Baptist Women in Ministry http://www.
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Carolyn Goodman Plampin http://home.netcom.com/~cplampin
Series-Subjects Relevant to an Informed Opinion about Christian Women in Ministry
Resurgance of the Ancient Goddess Religion
First written in January, 1996, Revised January 10, 2007
Baptist Women in Ministry http://www.bwim.info/index.php/welcome
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Questions, comments, or suggestions
of bibliography or sites to include may be sent to
Carolyn Goodman Plampin
Coordinator Subjects Relevant to an Informed Opinion
1220 Vienna Dr., #504
Sunnyvale, CA 94089-2007
(408) 734-5141
Master of Teaching, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Brazil, March 20, 1968
Master of Divinity, Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, June 2, 1978
Missionary to Brazil of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1957-1988
Academic dean (without title) and professor, Instituto Biblico Batista, A.B. Deter and
Seminário Teológico Batista do Paraná, Curitiba, 1959-1979
Academic dean and professor, Seminário de Educacao Crista, Recife, 1980-1986
e-mail: cplampin@ix.netcom.com
Laughter of Aphrodite,
Reflection on a Journey to the Goddess
Her discovery is echoed by women around the country who meet spontaneously in
small groups on full moons, solstices, and equinoxes to celebrate the Goddess
as symbol of life and death powers and waxing and waning energies in the
universe and in themselves.
It is the night of the full moon. Nine women stand in a circle, on a rocky
hill about the city. The western sky is rosy with the setting sun; in the east
the moon's face begins to peer above the horizon. ... The woman pours out a
cup of wine onto the earth, refills it and raises it high. 'Hail, Tana, Mother
of mothers!" she cries. 'Awaken from your long sleep, and return to your
children again'," p. 117.
Religions centered on the worship of a male God create 'moods' and
'motivations' that keep women in a state of psychological dependence on men
and male authority, while at the same legitimating the political and social
authority of fathers and sons in the institutions of society," p. 118.
The sources for the symbol of the Goddess in contemporary spirituality are
traditions of Goddess worship and modern women's experience. The ancient
Mediterranean, pre-Christian European, Native American, Mesoamerican, Hindu,
African, and other traditions are rich sources for Goddess symbolism. But
these traditions are filtered through modern women's experiences. Traditions
of Goddesses' subordination to Gods, for example, are ignored. Ancient
traditions are tapped selectively and eclectically, but they are not
considered authoritative for modern consciousness. The Goddess symbol has
emerged spontaneously in the dreams, fantasies, and thoughts of many women in
the past several years. ... WomanSpirit magazine, which published its first
issue in 1974 and had contributors from across the United States, expressed
the grass-roots nature of the women's spirituality movement. In 1976, a
journal devoted to the Goddess emerged, titled Lady Unique. In 1975, the first
women's spirituality conference was held in Boston attended by 1,800 women. In
1978, a University of Santa Cruz conference on the Goddess drew over 500
people," p. 120.
The simplest and most basic meaning of the symbol of Goddess is the
acknowledgment of the legitimacy of female power as a beneficent and
independent power. ... A second important implication of the Goddess symbol
for women is the affirmation of the female body and the life cycle expressed
in it. ... A third important implication of the Goddess symbol for women is
the positive valuation of will in Goddess-centered ritual, especially in
Goddess-centered ritual magic and spell casting in womanspirit and feminist
witchcraft circles. ... The fourth and final aspect of Goddess symbolism that
I will discuss here is the significance of the Goddess for a revaluation of
women's bonds and heritage," pp. 121, 123, 126, 129.
As women struggle to create a new culture in which women's power, bodies,
will, and bonds are celebrated, it seems natural that the Goddess would
reemerge as symbol of the newfound beauty, strength, and power of women," p. 131.
Carol P. Christ. LAUGHTER OF APHRODITE, REFLECTION ON A JOURNEY TO THE GODDESS.
It is the night of the full moon. Nine women stand in a circle, on a rocky hill about the city. The western sky is rosy with the setting sun; in the east the moon's face begins to peer above the horizon. ... The woman pours out a cup of wine onto the earth, refills it and raises it high. 'Hail, Tana, Mother of mothers!" she cries. 'Awaken from your long sleep, and return to your children again'," p. 117.
Religions centered on the worship of a male God create 'moods' and 'motivations' that keep women in a state of psychological dependence on men and male authority, while at the same legitimating the political and social authority of fathers and sons in the institutions of society," p. 118.
The sources for the symbol of the Goddess in contemporary spirituality are traditions of Goddess worship and modern women's experience. The ancient Mediterranean, pre-Christian European, Native American, Mesoamerican, Hindu, African, and other traditions are rich sources for Goddess symbolism. But these traditions are filtered through modern women's experiences. Traditions of Goddesses' subordination to Gods, for example, are ignored. Ancient traditions are tapped selectively and eclectically, but they are not considered authoritative for modern consciousness. The Goddess symbol has emerged spontaneously in the dreams, fantasies, and thoughts of many women in the past several years. ... WomanSpirit magazine, which published its first issue in 1974 and had contributors from across the United States, expressed the grass-roots nature of the women's spirituality movement. In 1976, a journal devoted to the Goddess emerged, titled Lady Unique. In 1975, the first women's spirituality conference was held in Boston attended by 1,800 women. In 1978, a University of Santa Cruz conference on the Goddess drew over 500 people," p. 120.
The simplest and most basic meaning of the symbol of Goddess is the acknowledgment of the legitimacy of female power as a beneficent and independent power. ... A second important implication of the Goddess symbol for women is the affirmation of the female body and the life cycle expressed in it. ... A third important implication of the Goddess symbol for women is the positive valuation of will in Goddess-centered ritual, especially in Goddess-centered ritual magic and spell casting in womanspirit and feminist witchcraft circles. ... The fourth and final aspect of Goddess symbolism that I will discuss here is the significance of the Goddess for a revaluation of women's bonds and heritage," pp. 121, 123, 126, 129.
As women struggle to create a new culture in which women's power, bodies,
will, and bonds are celebrated, it seems natural that the Goddess would
reemerge as symbol of the newfound beauty, strength, and power of women," p. 131.
Carol P. Christ. LAUGHTER OF APHRODITE, REFLECTION ON A JOURNEY TO THE GODDESS.
Bibliography on the
Resurgence of the Ancient Goddess Religion
Christ, Carol P. LAUGHTER OF APHRODITE, REFLECTION ON A JOURNEY TO THE GODDESS. San Francisco: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1987.
Farrar, Janet and Stewart. THE WITCHES' WAY, PRINCIPLES, RITUALS AND BELIEFS OF MODERN WITCHCRAFT. London: Robert Hale, 1984, reprinted 1986.
Goldenberg, Naomi. CHANGING OF THE GODS, FEMINISM AND THE END OF TRADITIONAL RELIGIONS. Boston: Beacon Press, 1979.
Sanders, Catherine Edwards. WICCA'S CHARM, UNDERSTANDING THE SPIRITUAL HUNGER BEHIND THE RISE OF MODERN WITCHCRAFT AND PAGAN SPIRITUALITY. Shaw Books, 2005.
Spencer, Aida Besancon, Donna F. G. Hailson, Catherine Clark Kroeger, William David Spencer. THE GODDESS REVIVAL. Baker Books, 1995.
Starhawk (Miriam Simos). THE SPIRAL DANCE, A REBIRTH OF THE ANCIENT RELIGION OF THE GREAT GODDESS. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1979.
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