Bøker av Shahrukh Husain

Drawing on myth, religious beliefs, and a revealing selection of iconography from the Paleolithic Venus of Willendorf and ancient Egyptian images of Isis to medieval Madonnas and contemporary visions of female Hindu deities, psychotherapist and folklorist Shahrukh Husain offers readers a comprehensive, cross-cultural panorama of goddess worship through the ages. Using a wealth of examples from every era and tradition, she traces a long and primal struggle that over the course of millennia saw originally female deities usurped by male-dominated priestly hierarchies, a process reflected both in myth and in actual religious practice, which saw the goddess principle attacked, diminished, and eclipsed, but never entirely eliminated. Husain examines cosmic concepts of creation and seasonal fertility, the mythic rivalries and partnerships between male and female divinities, and the explicitly sexual duality personified in the West by the Virgin Mary and Mary Magdalene (but common to cultures all over the world), as well as such other aspects as the warrior, the queen, and the witch or crone who snips the threads of Fate. Finally, she reviews contemporary attitudes, values, and rites, finding a new vitality after centuries of suppression: the goddess is today a subject of renewed interest to feminist theorists, cultural historians, Wiccans and Paganists, and even environmentalists, for whom the Gaia hypothesis offers a powerful metaphor reconciling modern science with ancient wisdom. Filled with vivid full-color illustrations and dozens of informative sidebars on subjects as diverse as the Vestal Virgins of Rome, the Matronit of the Kabbala, and the almost universal association of the planet Venus with goddess figures, this is a book that will appeal to a wide audience, from scholars in women's studies, anthropology, folklore, and ancient history to more general readers interested in the female influence on cultural evolution and the antecedents to modern New Age thought. Shahrukh Husain is a psychotherapist, folklorist, and storyteller. She has lectured extensively and has worked as a consultant on TV documentaries and in an advisory role to members of Parliament on cultural matters ranging from marriage and race to religion and language issues. Her publications include Daughters of the Moon: Witch Tales from around the World (1993) and Handsome Heroines (1996).

Beware the women who are called witches, or those who claim the name for themselves... Banshees - a howling night-witch and harbinger of death; She-devils - Lilith and her daughters; or Bitches - Hecate, whose chariot is drawn by dogs. Alluring women, enchantresses, seekers of revenge, wise old women and badly-behaved girls. As Shahrukh Husain says: ' witches... womanhood in all its complexity'Over fifty stories of crones and nixies, shape shifters and beauties are here, including the loving fox witch of Japan; Italy's Witch-Bea-Witch; Scotland's Goodwife of Laggan; Biddy Earl and the terrifying Kali and Baba Yaga who comes in many forms to haunt, entice, possess, transform and challenge. From every corner of the globe, with tom-foolery, fun, strife and victory, these folklore and legends celebrate women who step out of line.

Uncovering a wealth of lore from diverse cultures around the world, Shahrukh Husain has gathered together an anthology that will delight and entice. Through subtle reworking, these erotic tales are given new expression whilst remaining faithful to the original texts.From the rapturous sexual awakening of Inanna and the bitter-sweet passion of Krishna and Radha, to Hera's deceit of Zeus in order to reassert her sexual power and bring back excitement to her troubled marriage, this collection of sexual encounters ranges from the holy, passionate, and dutiful to the forbidden, earthy and humorous.

Evil Women. Every culture has them. Religions have banned and branded them. Men find them terrifying and fascinating. Women secretly admire them. An eye cast over the impressive if frightening array of characters reveals baby-thief Lamia, a fertile deity from Greek mythology with a serpent's tail who seduced mortals and bred beautiful monster-children; Morgan le Fay, fairy sister to King Arthur, who according to Celtic legend tried to wrest the throne from him using her black magic powers; Medea who wreaked terrible revenge on Jason when he left her for a younger woman; Lilith, Eve, the Queen of Sheba, Delilah, Jezebel, Kali - all wicked women whose names have been with us for centuries as demons and sirens and troublemakers.