Women Women Ruled, Matriarchy and the Rise of the Goddess
To understand women’s lives and path to spiritual awakening in today’s world, as well as the rise of the Goddess in our collective consciousness, looking back at a time before patriarchy when women ruled the world brings us valuable information. There are different ages, or yugas, on the planet and each expresses a different configuration of energy. As the astrological energies, planetary configurations and spatial energies change, the development of consciousness upon the planet changes and so there are different ages.
In the different ages, different types of energy patterns gain predominance. These are sometimes called archetypes. The feminine archetype was fully manifested during the matriarchal era. The word matriarchy itself derives from the Latin word mater, meaning “mother,” and archein, or "to rule." In matriarchal societies women rule and children and inheritance traditionally belong to the mother and her line.
Matriarchy was well developed at an early time, long before recorded history. Matriarchal societies progressed down through the ages until perhaps 10,000 or 11,000 years ago when these societies, one by one, began to decline and be replaced by more aggressive, warlike and patriarchal societies. Before that time, they were in their heyday. The matriarchy that developed in the Old European region was a part of the matrilineal heritage of that era. Even the famed Atlantean society had a matriarchal base. Most societies of that time, simple or complex, were matriarchal.
ExpansivenessAs people spread out across the globe, civilization in the hands of women grew and developed. There was expansion in all areas of human endeavor under the gracious rule of the goddess. It may be said that matriarchy blossomed in the Mediterranean bed of developing civilization. But in fact, this was only one area in which matriarchy came to the front, in which the goddess took human beings and united them in communities and began the development of societies. First to develop was Africa. It is from Africa that many of the clans originally migrated. Then during a similar period to when matriarchy took root in the Mediterranean, it also occurred in what is now China, in the northern portions of India, in the southern continent of the Americas and in other more isolated regions. The matriarchal cultures of Northern Africa and the Middle East were just beginning their cultural development at that time and Southern India developed a bit later.
The matriarchal culture in old Europe followed a similar development as in other areas of the world. In the beginning, they were herders and hunters, and the society was very primitive. There was little difference between the lives of people and the lives of other creatures that wandered the land. As time went on and the centuries passed, clans slowly began to form into societies. Customs and rituals developed and interactions between clans and commerce arose. Loosely knit, independent and passive societies formed who did not approach each other as enemies. They thought of all people as friends. This attitude was adopted because the people were linked by a common philosophy and a common approach, which was developed by women based upon the mysticism of birth and rearing of children.
The Age of MatriarchyDuring the period from approximately 45,000 BCE to approximately 8,000 BCE, there was a predominance of matriarchal societies upon this planet. During this time there were a variety of independently developed cultures. Human beings had already spread throughout the world and were living in all parts. In the beginning, there were both the present human forms and the protohumans. They both lived at the time. The protohumans, at the time of the development of matriarchy, were, in the main, a dying species. The present-day human was the rising form, the rising star of that time. The number of humans upon the planet was small and as they spread to different parts of the world, they became isolated and developed independent languages and cultures. However, some streams of human development were brought together. It is a fact that there was also extraterrestrial influence in this development.
In the beginning of matriarchy human beings lived primarily in very simple conditions. They were hunters and gatherers. They roamed the countryside getting their food from the abundance of the earth around them. These people were primarily organized in clans or tribes and the different clans were small. If they became too large, they would burden the food resources of a particular area and they would break apart and again become small. In this way, small bands of people, small tribes, spread farther and farther out to inhabit the earth.
There were tribal identities. Some of these small clans would belong to one tribe, some to another and they would have their primary territories. There was quite a bit of land, many natural resources, and life was abundant upon the planet. Thus, there was not much competition between people. The strength of a clan depended on the health of its children; strong boys and girls to hunt, bear children and preserve the clan. Therefore, the role of the mother became very significant.
There was no marriage system; the mothers ruled the clans. All knew who their mother was, but the father’s identity was often unclear. It was a communal situation; there was no marriage per se. All could remember and honor the mother who took care of them in their childhood, but as to the father, this was a mystery. No one knew or cared. This was true in almost all of these societies. As they developed more, this changed. However, for many thousands of years there was no emphasis on fatherhood, only motherhood. The children would look to the mother.
