Lamp of the Goddess: Lives and Teachings of a Priestess

Rating:
Summary: An Unfocused Disappointment
Review: After reading Beth's other book, which was excellent, and a reccomendation from a Wiccan pen pal, I started this book with high expectations. However, I was soon disappointed. While Beth does a good job of explaining the role and necessity of the Dark Goddess (Crone) and relates various goddesses to Her, I found some of these comparisons to be questionable. Also, this book is unfocused, trying to be about the Crone, reincarnation and Atlantis in the same volume with little logical connection. The dissertations of Atlantis were mostly boring and seemed to go on and on. Her past life memories were interesting and entertaining at times, but could have been better connected to the theme of the book. I disagree with her assertion that we repeat the same life purpose and gender in our incarnations. If we don't have different experiences, how can we learn and grow? Overall, this book was a disappointment and I would not recommend it.

Rating:
Summary: the sort of occult book that breeds delusion
Review: I would never have even glanced at this book of my own volition, however it was sent to me as a gift by an acquaintance I can only describe as hopelessly fanciful, impressionable, and utterly lacking in discrimination. I must use strong language and emphatically condemn this author for penning a book that is sheer fantasy, utterly unsupported by any kind of scholarly research of any value whatsoever, and attempting to pass it off as some sort of spiritually illuminated work. Frankly it is precisely this kind of book that attracts delusional individuals to occultism - seeding them with absurd notions. Occult studies should be approached sensibly, with a solid grounding in other areas of both psychological and natural science, and with the same sort of rational, questioning approach required in the pursuit of any other area of science or the humanities. Authors like this do a great deal of damage by encouraging inflated and absurd notions in people who are already far too unrealistic in their perspectives. This book is of absolutely no use to the beginner, as it can only lead them astray; and the advanced student would find it a laughable waste of their valuable reading time. In short, this book is of no practical help or use to anyone. There are many useful books on occultism. This is definitely not one of them. Looks like Samuel Weiser will print any sort of garbage these days. A shame, they were once a genuinely reputable publisher of intelligent books on the subject.

Rating:
Summary: exquisite mystical prose-poem
Review: This is a hauntingly beautiful book. I came to witchcraft through Rae's first book, Hedge Witch, and waited a long time before buying her second. I admit this took me far longer to get into, and indeed I cannot go along with everything she says. I like my religion practical, and she endorses ideas I have little truck with, such as Atlantis. But this is a humble, generous, mystical book, exquisitely written and full of insight. I respect her enough to be able to put my prejudices aside. Unlike the vast majority of pagan writing these days, this book is, in my opinion, genuinely profound. Many paragraphs are prose-poems of astonishing beauty. I recommend it highly as a companion to Hedge Witch, and as a thought-provoking volume in its own right.