I have recently read the book: The Goddess Path by Patricia Monaghan. This is a book that was designed to help the reader to help nurture your own connection to the goddess and to share in her wisdom. Within each chapter that is dedicated to a specific goddess there is history about the goddess, myths involving the goddess, invocations for the goddess, ritual suggestions and questions to aid the reader with exploring their relationship with her.
There will be a few blog posts with my personal responses to some of the questions found in each chapter of this book. I urge you to follow along with me as we experience the Goddess within.
The tenth chapter is about Demeter & Persephone and you can find the questions I will be answering in this post on pages 147 – 148 of the book.
There will be a few blog posts with my personal responses to some of the questions found in each chapter of this book. I urge you to follow along with me as we experience the Goddess within.
The tenth chapter is about Demeter & Persephone and you can find the questions I will be answering in this post on pages 147 – 148 of the book.
Explore your earlier religious experiences. In what ways did you experience an initiation rite? How did it change you?
When I was born my parents had me baptized which by its definition is an initiation rite though I don’t think it changed me since I was a baby and really wasn’t aware of what was happening. I would however consider my Confirmation as a young adult an initiation rite and I do believe it did bring about an inner shifting. It was around that time that I felt called to live my life in service to God and his people. My focus was on spirituality and how to live my life in accordance with God’s Will.
The most recent initiation experience was when I was called by God Herself. It was a highly emotional and personal experience that occurred when I was kneeling in a Roman Catholic Church communing with God Herself. I gazed at a statue of the Holy Virgin Mary (a personal representation of The Goddess for me) and felt her love pour out from her and call me into service. I cried and cannot truly express the experience in words.
Initiation rituals are used in many non-religious contexts. What other initiation rituals (such as graduation) have you experienced? How did you feel? Did it change you?
I’ve experienced obtaining my Driver’s License, which gave me a sense of freedom and maturity. I graduated from high school as well as college and both gave me a feeling of accomplishment and marked the passage from one phase of my life to another. I also experienced marriage, divorce, and childbirth. These experiences changed my perspective on life and relationships.
Some important transformations in our lives pass without ceremony. What are some of these for you? What ceremony would have seemed appropriate?
I think my divorces passed without ceremony but would have been an easier transition if I had celebrated my new phase of life instead of being ashamed and angry about them.
Make a list of images that express the goddess for you. Express, in word why these images express feminine divinity for you.
The image of the planet Earth because she is what believe is the main idea of femininity. She brings forth life and nurtures it. Virgin Mother Mary because she is the fist image of a divine feminine that I was introduced to. She was loving, caring and nurturing. She was a manifestation of beauty. Isis, because she is my matron at this time and is a representation of knowledge, protection, nurturing and love.
Examine your history with groups of women. Have you experienced being scape goated or outcast in any way? How does this affect your ability to interact with women in a spiritual setting?
There have been times in my life when I have felt that I was outcast though I never really could understand why unless it was because I am confident and strong refusing to give in to other people’s opinions of who or what I should be. Overall I feel I am able to interact with both men and women. I believe I am able to relate to many people on some level and am able to put them at ease with support and love. I am aware that I have a strong ‘mothering’ energy that draws people to me.
Examine your relations with your mother. What are you still withholding from her, or lying about to her? What effect does your relationship to your mother, past or present, have on your relationship with other women?
I withhold information regarding my spiritual practices from her only because I am fully aware that she does not approve of my beliefs. We’ve had discussions about it in the past and I would rather not start a conflict so I choose to keep my spirituality to myself, which leaves a lot left unsaid. Sometimes I find that because she strongly disagrees with my spiritual beliefs there is a big part of me that she doesn’t know.
If you have a daughter, explore your relationship with her. Do you hold back when she is ready to move on, or have you supported her movement? If there are difficulties between you, how can you being to resolve them?
I do have a daughter whom I support in whatever it is she wants to do. Sometimes I find that I am ready to let her go but she isn’t ready to do things on her own. I believe that my daughter and I have a wonderful relationship and the issues we have is usually about her having to do things that she just doesn’t want to do (for example – home school work).
What mother-surrogates have you brought into your life? What aspects of mothering do they represent for you? Have you let them know how important they are to you?
I find myself wanting mother-surrogates but I find that I don’t have any. When my Grandmother was alive she was a mother-surrogate for me but she died back in 2003 and since then I cannot think of anyone who would have taken her place.