Within a clan, sexual contact between the men and women of the clan was prohibited as the men were the uncles, brothers and sons of the women. Instead, all clans attended gatherings held as often as every three months but in some remote areas only every 6 months or less, in which clans would come together for the meeting of men and women in a sexual fashion as well as sharing news, barter and stories. This was an essential part of matriarchal societies of the time. When the gathering was over the men would return to their own mother clan and the clans would go their way.
In the different ages, different types of energy patterns gain predominance. These are sometimes called archetypes. The feminine archetype was fully manifested during the matriarchal era. The word matriarchy itself derives from the Latin word mater, meaning “mother,” and archein, or "to rule." In matriarchal societies women rule and children and inheritance traditionally belong to the mother and her line.
Matriarchy was well developed at an early time, long before recorded history. Matriarchal societies progressed down through the ages until perhaps 10,000 or 11,000 years ago when these societies, one by one, began to decline and be replaced by more aggressive, warlike and patriarchal societies. Before that time, they were in their heyday. The matriarchy that developed in the Old European region was a part of the matrilineal heritage of that era. Even the famed Atlantean society had a matriarchal base. Most societies of that time, simple or complex, were matriarchal.
ExpansivenessAs people spread out across the globe, civilization in the hands of women grew and developed. There was expansion in all areas of human endeavor under the gracious rule of the goddess. It may be said that matriarchy blossomed in the Mediterranean bed of developing civilization. But in fact, this was only one area in which matriarchy came to the front, in which the goddess took human beings and united them in communities and began the development of societies. First to develop was Africa. It is from Africa that many of the clans originally migrated. Then during a similar period to when matriarchy took root in the Mediterranean, it also occurred in what is now China, in the northern portions of India, in the southern continent of the Americas and in other more isolated regions. The matriarchal cultures of Northern Africa and the Middle East were just beginning their cultural development at that time and Southern India developed a bit later.
The matriarchal culture in old Europe followed a similar development as in other areas of the world. In the beginning, they were herders and hunters, and the society was very primitive. There was little difference between the lives of people and the lives of other creatures that wandered the land. As time went on and the centuries passed, clans slowly began to form into societies. Customs and rituals developed and interactions between clans and commerce arose. Loosely knit, independent and passive societies formed who did not approach each other as enemies. They thought of all people as friends. This attitude was adopted because the people were linked by a common philosophy and a common approach, which was developed by women based upon the mysticism of birth and rearing of children.
The Age of MatriarchyDuring the period from approximately 45,000 BCE to approximately 8,000 BCE, there was a predominance of matriarchal societies upon this planet. During this time there were a variety of independently developed cultures. Human beings had already spread throughout the world and were living in all parts. In the beginning, there were both the present human forms and the protohumans. They both lived at the time. The protohumans, at the time of the development of matriarchy, were, in the main, a dying species. The present-day human was the rising form, the rising star of that time. The number of humans upon the planet was small and as they spread to different parts of the world, they became isolated and developed independent languages and cultures. However, some streams of human development were brought together. It is a fact that there was also extraterrestrial influence in this development.
In the beginning of matriarchy human beings lived primarily in very simple conditions. They were hunters and gatherers. They roamed the countryside getting their food from the abundance of the earth around them. These people were primarily organized in clans or tribes and the different clans were small. If they became too large, they would burden the food resources of a particular area and they would break apart and again become small. In this way, small bands of people, small tribes, spread farther and farther out to inhabit the earth.
There were tribal identities. Some of these small clans would belong to one tribe, some to another and they would have their primary territories. There was quite a bit of land, many natural resources, and life was abundant upon the planet. Thus, there was not much competition between people. The strength of a clan depended on the health of its children; strong boys and girls to hunt, bear children and preserve the clan. Therefore, the role of the mother became very significant.
There was no marriage system; the mothers ruled the clans. All knew who their mother was, but the father’s identity was often unclear. It was a communal situation; there was no marriage per se. All could remember and honor the mother who took care of them in their childhood, but as to the father, this was a mystery. No one knew or cared. This was true in almost all of these societies. As they developed more, this changed. However, for many thousands of years there was no emphasis on fatherhood, only motherhood. The children would look to the mother.
Within a clan, sexual contact between the men and women of the clan was prohibited as the men were the uncles, brothers and sons of the women. Instead, all clans attended gatherings held as often as every three months but in some remote areas only every 6 months or less, in which clans would come together for the meeting of men and women in a sexual fashion as well as sharing news, barter and stories. This was an essential part of matriarchal societies of the time. When the gathering was over the men would return to their own mother clan and the clans would go their way.
