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Author Topic: Mother Goddess  (Read 2246 times)

Kraken

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Mother Goddess
« on: September 02, 2015, 02:32:57 pm »
Which religions use Mother Goddess as their main Supreme Being/archetype? So far I only know of Wicca...
"you have risen from the ashes, with outspread arms, face to the sun, eyes closed, full of radiance..."

Redfaery

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Re: Mother Goddess
« Reply #1 on: September 02, 2015, 04:08:01 pm »
Quote from: Kraken;179470
Which religions use Mother Goddess as their main Supreme Being/archetype? So far I only know of Wicca...

 
The Shakta theology of Hinduism is probably something you should look into. The goddess is known as the Maha Devi (literally, Great Goddess), who manifests in numerous forms. My own practice is more Buddhist than Hindu, but I could still give you some resources if you like?
KARMA: You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

Kraken

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Re: Mother Goddess
« Reply #2 on: September 03, 2015, 03:14:00 pm »
Quote from: Redfaery;179473
The Shakta theology of Hinduism is probably something you should look into. The goddess is known as the Maha Devi (literally, Great Goddess), who manifests in numerous forms. My own practice is more Buddhist than Hindu, but I could still give you some resources if you like?


Thank you Redfaery, I can check it out :) thanks for your suggestion. I'm not sure I feel drawn to Hinduism though...still worth looking into :) sure, you can provide those resources for me. I may find something I like!
"you have risen from the ashes, with outspread arms, face to the sun, eyes closed, full of radiance..."

RecycledBenedict

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Re: Mother Goddess
« Reply #3 on: September 03, 2015, 03:37:11 pm »
Quote from: Kraken;179470
Which religions use Mother Goddess as their main Supreme Being/archetype? So far I only know of Wicca...

During late antiquity, the Egyptian goddess Isis was perceived in this way among some pagans in the entire Roman Empire (as far north as present day Romania). You will find more information in a book by Apuleius, called The golden ass.

The Mother of the Gods was perceived in this way during the late Imperial Age by emperor Julian.

Some Stoics during the Imperial Age perceived Mother Nature (the goddess Physis) in this way. The Orphic hymn to her, in Taylor's translation, goes:

Phusis, all-parent, ancient and divine,
o much mechanic mother, art is thine;
heavenly, abundant, venerable queen,
in every part of thy dominions seen.
Untamed, all taming, ever splendid light,
all ruling, honoured, and supremely bright.
Immortal, First-Born, ever still the same,
nocturnal, starry, shining, powerful dame.
Thy feet’s still traces in a circling course,
by thee are turned, with unremitting force.
Pure ornament of all the powers divine,
finite and infinite alike you shine;
to all things common, and in all things known,
yet incommunicable and alone.
Without a father of thy wondrous frame,
thyself the father whence thy essence came;
mingling, all-flourishing, supremely wise,
and bond connective of the earth and skies.
Leader, life-bearing queen, all various named,
and for commanding grace and beauty famed.
Justice, supreme in might, whose general sway
the waters of the restless deep obey.
Ethereal, earthly, for the pious glad,
sweet to the good, but bitter to the bad:
all-wise, all-bounteous, provident, divine,
a rich increase of nutriment is thine;
and to maturity whatever may spring,
you to decay and dissolution bring.
Father of all, great nurse, and mother kind,
abundant, blessed, all-spermatic mind:
mature, impetuous, from whose fertile seeds
and plastic hand this changing scene proceeds.
All-parent power, in vital impulse seen,
eternal, moving, all-sagacious queen.
By thee the world, whose parts in rapid flow,
like swift descending streams, no respite know,
on an eternal hinge, with steady course,
is whirled with matchless, unremitting force.
Throned on a circling car, thy mighty hand
holds and directs the reins of wide command:
various thy essence, honoured, and the best,
of judgement too, the general end and test.
Intrepid, fatal, all-subduing dame,
life everlasting, fate, breathing flame.
Immortal providence, the world is thine,
and thou art all things, architect divine.
O, blessed Goddess, hear they suppliants’ prayer,
and make their future life thy constant care;
give plenteous seasons and sufficient wealth,
and crown our days with lasting peace and health.

Taylor wrote his books in the late 18th and early 19th century. Some of his choices of words are somewhat dated, and a modern reader may find mechanic mother and plastic hand unfortunate wordings, but not more so than the difficulties Christian teenagers may have with the sentence 'Jesus came'.
« Last Edit: September 03, 2015, 03:42:58 pm by RecycledBenedict »

Aster Breo

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Re: Mother Goddess
« Reply #4 on: September 03, 2015, 08:46:12 pm »
Quote from: Kraken;179470
Which religions use Mother Goddess as their main Supreme Being/archetype? So far I only know of Wicca...

I think this might depend on what you mean by "Mother Goddess". Your capitalization of the term seems to indicate that you're thinking of a specific Being.  Is that right, or do you mean *a* mother goddess?

