I did not know where to begin this journey. I had
such an array of wonderful, exciting and amazing Goddesses to
choose from. I could have chosen Diana, Queen of the open sky,
bestower of sovereignity and granter of conception, or the mortal
sister of the three Gorgons, Medusa, with legend that says the
once beautiful woman took the mighty Sea-God as her lover and
there suffered the wrath of Athene and was turned into a Gorgon,
head full of snakes and a face and stare so petrifying it would
turn men to stone. I could have written about Heket, the Egyptian
frog-headed goddess, the "great magician" of Egypt,
who was midwife at the birth of the sun, she who gave life to
all and at the original creation, touched the lifeless humans
with the Ankh, causing them to breathe and move. There is the
lustful Scandinavian mistress of all the Gods, Freya, ruler of
death, Leader of the Valkyries, war's corpse-maidens, whose name
was given to our day of the week: Friday. There is Pallor, the
Roman Goddess of Fear. Or what of Brigid, Goddess of Goldsmithing,
Maat, the Egyptian Goddess of Truth.... I could go on. But I am
still left with the choice of whom to share with you. What goddess
interests me most that I write of her?
I will tell you. I'll show you. Come with me, close
your eyes, and find your inner sanctum, your soul's self which
only you can know. There you will find a glassy pool. Look into
that pool. What do you see? I see a goddess, one of great beauty
and strength, infinite wisdom and compassion. Look harder and
you will see a goddess of anger, fear, justice, and truth and
of vengeance. Look longer and deeper into that pool, and see a
goddess of love, of passion, of sexuality. See the goddess that
looks back at you. What is her name? Hekate, Diana, Isis, Demeter,
Hera, Aphrodite, Medusa. Look, look deep into that face and tell
me her name. I see my inner soul, I see the pool, and I see the
goddess who looks back at me. I know her name. Her name is Shoshona.
Remember your Goddess within. She has your name;
she has your face, your heart and soul. She has your strength,
your fear, your love and anger, she has all of you, and you have
all of her.
YOU are Goddess. Male or female, YOU are Goddess.
YOU have worth and value. YOU have meaning and divinity. As you
worship Goddess in her many forms, remember the most important
Goddess of all, and care for her, love her, respect her, honor
her, be patient with her, do not anger her, do not hurt her or
allow her to be hurt. Feed and nourish her. The most important
Goddess of all is YOU, she is me, and she is all of us.
Open your eyes now, look around you, and see the
Goddess within all. See the Goddess in the world around you, and
remember who she is.