This thesis explores the cult and mythos of the goddess Kali both in her Eastern and Western contexts, comparing and contrasting them in order to gain a better understanding of the Western appropriations of Kali within feminist goddess spirituality. Utilizing a variety of methods, including ethnographic research conducted at Kali temples in California, this research is aimed at providing an entry into the lived contemporary tradition of the Western Kali within goddess spirituality circles, focusing on embodied experience, devotion, ritual, and syncretic practices. Kali, a fierce Indian goddess, is often seen in the Hindu context as a central manifestation of the all encompassing Mother Goddess (Mahadevi, Devi, Shakti, etc), and therefore is a particularly engaging example of contemporary Western appropriation of religious and cultural symbols and narratives. This thesis contributes to understanding Kali in her new North American domain, as well as serving as a case study of the shifting religious landscape in the West.

This thesis explores the cult and mythos of the goddess Kali both in her Eastern and Western contexts, comparing and contrasting them in order to gain a better understanding of the Western appropriations of Kali within feminist goddess spirituality. Utilizing a variety of methods, including ethnographic research conducted at Kali temples in California, this research is aimed at providing an entry into the lived contemporary tradition of the Western Kali within goddess spirituality circles, focusing on embodied experience, devotion, ritual, and syncretic practices. Kali, a fierce Indian goddess, is often seen in the Hindu context as a central manifestation of the all encompassing Mother Goddess (Mahadevi, Devi, Shakti, etc), and therefore is a particularly engaging example of contemporary Western appropriation of religious and cultural symbols and narratives. This thesis contributes to understanding Kali in her new North American domain, as well as serving as a case study of the shifting religious landscape in the West.

Thousands of years ago in Ancient Mesopotamia there was an abundant Pantheon of gods and goddesses. Circa 3000–2300 B.C.E, separate cults started to form relating to two of these goddesses: Ninisina and Gula. They were quite similar, both associated with healing, as were several other goddesses in the area. Over time they all fused, and their names disappeared one by one, until one remained; Gula. Scholars of today often tend to see them all as one type of goddess, their names interchangeable. This essay researches Ninisina and Gula, and the intention is to see if they truly are the “same”. A number of hymns and healing spells are analysed and used to compare the goddesses. This comparison is based on three themes; “Healing”, “Praise” and “Prayer & Intention”, and finds that indeed the manner of their healing and their characters differ. The essay also discusses how central their roles as healers are. It is shown that even though healing is always mentioned in every chosen text, other traits are often emphasised more.

This thesis examines why the cult of the sovereign goddess was considered important for the expression of royal power in mediaeval India. In literature and ritual, the goddess was conceptualized as the sovereign of heaven and earth. Her cult was heroic because it was primarily a cult of warriors: a good hero was one who worshipped the goddess for great powers, foremost among them being sovereignty. Certain ritual practices of the cult such as self-mutilation formed the criteria for a warrior- worshipper’s heroism. By assessing the available epigraphical, literary, scriptural and anthropological material, I will attempt to show that the association between Indic kingship and the cult’s belief-systems, also referred to as heroic Śāktism, was indeed an ancient one. Tracing its roots to non-Aryan religion, the cult of the sovereign goddess became a vital part of the Sanskritic kingdom, particularly from the latter half of the 6th c., when tribal kingdoms began to elevate themselves on the political map. One of the hallmarks of the cult, responsible for its pan-Indic popularity, was its syncretic nature: besides outcastes, its followers were from a number of sects. The goddess at its centre had no fixed identity but was formed of various personalities. The more public and well-attested of these was the martial goddess Durgā/Caṇḍī/Caṇḍikā, although other goddesses were also worshipped as her other aspects. In all these aspects the sovereign goddess was believed to grant the power of the king and the community. This idea was evoked in the mediaeval Indic world in an array of symbols: sacred statues, ritually empowered swords and insignia put on display for all to see, legends circulated throughout the kingdom, festivals where the sacred might of the realm was ritually reinforced. By assessing these symbols, I will attempt to show the vibrant forms whereby the connection of the cult with power was manifested in the mediaeval period.

