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The
Goddess
lives on today.
Thousands of goddesses have been revered throughout history. Each
culture develops its own names and
characteristics for major goddesses and
minor deities that reflect the particular
culture's needs and concerns. Today, when
people refer to "The Goddess," they usually
mean Gaia, the Celtic Great Mother or the
Magna Mater. She goes by many names--Ishtar,
the ancient Venus, Sophia, or the Triple Goddess--but is always
associated with the cycle of life, death and rebirth, often
expressed in the changing seasons. Her followers believed that
everything is sacred and that the spirit of divinity abides in
rocks, streams and trees as well as in human beings. Even people
who are not particularly religious or spiritual can still feel
awe at the variety and beauty of the natural world
Which Goddess Are You?
Take the
Goddess
Quiz and discover your personal
archetype.
The cycle of the seasons was of crucial
significance to early agrarian cultures. If
spring was delayed or the summer was cold,
the crop failed and famine struck. And when
primitive peoples saw the earth dying into
winter, they needed to believe that the
miracle of rebirth would happen once again,
as it always had. That cycle of birth, death
and rebirth was also echoed in the lives of
believers, who maintained that the soul was
reborn over many lifetimes.
All later goddesses retain some aspect of
the Great Mother. Isis, for instance, is
closely associated with the Magna Mater.
At
Goddess Gift, we have amassed information on
many of the major goddesses. Read their
stories, and take the Goddess Quiz
to discover which aspect of the archetype
influences the patterns of your life. Be
sure to visit the Goddess Shop where you
will find art glass jewelry, statues, and
other items that have carefully selected to
help you honor and celebrate the goddess in
your daily life.
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