Restoring the Goddess: Equal Rites for Modern Women

by Barbara G. Walker

Book Overview

"In the beginning, in the time that was no time, nothing existed but the Womb. And the Womb was a limitless dark cauldron of all things in potential: a chaotic blood-soup of matter and energy, fluid as water yet mud-solid with salts of the earth; red-hot as fire yet restlessly churning and bubbling with all the winds. And the Womb was the Mother, before She took form and gave form to Existence. She was the Deep. . . ."With this dramatic, poetic recasting...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1573927864
• ISBN13: 9781573927864
• Release Date: March 2000
• Publisher: Prometheus Books
• Length: 424 Pages
• Weight: 1.72 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.6" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Part manifesto, part group therapy, part philosophy textbook

I think that some Wiccans who bought this seemed disappointed that it wasn't a more practical work. I love this book specifically because it is a total exercise in thought. It examines where we may have been, where we know we've been, where we are and where we *could* go in human society.The book for the most part serves as an indictment of patriarchal society, and like any good manifesto, it tells why the proposed system is better. Unlike a manifesto, however, it doesn't get bogged down in the minutia and instead retains its philosophical focus. Yes, there are practical suggestions, but they are a side benefit to the overall thinking process going on.The group therapy part is the comments from "modern women" at the end of each chapter. They are all different shades of thought on the same subject, and no they don't all agree with each other.The other concept indicted is Christianity, and to some extent the other two religions that stem from the same root, Judaism and Islam. It is a very good, very thorough indictment of the many fallacies and inconsistencies in Christian thought, action and doctrine.Unlike Ronald L. Russell, who did not believe that the author was advocating atheism in any way, I believe that in a way Ms. Walker was in fact advocating a thealogy that is so radically different in its application and in how its followers view it that in a way it is atheism as we define it today. Rather than encouraging people to believe in a literal Goddess, she encourages people to view Her as a metaphor or a work of art that we use to recreate our society ourselves. She also emphatically encourages scientific discovery and thought, and criticizes irrationalism, epecially as it pertains to religion, many times.Ms. Walker recognizes the emotional needs that humans have concerning religion. She proposes that a Goddess system, which is about celebrating the truth of the cycles of our lives and the importance that women actually have in the biological and social structures of our species, would work better than the patriarchal "zero-sum game" that we are all living through now.In a very real way, Ms. Walker is proposing that we redefine what religion is, based on a more knowing, scientific and adult viewpoint than our forebears were capable of thousands of years ago. She theorizes -- and I think that she is right -- that if our mythology and the images, stories and art that we surround ourselves with reflect a more mature thinking process, a more rational thinking process, that in turn our societies will mature beyond their current state of near-constant crisis and inequality.

Men of quality are comfortable with womens equality

I am a male, and I found this book extremely interesting, from a historical and cultural perspective. The author believes that in ancient times, human culture was more respectful toward women, and this may be true, at least in some lands. Certainly, in intervening centuries, women have been treated as having far less worth than many animals, especially in lands ruled by patriarchal governments. I didn't interpret her book as a recommendation for atheism. Instead, Ms Walker offers a view of what the world would be like if, instead of an angry, vengeful Father God, our culture had instead a gentle, nurturing, Mother Goddess as its highest moral example. She does make a point that, statistically, atheists tend to be somewhat more law-abiding than the general population in the U.S., but she doesn't encourage everyone to become atheists. Rather she offers an alternative image of deity, in hopes that a kinder deity will serve to inspire kinder followers. She suggests, not a simple inversion of the patriarchal system, but rather a system in which the qualities of the Goddess are defined by what anyone can observe in the workings of the natural world, rather than simply made up by some self-proclaimed prophet (who may or may not agree with the writings of earlier prophets). In her system, society is not heirarchal, with power concentrated at the top, but cooperative, with power and responsibility shared.I thought that her view sounded like a better world in which to live than the one in which we find ourselves at present. It seems reasonable that, if people grew up in a culture where crime and violence were not viewed as entertainment, members would be far less likely to perpetrate such acts. And if children were trained, from infancy, that Earth was one aspect of the sacred Goddess, then in adulthood perhaps they would act as responsible stewards of the environment. Her book is extremely thoroughly researched, and I found I was reading it for a couple of hours each evening before going to bed.I hope to see this movement grow stronger over time, I'd like to be part of the world described.

and the Scales fell from my eyes

....Part of what Ms. Walker advocates is a balanced society that values women as highly as men, and she very effectively demonstrates how patriachical religion has not and will not do this without complete reversal of its myths. Ms. Walker also never advocates one and only true and good religion, which is a premise solely of patriarchical religion where you must believe my one and only way or you must be destroyed because only if you believe my way can I control you and have power over you. While I will agree her tone was at times angry, she never made baseless claims and has supported her arguments with substantial historical information provided by patriarchical religion. EVERY woman should read this book and give it serious consideration. It has the power to change the fabric of our lives and allow us to create a new reality: one in which women are valued and treated as equals without the need to become "the same" as men, one in which women are no longer brutalized by husbands, fathers, brothers, and strange men, one where women aren't hit or beat or raped, one in which motherhood is celebrated for the true miracle that it is. Please read with an open mind to possibility.

removing blinders

This is one of the most powerful books I've ever read -- and believe me, I've read a lot. I am a spiritual seeker, and come from a Roman Catholic tradition. For the longest time I've been "on the fringe", struggling with many things in my tradition, and struggling also with much in the Christian tradition. I've read a lot of theology and have studied religion a great deal. Now Walker comes along with enormous research, pulling together the bits and pieces I've learned and weaving them into a book that does carry some anger but also a ring of Truth. And why shouldn't we women be angry? 2000 years of patriarchy have infiltrated our culture so deeply that we aren't even aware of much of it. I do not believe in Hell as a place, do not believe in heaven as a place, and struggled to believe the unbelievable. I DO believe that we should love and do what we will, that God/dess IS Love and vv, and that Jesus was a man filled with the spirit of Love. And Walker's book affirms much of this. She reveals how deeply Christianity is founded upon what we would today call Paganism. I knew some of it, but my eyes were really opened. I keep saying WOW, taking a deep breath, and then put the book down because it knocks me off my feet.Excellent and "enjoyable" reading.

A terrific contribution to Goddess studies.

This provides a critique of patriarchal religion and a proposal for new rituals to help liberate readers from Judeo-Christian male-centered spirituality. From advocating studies surrounding the goddess to rejecting patriarchal sources in traditional religion, this provides specific advice on how to restore the goddess figure to new meaning.Diane C. Donovan Reviewer