Sweaty Mother Slow Groove is an engagement in magical thinking that proposes a displacement of swamp methodologies into the virtual realm, existing during the fourth wave. In doing so the cyborg and goddess are united in a re-routing of essentialism and the neo-liberal domination of technology. The metaphorical swamp is the possibility of a mushy danger zone that harnesses the absorption of an unwanted space: a disintegration of the binary and the soft-coded awareness of the body as a process, not a site.

Dans la religion égyptienne ancienne, l'association de trois divinités pour former une triade locale est répandue. Composées de deux dieux (le père et le fils) et d'une déesse (la mère), ces triades forment un schéma "familial", à l'image de la triade constituée d'Osiris, D'Isis et d'Horus. Parallèlement à ces triades "classiques", il existe des groupes divins plus inhabituels avec comme particularité d'avoir pour troisième membre une déesse et non un dieu, sans que celle-ci soit une déesse enfant ; ce sont les groupes gravés dans des scènes d'offrande qui ont été étudiés. Quel peut être alors le sens à donner à la présence de ces deux déesses ? Quelles relations entretiennent les divinités entre elles ? Plusieurs types de structure sont mis en lumière dans le cadre de cette étude. Si certains groupes sont un simple regroupement d'un dieu avec deux parèdres locales, d'autres réflexions, plus abouties encore, soulignent la volonté des théologiens de décrire des idées complexes de la pensée égyptienne. La triade d'Eléphantine (Khnoum, Satis et Anoukis) est probablement l'exemple le plus clair de ce type d'organisation théologique : les trois divinités de la région contrôlent la crue du Nil. Le dieu contrôle l'inondation et est aidé par les deux déesses : la première lance les eaux de l'inondation tandis que la seconde provoque le reflux. Dans plusieurs groupes, les théologiens ont réparti sur deux déesses deux fonctions complémentaires qui s'additionnent pour aider dans sa tâche le dieu principal. La complémentarité des rôles féminins n'est qu'un des nombreux outils utilisés par les prêtres pour se représenter et illustrer plus clairement l'univers qui les entoure. / In Egyptian theology, the association of three deities in order to create a local triad is widely spread. Gathering two gods (the father and the son) and one goddess (the mother), this triad then defines a divine family, as the well-known triad of Osiris, Isis and Horus. More rare groups are structured as one god and two goddesses, a second goddess (who is never the daughter) replacing the divine child. In this work, we focus on groups that are represented on offering scenes carved in various Egyptian temples. What could explain the presence of these two goddesses in those scenes ? How are the relationship between the deities structured ? Different organisations of these groups are analysed in this study. part of these groups represents the association of a main god with two local goddesses. Others try to represent more elaborate cosmological principles. The triad of Elephantine (Khnum, Satet and Anuket) is a relevant example : the three deities control the flood of the Nile. the god commands the inundation and is helped by two goddesses ; one initiating the flow while the other one initiates the ebb. In several triads, the goddesses have complementary functions and assist the god in his task. The addition of the goddesses' functions is only one of the numerous tools used by theologians to describe their universe.

Wiccan witchcraft, a contemporary religion, frequently suffers from misunderstandings; the worst of which, arguably, being that it thrives in a postfeminist society. Although it remains unclear why witches, despite their specific traditions, would not immediately embrace feminism, this study claims that whether practitioners agree or disagree, they are performing feminism. In this study, I argue that Wiccan rhetoric (both discursive and non-discursive) functions epistemically to encourage feminist values. The thesis analyzes three typical forms of Wiccan rhetoric using Sonja K. Foss and Cindy L. Griffin’s approach of invitational rhetoric and the values of equality, immanent value, and self-determination. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2016. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-28T20:37:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Izildinha Konichi.pdf: 1438031 bytes, checksum: 18c6f23498d9e9aeb6be1c289f03aa61 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-10-31 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / This research is to investigate which symbolic representations of the feminine are currently in the woman. The transformations that have been taking place in the social scope in the last decades, mainly in the western countries point to a change in the awareness pattern of the feminine, deemed in the widest universal meaning, and, therefore, symbolic. The study approaches the thematic from Greek goddess myths, as archetypal images expressions, therefore, existent in all women. The data comparison, obtained from field collected samples, in different periods, and its posterior qualitative analysis into the analytical psychology references system allow us to visualize a discrepancy in these two moments, on how the feminine is being integrated to the conscience / A pesquisa tem por objetivo investigar quais as representações simbólicas do feminino se encontram presentes na mulher na atualidade. As transformações que vêm ocorrendo no âmbito social nas últimas décadas, principalmente nos países ocidentais, apontam para uma mudança no padrão de conscientização do feminino, tomado aqui em seu sentido mais amplo, universal e, portanto, simbólico. O estudo aborda a temática a partir de mitos de deusas gregas, como expressões de imagens arquetípicas, portanto, presentes em todas as mulheres. A comparação dos dados, obtidos a partir de amostras coletadas em campo, em períodos distintos, e sua posterior análise qualitativa dentro do referencial da psicologia analítica, nos permitem visualizar uma discrepância, nesses dois momentos, na maneira como o feminino está sendo integrado à consciência

