What is Goddess Spirituality/Dianic Witchcraft?
"Here there are no sacred books
to kill or die for-
no dogmas to defend or dispute:
only nature herself
in all her grandeur and simplicity,
to guide and inspire us."
~Philip Carr-Gomm
I am a priestess of the Goddess, a daughter of the earth, sister of the moon and a keeper of the mystery.
I am a WOMAN, a feminist and a tree hugger.
I am reclaiming the Goddess, and women’s spirituality.
I honor the sacred feminine.
And see the Goddess in the face of every woman.
:: NOTE :: The following information is based on my own feelings, thoughts and beliefs on women's spirituality and the Goddess path. Please do not take these as written in stone or even the thought of every woman on this path. The Dianic path is not one size fits all. Each woman must discover it in her own way and shape it herself as she walks it.
What this is and should be is nothing more then a glimpse into my path and the path of others like myself. It is my hope to give those who are curious or interested some sort of general understanding and direction in where to begin their own search for wisdom. If you have any questions please feel free to comment below or email me. I also highly recommend you check out my book list. ->
Goddess Spirituality/Dianic Witchcraft
Dianic Witchcraft is a pagan religion. It is Goddess focused & woman centered, honoring the sacred feminine & women’s mysteries. It is a feminist path of reclaiming women’s spirituality & awakening our inner power & connection to the Goddess & the Earth.
It is an earth religion, as it is nature based. The path has a heavy focus on the changing seasons as a celebration of Sabbats within the Wheel of the Year & esbats as the phases of the moon. And how all of that is reflected & shared by the flowing energy of a woman’s life cycle as well.
We are women who see the Earth as sacred, alive, and a gift. Many of us view the earth as Divine in itself. We honor the beauty, power and the sacredness of nature and of life. We view life as a cycle, a never ending flow, the wheel of life, the circle. We attune ourselves to this flow of life, celebrating the changing seasons, and the journey of the moon as it changes from new to full and back again.
Within this sacred flow of life is a chain that ties all living things together. Everything is connected, balanced and plays their role within this circle.
As women we acknowledge this sacred cycle and see it reflected within our own life’s. We seek to understand our own wisdom, power and spiritual connection. So we honor and celebrate our sacred mysteries.
These mysteries are the emotions, intuitions, our cycles and connection within the web of life, where we as woman acknowledge our own sacred connection the Goddess. We honor and celebrate these rites of passage and our sacred connections, through the mysteries of birth, menarche, giving birth and lactation, menopause, and death to be reborn again. This is an endless flow of connection reflected within the earth & nature, in the Goddess Herself & in our lives as women. These are our sacred mysteries. We celebrate the Goddess in our lives. Embracing woman’s mysteries and discovering the Goddess within.
We celebrate the Goddess as we celebrate ourselves. We create sacred space for women's voices and creativity, so that we may give birth to new ideas and new positive ways for change and growth not only in ourselves but in the world around us. We embrace a path that empowers us to take control of our life’s, our bodies, our voices and thoughts. A path our own to reflect who we are.
Please read my pages on the Dianic Wheel of the Year & sabbats here:(to be linked later- sorry)
& the moon here: (to be linked later- sorry)
Women only: a concern on balance.
The Dianic path is women only & centered completely around the Goddess & the feminine. This can sometimes be confusing to some or they may feel we are being unbalanced or men hating or some such nonsense.
The point I am making is NO the Dianic path is not unbalanced in any way shape or form. We simply view balance in a much different way. Infact I would think many of us felt other paths were not truly balanced enough for us.
In the pagan tradition of Wicca they believe balance is between the masculine & feminine and choose to worship a God & Goddess. I have nothing against Wicca. It is just not for me- to each their own. But for me I felt that image of balance was not very balanced at all. It seemed to leave out a lot within that idea of balance. What of those in nature that reproduce asexually? They certainly do not fit into masculine & feminine idea of balance. What about the gays, lesbians & transgender? Where do they fit in where the most basic fundamental spoke of the masculine & feminine together?
As Dianics we view balance differently then Wiccans do. I do not see balance in left and right, up and down, male and female, goddess and god. I see balance as a circle, cycles and wholeness.
