A little background on the history of female divine … and why that matters.

In ancient times, people worshiped both gods and goddesses as equal. Each individual one was an example of characteristics that mirrored the human condition, and each culture had their own representations for these deities.

Life flowed around the changing of the seasons and the need for food and shelter, but as communities and societies grew, both gods and goddesses were equally called upon to assist with human interaction – to help with conflict or childbirth or any other aspect of day to day existence.

Reverence was shown to gods and goddesses so they would support the people in their daily tasks, like planting, harvesting, spinning, and weaving. Both male and female deities were called upon when seasons or tasks required their support and attention – because these gods and goddesses were believed to have the power to intervene positively.

Female goddesses, in particular, were worshiped as the representation of the great Mother, from whom all life was born.

Mother Goddess with Child: Norton Simon Art Foundation © Norton Simon Art Foundation

Historian Merlin Stone traced ancient worship of the Goddess back to the Paleolithic and Neolithic ages in the Near and Middle East in her book, When God Was a Woman. Her research discovered that the female deity in these areas was the “creator and law-maker of the universe, prophetess, provider of human destinies, inventor, healer, hunter and valiant leader in battle.”

One of the earliest known sculpture of the human form is the Venus of Willendorf, which dates to between 28,000-22,000 B.C.E. It is a representation of a voluptuous female form, honoring the parts of the woman that mattered most for successful procreation – and crucial role in the continuation of the human race.

Photo:  https://i.imgur.com/JHf5RH6.jpg (copyright-free)

As time passed, temples and churches lead by men gained greater power, and the goddess was eliminated from this scenario – replaced by religions that taught there was only one father-god. The role and representation of women in these religions was changed drastically to one of subservience to men.

The old goddess lost her identity and women were relegated to simply being the womb from which the male god was born. Women were either mothers or whores or concubines or the temptress who was the cause of the downfall of man and the bringer of all sin and evil to humankind.

In her book Edgar Cayce and the Eternal Feminine, Lynn Rogers writes “At the dawn of Western civilization, 25,000 years of ‘her-story’ of the Goddess’ bountiful creativity were obliterated.” Creation myths were rewritten, symbols of Goddess worship were denigrated, and “the ancient belief in the Goddess as the Ground of Being, The Universe from which The All emerged, was overturned.”

I reject these religions and beliefs that represent women as evil and negative – or eliminate them entirely. I believe that all life is a balance:

There cannot be dark without light

There cannot be day without night

There cannot be calm without the storm

There cannot be male without female

And this is what lead me to my awakening of the holy feminine … in myself, in others, in the world, and in my daily practice.

I have not rejected the divine masculine, but have reclaimed the divine feminine as part of the whole.

Both equal

Both balanced

Both an integral part of who I believe we all are

Each with its gifts and strengths and weaknesses

And there my voyage began.

My voyage of acceptance and rejection.

My voyage of peace and conflict.

My voyage of losing and finding.

My voyage of love for myself and nature and all humanity.

Hop on with me … I hope you enjoy the ride.

Resources:
When God Was a Woman, Merlin Stone
Edgar Cayce and the Eternal Feminine, Lynn Rogers