In a world stuffed with millions of Goddess-less churches, Geraldine Charles finds it odd that the world's five or six Goddess temples are chided for being god-less. A few snippets from her delicious article: ...the Magdalene figure is still being offered to us as a role model, although in the new, improved version we are now told that as modern Magdalenes we can “marry” the god and bear his child. I’ll pass, thanks....For more, go HERE, to Geraldine's provocative online-zine, The Goddess Pages.
SNIP
"...Of course, we haven’t even considered reclassifying male deities as demons (see any Old Testament for evidence of this done unto goddess)!
"It should hardly need to be pointed out that a Goddess Temple exists for a reason – in part to redress, in a very small way, thousands of years of complete imbalance, by providing a place where our love of goddess can freely be expressed and celebrated. Why have a token male deity in such a place? Surely that would simply be an afterthought, even an insult...."
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thnx to Moo. Just Moo. for the foto. Go HERE to see more.
6 comments:
Dear Athana,
Geraldine's article rises an important problem, whether or not the Goddess has to be accompanied by Her mortal paredros (= "that who stands beside"). In my opinion, in European religion the paredros was NOT a god, who died and was restored to life, as in Near Eastern tradition was (Tammuz, Osiris, etc.). He was a mortal young boy, and that who replaced him was nothing more than his (and Her) son: neither Anchises (mortal lover of Aphrodite) and Aeneas (their son), nor Peleus (mortal lover of Thetis) and Achilles (their son) were gods. That's why, always in my opinion, Goddess' Temples should not have idols of male deities, at least a token of Her paredroi, as ears of wheat might be.
However, I also think that, for those who strongly believe in a "balanced" relationship between the Goddess and the god, and worship both of them, a Goddess and god's Temple should be a good thing. Thus, let's have the right temple for every one of us: the Church for the Christians, the Mosque for the Muslims, the Temple of the Goddess and the God for the "balanced pagans", and the Temple of the Goddess for the worshippers of Her.
(sorry for the length of the comment...)
Hi, Murcielago, welcome to RGT, and thanks for your interesting comment. I'm wondering, though -- did you read Geraldine's definition of "balance"?
Yes, I did. However, everyone of us may have his own concept of it; I think nobody wishes an "unbalanced" relationship between Goddess and god (god?): my "balance" is a Goddess + a mortal young lover.
sorry for the different nickname: "diego" is always "murcielago"
Diego, of course the Great Mother loves us all equally, men as well as women, and it makes sense that She might have some kind of adult relationship with one or more men, mortal or not. One of the few peoples left who still revolve around a Great Goddess are the Moso of the Sino-Tibetan borderlands. Their Goddess has a male lover who's also a deity.
Hi, Athana, and thank you so much for your lovely comments!
Diego, I have absolutely no problem with Goddess + god temples for those who want them. Or, indeed, with any spiritual path that respects everyone's rights to define their own path. Just so long as I don't have to build another temple, I would rather leave that to those who really wish to do so!
Interesting comments about Goddess + mortal lover, because I can see exactly what you mean there, and that is a part of who She is, too. Long may She continue thus!
Blessings
Geraldine
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