How the Downfall of Feminine Deities Degraded Ladies’s Standing in World Cultures by Rachel S. McCoppin; guide assessment by Margot Van Sluytman

by 


She Who Is aware of

What then is my repentance?
If not, by rote this repetition?
“Godde is.”
“Godde is.”
“Godde is.”
“Love.”
And my face tastes
The beating coronary heart
Of the solar’s name
For reclamation of
SHE Who Is.
SHE Who Is: is aware of me.
She, who additionally, is.
©Margot Van Sluytman

From the second I noticed the title, Goddess Misplaced: How the Downfall of Feminine Deities Degraded Ladies’s Standing in World Cultures, by Rachel S. McCoppin, I knew I must learn it. When it arrived in my mailbox and I noticed the duvet, I used to be imbued with inspiration. Then I learn two sentences within the Preface, which articulate what for me, and for a lot of, is likely one of the most significant, highly effective, and, as but, under-addressed, information.

With precision, readability, and brevity, these sentences explicate a foundational reality with which, for which, and into which we are going to proceed to stroll, as we shake free from the bondage of restricted and limiting understandings of our shared-humanity contoured within the poverty of systemic patriarchal hegemony.

Up to date schooling curriculum usually teaches primarily about patriarchal historic civilization. It is a disservice to each our daughters and our sons. I would love my very own kids to know that perception techniques existed all around the world that revered girls as sacred succesful and robust. (p.1)

What a vital and important perception, one that’s addressed in every chapter of this guide as Rachel takes us on a journey across the globe into the realm whereby feminine knowledge, authority, and political savvy was not solely valued and extremely revered; however was, as properly, an important ingredient in every of the societies through which we journey through her writing. Europe, India, Asia, Africa, the Center East, the Mediterranean, and the Americas our locations.

What shook me profoundly on this work, is the chapter about Asia, through which Rachel delineates how with the arrival of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Christianity, a gradual and regular erosion of matrilineal, female, and matriarchal deities, changed by patriarchal ideologies and agendas, whereby backlash and discrimination in opposition to womyn, began to proliferate not solely threatening, however eradicating womyn’s voices. Womyn’s knowings. Womyn’s teachings.

Womyn have been barred from turning into monks and clergymen for concern that they’d corrupt males; therefore, society at giant. An concept that was not lived previous to a shift in who had the facility and delight of place in formally structured spiritual techniques, and what they have been permitted to and allowed to do and why. Rachel exhibits the gradual and systematic dismantling of Goddess worship, because it was changed by patriarchal mores. Even so, it turns into evident on this guide, that small and dedicated communities of womyn practiced Goddess worship and ritual. Even into at present, as could be famous by our personal wealthy neighborhood herein, through Feminism and Faith, a light-weight is shone on this incidence. Womyn collect nonetheless. Womyn will all the time collect. Goddess, as Rachel addresses, could also be hidden, could also be much less seen, but is alive and never solely worthy of our consideration and honour, however speaks by means of us in our writings, work, and delicate and beneficiant rituals.

Addressing how colonialism performed a major and detrimental, in addition to a damaging function within the dismantling of the Goddess, is one other vital, essential, and well-argued facet of this guide. Underscoring how gender inequality and violence in opposition to womyn continues in a rampant method as a result of introduction and savage indoctrination of monotheism, with monotheism that means a male God, demonstrates the taking out the various faceted faces of Goddess; therefore demonizing inclusivity, variety, and relegating nature and the pure world to different. Different for use and abused within the service of patriarchy, versus being valued, cared-for, understood as one and the identical as us.

Empowerment is vital to the essence of the why and the how of the inarguable knowledge of feminine spirituality. That womyn don’t want a particular non secular path, don’t have to belong to a religion system with the intention to embrace and know the power, the sweetness, and the knowledge of Goddess, factors to the truth that spirituality within the female can and does embrace, the truth is thrives, within the pure world the place binary, dualistic, restricted, and limiting conceptions of formality and worship usually are not obligatory, usually are not kin.

I began this guide assessment with my poem, She Who Is aware of, for it situates the content material of this life-infused guide within the crucible of care, care turning into as soon as once more extra deeply acutely aware of how Goddess means and issues not just for the feminine gender, however for all genders. Journeying with Rachel’s knowledge is a wealthy invitation to enter into deep relationship with sisters in spirit, within the spirit remembering what was ‘misplaced’, was, is, and can ever be with us, as we collect round literal and figurative fires of, with, for, and due to in-forming, re-forming, trans-forming, and being trans-formed by feminism, female, and matrilineal methods of figuring out and methods of being. Being in a steady lineage of an ever-alive and thriving Knowledge which is and of every of us.

To learn, Goddess Misplaced: How the Downfall of Feminine Deities Degraded Ladies’s Standing in World Cultures, is to know justice, is to know pleasure. Is to recollect and to have a good time our very personal voices of knowledge. Our very personal voices of unmanacled energy. Life-giving energy to resurrect not solely our voices however the voices of all. For all. She who is aware of guides and consecrates this.

Accessible to buy on Amazon or McFarland Publishing

BIO: Margot Van Sluytman is an award-winning Poet and award-winning Therapeutic Writing Mentor, and Justice Activist. She teaches World Citizenship within the framework of Sawbonna at Centennial School in Toronto, Canada. Her books embrace: Birthing the Celibate Soul; Sing My Backbone-A Response to the Track of Songs; Dance with Your Therapeutic-Tears Let Me Start to Communicate; Breathe Me: Why Poetry Works; Hope is: The Pandemic Poems; Wild Self Actual Self: Give up Not Management; and, How Mining Which means Leaves its Mark. She is the Poet Laureate of Roncesvalles United Church in Toronto, Canada. She was nominated for Ontario’s First Poet Laureate. Within the 12 months 2000 Margot was gifted with the Spirit Identify: Raven Speaks.