The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets | 
 enlarge | Author: Barbara G. Walker
Publisher: HarperOne
Category: Book
List Price: $34.95
Buy Used: $5.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  56 reviews
Sales Rank: 71858
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 1136
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.8
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 6.2 x 2.1
ISBN: 006250925X
Dewey Decimal Number: 291.088042
EAN: 9780062509253
ASIN: 006250925X
Publication Date: November 30, 1983
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com
This fascinating, scholarly hodgepodge spotlights the feminist underpinnings of myth, religion, and culture. Before being lionized as zaftig Norse angels who guided strong warriors to Valhalla, Valkyries may have offered rebirth through cannibalization. "Little Red Riding Hood" was based on Diana, goddess of the hunt. Marriage was once considered a sin, not a sacred union: St. Bernard once proclaimed "it was easier for a man to bring the dead back to life than to live with a woman without endangering his soul." A few of the other topics expounded upon are the Milky Way, Cinderella, the moon, and males giving birth. While some of the references put a cranky feminist spin on words that might in context have different meaning--St. Paul's oft-quoted "better to marry than to burn," for example--much in this vast tome will dazzle dabblers and intellectuals alike.
Product Description
Do You Know...- where the legend of a cat's nine lives comes from?
- why "mama" is a word understood in nearly all languages?
- how the custom of kissing began?
- whether there really was a female pope?
- why Cinderella's glass slipper was so important to the Prince?
The answers to these and countless other intriguing questions are given in this compulsively readable, feminist encyclopedia. Twenty-five years in preparation, this unique, comprehensive sourcebook focuses on mythology anthropology, religion, and sexuality to uncover precisely what other encyclopedias leave out or misrepresent. The Woman's Encyclopedia presents the fascinating stories behind word origins, legends, superstitions, and customs. A browser's delight and an indispensable resource, it offers 1,350 entries on magic, witchcraft, fairies, elves, giants, goddesses, gods, and psychological anomalies such as demonic possession; the mystical meanings of sun, moon, earth, sea, time, and space; ideas of the soul, reincarnation, creation and doomsday; ancient and modern attitudes toward sex, prostitution, romance, rape, warfare, death and sin, and more. Tracing these concepts to their prepatriarchal origins, Barbara G. Walker explores a "thousand hidden pockets of history and custom in addition to the valuable material recovered by archaeologists, orientalists, and other scholars." Not only a compendium of fascinating lore and scholarship, The Woman's Encyclopedia is a revolutionary book that offers a rare opportunity for both women and men to see our cultural heritage in a fresh light, and draw upon the past for a more humane future.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 51 more reviews...
 Redefining Chick October 10, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Barbara definitely has her slant but she does allow historical truths and a collective voice to resonate with the reader. This book has strengthened a sense of detachment from the dominant historical rhetoric of today for me-- while offering a sound perspective to add to my own. A must-read for anyone interested in the marginalized yet tremendously relevant experiences of people globally.
 Tarot Card History October 10, 2007
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Great resource and addition to your Wiccan Library. Gives the meanings and brief history/herstory of most arcane and ancient symbols. Barbara Walker is a feminist and detailed researcher and this book will not disappoint.
 Unfortunately.... November 22, 2005
32 out of 52 found this review helpful
I wished I could write a good review for this book. However, I can't. I read it. From a literary standpoint, the book is an obvious polemic. Ever evil under the sun can be traced to men, Christianity, and society run by men, (in about that order).
However, her book suffers many flaws. First, she makes some outrageous claims with absolutely no documentation. Second, she makes some outrageous claims with WRONGFUL documentation. That is, whenever one troubles themselves to find the book that she is referencing, it does not say what she says that it does.
Third, many of the books that she uses are outdated and also biased. Almost none of the theories espoused by her have any connection to any modern scholarship. For example, she says that the Arabian religion prior to Muhammad was based upon a group of female prophets who believed the Qur'an was inscribed upon the tablets of destiny much the same as the Goddess Tiamet has absolutely no verifiable reference. I've read many Islamic studies and many dissident scholars, but none of them say that. Wonder why? Same, she gives no reference for that quote.
Because she is worthless as a primary reference, each and every thing she says must be independently confirmed by someone less biased and more reliable. That means, once one goes through the trouble, two things. First, her book is worthless as a source unto itself. Second, whenever this trouble is undertaken, most of it is outdated or plain fabricated. Much the same as she accuses Christian authors. (And I have no bias toward Christianity.)
Great Book July 20, 2005
14 out of 24 found this review helpful
I have had this book for about 6-7 years now and always come back to it every few weeks or months to look something up. Do I take Absolutley every statement or folky etymology she states as Fact? No I don't, nor should anyone who reads Any book.
This book stands as a good reference for researching many gods and idols of the past. I like this book because it covers many deities with a moderate amount of information, other books on Gods just leave out.
One thing I find amusing is the people attacking this book. They will site an "error" or "distortion" she made, yet themselves provide no Relevant sources in their critique. They just state, "she is wrong" based on another book They read, that is just as Biased as Ms. Walker.
I guess some people can't handle the "truth".
 Not entirely accurate but can't be dismissed as well... July 17, 2004
27 out of 32 found this review helpful
Walker does distort some fact and sometimes she doesn't write with complete accuracy. She has some far fetched ideas but I consider them good. Why, you may ask, I consider far fetched, inaccutare ideas good? Because they are different than what we are used to hearing and because they question the status quo. This book makes you think and even for some gives them a push to follow her sources and dig up more information. An accurate scholarly book is a treasure. But I believe that a controversial book that makes you search deep to find out information on your own and actually think is a bigger treasure because it challanges you. Take this book with a grain of salt but don't dismiss it entirely. The book does have its highlights and while you try to decifer what is good and what is not you will learn more than you ever bargained for.
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