Changing of the Divine

In a world full of turmoil and conflict, there is a strong desire to find spirituality to explain and to cope with the world as a whole. While many are searching through the spiritual, old ideas are being put aside while even older ideas are coming back into focus. The concept of the feminine divine is not a new one just as it is not a concept of the women's movement or feminism. Like all things in this world the path of the feminine divine or Goddess as not been an easy concept to follow. Through fear, ignorance, and the centuries of where males lead the beliefs in a male dominated society have fought to stop this belief from coming back into the forefront. But as the world evolves we as a society evolves and the fears and dominance issue as obstacles are starting to be removed.

The belief in the Goddess dates back as far as the paleolithic period of civilization (Wikipedia - Paleolithic). Where it was believed that women where the creators of life and therefore where held in the highest regard, it wasn't until much later that the male divine or God came in. For a long period the concept of two deities (female/male) was followed. The female was caring, nurturing and harmonious, while the male was the protector, hunter, and gatherer. It was not until the introduction of Christianity that the concept of the Goddess was pushed aside, and the concept of the one male God came to the forefront. The concept of the male God has remained in the forefront, and throughout time, many of the male hierarchy have tried to show that the thought of the Goddess was untrue and to be feared. The concept of the Goddess has never been truly lost to the world.

As time has moved forward and equality has brought a lot of change in our perception of the world. The idea of the Goddess is starting to come out of the shadows of society and is no longer being whispered behind closed doors. More and more people are looking for the belief in a divine power that shows compassion, nurturing, and the belief of living in harmony with the earth. All these traits are what are found in the Goddess.

Just as there are many who believe in the Goddess there are those who fear it as well. The fear comes from the simple fear of change, as well as ignorance, and those who wish to maintain the status quo, (male dominance). The fear of change and ignorance in time can be over come. Change in a lot of ways takes care of its self as people adjust and become use to a new idea, or in this case bring an old idea back. Ignorance can also be changed, when we live in an age where information is more readily at our finger tips through books, the Internet, as well as word of mouth, educating ourselves on just about any subject is available. The issue of the male dominance will not be one to every truly leave, because there will always be someone that will feel the need to stay with the old ways and not progress.

Even with old beliefs in place the world is moving forward, the shifting of our spirituality is part of that. The need to find a way to see compassion, and harmony, where there is so much turmoil. This leads to the softer side of us and in that leads us to the Goddess.