I find balance within myself. I need no man, or anyone else to complete me. I am not unbalanced or lacking in any way. When we begin to put these masculine & feminine descriptions into tight little boxes how does that affect us & our view point of ourselves? Does being a woman mean that I can not be strong, tough, smart or work hard? Does being a man mean he can never be tender, compassionate, emotional or nurturing? I think it leads us down a dangerous road. A world where little boys get teased or worse for wearing pink and are brought up thinking they have to be cruel and tough or that they are not real men. Where little girls feel the need to fit into this created definition of beauty & develop eating disorders and feel compelled not to raise their voice or speak up for themselves and instead be submissive.
No, for me real balance is freedom. It is finding the truth within yourself & embracing all those qualities you DO have whole onto yourself. Finding your own strength to stand tall & balanced.
The Goddess needs nothing else to complete Her. She is whole unto Herself. She embraces all aspects, the sun and the moon, life and death, earth, air, fire and water. She is everything, and everything is Her.
Ok so you may be wondering even if we view balance this way that doesn’t really explain why we choose to be women only and not include the gods. If balance is the whole and everything is included within it then surely that includes the masculine?
The Dianic path is women only. It is a woman’s mystery tradition for women. This does not mean that we hate men at all, infact many of us love men a lot! I am married to one. We have fathers, husbands, boyfriends, brothers, etc... We see them as part of the Goddess just as much as we are. The same Divine energy flows through everything and everyone equally.
Our path is not about denying the masculine at all. That would be like trying to deny gravity. It is right there in front of us, so trying to deny it would be futile. It is not about ignoring anything but instead embracing ourselves. I am a female, I honor myself, rejoice in myself and therefore the Goddess and the feminine.
This path is very much manifest, unlike some others, is much more about finding the divine within us. Instead of looking up into the heavens for answers it is turning the focus within. And within me happens to be a full blown woman. It is about finding that connection within me to the earth & the Goddess & the flow of energy.
We live in a world where patriarchy still rules. A world where women have been brought up either ignorant or self hating about their bodies, their wombs, their natural changes. Where we go day in and day out without stopping to realize how amazing and sacred we are. How we as woman have life blood that allows us to share in the magic of creating & sustaining new life.
“We women embody the Goddess as Creatrix. Physically, we embody the power of the Goddess in Her capacity to create and sustain life. Our wombs are the living metaphor of Her creative potential and thus are the very source of our creative power”- Ruth Barrett Women’s Rites, Women’s Mysteries
Being able to see ourselves as sacred, being able to truly love ourselves and empower our thoughts, ideas and our very beings is what this path is all about. Where we can create rites & rituals to honor ourselves & our connection the energies of life, nature & the Goddess.
One of the reasons our path is women only is that we feel that it is important to acknowledge the sacredness & energy women only space can give. It gives us a sacred space where we can feel free to explore our own beings, our voices, our truths and our mysteries. It can be merely about giving time and energy for ourselves.
The Dianic path is rooted in women’s mysteries and as such is just not open to men. No matter how much interest or experience with women or how much they may empathize or how many women they have known, a man could never truly grasp what it means to be a woman. He could never understand what it was like to come of age and begin to bleed, what it means to have a womb & the power to carry life within you or the feelings, intuition, growth and simply the life of a woman. I do not think there is anything wrong or negative about that. It is simply the truth. Just as myself as a woman could never possibly grasp what it means to be a man. Or what it is like to have a penis.
I very much support the right for men to have their own sacred space and mystery tradition of their own.
Within Dianic circles though there is an open confusion on those who are transgender & if we should be only women born women or not. It is a difficult topic. I can certainly see both sides of the discussion. I think for the most part the real issue is that as mentioned above we feel that it should be open to only women who can truly know what it is like to be a woman and go through the mysteries and rites of being born a woman. Yet at the same time so many women these days are born with health issues that may not let them experience them. I myself have PCOS. There are women who do not bleed, women who can not give birth for a variety of reasons. But it is supposed to be covered by the fact that being born a woman still gives you the innate creative potential and embodiment of the Goddess. Within you still lies that connection to the flow. But it leaves me to wonder if that may also lie within those who were not born into a traditional woman’s body? Could the soul still be tied to that of the Goddess and Her energy?
I think the other issue is that we are still young in so many ways, most certainly of our understanding of the universe. There is still a lot of confusion our there on those that are transgender and even more so for those of us who have not experienced it.
I feel that our circles can be something very private and that it is important for each woman in the group to feel safe and comfortable within that circle. So I can certainly understand why some may be restrictive of who they let in. Yet in my heart I pray that we as a whole can be more accepting and learn to broaden our acknowledgement of womanhood. It won’t be something that happens overnight but with time I believe many of our sisters will give a voice to this issue.
