The Flowering Wand

Rewilding the Sacred Masculine

By: Sophie Strand

Narrated by: Sophie Strand

• Reveals the restorative fungi archetype of Osiris, the Orphic mysteries as an underground mycelium linking forests and people, how Dionysus teaches us about invasive species and playful sexuality, and the ecology of Jesus as depicted in his nature-focused parables

• Liberates Tristan, Merlin, and the Grail legends from the bounds of Campbell’s hero’s journey and invites the masculine into more nuanced, complex ways of dealing with trauma, growth, and self-knowledge

Long before the sword-wielding heroes of legend readily cut down forests, slaughtered the old deities, and vanquished their enemies, there were playful gods, animal-headed kings, mischievous lovers, trickster harpists, and vegetal magicians with flowering wands. As eco-feminist scholar Sophie Strand discovered, these wilder, more magical modes of the masculine have always been hidden in plain sight.

Sharing the culmination of eight years of research into myth, folklore, and the history of religion, Strand leads us back into the forgotten landscapes and hidden secrets of familiar myths, revealing the beautiful range of the divine masculine, including expressions of male friendship, male intimacy, and male creative collaboration. In discussing Dionysus and Osiris, Strand encourages us to think like an ecosystem instead of like an individual. She connects dying, vegetal gods to the virtuous cycle of composting and decay, highlighting the ways in which mushrooms can restore soil and heal polluted landscapes. Exploring esoteric Christianity, the author celebrates the Gnostic Jesus of the Gospel of Thomas, imagining the ecology that the Rabbi Yeshua would have actually been referencing in his nature-focused parables. Strand frees Tristan, Merlin, and the Grail legends from the bounds of Campbell’s hero’s journey and invites the masculine into more nuanced, complex ways of dealing with trauma, growth, and self-knowledge.

Strand reseeds our minds with new visions of male identity and shows how each of us, regardless of gender, can develop a matured ecological empathy and witness a blossoming of sacred masculine powers that are soft, curious, connective, and celebratory.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Sophie Strand. All Rights Reserved. (P)2022 Inner Traditions Audio. All Rights Reserved.

Cultural context is everything!

What rich stories and the cultures that fed them giving them full well rounded meaning. Amazing to see how stories change to fit new narratives of conquerors and changing of times. Kudos on this book. Will read/listen again.

Beautiful

Mind blown in so many ways, thoughtful book. Can’t wait to read again and again.

I Love this book!

I can’t do this book justice with a brief review, nor do I want to spoil it’s themes with a long one.

I listened to it almost non stop in 1 day, and look forward to listening to it again.

It is comprehensive, accessible, sincere, and compassionate. This book provides a badly needed perspective with which to process contemporary reality.

Delightful snd joyful

What a wonderful poetic blending of magic and theory! Read so beautifully and eith so much inspiration. Thank you Sophie! And Dionysus 💕🌹

Uniquely insightful

Recommended, also for women. Also for those that don't read much non-fiction or old classics, and perhaps especially those.