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~ May 2006 Supplemental Page~
Director’s Message
Continued . . . The world of the twenty-first century is out of
balance. It is a world diseased by fear, hate, war, greed, violence, and all
the subtle and obvious manifestations of suppression and subjugation of
nature and the peoples of the world. These destructive aspects of human
expression are typically considered the shadow aspects of the masculine:
power not in service to the life force. It is our belief that what is needed
to restore the essential balance of humanity and the planet is the
life-enhancing aspects of the feminine: equality, reciprocity, and caring,
to name a few. The Goddess is the pure, undiluted essence of femininity, the
homeopathic cure for what ails us.
We hope that the spiritual beliefs of Temple of the Goddess serve as an
affirmation of the inclusiveness of all beliefs. Just as a loving mother
honors, celebrates, and respects the differences in all her children, we
believe the Divine, by whatever name she/he is called, embraces the
life-affirming spiritual beliefs of all humanity.
Kuan Yin: Mother Divine
Continued . . . In the Temple of the White Bird, they feared Kuan
Yin's father, so followed his orders. The worst tasks fell to the gentle
maid. But while others slept, a serpent came to help her carry water, a
tiger gathered wood for the fire, birds aided her in gathering vegetables
from the garden, even the proud peacock used his magnificent tail to sweep
the kitchen floor.
When her father heard that his plan had failed, he set fire to the temple.
Kuan Yin could not allow her sisters to be burned to death; she put out the
flames with her own hands–hands so filled with love they did not blister.
In a rage, her father ordered his daughter's head severed from her body. The
headsman, also fearing the man's wrath, struck the blow; but the sword
broke. The headsman's dread of what had happened could not overcome his
terror of Kuan Yin's father. He strangled Kuan Yin, tied her limp body to
the back of a tiger, and loosed it, with its precious burden, into the
jungle.
In the Land of the Dead, Kuan Yin, with infinite compassion, comforted
tormented souls with sacred chants. They sat at her feet worshiping her in
gratitude.
The King of the Dead became furious. Unable to bear her tender presence, he
banished her from his kingdom.
Once again united with her body on earth, she traveled to an island in the
northeastern sea where yet today she chants and sings, listening for the
cries of those in need.
If in your pain you call on Kuan Yin, an image might appear of her pouring
forth soothing, healing waters from her vase, symbol of her own boundless
womb. She gently wipes away your anguish, your sorrow, all your
uncertainties with the sacred willow branch she holds in her right hand.
Kuan Yin restores you with her tenderness and compassion.
She waits for your prayer, and the prayers of all her children, as she
watches over the earth, floating gently above the sea, the light of the moon
illuminating her, most holy mother, Kuan Yin.
Copyright © Xia, Feminine Alchemy
Marija Gimbutas
Continued . . . Gimbutas' findings reveal an ancient widespread
culture which flourished throughout Europe between 6500 and 3500 BCE, in the
era historians call the Neolithic. This civilization was radically different
from images of kings, warriors, and conquering gods that previously
dominated our view of the past. "This was a long-lasting period of
remarkable creativity and stability, an age free of strife. Their culture
was a culture of art." -- Marija Gimbutas
Her excavations and interpretations show, at the dawn of civilization, a
society stretching across Europe from the Danube to the North Sea in which
women had high status and power along with men. Egalitarian and peaceful,
"Old Europe" existed for thousands of years without war. Hundreds of female
figurines were found. Paintings, sculptures of birth-giving goddesses,
pottery figures of bird headed deities and sacred serpents all honored the
regenerative powers of nature.
"The Goddess in all her manifestations was a symbol of the unity of all life
in Nature. Her power was in water and stone, in tomb and cave, in animals
and birds, snakes and fish, hill, trees, and flowers." -- Marija Gimbutas
Born in Lithuania, Gimbutas grew up steeped in that country's rich folk
tradition of stories, songs and mythology. Her education, pursued in
Lithuania and as a refugee in war-torn Europe, included a broad range of
languages, linguistics, and archaeology. In the United States, she
originally concentrated on the Bronze Age of Eastern Europe and was widely
acknowledged as an expert in this area. When she turned to the Neolithic
era, Gimbutas brought unique interdisciplinary skills to her reconstruction
of culture and religion. Not content to simply catalog data, she insisted
that archaeology must tackle questions of meaning and interpretation.
