A couple of years ago I found that every where I turned, the Goddess was there. It started with subtle hints and grew more and more to a presence that seemed to surround all aspects of my life. I had been going through a long transition, a search to find my self, a seeking of a former self I had put away on shelf. As I emerged into a woman I no longer knew, but was glad for who I had become, slowly the Goddess began to show herself to me.

At the same time that I was on a quest to find my spiritual, woman self, I also sought to make a career change. In Her revealing Herself to me I found that the direction I needed to head, the course I was to follow, was the course to spread the word of the Goddess. Through mythology, historical novels, books on Celtic, Egyptian, Mayan, Oriental traditions, and source books on Wiccan Lore, I found not only a new career, but a new meaning of who I was in this life and what my course must be for the coming millennium.

It is said that many are called, but few care to listen. It is also believed , by many, that each of us have the unique gifts of creativity and sight, that is Second Sight. It is, but for each of us to access, if that be our will and desire. The movement towards the coming Millennium sends many of us searching for answers. More and more each day seek a spiritual path, perhaps different from the one that they were raised with. And who is to say which path is right? Not God. Not the Goddess. Will one forget us, if we choose to honor another, also or instead. Will God strike me down for I invoke the Goddess in many forms in my every day life. No, not likely.  Is my child, daughter of the Goddess, as I have come to see her, to grow up believing that it is wrong to have a varied view of the forces of nature that have made this planet and its people what we are today.  My daughter knows that God is in her heart, that the Goddess is within her; and God and Goddess willing, she will grow up more balanced than many of us did.

So, how , you wonder can you take the path to the Goddess for yourself. Historians long ago erased much of the Goddess lore and traditions that surrounded life for centuries more than our now existent Patriarchal society. As men came to be the power holders and rulers, women were raped of body, soul and history. Still some traditions that once belonged to the Goddess exist today, but others have claimed the right to those traditions. I can only tell you from personal experience when you begin to learn the truth of those traditions, and take them as your own and those of the Goddess, they begin to bring new meaning to your life. Enter the Catholic Church and smell the Frankincense and Myrrh burning, know that those were gifts of the Great Mother Goddess to her people used for purification and protection. The ringing of bells in the church also came from the traditions of the Goddess. Bells were used to ward off evil spirits. The first drummer was a woman.

There are so many Goddesses that one can take into their lives. From Quan Yin, the Chinese Goddess Of Compassion to Venus , The Goddess Of Love, each one has a special message and can bring new meaning into your life as a woman or a man. Cybele was one of  the first names bestowed upon the Great Mother Goddess. Her reigned lasted for many centuries and spread to many of the Mediterranean countries. The Vatican today stands on the same site where once stood a Temple to the Goddess Cybele. From the Paleolithic Era through till many centuries after the Birth Of Christ, the Goddess in her many forms reigned as Being Supreme. It was understood that from the Mother comes life, from the Mother comes strength. Man can not give birth, to father a child bears little resemblance to the birthing of a child by Woman.

I could long give rhetoric on the what our current society has taken from Women, and what was lost to the world when we became a Patriarchal society. But there are better sources than I to learn from. What I do wish to share with you, is what you can do to bring the Goddess into your own life and teach your sons and daughters, so that in the new millennium we may move closer towards the more peaceful and meaningful way of life that many of us seek.

Find a Goddess who brings meaning to your life and who you are. If you have a hard time choosing one, choose a couple. I have found that I have a connection to many of the Goddesses and invoke different Goddesses at different times. There are many great books available as sources, and art work abounds.

Get a statue or piece of art for the Goddess of your choice. Place it somewhere special in your home. Build an altar to your Goddess, and or an altar for yourself. It need not be anything extravagant, a small table, some candles, photos of loved ones, perhaps your statue and a crystal or two.

Burn Incense or wear Essential Oils to open the channels of life and its meaning. There are so many Incenses and Essential Oils available for so many purposes. You will find a shift in your attitude when using Incense or wearing Essential Oils, whether you choose one for its meaning or simply because you like the fragrance. Light a candle now and then, and say a prayer to your Goddess.

As a Woman, honor your femininity. Be feminine, not feminists. That, in it self will claim back some of the power that women have lost through the centuries. As a Man, honor your feminine side, we all have two aspects of who we are, Female and Male. Teach your children to honor who they are, teach your sons that it is wrong to try to over power women. Teach your daughters to let no man be in control of her life. Stand tall and believe in who you are. I am grateful that I am a woman and wouldn’t have it any other way.

Go out doors, take a walk on the beach, in the woods, in the park if you live in the city. Bring nature to your home, flowers, plants, beautiful rocks and sea shells. Honor the earth by planting flowers or a tree. Treat every one you meet with the love, kindness and compassion of a Mother. Allow yourself to feel the joy of life that the Goddess has given our World and treat the Planet with due reverence.

Invoke Her name in times of trouble and times of joy, She will come to you. It may be subtle at first, but eventually you will see a shift in your demeanor and you will know that She is with you. Be sure to thank the powers that be for everything you receive in life. Remember that whatever you put out you receive three fold.

These are simple suggestions, and I urge you, if you seek to bring the Goddess into your life, do not be afraid that the God you have known as a child shall be angered. God, too recognizes the force of the Goddess and who is to say that God is not indeed a woman.

Finally, I will leave you, as you seek to find the Goddess in your life with a list of suggested reads. These books can be found on the shelves of many local Libraries, as well as many traditional and New Age Bookstores.

The Book Of Goddesses  By, Kris Waldherr - a great book for both adults and children with beautiful art work.

When The Drummers Were Women  By, Layne Redmond - a tremendous book about the history of Frame Drumming and many of the Goddesses.

A Woman’s Worth  By, Marianne Williamson - a personal favorite, about being Glorious Queens and not Slave Girls.

Women Who Run With The Wolves  By, Claire Pinkola Estes - a must for any woman or man seeking to understand what it is to be a Woman.

Buffalo Woman Comes Singing  By, Brooke Medicine Eagle - an accounting of the path of the Female Shaman (the first shaman’s were women).

The Mists Of Avalon & Firebrand By, Marion Zimmer Bradley - two fascinating historical recreations with much Goddess lore.

This article was originally published in The Crystal Oasis Ezine, September 1998. Not to be reprinted with out permission of the author. For permission to Reprint this article or excerpts of this article, or comments - email LadyPamela@aromatherapygoddess.com

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