The Once and Future Goddess: Reflection

The Goddess is Alive!

September 2011 of last year, a very dear friend and sister from Iloilo went to Manila and paid me a visit. It had been quite some time when we last saw each other so exchanges of news were done. I was indeed very happy, talking to somebody who is a buxom friend and who speaks the same language as I do. What made me much happier was the book she gave me.

“The Once and Future Goddess” was written by Elinor Gadon and talks about the Goddesses of the past, her story, and the modern-day Gaia consciousness. Being a Goddess worshipper myself, I was really impressed with how she presented the Goddess in a "herstorical" way without boring me. The pages were like a reality where one page brings me from one realization to another.

While going through the book, some insights struck me the most, so here I am writing this blog to share my reflections from passages which I found inspiring at the same time, knowledge-inducing.

1. Our psychological being has been severed from our biological selves for so long that we are completely cut-off from our true nature. (par.3, p.xi).

Reflection: The very reason why man has a never-ending search for himself and where he came from. Man has been living afloat, drifting towards uncertainty because he is not grounded and rooted with his true nature. Unless he connects to the very core of his being (which he will find the Goddess), he will continue on searching in vain.

2. While the Goddess has indeed had many names, many manifestations throughout human history, She is ultimately One reality. (par.5, p.xi-xii)

Reflection: The Goddess may be known by different names in different cultures. Her worship may differ from one tradition to another. But there is one sure thing – the Divine Female exists and She is ALIVE.

3.... Goddess religion was earth-centered, not heaven-centered, of this world not otherworldly, body-affirming not body-denying, holistic not dualistic. The Goddess was immanent, within every human being, not transcendent, and humanity was viewed part of nature, death as a part of life. Her worship was sensual, celebrating the erotic, embracing all that was alive. The religious quest was above all for renewal, for the regeneration of life, and the Goddess was the life force. (par. 3, p.xii)

Reflection: With man under the power of the patriarchal system of belief, his outlook towards Divinity changed. His beliefs were contained in a single book of “moral values” and “do’s and don’ts” based from a single male-dominant culture. He now desires to please a male god who has got loads of commandments, and where freedom of self-expression is repressed. Death became something to be feared, sensuality and eroticism being evil. Religious quest wasn’t for renewal anymore but for power and dominance over the weak.

4. Before the onslaught of patriarchy and the suppression of the Goddess, all that lived was bound to a sacred fabric, "the larger web of the life force", part of a whole. All were responsible to each other and responsible for the ongoing rhythms of life, death, and rebirth - humankind, women equally with men, animals and plants, rocks and rivers, the planet earth and its atmosphere. (par.4, p.xii)

Reflection: Dominion over the rest of the creation is now the trend. Man does not care how his actions would affect the rest. Responsibility for one another was deeply buried over self-righteousness and apathy. A single concept of morality is being embraced; criticizing and condemning those who have chosen to get out of the box. Man has become so arrogant in his ways forgetting the once nurturing and caring spirit of the Goddess within him.

 In our modern world, it is sad that people tend to live their lives with uncertainty and indifference. Good thing though, there are still people whom we can share our thoughts and visions without being disapproved of. Like my very dear friend and sister, Celeste, we may live miles apart and live our individual lives, yet, we are still connected. We both recognize we are connected in the woven design called life. We both know and acknowledge that the Goddess exists and is alive in us.

Excerpts from:

Gadon, Elinor. “The Once and Future Goddess: A sweeping Visual Chronicle of the Sacred Female and Her Reemergence in the Cultural Mythology of Our Time”. HarperCollins Publishers, New York, 1989.