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A Feral Church

A Guided Journey to Find Magic, Kinship, and the Goddess

H. Byron Ballard

$39.99

Paperback

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English
Llewellyn Publications,U.S.
08 February 2025
Journey into the Wilderness Within and Around You

Through a series of guided meditations that lead you from one solstice to another and back again, H. Byron Ballard empowers you to journey into the uncharted and feral lands of your imagination, where you will connect to the primal mother—the Goddess. Ballard shows you how to leave your domesticated world and enter a place of wild worship and joy, a feral church unbound by dogma or liturgy.

Your spiritual pilgrimage will take you to places familiar and unknown, both internal and external. Framed as one big pathworking, this book guides your journey with a new meditation, plus a section to reflect on what you discovered, in every chapter. As you find your way to the Goddess, you will step into the darkness, reconnect with ancestors and various spirits, and emerge ready to live your fullest life.
By:  
Imprint:   Llewellyn Publications,U.S.
Country of Publication:   United States
Dimensions:   Height: 203mm,  Width: 133mm, 
ISBN:   9780738776361
ISBN 10:   073877636X
Pages:   288
Publication Date:  
Audience:   General/trade ,  ELT Advanced
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Contents Prelude: Pathworking from the Hedges and Edges xix Part 1: The Greening: Winter Solstice to Summer Solstice 1 Chapter 1: A Dangerous but Necessary Journey 3 Chapter 2: Beyond Servitude: Into the Wilderness 13 Chapter 3: Life under Ice: Creating Our Mythic Story 25 Chapter 4: The Grasslands and the Womb 43 Chapter 5: Sand and Monsters 55 Chapter 6: Wild Women, Witches, Maenads 65 Chapter 7: Mother Nature 73 Chapter 8: Warrior. Lover. Lawgiver. 91 Part 2: The Darkening: Summer Solstice to Winter Solstice 105 Chapter 9: Eating the Apple 107 Chapter 10: Tea and Wisdom: The Bookshop of the Ancient Mothers 123 Chapter 11: Blood and Bone 133 Chapter 12: Dancing on the Corpse Road 145 Chapter 13: Sin-Eating and Benedictions 157 Chapter 14: Wenceslas and the Five of Pentacles 167 Chapter 15: Terra Mater, the Mother World 175 Chapter 16: The Mycelia Way 183 Chapter 17: Seven Nights before Solstice 191 Chapter 18: The Ceremonial Return: The Great Road at Avebury 201 Postlude 215 Appendix: Feral Resources 217 Recommended Reading 223

H. Byron Ballard, BA, MFA (Asheville, NC) is a western NC native, teacher, folklorist, and writer. She has served as a featured speaker and teacher at several festivals and conferences, including the Sacred Space Conference, Pagan Spirit Gathering, Starwood, Hexfest and many others. She serves as senior priestess and co-founder of Mother Grove Goddess Temple and the Coalition of Earth Religions/CERES, both in Asheville, NC. She podcasts about Appalachian folkways on ""Wyrd Mountain Gals."" Her essays are featured in several anthologies and she writes a regular column for SageWoman Magazine. Find her online at www.myvillagewitch.com.

Reviews for A Feral Church: A Guided Journey to Find Magic, Kinship, and the Goddess

""A transformative journey that encourages readers to delve deep into themselves and uncover hidden aspects of their being."" --Jen Sankey, author of Enchanted Forest Felines Tarot ""An intense work by a proven guide to the otherworlds that exist right here alongside our own."" --Angie Buchanan, spiritual director of Earth Traditions ""Spiritual, magical, and completely original, this is one you don't want to miss."" --Deborah Blake, author of The Everyday Witch's Coven ""Byron sends us off into the Wilds to reclaim our souls and rebirth a world of visceral relationship with all that is."" --Eryn Schrader, host of the Plant Witch podcast ""This book reads like a giant embrace from the arms of the Goddess Herself."" --Trista Hendren, editor of Girl God Books ""A heartfelt and richly imaginative collection of journeys to take you into the heart of the Goddess and deeper into yourself."" --Levi Rowland, author of Mother: Ecstasy, Transformation, and the Great Goddess ""The most empowering work I've ever read...It's a journey that will lead you to places both familiar and unknown."" --Dorothy Morrison, author of The Craft ""Ballard tenderly holds the visions of the Divine Feminine through the different representations of Her in various faith and spiritual traditions."" --Rev. Jerrie Hildebrand, President Emerita, Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans ""This book will passionately and purposefully work you into a deeper understanding of the crossroads at which we stand while illuminating hope and imagination."" --Patricia Ballentine, priestess, artist, writer ""Byron guides us into personal encounters with the Goddess."" --Diotima Mantineia, author of Touch the Earth, Kiss the Sky ""Byron nudges us to feel the magic in the most mundane, in the stories, lore, mythology, and archetypes...She beautifully describes the timelessness in our world."" --Tanja Bara, writer, teacher, Tanja's Shadow and Light ""An accessible, lyrical pathworking through the Wheel of the Year...Ballard holds a lantern on the wild way of returning to ourselves."" --Rebecca Beyer, author Wild Witchcraft ""Each meditative journey explores the wild and untamed aspects of the Goddess and oneself."" --Mat Auryn, author of Psychic Witch ""Through this exquisite narrative, we find ourselves immersed on a journey into Goddess and nature."" --Rev. Laura González, priestess and host of the podcast Lunatic Mondays ""Ballard is uniquely and distinctly qualified to give birth to this prophetic book of thealogy."" --Rev. Sara Scruggs, writer, pastor UMC ""Ballard gives us a series of meditations that take us on a journey like no other."" --Christine Ashworth, author of Scott Cunningham: The Path Taken ""It is a deeply personal book and the author's mind, heart, and divine spark are unveiled and fully present."" --Ivo Dominguez, Jr., teacher, author, Pagan organizer ""Ballard offers us a way through uncharted territory...This book may just be the tool we need to smash through layers of oppression to find liberation for all."" --Rev. Lisa Bovee-Kemper, Interim Minister, UU Community of Charlotte ""Ballard explores the questions and experiences that help center our minds."" --Constance Tippett, artist, creator of Goddess Timeline


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