The spring equinox is here, and the rising energies of spring often make me think of The Goddess. In this instance, The Goddess is not a specific person, entity, or deity. Here we are talking about the archetype of The Goddess and how she shows up in our lives. Different religions look at the idea of The Goddess differently, but we do not have the space to break her down into such depths here. Today, we are going to focus on the “Big G” Goddess, this overarching energy that permeates so much of our life, even if we don’t always name it as such.
The Goddess is the embodiment of the divine feminine — an energy inside everyone and everything — and is often associated with compassion, nurturing, forgiveness, intuition, and empathy. It’s the feminine aspect of divine power that has created galaxies and guides us in our lives. The divine feminine primarily focuses on the inner being and your own emotional world. Tapping into this energy can help you heal your mind, body, and soul, and can help you show more kindness to the world and those around you.
The energies of the divine masculine and divine feminine have been present in various spiritual traditions and belief systems throughout history. You might find lists explaining that divine masculine energy usually represents qualities like strength, action, logic, and rationality, while divine feminine represents qualities like intuition, nurturing, creativity, and emotional intelligence.
Everyone has these energies in their own unique combination. Regardless of gender identity or sexual preferences, each person is a distinctive combination of these action-oriented, divine masculine energies and the receptive-centered, divine feminine energies. This balance of energy in each one of us will shift over time, depending on what is going on in our lives and what qualities we want or need to cultivate. I know, for example, that I used to present more masculine energy than I do now. Over the last 10 years or so, I have cultivated my divine feminine energy and recognize that I carry more of that now than I used to.
The Goddess is the personification of the divine feminine. She has been worshipped across the world since humans developed spiritual inclinations. She is seen and honored more in pre-Christian religions and modern paganism, but she also shows up in Abrahamic faiths and other spiritual paths such as Hinduism and Buddhism.
We see The Goddess more clearly in our ancient and modern Pagan religions because she was never hidden away. I am not familiar with the religious beliefs of every pre-Christian culture; however, I feel confident in saying they likely had at least one Goddess in their pantheon.
The Goddess has always been a part of us, a part of our world. She is the earth mother who nurtures us and sustains life. She is the moon who pulls at our waters, the sun that guides us each day. Yes, some cultures identify the sun with goddesses and some identify the moon with gods.
We see The Goddess in every person we meet. It is our job to look for the divine in each person and in nature around us, and honor that. Every person who calls themselves woman carries aspects of The Goddess. They show her to us in so many wonderful ways. Every person who calls themselves man carries aspects of The Goddess as well. They show her to us in myriad ways, sometimes obviously but not always. Those who are gender neutral or fluid or who are nonbinary also show us aspects of The Goddess. We can find her everywhere we look and see her reflected back at us in unique ways.
Regardless of where we find her, or how we find her, she is there. The Goddess birthed us all. And in doing so, she gave each of us a piece of her to carry, to connect us with her, and to make sure we find our way home at the end of our journey. Hail The Goddess!
Emily Guenther is a co-owner of The Broom Closet metaphysical shop. She is a Memphis native, professional tarot reader, ordained Pagan clergy, and dog mom.
