Reading Notes: 7 Secrets of the Goddess, Part A

on

Gaia's Secret 1.1: 

  • Earth mother in Greek mythology
  • Only way to give birth to her son Cronus was to castrate his father
    • Cronus then ate his children so that none of them could overthrow him as king
  • She was able to save one of her children from Cronus - Zeus
    • Zeus eventually killed Cronus and declared himself as king of gods while Gaia lived an isolated life
  • "Primal female, first adored, then brutally sidelined by a male deity" happens all the time in mythology of any culture
    • This theme occurs in Hindu mythology with the mother of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva - Adya
    • Adya wanted to unite with the three of them, but Brahma refused and Shiva burned her
    • Adya's ashes became the three main goddesses, the wives of Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, and the Grama-devis
  • Many cultures present day and many animal species have this gender hierarchy similar to the hierarchy presented in mythology
    • Many shrines have groups of women with one man depicted
  • The only way for a goddess consort to survive from being killed by other men was for him to castrate himself
  • Original meaning of "virgin" was a woman who was ready to bear a child
Gaia's Secret 1.2: 

  • Women were associated with birth and reproduction as well as with death in many cultures
    • Yama became the god of death when he rejected sex with Yami
  • The association between women and sex and death led to men associating women with immorality, misery, and vulnerability
    • In Buddhism rejection of women allows men to avoid death
  • If men choose to live the ascetic life, they must have children beforehand
  • Society began viewing women as a commodity, which led to women and their bodies being viewed as something to be owned by men
    • Patriarchal societies became more commonplace
    • Sacred prostitutes were also common until the 1800s in India
Gaia and her sons: Wikimedia Commons

To be completely honest, I am not sure what the videos I watched are about and what their purpose is. Gaia was only mentioned in the first few minutes of the first video, and yet both videos are named after her. So, I am very confused what I am supposed to be learning about in these videos, which is why my notes are rather sparse and all over the place.

Bibliography: "7 Secrets of the Goddess - Gaia's Secret" by Epified. Chapters 1.1 and 1.2. Youtube.



Comments

Post a Comment