Images of God and Goddess

  ¨Visual images of the Goddesses stand in stark contrast to the image of God as an old white man, jarring us to question our culture's view that all legitimate power is male and that female power is dangerous and evil. The image of the naked Eve brazenly taking the apple from the serpent, then cowering in shame before a wrathful male God, tells us not only that female will is the source of all the evil in the universe, but also that the naked female body is part of the problem. This image communicates to the deep mind the message that female will and female nakedness must be controlled and punished by male authority. In contrast, the Goddesses show us that the female can be symbolic of all that is creative and powerful in the universe. The simplest and most profound meaning of the image of the Goddess is the legitimacy and goodness of female power, the female body, and female will.¨-Carol P. Christ, Rebirth of the Goddess

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The above was first published in 2015

Spiritual Ecology

 Spiritual Ecology

"Because for me it is not enough to say that we must respect the Earth. That the Earth is even sacred is not enough. We must understand that the Earth is a divine being filled with spirit that demands our engagement. "

The Radical Intimacy of Spiritual Ecology

A Talk by Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee

There's a transcript also available at that link, as well as audio presentation. He is the editor of Emergence Magazine.

Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee:

 

If we have the courage to respond, to engage, to pick up that thread that was woven long ago into our very being, into the DNA and the fabric of our existence as human beings; if we have the courage to say, I remember you, I remember you, then a journey begins, a real practice of spiritual ecology.

Given at St. Ethelburga’s Centre for Reconciliation and Peace in London in November 2024, this talk by Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee concludes a series on the theme of spiritual ecology. It explores how an embodied practice of spiritual ecology is a radical act amid a culture that has forgotten the sacred nature of our relationship with the Earth. A remembrance of this intimate connection is the spiritual responsibility of our time, and when our hearts recognize and hold this reality, we can keep alive an essential connection through our darkening days and offer a practice of love to the suffering Earth.

The Radical Intimacy of Spiritual Ecology A Talk by Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee

Dear friends, As the new year unfolds and our society travels deeper into a realm of toxicity and instability, I find myself increasingly returning to the essence of our relationship with the living, breathing Earth as a space to find ground amid uncertainty. Like oneness and multiplicity, that essence is part of the whole while also being a unique experience. This relationship is so individual and intimate that it is as much a part of us as our own breath, and we must each find our own way to honor it. In November, I gave a talk at St. Ethelburga’s Centre for Reconciliation and Peace in London—part of a series given over the last two years on the theme of spiritual ecology. This talk is about how an embodied practice of spiritual ecology is a radical act amid a culture that has forgotten the sacred nature of our relationship with the Earth. It’s clear that we can no longer wait for our systems and institutions to lead the way. Instead, my belief is that it’s the spiritual responsibility of our time for each of us to awaken a primordial memory of the Earth as a divine being imbued with spirit. When our hearts recognize and hold this reality, we can begin the journey of remembering what it means to embody this relationship; of keeping an essential connection alive through our darkening days; and offering a practice of love to the Earth in the midst of Her suffering. As we each engage in our own spiritual ecology, a bridge between this moment and the future we know is possible can begin to form. Thank you for listening, Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee Emergence Executive Editor  Here is a link to an audio from Emergence Magazine.  https://emergencemagazine.org/conversation/the-radical-intimacy-of-spiritual-ecology/?utm_source=Emergence+Magazine&utm_campaign=74ef53c215-Newsletter_20250119&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-0be9b497cf-357088886 It also has a transcript of the audio presentation.

Gainism, polytheism and pantheism

 That's the site which has lots of FAQ's about pagan topics. And it's a great magazine about Pagans and Witches. I usually call our mother earth, Gaia. I also call pantheism an earth-based religion. http://witchesandpagans.com/paganism-101/introduction-to-paganism/286-faq-about-paganism.html

Q: What is a Gaian? What is Gaianism?

A Gaian is a person who focuses his/her spiritual faith upon the Earth (Gaia.) Gaianism is a growing movement devoted to the creation of an earth-wise spirituality that honors the Earth and all life as the primary source, sustainer, and reality for life. Gaians may be Pagans, Christians (see Creation-Spirituality movement of Matthew Fox), atheists, Scientific Pantheists, or any other religion/faith that is willing to focus its energy upon the spirituality of connection with the biosphere. As a very young offshoot of Paganism, Gaian theology, philosophy, and ethics are still in a formative stage.

Q: What are the ethics of polytheistic and pantheistic traditions?

A: Because each tradition has its own set of ethics, these vary considerably. Common ethical guidelines include: Treat all sacred objects, places, and entities with respect. Honor the Earth who gave you life. Take only what you need, and offer fair return for whatever you take. Destruction in its proper time can prove beneficial, but do not destroy anything just for the sake of destruction. Every person contains a little spark of divinity, so speak to the divine spark in everyone you meet. Allow others to worship as they choose. Sexuality is a blessing, not a curse; yet the power to create new life brings with it the obligation to do so responsibly. Do not meddle with that which you do not understand.

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Polytheism has more than one god or goddess.

Pantheism is the belief that all living things have the divine within them.


