GODDESS WORSHIP
35,000 BCE saw the emergence of the Cro-Magnon people, the first
recognizable humans. Within a few thousand years, worship of the
Great Goddess or Great Mother developed. For these people,
deity was female. The importance of fertility in crops, in domesticated
animals, in wild animals and in the tribe itself were of paramount
importance to their survival. Thus, the Female life-giving principle was
considered divine and a great mystery.
This "old European" culture lasted for tens of thousands of years in what
is now Europe. They generally lived in peace. Males and females were
treated equally. Their society was matrilineal; children took their mothers'
names. Life was based on lunar (not solar) calendar; time was experienced
as a repetitive cycle, not linearly as we think of it.
A few thousand years BCE, the Indo-Europeans invaded Europe from the east.
They brought with them some of the "refinements" of modern civilization:
the horse, war, belief in male Gods, exploitation of nature, knowledge of
the male role in procreation, etc. Goddess worship was gradually combined
with worship of male Gods to produce a variety of Pagan religions, among
the Greeks, Romans, Celts, etc
Goddess Worship during the Christian Era
Further south, as Judaism, Christianity & eventually Islam evolved. The
Pagan religions were suppressed and the female principle was gradually
driven out of religion, and women reduced to a level inferior to men.
The God, King, Priest & Father replaced the Goddess, Queen, Priestess &
Mother. A woman's testimony was not considered significant in Jewish courts;
women were not allowed to speak in Christian churches; positions of
authority in the church were limited to men.
A feminine presence was added to Christianity by the Council of Ephesus
in 431 CE when the Virgin Mary was named Theotokos (Mother of God).
But her role was heavily restricted and included none of the fertility
component present in Pagan religions. A low point in the fortunes of women
was reached during the Renaissance, when hundreds of thousands of suspected
female witches were exterminated by burning and hanging.
Modern Goddess Worship
A renaissance of Paganism, with its worship of Goddesses and Gods occurred
in the middle of this century with the re-emergence of Wicca (popularly
called White Witchcraft, the benign religion of the ancient Celts). With
the rise of feminism, new traditions within Wicca were created in which
the Goddess grew in importance, and the role of the God shrank into
obscurity. One such tradition is Dianic Wicca.
The Goddess in both Goddess Worship and Neo-Paganism is often visualized
in three aspects: Maiden, Mother and Crone. Her aspects are mirrored in the
phases of the moon: waxing, full and waning.
The Maiden represents youth, emerging sexuality, the huntress running with
her hounds. The Mother symbolizes feminine power, fertility, and nurturing.
The Crone is wisdom, the compassion which comes from experience, and the
one who guides us through the death experience.
She has been given many names by different cultures and ages:
Anat, Aphrodite, Aradia, Arianrhod, Artemis, Brighid, Ceres, Demeter,
Diana, Freya, Gaia, Hera, Ishtar, Isis, Juno, Kali, Lilith, Ma'at, Mary,
Minerva, Persephone, Venus, Vesta, etc.
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Useful References
- Mary Condren, "The Serpent and the Goddess; Women, Religion and Power in
Celtic Ireland", Harper & Row, San Francisco, (1989)
- Lawrence Durdin-Robertson, "The Year of the Goddess, A Perpetual
Calendar of Events", Aquarian Press, Wellingborough, England (1990)
- Riane Eisler, "The Chalice & The Blade", Harper & Row, San
Francisco, (1987)
- Janet & Stewart Farrar, "The Witches' Goddess", Phoenix, Custer
WA (1987)
- Monica Sjoo & Barbara Mor, "The Great Cosmic Mother: Rediscovering The
Religion of The Earth; 2nd Edition", Harper, San Francisco, (1991)
- T. Robbins & D. Anthony, "In Gods We Trust", Transaction
Publishers, New Brunswick, NJ, 1993, P. 353-384
- Merlin Stone, "When God was a Woman", Harvest/HBJ, San Diego,
(1976)
- Barbara G Walker, "The Woman's Encyclopaedia of Myths and
Secrets", Harper & Row, San Francisco, (1983), P. 346-347, etc
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