|
The
Celtic Goddess, was but one manifestation of the
Great
Goddess, or White Goddess, who dominated myths over
a
vast region of Europe and Asia for millennia starting before the
Neolithic
began. When the Indo-Europeans began to emerge from
their
homeland in southwestern Russia c.4,000 and migrate to both
the
west and east, their myths of the male sky god
collided
with those of the White Goddess. In many instances, the
Great
Goddess was mortally wounded and driven underground in
dozens
of disconnected pieces. The Indo-Europeans were an
aggressive
nomadic people who had domesticated the horse and were
adept
at conducting mobile warfare with chariots. This
technology
allowed them to quickly dominate in many regions; we
can
side step the debate over the degree of pacifism inherent in
Goddess
culture.
However
at the margin of their migrations, particularly in
India
and the Celtic realms of Europe, a much more complex
interaction
took place than simple warfare with clear-cut victory
and
defeat. The Indo-European invaders and the indigenous
peoples
fused into cultures that were hybrid on all levels from
the
mytho-poetic to the societal forms and rituals that are given
structure
by the myths. The White Goddess acquired new power and
attributes,
most notably in her manifestation as the Mare Goddess
(horses
were only food animals before the Indo-Europeans). The
newly
evolved Great Goddess possessed enormous strength which
enabled
her to resist the onslaught of Christianity for many
Centuries.
The
White Goddess was never completely extinguished,
although
brutalized and maimed almost beyond recognition. By the
late
Middle Ages fragments of her ritual were preserved in the
underground
of peasant culture by women who came to be known as
"witches".
Sound scholarship has confirmed that they had little
conscious
knowledge of the ancient myths but especially
in
the realm of healing, they preserved a portion of the timeless
ritual.
In the second half of this century, Western Culture is
experiencing
a New Age Movement, part of which is an attempt to
rediscover
the Goddess as an ante dote to the spiritual sterility,
chauvinism,
aggression and ecological imperialism of the
mainstream
Christian Church. One of the timeless themes of
history
is the nostalgia for a "golden age" of the past, when
life
was simpler and better. In many hands, our contemporary
revival
of the Goddess begins with this dream then mixes in a
little
historical knowledge, personal anger and existentialism,
and
concludes by adding a heavy dose of feminist
politics
and stirs well. The result is a "reinvention" of
tradition
in a fashion that has become typically American and
typical
of New Age Movements in general. Much of our fantasy
literature
and role-playing game design draws heavily upon an
imagined
Celtic realm that bears little relationship to what
actually
existed; their validity must lie in an assessment of
their
contribution to the imagination which is often
Considerable.
The
problem thus created is enormous and my perception of
this
problem is a major motivation for an in-depth exploration of
the
archetypal Goddess, as opposed to the cartoon version
available
for sale in countless bookstores, retreat centers and
weekend
workshops. "Reinventing the wheel" has become a phrase
to
refer to either a project that is unnecessary because a well
working
"wheel" already exists, or an endeavor that might prove
impossibly
difficult within the context at hand. Unless,
ignorance
of history and the mythic archetypes that structure
society
is acceptable, reinvention of the Goddess is hardly
necessary
and indeed almost laughable in conception. She is, and
always
will be, there! Our job, if we wish to contact her, is to
discover
her; she is objectively real. Indeed the best of New Age
Movements
use the verb "discover" rather than "reinvent".
Putting
the
Goddess into the clothes of contemporary pyscho-babble and
New
Age cultism insults her deeply and renders the profound
trivial.
The timeless truth that myths cannot be
divorced
from context is no mere abstraction. The Goddess and
Indo-
European mythology, are the products of particular cultures
evolving
in very specific times and places. Everything nurtures
everything
else and all input is essential. In order to
understand
either system, which persisted in a strong and vital
condition
for millennia, it is necessary to explore the myths and
cultures
of those times in detail.
Only
then can an informed judgement be made as to whether
some
or all of an ancient mytho-poetic might be applicable to our
times,
and if so, how such application might proceed. This
approach
recognizes and respects the cultural gulf between the
creators
of those mythic systems and ourselves. The gap between
our
society and tribal agriculturists living in villages, towns
and
small cities (Goddess culture) or nomadic pastoralists
forever
on the move for land and adventure (Indo-Europeans) is
enormous.
