Goddesses and the Divine Feminine

Abstract

This book presents the most illuminating portrait we have to date of goddesses and sacred female imagery in Western culture—from prehistory to contemporary goddess movements. It looks at the complexity of the social forces—mostly androcentric—that have shaped the symbolism of the sacred feminine. At the same time, it charts a new direction for finding a truly egalitarian vision of God and human relations through a feminist-ecological spirituality. The book begins its exploration of the divine feminine with an analysis of prehistoric archaeology that challenges the popular idea that, until their overthrow by male-dominated monotheism, many ancient societies were matriarchal in structure, governed by a feminine divinity and existing in harmony with nature. It argues that the historical evidence suggests that the reality about these societies is much more complex. It goes on to consider key myths and rituals from Sumerian, Babylonian, Egyptian, and Anatolian cultures; it examines the relationships among gender, deity, and nature in the Hebrew religion; and discusses the development of Mariology and female mysticism in medieval Catholicism, as well as the continuation of Wisdom mysticism in Protestantism. The book also analyzes the meeting of Aztec and Christian female symbols in Mexico and of today's neo-pagan movements in the United States.

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