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The above was posted in 2014

Hypatia of Alexandria

 The surviving fragments of Hypatia’s teachings indicate a mystical orientation. Glimpses of her spiritual views survived in the letters of her disciples, which speak of “the eye buried within us,” a “divine guide.” As the soul journeys toward divinity, this “hidden spark which loves to conceal itself” grows into a flame of knowing. Hypatia’s philosophy was concerned with the “mystery of being,” contemplation of Reality, rising to elevated states of consciousness, and “union with the divine,” the One. [Dzielska, 54-5, 48-50]

Hypatia’s father Theon was an astronomer and mathematician who was devoted to divination and astrology and the pagan mysteries. He wrote commentaries on the books of Orpheus and Hermes Trismegistus and poems to the planets as forces of Moira (destiny). Nothing indicates that Hypatia departed from her home culture. The Chaldean Oracles and Pythagorean numerological mysticism figured in her teachings, as the letters of Synesius indicate. Like her father, she saw astronomy as the highest science, opening up knowledge of the divine.

The following is excerpted with kind permission from “War Against the Pagans,” in Secret History of the Witches © 2000 Max Dashu
… The Roman state gave free rein to Christian extremists who destroyed pagan shrines and images, or who committed violence against pagan leaders. They attacked people at pagan services and destroyed their temples. Arson was a favorite tactic. From the late 300s on, monks stand out as the primary aggressors in the battle to suppress pagans in the east. Even Christian documents describe them as violent and crime-prone, beating people they considered sinful, stirring up sectarian strife. [MacMullen, 171-2] The pagan Eunapius remarked that these monks looked like men but lived like pigs, “and openly did and allowed countless unspeakable crimes.” [Eunapius, 423] He added bitterly, “For among them, every man is given the power of a tyrant who has a black robe and is prepared to behave badly in public.” [Hollland-Smith, 170] Some were not above murder.

One target of the fanatical monk was Hypatia, an astronomer, mathematician and philosopher of international reputation. Socrates Scholasticus wrote that “she far surpassed all the philosophers of her time,” and was greatly respected for her “extraordinary dignity and virtue.” [Ecclesiastical History] Hypatia’s house was an important intellectual center in a city distinguished for its learning. Damasius described how she “used to put on her philosopher’s cloak and walk through the middle of town” to give public lectures on philosophy. [Life of Isidore, in the Suda]

 Admired by all in Alexandria, Hypatia was one of the most politically powerful figures in the city. She was one of the few women who attended civic assemblies. Magistrates came to her for advice, including her close friend, the prefect Orestes. [Damasius, Socrates Scholasticus] In the midst of severe religious polarization, Hypatia was an influential force for tolerance and moderation. She accepted students, who came to her “from everywhere,” without regard to religion.

Hypatia was a Neoplatonist. Some have claimed that she does not really qualify as a pagan, only as a rationalist philosopher. But this description is inaccurate and misleading. First, the meaning of “philosopher” had changed considerably by late antiquity, encompassing even Christian ascetics. [MacMullen, 205 fn 24] Second, such a narrow definition of paganism fails to recognize, as its enemies did, that it constituted a much broader spectrum than temple rites and theurgy. The sacred books of the Neoplatonists were pagan—Orpheus, Homer, the Chaldean Oracles—and they embraced “the esoteric doctrines of the mysteries.” [Cumont, 202] Third, Neoplatonist philosophers were persecuted as pagans, and identified as such in the struggle over the temples. They joined and even led in the pagan defense of the Serapium in Alexandria.

One of these leaders, Antoninus, had been initiated by his mother, Sosipatra of Pergamum, a Neoplatonist philosopher and mystic seeress. Antoninus “foretold to all his followers that after his death the temple would cease to be, and even the great and holy temples of Serapis would pass into formless darkness and be transformed, and that a fabulous and unseemly gloom would hold sway over the fairest things on earth.” The Serapium was razed in 391, the year after Antoninus died. [Eunapius, 416-7] …

Her disciples certainly regarded her in the light of a spiritual leader. Synesius of Cyrene called her “the most holy and revered philosopher,” “a blessed lady,” and “divine spirit.” Though a Christian, he refers to “her oracular utterances” and writes that she was “beloved by the gods.” [Dzielska, 47-8, 36] She spoke out against dogmatism and superstition: “To rule by fettering the mind through fear of punishment in another world, is just as base as to use force.” [Partnow, 24] Unquestionably, Hypatia’s teaching represented a challenge to church doctrine. The apparent destruction of her philosophical books underlines the point. Her mathematical works survived and were popular into the next century.

When Cyril became bishop in 412, he began pushing to extend his power into the civic sphere. His enforcers were the parabalanoi, strongmen who had been the shock troops of bishop Theophilus’ war on pagans and Jews. Bishop Cyril persecuted heterodox Christian groups, closing their churches and expelling them from the city. He spread rumors of a Jewish conspiracy to murder Christians and instigated a brawl between Jews and Christians at a theater. The Jews protested that the bishop’s agents had provoked the fight. The prefect Orestes (himself a Christian) heard out their grievances and arrested one of the bishop’s allies. In 414, armed conflict broke out between Cyril’s supporters and the embattled Jews. It ended with the looting and seizure of synagogues, and the bishop expelling the ancient Jewish community from Alexandria.

