This book looks at the way in which women's making of ritual has emerged from the rapidly developing field of women's spirituality and theology. The author uses ethnographic material drawn from her personal experience in working with individuals and groups to show how the construction of ritual is a practice which uses storymaking and embodied action to empower women. She argues that ritual, far from being a timeless and universal practice, is a contextual and gendered performance in which women subvert conventional distinctions of private and public. She includes stories of women who have created or participated in their own rituals to mark significant changes and transition in their lives, and reflects on these in the light of ritual theory. The book interweaves narrative and interview material drawn from case studies with insights drawn from feminist theology and theory, social anthropology and gender studies to show that the making of ritual for women is a transformative process which empowers them in constructing identity and agency. The writer shows how women are drawing from both Christian feminist theology and broader understandings of spirituality to construct their own understanding of God/Goddess through the rituals they enact.

From the author of 101 Homemade Products for Your Skin, Health & Home comes an amazing collection of 50 recipes and step-by-step tutorials to create easy, quick and beautiful soaps the truly natural way. With more and more people turning to natural skincare products crafted by hand, Jan Berry delivers soap recipes that come together easily, use sustainable nature-derived ingredients and utilise simple decorations that take your soap to the next level without the headache. Sample recipes include Blue Agave Soap, Wild Rosehips Soap, Double Mint Sage Soap and Dead Sea Mud Spa Bar. The recipes are in tune with today's trends - such as vegan options, shampoo and shaving bars, seasonal soaps such as Pumpkin Spice Soap and soaps highlighting popular ingredients such as goat's milk and sea salt - while still retaining a rustic, old-fashioned feel. Many soapers like to adapt recipes adding their own twist, but the chemistry involved can be a challenge. In addition to the recipes, Jan removes the mystery and shares her expertise, gathered from years of natural soapmaking, on valuable topics such as using plant colourants and herbs, substituting oils, resizing a recipe, making hot versus cold process soap and troubleshooting common issues. This book is perfect for beginners, but even more than that, Jan's unique ingredient combinations and techniques make the book a practical and inspiring choice for the modern-day soapmaker.