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"In the beginning, in the time that was no time, nothing existed
but the Womb. And the Womb was a limitless dark cauldron of all
things in potential: a chaotic blood-soup of matter and energy,
fluid as water yet mud-solid with salts of the earth; red-hot as
fire yet restlessly churning and bubbling with all the winds. And
the Womb was the Mother, before She took form and gave form to
Existence. She was the Deep. . . ."
With this dramatic, poetic recasting of the Genesis myth, Barbara
Walker begins this highly original and fascinating work, which is
both an incisive critique of patriarchal religion and a bold
proposal to establish a liberating alternative to the
Judeo-Christian myth. She envisions a religion and a spirituality
compatible with women's essential role in society and free of all
the superstition and demeaning imagery characteristic of
traditional, male-dominated religion. In place of theology she
suggests "thealogy," replacing the academic study of the God
concept with a down-to-earth "knowledge of the goddess" - a
knowledge that incorporates the scientific understanding of the
universe and recognizes the symbolic nature of religious concepts
and the psychobiological foundations of religion. Rejecting the
transcendent deity of patriarchal religion, thealogy would revere
an immanent personification of the real universe, especially of the
sacred Earth, the only source of life we know.
Hearkening back to the widespread worship of a mother goddess at
the dawn of civilization, Walker argues for a restoration of this
primal religious sensibility, which celebrated the Earth's
fertility and woman's innate power to bear new life. Women are
already rediscovering this ancient form of spirituality, Walker
shows, and redefining modern religion to conform to woman's new
appreciation of their rights and the long history of male
dominance.
This fascinating guide to the history and mythology of woman-related symbols features: - Unique organization by shape of symbol or type of sacred object
- 21 different sections including Round and Oval Motifs, Sacred Objects, Secular-Sacred Objects, Rituals, Deities' Signs, Supernaturals, Body Parts, Nature, Birds, Plants, Minerals, Stones and Shells, and more
- Introductory essays for each section
- 753 entries and 636 illustrations
- Alphabetical index for easy reference
Three-Rayed Sun The sun suspended in heaven by three powers, perhaps the Triple Goddess who gave birth to it (see Three-Way Motifs). Corn Dolly An embodiment of the harvest to be set in the center of the harvest dance, or fed to the cattle to `make them thrive year round' (see Secular-Sacred Objects). Tongue In Asia, the extended tongue was a sign of life-force as the tongue between the lips imitated the sacred lingam-yoni: male within female genital. Sticking out the tongue is still a polite sign of greeting in northern India and Tibet (see Body Parts). Cosmic Egg In ancient times the primeval universe-or the Great Mother-took the form of an egg. It carried all numbers and letters within an ellipse, to show that everything is contained within one form at the beginning (see Round and Oval Motifs).
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