To assume, without thinking, that the myths of
the
Goddess can be applied to ourselves is simplistic, to say the
least,
for there is no similarity in cultural context. My
objective
in attempting to present an accurate historical record
is
not to set the stage for a conclusion of irrelevancy; I firmly
believe
that the Goddess is very relevant to our age. But that
relevance
will require modification and adaptation and should not
be
attempted in a vacuum of historical ignorance. If we
understand
where we were than we can better understand where we
are
and we thereby respect the Goddess. She won't help you if
you
do not understand her and cannot respect her.
The Neolithic Great Goddess
The
Neolithic Great Goddess of Old Europe.
Before
we start, a word about her name. The name 'Great
Goddess'
is synonymous in my usage with 'White Goddess' (cf.
Graves
1966) and I shall use the terms interchangeably. One of
the
primary epiphanies of the Great Goddess was the White Goddess
of
Death and Regeneration, which held a particular fascination for
Robert
Graves as he attempted to trace her survival in the
Medieval
and Renaissance Celtic world.
This
text was written with a several goals in mind. When
Marija
Gimbutas (1989) published The Language of the Goddess in
1989,
a landmark work of scholarship was made available to the
public.
This study is not only unique, it carries the stamp of
authenticity
and quality. It is the first in-depth overview of
the
Neolithic Great Goddess that draws upon the wealth of
archeological
and mytho-poetic evidence from Old Europe. Old
Europe
was a cultural area in what is now Eastern and Central
Europe
that was unified by virtue of its myths. Each
culture
had a social and religious structure determined by the
myths
of the Great Goddess and this unity lasted for
several
thousand years. Specifically, the evidence from
Yugoslavia,
Thessaly, the Balkans, Transylvania, Moldavia and the
Ukraine
is sifted, interpreted and then intergrated with that
from
Iberia, France, Italy, Sardinia, Malta, and NW Europe. The
result
of this magnificent synthesis is the first comprehensive
look
at the Great Goddess in all of her complex manifestations,
metaphors
and ritual.
Given
the success of Gimbutas' work, one may ask why write
about
it? I would not have done so, if I felt there was not
something
I could contribute that is not present. For all of its
brilliance,
her writing at times is quite disorganized and the
chronology
often falls apart as folk tales are told and commented
upon.
Also, much of the important information in the book is
contained
in captions to illustrations. This forces a
disjointed,
back and forth reading process and, indeed, almost
guarantees
that several readings are necessary to gain a complete
understanding
of the material. My first objective was to compile
a
detailed outline of the Goddess' iconography and derived
metaphor
according to the scheme presented by Gimbutas, but
paying
stricter adherence to the historical chronology.
Gimbutas'
tripartite division of the Goddess' myths into
Life
Giving, Death and Regeneration and Energy Unfolding is
brilliant
and I have no wish to modify it. This outline is of
great
use to me as I search for the Great Goddess elsewhere and
contemplate
her specific metaphors in other times and places
(Blumenberg
1992a, 1992b). The White Goddess was not restricted
to
Old Europe and the nearby regions; Gimbutas does not journey
to
India, Tibet, China or Japan and her exploration into Celtic
realms
and ancient civilizations of Mesopotamia and the
Mediterranean
is incomplete. Perhaps this 'field guide' to the
Great
Goddess will be of interest and value to you .
The Great Goddess in India and Tibet
The
Great Goddess as she lived, and still lives, in India and Tibet.
In
this region, she is still very much alive, and with the spread
of
Tibetan
Buddhism to the West forced by the Chinese Communist
invasion
of Tibet 40 years ago, the religion of this Great Goddess
has
actively spread to the West. Although the Great Goddess can
be
found in one other literature, Celtic mythology written down during
the
Middle Ages, the wealth of texts and living cult practice is
unparalleled
in India and Tibet.
The
complexity that appears is almost overwhelming. A
serious
academic controversy continues as to whether or not a
single
Great Goddess exists/existed in South and Central Asia;
the
number of apparently distinct goddesses, both 'major' and
'minor'
that can be tabulated is striking. I proceed from the
assumption
that the Great Goddess was/is a global phenomenon,
although
it is easy to loose the 'single preeminent deity' when
looking
at her numerous epiphanies and manifestations. I
sympathize
with those who cannot see see the unity behind the
apparent
'ten thousand things'. In any case, this presentation
lacks
a single skeleton upon which to hang the discussion. The
complexity
of these myths will not allow for that and no
overriding
theme will be forced on this study. Let us revel in
the
complexity for its own sake and for the extraordinary
diversity
of human behavior that is accepted under its umbrella.
