Art, Myths and Rituals
Author/Artist's Statement
We are currently experiencing an accelerated shift in consciousness and
spirituality which I describe and extrapolate in my book. By re-interpreting
and revitalizing
our mythological heritage, I promote the empowerment of women and the
liberation of both women and men from the intellectual grip of social
stereotyping.
I also pay tribute to the beauty and sanctity of Mother Earth. The
images in the book
are based on universal, matriarchal and multicultural mythologies that
I re-interpret for readers who are seeking to get away from the restraints
of a stale social
system in order to liberate themselves and unlock their creativity.
From the book:
Art, Myths, and Rituals
All of the world's religions, myths and archetypes are inventions of human
minds. Since the deepest recesses of prehistory, humans have been spinning
tales that subsequently evolved into their religions. These original mythologies
were gradually transformed through the millennia, providing humanity with
new forms of belief and archetypes that reflected the many changes in its
social structures. In the past, each socio-religious shift was always mirrored
by a change in the visual images that those cultures produced. As new images
were created, they reflected all the changes in social directions. This transformations
continue today in order to give birth to the new, gender balanced and multicultural
social order.
As most societies changed from matristic to patriarchal paradigms,
their religious mythologies and their archetypes increasingly projected
the
masculine, while
obscuring or obliterating the feminine. This slow and gradual process
took many thousands of years. The first, matristic civilizations
were many thousands
of
years old, and most scholars date them beyond 35,000 BCE The conversion
to patriarchy began about 5,000 years ago. This time span is comparatively
short within the
context of the totality of human history, and current social changes
indicate that we are witnessing the development of yet another social
model. During
this period of transition, planet Earth is experiencing a dawning
of the new possible
future - that of a partnership society, a term first used by Riane
Eisler in her book, titled The Chalice and the Blade. Within this
new culture,
female visions,
myths, archetypes and values will be allowed to co-exist with the
surviving components of patriarchal culture. We are already beginning
to experience
an accelerated
shift in consciousness and spirituality.
My art works attempt to describe and predict this shift. This transformation
within our society is both physical and spiritual, and it is deeply
affecting all human beings. It is bringing into focus the need
for inclusion of
submerged female values that lie dormant under the layers of the
dominator model's
militaristic and hierarchical society. Historically feminine values,
which many men and women
are now beginning to adopt, regard world peace as essential. They
also promote reverence for all ecosystems, advocate love and compassion
as cardinal functions
of a civilized society, accept the belief in the interconnectedness
of earthly and spiritual realms, and respect the inherent rights
of
each
human being to
pursue his or her freedom. All these issues are visually and symbolically
represented in my art works, and the text of this book is regarded
by me as an extension
of my visual statements. The main source of inspiration for my
art is drawn from prehistoric, ancient, Native American and other cultures
that,
in
part, are predecessors
of a new world that I envision. These cultures provide me with
unlimited
number of myths, archetypes and symbols to recreate, recombine,
revise and incorporate
into my art works.
FROM CHAPTER TWO: THE FACE OF MOTHER GOD In order for humanity
to succeed in transcending the patriarchal social structure and
step
into the
portal of a gender-balanced
society that is spiritual, peaceful and respectful of Mother
Earth, it is necessary to readjust and rethink our myths, archetypes
and
religious beliefs. As we have
seen, all organized religious systems that presently function
within the dominant cultures visualize their God exclusively
in male form.
My
belief
is that in order
for a society to succeed in transforming itself into a new, egalitarian
structure that is spiritually and ecologically conscious, it
is imperative that both women
and men should be able to visualize God in both female and male
forms, with equal ease.
Only when humanity is able to revive, re-accept and re-absorb the
image of the omnipotent and universal creator as female, the
gender-neutral or genderless
concept of God can be brought out for philosophical discussion,
and accepted by humanity on both conscious and unconscious levels.
Since
a single-gendered
patriarchal culture has been dominant world wide for over two
millennia, it is impossible for the majority of human beings to visualize
an all
powerful creator
in the body of a woman. Even if the concept of God is dematerialized
into a pure energy or spirit form, this spirit-energy is usually
perceived by
the human mind
on a subconscious level as either all masculine or more masculine
than feminine.
Artists usually place the male God, or the male divine Trinity
in the heavenly realm, residing on a layer of clouds and surrounded
by lower
ranking spiritual
beings, most of which are also male. Even the priesthood, considered
by many organized religions to be spiritually superior to lay
people and,
therefore,
closer to God, is still predominantly male. In spite of this,
God-the-Mother was never totally excised from the genetic code
and the subconscious
minds of human beings. She appears in Christianity as the Virgin
Mary, the Mother
of God,
and she is the occult Mother God in the psyches of most people
who
were raised as Christians. Even as you read this book, the
role of the divine
feminine is
being re-evaluated within the Christian establishment, and
some clergy and religious philosophers are ready to incorporate the
original
sacred feminine of early Christianity
into contemporary organized religion, equating God-the-Mother
with either the Holy Spirit or the Virgin Mary, or both. Some
propose
that she could
be perceived
as the mother of the divine son and the divine daughter. On
the other end of the spectrum of Christianity is the complete public
denial
of the existence
of
God-the-Mother.
Since the Reformation, many branches of Christianity have minimized
or erased the role of the Mother of God, and the devotees of
these religions
are still
deprived of the joy of celebrating the divine feminine principle
in its veiled form. The need for this void to be filled is
now emerging. My
Latin heritage
has gifted me with the variety and richness of the images of
a Great Mother, providing me with an easy transition between
the
time of
discovery
of ancient
myths of the world, that include the divine feminine principle,
and the realization that the sacred feminine must surface into
the mainstream
of our society. Discovery
of the old myths and archetypes came early in my life. I learned
to read
by the time I was five years old, and I was immediately attracted
to the world's myths
and religions that worshipped God in female as well as male
form. The study of matristic religions and civilizations became
my
life-long passion.
Images of the divine feminine started to appear in my childhood
sketches, and later in drawings and paintings created during
my undergraduate
studies at Arizona
State University (1969-1973). Ultimately, they evolved into
a series of art works on the theme of female spirituality
during my graduate
studies at Florida State
University (1974-1975). During my college years, my investigation
into the prehistoric and ancient cultures led me to the realization
that
the Great Mother was worshipped
all over the globe before male gods were invented by humankind.
Although she had thousands of names, depending upon the geographical
locations
and
languages
in which she was worshipped, she was consistently believed
to
be the creator of all that exists. She was omnipotent, the
giver and
taker
of life, the
provider of abundance and fertility in nature. She ruled
over the earth, the waters, and
the sky. She was worshipped as the Great Creator of humans
and animals.
Both the earthly and the heavenly realms were believed to
be equally loved by the mother of all. The religion of the
Mother
permeated
all aspects
of human
existence: all that was, and all that will be. The status
of women in those matriarchal cultures was equal to the position
of men.
Female sexuality
and spirituality
were respected, and human beings shared a profound respect
for their environment,
a respect that bordered on reverence. The trees, the plants
and the creatures that inhabited planet Earth were presumed
to have
equal
place with human
beings in the world of the Great Mother.
Kyra Belán & Charles Martin
Spiritual Wedding
Celebration for Goddess Juno: Magic Circle XXII
2/14/93
