I recently reviewed Dorothy Atalla’s new book, Conversations with the Goddess – Encounter at Petra, Place of Power and my favorite part was her exciting discovery that through deep meditation she was able to access images, information and eventually a feminine Presence who identified herself as the Goddess along with ancient people associated with the sacred city of Petra.
Dorothy’s background is in academia so during these meditations her mental mind was saying, “You don’t have solid research to back up these insights” and so she remedies this concern through solid research, reading and questioning of the Presence based upon a chapter by chapter discussion of two books: The Great Mother by Erich Neumann and Up From Eden by Ken Wilber.
“When men and women stand on the High Place in the age to come, the only sacrifice will be themselves, that is to say, the boundaries of the small self will dissolve to merge with the All.”
Spotlight on Author, Dorothy ‘Chickee’ Atalla
In the ancient world the Divine Feminine, or Goddess, was often portrayed in three aspects: maiden, mother, and old woman.
We live in a very different world today, but it is worth looking at these three aspects because they are still important stages in a woman’s life — even though they don’t encompass all that a modern woman is. Moving from one stage to another marks a significant and irreversible natural shift in our bodies and our female being.
Now you might be thinking, This all sounds like the old maxim, “Biology is destiny,” and who wants to be defined by that anymore? Well, yes, it does sound that way – unless you also consider these three stages as spiritual shifts in our lives.
What might the spiritual nature of each phase of the Goddess have been like?
We can imagine something of this from looking at Minoan civilization, dating from about 3,000 to 1400 B.C. The Minoans lived on the island of Crete in the Mediterranean sea.
Abundant archaeological evidence exists for this society’s reverence of a Goddess. Murals found at Knossos, a town in Crete, show plant life in exuberant growth around the central image of a female deity. Animals and humans are depicted as part of this abundance. These paintings reveal reverence for the generative powers of Earth.
What do you think a society with reverence of the Divine Feminine might have looked like?
Women’s rising awareness will shatter the present social molds as women turn within to find the energies uniquely theirs, in coming into touch with them, they will become empowered. This will set up an irresistible force which will alter society as it exists now…Women will be central in creating large scale communal values; they have been long engaged in creation and maintenance of relationship and communal living on a small scale within families.
More About Dorothy
On a January day in the depths of mid-western winter Dorothy (Chickee to her friends) Atalla expected more of the same: snow , ice and gray skies. But when she lay down on her living room carpet to relax with music, she had an experience which changed her life. Inexplicably, a vision of a radiant and beneficent female presence appeared to her. This astonishing event was only the beginning of a journey she could never have imagined. Nor did she then realize that her vision had any connection with a trip she had made to Petra, a site in the country of Jordan. That vision foreshadowed the dialogue with deity which is the essence of her new book, Conversations with the Goddess: Encounter at Petra, Place of Power.
Conversations with the Goddess swiftly evolves from personal story into a universal story in which a feminine Presence speaks about the role of the sacred Feminine in the future. She also speaks of the past, revealing a panoramic view of a time in which the Goddess was revered not only at Petra but also throughout the ancient world.
Because this event ignited Chickee’s interest in the Divine Feminine for the rest of her life, she has also produced other writings about it. The following blog post series is one of these.
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{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
My favorite goddess is Lakshmi, goddess of abundance and prosperity. She has been blessing me lately!!
Lately I’ve been drawn to Green Tara. I like that Green Tara vowed to remain in female form to dispel the foolish notion that only men could reach enlightenment.
Without a doubt, my favorite Goddess is Green Tara. I draw so much inspiration and strength from her story and her physical representation. I use her on an almost daily basis during meditation.
Kuan Yin is always near….
One of my favorite goddesses is Quan Yin, the bodhisattva of compassion…oh, if only we could all be more compassionate! I seek to embody compassion and lovingkindness in my daily life. And Quan Yin’s very presence is peaceful as she is represented in art and sculpture.
It’s hard to pick one Goddess that’s my favorite…I work a lot with Aphrodite, she has taught me a lot about self love.
To me my Goddess and enveloping strength has always been the ever faithful Moon above us! As I look at the Full Moon such as this week during the Autumnal Equinox – great beauty and exhuberance fills me!
Quan Yin for me-She who hears the cries of the world. Unconditional Love and Unbounded Compassion. Have a beautiful statue of her on my altar to remind me of my true Nature.
i call on pachamama, or “da di mu ching,” or just plain… mama earth.
yes i call on mama earth a lot!
giving so much love and gratitude
i love our mother!!!
Quite some time ago the Goddess Isis appeared to me in a dream and since then I have experienced an epic awakening…bless you Isis, you are awesome!
I am especially fond of Freya…somehow she just resonates with me! I’ve been using her name as a part of my ‘moon name’ in some way or another and actually have used it for some online submissions to radio talk shows when I want to ask a question. I find that if my question is read (and so far, each time it has been) that I know for certain it’s me/my question they are responding to!
Also, I have to mention Bast as well. Being the Queen of the cats among other things, I just have to love her, too! –Freya
Divine Souls – the winner of my New Moon Museletter Giveaway is Tracie Jones – !ongratulations and sparkly blessings to all who participated ~ may the Museletter continue to bring joy and inspiration into your life on a moon-monthly basis!
Kathy C.