Post by LDM on Apr 22, 2010 12:58:33 GMT -5
www.crossroad.to/articles2/forcing-change/010/4-goddess.htm
In the ancient Egyptian mystery religions, Isis was venerated as a universal goddess. Barbara Watterson, author of
Gods of Ancient Egypt, notes that Isis was "known as ‘The Goddess of Many Names’ and indeed she is found as a form of every great female deity from Nut and Hathor to the Greek moon goddess Astarte." [p. 72]
Eminent author and historian, Will Durant, writes of this Isis-goddess connection,
Commenting on this universal goddess aspect, Professor Cesar Vidal writes,
For more of this article, please click the link at the top of the page.
Here also is a video we did on the whole Gaia worship issue: www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3_d_wRsidI
"The Goddess has now emerged from the dark moon phase of a long-term lunar cycle at a time when humanity is collectively passing through a dark phase in the precessional age solar cycle. With the rebirth of the Goddess, we are being given the opportunity to reclaim her dark aspect."Goddess worship is alive and well. Berit Kjos, a good friend and author, relates numerous stories of goddess-inspiration making its way into mainstream Christian culture. In her book, A Twist of Faith, she describes a visit to her husband’s prairie hometown,
— Demetra George, Mysteries of the Dark Moon: The Healing Power of the Dark Goddess, p. 266.
"You probably wouldn’t expect to find goddesses in a conservative farming community in North Dakota. I didn’t. But one day when visiting my husbands rural hometown, a neighbor told us that a new bookstore had just opened in the parsonage of the old Lutheran Church. ‘You should go see it,’ she urged.While the New Age Movement has placed goddess worship into a contemporary setting, it’s historical context stretches back millennium.
"I agreed, so I drove to a stately white church, walked to the parsonage next door, and rang the bell. The pastor’s wife opened the door and led me into a large room she had changed into a bookstore, leaving me to browse. Scanning the shelves along the walls, I noticed familiar authors such as Lynn Andrews who freely blends witchcraft with Native American rituals, New Age self-empowerment, and other occult traditions to form her own spirituality.
"Among the multicultural books in the children’s section, one caught my attention. Called Many Faces of the Great Goddess, it was a ‘coloring book for all ages.’ Page after page sported voluptuous drawings of famed goddesses. Nude, bare-breasted, pregnant, or draped in serpents, they would surely open the minds of young artists to the lure of "sacred" sex and ancient myths.
"Driving home, I pondered today’s fast-spreading shift from Christianity to paganism. Apparently, myths and spiritualized sensuality sound good to those who seek new revelations and 'higher' truths. Many of the modern myths picture deities that fit somewh ere between a feminine version of God and the timeless goddesses pictured in earth-centered stories and cultures." (A Twist of Faith, pp. 10-11)
In the ancient Egyptian mystery religions, Isis was venerated as a universal goddess. Barbara Watterson, author of
Gods of Ancient Egypt, notes that Isis was "known as ‘The Goddess of Many Names’ and indeed she is found as a form of every great female deity from Nut and Hathor to the Greek moon goddess Astarte." [p. 72]
Eminent author and historian, Will Durant, writes of this Isis-goddess connection,
"Profound, too, was the myth of Isis, the Great Mother. She was not only the loyal sister and wife of Osiris; in a sense she was greater than he, for – like woman in general – she had conquered death through love. Nor was she merely the black soil of the Delta, fertilized by the touch of Osiris-Nile, and making all Egypt rich with her fecundity. She was, above all, the symbol of that mysterious creative power which had produced the earth and every living thing….She represented in Egypt – as Kali, Ishtar and Cyble represented in Asia, Demeter in Greece, and Ceres in Rome – the original priority and independence of the female principle in creation..." (The Story of Civilization, Volume 1, p. 200)"Great Mother," "Queen of Heaven," "Mother of God." All of these titles have been attached to Isis. Ishtar too, the Babylonian goddess, had similar titles. Moreover, the lines between the various goddesses of antiquity blur, with each mirroring the other in terms of purpose, symbolism, and meaning.
Commenting on this universal goddess aspect, Professor Cesar Vidal writes,
"The importance of mother goddesses in the various mythologies of paganism is so evident that even a shallow description could easily fill entire volumes… The mother goddess received different names and external appearances, but, in substance, she was always the same. In Egypt, she was called Isis.Even the ancient Hebrews succumbed to goddess worship. In Jeremiah chapters 7 and 44, we find God chastising the Israelites for worshiping "the Queen of Heaven," baking cakes to her, offering sacrifices, and purposely choosing to follow the Queen of Heaven rather than Himself.
"In Crete, she was represented as a mother who made friendly contact with snakes. In Greece she was known as Demeter, and in Rome she was worshiped as Cybele, the Magna Mater (Great Mother), a mother goddess of Phrygian origin. There is practically no ancient culture that did not worship this type of deity." (The Myth of Mary, pp.74, 75)
For more of this article, please click the link at the top of the page.
Here also is a video we did on the whole Gaia worship issue: www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3_d_wRsidI