Equality amongst the sexes, a fair crack of the whip for all, What place (if any) does so-called ‘Feminism’ have in the Pagan religions of this planet?

Our earliest ancestors living a hunter-gatherer type of existence were not troubled by modern confabulations of equality. Diet, warmth, mating and overall survival against hostile environments remained the most important aspects prominent in the minds of the first Homo sapiens. Like many other animals surrounding them our forbears got on with whatever they did best. To do otherwise would have been foolish and simply led to hunger and ultimately death. The most aggressive and physically potent members of a tribe (either male or female) would fashion weapons and venture out into dangerous regions to hunt game for food. To some extent historical conditioning/taboos have robbed women of their right to choose and their abilities which once gave them the respect which they were due. Size and strength, the Macho-image is a sad result of aeons of patriarchal human mind-manipulation. Originally, like in numerous other animal species, the sexes were on a similar functional basis. Powerful women were once just as dangerous as any man and of course  'still' are today.

Evidence of such parallels in nature abounds. A potent Lioness will often do the hunting whilst the lazier male suns himself in the shade. What is of paramount importance is the individual's own personal capability regardless of gender. Man-man prohibitions and doctrine affected the individual liberties of the masses. Ruling Priesthoods to enable them to thrust their intolerance upon society created sexual stereotypes. The old mediaeval Christian witch figure of a hag on a broomstick is a prime example of a male-dominated religion enforcing its prejudice on a naive culture. This single occurrence has done more to damage and de-empower elderly females than any other in western history.

Restrictions on 'individuality' go hand in hand with any fundamentalist credo. Fundie rules for life always end up disenfranchising minorities that refuse to conform.

It is essential that we see the difference between natural social gender development and that which is insidiously inflicted on us by taboo-ridden, ruling Juntas with hidden power motives/agendas. The cosy image of the little woman at home and the sturdy, bread-winning man is a mind-control mechanism cleverly incorporated into human subconscious by the biased Priesthoods Of course women are equally capable of going out to work whilst men stay in with the children, yet the patriarchal mind-set ultimately rejects this concept with its so-called family (meaning Xtian/female-disenfranchising) values! Marriage may also be viewed in this context as a type of institutionalised Xist ploy to demote women to the lower (servant of man) ranks.

Unbalanced patriarchal faith systems have always led to the subjugation of the female gender. The recent (and ongoing) hullabaloo in the Church of England over women priests gives prime evidence of a masculine backlash that has its roots in the early days of oppression of balanced, natural, Pagan religions. Secular societies too have often inherited cultural taboos affecting females and simply kept them in operation for their own ends.

Pre-Christian societies were very often matriarchal with women holding leading roles as warrior-queens, lofty high priestesses and prominent spokespersons. Pagan myths and legends gave dignity to the female principal of divinity in the form of a plethora of multi-functional Goddesses. Lunar/Earth Goddesses matched by their consorts often in the guise of a Horned/Green/Sun-God ensured that man and woman were of equal importance separated by nothing but their own personal abilities. As above so below! Harmony betwixt the sexes existed on all levels of reality. The sexes were equal yes, yet different in many natural ways and every balanced Pagan knew this truth (and still should) intimately. Old heathen faiths of the earth have largely regarded male and female as equal and only when women escape the grip of Patriarchy do they truly find genuine empowerment and balance. History testifies that the oppression of women was clearly created by hard-line, patriarchal systems and not Paganism with its respectful gender balance.

Women’s rights suffered a crushing blow with the creeping onset of Christian/Judaic, monotheistic censorship. Women were from then on treated as second-class citizens at the mercy of men. Ancient myths originating around the Goddess were usurped, subverted then drastically altered by the patriarchal Bible-authors in order to force out any mention of feminine divinity (the Goddess) from native traditions, customs and mind-set of the masses. Women became harlots to tempt man from the lord, or as in the case of Lilith/Lileth (first wife of Adam), night demons to threaten mans' immortal souls and steal babies. Monotheism blamed womankind for every conceivable evil to befall society. Even certain later Pagan mystery schools like Mithraism contained a nucleus of what today might be seen as sexism. The worship of the God Mithras was a male-orientated path, however even then women were not left out in the cold for they honoured the Great Goddess Cybele. Although sexual discrimination seems to have existed then, at least the pagan, male/female balance of equality remained intact.

