Part III - Recipes, Rites & Rituals A collection of modern invocations, pathworkings, incense and food recipes, together with a group mystery play of the Abduction of Persephone by Hades in which Hekate plays a key role. Combining the best of research with a wide range of experiences this compact volume opens doorways in to many of Hekate's realms. It is a unique journey - enchanting, funny, scary, magickal and daring, challenging and informative. Whether you find yourself agreeing or disagreeing with the perceptions you will find within, one thing is certain : there is always more to learn and experience when it comes to Hekate!.
Price: $20.28 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Medieval Dark Fantasy: An epic romance is featured in this masterfully written novel that takes place in the mystical, magical Dark Ages. Kamara Lania is a pacifistic priestess whose goal is to unite the realm with the divine love. Meanwhile, a violent self-serving warlord, Kayenté Ketola, is acquiring dominion of the realm on his journey to become King. They are both thwarted by a supernatural being "The Cold One" who is consuming the world because good and evil in their extremes, always fall. Mystical interplay, characteristic of Shakespeare, throws the Priestess and the Warlord into a harrowing and complicated, even comical transformation where they each must become more like the other to save the world. This novel impassions the heart, unleashes laughter and pumps adrenaline. The plot erupts with mysticism, magic, and romance as the mystery unravels with unpredictable twists and turns in the spirit of Hitchcock, while richly exposing the psychology of the human struggle, highlighted by entanglements with supernatural beings. This novel promises to entertain and to lighten the darkest most secret corners of the hidden self, while imparting wisdom needed in today's world.

Excerpt:

She crawled carefully through dancing feet, under clanking swords, and a rain of blood. She heard whisking and whipping, thumps and thuds, grunts and groans, curses, prayers, and the blasting beat of a thousand hearts, the world yet spinning round and round.

She prayed the warriors would be too engaged in battle to bother with her. Her gown kept catching under her knees, pulling the neck down around her shoulders. Metal feet slammed down around her. Something wet poured over her neck and dripped down her skin curving around her throat. It smelled like blood. However, everything reeked of blood. She kept moving, forbidding tears, wishing she'd drank a second glass of wine, for the elixir seemed to distance her somewhat from the horrors she normally felt.

Ahead, on the outskirts of the battle, she glimpsed a lone oak tree ahead of her, looming there, a live thing, like a mother bidding her to come and fall upon her breast.

Thinking only of the tree, the tree, the beautiful tree, she found herself more quickly there. She dropped her shoulder against the fragrant bark, and curled into a tight ball, very still, afraid to move, lest a knife come flying at her, the way Kayenté had once told her it could.

Her eyes were closed, but the image of swords and bludgeoned bodies flashed erratically in her mind. This battle was like the one in her nightmare: warriors, swords, arrows, blood; and she curled against a tree in a dirty white gown, trembling. Would The Cold One appear next?

Her arm was snatched. Someone pulled her forward so swiftly, she felt like a shooting star. Her vision blurred, so fast they did run. When they stopped, she fell to her hands and knees in the thick foliage, panting hard with burning lungs. Someone stood next to her. Would she now behold The Cold One? What was, was; and what was to be, was to be. She could not change it, so she sat back on her knees and looked up to see dust covered leather pants, and a sword dripping blood. Raising her eyes further, she saw Kayenté's face. It was Kayenté who towered over her!

Her hand flew to her heart. "You aren't The Cold One."

He squatted, resting the sword over his knees. "I don't know about that."

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Price: $20.70 [Notify me when price goes down.]

In the tradition of Marion Zimmer Bradley's Mists of Avalon, Ellen Evert Hopman weaves Druid history and spirituality into an engaging love story. This Bardic teaching tale is set in a fictional third-century Ireland when Christianity is sweeping across the Celtic Isles. During this time of crisis, love blooms between Ethne, a Druid healer, and her patient, a Fennid warrior. Their passionate affair suffers a tragic blow when Ethne is called upon to become the high queen.

Told from the Druid perspective, Hopman recreates the daily life, magical practices, politics, and spiritual lives of the ancient Celts during this historic turning point. Druid holy days, rites, rituals, herbal lore, and more are brought to life in this Celtic fantasy—illuminating Druidic teachings and cultural wisdom.
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Price: $5.73 [Notify me when price goes down.]

In a land on the brink of peace—watched jealously by a ruthless cult from across the sea and beset by hidden enemies—five extraordinary humans must serve as sword and shield of the Gods.

Auraya is one.

Her heroism saved a village from destruction; now Auraya has been named Priestess of the White. The limits of her unique talents must be tested in order to prove her worthy of the honor and grave responsibility awarded to her. But a perilous road lies ahead, fraught with pitfalls that will challenge the newest servant of the gods. An enduring friendship with a Dreamweaver—a member of an ancient outcast sect of sorcerer-healers—could destroy Auraya's future. And her destiny has set her in conflict with a powerful and mysterious, black-clad sorcerer with but a single purpose: the total annihilation of the White. And he is not alone . . .

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Price: $1.46 [Notify me when price goes down.]

In this sumptuously illustrated book, Joan Breton Connelly gives us the first comprehensive cultural history of priestesses in the ancient Greek world. Connelly presents the fullest and most vivid picture yet of how priestesses lived and worked, from the most famous and sacred of them--the Delphic Oracle and the priestess of Athena Polias--to basket bearers and handmaidens. Along the way, she challenges long-held beliefs to show that priestesses played far more significant public roles in ancient Greece than previously acknowledged.

Connelly builds this history through a pioneering examination of archaeological evidence in the broader context of literary sources, inscriptions, sculpture, and vase painting. Ranging from southern Italy to Asia Minor, and from the late Bronze Age to the fifth century A.D., she brings the priestesses to life--their social origins, how they progressed through many sacred roles on the path to priesthood, and even how they dressed. She sheds light on the rituals they performed, the political power they wielded, their systems of patronage and compensation, and how they were honored, including in death. Connelly shows that understanding the complexity of priestesses' lives requires us to look past the simple lines we draw today between public and private, sacred and secular.

The remarkable picture that emerges reveals that women in religious office were not as secluded and marginalized as we have thought--that religious office was one arena in ancient Greece where women enjoyed privileges and authority comparable to that of men. Connelly concludes by examining women's roles in early Christianity, taking on the larger issue of the exclusion of women from the Christian priesthood.

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Price: $28.21 [Notify me when price goes down.]