Friday, January 27, 2012

Where did the goddess go?

I was disturbed as I worked through the archeological tomes about goddess worship in the ancient and archaic times because I thought that the divine feminine had be lost. Then, I began reading Rabbi Rami Shaprio's newest book, The Divine Feminine in Biblical Wisdom Literature and a friend suggested that I read The Dove in the Stone by Alice O. Howell. By whatever name you choose to call her Sophia, the Mother Goddess, Wisdom, the Divine Feminine, she is here now an available to everyone. The search for her must be done with intention and, for those who give up easily, it may take several attempts.

The manuscript I've been working on is nearly complete and lacks only some polishing. The struggles and questions I've worked through during its preparation have given me a new strength and confidence that was lacking before. The working title for this effort is Unheard Voices. I hope that I will be able to announce its release in the next year or two.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

New Project

For as long as I can remember, I've rebelled against the way women have been treated in the Bible and especially the way they've been presented in church activities whether Sunday School classes or sermons. I've noticed that most books tend to give these women the same negative treatment. This situation provoked me to study more about the women and tell their stories as they might have talked about their own lives.
For several years, between writing projects or as they came to mind, I began writing about the women using Bible verses to ground the story and moving forward with the woman's perspective. What began as a haphazard collection of tales has become a full manuscript in preparation for publication with a working title, UNHEARD VOICES.
As I wrote, I became curious about the times in which these women lived which led me to archeological works revealing the rich cultures that existed in archaic times. What a delight to learn that prior to the biblical legends, cultures revered the Divine Feminine. Woman tended to be the leaders, but often ruled together with men. Reading about these times showed me that biblical stories began during a period of tension between matriarchal rule versus patriarchal leadership. People living far north of the fertile crescent invaded the goddess worshipping people of the south bringing male dominated systems of rule and religion.
It seems to me that humankind is moving in a new direction in which women and men both can be leaders in fulfillment of the first creation story that made humans, female and male as equal partners.