Andrew Harvey's argument for the return of the Divine Feminine — the Mother — as the spiritual centre of gravity of the contemporary planetary moment. The book is structured around a series of lectures delivered at the California Institute of Integral Studies in spring 1994, with Harvey's reflections on Mary, Kali, the Black Madonna, Tara and Sophia woven together into a sustained case for the Sacred Feminine as both a mystical and political force. His personal break with his teacher Mother Meera — over what he called her response to his coming out as gay — serves as a pivot point in the narrative.
The book ranges across Hinduism, Sufism, Buddhism, Taoism, and the Christian mystical tradition, reading each as carrying a suppressed or marginalised thread of the Mother. Harvey's argument is that the retrieval of this thread is not a return to any single tradition but a synthesis adequate to a moment of planetary crisis. Inside sacred-activism and divine-feminine circles the book is treated as a foundational text alongside Marion Woodman and Riane Eisler; the episode with Mother Meera generated a substantial counter-literature within her community and shaped Harvey's subsequent teaching trajectory.
Reception
Treated inside contemporary 'sacred activism' and divine-feminine circles as a foundational text alongside Marion Woodman, Riane Eisler and the wider Goddess-revival literature. Harvey's break with Mother Meera was widely covered in the 1990s and produced a substantial literature inside her community responding to his account; the 'Sun at Midnight' episode shaped Harvey's subsequent teaching trajectory and is part of why this book reads with the urgency it does. Within his audience the book remains standard; outside it, Harvey's prolific output has diluted any single title's reach.
Frequently asked
What is The Return of the Mother about?
It is Andrew Harvey's most comprehensive exploration of the Divine Feminine, drawing on Hindu, Sufi, Buddhist, Taoist, and Christian traditions. The book argues that a return to the Mother principle — as both a mystical reality and a political orientation — is the necessary response to contemporary planetary crisis.
What was Harvey's break with Mother Meera?
Harvey publicly ended his relationship with his spiritual teacher Mother Meera after she reportedly asked him to remain closeted about his sexuality. This personal rupture is a narrative pivot in the book, shaping its urgency and its argument for a more embodied, non-hierarchical spirituality.
Which spiritual traditions does the book cover?
The book traces the Divine Feminine across Hinduism (Kali), Christianity (Mary and the Black Madonna), Buddhism (Tara), Gnosticism (Sophia), Sufism, and Taoism. Harvey reads each tradition as carrying a suppressed thread of the Mother that must be recovered and synthesised.