Author Archives

Carol P. Christ is a leading feminist historian of religion and theologian who leads the Goddess Pilgrimage to Crete, a life transforming tour for women. www.goddessariadne.org

• Carol P. Christ’s Legacy: Love Divine, All Loves Excelling

  By Carol P. Christ on May 23, 2022 • ( 1 )

  This was originally posted on Sept. 9, 2011 In my last blog I wrote that the image of God as a dominating other who enforces his will through violence–found in the Bible and in the Christian tradition up to the… Read More ›

• Carol P. Christ’s Legacy: Is This How Patriarchy Began?

  By Carol P. Christ on May 16, 2022 • ( 2 )

  

  This was originally post on June 19, 2017 In my widely read blog and academic essay offering a new definition of patriarchy, I argued that patriarchy is a system of male dominance that arose at the intersection of the control… Read More ›

• Legacy of Carol P. Christ: What Does Mother’s Day Mean in a Patriarchal and Matricidal Culture?

  By Carol P. Christ on May 9, 2022 • ( 2 )

  This was originally posted on May 9, 2016 When we seek immortality or spiritual “rebirth,” are we not saying that there is something wrong with the “birth” that was given to us through the body of our mothers? In She… Read More ›

• Carol P. Christ’s Legacy: Great Goddess, Mother Goddess, Creatrix, Source of Life

  By Carol P. Christ on May 2, 2022 • ( 2 )

  This post was originally posted on February 5, 2018 The symbol of the Goddess is as old as human history. The most ancient images of the Goddesses from the Paleolithic era are neither pregnant nor holding a child. In Neolithic… Read More ›

• Carol P. Christ’s Legacy: Was There a “Golden Age” before Patriarchy and War? by Carol P. Christ

  By Carol P. Christ on April 25, 2022 • ( 8 )

  Marija Gimbutas coined the term “Old Europe” c.6500-3500 BCE to describe peaceful, sedentary, artistic, matrifocal, matrilineal and probably matrilocal agricultural societies that worshipped the Goddess as the power of birth, death, and regeneration in all of life. Gimbutas argued that… Read More ›

• Carol P. Christ’s Legacy: Kassiani: Placing a Woman at the Center of the Easter Drama

  By Carol P. Christ on April 18, 2022 • ( 4 )

  This blog was originally posted on April 13, 2015. You can read the original comments here. For many years I been told of the beautiful Hymn of Kassiani, sung only on Easter Tuesday night, but I had never heard it… Read More ›

• Carol P. Christ’s Legacy: Please Keep It in Your Pants by Carol P. Christ

  By Carol P. Christ on April 11, 2022 • ( 2 )

  This blog was originally posted on November 6. 2017. You can read the original comments here. Trigger warning: this post describes sexual abuse Last week while responding to a comment on my blog, I suddenly remembered a series of incidents… Read More ›

• Carol P. Christ’s Legacy: “THE OLD RELIGION” OR A “NEW CREATIVE SYNTHESIS”?

  By Carol P. Christ on April 4, 2022 • ( 3 )

  Moderator’s Note: Carol Christ died from cancer in July, 2021. Her work continues through her non-profit foundation, the Ariadne Institute for the Study of Myth and Ritual and the Goddess Pilgrimage to Crete. This blog was originally posted June 30, 2014. You can read… Read More ›

• Carol P. Christ’s Legacy: THE LABRYS: A RIVER OF BIRDS IN MIGRATION

  By Carol P. Christ on March 28, 2022 • ( 4 )

  Moderator’s Note: Carol Christ died from cancer in July, 2021. Her work continues through her non-profit foundation, the Ariadne Institute for the Study of Myth and Ritual and the Goddess Pilgrimage to Crete. This blog was originally posted July 29, 2013. You can its original… Read More ›

• Carol P Christ’s Legacy: Gratitude and Sharing: Two Fundamental Principles of Goddess Spirituality

  By Carol P. Christ on March 21, 2022 • ( 3 )

  Moderator’s Note: Carol Christ died from cancer in July, 2021. Her work continues through her non-profit foundation, the Ariadne Institute for the Study of Myth and Ritual and the Goddess Pilgrimage to Crete. This blog was originally posted February 4 2013. You can read… Read More ›

• Carol P. Christ’s Legacy: Who Is Gender Queer?

