Chiron Publications is pleased to announce the August 15 release of Behold, by Lauren Sleeman.
As a Jungian transpersonal psychotherapist, Jung’s symbols and archetypes inspired the mystical world of Sleeman’s novel, Behold. Alchemy also plays a significant role in this magical fantasy, a journey of personal and collective transformation. The many layers of archetypal consciousness in human experience are brought to light in a humorous yet “instructive” way.
Behold also resurrects ancient goddess wisdom and playfully rewrites myths and histories in which women are marginalized or silenced. Sleeman’s study of world religions and travels to ancient sites in Greece, Malta and the British Isles inform the sacred rituals in the story.
Emerging from “the Great Darkness” through a prism of light come two forsaken goddesses of antiquity—Lilith, the Great Mother and Crone of the Cosmos, and Hekate, Goddess of the Dark Moon and the Mysteries of Life, Death, and Rebirth. They stand at the crossroads between worlds as the Bringers of Transformation at a time of chaos. Hekate, the narrator of this tale, descends through the “aethers” under the watchful guidance of Lilith to portals of otherworldly realms, and incarnates on Earth to “guide the Souls of mortals…through the dark times ahead.”
Sleeman humorously rewrites classic tales of Greek and Celtic mythology to bring her delightful characters to life while resurrecting ancient goddess “knowing”—the Divine Femina. Conjuring magic spells and wielding their dark powers, Lilith and Hekate visit the Hellenic pantheon to witness Zeus in his demise, helping Hera and the goddesses beat the conquerors at their own game.
Descending to the Celtic Realm, Hekate befriends the Druids, who mourn their plight as the “black robes” threaten mortals with damnation, making them forsake their pagan beliefs. Hekate journeys with her lover Carnonos to festivals honoring Nature and the Otherworld. Descending to Earth through the time portals, Hekate incarnates alongside mortals. In ancient En-dor and medieval Ireland, she consoles women called “witches.” Hekate herself must go through the “Eye of Fire,” the alchemy of rebirth, to guide mortals to their Heart-Soul Wisdom. In the surprising finale, she guides her initiates (and the reader) through a powerful ceremony, ending her story with the promise of hope for the future.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
· Author’s Note
· PART ONE: INTRODUCTION
· The Emergence
· The Chaos Begins
· PART TWO: THE HELLENE STORIES
· The Ascendance of Zeus
· Themis the Oracle
· Hera
· Pandora
· Aphrodite
· Demeter
· PART THREE: THE CELTIC REALM
· Celtic Earth
· Fires of Bealtaine
· The Eclipse of Awakening
· Lammas (Lughnasadh)
· Samhain
· Imbolc (Brigid’s Day)
· PART FOUR: THE DESCENT
· Inanna of Sumer
· Hadia of En-dor
· Malleus Maleficarum (Hammer of Witches)
· Dame Alice Kyteler and Petronilla de Meath
· The Sol Niger (Dark Sun)
· PART FIVE: THE INFINITE LIGHT OF ETERNITY
· Lilith’s Homecoming
· Moon Dance
· Readers Guide Book Club Discussion
· Glossary
· Reading List
Author
Lauren Sleeman, a Jungian and Transpersonal Psychotherapist, is the author of two novels. In Behold her quest is to bring the goddess tales of Greek and Celtic mythology to life again, especially the goddesses associated with the power of the Great Mother, and to acknowledge these strong archetypes and the sacred wisdom they bring to women’s lives.
Sleeman’s first novel, La Magdalena, honors the life of Mary Magdalen as a priestess and teacher of ancient wisdom.
Sleeman has travelled widely, visiting ancient goddess sites and places of her ancestral origins, both of which she writes about in her fiction. A native of New Zealand/Aotearoa, the author and her husband enjoy living near the southern mountain lakes and holidaying by the northern seaside.