What daughter-surrogates have you brought into your life? How have you assisted them in being strong and vital within your relationship?
I have plenty of daughter-surrogates. I believe that nurturing others and aiding them in finding their own spiritual path and personal power is my life’s purpose so whether they are daughters or sons I believe it is what I am meant to do in this incarnation.
What aspects of your own mother do you find in your image of the goddess?
Aspects such as: nurturing, loving, caring, protecting, supporting, guiding
When I was born my parents had me baptized which by its definition is an initiation rite though I don’t think it changed me since I was a baby and really wasn’t aware of what was happening. I would however consider my Confirmation as a young adult an initiation rite and I do believe it did bring about an inner shifting. It was around that time that I felt called to live my life in service to God and his people. My focus was on spirituality and how to live my life in accordance with God’s Will.
The most recent initiation experience was when I was called by God Herself. It was a highly emotional and personal experience that occurred when I was kneeling in a Roman Catholic Church communing with God Herself. I gazed at a statue of the Holy Virgin Mary (a personal representation of The Goddess for me) and felt her love pour out from her and call me into service. I cried and cannot truly express the experience in words.
Initiation rituals are used in many non-religious contexts. What other initiation rituals (such as graduation) have you experienced? How did you feel? Did it change you?
I’ve experienced obtaining my Driver’s License, which gave me a sense of freedom and maturity. I graduated from high school as well as college and both gave me a feeling of accomplishment and marked the passage from one phase of my life to another. I also experienced marriage, divorce, and childbirth. These experiences changed my perspective on life and relationships.
Some important transformations in our lives pass without ceremony. What are some of these for you? What ceremony would have seemed appropriate?
I think my divorces passed without ceremony but would have been an easier transition if I had celebrated my new phase of life instead of being ashamed and angry about them.
Make a list of images that express the goddess for you. Express, in word why these images express feminine divinity for you.
The image of the planet Earth because she is what believe is the main idea of femininity. She brings forth life and nurtures it. Virgin Mother Mary because she is the fist image of a divine feminine that I was introduced to. She was loving, caring and nurturing. She was a manifestation of beauty. Isis, because she is my matron at this time and is a representation of knowledge, protection, nurturing and love.
Examine your history with groups of women. Have you experienced being scape goated or outcast in any way? How does this affect your ability to interact with women in a spiritual setting?
There have been times in my life when I have felt that I was outcast though I never really could understand why unless it was because I am confident and strong refusing to give in to other people’s opinions of who or what I should be. Overall I feel I am able to interact with both men and women. I believe I am able to relate to many people on some level and am able to put them at ease with support and love. I am aware that I have a strong ‘mothering’ energy that draws people to me.
Examine your relations with your mother. What are you still withholding from her, or lying about to her? What effect does your relationship to your mother, past or present, have on your relationship with other women?
I withhold information regarding my spiritual practices from her only because I am fully aware that she does not approve of my beliefs. We’ve had discussions about it in the past and I would rather not start a conflict so I choose to keep my spirituality to myself, which leaves a lot left unsaid. Sometimes I find that because she strongly disagrees with my spiritual beliefs there is a big part of me that she doesn’t know.
If you have a daughter, explore your relationship with her. Do you hold back when she is ready to move on, or have you supported her movement? If there are difficulties between you, how can you being to resolve them?
I do have a daughter whom I support in whatever it is she wants to do. Sometimes I find that I am ready to let her go but she isn’t ready to do things on her own. I believe that my daughter and I have a wonderful relationship and the issues we have is usually about her having to do things that she just doesn’t want to do (for example – home school work).
What mother-surrogates have you brought into your life? What aspects of mothering do they represent for you? Have you let them know how important they are to you?
I find myself wanting mother-surrogates but I find that I don’t have any. When my Grandmother was alive she was a mother-surrogate for me but she died back in 2003 and since then I cannot think of anyone who would have taken her place.
What daughter-surrogates have you brought into your life? How have you assisted them in being strong and vital within your relationship?
I have plenty of daughter-surrogates. I believe that nurturing others and aiding them in finding their own spiritual path and personal power is my life’s purpose so whether they are daughters or sons I believe it is what I am meant to do in this incarnation.
What aspects of your own mother do you find in your image of the goddess?
Aspects such as: nurturing, loving, caring, protecting, supporting, guiding
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