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Praise for Woman Most Wild
“What and who is a ‘witch’? What if witch identifies resources of the human psyche actively suppressed by Western (and many other) cultures for millennia — resources that are feminine, sacred, and utterly natural at their roots? What if these resources are essential for the wholeness of all humans and for all life-enhancing cultural transformation, especially at this time of global unrest? In this engaging, bold, and intimate book, Danielle Dulsky provides keys to unlock ancient portals behind which perilous and pivotal treasures await.”
— BILL PLOTKIN, author of Soulcraft: Crossing into the Mysteries ofNature and Psyche and Wild Mind: A Field Guide to the Human Psyche
“With all that modern women are facing — from political activism to personal growth to motherhood — it’s all too easy for us to lose our inner spark. More than ever, we need to reclaim the lost art of what Danielle Dulsky calls ‘wild woman spirituality’ by calling forth the archetype of the witch. In Woman Most Wild, Dulsky shows us how to do just this, by schooling us in the art of what she calls ‘She-Magick.’ Rich with rituals, stories, and invocations, Woman Most Wild offers every woman a whimsical handbook to reclaiming the lost art of feminine magic — medicine that our world sorely needs.”
— SARA AVANT STOVER, author of The Way of the Happy Woman and The Book of SHE
“Just as other oppressed people have reclaimed the very words meant to oppress them, Danielle Dulsky is reclaiming perhaps the most powerful word used against women throughout history. The patriarchy has used this word to shame and silence women — and even to burn them at the stake. The word is witch. And Dulsky has dared to reclaim it in this deeply alchemical and passionate book. Not only does she brave the word but she also restores the rich, embodied meanings and uses it inspires. Dulsky speaks from deep in her soul to deep in our souls. She speaks to a longing born of the feminine’s spiritual starvation and offers a fierce and sensual reclamation of the wild women we were born to be.”
— DEBORAH KAMPMEIER, Full Moon Films, writer and director of Hounddog, Virgin, and SPLiT
| New World Library14 Pamaron WayNovato, California 94949 |
Copyright © 2017 by Danielle Dulsky
All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, or other — without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.
Text design by Tracy Cunningham
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Dulsky, Danielle, [date]–author.
Title: Woman most wild : three keys to liberating the witch within / Danielle Dulsky.
Description: Novato, CA : New World Library, 2017. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016056192 (print) | LCCN 2017011028 (ebook) | ISBN 9781608684663 (alk. paper) | ISBN 9781608684670 (Ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Wicca. | Witchcraft.
Classification: LCC BP605.W53 D85 2017 (print) | LCC BP605.W53 (ebook) | DDC
220.8/13343—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016056192
First printing, May 2017
ISBN 978-1-60868-466-3
Ebook ISBN 978-1-60868-467-0
Printed in Canada on 100% postconsumer-waste recycled paper
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New World Library is proud to be a Gold Certified Environmentally Responsible Publisher. Publisher certification awarded by Green Press Initiative. www.greenpressinitiative.org |
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To my grandmother, Grace,for growing my Maiden’s roots strong.
To my men, Bodhi, Sage, and Ryan,for keeping my Mother’s heart whole.
To my Council of Fivefor keeping my Wise Woman’s spirit wild.
Snuff out the candles! Make the room dark!
I’ll cradle you close, star-shaped child.
Inside your heart’s ripe, red center — a spark!
When I speak of Her rhythm, this Woman Most Wild.
She lives in a hut made of soft guts and hard bones,
She crawls out of your mouth while you sleep.
In the forest, the desert, She sets up Her stones
’Fore bare-breasted swimming in the salty blue deep.
When She comes back to your body, Her hearth and Her home,
She’s tired, and filthy, and fed.
She hopes that you’ll notice the sand, water, and loam
She’s painted all over your bed.
Peel off her hard mask, the woman so mild,
And drink of the succulent moon.
You, my sweet one, are the Woman Most Wild.
You’ll swallow this truth whole and soon.
Contents
CHAPTER 1: THE HOLY MOON AND YOUR WITCH CONSCIOUSNESS
Drinking Moon Milk: A Lunar Meditation
Let the Witch Speak! Hearing Her Womb-Voice under the Moon
The New Moon’s Spark: Your Lunar Dawn
The Full Moon’s Fruition: Your Lunar Summer