Goddess of nature/nurture
March 22nd, 2023
The names are different, and there are a lot of those names for sure — but they mean the same. Of every single existing culture (by culture I mean an entity as big as encompassing a continent or as small as located in a single valley or village) since the dawn of human consciousness and the creation of religion — each has a name for her. Call her mother goddess or goddess of nature — which in turn means the goddess of nurture and of sustained and repeatable growth — seasonal and human. In ancient Sumer she was Mani, in Babylon she was Ishtar. In Asia Minor, she had a lot of names — Magna Mater, Cybele, Ma, or Ammas. In Carthage, she was known as the Great Mother, Isis in Egypt, Demeter among the Greeks, and Astarte among Syrians. In Persia, she was Anahita and among the Nabateans she was Alilat. In Indian Buddhism she was Kwannyin, in Japanese Buddhism she was Kwannon and in Chinese Taoism — she was Primal Mother.
On one hand, there is a deep comfort for me knowing that sameness through all the different diverged lines of cultural development. On the other, a question just screams at me — where the hell did we go wrong and turned to worship of a paternalistic and violent pantheon of gods? That begs another question — when did we assume our reign and control over nature and decided that we can abuse and destroy and damage it without consequences? And when exactly did Mamon become the main god worshiped and envied by the majority of people? I know it is difficult to imagine a different path now. The authoritarian and oppressive and patriarchal way of living is ingrained almost to the core of every being. We cannot comprehend that our lives can be divergent from what we see and (we think) we know. I still will try to do my part — maybe by not worshiping outright, but by NOT being a nuisance to the maternal spirit. I will enjoy the re-birth spectacle on the show that already started this spring and will keep in mind that there is another way — already tested throughout history but infuriatingly forgotten. I guess there is no money to be made from peace, love, and understanding.
