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Introduction

There was a time, long before the advent of organized religions, when nearly all of mankind instinctively perceived deity as a loving and benevolent Mother Goddess. An overwhelming amount of archeological evidence has been found to support this, throughout the Middle East, Europe and Asia. How then did spirituality evolve from that simple and peaceful concept, into the rigid formalized religions that we see around us, in the modern world today ?

The transformation began when barbarian warlords from the area of southern Russia and the Ukraine invaded the ancient world. They were called Proto-Indo-Europeans (also "Kurgans"), and they brought with them a blatantly self-serving religion, based on the worship of a violent war-god, which they used to justify their acts of conquest and domination.

From the chaos which resulted, various pantheons of deities evolved. They were invariably lead by a war-god archetype, but also included a Mother Goddess archetype in some lesser role. After several millennium, the followers of the most agressive and intolerant war-gods (Yahweh and Allah) attained political power, and quickly persecuted and destroyed the other religions. Thus, the last remnants of peaceful Goddess culture disappeared from Western consciousness, and the path that humanity was destined to follow would be one of spiritual exploitation and strict contol.

Recently however, some very revolutionary changes in the area of religion have started to occur. In the west (but unfortunately not yet in the Arab world) the rule of law now prevents religious authorites from persecuting and silencing those people who object to their political domination. In addition, an ever-increasing body of historical and archeological evidence has begun to surface, which reveals a totally different account of human spirituality than the self-serving lies which they have forced upon us for so many centuries. And finally, advances in communication, especially in the form of the internet, are making this information available to more and more people... information which, in the past, religious authorites would have been able to suppress and conceal.

This website is dedicated to the spiritual re-awakening which is now in progress. The first section is intended to provide a well-documented and accurate history of Goddess religion, without the sort of deliberate distortions and bias so often found in other sources. Next, the second part of the website presents information concerning the modern practice of Goddess religion. If taken merely as a philosophy, it has much to offer... yet beyond that, it provides a metaphysical view of the universe which resonates on a much deeper level.

I invite you to take an intellectual journey with me, to discover the true nature of our spiritual heritage, and learn how modern people are once again practicing an ancient, peaceful and rewarding form of spirituality.

Part 1 - Our History

Chapter 2 - The Neolithic World

Chapter 3 - The Bronze Age

Chapter 4 - Greece and Rome

Chapter 5 - The Final Years

Chapter 6 - The Nature of Yahweh

Chapter 7 - Transgender Priestesses

Chapter 8 - The Goddess in Sumer

Chapter 9 - The Goddess in Egypt

Chapter 10 - The Goddess on Crete

Chapter 11 - The Goddess in India

Chapter 12 - Artemis and Hecate

Chapter 13 - Understanding History

Chapter 14 - About Our Practice

Chapter 15 - Feminism and Religion

Chapter 16 - Meeting the Goddess

Chapter 17 - Thinking With Your Heart

Chapter 18 - The Offering Ritual

Chapter 19 - Dreams and Visions

Chapter 20 - Spirit Energies

There are over 100 clickable reference links on this website. Nearly all of them will take you to a Wiki page, which will provide some useful basic information. Wiki pages have the advantage of simplicity and convenience, however please be advised that many far more authoritative sources were also employed during the preparation of this website.

The following is a partial list of those sources...

Gordon Childe
Jacqueta Hawkes
James Mellaart
Marija Gimbutas
Mark Munn
Eberhard Zangger
Sanford Holst
Walter Burkert

The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations
The British Institute of Archeology
Oxford University
Dartmouth College
Brown University
The University of Chicago
The University of Liege

Finally, if you wish to do some furthur reading, here's a link to a collection of websites that you may find interesting...

Additional Resources

This website was created by Priestess Cornelend of the Temple of Cybele. If you have any questions or comments, you may e-mail her.

E-mail Priestess Cornelend