Many Christians in the city sided with Orestes and put pressure on Cyril to desist. Instead, he escalated the conflict, calling in hundreds of monks from the desert. They mobbed Orestes in the streets, calling him a “sacrificer” and “Hellene”—in other words, a pagan. [Chuvin, 87-9] The monks hurled stones, wounding him in the head. The prefect’s bodyguards fled, but a crowd of bystanders jumped in to save his life.

Accusations of Witchcraft

Realizing that he was losing on public relations, the bishop changed tactics. Now he attempted to turn the people against Hypatia as a powerful woman by accusing her of harmful sorcery. A later church chronicler, John of Nikiu, explained that “she beguiled many people through satanic wiles.” It was Hypatia’s “witchcraft” that kept the prefect Orestes away from church and made him corrupt the faith of other Christians. Further, she was involved in divination and astrology, “devoted at all times to magic, astrolabes and instruments of music.” [John of Nikiu, Chronicle 84. 87-103, Online:7-20-01]
In March of 415, Peter the church lector led a mob in attacking Hypatia as she rode through the city in her chariot. Socrates Scholasticus wrote that “rash cockbrains” dragged her into the Caesarion church, stripped her naked, and tore into her body with pot-shards, cutting her to pieces. Then they hauled her dismembered body to Cinaron and burned it on a pyre. [Alic, 45-6] John Malalas accords with Socrate’s statement that the mob burned Hypatia’s remains. Hesychius’ account agrees that the mob tore Hypatia to pieces, but simply says that “her body [was] shamefully treated and parts of it scattered all over the city.” [Dzielskaielska, 93]

In John of Nikiu’s version, men came for “the pagan woman who had beguiled the people of the city and the prefect through her enchantments.” They found her sitting in a chair and dragged her through the streets until she was dead, then burned her body.[Chronicle, 84.87-103] After Hypatia’s assassination, Orestes disappeared (fled? assassinated?). Cyril prevailed, and his parabalanoi were never punished for killing Hypatia. The bishop covered up her murder, insisting that she had moved to Athens.

No one was fooled. Our nearest contemporary sources agree that the bishop was behind the witch-rumors and the killing, and that his men carried them out. Public opinion may be measured by the fact that Christian city officials continued appealing to imperial officials to curb the parabalanoi, to bring them under secular control and restrict them from public places. They were only partially successful, since the imperial court itself was in the midst of a crackdown on pagans. As for Cyril, whom John of Nikiu credits with destroying “the last remnants of idolatry in the city,” he was later declared a saint. [Dzielskaielska, 97-8, 104. 94]

Hypatia was not targeted only as a pagan. Other pagans—men—continued to be active at the university of Alexandria for decades after her death. It is clear that Hypatia’s femaleness made her a special target, vulnerable to the accusation of witchcraft. Her courage in opposing the escalating anti-Jewish violence and her moral stance against religious repression were factors as well. In defending the assault on the philosophical tradition of tolerance, Hypatia had everything to lose, yet she acted boldly.

Later in the century, her male counterparts also came under attack. By the mid-400s, pagan professors were being sentenced to death in Syria. Some time after 480, an Alexandrian Christian society called the Zealots hounded the pagan prefect and his secretary from office and into exile. The Zealots capped their triumph with the burning of “idols.” Two of them moved on to Beirut, where they incited further hunts of leading pagans. They formed a group to collect denunciations, using informers, and brought names and accusations to the bishop. This worthy held joint hearings with city officials, which led to more bonfires and the exile of pagans. [MacMullen, 26, 194 fn95]
The cultural repression used to Christianize the Roman empire was unprecedented anywhere up to that time, in extent, duration and geographic scale.
Read more about Hypatia of Alexandria:
The Life and Legacy of Hypatia by Danielle Williams
The Real Wonder Woman: Hypatia of Alexandria by The Secret Sun
Great Philosophers:  Hypatia at Oregon State University online

A repost from 2014

Be Wild

 

Borrowed from Facebook.

This dovetails nicely to my reading of "Glorious Women," a sermon from the free on-line book of sermons which won prizes, by Rev. Dorothy Wilson Kimble. (the entire PDF file was linked yesterday here.) It won the sermon award for 1992.  Part of the reason I read this one was that Rev. Kimble was born in the same year I was.  But this is one of the most powerful woman-authenticating sermons I've ever read (or heard.)

I quote...

From Mary Daly on answering the call of the wild.  She writes:

Enspiriting is hearing and following the call of the wild, which is in the Self.  The call to wild-ize our Selves, to free and unfreeze our Selves is a wild and fantastic calling to transfer our energy to our Selves and to Sister Selves…Wild means “living in a state of nature; inhabiting natural haunts: not tamed or domesticated…”  It means “growing…not cultivated…not subjected to restraint or regulation…exceeding conventional bounds…deviating from the expected course…great in intensity.

Source: Mary Daly, Gyn/Ecology: The Metaethics of Radical Feminism (Boston: Beacon Press, 1978), 343-344.

 

Repost from blog in 2014