  By Carol P. Christ on March 14, 2022 • ( 5 )

  Moderator’s Note: Carol Christ died from cancer in July, 2021. Her work continues through her non-profit foundation, the Ariadne Institute for the Study of Myth and Ritual and the Goddess Pilgrimage to Crete. This blog was originally posted March 2, 2015. You can read… Read More ›

• Carol P. Christ’s Legacy: Does Belief Matter?

  By Carol P. Christ on March 7, 2022 • ( 4 )

  Moderator’s Note: Carol Christ died from cancer in July, 2021. Her work continues through her non-profit foundation, the Ariadne Institute for the Study of Myth and Ritual and the Goddess Pilgrimage to Crete. This blog was originally posted December 10, 2012. You can read… Read More ›

• Carol P. Christ’s Legacy: The Keepers and the Roman Catholic Church featuring Jean Hargadon Wehner

  By Carol P. Christ on February 28, 2022 • ( 14 )

  Moderator’s Note: Jean Hargadon Wehner, who is referenced and quoted by Carol in this post will be available to respond in the comments section. Feel free to ask her any questions. Jean has a new book out about her experiences…. Read More ›

• Carol P. Christ’s Legacy: Women Are Not Sluts, Rush, Douch-Bag Is Not Funny, Jon, And Sexism Is More Than “Inappropriate,” Mr. Whitehouse Spokesperson! by Carol P. Christ

  By Carol P. Christ on February 21, 2022 • ( 2 )

  Moderator’s Note: We here at FAR have been so fortunate to work along side Carol Christ for many years. She died from cancer in July, 2021. Her work continues through her non-profit foundation, the Ariadne Institute for the Study of Myth and… Read More ›

• Carol P. Christ’s Legacy: Women And Weeding, The First 10,000 Years* by Carol P. Christ

  By Carol P. Christ on February 14, 2022 • ( 1 )

  Moderator’s Note: We here at FAR have been so fortunate to work along side Carol Christ for many years. She died from cancer in July, 2021. Her work continues through her non-profit foundation, the Ariadne Institute for the Study of Myth and… Read More ›

• Carol P Christ’s Legacy: What Might It Be Like To Live In A Matriarchal Society Of Peace? Can You Imagine?

  By Carol P. Christ on February 7, 2022 • ( 7 )

  Moderator’s Note: We here at FAR have been so fortunate to work along side Carol Christ for many years. She died from cancer in July, 2021. Her work continues through her non-profit foundation, the Ariadne Institute for the Study of Myth and… Read More ›

• Carol P. Christ’s Legacy: Patriarchy As An Integral System of Male Dominance Created at the Intersection of the Control of Women, Private Property, and War, Part 3

  By Carol P. Christ on January 31, 2022 • ( 2 )

  Moderator’s Note: We here at FAR have been so fortunate to work along side Carol Christ for many years. She died from cancer in July, 2021. Her work continues through her non-profit foundation, the Ariadne Institute for the Study of Myth and… Read More ›

• Carol P. Christ’s Legacy: Patriarchy as a System of Male Dominance Created at the Intersection of the Control of Women, Private Property, and War, Part 2 by Carol P. Christ

  By Carol P. Christ on January 24, 2022 • ( 3 )

  Moderator’s Note: We here at FAR have been so fortunate to work along side Carol Christ for many years. She died from cancer in July, 2021. Her work continues through her non-profit foundation, the Ariadne Institute for the Study of Myth and… Read More ›

• Carol P. Christ’s Legacy: Patriarchy as a System of Male Dominance Created at the Intersection of the Control of Women, Private Property, and War, Part 1 by Carol P. Christ

  By Carol P. Christ on January 17, 2022 • ( 2 )

  Moderator’s Note: We here at FAR have been so fortunate to work along side Carol Christ for many years. She died from cancer in July, 2021. Her work continues through her non-profit foundation, the Ariadne Institute for the Study of Myth and… Read More ›

