| What might it have been like to live in a society | | | | on it, so it must be done well. The Mother |
| where the Divine Feminine as Mother was | | | | Goddess has given us the gift of family and home |
| revered? In our present cultural context the | | | | as the cornerstone of our civilization. |
| importance of motherhood is paid lip service more | | | | All Life Rises from Sacred Union of Masculine and |
| than it is genuinely revered. We can imagine what | | | | Feminine |
| such a world might look like though, by reviewing | | | | To bless the sacred marriage of a young woman |
| what we know about Minoan civilization, dating | | | | and man, we have ceremonies in the sacred |
| from about 3,000 to 1400 B.C. The Minoans lived | | | | space where the Horns of consecration stand. |
| on the island of Crete in the Mediterranean Sea. | | | | The horns are the sign of the male. The male is |
| Abundant archaeological evidence exists for this | | | | the fertilizing principle. The space between the |
| society's reverence of a Goddess. Murals found at | | | | horns is the shape of a womb. It's the female, |
| Knossos, a town in Crete, show plant life in | | | | the creative principle. |
| exuberant growth around the central image of a | | | | We revere these male and female life forces, for |
| female deity. Animals and humans are depicted as | | | | they pervade the entire universe. All of life rises |
| part of this abundance. These paintings reveal | | | | from the mystery and rapture of their union." |
| reverence for the generative powers of Earth. | | | | When my first child was ready to be born I was |
| Take a moment to visit this place where the | | | | swiftly carried in a palanquin by my kinsmen to an |
| Divine Feminine was honored, to see it through | | | | inn, where women stay before and after a birth. |
| the words of Minah, a Minoan woman from | | | | Such lodgings are close to caves, our sacred |
| ancient Crete and imagine ways motherhood and | | | | places where we women prefer to give birth. The |
| marriage might be returned to a place of | | | | energies and presence of our Goddess are very |
| reverence today. | | | | strong there. It is said that those energies assist a |
| Motherhood, Family, Home are the Cornerstones | | | | mother in birthing her child. |
| of Civilization | | | | For my child's birth my midwives spread beautiful |
| A mother giving birth is a vessel for the presence | | | | rugs, pillows and linens on the floor of the cave. I |
| of the Goddess. | | | | brought votive offerings to the Goddess and |
| The mother phase in a woman's life is a time | | | | placed them in the cave. |
| when she surrenders herself to the creative | | | | Honoring the Gift of Birth |
| powers of nature. She also surrenders to the | | | | When I went home a great celebration was held |
| spirit world, so that spirit can come into her | | | | by my clan. They invited many people to |
| womb and be born. | | | | welcome my newborn. Then there was feasting, |
| The mother gives life to her child both in the | | | | song and dance. |
| womb and outside the womb. She gives of her | | | | After three months had passed and my child was |
| own body - her blood within the womb and her | | | | still alive, I and my child's father went to the |
| milk from the breast. Both blood and milk carry | | | | central government building. With its red pillars and |
| the life force, and life depends on them. She gives | | | | colorful murals, it is very beautiful. There we |
| her love and life energy in this way to the | | | | registered our child as a new citizen. |
| creation and nurture of another life. | | | | As a first-time mother, I became one of the |
| That child is a precious gift to our society. Some | | | | leaders of the harvest celebration for that year. |
| of our newborns don't survive. And a woman | | | | A new mother has close ties with the abundance |
| who gives birth undertakes great risk herself. She | | | | of the harvest. |
| walks the line between life and death. Despite the | | | | The Mother Goddess births the grain and fruits of |
| skill of midwives and their knowledge of herbs to | | | | our fields. She is also our goddess of the sea and |
| make delivery of a child easier, some of our | | | | its creatures. From the sea our men catch the |
| women die from complications. | | | | fish which she gives abundantly. Our men also |
| I became a mother at age sixteen. This is the | | | | invoke Her protection when they sail as traders |
| age when we become candidates for mating with | | | | to bring back goods from other lands. |
| a young man and having a family. Young women | | | | And so She nurtures and sustains us. She is the |
| and men who want to marry must come before | | | | mother of all good things that come to us. We |
| the elder women for approval. | | | | must always remember and acknowledge this |
| Our elder women tell young women and men to | | | | with libations and sacrificial offerings to Her. |
| wait a while if they see that they aren't ready for | | | | After hearing Minah's story of how women were |
| that responsibility. They also consider astrological | | | | honored as mother and partner in Minoan culture, |
| signs to decide the most favorable time for the | | | | in what way would you like to see sacred |
| marriage. To create a home and family is a very | | | | marriage and the mother phase in a woman's life |
| important event and a most sacred thing because | | | | honored in today's world? |
| the survival and continuity of our society depends | | | | |