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Many, including news titans, Time,
Newsweek, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and The Wall Street
Journal are writing about the alternative spiritual phenomenon
being embraced by millions ----- The Divine Feminine. The
Divine Feminine has many faces and can be defined as Goddess, She
of Ten Thousand Names, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the Mother of Jesus,
the Holy Spirit, Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother Nature, and many
more. Some, but certainly not all alternative spiritualities who
identify with a feminine or female face of divinity are
Neo-Paganism, Nature Religions, New Agers and Wiccans. Converts
are also within more well known religions who incorporate this principle
within their spiritual repertoire, including Jews, Hindus,
Buddhists and Christians.
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Current growth figures suggests, by 2012, Wicca
may be the third largest religion in the United States, followed by Christianity
and Judaism, predicts the Chicago Tribune.
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Sacred or purposeful travel with religious intent has grown 22.5% between 2002 and 2004,
according to the Department of Commerce.
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The Goddess Movement
is one of the fastest growing spiritualities today which translates into high
sales as niche markets (tours, books, fairs, specialty stores, websites, newsletters,
clothing, jewelry, statuary) develop to satisfy demands, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.
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Her image is emerging...inspired
by archaeology, as well as mythology, academic and popular books about goddess
worship have become a publishing phenomenon, according to Megatrends for Women.
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Goddess worship
has been around for over 20,000 years compared to a male God, only several thousand
years old. Undeniable proof exists on reliefs, cave walls, pottery, textiles,
in archaeological sites and literature that has been excavated. The Acheulian
Goddess figurine, found in northern Israel, is 225,000-800,000 years old and
is the oldest work of art ever found!
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Female figurines
depict a reverence for Goddess and are no longer characterized as mere fertility
figurines or ancient Barbie dolls, as stated by the scholarly London based Minerva
Magazine.
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Goddess advocates
are no longer just perceived as radical feminists or liberals. They are social
and political activists, humanitarians, environmentalists, teachers, housewives,
sanitation workers, ministers; people of all faiths, from all cultures and walks
of life.
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Even the most
fundamentalist theologians and archaeologists are beginning to accept the idea
God had a wife or consort, the Goddess, according to Biblical Archaeology
Review
and Archaeology.
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Scholars of religion
and other fields of Academia have long recognized the Goddess' significance
in spiritual and political history. The beloved scholar and mythologist, Joseph
Campbell, and Dominican-turned Episcopal priest, ecologist and international
lecturer Matthew Fox are just two of the well known and respected individuals
who have brought the news to mainstream/popular culture.
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Myths of the Great
Goddess teach compassion for all living beings. There you come to appreciate
the real sanctity of the earth itself, because it is the body of the Goddess.”
- Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth
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All the medieval
mystics called God “Mother,” as does the Bible,” - Matthew Fox
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Relevant Recent Media Coverage & Citations
News titans write about the rise of the Divine
Feminine
Sources:
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“Something About
Mary,” Time, March 21, 2005
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“Hail Mary,” Newsweek,
August 25, 1997
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“God's Woman Trouble,”
Newsweek, December 8, 2003
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“The Bible's Lost
Stories,” Newsweek, December 8, 2003
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“When God Was A
Woman,” Time, May 6, 1991
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“Is Goddess Worship
Finally Going to Put Men in Their Place?” The Wall Street Journal, June 7, 1990
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“Vatican Combats
Threat of “Alternative Religions,” The Independent, June 16, 2004
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“Druidry – Today
and Yesterday,” October 9, 2003 - http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A1300140
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“Religious Identification
in the United States” - http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_prac2.htm
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“God as Woman,”
The European, May 31 – June 2, 1991
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“In Goddesses They
Trust,” The Boston Globe, July 9, 1990
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'Major Religions
of the World Ranked by Number of Adherents' – http://www.adherents.com
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'American Religious
Identification Survey' – Graduate Center of the City University of NY – http://www.gc.cuny.edu/studies/
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“How Many Wiccans
Are There?” - http://www.religioustolerance.org/wic_nbr1.htm
Wicca projected to become Number Three
According to the
ARIS survey of the American adult population there was a 17 fold growth rate
in Wicca between 1990 and 2001 – the highest of any faith group. This doubling
in numbers would suggest by 2012, Wicca would be the third largest religious
group in the United States, behind Christianity and Judaism.
Sources:
Chicago Tribune,
May 1998
Purposeful or Sacred Travel on the rise -
Based on Department
of Commerce surveys of U.S. Residents going overseas, the number of travelers
citing religion as the main purpose for their trips grew 16.0 percent from 2002
to 2004, matching the percentage growth in total overseas travel. When you add
in people who listed religion as only one of the reasons, the growth was 22.5
percent.
Sources:
Goddess Movement translates into high sales and
niche markets & Her Image is Emerging
Sources:
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Megatrends for Women,
Patricia Aburdene and John Naisbitt
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“Blazing a Trail
for Followers of the Divine Feminine,” LA Times, February 11, 2006
Goddess worship has been around for over 20,000
years
Sources:
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The Chalice and
the Blade, Riane Eisler
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When God Was a Woman,
Merline Stone
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The Once and Future
Goddess, Elinor W. Gadon
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Sacred Places of
Goddess: 108 Destinations, Karen Tate
Female Figurines are images of Goddess
Sources:
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Dr. Beth Nakhai,
lecturing at Claremont University School of Religion on Mother and Child Images
of the Middle East in Spring 2004.
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“Neolithic Sha'ar
Hagolan: Art, Cult and Settlement in the Jordan Valley, " - Yosef
Garfinkel, Minerva, London, July/August 2002
Goddess Advocates
are not just radical feminists -
Sources:
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“New Directions
for Women,” Napoli and Saul, July/August 1991
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Urgent Message from
Mother; Gather the Women, Save the World, Jean Shinoda Bolen
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“Who Are the New
Goddess Advocates?” Karen Tate, The Beltane Papers, Summer 2006
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The Partnership
Way, Riane Eisler
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The Chalice and
the Blade, Riane Eisler and David Loye
Fundamentalist
theologians recognize God had a wife, Goddess -
Sources:
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“Pagan Yahwism:
Folk Religion of Ancient Israel,” Ephraim Stern, Biblical Archaeology Review,
May/June 2001
Scholars have
long known the significance of Goddess -
Sources:
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The Language of
the Goddess – Marija Gimbutas with intro by Joseph Campbell
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'In All Her Names,'
essay, Joseph Campbell
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“Not for Women Only,”
Marguerite Rigoglioso, New Age Journal, June 1997
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“Awakening to the
Goddess,” Marguerite Rigolioso, New Age Journal, June 1997
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