Religious life in Taiwan has experienced a great revival since the political relaxation in 1980's; especially the popular religion and new religious movements have been blooming. Temple festivals are growing again; restored or newly established events organized by temples emerge. There is usually one main deity in the centre of the temple cult, but there are many other deities worshipped in a particular temple as well. The temple is often a centre of a town or a village, especially in the countryside. Temples organize or at least support many activities (not only religious ones, but also sport and educational activities etc.) in villages and towns. The thesis introduces temples and their work in the field of belief. At the same time it looks at the ways a temple help people to create a local community, and what is the relationship between the state and temple cults. There is an attempt to see the potential of traditional temple religions to fulfil function similar to function of modern civil society. The thesis also introduces the development of the status of temple cults in Taiwan on the background of political and social changes during the 20th and at the beginning of the 21st century. During this period, the popular religion gradually transforms from a superstition that should be annihilated...

The core premise of the thesis is that our global environmental and social crises are of our own making and can only be transformed by us. Therefore it is imperative that humanity finds ways of protecting and sustaining the natural environment for our collective survival. This necessarily depends on human beings� ability to co-exist in harmony with other humans and species and to feel connected to and protect nature. This thesis examines three spiritual or wisdom traditions � Aboriginal spiritualities, the Goddess movement and Tibetan Buddhism, as they relate to Arne Naess�s concept of the �ecological self.� The ecological self is a psychological construct that suggests that human beings can evolve from a narrow egocentric way of being and relating to others, to one that is more open, inclusive of the �other� and where one sees all lives as important. One is ultimately able to embrace the whole earth community, so that nothing is excluded as �other�. This process of increasingly �wide identification� Naess defined to be the process of the development of the ecological self. There is much written about spirituality and the environment but little relevant research that specifically examines spiritual traditions as they relate to the ecological self. The insights of transpersonal psychology elucidate the maturation from ego consciousness to eco-consciousness � a process of progressively inclusive identification with �others�, including the environment. However, transpersonal psychology does not directly �converse� with Naess�s construct of an ecological self. This thesis examines the nexus between Arne Naess�s ecological self, transpersonal psychology and the three spiritual traditions. �Aboriginal spiritualities� refers to Australian Aboriginal spiritualities, unless other wise stated. The literature review covers relevant background to the ecological self in relation to Western science and thought; this includes constructions of self and �other� and story. Literature reviews of the three traditions informed in-depth interviews with five research participants who practise or identify with their particular spiritual tradition. I believe this research will enable the reader to gain an overview of the ecological wisdom of these three spiritual traditions, grounded in the lived experience of practitioners who embody these traditions. Each wisdom tradition has a long history of imparting psychological, social and ecological insights and understandings that are profoundly helpful and relevant to the current period of ecological crisis. The interviews are analysed under the broad conceptual themes of ecology, compassion and story. These traditions will be shown to encourage compassion, connectedness, interdependency and impart ecological wisdom - all vital to the realisation of the �ecological self�. Story, lifelong learning and the ecoeducational model are used as frameworks for examining the educational potential of the spiritual traditions involved. A choice must be made: will we continue to base our knowledges on Western science or will we examine alternate constructions of reality, such as those of the three spiritual traditions examined in this thesis? The three spiritual traditions provide a compassionate and non-violent view of human consciousness with the potential to transform into an ecologically sensitive creative force. This thesis argues that great wisdom is held by these three wisdom traditions in the context of education for sustainability. This thesis examines this context.