Also, are you looking specifically for a religion in which the *mother* aspect of the goddess is exclusive or primary?  Or for a religion that focuses on a goddess, one aspect of whom is maternal?
"The status is not quo."  ~ Dr. Horrible

Kraken

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Re: Mother Goddess
« Reply #5 on: September 03, 2015, 09:29:00 pm »
Quote from: Aster Breo;179524
I think this might depend on what you mean by "Mother Goddess". Your capitalization of the term seems to indicate that you're thinking of a specific Being.  Is that right, or do you mean *a* mother goddess?

Also, are you looking specifically for a religion in which the *mother* aspect of the goddess is exclusive or primary?  Or for a religion that focuses on a goddess, one aspect of whom is maternal?


Hmm...you know, that's a very good question. When I think of "Mother Goddess" I think of a female aspect of a Supreme being, the other part which is male (like a Father God). They are both one, but also separate...and I seem drawn most to the female aspect. I am attempting to look into many other goddesses that could be part of the "one goddess", sort of like different personalities of one Goddess. So I suppose it's the last thing you described, a maternal aspect of a supreme being. I figure, too, that this is most comfortable to me because I am emerging from a Christian background where the Abraham God has paternal as well as maternal instincts (Holy Spirit as God on earth, and when I was a practicing Christian, I imagined HS as female...it all seems to make sense to me).
"you have risen from the ashes, with outspread arms, face to the sun, eyes closed, full of radiance..."

Kraken

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Re: Mother Goddess
« Reply #6 on: September 03, 2015, 09:32:31 pm »
Quote from: FraterBenedict;179510
During late antiquity, the Egyptian goddess Isis was perceived in this way among some pagans in the entire Roman Empire (as far north as present day Romania). You will find more information in a book by Apuleius, called The golden ass.

The Mother of the Gods was perceived in this way during the late Imperial Age by emperor Julian.

Some Stoics during the Imperial Age perceived Mother Nature (the goddess Physis) in this way. The Orphic hymn to her, in Taylor's translation, goes:

Phusis, all-parent, ancient and divine,
o much mechanic mother, art is thine;
heavenly, abundant, venerable queen,
in every part of thy dominions seen.
Untamed, all taming, ever splendid light,
all ruling, honoured, and supremely bright.
Immortal, First-Born, ever still the same,
nocturnal, starry, shining, powerful dame.
Thy feet’s still traces in a circling course,
by thee are turned, with unremitting force.
Pure ornament of all the powers divine,
finite and infinite alike you shine;
to all things common, and in all things known,
yet incommunicable and alone.
Without a father of thy wondrous frame,
thyself the father whence thy essence came;
mingling, all-flourishing, supremely wise,
and bond connective of the earth and skies.
Leader, life-bearing queen, all various named,
and for commanding grace and beauty famed.
Justice, supreme in might, whose general sway
the waters of the restless deep obey.
Ethereal, earthly, for the pious glad,
sweet to the good, but bitter to the bad:
all-wise, all-bounteous, provident, divine,
a rich increase of nutriment is thine;
and to maturity whatever may spring,
you to decay and dissolution bring.
Father of all, great nurse, and mother kind,
abundant, blessed, all-spermatic mind:
mature, impetuous, from whose fertile seeds
and plastic hand this changing scene proceeds.
All-parent power, in vital impulse seen,
eternal, moving, all-sagacious queen.
By thee the world, whose parts in rapid flow,
like swift descending streams, no respite know,
on an eternal hinge, with steady course,
is whirled with matchless, unremitting force.
Throned on a circling car, thy mighty hand
holds and directs the reins of wide command:
various thy essence, honoured, and the best,
of judgement too, the general end and test.
Intrepid, fatal, all-subduing dame,
life everlasting, fate, breathing flame.
Immortal providence, the world is thine,
and thou art all things, architect divine.
O, blessed Goddess, hear they suppliants’ prayer,
and make their future life thy constant care;
give plenteous seasons and sufficient wealth,
and crown our days with lasting peace and health.

Taylor wrote his books in the late 18th and early 19th century. Some of his choices of words are somewhat dated, and a modern reader may find mechanic mother and plastic hand unfortunate wordings, but not more so than the difficulties Christian teenagers may have with the sentence 'Jesus came'.

 
This is incredibly beautiful...thank you! (and haha yes, I've giggled about that wording myself :P)
"you have risen from the ashes, with outspread arms, face to the sun, eyes closed, full of radiance..."

Mountain Cat

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Re: Mother Goddess
« Reply #7 on: September 03, 2015, 09:50:55 pm »
Quote from: Kraken;179470
Which religions use Mother Goddess as their main Supreme Being/archetype? So far I only know of Wicca...

 

Some forms of Druidry would be very compatible with a Mother Goddess supreme being. :)

Kraken

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Re: Mother Goddess
« Reply #8 on: September 03, 2015, 10:37:36 pm »
Quote from: Mountain Cat;179531
Some forms of Druidry would be very compatible with a Mother Goddess supreme being. :)

 
Oooh, I knew I liked Druidry ^_^ what forms of Druidry?
"you have risen from the ashes, with outspread arms, face to the sun, eyes closed, full of radiance..."

