Influences (The Goddess) |
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Sometimes the Goddess turns up in unexpected places. As mentioned elsewhere, the Virgin Mary of the Catholic Church reflects this. Elements of Cybele and Isis can be found in her, as a holy mother, and granter of miracles and wishes.
In the Gnostic world view, there is the Godhead, Aeons, the Boundary, Sophia, and the Demiurge. The Godhead is the supreme being and appears to be masculine in nature, but also unknowable. The Aeons though seem to be like angels, individual personifications of God, and Sophia appears to be one of these. In some texts she is the mother of the Aeons and the Demiurge, just as Cybele/Rhea is "Mother of the Gods". The demiurge is a "false god" who made this world and is a fallen Aeon, the equivalent of Satan. Gnosticism was rejected by the mainstream church, however many of the concepts obviously influenced it. That the world (and the flesh) is basically hostile and bad, that Sophia (meaning "faith-wisdom") is subordinate to a higher (and masculine?) God, and a battle between good and evil. Sophia might be appealing to some, but I find that I have to reject or ignore her. The reasons are very simple. The world is not basically bad -- it's what we make of it. And a flawed Goddess (or a patriarchal version of one) does more harm than good. |
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![[Doctrine]](../common/corner.gif)
Another representation is Sophia from the Gnostic tradition. Gnosticism was a religious movement that combined elements of Christianity and older religions.