The names may change, but the basic characteristics stay the same. Fertility, strength, purity, and wisdom are the four most common characteristics of a chosen goddess. Those four are not the only characteristics; they are just the most common. They are the four characteristics that flow across race, creed, time, and gender. When we look at the four characteristics, they seem to be facets of the same attribute, but in reality they are very different from each other.
Fertility seems obvious; the female figure is the one that brings forth all new life. However, it goes deeper than the obvious. Fertility is not just for reproduction and continuance; it is the creative side that is also recognized. Many of the goddesses are considered the wellspring of creativity for men and women. Craftsmen and newlyweds seem to have little in common, but they are both trying to create something. The craftsman attempts a work of art that will be of some use, and the newlyweds are creating a new family and hopefully new life.
Strength is a frequently seen attribute of the female deity. This is not because women are any stronger, physically, than men, but perhaps because they are not. Women have an inner strength that is not measurable. The ability to continue to give birth to children despite the pain of actual childbirth is amazing. Giving a goddess the attributes of strength is a way of honoring the inner strength of all women. When a man needs physical or moral strength, he will look to the goddess to provide and bolster his strength, seeking some of the innate strength that a woman has.
Humanity has been seeking wisdom from the goddess for centuries. She knows what is coming, she knows what has gone, and she can guide one through the labyrinth of choices. Much as a mother will guide her children, a Goddess will know the seemingly unknowable. A woman is by nature mysterious, the Goddess being immortal and perfect, is even more mysterious. That mystery must be because of the wisdom that lies deep within the goddess, and every woman has part of the goddess within her.
Purity in love, in life, and in body is another characteristic of the goddess. The goddess is perfect, with no flaws in appearance, being faithful to love; even when that love is outside of the marriage, she is faithful to love itself. That perfection is something that all goddess worshipers strive for in their own lives. Looking for purity in all things, more so in our relationships with the ones that bring forth life and fertility in all things, so we cannot leave it out of our goddesses. She is above all contamination.
Go To Page: 1 2
| Here's the follow-up discussion on this article: | View all related messages |
For a complete listing of article comments, questions, and other discussions related to Catherine Harris's Gods & Goddesses topic, please visit the Discussions page.