Mountain Cat

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Re: Mother Goddess
« Reply #9 on: September 03, 2015, 10:53:16 pm »
Quote from: Kraken;179534
Oooh, I knew I liked Druidry ^_^ what forms of Druidry?

I can only speak for OBOD, really. :) Within OBOD you are free to worship any deities you please. Obviously some are more appropriate than others as it is a Celtic tradition, but a Mother Goddess and Father God would work very nicely.  But I can see eclectic forms of Druidry working quite well with a Mother Goddess, too.
« Last Edit: September 03, 2015, 10:54:18 pm by Mountain Cat »

Kraken

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Re: Mother Goddess
« Reply #10 on: September 03, 2015, 11:04:55 pm »
Quote from: Mountain Cat;179536
I can only speak for OBOD, really. :) Within OBOD you are free to worship any deities you please. Obviously some are more appropriate than others as it is a Celtic tradition, but a Mother Goddess and Father God would work very nicely.  But I can see eclectic forms of Druidry working quite well with a Mother Goddess, too.

 
This sounds great! :) Yes, I like a combination of Mother Goddess and Father God, but with a main focus on Goddess. Do you have any resources for this type of Druidry? Perhaps from an OBOD point of view?
"you have risen from the ashes, with outspread arms, face to the sun, eyes closed, full of radiance..."

Darkhawk

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Re: Mother Goddess
« Reply #11 on: September 03, 2015, 11:35:54 pm »
Quote from: Kraken;179527
Hmm...you know, that's a very good question. When I think of "Mother Goddess" I think of a female aspect of a Supreme being, the other part which is male (like a Father God). They are both one, but also separate...and I seem drawn most to the female aspect. I am attempting to look into many other goddesses that could be part of the "one goddess", sort of like different personalities of one Goddess. So I suppose it's the last thing you described, a maternal aspect of a supreme being.

 
If you want to deal with an abstract Great Mother Goddess, that's great; there are mystical lines and occasional things that do in fact do that.

I'd be very, very hesitant to do a whole lot of 'goddesses who could be part of the one goddess' thing, though; while some Powers are forgiving about that (my own primary goddess was rather tolerant of it, in fact), others are likely to say, "You know, I'm not interested until I'm dealing with a human who actually is into me."  (If that sounds like dating advice it... kind of is.)

There are many, many goddesses out there who are strongly associated with motherhood, have important parts of their mythologies that involve being a mother, who are patrons of maternal things; they all differ from each other.  (I think I currently work with... by my count, three wildly different ones.  Well, one of them may be more of a grandmother, really, but to get to be a grandmother one has to have done the mother thing first.)
as the water grinds the stone
we rise and fall
as our ashes turn to dust
we shine like stars    - Covenant, "Bullet"

Mountain Cat

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Re: Mother Goddess
« Reply #12 on: September 03, 2015, 11:43:03 pm »
Quote from: Kraken;179538
This sounds great! :) Yes, I like a combination of Mother Goddess and Father God, but with a main focus on Goddess. Do you have any resources for this type of Druidry? Perhaps from an OBOD point of view?

 
From the FAQ on the OBOD website:

"Is the Goddess honoured in Druidry?

Very much so - and this is discussed in the Bardic course. Members are free to conceive of Deity in their own way."

They have lots of information on their teachings and beliefs. http://www.druidry.org/druid-way Just PM me if you need more details. :)

Kraken

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Re: Mother Goddess
« Reply #13 on: September 03, 2015, 11:49:21 pm »
Quote from: Darkhawk;179546
I'd be very, very hesitant to do a whole lot of 'goddesses who could be part of the one goddess' thing, though; while some Powers are forgiving about that (my own primary goddess was rather tolerant of it, in fact), others are likely to say, "You know, I'm not interested until I'm dealing with a human who actually is into me."  (If that sounds like dating advice it... kind of is.)


Ohhh...very good to know...I think the only other goddess I would be interested in, at the moment, is Brighid...maybe Quan Yin...perhaps I would conceive them all separately...I think I do anyways...perhaps I can ask them...

When I ask a Power, or want to pray to a Power, does that involve ritual? Or can I just go ahead and ask?
"you have risen from the ashes, with outspread arms, face to the sun, eyes closed, full of radiance..."

Kraken

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Re: Mother Goddess
« Reply #14 on: September 03, 2015, 11:50:26 pm »
Quote from: Mountain Cat;179550
From the FAQ on the OBOD website:

"Is the Goddess honoured in Druidry?

Very much so - and this is discussed in the Bardic course. Members are free to conceive of Deity in their own way."

They have lots of information on their teachings and beliefs. http://www.druidry.org/druid-way Just PM me if you need more details. :)


So cool! I've been looking at that Druidry website a lot!! Very helpful, thank you!
"you have risen from the ashes, with outspread arms, face to the sun, eyes closed, full of radiance..."

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