• Carol P. Christ’s Legacy: Why Don’t Feminists Express Anger At God? by Carol P. Christ

  By Carol P. Christ on January 10, 2022 • ( 6 )

  Moderator’s Note: We here at FAR have been so fortunate to work along side Carol Christ for many years. She died from cancer in July, 2021. Her work continues through her non-profit foundation, the Ariadne Institute for the Study of Myth and… Read More ›

• Carol P. Christ’s Legacy: ON NOT GETTING WHAT WE WANT AND LEARNING TO BE GRATEFUL FOR WHAT WE HAVE

  By Carol P. Christ on January 3, 2022 • ( 1 )

  Moderator’s Note: We here at FAR have been so fortunate to work along side Carol Christ for many years. She died from cancer in July, 2021. To honor her legacy, as well as allow as many people as possible to… Read More ›

• Carol P. Christ’s Legacy: Of Birds, Angels, and Tidings of Great Joy

  By Carol P. Christ on December 27, 2021 • ( 5 )

  Moderator’s Note: We here at FAR have been so fortunate to work along side Carol Christ for many years. She died in July this year from cancer. To honor her legacy as well as allow as many people as possible… Read More ›

• Carol P. Christ’s Legacy: “LOVE PATRIARCHALISM”—ITS UNDERSIDE IS HATE

  By Carol P. Christ on December 20, 2021 • ( 5 )

  Moderator’s Note: We here at FAR have been so fortunate to work along side Carol Christ for many years. She died in July this year from cancer. To honor her legacy as well as allow as many people as possible… Read More ›

• Carol P. Christ’s Legacy: Susan B. Anthony’s Bargain with the Devil

  By Carol P. Christ on November 29, 2021 • ( 7 )

  Moderator’s Note: We at FAR have been so fortunate to work along side Carol Christ for many years. She died in July this year from cancer. To honor her legacy as well as allow as many people as possible to… Read More ›

• Carol P. Christ’s Legacy: With Beauty Around Me

  By Carol P. Christ on November 22, 2021 • ( 3 )

  Moderator’s Note: We at FAR have been so fortunate to work along side Carol P. Christ for many years. She died from cancer in July 2021. To honor her legacy as well as allow as many people as possible to… Read More ›

• Memories of Greek Easters Past by Carol P. Christ

  By Carol P. Christ on May 2, 2021 • ( 10 )

  

  Yesterday was Greek Easter and as Greece was still on lockdown, friends brought a lovely meal of roast chicken and vegetables, scalloped potatoes, green salad, and pineapple upside down cake, which we ate together on my balcony. Still I could… Read More ›

• Feeling Weary about US Politics by Carol P. Christ

  By Carol P. Christ on April 18, 2021 • ( 21 )

  

  Like many of you, I was anxious and angry during most of the Trump administration years. I watched MSNBC avidly, hoping against hope that a) he could be stopped or b) he would be impeached. Now that he is gone,… Read More ›

• THE DIVINE DRAMA AND THE UNIVERSALITY OF DEATH* by Carol P. Christ

  By Carol P. Christ on April 5, 2021 • ( 7 )

  

  In Greece the liturgies of lent and especially of the week before Easter are known as the “divine drama,” in Greek theodrama.  This may refer to the “drama” of the capture, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus and to the suffering of… Read More ›

• Out with the Old: In with the New by Carol P. Christ

  By Carol P. Christ on March 22, 2021 • ( 20 )

  

  A few days ago, a Greek friend told me she was going to bring holy water from a church so that we could bless my house. Ever since I moved to my new apartment in Heraklion, I have intended to… Read More ›

• What If We Begin from the Hypothesis that Ancient Crete Was Matriarchal, Matrifocal, and Matrilineal? by Carol P. Christ

  By Carol P. Christ on February 22, 2021 • ( 13 )

  

  If we begin from the hypothesis ancient Crete was matriarchal, matrifocal, and matrilineal, what would we expect to be the central focus of the its religion?* Harriet Boyd Hawes and her colleague Blanche E. Williams presented an incipiently feminist, woman-centered,… Read More ›