When
my friend Jen hinted during a ritual many moons ago that she wrote a Goddess
spell book, we were all shocked. When did she find time for something like
this? Between her editing and teaching and fiction and more fiction, plus yoga
school, and an involved spiritual practice, who has time to write a Goddess
spells book? But I understand that sometimes projects are meant to be secret
and kept to oneself, left to germinate in private before exploding into the
world.
The
story why Jen wrote this book is actually super charming, but I’ll let her save
that for another time and for her own words. When more information about the
book began to be revealed to those who are in her Circle, including the title,
it all began to make sense. How can someone who is a full time writer and
teacher and part time yoga teacher and five billion other things have time to
write a book? Well, you make time for
it, and the very book itself, Goddess
Spells for Busy Girls, really captures this life of being a busy girl but making time for the Divine.
I
actually really adore little spells and charms (they’re some of my favorite
witchy things) so this book was a great addition to my collection and I can’t
wait to try out some of the stuff she suggests. Jen has lots of great ideas
here (some familiar to me, lots that are new!) and in addition to spells,
devotional practices, and charms, she presents some autobiographical
information, as well as a wealth of information about over a dozen worldwide goddesses.
So not only did I learn more about Goddesses and mythology, but I learned about
my friend, which was a delightful blessing.
The
book is broken up into seven chapters and each chapter is broken up into a
theme and a few different goddesses. For example, chapter three is entitled
“There’s No Place Like Home” and it focuses on Brigid, Hestia, Juno, Bast, and
Changing Woman. Each goddess is given a description of their personality (or at
least how the Goddess has presented herself to Jen), and some of her myths, as
well as some hints and advice on how to work with that particular goddess. I
tend to not personally work with such a wide array of Deities, but a book like
this does a good job of exposing the reader to goddesses and myth that they
might not normally be acquainted with or work with.
As
a fellow Busy Girl, I was charmed (tee hee) with many of these spells and rituals.
Many of the spells actually are a lot like self-help or self-reflection
exercises with lots of journaling and plenty of soul-searching. As a therapist,
I’d actually love to be able to use
some of these spells as exercises for my witchy-friendly long-term clients
(right now I only do crisis services, so this idea will have to wait.) I have
my favorites marked and annotated (and some I did not like or was less
impressed with will be politely ignored.) Most of all, I can’t wait to try some
of them out for myself (you know, when I’m less busy…)
 |
| as seen in a local new age book store |
I
tend to get annoyed with super girlie or overly feminized things that make like
on the idea of gender binaries and stereotypes. If you’re easily offended by
gendered language and classic “men do this/women do this” type language, be
aware then Jen McConnel is quite a girlie-girl, and some of her stuff can seem
a bit vapid or shallow. But my guess is that she’s tailoring this book to
readers who are not seasoned Pagans or uber-feminists. In that way, Goddess Spells for Busy Girls has the
potential to have wide-appeal to an audience beyond witches and Polytheists and
really capture the attention of those who like chic-lit and self-help books.
Essentially,
Jen did a great job with this book, and it’s greatly inspired me. If she had
the time to write a whole friggen book amidst a hectic life, then what excuses
do I have to not practice simple acts of magic and devotion in my everyday
life? And if I don’t have the energy to come up with a spell or charm on my
own, “The Goddesses are here to help!”
Thanks,
Jen, for sharing your lovely magic with the world!
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