In many traditional pagan practices there are three faces to
the goddess, often referred to as The Maiden, The Mother, and The Crone. In
ancient times these would be equated to the three phases of a woman’s life: the
purity of youth, the rearing and teaching of next generations, and the wisdom
of a long lived life. But how relevant are these roles in modern times?
As the role of women in society has evolved, does it not
also seem that the symbols of women should evolve to meet these new needs? Virginity
is not necessarily seen as a virtue in the modern age, though the journey from
child to woman is still an important transition. So the symbolic maiden still
has an important role. The Mother, seen as not only a vessel for life, for
creation, but also as the imparter of knowledge, of training for the future is
also an important role. But in modern times, not all women go from maiden to
mother, either directly or in some cases at all.
Personally I have always felt that there was something
missing in the story of transition told by the three faces. Where is the
warrior? There have been many legendary female champions throughout history. Where
is their part in the story of the Goddess? When I have raised this question in
the past I was told that it was part of the face of The Maiden (the virgin
warrior a la Joan of Arc) or it was part of the face of The Mother (the mama bear
protecting her cubs), but never have I heard of a distinct place for a woman
outside of the progenerative process.
Defining “Woman” or even “Goddess” by the steps of sexual
maturity or the physical sexual characteristics of sexual development seems to
be a disservice to women as the dynamic and unique beings that they are. Also
in the current world of fluid gender identity, does it not seem necessary to
have a place for women in the goddess that does not require genital
characteristics as a form of placement in the spectrum of divinity.
I want to interject here that the reclaiming of women and their
sexuality as inviolate is not in any way
a bad thing, but I do believe that there is more to women than their sex. What
of the woman who has no desire to be a mother? What of the transgender woman
who will never experience menses? Where is the place for them? Where in the three
faced goddess do they get to see a divine reflection of themselves?
Why then cannot there be a face of the goddess that speaks
to these women? A warrior, a poet, a dreamer and doer, where is a face of the Goddess
for women who break with convention and stand for change? A woman is more than
a sum total of parts deemed “woman” by biological processes. Where in the face of the Goddess that is
about what a woman does, not about what a woman is? Fierce and bright, strong,
courageous and free, where is that face of the Goddess?
