Sophia: Goddess of Wisdom, Bride of God

“Open your heart, walk within, and find Sophia.” If you are looking for spiritual consciousness then this book will bring you deep into the powers of the Divine Feminine and all the beauty that awaits us. Sophia (Wisdom in Greek), this wise love will transform us, says author Matthews, and she is quite convincing in her scholarship. Wisdom gives us the ability to know truth, beauty, and lasting love. The fact we call this power feminine by the name of Sophia is, I think, appropriate in our current era and spiritual evolution. Sophia is said to work through the agency of love. Matthews puts forth a full accounting of the historical, biblical (Proverbs, Chapter 8, which presents Sophia as a messenger and instructor of Wisdom, and from the Wisdom of Solomon 6:20), spiritual texts, religious literature, gospels, ancient writings, philosophers, and artistic icons, including The Black Goddess, White Goddess, Virgin of Light, Gnostic Sophia, Grail Goddess, the Veiled Goddess, Saint Sophia and much more. Sophia is known by other names: Isis, Demeter, Schekinah, and the Virgin Mary to name a few.Sophia is “potentially within all women who wish to discover their creativity, maintain their integrity, and support justice in the world and in themselves… As Sophia emerges further into consciousness, so will the image of the empowered woman become apparent in the world.” Men too can access her; any contact with the “Divine Feminine occurs at the level of the sacred and the imaginal.” There is a lot of history and religious reality here that holds solid.Sophia is claimed to be the “world-soul” and that is a theme throughout the book. I think what I liked best about this book is the chapter “Sophianic Millennium.” Matthews emphasizes that Sophia has penetrated popular consciousness during this last half of the 20th century. Matthews is talking “the feminine face of God” and how this is affecting our modern society. Of late, we are certainly witnessing a dramatic increase in feminine power in leadership in government, women’s movements across the globe, gender equality legislation, child care, and how women especially are shifting the awareness of climate change and health care. I think this book is quite timely and important for the good of all. God traditionally is “out there” but Sophia is clearly “within” our souls. Highly recommended. Paula Cappa is an avid book reviewer and an award-winning supernatural mystery author.

This is only one of several books about the little understood divine feminine, the feminine side of God. to the modern christian the Shekhinah is a mystery, the holy spirit is a mystery. this is do to the modern church lack of study into the history of the subject.there is no mystery as to the glory filling the temple, or the baptism of the holy ghost. what we refuse to consider is what They believed, (Both the Jews and the early church or why.) We have been molded into a modernistic mindset. Ont his subject I also recommend On the wings of Shekhinah, the Cosmic Shekinah, Was God a Woman? When God was a woman, Did God have a wife? the latter two are scholarly works with an impeccable approach to the subject.Whether you're a believer or not, it will enrich your life on both a personal and spiritual level. through this I hope you can gain the insight to delve deep not into the mysticism, but the beliefs of the early church for knowing your roots is to know yourself and where you're going.For those who are Christians, there is no mystery we cannot find the answer to, for those who are a student of religious history or history in general, you will find the true roots of modern beliefs and through this one can find out why our beliefs on some important subjects has changed through the years.In the Bible there are several hundred references of God in the feminine sense verses the masculine sense. (See the names of God.) We assume yet often our assumptions are based not on research but philosophy. I encourage you to start on a journey of self exploration based on historical beliefs and fact. When one starts this journey, you might be amazed that the early church did believe in the (SOPHIA). One might be shocked to notice the Jews or the early christian church were not the only ones to believe in God or part of God in this fashion.I feel my picks will take this subject out of the realm of new age or mysticism and will allow the reader to gain further insight into the subject.

Caitlin Matthews has provided us with a badly needed prescription for healing and revitalizing the world culture. I think what she is advocating is a change that will come about with the new Age of Aquarius -- we are already seeing signs of the first effects. The recognition of the Divine Feminine is essential if we are to restore the balance necessary to save humanity on the Earth. Wisdom has been pushed deep into the background of our thinking, disappeared from our values and understanding, and we are paying the price. Matthews' work brings depth, courage and dedication to the subject. Everyone should read this book.

My copy of the book the pages 39-40 is inversed. It goes from page 38 to page 40 then you turn the page, there is page 39. Also the print on the pages are light, similar to how a printed page looks with your printer is low on ink. Other than that, I am enjoying the read.

I can see where some will be perplexed by this book as it is challenging the Christian notion of the feminine and explains that the Goddess has always existed even if she is hidden and placed as a subordinate in Christianity. Christianity has chosen to make the feminine divine negative and this book explains why this interpretation only hurts us as we seek greater spiritual understanding of our existence.

I've been studying the Sacred Feminine for almost 20 years and this is the most complete book I've found until now.Wonderful book, very profound and rich. We feel the dedication and the passion of the author for the subject.Lots of information displaced in a very interesting sequence. She starts from the Black Goddess and take us through a journey to Sophia and all Her Mysteries. It is not a book for fast reading, it takes attention and dedication, but it deserves!

This book has not been properly typeset. The print is gritty grey half-tone, similar to dot-matrix output. I recommend avoiding this edition. Shop around for properly printed copy. I am returning mine.