The Woman Clothed With The Sun
A Look at the Goddess in Christianity
Introduction
There is a gaping hole in the myth cycle of modern Christianity. The Maternal heart of the faith has been ripped apart and replaced with patriarchal and misogynist doctrine. Many women have left the faith and turned to the "Old Religions" because of this lack of femininity and female power. In this article I will be investigating "the woman clothed with the sun"1 and her possible guise as the hidden Goddess in Christianity.
"The Woman and the Dragon"
The image above is the classic portrayal of "the woman clothed with the sun". It was created by William Blake in the early 19th century as part of a collection of paintings done to illustrate the biblical chapter, Revelations. The original passage goes as follows:
"Revelations, Chapter 12 1-18
The Woman and the Dragon
1: A great sign appeared in the sky, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feat, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. 2: She was with child child and wailed aloud in pain as she laboured to give birth. 3: Then another sign appeared in the sky; it was a huge red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadems. 4: Its tail swept away a third of the stars in the sky and hurled them down to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman about to give birth, to devour her child when she gave birth. 5: She gave birth to a son, a male child, destined to rule all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was caught up to God and his throne. 6: the woman herself fled into the desert where she had a place prepared by God, that there she might be taken care of for twelve hundred and sixty days. 7: Then war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels battled against the dragon. The dragon and it's angels fought back, 8: but they did not prevail and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9: The huge dragon, the ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, who deceived the whole world, was thrown down to earth, and its angels were thrown down with it. 10: Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
"Now have salvation and power come,
and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Anointed.
For the accuser of our brothers is cast out,
who accusses them before our God day
and night.
11: They conquered him by the blood of the
Lamb
and by word of their testimony;
love for life did not deter them from
death.
12: Therefore, rejoice, you heavens,
and you who dwell in them.
But woe to you, earth and sea,
for the Devil has come down to you in
great fury,
for he knows he has but a short time."
and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Anointed.
For the accuser of our brothers is cast out,
who accusses them before our God day
and night.
11: They conquered him by the blood of the
Lamb
and by word of their testimony;
love for life did not deter them from
death.
12: Therefore, rejoice, you heavens,
and you who dwell in them.
But woe to you, earth and sea,
for the Devil has come down to you in
great fury,
for he knows he has but a short time."
13: When the dragon saw that it had been thrown down to the earth, it pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14: But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle, so that she could fly to her place in the desert, where, far from the serpent, she was taken care of for a year, two years, and a half-year. 15: The serpent, however, spewed a torrent of water out of his mouth after the woman to sweep her away with the current. 16: But the earth helped the woman and opened its mouth and swallowed the flood that the dragon spewed out of its mouth. 17: Then the dragon became angry with the woman and went off to wage war against the rest of her offspring, those who keep God's commandments and bear witness to Jesus. 18: It took its position on the sand of the sea."3
This is the modern Catholic passage, it varies little from various Christ based faiths. The most popular interpretations of this image elude the the woman being the Church or the Israel4. She had also been interpreted as the Virgin Mary5 according to some sources. Could this be a surviving remnant of the Goddess in Christian faith? Or possibly the attempt by the Church to assimilate the Goddess into the faith besides the Blessed Virgin? Since the birth of Christianity it seems there has been strife amongst it's followers as to the power and place of women in the Church. This is exemplified in the Gospel of Mary6, one of the Gnostic Gospels, left out of the Bible at the Council of Nicaea7:
"When Mary had said this, she was silent, since the Savior had spoken thus far with her.
But Andrew answered and said to the brethren, 'Say what you think concerning what she said. For I do not believe that the Savior said this. For certainly these teachings are of other ideas."
Peter also opposed her in regard to these matters and asked them about the Savior. "Did he then speak secretly with a woman [cf. John 4:27], in preference to us, and not openly? Are we to turn back and all listen to her? Did he prefer her to us?"
Then Mary grieved and said to Peter, "My brother Peter, what do you think? Do you think that I thought this up myself in my heart or that I am lying concerning the Savior?"
Levi answered and said to Peter, "Peter, you are always irate. Now I see that you are contending against the woman like the adversaries. But if the Savior made her worthy, who are you to reject her? Surely the Savior knew her very well [cf. Luke 10:38- 42]. For this reason he loved her more than us [cf. John 11:5]. And we should rather be ashamed and put on the Perfect Man, to form us [?] as he commanded us, and proclaim the gospel, without publishing a further commandment or a further law than the one which the Savior spoke." When Levi had said this, they began to go out in order to proclaim him and preach him."
It is known that into the first century after Christ women played a very prominent role in the Church and it's teachings. It is unclear when the full persecution of women within the Church began, but as we know from modern times, it has continued and still continues to this 8. Could it be that the Goddess was fully recognized and supported, if not in name than in gender, by the early Church? And was it the anger of one man, Peter, that caused a cascade effect? From the persecution of Mary Magdalene, to the removal of woman from power within the Church, to the Burning Times, all the way to modern times? There are very few references left in the modern Bible of strong female figures or anything pertaining to a female aspect of the Divine. Women in modern times are reclaiming this history, this power as the "woman clothed with the sun", as the male God is described in Psalm 104:2 as “wrapped in light.”. If you read through various texts, including the bible, God never appears in such glory. He appears in the stars, as a burning bush, etc. But never a great presence in the sky for all to see. This could be a survival of Christian Goddess worship, buried within the texts to survive the hate of men governing the Church over the centuries. In Revelations 12:14, it is stated that this woman "was given the two wings of the great eagle". This passage immediately conjures of images of Isis, Ancient Egyptian Goddess of Magic and Life, or of Nike, Greek Goddess of Victory. This could just be another attempt of the Church to assimilate the Goddess or it could be a blatant reference to her original nature.
Since in most doctrine, this woman is accepted as the Virgin Mary, could this also be a revelation that the Virgin is not just the human mother of God, but the female manifestation of the Divine? Many modern Christian Intellectuals interpret the "Holy Spirit" as a female entity. This is even supported within the bible as the original Hebrew words for "spirit" from The Old Testament are feminine nouns 9. What might be a example of the growing misogyny of the Church is that in the New Testament, the word for Spirit is neutral 10. Here's an interesting thought as well, if The Virgin Mary was impregnated immaculately by the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit being female, would this not point to her as the Mother of God and Christ? Not unlike the creation Goddess of most Pagan faith's, such as the Egyptian Nut or the Vedic Aditi? The fact that some branches faiths believe that Mary herself was conceived immaculately also points to her having origins in divinity 11. We see this attribute is the Wiccan Creation Myth and others 12. And seeming as how she is present at almost every major event in the life of Jesus can she not be also considered the Christian equivalent to a consort Goddess? Albeit a virginal and celebrate one, but a companion nonetheless. I hope that in the future we can see a resurgence of this feminine grace and power in these faiths. A return to a balanced and complete world where all are considered important and whole.
1 comment:
it's great to see you writing, MS!
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