With the rise of Christianity Woman took a back seat and men ruled the roost. Today Christianity still largely controls our society. The powerful fifth column of Christian MPs in Westminster regularly forces through legislation promoting family/marriage (Christian/male-dominated) principles. Christian females would do well to realise the gross intolerance dwelling in these absolutist, faith-systems and wake up from their blinkered, masculine-injected slumber.

Genuine Pagan women celebrate the beautiful diversity, which coexists between the sexes. They realise that Pagan cosmology is sexually balanced and seasonal festivals are carefully worked around the harmonious male/female principles. Talk of sexual equality in Paganism is unnecessary for every genuine Pagan realises the inherent energy balance dwelling behind their religion. The priestess is as important as the Priest in Pagan religion and will always be an essential part therein.

These naive feminist Pagans/new agers are so Xtian indoctrinated that they fail to realise that they are carrying ancient patriarchal hatreds into tolerant Pagan society. Feminism is an understandable (monotheistic) rebellion against decades of biased, puritanical Christian indoctrination and oppression of the female gender. A considerable percentage of totally misguided women regard themselves as being Pagan when in fact they have actually failed to break the chains of Xtian mind-control.

These women unknowingly display signs of fundamentalist-hatched repression and subconsciously perceive every male as a threatening adversary to be challenged. They have (unlike enlightened Pagan women) failed to liberate themselves from monotheistic affiliations and conditioning. Their heated contempt for males is really an admission of counterfeit Christo/Pagan philosophy, attraction to Christian tenets and absolute humbug. Unfortunately this (anti-male/Goddess-only) feminism results in more disharmony which in turn causes bewildered men to match the attack and fight back. These men then usually fall victim to allegations of being called-male chauvinist pig! Exclusively Matriarchal faiths are just as unbalanced as all-God religions and have no place in genuine Paganism. Only the very closed minded and un-liberated could support the feminist lobby and still claim to be Pagan at heart.

Unfortunately thousands of greenhorns (both male and female) joining Paganism are being fed on an unwholesome diet of Goddess-only Paganism by the feminist lobby. This aggressive faction reject any brave Pagan man standing his ground (against this obvious bias) as being an enemy to be tackled; thus he is immediately ostracised and called unworthy. Feminine zealots possess the remnants of disruptive, patriarchal, mind-control that is totally alien to real balanced Pagan philosophy.

Genuine debate about feminism is stopped short when we discover that even leading male Pagans are effectively silenced for fear of upsetting the feminists in Paganism or being branded as a Satanic child/woman abuser. This is absolute insanity and proves just how far the religion has fallen from its originally balanced positions. Without doubt Pagan feminists have more psychologically in common with Xtian fundamentalists than they do with their chosen spiritual path.

The writing’s on the wall, Christo/Pagan feminists are Christians in everything but name. The strange irony of the situation is that they have utterly failed to escape from the potent male-controlled (monotheistic) mind-traps which they actually claim to oppose so effectively. These feminists cannot see the essential Pagan male/female equilibrium, which lies on all planes of existence because their blinkered emotional idiosyncrasies won't let them.

It's high time that both male and female Pagans stood up to this (Christian-based) feminist threat to genuine Pagan harmony - now!

Disclaimer:

PAN realises that the vast majority of Christians are not fundamentalist or evangelical in make up and we only criticise religious extremists who seek to disenfranchise other faiths whilst bolstering their own. PAN does not in any way condone violence against any persons or property and we must state that we have always worked towards a more tolerant and equal society.   

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