April...

The Goddess

There is only one Goddess.  Half way through our year we have stopped to look back and reflect on the names of the ancient dieties who have been singled out for recognition.  Our purpose was to identifiy a story with a particular energy in a way that was useful today.

Some readers may have thought that there are so many Goddesses, it would be an impossible task to identify with anyone.  In truth there is but one Goddess. Like the Judeo/Christian God who is described as being within all of us and every living thing, so to the Goddess represents the other half of our being, resides within us and also in every living thing.  God has the three faces of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost. So too the Goddess is represented as the Maiden, Mother and Crone.

Only the Mother aspect came down to us in the form of Mary, exalted as the Mother of God.  In the process we lost sight of and respect for, the gentle beauty of the maiden and the wise and profound knowledge of the Crone.  In other cultures the worship of the Goddess has survived intact and is faithfully celebrated on special days throughout their calendar year.

Though we here may have lost sight of her many faces, we do have the benefit of a history that has been coming to light in the past hundred years. This gives us the opportunity to study, revere, and reconnect with our feminine history in its simplicity, glory and power.

The stories that I am sharing with you at this site are just stories that our ancients used to explain phenomena for which there was no scientific background.  Woman was considred the creatrix of all earth and its inhabitants.  Men were not understood to play a significant role in conception but they worked in partnership with women in a matriarchal society.  And so, the female was revered and honoured. Despite the abuse and relegation of women to secondary roles, how many inanimate but powerful objects, such as ships, are still referred to as she?

Historically, in the communities, each new or unexplained event, or creation could be understood as one of the many faces of woman and, in the tradition of our old ancestors, it would be told in the form of a story. Stories became myths and were remembered then handed down from generation to generation.  The invention of the printing press eventually made history (myths and stories) available for all who could read. By that time the Goddess was no longer the focus of worship for the elite and educated. Only the simple poorly educated, country people continued to honour her through healing, herbal studies, and earth day celebrations.  This practice cost the lives of approximately 9 million women, and some men during the 400 years of the inquisition.  But despite the loss of lives in Her name, She continues to live and grow every day in our hearts and warms us as we remember Her and long for the comfort of Her wisdom.

As you read our stories and the small thought provoking lessons remember that we are only retracing the steps of our ancestors.  The face or energy described is but a small part of the whole.  Little by little we will regain our profound love and respect for Her and so too for ourselves.

Watch out for news of our Open House in June.  We will be showing the Video referenced below and offering other services to our clients at that special time.

References

• The Goddess Trilogy - National Film Board of Canada Video
• The Great Goddess  -  Jean Markale
• Sophia, Goddess of Wisdom  - Caitlin Matthews

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• Sow a thought: reap an action
• Sow an action: reap a habit
• Sow a habit: reap a character
• Sow a character: reap a destiny

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