Equality In A Society Ruled By The Christian Masculine Ideal (part 1)…

Once upon a time, before the poisoning of Roman influence, it is said that the women of the Celtic Tribes walked along side their mail counterparts, surely different in nature yet equal in stature.

Among there mythical creatures, was my hero, the Iceni Queen Boudicca.

During the Roman Occupation of Brittan Boudicca and her husband King Prasutagus had, as was the custom, willed enough of their wealth to Rome that their tribe and the succession of leadership should not have required Roman interference. However, after the death of Prasutagus an attempt was made by the Romans to make the Iceni a subject population. Rome could not accept the idea of a female being capable of such responsibility or honor, and there for did with the people, and lands of the Iceni as they saw fit.

Boudicca, of coarse stood against the Roman atrocities going before them, and demanding the return of her people and property. The response she received was a typical attempt to break her. Boudicca was publicly flogged, and her daughters ritually raped.

The Romans were fools, they did not understand the flame which burns in the heart of a woman unshackled by the motives of the disciples of masculine superiority. She would not be beaten meekly into submission. She would not crumble and weep for a rescuer. She surely felt their abuse, knew with out a doubt that it was wrong, and struck back.

Boudicca called together the many Celtic tribes and under the cry of Andrasta they went to battle as one. Boudicca in the forefront her daughters at her side, she was a mother, The mother of all her people, Fiercely defending her children with a passion that only a mother could know.

The men who shared in her fight did not question her conviction or ability because of what was or was not between her legs. They stood with her because her words rang true and she fought for that which was most honorable.

Ever since I first heard of Queen Boudicca, her has story brought me great hope, and even greater frustration…How is it, I must wonder, that we as women have gone from the likes of the bold and fiery Boudicca, to a stature in which what we know to be true in our hearts must be kept secret lest we be mocked as foolish, or have our sexual orientation questioned because surely a heterosexual woman could not possibly have strong convictions opposing that of the masculine majority.

And what of the abuse, physical, emotional, and sexual that we endure like a plague upon our sex? I have heard time and time again of women returning to their abusers because they "love" them…This kind of "love" I do not understand…I think that perhaps it is something even deeper than that. I wonder that perhaps it is the primordial knowledge of a missing Balance, light and dark, fire and ice, masculine and feminine. Perhaps this is what creates both abuser and victim, the knowledge that they are meant to be two components of a whole, however the interference of our present society tells the male that he is dominant, and the female submissive, while the blood coursing through our veins knows differently thus causing turmoil and there for self/destructive behaviors.

I believe that all of the true conflicts which bring us fear and pain are only superficially questions of who will take control, however control is not the answer but that which we must escape. We must embrace the knowledge that the people of Boudicca's time knew to be true, that we are all connected, that all; men, woman, children, animals, plants, air, fire, water and the earth beneath our feet are all divine and all equally vital. To live in a state where true happiness and peace is possible all must value each other and know that they are interconnected and dependant upon one another.

In all honestly I do not know how we can reclaim this in the sociological state, but I think that perhaps we have begun to take the first trembling steps. Women no longer accept the false concept that we are nothing more than property, and we are allowed a good many rights that were denied us in the past, however there is a long path ahead…In our desperate fight we have sometimes forgotten it is equality and not superiority that we desire. We sometimes act exactly as the men (that would abuse us) mocking and looking down upon our sisters who are not acting in a manner which we see as "appropriate" We often feel that we must emulate the masculine ideal to be strong rather than embracing and seeing the value which we already embody.

It is only when we take in the knowledge that we are already divine just as we are, when we take the hands of our sisters and help them to see their own inherent value, when we take responsibility and action naked and unashamed can we bring into reality the truth that has been lingering just below the surface...

What is a Goddess?

A goddess is a woman who is not afraid.
A goddess is a woman who dares to live her dreams.
Everyone of us is a goddess -- recognize it.
A goddess is anyone who helps a woman to grow.

The manifesting of what we know to be true is the responsibility that accompanies our gift of knowing.

Be a Threat to Patriarchy -- Be a Goddess!