{"id":22909,"date":"2020-09-01T01:10:08","date_gmt":"2020-09-01T05:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/?p=22909"},"modified":"2020-08-25T17:30:47","modified_gmt":"2020-08-25T21:30:47","slug":"book-review-pagan-portals-seeking-the-primal-goddess","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2020\/09\/01\/book-review-pagan-portals-seeking-the-primal-goddess\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Review \u2013 Pagan Portals: Seeking the Primal Goddess-The Magic and Mystery of the Hearth Fire by M\u00e9lusine Draco"},"content":{"rendered":"

Book <\/span><\/span>Review<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

Pagan Portals<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

Seeking the Primal Goddess<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

The Magic and Mystery of the Hearth Fire <\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

by <\/span><\/span>M\u00e9lusine Draco<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

96 Pages<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h1>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The opportunity to review this book peaked my curiosity due to my recently growing interest in studying ancient goddess cultures within European traditions from historical, anthropological, and archaeological lenses. Draco\u2019s book is an interesting blend of locating the goddess across history as well as in modern pagan practices. I especially enjoyed the sections on the hearth fire\u2019s connection with the goddess and\u2013in my interpretation of this section\u2013an undercurrent of feminism that has endured through the ages. The images that sprung to my mind of women tending sacred fires to ensure the wellbeing of their families and communities throughout time touched me deeply. As someone who has been actively working with ancestral memory for some time, I appreciated Draco\u2019s book\u2019s thesis: <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026[A]lthough misplaced in time, the Primal Goddess of Old Europe needs to be re-discovered in her original setting so that we begin to understand the language, customs and attitudes of the people over which she ruled at the dawn of history and help a contemporary seeker to engage more readily with that period of her reign. Or she will continue to remain a \u2018hidden\u2019 Goddess and out of our reach\u2026because called or not called, the goddess will\u00a0be present.<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The science-based information on how genetic memory is passed on to descendants is a relevant inclusion for all earth-based practitioners, in my opinion, considering all of the recent research coming out on how intergenerational and historical trauma is passed on to future generations. M\u00e9lusine Draco expands on this idea\u2013focusing on its positive implications\u2013by showing how this genetic memory can be activated to re-member how our ancestors worked with the goddess in ancient times: <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In magical practitioners\u2026 this esoteric \u2018chip\u2019 comes factory installed and relies on certain external imagery or stimuli to activate it, but once exposed to the mysterious world of symbol and sigil, analogy and metaphor, the recipient instinctively begins to understand its \u2018hidden\u2019 language\u2026We cannot escape those ancient racial memories of where we came from even if the descendants of yesterday\u2019s pagans are now scattered all over the globe. Our personal daemon lurks with us in the amniotic fluid we float in before our birth; or as some believe from the moment of conception.<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a> In this book, Draco provides many practices for activating this dormant genetic memory inside us. Through engaging with ancient imagery and pagan practices, a deeper connection with the primal goddess is formed with time. Some of these practices involve the use of the elements and physical idols that many modern-day pagans will identify with. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

After reading the book in its entirety, there is only one critique I can levy. As an educator who is also an earth-based practitioner, I personally feel that it is important to follow formalized academic practices when writing books on any topic. Following my own research online, I noted that some parts of Draco\u2019s book were not properly cited. For example, I found that a significant portion of the \u201cSpiritual Bloodline\u201d chapter regarding Professor Bryan Sykes\u2019 book was taken word for word from Wikipedia (this is considered plagiarism in academia). This resource does not appear in Draco\u2019s Bibliography. Still, she presents an impressive amount of academic research in her book that gives the reader greater context into her topic.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I appreciate, by the nature of pagan practice, that each person reading this book will have empirical evidence to support their thinking that will lead them down different academic pathways of research. Science is an imperfect study with biases of its own; scientists are humans who have worldviews that sometimes impede their ability to consider probabilities outside their scope of research. Draco does a great job of laying out some possibly new academic pathways readers can explore as they piece together their own ancestral connection to their indigenous roots in order to make their spiritual practices even more personally meaningful.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Pagan Portals – Seeking the Primal Goddess<\/a>\"\"<\/p>\n