Hinduism
and Buddhism are, perhaps, the most tolerant religions
yet
to appear on this planet. They are an extraordinary
achievement
of the human mind. Indian and Tibetan myths
have
long impressed scholars with their complex, multilayered
metaphors.
In all of history, they may represent the most
impressive
cultural achievement in this realm for these societies
valued
intellectual pursuits very, very highly. Ultimate
'knowledge'
was experiential, forever beyond intellectual study
and
accomplishment. Nonetheless, the development of a first rate
intellectual
mind and the commitment to in-depth, difficult study
was
always viewed as the essential beginning steps on the road to
enlightenment.
Such a view is rarely held in the West, where we
have
such a passion for what is quick, ego-centered, emotional
and
expressive. We do not have a deep cultural commitment to
that
which requires a major commitment to deep information
gathering
and tight, logical philosophy. Integration of such
experiences
into a life requires, above all, maturity of thought
and
discipline and the ability to make serious choices for the
long-run
gain. In our adolescent, ego-riented culture forever
obsessed
with only today, we spin out accolades for those coming
to
meet us from Hindu or Buddhist realms. However, we rarely
understand
them because their message cannot be reduced to
cartoon
level, easily assimilated, self-help cleverness, however
much
we try to do just that.
The
other barrier in confronting these myths is sex,
something
all Westerners are convinced they know a great deal
about.
As a culture, we are entirely unfamiliar with sexual
practice
integrated into religion. Within the context of Judao-
Christian
thought, such ideas were never acceptable to he
mainstream
and early in the history of both religions were
branded
heresy and totally sinful, to be persecuted wherever
found.
The mainstream theology of the West has been puritanical
and
moralistic since the early Middle Ages. Nonetheless, for
several
centuries, Gnosticism contained sects which practiced
sexual
rites within the context of a philosophy that drew heavily
upon
the New Testament. These Gnostic sects are discussed at
some
length in the beginning of this study in order to introduce
rituals
that were practiced in the West that bear some
relationship
to the integration of sexual rites within the
Goddess
cults of both Hindus and Buddhism. These practices are
spectacular
and extreme and their description will challenge many
of
your basic assumptions about public and private ethics and
Morality.
I
have chosen not to avoid these issues, because without
them
a study of the Great Goddess in India and Tibet would have
no
meaning. Sexual rites, tantric and otherwise, were central to
much
cult practice because of the Goddess' intimate association
with
fertility and life-giving in both the human sphere and the
ecological
environment at large. (The historical record of sexual
ritual
in the West has yet go be explored fully and discussed
thoughtfully.)
The historical record in South and Central Asia
is
clear, from both written evidence and first hand observation.
This
is not to say all Goddess ritual was sexual, far from it.
More
than half of this study is concerned with other matters as
the
table of contents makes clear. However, when we enter the
realm
of the Goddess as Giver of Sovereignty and Tantrism, sexual
ritual
appears in a context loaded with complex metaphysical
Philosophy.
My
commitment is, above all, to historical reality. What
was,
or is, must be witnessed and understood. Understand, that I
am
a researcher only, not a closet cultist who practices strange
rituals,
sexual or otherwise. In presenting this material, I am
not
advocating that myself or anyone should, necessarily,
experiment
with such practices. Context is everything and by
that
I mean traditions with deep mytho-poetic meaning that
support
daily life, secular and ritualistic. The cultural
context
for these practices, except for some Tantric rites, is
forever
gone and cannot be recreated. In any case, they were
only
intended for royalty under special circumstances as
explained
in the text, or for those of unusual psychological
strength
who were naturally inclined and thoroughly prepared to
explore
psychic realms that for most people were very dangerous
and
carried with them the possibility of madness. The potential
benefits
to the few who entered these realms are discussed in the
study.
The potential benefits to simply reading about this facet
of
religious history is that we might broaden our understanding
of
human nature and see a more complete, complex picture than
before.
