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Female Spirituality Shouldn’t Be a Dirty Little Secret
Outing myself as a goddess believer
About three years ago, I made a drastic shift in careers: I sold the communications company I founded and began researching and writing about ancient goddess worship. I’ve been trying to explain what I do ever since.
It’s not that it’s a terribly complicated subject matter; it’s that the mere suggestion of goddess worship seems to create an awful lot of discomfort for some people. In fact, I’ve gotten quite used to the following exchange—it’s happened in lots of places, but let’s just stage it in the parking lot of my kid’s elementary school for convenience:
Person: So, what kind of work do you do?
Me: I write about ancient goddess worship and its relevance to our world today.
Person: What?
Me: Ancient goddess worship. Spiritual traditions that envisioned our source as female rather than male.
Person, now with slightly raised eyebrows, glazed eyes, and an artificial smile blooming across their face: Oh. [awkward pause] So, what after-school activities are you signed up for?
There could be a lot of reasons for this kind of reaction. Talk of spirituality even in general can make people nervous. Or maybe they’re just…
