Circle of Mysteries: The Women's Rosary Book

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Summary: The Most Refreshingly Significant Rosary Book I've Read!
Review: I have had a short and turbulent history with the Rosary prayer. It began in high school while I attended a Dominican preparatory academy. The religious atmosphere there was overwhelming, and since it was an all-girls school run by Dominican Sisters, there was a strong devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. St. Dominic is traditionally credited with originating the Rosary, or at least making it popular within Catholicism, after its communication to him in a vision by Mother Mary, and so in that tradition the Sisters at our school never missed an opportunity to take up their belts and lead us in a Rosary. Nearly every morning before first bell the students would be invited to join one or more of the Sisters in the chapel to pray a decadent for an alumni who needed support, or the exams we were about to take, or the abortion bill that was about to pass. Often a group would gather at lunch, or during study hall, or after school, or our daily religion class would exchange a lesson for a Rosary.

As a Mormon who'd been raised as a fundamentalist Christian for the early part of her life, I found all this to be an exercise in religious tolerance. I had always been taught that praying to Mary was at best a mockery of God, and at worst idolatry. Even after I joined the LDS Church and was taught of the existence of a Heavenly Mother co-equal with God the Father I had an internal conflict about praying the Rosary; despite Her existence and supposed equality, most traditional Latter-day Saints still believe we should only pray to God the Father, and since most Catholics still deny Mary's status as a Goddess despite her every effort to act like one, it was easy to dismiss praying the Rosary as worship of a "mere" Saint and not reverence for the Divine Feminine. Mormons also have a problem with using "vain repetition" in their prayers, where the words are parroted but not truly meant or understood. For this reason, Latter-day Saints have very few written prayers, instead using spontaneous prayer "from the heart". The Rosary, at least by outward appearances, seemed to be a prime example of this "vain repetition" people of my faith strived to avoid, and so I struggled against praying it, too.

I spent most of those high school Rosary prayers on my knees silently praying and meditating, and chiming up for the occasional "Our Father" and "Glory Be" that I didn't feel conflicted with my belief system, always careful to truly mean the words instead of just saying them. I chaffed at the mention of the purely Marian mysteries such as the Assumption into Heaven and Coronation of Mary, unable to make any significant connection between them and the life of Christ. Slowly, however, as the Sisters began to explain the mysteries more and I thought about them during the endless stream of "Hail Mary's", I began to see Mary as an example of Christian discipleship, and the mysteries of the Rosary as an outline of the Way the Christian initiate must walk to Christ. By the end of high school I was able to appreciate the mysteries of the Rosary as acceptable to even the most traditional of Christians, although I still hadn't said a Hail Mary. As I left school for college I abandoned the Rosary altogether, relieved to no longer be participating in its struggle of will and doctrine.

Just as a great many other college students experience, my relationship to the religion of my faith changed greatly during the first few years after high school. More and more I felt the call of my Heavenly Mother, beckoning me to learn Her mysteries and recognize Her dynamic partnership with my Heavenly Father. As I began to do this my inhibitions regarding praying to the Divine Feminine dissolved, and the more I investigated the faces of the Divine Feminine, both within Mormonism and outside of it, the more I began to see the Blessed Virgin Mary as one of the faces of the Goddess. For the first time in my life I became curious about the Rosary. I bought a set of beads, and then began to make my own. I discovered other Rosary prayers dedicated to the Pagan Goddess, or to Mary Magdalene, wife of Jesus and co-Redemptrix. I began to investigate traditional interpretations of the Rosary along with the newer ones, and wished for a book on the Rosary that combined the two. At last, I've found one.

"Circle of Mysteries: The Women's Rosary Book", by Christin Lore Weber, is a meditative guide to the Rosary that combines a traditional Catholic Rosary prayer with a reverence for the Divine Feminine in Her many Christian forms. It is the most refreshingly significant book I have found on the Rosary, and I recommend it highly to Catholics, other Christians, and Christo-Pagans seeking a better understanding of how and why to pray this beautiful meditation. Without delving too deeply into apologetics, Christin dispels many of the fears and inhibitions Christians and Goddess-worshippers have regarding praying the traditional Rosary, and provides exquisite meditations that infuse new life and power into this centuries-old meditation. I would still like to see a Rosary book that includes many of the newer Rosary prayers with the traditional Catholic version, but even if I found one I would still get this book, and buy it for as many friends as I could afford.

I'm giving it five pentacles!

Rating:
Summary: For Those Who Have Abandoned the Rosary
Review: Long ago I stopped finding any importance in the rosary and almost didn't read this jewel of a book. If you thought you knew what the rosary was to accomplish, forget all preconceived notions. This book presents a fresh look and a gentle language. Read it. It might just change your life!

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Summary: Christians and Pagans alike can find inspiration
Review: This book honors the Divine Feminine on three levels: that of the Transcendent, that of the Holy -- but also human -- Mother Mary, and that of a 'common' woman. It takes the readers through the Mysteries of the Rosary in a way which opens up their intimate, immediate connections to the lives of human women while maintaining a reverent awareness of the Divine. As a Christo-Pagan, I found it especially moving, since there are very few books which express profound mysteries in language and imagery which honors both the Christian and Pagan paths. It is also especially moving for mothers, since the Mysteries of Mary are intimately connected with

Rating:
Summary: The most unique Rosary meditation I've ever read.
Review: This is the most important book on the Rosary I've ever read. It presents a "feminist", almost Christo-Pagan interpretation of this important prayer, and opens its mysteries up to those who otherwise might not think the Rosary is for them. I highly recommend it! You'll certain gain a new understanding and appreciation for this important form of Christian meditation.