Spirit Marriage: Intimate Relationships with Otherworldly Beings

Description

An in-depth exploration of the practice, relevance, and purpose of spirit marriage around the world * Presents interviews with ten contemporary practitioners of spirit marriage, exploring how the relationship developed and the opportunities and challenges * Discusses the author's own spirit marriage, including her awakening as an erotic mystic and her encounters with her Faery beloved * Explains how to cultivate a spirit marriage, sharing precautions and practices to spiritually prepare yourself and navigate the potential challenges of spirit marriage Exploring the phenomenon of the spirit spouse or spirit lover--an entity to which a human is psychically bonded--Megan Rose, Ph.D., examines the practice and purpose of spirit marriage around the world, presenting transcultural evidence of this form of sacred union in anthropological research, religious literature, mythology, folklore, and the oral tradition. She shares her in-depth interviews with ten contemporary practitioners of spirit marriage, including a Faery Seer, a Shakta Tantric, a West African Shrine Keeper, a New Orleans Voodoo Mambo, Haitian Vodou practitioners, and a ceremonial magician. Through these respectful interviews, the spirit-marriage practitioners tell their stories of initiation and of having a spouse who is both otherworldly and able to assist in waking- world activities. They offer intimate insight into this growing global practice and its larger evolutionary purpose. We learn about their experiences of first contact, the decision to marry, how the relationship is upheld by their community, and the impact on their other relationships. We also learn about the risks and challenges as well as one example of divorcing a spirit. Sharing her personal experience, the author discusses in detail her own spirit marriage, including the erotic nature of being "spirit filled" and her encounters with her Faery beloved. She explains how to cultivate a spirit marriage, sharing precautions and practices to spiritually prepare yourself, interpret your paranormal encounters, and navigate the potential challenges of spirit marriage. Presenting the first study of the transcultural, shamanistic practice of spirit marriage, this book shows how bonded relationships with spirits are needed now more than ever to assist with spiritual evolution.

Megan Rose, Ph.D., has a doctorate in East-West psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies and a master's degree in religion in society from the Graduate Theological Union. She is an initiated ceremonial magician, a Shakta Tantric practitioner, and a senior seer in the House of Brigh Faery Seership Institute. She serves as an ordained interfaith minister and psycho-spiritual counselor and is the executive director of the Entheosis Institute. She lives in San Francisco.

"Until death do us part, we will love Spirit Marriage for expanding the usual ideas of what sex is to cosmic proportions. Anyone interested in romance, the erotic, and/or mysticism will find reading this book a match made in heaven." * Annie Sprinkle & Beth Stephens, authors of Assuming the Ecosexual Position * "Megan Rose offers a well-researched path to meaningful, long-term relationships in the unseen realm. This is the book to read if you are interested in developing intimacy with spirits close to you and being relationally well about it." * Pavini Moray, Ph.D., sex and relationship educator, founder of Wellcelium, and host of the Bespoken * "Broadens our usual conceptions about romantic love to include the dimension of the more-than-human. In tending and nourishing these sacred connections we step into traditions long suppressed or ignored but vital to our rounder sense of what it means to love and be loved." * Craig Chalquist, Ph.D., author of Terrapsychological Inquiry * "An inspired and inspiring exploration of the phenomenon of the Hieros Gamos, and how it can contribute to the spiritual regeneration of human life on Earth. Regardless of whether you think you will ever enter into a spirit marriage-- or are already in one--you will find Rose's book to be a heartfelt and deeply engaging exploration of this widespread spiritual practice. Read it, and prepare for new and compelling insights into the spiritual destiny of humanity." * Bruce MacLennan, Ph.D., author of The Wisdom of Hypatia * "Have you heard the call of the Beloved? You are not alone. Megan Rose captures stories of people in loving relationships with spirits and provides a road map to enter into a relationship for those who have heard the call. She combines insights gained from these interviews with her extensive academic and magical training to arrive at a profound and nuanced understanding of the experience. Spirit Marriage is that rare book that grants voice to what has been hidden and encourages those who dare to follow the call to love." * Brandy Williams, author of Practical Magic for Beginners * "There is a certain amount of intimacy in all forms of spirit contact, but for a small part of the community of practitioners the contact is as deep as that of a beloved spouse. Spirit Marriage is the first book to explore this phenomenon in depth. The book is particularly valuable because it contains stories from the lives of beings engaged in spirit marriages today." * Ivo Dominguez Jr., author of The Four Elements of the Wise * "Megan Rose's exploration of this widely practiced but little-known phenomenon is illuminated with impeccable scholarship and a deep intuition born of her own experiences in this area. I know of no finer book on this important topic. It belongs in the library of anyone seeking to understand the emerging possibilities of connection and collaboration with allies in the realms of Spirit." * David Spangler, spiritual director of the Lorian Association and author of Apprenticed to Spirit * "Spirit Marriage is not only a guidebook to forming bonded relationships with Spirit, it is an invitation to awaken our own spiritual potential." * Salicrow, psychic medium and author of The Path of Elemental Witchcraft * "Megan Rose takes us on an engaging journey through the history of spirit marriage, from its ancient roots to contemporary accounts of its modern-day practitioners. An important and illuminating study of a fascinating subject!" * Vere Chappell, author of Sexual Outlaw, Erotic Mystic * "It is through her embodiment of the three 'keys' of devotion, discernment, and discipline that the book becomes a catalyst for the reader's own journey of divine or extraordinary embodiment. This book will phenomenologically alter you." * Monica Mody, Ph.D., poet, author, and adjunct professor at the California Institute of Integral Stud * "This is a book that deserves careful reading with an open mind, not something to dismiss out of hand. It comes from the personal experience of the author and is not a new viewpoint--relationships between humans and other level beings have been recorded down the ages. An interesting and thought-provoking book." * Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki, author of The Ritual Magic Workbook and The Shining Paths *