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You are here: publications: Paganism Page Two Is God a woman? In most dominant religions today, God is considered to be male, and generally addressed and pictured as ‘He’. Equally, most religious iconography is masculine, and Churches tend to be dominated by patriarchal hierarchy. This was not always so. In hunter-gatherer societies, the female life-giving principle was considered divine, and Goddess statues still survive from this era, dating as far back as 30.000 BCE. This religion, which appears to have been generally peaceful and in which male and females enjoyed equal status, lasted for many thousand years. Many historians today believe that this society was matrilineal, that means, children adopted their mothers’ names, that life was based on a lunar, as opposed to a solar, calendar, and that time was experienced as a repetitive cycle (see box 2), not linearly as in modern society. Academic research indicates that suppression of the divine feminine occurred a few thousand years BCE, when the Indo-Europeans invaded Europe from the East. With modern civilization came a belief system that favoured male Gods, war, and the exploitation of nature. At first, Goddess worship was combined with the reverence of male Gods, such as in the ancient Greek, Celtic and Roman traditions. Gradually, though, the Pagan practices were eradicated completely by the arrival of the modern religions, either through coercion or force, and the female principle was almost entirely driven out of religious worship. Women were viewed as inferior and forced to adopt a very restricted role. God and Priest slowly replaced Goddess and Priestess, and Churches replaced Temples. Incidentally, it is interesting to note that often, churches were built on ancient sacred sites. For example, the Cathedral in Siracusa, Sicily, was once the Temple of the warrior Goddess Athene in 530 B.C, but was converted into a Christian church in 640 A.D. Jesus of Nazareth rejected a long-standing religious tradition by treating women as equals, although this was later negated by epistle writers such as Paul. However, to this day Mother Mary is held in high regard by many Christians as the Mother of Christ, and certain historians believe that Mary Magdalene, far from being a common prostitute, carried an important role akin to that of the 13th apostle. When feminist thinkers and writers in the 1970’s rediscovered Goddess worship in these ancient religions, it was a revelation for many. A whole new movement emerged from this discovery, perhaps most prominently by an American form of Paganism called Dianic witchcraft, after the Roman moon Goddess Diana. Diana, or Artemis in her Greek incarnation, is the feisty, independent maiden Goddess of the hunt and Queen of the Amazon warriors, and this strong female archetype resonated with many women. Groups of women formed that took a stand against patriarchy and gender inequality by celebrating and reclaiming the long-forgotten feminine mysteries. Through their spirituality, they found a way to access their personal power and get in touch with an old collective consciousness. Goddess spirituality continues to flourish in the 21st Century, as can be seen by many different organisations offering Priestess training, academic programmes and celebrations all over the world. In Glastonbury, Somerset, the first Goddess Temple since ancient times opened its doors in 2002 to the public. The Temple, founded by a group of people spear-headed by author and teacher Kathy Jones, holds regular open ceremonies and festivals, and is open most days for prayer and meditation. Since then, other Goddess Temples have followed in the Netherlands, America and Australia. Glastonbury Town Hall is also the home of the yearly Goddess Conference each July, a large event established in 1996 during which many Goddess-inspired artists, writers and musicians meet for a week of talks, ceremonies and celebrations. |
