|
 As with all good stories, fictional or otherwise, the path to
the climax is circuitous, and fairies or monsters may lurk behind any tree
or boulder.
Fortunately, for Temple
of the Goddess there have been no monsters leaping out to devour the tender
morsel.
The co-founders of the
Temple first met in 1991, but it wasn’t until 1993 that the vision appeared
swirling in water during the moontime, seeming from on high. Then the egg
started hatching. Metaphorically and literally. At an Oestre Ritual in 1993
on Wright’s land in the beautiful mountains above Malibu, California,
Goddess planted a thought. Why were eggs, the embodiment of the Divine
Feminine, sacred symbol of creation, called, “Deviled Eggs”? Yes, there is a
pickling to the dish, but it was about time to reclaim the sacredness of
eggs. “Goddess Eggs” were created and the temple hatchling came out of its
shell.
After that came
refinement of the humans involved. Through rituals and how-to classes in
forming a non-profit organization, the idea of a place for women, men, and
young people–all children of the Goddess–to ritually celebrate and honor the
Divine Feminine began to grow.
Temple of the Goddess
expanded into becoming a church, a teaching institution, a place for
affiliates to obtain grants for documentaries, and other art works, a place
for children to learn their true heritage, and a place for healing the body
and the soul. We talked to Pagans at various Pagan Pride Days and discovered
women, and men, yearning for a place to joyfully celebrate the Goddess. They
were “ritual-starved.” They wanted knowledge that has been withheld.
2001 saw a group of
women come together. The Visioning Day tried to put ideas to paper, to begin
the task of creating an actual temple. In mid 2001 Temple of the Goddess was
registered and became a California Corporation.
On April 07, 2004
Temple of the Goddess became federally recognized as a 501(c)(3) non-profit
religious organization. The United States Government proclaimed that we were
a church.
When women heard about
the Temple, they wanted to be a part of it. Strong, intelligent women joined
the Board of Directors to light the path into the future. Some of the same
women, and others, have been meeting as the Ritual Committee forming the
shape of the Sabbat Rituals honoring the Divine Feminine. Because of those
sacred eggs, Goddess Eggs, in 2005 we met at the Sepulveda Unitarian Universalist Society in North Hills, California–informally called “The
Onion”, because of its organic shape. In 2006 we moved to the
Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church at 301 N. Orange Grove Blvd,
Pasadena, California. In 2013, following our theme for the year "New
Directions", we moved to a Center for Awakening Consciousness at 690 E.
Orange Grove Blvd, Pasadena, California.
There have been no
monsters along the path, but many Sprites, Nymphs, Goddesses, and Lords of
the Wood in the form of awesome women and men making Temple of the Goddess a
reality.
Pythia, Temple Archivist
To learn more about the Temple
of the Goddess, click here for a printable brochure. . . |
