(Image Information: Gaia - Mother Earth ; Source: Pixabay by Vallenfine)
7 Secrets of the Goddess: Chapter 1.1 - Gaia's Secret by Epified
Gaia is the Earth Mother in Greek Mythology
Kronos castrated his own father in order to be born and Aphrodite was born from the blood
Kronos ate his own children so that he would not be overthrown like his father
Gaia saves one son, Zeus
Zeus kills Kronos
Women deities often get brutally pushed aside by male deities
Egyptian mythology was before gender
Fear of invalidation causes marriage laws and such, which is at the cost of the female
Talks about the true necessity of males
Bulls will often be castrated, but the cows must remain plentiful to produce offspring
Men depictions have been phalluses and alpha bulls, but the women are shown full-bodied with genitals exposed
Our concept of virginity is different now than what it was
Virginity used to mean that the woman was ready to bear a child and virginity was at a certain time each month
Also our definition of a whore is different - it meant a woman who was free to go to any man
7 Secrets of the Goddess: Chapter 1.2 - Gaia's Secret by Epified
Women are seen as vulnerability, misfortune, and immortality
Women became commodities
Talks about prostitution - the woman's loss of the body
Men in the woman's life denied their statement of owning their own body and in turn, own them themselves
Women were restricted to being able to have four men, but even then they were also restricted to one man
Men passed strict laws on fidelity (for women) because they were insecure that they couldn't please their wife sexually
7 Secrets of the Goddess: Chapter 1.3 - Gaia's Secret by Epified
Rural - > Fertility (women)
Urban - > Obedience (enforced through men)
Women are at the receiving end of rules
Women (nature)
Men (culture)
Concept of women being subservient to men comes from Japanese culture
The woman spoke first and so deformed demons were born
The man spoke second and so humans were born
Women are trophies of masculine rivalry
Men are told to be wary of all women
Women turn into a symbol of masculine honour
7 Secrets of the Goddess: Chapter 1.4 - Gaia's Secret by Epified
Urbanization created a disgust for material things
Earth was a trap and women were bondage
Women were no longer a symbol of power - they become damsels and witches
In Buddhism, compassion is as important as knowledge
Patriarchy causes anxiety
7 Secrets of the Goddess: Chapter 2.1 - Kali's Secret by Epified
Naked with hair unbound while standing on Shiva ; blood-soaked tongue
~2500 BCE -
~1500 BCE - Indus Civilization
Nirriti - disrupts nature ; proto Kali
The name Kali first appears in early Upanishad literature
Kalrati (Kali-like goddess)
Koravae (Kali-like goddess)
Kali was born from a lock of Shiva's hair
Kali drinks Raktabeeja's blood so that he may not be recreated - this is why she has a blood-soaked tongue
Kali = Mali-Kali
Everything about her made her stand out
She either has one foot, both feet, or sits on the man in her depictions
The man is her husband
She is raw power
7 Secrets of the Goddess: Chapter 2.2 - Kali's Secret by Epified
Kill and nourishing self -> Prey vs Predator
Sex becomes procreative
Sex and violence show the survival of the fittest
Kali could not be associated with Vishnu
7 Secrets of the Goddess: Chapter 2.3 - Kali's Secret by Epified
Kali's association with Tantra puts her outside cultural norms
Individual provides blood sacrifices for Kali in crematoriums
Europeans could not accept Kali when they first arrived
Kali terrified them and were convinced that Hindus worshipped the Devil
Tagees offered their victims to Kali for their own protection
Scholars doubt that they existed in the way they were portrayed - were probably just thieves driven by poverty
Kali inspired a new type of music
Kali is seen as an affectionate mother because she reveals the darkness of the world
Another story of her tongue is that Kali is intoxicated by demon's blood and Shiva throws himself in front of her to stop her from slaying them all and she is embarrassed when she steps on him
Kali is eventually thought of as "Mother India"
She eventually became a symbol of women's freedom
She does not seek a man's gaze to feel validated
(Image Information: Animated Kali; Source: Flickr by Telly Gacitua)
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