The Woman's Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects

by Barbara G. Walker

Book, 1988

Status

Available

Call number

WS

Call number

WS

Publication

San Francisco : Harper & Row, 1988.

Original publication date

1988

Physical description

576 p.; 24 cm

Local notes

If you look up the word lion in the dictionary on your desk, odds are you'll learn it's a large, carnivorous mammal. The entry may note that it's the emblem of Great Britain, too, and mention courage and literary acumen, but you won't find out that two lions pulled the chariot of the goddess Cybele when she took it out for a spin. To learn that, you'd need to flip through The Woman's Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects. At the top of each page are drawings of the symbols discussed on that page. This well-organized tome is fascinating reading with a female-centric spin. Thus, poppet is not just a doll, but one used by witches as a proxy for the person they wanted to harm. Vase symbolizes the Earth Mother's womb, and, according to author Barbara G. Walker, the Greek word for vase, pithos, was mistakenly translated as pyxis, box, in that tale about Pandora.

User reviews

LibraryThing member beau.p.laurence
good reference book -- includes things not normally in dictionaries related to feminist symbols
LibraryThing member Czrbr
Book Description: Edison, NJ: Castle Books, 1988. Hard Cover. Very Fine/Very Fine. 8vo - over 7" - 9¾" tall. Inside pages are clean, unmarked and tight.
Believe to be first edition, nothing to indicate otherwise.
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