Post by jadedsage on May 25, 2003 22:23:49 GMT -5
How do you explain the basics to a child? Take the simple question Who/what is the Goddess?
The Earth is a living being that we name The Goddess. Every thing around us is a part of her, and alive. The animals and the trees, even the rocks, streams, and clouds; things which may not seem to have a life of their own.
Even though we are all separate entities, we are all part of the whole. Much the same way that each of our fingers, are all a part of our hand. The Earth, herself, is also part of a much larger living thing, the Universe. It too grows and changes just as we do, thus giving it life of its own.
The Goddess is all around us and always close. You can feel it each time you hug someone, smell a flower, play with your pets or climb trees. The food we eat, water we drink, air we breath and ground we stand upon are all part of Goddess, and therefore Sacred. And when something is sacred to us, we must honor, respect and care for it. If one thing is hurt, then we are all hurt, just as your entire body, feels the pain if you cut the smallest part of your finger.
We also believe in many different Goddess and Gods, whom we call by many different names. To Pagans, each Godess and God is a different way of trying to understand the universe. The universe is so large, that our human minds cannot possibly understand it all at once, only in parts. We understnad that many people have different names for the Gods and Goddess, and that is alright. The universe is like a giant jigsaw puzzel for which we each hold a piece. The whole picture is not known, but as each piece comes together, the more we understand what that picture is. No one group of people or piece of the puzzle is right for everyone. The Goddess tradition teaches us to respect others beliefs and way of thinking.
The Goddess and Gods can help us in different ways. When we call upon specific ones, it is like stepping into their piece of the puzzle. In the movie, Mary Poppins, the children step into a chalk picture and it carries them to another living world. It is much the same when we call upon particular Gods or Goddesses. In our minds that piece of the puzzle comes alive for us, and we then learn something on that Goddess or God could teach to us.
The above follows a description given by Starhawk as a means to introduce your child to the Goddess......
What is your method?
The Earth is a living being that we name The Goddess. Every thing around us is a part of her, and alive. The animals and the trees, even the rocks, streams, and clouds; things which may not seem to have a life of their own.
Even though we are all separate entities, we are all part of the whole. Much the same way that each of our fingers, are all a part of our hand. The Earth, herself, is also part of a much larger living thing, the Universe. It too grows and changes just as we do, thus giving it life of its own.
The Goddess is all around us and always close. You can feel it each time you hug someone, smell a flower, play with your pets or climb trees. The food we eat, water we drink, air we breath and ground we stand upon are all part of Goddess, and therefore Sacred. And when something is sacred to us, we must honor, respect and care for it. If one thing is hurt, then we are all hurt, just as your entire body, feels the pain if you cut the smallest part of your finger.
We also believe in many different Goddess and Gods, whom we call by many different names. To Pagans, each Godess and God is a different way of trying to understand the universe. The universe is so large, that our human minds cannot possibly understand it all at once, only in parts. We understnad that many people have different names for the Gods and Goddess, and that is alright. The universe is like a giant jigsaw puzzel for which we each hold a piece. The whole picture is not known, but as each piece comes together, the more we understand what that picture is. No one group of people or piece of the puzzle is right for everyone. The Goddess tradition teaches us to respect others beliefs and way of thinking.
The Goddess and Gods can help us in different ways. When we call upon specific ones, it is like stepping into their piece of the puzzle. In the movie, Mary Poppins, the children step into a chalk picture and it carries them to another living world. It is much the same when we call upon particular Gods or Goddesses. In our minds that piece of the puzzle comes alive for us, and we then learn something on that Goddess or God could teach to us.
The above follows a description given by Starhawk as a means to introduce your child to the Goddess......
What is your method?
