Archetype of the Goddess

A great deal has been made by some authors of the enormity of the difference between the man and the woman. Therefore the goddess aspect of our nature has been talked about as if it were something completely outside the nature of man, and the male god aspect as something foreign to a woman. Dreams do not portray human nature in that way. Of course cultures such as that in the west have passed through a largely male dominated phase, but in past ages the balance was the other way. The important fact is that we each hold the full potential of male and female within us, though physiologically in most cases we are polarised one way or another. However, the deeper one digs the more fully whole one is. That is why the feature on god/goddess above does not stress gender in any way.

Perhaps the oldest form of worship were feelings of awe felt in regard to the woman and her ability to give birth. She was seen asa goddess, and goddess worship was probably the first human religion. It recognised the miraculous power resident in a woman’s body, the bloodiness and wonder of an emerging new life, and the close link this had with death. Such powerful responses are still very much part of our inner life. The goddess still walks among us. See: god/goddess.

The two following examples show how the goddess can appear in male dreams.

I am an explorer in a strange land. A woman went into a trance like state while dancing, and became the Great Mother. A Yogi could have union with her within the Divine will, as she was a Goddess, and he was then uniting with the Divine. B.S.

On a raised mobile platform a goddess stood. I loved her and flew to her, skimming above the heads of the people. I talked to her because her love for me allowed me to be close to her. She told me the only love I could receive from her was that which I gave to a human woman. In as much as I give love to a human female, she would love me. She was all women. She then dived into a lake and swam underwater. I flew above the water thinking we would dance a ballet together – her in the water, and I in the air. She did not appear though. Simon

As can be seen from the dreams, they show how an ordinary person can experience the divine through love of and with a woman. Therefore sex in dreams, and especially the full union of self with another often links with an experience of what is felt to be holy.

Another often overlooked link with the Goddess is that at a deep level burial itself is understood to be a return to the Great Mother, and entrance into her womb, and therefore a first step in the process of transformation and resurrection.

In Western Culture the worship of the Goddess is still alive in Roman Catholicism with the veneration of Mary, and the many shrines of great power that have developed around her. Lourdes is an excellent example with its cave and spring of water. Such shrines are often deeply linked with miraculous healing. But in earlier cultures the goddess was connected with fertility and was especially worshipped by women who could not conceive.

In Egypt the Goddess who incorporated many older beliefs was Isis. Like Mary, she is often portrayed with a child in her arms or actually suckling her baby, Horus, a divine infant. (See: child archetype; great mother.)

Tiziana Stupia says, in her Goddess Spirituality, that, “Connecting to Goddess is, in my view, a vitally important aspect of modern woman’s quest for wholeness. Because we have generally been raised in a masculine-oriented society, we lost many of our own inherent feminine instincts and energy patterns. I find it inconceivable and saddening, for example, how many modern women are unaware that their menstrual cycles are connected to the moon, and how powerful and intuitive their moon time can be if they are open to exploring it. In our society, many women have a poor relationship to themselves, their body and each other, and the Goddess movement is partially also a way of healing these wounds.”

But the goddess archetype has many aspects, as can be seen in the different presentations of her in different cultures. Kali for instance is both creator and destroyer, the mother who gives birth and the life that brings death.

The goddess Athena was not only a warrior, the original shakespear or spear-shaker, but also was linked with cultural crafts such as weaving and metalworking.

We see these features in many healthy and vigorous women and in some men. They display not only the nurturing and patient love given in motherhood, but also the fierceness of a tigress in defending their children and those they love. So every woman is a goddess when she births a child and gives herself to her baby with love.

But yet another aspect is shown of the goddess in the traditions of Persephone. She was known as the Queen of the Underworld, and therefore links with awareness of and exploration of the unconscious and the roots of human personality.

In order to understand this and other archetypes, it has to be understood that the worship of any deity such as Isis, Venus, Persephone or Mary, is an approach to those forces perhaps slumbering within us. Our prayer or worship calls upon that divine potential in us to awake and enter our waking life. We might do this in need or in wonder, or as part of our growth to wholeness. Whatever it is, the approach to the Goddess has been one of the greatest of succouring influences throughout history.

In today’s world, whether we are female or male, we need the balancing power of the Goddess in our external life. Without this contact with the sustaining and nourishing forces of life within us, we can easily become dried up, sterile, intellectual but empty pods of life.

Useful questions are:

As a man can I recognise the goddess aspect of the woman who is my mate?

As a woman can I recognise the goddess aspect of myself?

How do I relate to the goddess?

Can I approach the Goddess with any feelings of devotion, love or wonder?