THE EMBODIED GODDESS: Feminine Witchcraft & FEMALE DIVINITY

Transcription

1 THE EMBODIED GODDESS: Feminine Witchcraft & FEMALE DIVINITY

2 There are several rganizatinal differences within the Gddess Mvement: Circle f the Redwd Mn Radical Feminist Cven Dianics after the Rman Gddess Diana Celebratin f Sabbats: hly days f seasnal cycles Value female leadership & divinity Requires apprenticeship and training in the practice and idelgy f magic Wmancircle INTRODUCTION N structured training, but wrkshps that fcus n discvering the gddess within Prefer the term spirituality t religin Bth grups cnsider public ritual t be a plitical act

3 MYTHOS AND SOCIAL RELATIONS Feminist witches supprt these claims with evidence that they are ntewrthy similarities between the patriarchal structures f the wrlds 5 majr religins Feminist witches say that patriarchal religins als teach us t place less imprtance n material and emtinal things. These structures as they are teach peple t "defer pwer and respnsibility"(111) t thse wh are religiusly superir These religins and structures say that yu must deny yurself and bdy t be successful. These religins als have hierarchical value systems that rank: Material Emtinal Intellectual Feminist witches believe that this imprisns wmen t abuse because the religin is encuraging and reinfrcing prductivity and thus the wmen becme the "wrkers" in these patriarchal structures.

4 MYTHOS OF FEMINIST WITCHCRAFT Instead f transcendence, the Gddess represents immanence, which is visualized as the flw f energy that cnnects all things. Thrugh religius ritual and magic, feminist witches and wmen in the Gddess mvement attempt t link what they believe is the divine within themselves and t the divine arund them in the natural wrld. Witches emphasize these FOUR cre values: Female pwer Bdy Will Wmen s heritage and bnds Female definitin f pwer as said by Mageara: female pwer isn t abut pwer ver, it is pwer t d, pwer t be.

5 Traditinal religius icngraphy ffers ne majr mythpeic image fr wmen, that f the Mther. (Griffin [1995]/Mnahan et. Al [2011], pg 112) First created by Hypatia (witch and priestess) Gddess f the Mn and Lady f the Wild Things Strng independent image, natural part f female Secnd presented by priestess frm Wmancircle Three figures: Black Isis, Chicana Tnatzin, Virgin Mary The image f diversity Virgin Mary: reclaimed her sexuality, fertility, autnmy, divinity Last cnstructed by several Wman-circle priestesses FEMINIST MYTHOPOEIC IMAGES Fcus n the Crne aspect f the Gddess Ritual ceremny f the cming f the Crnes Each ffered gifts t the cmmunity (i.e. wisdm, lve, healing, laughter, sexual lve, plitical pwer) Shattered steretypes fr aging wmen Represents that wmen can lk frward t ld age, will be valued and respected

6 CONCLUSIONS Celebratin f female will, pwer, bdy, and bnds t ne anther The Gddess mvement attempts t shape a new cultural eths, with public ritual. The mvement rejects miscnceptins frm patriarchal religins. The Mvement seeks new cultural understanding f wmen s spiritual pwer and their rles in spiritual sciety Cnnecting material with the spiritual & liberating sexuality and erticism Challenging the balance f pwer and creating strnger identities fr wmen Fcus n strength and pwer that is internal and nt derived frm secular patriarchs r higher religius figures Framewrk supprts feminist apprach t change in ther areas f gender ppressin. Despite empwerment f ritual, this may nt transfer int daily life

7 DIVISION OF LABOR Intrductin: Myths and Scial Relatins: Myths f Feminist Witchcraft: Feminist Mythpeic Images: Cnclusin and PwerPint cllabratin: Rebecca Keatn Devin Kenen Taryn Knudsvig Heidi Lundquist Jeff Lazzari Wrks Cited: Griffin, Wendy. "The Embdied Gddess: Feminine Witchcraft and Female Divinity."Scilgy f Religin: A Reader. Secnd ed. Bstn: Allyn & Bacn, Print.