“The Way of the Rose”

The Way of the Rose: the Radical Path of the Divine Feminine Hidden in the Rosary, by Clark Strand & Perdita Finn

As a cradle Catholic, the Rosary has always played a prominent role in my prayer life. When I picture my grandmother, her crystal rosary beads are wrapped around her hand. I can feel the hardback pew supporting me as I prayed my first Novena in the hallowed space of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the French Quarter. The Rosary feels familial, ancestral, and like a straight shot to a meditative space for me.

Over the past decade, my faith has shifted away from much of the dogma of the church but my pull toward the Rosary has remained constant. This book, “The Way of the Rose” suggests that the tradition of the Rosary predates religion and instead is a return to our veneration of the divine feminine. It sits well with my soul.

I can’t fully encapsulate all the magic and the mystery of this book in a way that will do it true justice. But I can offer this little story. About a third of the way into the book, the authors explain the concept of prayer as a petition for your heart’s desire. Our Lady wants us to petition her more than anything, they claim because she is always cradling us in her love and would love to offer us signs of her presence. I thought deeply about what my heart truly desires right now. “Blessed Mother,” I prayed as I began my circle around the beads, “I truly wish to be called upon to companion a dying person in my community, right now.” Fifteen minutes later, my new client reached out for the first time.

Our universe is filled with so much magic, the mystery is prevalent and unseen energy interconnects us and our world all as one. Yet we also live and love amidst climate crisis, genocide, and the ravages of consumerism and self-interest. How do we move through our world with the hope and grace of the divine and the honesty and courage to truly see the effect of humanity on our universal home? This book offers us a path, a chance, a dream … to do just that.

I’d recommend this book for:
🌹Spiritual seekers of all faiths and none
🌹Adorers of the mystical & magical
🌹Anyone desiring a love song to the world
🌹Those seeking an invitation into the sacred feminine