If such an exploration is offensive to you, please do
not
undertake it. No benefits will accrue; there would be no
point
in simply getting angry at me or feeling morally superior. I
strongly
recommend that this material not be read by young
people,
who will not have the maturity or educational background
to
properly consider it, or anyone simply after sexual
titillation.
In either case, the time spent would simply be
Wasted.
The Goddess in China and Japan
The
Great Goddess in China and Japan;
a difficult
subject
to approach at best. It is often assumed
that
the
Great Goddess of the Neolithic, as known from
Europe,
is not to be found in East Asia. Discerning the
mythological
elements in the earliest Chinese texts is very
difficult;
the Chinese talent for abstraction and brilliant, but
secular
oriented, philosophy dominates the earliest examples from
their
written records. From the first millennium BC onwards,
the
ethics and morality of the family, clan, village and the
society
at large became the dominant metaphor for expressing the
highest
of spiritual ideals and conducting the deepest of
philosophical
journeys. Confucius did not write and teach in a
vacuum.
Only Taoism proceeded from different premises and it is
there
that our search begins for the mythological underpinnings
of
early Chinese religion (Giradot 1983). The female bodhisatvas
of
Buddhism are not manifestations of the Great Goddess as the
philosophy
of the Buddha made clear from the outset.
Japan
did not begin to emerge from a country dominated by
village
organized agricultural peoples, until the seventh century
AD
and therefore clan-shamanic deities were at the core of all
ritual
life. Furthermore, Shinto, Tao and Zen were not intent on
virtually
obliterating the gods as Confucianism did in China;
that
change was forced by a medieval, patriarchal feudalism .
Nonetheless,
what the various Japanese goddesses might actually
represent
is a question that is only just beginning to be
considered.
As Giradot (1983) represents a breakthrough study
for
perceiving early Chinese mythology, Nakamura (1989) is one of
the
few publications in English that recognizes the Goddess in
Japan
and is concerned with more than cataloguing the detail of
local
deities or discussing the survival of female shamans.
This
study is quite incomplete, a beginning only, to the
recognition
of the White Goddess in East Asia. Notice how recent
many
of the references are that accompany the text and how
tentative
the interpretations. Nonetheless, her existence is
beyond
doubt. Unlike in Europe, the complete chronicle of her
presence,
relationships on earth and eventual demise has yet to
be
written. Brilliant members of the Christian clergy in Europe
recognized
the goddess as a pagan enemy of major proportions and
made
the chronicle of her mortal wounding a major priority. In
East
Asia, there was no such militancy in the confrontation and
the
story was not deemed worthy of official recording in such a
deliberate
manner. Nonetheless, the history may be reconstructed
from
a variety of evidence and the work has begun.
References
Basham,
A.L. 1954. The Wonder That Was India. New York:
Grove
Press.
Campbell,
J. 1988. The Way of Animal Powers. Vo.1. Historical
Atlas
of World Mythology. New York: Alfred Knopf.
Doan,
J. 1987. "Women and Goddesses in Early Celtic History, Myth
and
Legend." Working Papers in Irish Studies No. 87-4/5.
Boston:
Northeastern Univ.
Gimbutas,
M. 1989. The Language of the Goddess. New York: Harper
&
Row.
Giradot,
N.J. 1983. Myth and Meaning in Early Taoism. Berkeley,
Ca:
Univ. California Press.
Graves,
R. 1966 rev. The White Goddess. New York: Farrar, Straus,
Giroux.
Jaynes.
J. 1976. The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of
the
Bicameral Mind. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Nakamura,
K.M. 1989. "The Significance of Amaterasu in Japanese
Religious
History." in C. Olsen ed. The Book of the Goddess:
Past
and Present. Lexington, Mass.: Crossroad, pp. 176-189.
O'Flaherty,
W.D. 1980. Women, Androgynes and Other Mythical
Beasts.
Chicago: Univ. of Chicago.
Shakabpa,
T.W.D. 1967. Tibet: A Political History. New Haven:
Yale
Univ. Press.
Snellgrove,
D. and H. Richardson. 1968. A Cultural History of
Tibet.
Boston: Shambala.
Wolpert,
S. 1991. India. Berkeley, CA.: Univ. of California
Press.
Yeshe
Do Project. 1986. Ancient Tibet. Berkeley, CA: Dharma
Publ.
| 