"Archaeological materials are not mute. They speak their own language. And
they need to be used for the great source they are to help unravel the
spirituality of those of our ancestors who predate the Indo-Europeans by
many thousands of years." -- Marija Gimbutas
Conventional scholars claimed that archaeology could only describe the
material record of a culture. To theorize about religion was considered
speculative, not scientific. Gimbutas not only dared to interpret, she
maintained that to understand a culture as steeped in the sacred as
Neolithic Europe, scientists must consider religion. By looking at thousands
of artifacts, analyzing groups of symbols that reoccur frequently, and
bringing in her extensive knowledge of mythology and linguistics, she
discovered a rich symbolic language centered around the figure of the
Goddess.
"The main theme of Goddess symbolism is the mystery of birth and death and
the renewal of life, not only human but all life on earth and indeed in the
whole cosmos." -- Marija Gimbutas
Gimbutas' descriptions of the life affirming culture of Old Europe have
sparked enormous controversy. Her theories have been widely acclaimed by
feminists, by women and men in the growing earth-based spirituality
movement, by artists, dancers, novelists, and by many historians and
archaeologists. But they have also been attacked by other scholars, her
methods criticized, and her interpretations denied. The debate is of far
more than mere historical interest, for Gimbutas' work cuts to the heart of
basic questions about human nature and possibilities. Are human beings
innately aggressive and dominating, doomed to live in violence and destroy
each other and the earth? Or are we capable of creating cultures based on
co-operation and peace?
"Through an understanding of what the Goddess was, we can better understand
nature and we can build our ideologies so it will be easier for us to live."
-- Marija Gimbutas
If her theories are correct, then peace, reverence for the earth, and the
honoring of life are not only human capabilities, they are the very
underpinnings of European civilization itself.
Mother’s Day Proclamation by Julia Ward Howe
Continued . . . Blood does not wipe our dishonor nor violence
indicate possession.
As men have often forsaken the plow and the anvil at the summons of war,
let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day
of counsel.
Let them meet first, as women, to bewail and commemorate the dead.
Let them then solemnly take counsel with each other as to the means whereby
the great human family can live in peace, each bearing after their own time
the sacred impress,
not of Caesar, but of God.
In the name of womanhood and of humanity, I earnestly ask that a general
congress of women without limit of nationality may be appointed and held at
some place deemed most convenient and at the earliest period consistent with
its objects, to promote the alliance of the different nationalities, the
amicable settlement of international questions, the great and general
interests of peace.
Sacred Places of Goddess: 108 Destinations
Continued . . .Tate's passion for both Goddess and travel is clearly
evident in what might be the first crossover book between the modern Goddess
movement and the mainstream travel industry. The reader is provided with
useful information on temples, statuary, wall paintings, pottery, textiles,
writings and more. Included in this work are the female petroglyphs in the
caves of northwestern China, museums in the Indus Valley ripe with Goddess
artifacts, ancient temples throughout Europe and the Middle East, Goddess
statuary and sites in North Africa and so much more. Certain modern-day
icons and temples are also included in the section on North America. Tate
also adds Gaia Alerts, which she describes as "notices of ongoing or
impending ecological or cultural devastation" which remind us of the need
for the protection and preservation of these sites.
Travel directions, special places to visit in and around the sites and
fascinating bits of myth and history all blend together to create a travel
book that is unique in its breadth of information. Armchair travelers will
be deeply engaged with this work, and world travelers will want to keep it
close at hand. A highly recommended read, Sacred Places of Goddess is a
resource book that will stand the test of time.
~~~~~
Review by Jennifer Reif, author of Mysteries of Demeter; Rebirth of the
Pagan Way (1999), Morgan Le Fay's Book of Spells and Wiccan Rites
(2001), Aphrodite's Riddle: A Novel of Goddess Worship in Ancient Greece
(2003), and the co-authored book The Magical Crone: Celebrating the
Wisdom of Later Life (2003).
Previously published in "The Beltane Papers", issue #38,
Summer/Fall 2006. Reprinted with permission.
www.thebeltanepapers.net
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