To talk about the feminine divine in today’s world, I think it is helpful to look at a basic definition of what sacred means.
sacred
adjective
1 the priest entered the sacred place: holy, hallowed, blessed, consecrated, sanctified, venerated, revered; archaic blest.
2 sacred music: religious, spiritual, devotional, church, ecclesiastical. ANTONYMS secular, profane.
3 the hill is sacred to the tribe: sacrosanct, inviolable, inviolate, invulnerable, untouchable, protected, defended, secure.
The sacred feminine is lacking in today’s world. Is there any treatment of women that shows any inviolable veneration, or reverence, of woman in the world? It is not just men who have no understanding of the sacred nature of life givers, women have lost it too, if we ever had it. Evidence from early human culture suggests that wonder and appreciation of women was present. The red ochre covering the figure when it was found points to the piece being associated with a sacred rite. The figure is feminine. There is some element of the sacred feminine that was evident to those who created it and to those people who look at it today. More than that we cannot know with certainty.
We do not advocate for one view of religion or spiritual interpretation. Women’s legacy takes in all humans and all human belief. We can say that many of the dominant religions have a decidedly patriarchal orientation. We can also say we know that this was not always the case. This does not mean that there was a matriarchal orientation in beliefs prior to that.
Either/or scenarios need not be the predominant understanding of what is correct. Perhaps there is no correct. Wonder, appreciation, respect and value rarely are found in exclusive pronouncements of right and wrong.
As we re-write our legacy to more of what we believe it should be, I personally hope we include the decentralized, communally accessible feminine sacred that resides within the bond between child and mother.
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April A to Z Blogging Challenge, The letter S, Day 19