Trevor Greenfield (editor) - Seven Ages of the Goddess

Seven Ages of the Goddess is a treasure-trove of new writing and thought about a very old subject indeeda subject that continues to inspire extraordinary writing and other spiritual expression. From the Great Mother to the Goddess ex machina of the current age, this book thoroughly and beautifully expands our notions of the Female Divines. As our old world churns through the recalibration of patriarchal systems, this is a well-timed addition to any thinking persons spiritual library.

H. Byron Ballard, author and senior priestess, Mother Grove Goddess Temple.

Travelling from the Stone Age right through to the possible future of goddess worship, Seven Ages of the Goddess brings together some really interesting goddesses and their histories. A veritable cornucopia of talented writers draw on personal experience, historical text, folklore and even dip into fairy tales to take the reader on a most wonderful journey. A fascinating read.

Rachel Patterson, author of Moon Magic, The Cailleach and Arc of the Goddess.

Wherever you are in your exploration and experience of the goddess and what she means for you, Seven Ages of The Goddess provides a beautiful and thought provoking journey through Her ages offering a broad variety of perspectives and valuable insights.

Antonella Hall, Founder Member - Norfolk Goddess Temple. Priestess of Andraste, Priestess of The Goddess.

Love this fresh and new approach to Goddess in one book, between two covers! I have over 1,000 books in my library, thus very discerning about what I buy, but THIS BOOK will garner a place on my shelves!

Rev. Dr. Karen Tate, author, scholar, social justice activist and hostess of Voices of the Sacred Feminine radio.

This book is an essential introduction for those who are new to the idea of a female Godhead. We are currently living in a time of paradigm shift when the culture has begun to accept the idea of female equality and yet still seems mired in ambivalence about it. In the US only 20% of House and Senate members are women, despite the fact that women are just over half of the US population, and only 4.2% of Fortune 500 corporate CEOs are female. Women and men seem to be carrying an unconscious bias in favor of male leaders, which I suspect is ultimately due to the Biblical notion that divinity is male. Modern women carry a deep unconscious wound due to that philosophy, and men still assume privilege and superiority because of it. Even within these pages you can see the cultural ambivalence on display; god and goddess appear in some chapters while God and Goddess appear in others. The Judeo-Christian-Islamic god is always God, however. It is my hope that books like these will tip the balance so that the Divine Feminine can be appreciated, along with her male gendered partner.

Ellen Evert Hopman, author of A Legacy of Druids - Conversations with Druid Leaders from the Britain, the USA and Canada, Tree Medicine Tree Magic, the Priestess of the Forest Druidic trilogy, and other volumes.

First published by Moon Books, 2018

Moon Books is an imprint of John Hunt Publishing Ltd., No. 3 East Street, Alresford

Hampshire SO24 9EE, UK

www.johnhuntpublishing.com

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For distributor details and how to order please visit the Ordering section on our website.

Text copyright: Trevor Greenfield 2017

ISBN: 978 1 78535 558 5

978 1 78535 559 2 (ebook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017945970

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publishers.

The rights of Trevor Greenfield as editor have been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

Design: Stuart Davies

Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY, UK

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The Goddess.

Maybe you know her by one of her names, or by several of them. Gaia, Ishtar, Inanna, Isis, Ceridwen, Mary, Selene, Kali, Green Tara, Freyja, Persephone, Oshun, Lilith, Durga and there are a thousand more names, or a thousand thousand. The Goddess goes far back, to a time before she had a name, before there were names.

At her broadest the Goddess is Earth itself, this beautiful planet we belong to. Each one of us has been formed from the atoms of the body of Earth, and each one of us returns back into this body at the end of our lives, as do the trees, the birds and animals, the insects, fishes, even the mountains and rivers. For some of us Earth as grandmother, as mother, as sister, as lover is a living being and we recognize her as Goddess in her life-giving properties. Earth, our home, is made up from the stuff of exploded stars. When we gaze up at night, above us, we see other stars, reminding us always that we are formed from stardust; that this coming into life and leaving it applies not just to creatures living on Earth but to Earth itself, and even to stars. Some of us know this whole process as the Star Goddess, and it is she who births all the worlds.

The Goddess may not be such a definite thing, in your experience. She might be an inner knowing, that youve always had, or that you are just now discovering. Maybe for you she is represented by someone in your life; your mother, grandmother, sister, lover or priestess. She might be expressed by a stage of life such as pregnancy and birth, or by an activity you undertake: gardening, painting, or healing. She may be a sense of presence that is just beyond where you have reached or what you have understood, something that is there in your dreams and then gone by the time you wake. She may be elusive, concrete, historical, mythical, occult or scientific.

Some of us lean towards the academic, were drawn by discussions of history, archeology, comparative mythology or religion. Others of us come more alive in ritual, we engage in inner searching and rituals such as standing under the Moons gaze and drawing her light down, into our bodies. Perhaps we are oriented towards dedication, promising to serve the Goddess, in a temple, a tradition or just in our own way. Maybe your heritage - magical or cultural or familial - draws you towards certain pantheons of deities, such as the Celtic, Hindu, Norse or Yoruba. We might be on the path of the initiate, the student, or the curious.

Who is the Goddess? What roles has she held, historically? How have other peoples understood her, and how do contemporary pagans, academics and goddess worshipers regard her? What meaning do those words, the Goddess, have for you?

Whether you start this book at the beginning and read through in the order presented, or you skip around, choosing pieces that catch your eye or draw your interest; whether you read it as a purely intellectual exercise, come at it from an emotional basis, or are curious, uncertain, already knowledgeable or experienced, this book will have something for you.