Make An Effort To Remember. Or, Failing That, Invent

The simplest and most basic meaning of the symbol of of Goddess is the acknowledgement of the legitimacy of female power as a beneficient and independent power. A woman who echoes Ntozake Shange's dramatic statement, "I found God in myself and I loved her fiercely," is saying "Female power is strong and creative." She is saying that the divine principle, the saving and sustaining power, is in herself, that she will no longer look to men or male figures as saviors. The strength and independence of female power can be intuited by contemplating ancient and modern images of the Goddess. This meaning of the symbol of Goddess is simple and obvious, and yet it is difficult for many to comprehend. It stands in sharp contrst to the paradigms of female dependence on males that have been predominant in Western religion and culture. The internatially acclaimed novelist Monique Wittig captured the novelty and flavor of the affirmation of female power in her mythic work Les Guerilleres:

There was a time when you were not a slave, remember that. You walked alone, full of laughter, you bathed bare-bellied. You say you have lost all recollectio of it, remember . . . you say there are no words to describe it, you say it does not exist. But remember. Make an effort to remember. Or, faiing that, invent.

From Why Women Need The Goddess: Phenomenological, psychological, and Political Reflectionsby Carol P. Christ, pub. in The Politcs of Women's Spirituality, ed. by Charene Spretnak