What are your thoughts on the Divine Feminine (or the feminine aspects of the Deity)?
I believe God is the sum of all energy found anywhere and everywhere in the universe: male and female, positive and negative, and good and evil, and I believe that the force that is God is incomprehensible as a whole: just as we cannot understand the world as a whole but we can BEGIN to understand the world by studying its parts, we also cannot comprehend God as a whole but can begin to understand It by studying its various aspects. Because I believe God is everything, including the polar energies of the masculine and feminine, acknowledging the feminine aspect of God as well as the male is a necessity in my journey to understanding God as a whole.
Does your religion accept the Goddess, or would be blasphemy to even consider such a thing?
Being largely agnostic and not entirely positive what religion my beliefs correlate to (though I think Unitarianism is the best bet), I have to make my own personal choices about religion. I accept the Goddess as a part of God. For me, it is blasphemy to ignore the feminine aspect of God and only acknowledge the male (or acknowledge only the feminine and ignore the male).
Why has major modern religions largely ignored the Goddess and do you think the exclusion of a Feminine Divinity correlates to the diminshed role of women in these religions?
I think the major religions have ignored the feminine aspect of God because their vision of God reflects their society. There are two kinds of societies: those that regard themselves as PART of nature, and those that regard themselves as lords OVER nature.
Societies that recognize themselves as part of nature acknowledge nature as a divine power, and they tend to correlate the phenomenon of Creation with what they view in nature: it takes a male and a female to create new life. Therefore, those kinds of societies view God as either one force with a dual feminine and masculine nature, or they believe in many Gods, male and female, who procreate to create the world. For example, basic ancient Druid thought was that there are many Gods, male and female, and a female God impregnated by a male God gave birth to the world, but all these Gods are part of one Source.
Paternalistic societies that view humans to be above nature, rather than a part of it, generally reject the view of nature as a divine force. Therefore, they do not see the correlation between natural procreation and the Creative powers of God. For them, man is above nature, and God is above man, and all are separate. Yet it is funny to note that these societies still define God based on that which they see in their own world; because God allowed us to lord over nature, It must find us favorable. Because we are favorable in the eyes of God, we must have similar qualities to It. If we share similar qualities with God, It must have created us in Its image, and because God is One it is impossible for It to be both male AND female, and because It is supreme it must therefore be the stronger sex
male, which is physically stronger and sometimes believed to be mentally stronger as well. Thus, God is One, and He is male.
The latter societies therefore have a REASON to view women as less than men; men are more like God than women are, and therefore are superior. The former societies, however, viewed women as physically weaker than men, but full of as much spiritual potential. In ancient times they may not have been equal to men, but they were much freer than woman of paternalistic societies.
Do you worship or honor Her, if you do how and is it different from how you honor or worship God (or the masculine aspects of the Deity)?
For me, it is not so important to worship God as to try to understand It and become closer to It. This includes reaffirming the divinity of nature and life by experiencing its beauty, understanding my role in the world and striving to be the best I can be, caring for others and trying to help them, etc. However, I do feel it is important to acknowledge God Itself sometimes, although this a personal thing rather than something God requires of us. And it is easier to work with the individual aspects of God than God in Its entirety. Thus, I do seperately honor the feminine aspect of God, as well as the masculine and any other relevant aspects. It can be anything from a full blown out fertility ritual, to meditation upon an idea or an image, to the composition of devotional poetry or the singing of a song about life and beauty.
