Goddess
spirituality, worship, a return to the Earth Mother are all
names seemingly familiar to most people in any way inclined
toward the new age ethos or involved with popular esoterica. But
it is most certainly not just a name or concept to those women
actively involved in reclaiming their womanhood.
The term 'goddess' is generally a notion to describe the 'Divine
Feminine', and it is this Divine Feminine that is at the root of
the discovery of the link between the spirituality of women,
women in general, and the Earth (Nature).
The word 'goddess' in contrast to the word 'god' has suffered a
systemic breakdown at the hands of our western patriarchal
society. The singlemost factor responsible for male subjugation
of female has been sexual prejudice. Even so-called
'goddess-worshipers' today are mainly unaware that all the
different deities/pantheons (systems of gods and goddesses such
as Roman or Greek), has been a victorious overthrow of the One
Great Mother principle. Her degeneration and depletion into a
plethora of goddess deities, all representing some archetypal
function of the Great Mother did not have the same intent as the
many male gods/deities we are now also surrounded with. Their
usages, especially their names, were and still are used as
secretive communication for the one true God, the omniscient,
almighty, omnipotent God the Father.
The many goddess deities and all their virtues can be traced
back and related to a single nurturing Earth Mother. The wild,
untamed, unnatural thing that women became is an invention in
direct contravention to the law of Nature, which are nurturing,
fair, creative, sustaining, and destructive all at the same
time. Such is the complex beauty of every woman. Research also
indicates that this goddess mother figure is usually more
powerful than any god. As life-giver, mother, sustainer, etc.
the gods were prone to succeed if they heeded her wisdom and
adopted her powers.
The systemic male incarcerations imposed on women inspired the
feminist movement of the previous centaury. It was not so much
the reaction of these women to an unjust material and physical
(here include abusive) society as much as it was their
pro-action as beings of spirit - the catalyst for the necessary
liberation that would follow in other areas.
The sexual revolution of the 60's was the watershed for the
empowerment of women. It is our sexuality, and in particular our
procreative abilities (abused by men for centuries), that is now
being reclaimed with the concomitant liberative results in all
spheres.
The memory of almost nine million people, mostly women burnt at
the stake, drowned, or tortured in the most hideous manner,
during the period known as the 'burning times' at the hands of a
male church-dominated society terrified of the prowess of women,
shall never be forgotten. Their brutal power depended directly
on their ability to take away and reshape the procreation from
women. It is this procreative power, this sexuality, which is
surfacing and causing men to reshape their own world views.
We see femme reclamation in such manifestations as legislature
(see for example the Matrimonial Act, the precedent cases of
adoption laws for lesbians and gay men, accrual rights,
affirmative action plans in the corporate environment). We see
our personal rights asserted in our utter contempt for being
called 'chicks' or 'birds' by male counterparts. We see the
return of our links with Nature when we talk of things such as
'virgin timber' or the rape of the land.
The interconnectedness of women to Nature and the spirituality
that comes from observing and immersing oneself in Nature is no
coincidence.
In ancient times women and earth were revered as one. The
deliberate shift to separate women from their sanctified role in
Nature, and their own divinity, is a time now past. The decline
in female spiritual mastery is a thing of the past. In modern
western ecclesia in particular there is a rediscovery of the
feminine in the divine, which is at the core of our empowerment
and meaning. Women are now in a position to master their lives
at all levels.
Understandably, were we to do this equally at every level of
Maslow's suggested hierarchical structure, we would all be gurus
levitating above our computers. But what it means is when we
actively embracer the divine within ourselves and reinstate the
matriarchal principle both within civil society and the
spirituality of that society, and understand that goddess power
is intimately interwoven into our procreative sexuality, we have
choices.
These could range from our sexual preferences/identity to role
function and motherhood, among other things. Self-help/support
groups for women are something that should not be
underestimated. The power that women have when they share their
particular agony, whether it be substance-related, the trauma of
single motherhood, harassment experienced at the workplace, or
anywhere for that matter, especially if you sexual identity is
lesbian. Just sitting in quiet reflection, meditation and
communing with like-minded women is a yet an untapped source of
inspiration.
Most women are either in touch, or aware of, their need to get
in touch with the goddess within, the Great Mother. It is this
very understanding that seems to be at the core of any
successful and independent woman, even if it is a silent
understanding. Burning the bra is passé. Standing naked,
chained to the union buildings may make some impact if you are
still fighting an unknown cause, but being a woman today means,
as someone wisely said "don't do something, sit
still". Being a lesbian means embracing the above polarity.
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