Feminine Mysteries in the Bible: The Soul Teachings of the Daughters of the Goddess »

Ruth Rusca was born in Switzerland in 1929. She began her quest for knowledge of the feminine mysteries in the Bible in 1969, and her research has taken her on spiritual and initiatory journeys from Guatemala to Crete. For 15 years (from 1985 to 2000) she presented the workshop “Soul Teachers in the Bible.” She lives in Switzerland.

Four archetypal women in the Bible--Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba--represent the transformative power of the feminine life force, and Mary, mother of Jesus, is the quintessence of these four women. This book exposes the Immaculate Conception to be a male invention that has subverted the divine feminine in Christianity.

Foreword Christine Downing Downing, Christine

Introduction How This Book Came to Be 1

Pt. 1 Mythic Dimensions of the Historical Periods of the Four Women

1 The Patriarchs 18

2 The Judges 24

3 Prophets and Kings 32

4 The Feminine Divine and the Reclaiming of Wholeness 40

Pt. 2 The Stories of Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba: A Symbolic Interpretation

5 Tamar, the Sacred Prostitute 44

6 Rahab, the Meretrix 60

7 Ruth, Redeeming the Soul 80

8 Bathsheba, the Unfinished Story of the Daughter of the Goddess 95

Pt Three The Conception of Mary: A Symbolic Interpretation of the Apocryphal Legend

9 The Parents of Mary 112

Epilogue: Mary Magdalene - The Soul-Teacher in the New Testament: Addition and Completion to Feminine Mysteries of the Bible 119

Notes 127

Bibliography 132

Index 136