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

• Legacy of Carol P. Christ: Can We Celebrate the Dark? Can We Sleep?

  By Carol P. Christ on November 21, 2022 • ( 4 )

  

  This was originally posted on December 19, 2019 According to Marija Gimbutas, the religion of Old Europe celebrated the Goddess as the power of birth, death, and regeneration in all of life. Agricultural peoples understand that seeds must be kept… Read More ›

• The Legacy of Carol P. Christ: Dance of the Bees: Reading the Language of the Goddess

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

  

  This blog was originally posted on December 1, 2014 The image from an ancient Cretan bowl (c.1700 BCE) from the Sacred Center of Phaistos pictured here has often been interpreted as an early depiction of Persephone’s descent or rising. But… Read More ›

• The Legacy of Carol P. Christ: Weaving and Spinning Women: Witches and Pagans by Max Dashu A Review

  By Carol P. Christ on July 4, 2022 • ( 1 )

  

  Moderator’s Note: This was originally posted on September 19, 2016 Max Dashu’s  Witches and Pagans: Women in European Folk Religion 700-1000 challenges the assumption that Europe was fully Christianized within a few short centuries as traditional historians tell us. Most… Read More ›

• The Legacy of Carol P. Christ: June 25th or “June Unteenth”: A Sad Day For All Americans

  By Carol P. Christ on June 20, 2022 • ( 1 )

  This was originally posted on July 1, 2013 Kelly Brown Douglas wrote recently on Feminism and Religion about the celebrations in black communities on Juneteeth when the emancipation of slaves became a reality in the formerly Confederate states.  Sadly, on… Read More ›

• The Legacy of Carol P. Christ: WHEN THE OLYMPICS CELEBRATED THE STRENGTH OF GIRLS AND THE RENEWAL OF LIFE

  By Carol P. Christ on June 13, 2022 • ( 4 )

  This was originally posted on July 30, 2012 The first “Olympics” were races of girls of various age-groups around a 500 foot stadium in ancient Olympia. The races of girls were held every four years on the new moon of… Read More ›

• The Legacy of Carol P. Christ: GOD AND WOMAN AT YALE*

  By Carol P. Christ on June 6, 2022 • ( 3 )

  This was originally posted on June 25, 2012 As a graduate student, I was told in every way possible that I could not be a woman and a theologian. When I was studying for my Ph.D. at Yale in theology in the late… Read More ›

• Carol P. Christ’s Legacy: Are Most of Us Abused Children? And is Child Abuse the Root of Evil?

  By Carol P. Christ on May 30, 2022 • ( 3 )

  This was originally posted on July 16, 2012 Child abuse does not have to be physical or sexual. The most widespread forms of child abuse are psychological, and therefore harder to see, acknowledge, and eradicate. As abused children, we unconsciously… Read More ›

• 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 ›