How do you view The Goddess?

[Merrilyn]

i couldn't really mark any of the answers.... my gut reaction was

'in the mirror'

but also.... in EVERYTHING else .

To me, there is no better way to put it than Tanya has. Simply. All-encompassingly.

[alwaysfallingup]

I've gone through periods where I've really thought about this a lot, and then periods where I haven't thought about it at all because I just KNEW...and out of those periods, I'd have to say that my answer to this question is that I feel the Goddess is in everything, everywhere, and in each of us, but that she is also complete facets of Herself that exist independently. Sort of like when you shine light through a crystal and it breaks down into different colors...each color is complete unto itself, but only when you're looking for them.

[Shawn Blackwolf]

Maiden , Mother , Crone...

Beginning , Fullness , Dissolution / Transformation...

Eternal Virgin , Sacred Whore , Wise Woman...

All of her 991 other faces...

And , very , very , respectfully...is how I view her...

[thought_on_a_wind]

I'm eclectic pagan where I used to be Solitary Witch w/Dianic persuasions...

I used to envision her as a gold being with all the power and love wrapped into one form... Same with her consort..

Now I more feel a nameless Goddess and God, they have a definite form, although it eludes me as how to describe either of them, as it is mostly feeling and not sight. (even in meditation)

I kinda get the thought that deities are separate entities linked to an all-source (the universe maybe?) like the rest of us... just on a different level of perception, experience, so forth and so on...

[Sequoia]

I'm not what I would ever describe as "Dianic", not at all, but I thought I would voice my opinion anyhow :hehehehe:

I see the divine energy out there as being of a female quality, if you can define energy as such. So I would call it The Goddess. She is the creator of everything, is aware of everything, perhaps is even a part of everything.

On the other hand, I am aware that there are other energy forms out there. These energy creatures are what I feel people invoke when they pray to or otherwise invoke specific god/desses - Bast, Jesus, etc. These are distinct creatures, yet I believe that they are not the same as The Creator. Kind of demi-gods, if you will, to her God.

So, I see a Creator, and I see many other Spirit Beings whom are given energy by the worship of them. I think that we may create our own "gods", these Spirit Beings to whom we give power and energy...

But I personally am closest to this Creator goddess that I am aware of. And I love her. So... don't know if that makes me a Goddess Worshiper or not

[Gede]

I tend to be a hard polytheist because that is how I experience the Gods (as discrete individuals - which is how I experience most things in Life). However at the same time I experience/feel the unity and interconnection between all things and I call this the Great Mystery (which I guess a lot of Pagans call the Goddess). I tend to be, by nature, against the idea of the polarity of sexes/gender. I believe that things are as they are, and therefore I do not attach a sexual quality to the Great Mystery - it just is to me. Often 'feminine', but never any less 'masculine'. In the same way as I am, so is the Mystery. And so are you. It is a blessed gift to be an expression of somethingv so divine and paradoxical. As I often say: "We are the expression of a yearning to know oneself".

- Eilan~

[Mesektet]

This is something I'd be interested in hearing, I know very little about Dianic witchcraft and Goddess spirituality (BTW, are they seperate things, as I've heard there are some people who are Goddess worshippers but don't consider themselves witches?), but how do you view The Goddess?.

Do you see her as a being who all other goddesses (and gods?) are aspects or faces of, or do you more focus on one specific goddess (e.g. lets say Isis), and if so, would you see her as an individual being ("hard" polytheism). I've always thought it was the former view that was held, but like I said, I'd be interested in hearing your views.

Also, would it depend on the particular Dianic witch or Goddess worshipper (e.g. one might be a"hard" polytheist, another might see all gods as being aspects of The Goddess, etc).

Thanks for any help, and I hope this doesn't sound like a dumb question.

Before I begin: not a dumb question.

Ok. Gonna get a bit personal here.

(ahem)

To some this may sound out of place coming from a man, but if we can break down past all the things that I am taking into account in this spiritual journey on this life cycle; if we can break all of it down to the most dissociative level. I and the I AM, the source of all things, to me is has ALWAYS resonated female, a mother, feminine.
The truth?
I cry every time I see a Goddess form.

Maybe not a full on sob, its not everyday I'm wracked with passion, clutching myself in prostration before a murti, or altar. Sometimes its nothing more than one or two silent tears, rolling south on the cheeks. All in child-like wonder and savage joy.
In the end its all for her. In all her forms its all for her.
The thing with me and the way this soul of mine is interpreting signs, is that when it comes to form. (Isis, Kali, Durga, the Crone, Gaia, etc.) Any of these, any of them as far as I'm concerned is a valid manifestation of her.

As far as choosing any personal facets on which to focus. On this path o'mine, thats unfolding as it goes(at last attempt, best try at naming it was White Hindu Transcendentalist)through study and simple meditation(and entheogenic ritual, but it was pretty simple too) the purest, broadest form was that of Shakti. The universality, the draw of the feminine power was too much for my spiritual senses to deny.
So I went with it, and then my artist and I did a small ritual and he put her on me forever.
I have the visages and icons of other deities inked upon me, each for its own reverence and reason. But this one concept of feminine power really struck the needed akashic chords above me.

Before its too more out of control, there's my peace on it.

[Devashra]

Hi

I see the Goddesses as individual Beings but all Part of Great Spirit, just like i you the stone the Apple on my Plate etc.

so i didnt really know what to vote

Bye Lhiya

[MoonBreath]

Being as i'am soft polytheistic, i voted for one being who all others are aspects of. All the specific deities from various cultures have their own individual personalities, but are ultimately apart of the Great Goddess herself. Personally i pray to the Goddess as well her in the form of Isis. I see the Goddess as the creative and destructive force in the world. She is apart of the world and seperate from it at the same time. Her energy is in everyone and everything.