The Paris Commune, March – May 1871

One thing I want to make clear is that the idea of bringing the goddess into the world is not some airy-fairy fantasy. There are very real and practical expressions of the goddess energy in the world. One historical example in politics is the Paris Commune.

I’m thinking of this in particular because of a play I recently saw at the Mercury Café. The title of the play was Marx in Soho. It was a one-man play written by Howard Zinn. One of the things that struck me most in the play was his description of the Paris Commune. Here is an example of some of the things accomplished by the Paris Commune:

Despite internal differences, the Council made a good start in maintaining the public services essential for a city of two million; it was also able to reach a consensus on certain policies whose content tended towards a progressive, secular and highly democratic social democracy rather than a social revolution. Lack of time (the Commune was able to meet on fewer than 60 days in all) meant that only a few decrees were actually implemented. These included:

the separation of church and state; the right to vote for women; the remission of rents owed for the entire period of the siege (during which payment had been suspended); the abolition of night work in the hundreds of Paris bakeries; the granting of pensions to the unmarried companions of National Guards killed on active service, as well as to the children if any; the free return, by the city pawnshops, of all workmen's tools and household items up to 20 francs in value, pledged during the siege as they were concerned that skilled workers had been forced to pawn their tools during the war; the postponement of commercial debt obligations, and abolition of interest on the debts; and, the right of employees to take over and run an enterprise if it were deserted by its owner, who was to receive compensation.

Often I wonder what is ahead for those of us in the industrialized world as we move closer to the energy crisis, resource depletion, and mounting debt. The U.S. economy is currently experiencing “stagflation” and the people at the top fear that it won’t end soon. See: Don't Count on a Normal Recession.

But what does that mean for us average working folks? I really haven’t a clue. In fact, over the past five years, I have often pondered this question and never came up with a pat answer. However, when I heard “Marx” describing the Paris Commune, I thought to myself, “That could be a solution.”

It’s not surprising that this solution would appeal to me as I have been a communist/social anarchist since 1989 when I first got radicalized.

So, what does this have to do with the goddess? Well, everything.

After all, isn’t the goddess a radical eco-feminist? And isn’t Liberty a woman?

I am Artemis

Artemis is my favorite goddess from ancient Greek mythology. I have often pondered whether or not the ancient people actually believed in these gods and goddesses and worshipped them. At first I couldn’t understand that because I don’t “worship” anything or anyone. However I can definitely say that there are many things I revere, such as Nature, Earth, and Consciousness.

But then I realized that this is actually very similar to their way of thinking. The only difference is that Artemis is within me rather than outside of me. You see, Artemis is the goddess of the hunt and protector of the forest. She is also a virgin, a strong and independent woman. Now, I can’t claim to be a virgin, but have found myself being rather chaste these past few years, mainly because something in me changed. I started wanting to know myself and be with myself more than I wanted a lover. This didn’t happen for any moralistic reason. It didn’t even happen consciously at first. It just happened on its own as I moved more and more in the direction of my personal destiny. I was caught up in living my life and all of the things that entailed.

For a long time I felt that Artemis was the goddess I identified with most because she lives in the forest with the deer and her nymphs, which always appealed to me. She is strong and independent and really has no need for a man. It seems to me that two people can only truely love each other when they don’t need each other.

I see many women in my manifestation workshops who want to manifest a relationship with a man, but it is clear to me that they will never truly be happy whether single or in a relationship until they can truly be happy on their own. There is much we can learn from the beautiful goddess Artemis.

Goddess in the City

In the past week, I was feeling angry and a bit confused because I knew that I wanted to bring the goddess into the world, but I wasn’t sure how to do that in the city in the middle of the winter. When I go hiking in the mountains when the earth is in full bloom and I feel myself in the midst of such intense, lush life-force, then it is easy for me to feel and connect to the goddess energy all around me and flowing through me.

But how could I do that in the city where there is so much asphalt, cement, steel, and glass, along with all the pollution that we humans create? So I was feeling a bit confused about that, and then one day as I was walking home, I saw so much garbage and filth on the ground, I thought, “Why are people so filthy, unconscious, irresponsible, and inconsiderate? Why can’t they just clean up their trash and clean up after their pets? Don’t they realize that this is their home – this earth, this city – as much as it is mine and millions of others?”

I believe that we have control over our lives, our happiness, and our environment. So I always take 100% responsibility rather than blaming others. In this case, I knew there must be a solution if I trust that I can find one. Usually when I am confronted with a problem, I start by talking to others to get their thoughts. It usually stimulates new thoughts in me. I also take time to meditate because I know that if I prime my mind to find a solution, one will come to me. In fact, often many different ideas begin to flow into my mind and into my life.

What happens to many of us is that when something happens that we don’t like, we tend to go into our negative emotions – anger, sadness, frustration, confusion, fear, etc. – rather than staying positive and trusting that we will find a solution. But now that I have been working with this new method of confronting problems, I trust that it will work out if I am patient.

As it turned out, I made the decision to go outside and clean the trash up around my house myself. It didn’t take very long and I felt much better afterward. That is what I call a positive response – taking action – rather than a negative response – staying stuck in negative emotions. As for the doggie’s gifts to the earth, I didn’t feel like looking at it, so I dumped some dirt over it. I figure I’ll get some potting soil soon and begin prepping the soil for my spring flower garden.

Now I can feel the goddess coming through me because I know she is here even in the city in the middle of the winter.

Goddess in the World

The goddess manifests in the world in so many different ways and forms. Goddess is the feminine energy in the world, the counterpart to the god energy in the world. We have always understood this intuitively. That is why there are so many different ways to describe what male and female energy are. They are yin and yang. Night and day. Shadow and light. Earth and Sun. Inner and outer. Submissive and dominant. Receptive and active.

This is not to imply that females are always this way. In fact, all beings have both male and female energy within them if they are balanced. Our human world has gotten out of balance in favor of the masculine energy, but masculine energy tends to be more destructive than creative, and a less tolerant energy.

The male energy is one that wants to categorize, seeing everything from a distance and attempting to fit each thing into a neat little box. It tends to think abstractly. There are benefits in this way of thinking, but it can be disastrous if it is not balanced with the feminine energy which tends to be more up-close, present, nurturing, tolerant, and creative.

Goddess energy is also that energy which is concerned with beauty, whereas the male energy is often more concerned with function. Yet, goddess energy is also very practical. After all, women have always had the primary care of the children as their responsibility, so they understand first-hand the necessity of practical function. However, they also understand the necessity of pleasure and aesthetics, so women often think in terms of creating beauty in the world, whether in themselves, or their homes, their gardens, their workplaces, and in the world.

These are just some of the ways in which we see the goddess in the world. In this age, many people feel called to strengthen the goddess energy in the world and that is why I have chosen to write this blog. I feel called to bring the goddess into the world, but what does that mean? At first, I wasn't really sure what it meant to be a goddess or how to bring goddess energy into the world. Yet, I felt it on an intuitive level, but I wasn't yet capable of verbalizing it to other people or understanding what I could do in my daily activities in order to fulfill my calling.

So the purpose of this blog it to find the words to express what it means to bring the goddess into the world, to strengthen the goddess, and to revere the goddess. It is also about looking at specific actions we can take to do just that.