Questions and Answers About Goddess Spirituality

If you ask 100 people who practice Goddess Spirituality what it is, you will likely get 101 answers. However, for many people, this means experiencing the female aspect of Divinity in whatever way is meaningful to them. That could be learning about how people in the past or currently around the globe have worshipped deities that have the form of women. It can be thinking about Divinity as being female or as having traits that are considered in some cultures to be female, like compassion, motherliness, creativity, closeness to the Earth, among many, many others. It can be finding the Divine within yourself and associating it with those aspects of yourself that you think of as being especially female. It can be many other things, too. It is as individual as you are.

Can you belong to another religion and practice Goddess Spirituality?

Those who consider that they practice Women’s Spirituality come from all different paths, including major religions. Some people find that this is their main way of relating to the Divine, while others think of themselves as primarily following a particular religion, but in a way that includes the divine feminine. Many people who practice this and do not consider themselves to be part of major religions refer to themselves as Pagans and witches.

Is Goddess Spirituality something recent?

Not at all! Statues and drawings of women that many consider to be sacred and possibly depictions of the Divine go back all the way to cave paintings. Some of the statues date back 30,000 years. The symbols and religious culture surrounding Goddess in even very ancient cultures were rich and very complex, as the work of archeologists like Marija Gimbutas, who collected and drew or photographed thousands of artifacts, and others shows. Throughout time and around the globe, including into our own era, the Divine has been considered feminine. It is said that there are 10,000 names of goddesses throughout the world.

So is this all about the past or is it still developing?

Goddess Spirituality is a rich, growing, dynamic movement. All over the world, women and men are creating new ways of thinking about the divine feminine, writing stories and songs to celebrate Her, creating art to express who She is and how they feel about her, making rituals, and, in general, bringing Her into their everyday, 21st century lives in meaningful and beautiful ways.

What is the relationship of Goddess Spirituality to nature?

Many people who practice the divine feminine feel a special relationship to nature. They may also believe that the female essence of Divinity focuses on nature through an emphasis on creating life and relating in an ethical and caring way to all living beings, among other aspects.

Is Goddess Spirituality related to activism?

Not everyone who practices participates in social, political or ecological causes. However, many people do find that elements of Goddess Spirituality, such as having a close relationship to the Earth, motivate them to be involved in efforts to bring about a more peaceful and ecologically-sustainable world.

Why does Women’s Spirituality seem so connected to the moon?

Some people who practice Goddess Spirituality do feel a connection to the moon. The moon’s cycle of 28 days is the same as women’s menstrual cycle and relates to the experience of viewing time in cycles, whether moon cycles or seasons or recurring cycles in our own lives, that connect us to nature. In some cultures, however, goddesses and women are actually associated with the sun. Amaterasu, from the Japanese Shinto religion, is a sun goddess currently worshipped by millions of people.

Where do I sign up?!?

Goddess Spirituality is more of a personal spiritual path than an organized religion. There is no central organization to which everyone who feels connected to this belongs, or formal doctrine, or one structure of clergy, or set liturgy or sacred calendar. You can express this by yourself or join the growing number of groups who come together to learn more; hold circles, celebrations, and rituals; and share their personal experience in other ways. There is no formal association of such groups, but most can easily be found through the Internet, through women’s organizations and bookstores, and other such resources.

Resource:

Monaghan, Patricia. The New Book of Goddesses and Heroines, St. Paul, MN: Llewellyn Publications, 2000.

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