A LITTLE BIT
OF
GODDESS

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE
DIVINE FEMININE

AMY LEIGH MERCREE

STERLING ETHOS and the distinctive Sterling Ethos logo are registered trademarks of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.

Text © 2019 Amy Leigh Mercree

Cover © 2019 Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (including electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without prior written permission from the publisher.

ISBN 978-1-4549-3671-8

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Cover design by Elizabeth Mihaltse Lindy Interior design by Gina Bonanno

Image Credits Illustrations by Shutterstock.com: Bourbon-88 (spiral goddess); satit_srihin (border)

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to my ancestors, those who came before and paved the way, and to the continuum of goddesses who have been with me through thick and thin. Thank you.

INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the Temple of the Divine Feminine. It is everywhere. It’s within you. It’s all around you. It’s in the eyes of your daughters, in the hearts of your sisters, in the hugs of your female friends. It’s in the womb of your mother. It’s in the body of planet earth—the mother of our human race.

The Divine Feminine is symbolized by the Great Goddess. She knows all and sees all; she is the feminine incarnation of divinity. The Divine Feminine is sacred, and you are sacred because you embody her. She is the Great Mystery. She is the sun, the moon, the earth, the stars, the sky. She is interconnected through all that exists. She is the atoms and molecules that make up the matter of our world. She is the energy and the light flowing through every dimension. She is everything.

You might read this and think that I am talking about the Christian concept of God, but I’m not. Nowadays, the patriarchy gets a lot of airtime. This book does not intend disrespect or disregard for any religious or philosophical beliefs. This book is about tolerance. It is about honoring all aspects of the divine and advocating for inclusivity.

That being said, because those in power have promoted religious factions that focus on masculine divinity for some time, we see a tremendous amount of gender inequality in our world. Even now, we watch things unfold in our country and all around the globe that are potentially disrespectful of the feminine. Some of us may choose to stand up against this disrespect and fight for those less fortunate.

These women who take a stand are incarnations of the goddess, just as every other woman is. The ACLU lawyer suing over gender inequality aligns with the archetype of the independent and powerful goddess Athena. The social worker who counsels children who have been marginalized and brings them nurturance and justice aligns with many aspects of the mother goddess Isis.

Every day, all around the world, women honor the Divine Feminine in their own ways—often among friends and quietly. These behind-the-scenes goddesses can be the beautiful Latina mothers who sing songs about the Mother of the Moon to their pregnant friends or the radiant African women who perform rituals for health among the girls and women in their families. The stately British woman who teaches her niece about the mythology of Avalon honors the goddess, as does the American who mentors the younger women in her office and teaches an informal class on femininity in relationships every Wednesday over wine and dessert. The Divine Feminine is present in women all over the world.

The Divine Feminine brings love, nurturance, compassion, sensuality, beauty, wisdom, confidence, and so much more. As the Divine Feminine reemerges in the Western world, perhaps we will see peace in our time. We will watch the strides that women make as they let the power of the Great Goddess flow through them.

The Dalai Lama once said that the world would be saved by the Western woman. That’s you. By reading this book, you will reconnect on an even deeper level with your Divine Feminine nature. Through small conscious acts of honoring the goddess within, you help tip the balance of power from a patriarchal, male-dominated place to one of equality where the Divine Feminine and the Divine Masculine are on an equal footing, together creating a world of peace.

You are part of this change. When you align with the overarching goddess and all the goddesses we’ll talk about in this book, you will find your life enhanced in myriad ways. You will find support and sustenance and spiritual food from the Sacred Feminine.

When I was twenty-three years old, I got a tattoo of the ankh, the Egyptian symbol of life, tattooed in an orangey brown color (the color of Indian henna) on my left big toe. I had just started working as a medical intuitive. I knew that the left side of the body symbolizes the Divine Feminine and the big toe and the thumb symbolize the idea and energy of the will. My tattoo symbolized my decision to merge my will with the will of the goddess and to do that for the highest good of all life. This included my own highest good, but it was also a decision and a statement to be of service to the Divine Feminine.

Since that day, my life has been blessed. I’ve had fortunate experiences such as swimming with wild humpback whales and through pristine underwater caves, hiking in verdant rain forests, climbing pristine peaks, holding and witnessing the birth of the babies of sweet friends, dancing with joy among sister goddesses, experiencing great passion and immense love with captivating lovers, meditating deeply with the great spirit, and much more.

I’ve learned lessons that taught me essential things on my spiritual path and in my life. I’ve had surgeries, experienced heartbreak, seen great friends and family pass on, and faced adversity just as we all do in different ways. Every blessing and challenge is part of the experience of learning about the Great Goddess in all her forms. She is all things: lover and mother, creator and destroyer, innocent and wise woman. She is an adventuress and a safe space, a source of knowledge and a driver to seek experiences. She is a heart opener and mind expander.

All those life events have aligned me to live my dharma, which is my life’s mission—and if we talk about it in trendy terms, we could even call it the idea of “living my best life.” I want this concept for you, too. I want you to have the most soul-affirming, ecstatically joyful life. I wish for you peak experiences and transcendent moments.

You are the architect of your life, and you can call in reinforcements any time you want. You can choose to align with your life’s purpose and ask for the blessing of the Great Goddess. Her wisdom and energy can propel you to new heights of experience and joy.

You deserve this peak level of living. You’re a masterpiece created by a universe of benevolence. The divine feminine within you is part of your true self. Every part of you, the heights and depths of you, is loved by the sacred feminine. You are all things. You matter. The fact that you are here on Earth matters. Let the essence of your inner feminine flow through you to the world. We all have a little bit of goddess within us.