***<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

About the Author:<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/strong> <\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Jennifer Engr\u00e1cio<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/strong> has been a student of shamanism since 2005. Jennifer is a certified teacher who has worked with children in many different education settings since 2001. She is a certified shamanic coach, reiki master, and lomilomi practitioner; in addition, she runs Spiral Dance Shamanics<\/a>. Originally from Vancouver, Canada, she now lives in Calgary, Canada with her life partner. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Engr\u00e1cio participated in self-publishing three books that are now available: <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Magic Circle: Shamanic Ceremonies for the Child and the Child Within\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cWomen\u2019s Power Stories: Honouring the Feminine Principle of Life\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cDreaming of Cupcakes: A Food Addict\u2019s Shamanic Journey into Healing<\/span><\/span><\/em>\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Dreaming of Cupcakes: A Food Addict\u2019S Shamanic Journey into Healing on Amazon<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Book Review Pagan Portals Seeking the Primal Goddess The Magic and Mystery of the Hearth Fire by M\u00e9lusine Draco 96 Pages     The opportunity to review this book peaked my curiosity due to my recently growing interest in studying ancient goddess cultures within European traditions from historical, anthropological, and archaeological lenses. Draco\u2019s book is an interesting blend of locating the goddess across history as well as in modern pagan practices. I especially enjoyed the sections on the hearth fire\u2019s connection with the goddess and\u2013in my interpretation of this section\u2013an undercurrent of feminism that has endured through the ages. The images that sprung to my mind of women tending sacred fires to ensure the wellbeing of their families and communities throughout time touched me deeply. As someone who has been actively working with ancestral memory for some time, I appreciated Draco\u2019s book\u2019s thesis: \u2026[A]lthough misplaced in time, the Primal Goddess of Old Europe needs to be re-discovered in her original setting so that we begin to understand the language, customs and attitudes of the people over which she ruled at the dawn of history and help a contemporary seeker to engage more readily with that period of her reign. Or she will continue to remain a \u2018hidden\u2019 Goddess and out of our reach\u2026because called or not called, the goddess will\u00a0be present. The science-based information on how genetic memory is passed on to descendants is a relevant inclusion for all earth-based practitioners, in my opinion, considering all of the recent research coming out on how intergenerational and historical trauma is passed on to future generations. M\u00e9lusine Draco expands on this idea\u2013focusing on its positive implications\u2013by showing how this genetic memory can be activated to re-member how our ancestors worked with the goddess in ancient times: In magical practitioners\u2026 this esoteric \u2018chip\u2019 comes factory installed and relies on certain external imagery or stimuli to activate it, but once exposed to the mysterious world of symbol and sigil, analogy and metaphor, the recipient instinctively begins to understand its \u2018hidden\u2019 language\u2026We cannot escape those ancient racial memories of where we came from even if the descendants of yesterday\u2019s pagans are now scattered all over the globe. Our personal daemon lurks with us in the amniotic fluid we float in before our birth; or as some believe from the moment of conception. In this book, Draco provides many practices for activating this dormant genetic memory inside us. Through engaging with ancient imagery and pagan practices, a deeper connection with the primal goddess is formed with time. Some of these practices involve the use of the elements and physical idols that many modern-day pagans will identify with. After reading the book in its entirety, there is only one critique I can levy. As an educator who is also an earth-based practitioner, I personally feel that it is important to follow formalized academic practices when writing books on any topic. Following my own research online, I noted that some parts of Draco\u2019s book were not properly cited. For example, I found that a significant portion of the \u201cSpiritual Bloodline\u201d chapter regarding Professor Bryan Sykes\u2019 book was taken word for word from Wikipedia (this is considered plagiarism in academia). This resource does not appear in Draco\u2019s Bibliography. Still, she presents an impressive amount of academic research in her book that gives the reader greater context into her topic. I appreciate, by the nature of pagan practice, that each person reading this book will have empirical evidence to support their thinking that will lead them down different academic pathways of research. Science is an imperfect study with biases of its own; scientists are humans who have worldviews that sometimes impede their ability to consider probabilities outside their scope of research. Draco does a great job of laying out some possibly new academic pathways readers can explore as they piece together their own ancestral connection to their indigenous roots in order to make their spiritual practices even more personally meaningful. Pagan Portals – Seeking the Primal Goddess *** About the Author: Jennifer Engr\u00e1cio has been a student of shamanism since 2005. Jennifer is a certified teacher who has worked with children in many different education settings since 2001. She is a certified shamanic coach, reiki master, and lomilomi practitioner; in addition, she runs Spiral Dance Shamanics. Originally from Vancouver, Canada, she now lives in Calgary, Canada with her life partner. Engr\u00e1cio participated in self-publishing three books that are now available: \u201cThe Magic Circle: Shamanic Ceremonies for the Child and the Child Within\u201d \u201cWomen\u2019s Power Stories: Honouring the Feminine Principle of Life\u201d \u201cDreaming of Cupcakes: A Food Addict\u2019s Shamanic Journey into Healing\u201d Dreaming of Cupcakes: A Food Addict\u2019S Shamanic Journey into Healing on Amazon<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":234,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":2,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10005],"tags":[10346,10095,10654,10165,10661,10065,12304,10421,11245,11058,12303,10075,12302],"class_list":["post-22909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-author","tag-book","tag-fire","tag-goddess","tag-hearth","tag-magic","tag-melusine-draco","tag-mystery","tag-of-the","tag-pagan-portals","tag-primal","tag-review","tag-seeking"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/234"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22909"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22909\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22977,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22909\/revisions\/22977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}