Questions about Goddess Spirituality!

Hi, I'm at uni and focussing on Goddess Spirituality for my dissertation.

If you are interested in the Goddess I would love to hear your views on the subject!

-What attracts you to the Goddess?
-Is your interest in the Goddess based on the rejection of another more 'traditional' religion?
-How compatable is Goddess spirituality with contemporary society?
-Is the existence of ancient Goddesses important to you?

I would be so grateful if you were to share your thoughts with me. I may use your answers for my dissertation but they will remain confidential.

Thank you!

[norseman]

If you want detailed answers from people here, you will find it a two-way street. More than anything, we would like to know more about YOU. I suggest that you post an introduction in the "Welcome" thread.
However, I will answer your questions in brief.

1. I was called.
2. "Traditional Religion" - the traditional religion of Britain is pagan - always was and still is. Christianity is just a thin veneer and followers are decreasing rapidly.
3. Goddess Spirituality is more relevent at this time than any other. The majority of pagans are "green", very environmentally responsible.
4. All goddesses are aspects of the same thing.

How's that for some bare bones ?

[athribiristan]

The Goddess for me is like a Native North American's concept of a totem. She is the essence of all things female. She is the child, androgenous, the blank slate; the virgin, pure and undefiled; the harlot, lusty and wanton; the maid, servile and demure; the mother, giver of life, creator; the queen, regal and commanding; and the crone, clever and wise.

So to worship the Goddess is to worship the primal woman, or really just women in general. You teach the child, keep chaste the virgin, ravage the harlot, give work to the maid, make children with the mother, serve the queen, and learn from the crone.


With Love,
athribiristan

You are welcome to use this post for your paper under the condition that you use it unaltered (I will consider editing for brevity or clarification) and with proper credit. I would also welcome further discussion on the subject.

Hello norseman and athribiristan, thank you ever so much for your replies.

I will take on board your advise and have a look at the welcome thread, I didn't realise that I should do that so thanks for letting me know!

I hope I have not annoyed or offended anyone with my questions, but it is hard to find the right words sometimes when talking about beliefs. I only used the word 'traditional' because people generally seem to associate it with Christianity/Judaism... and I was wondering whether people sometimes turn to the Goddess because they are not satisfied with patriarchal religions. (I find the Goddess appealing because of this reason and I was just interested whether anyone else felt the same really.)

I completely agree about Goddess spirituality encouraging a 'green' way of life and I have noticed that caring for the environment is quite a significant part of Goddess worship.

athribiristan, you said that to worship the Goddess is to worship the primal woman or even just women in general- do you think this means that it can be oppressive to men? I get the impression that the Goddess can be about the balance of male and female and know that plenty of men worship the Goddess but I spoke to a man once who said he felt very unwelcome by it all. What do you think about this?

Thanks again for your comments and taking the time to anwer my questions, it is very much appreciated :)

Hello norseman and athribiristan, thank you ever so much for your replies.

I will take on board your advise and have a look at the welcome thread, I didn't realise that I should do that so thanks for letting me know!

I hope I have not annoyed or offended anyone with my questions, but it is hard to find the right words sometimes when talking about beliefs. I only used the word 'traditional' because people generally seem to associate it with Christianity/Judaism... and I was wondering whether people sometimes turn to the Goddess because they are not satisfied with patriarchal religions. (I find the Goddess appealing because of this reason and I was just interested whether anyone else felt the same really.)

I completely agree about Goddess spirituality encouraging a 'green' way of life and I have noticed that caring for the environment is quite a significant part of Goddess worship.

athribiristan, you said that to worship the Goddess is to worship the primal woman or even just women in general- do you think this means that it can be oppressive to men? I get the impression that the Goddess can be about the balance of male and female and know that plenty of men worship the Goddess but I spoke to a man once who said he felt very unwelcome by it all. What do you think about this?

Thanks again for your comments and taking the time to anwer my questions, it is very much appreciated

Avalon, I agree. I turned to the Goddess spirituality because I felt Her missing from the patriarchal religions (though undoubtedly Mary could fulfill that role in Christianity). I personally believe in worshipping God and Goddess equally, together they are One.

Also, it is common among Pagan religions to bring deity within and around us, rather than leave it as some unknowable figure high above separated from us. This is probably the main thing that brought me to Paganism. But religions are changing, and more and more people of all faiths are starting to realize that God and Heaven, whatever you call them, are all around us.

As for the existence of ancient Goddesses, I believe they are simply names of the One, which is everlasting. My Coven likes to compare 'Hecate' and 'Cerridwen' as different "hats" the Goddess wears, just as we are 'daughter' and 'employee' and 'student' based on whatever the situation calls for.

Those are some pretty broad quesitons, but I hope you find what you need for your dissertation.

[athribiristan]

Originally Posted by Avalon34

athribiristan, you said that to worship the Goddess is to worship the primal woman or even just women in general- do you think this means that it can be oppressive to men? I get the impression that the Goddess can be about the balance of male and female and know that plenty of men worship the Goddess but I spoke to a man once who said he felt very unwelcome by it all. What do you think about this?

Thanks again for your comments and taking the time to anwer my questions, it is very much appreciated :)

I think that it could become unbalaced very easily if men forget to worship the God within themselves. I call the counterpart to the Goddess the Horned God. There is a balance that needs to be maintained here for sure. I would guess (and I haven't researched this, just a hunch) that a great many of our cultural problems stem from an imbalance in this area. Ultimately these are just two aspects of our divinity, and thus secondary. Before we are Man or Woman we are simply a divine immortal spirit. Gender roles only become important for as long as we are incarnated here, but as you can see while we are here they become very important.

I think the man you met was not involved in a healthy practice of Goddess worship. Probably the important word here is worship. If we substitute 'serve' in its place we can end up with unhealthy and unbalancing practices. I haven't looked up the word worship lately, so I'm not sure as to the technical definition but I think of it as recognizing the divine in someone. Also, worship is something personal. If others begin to put restraints or conditions on worship then it all gets mixed up.

Also, just for clarification, I'm not a follower of the Goddess per se. I make it a point to consider all forms of divinity as equally valid. Having said that, I worship the Goddess in my wife and daughter and it has brought much peace to my home. There are times when it is helpful to use various imagery or concepts to achieve a desired effect, and there are times when the Goddess image can be particularly effective.


With Love,
athrbiristan

[norseman]

God/Goddess - yin/yang - same thing really. The two opposing but complementry principles of the universe and you cannot have one without the other. Each has more names than you can shake a stick at, different aspects of the same.
I serve the Goddess and call her Mother Earth/Gaia - others call her something else.

[athribiristan]

Originally Posted by norseman

God/Goddess - yin/yang - same thing really. The two opposing but complementry principles of the universe and you cannot have one without the other. Each has more names than you can shake a stick at, different aspects of the same.
I serve the Goddess and call her Mother Earth/Gaia - others call her something else.

Very true all around. I think that each aspect of duality sheds light from a different angle. The more aspects we examine, the better we come to understand duality as a principle. The more principles we examine the more clearly we understand everything. A joyous never ending journey of discovery culminating in.....?

Its all so exciting

With Love,
athribiristan

yes athrbiristan you're probably right about the man I spoke to. From all your replies it seems that balance is important and as Mothwing said, God and Goddess together are one.

I feel that with the Goddess, the male is important but with God in Christianity
the female is not. Even with Mary, I think that she is a totally unrealistic ideal for women to aspire to and just increases the inferiority of women within Christianity...just my view though!

I like the idea of there being different names and faces of the Goddess, it seems to makes sense.

Thank you for all your interesting points!

xxxxx