by B. Ann Moran

Created on: March 13, 2007   Last Updated: May 11, 2007

Step into the time machine to 3,200 BC where we find Sumer/Babylon myths of creation and the mother goddess "Ki." Here we will see the very beginnings of recorded Goddess concepts. Early Mesopotamian "gods" were numinous power made manifest in natural phenomenon. The "god" was the power behind the phenomenon which was the god's only form. From ancient writings like the Babylonian creation myth in "The Enuma Elish" we see the very seeds of god/goddess worship pagan style. This study is complicated and huge, so I want to focus on the major beginnings and the female principle of creation which became "Goddess."

The earliest "god" on record is Dyeus or Sky Father and his consort was Pltvi mhter or Earth Mother. These come from the Proto-Indo-European pantheon. In the most ancient civilization on record of Sumer/Acadia/Babylon we have the following scenario in short: Abzu (Primeval Divine Force) and Tiamet (Chaos) come together to form "An" (Whole Sky Father or Cosmos). "An" in turn pairs with Nammu (who some scholars think is Chaos; others think she is the Goddess of the Watery Abyss) and creates Ki Belet-lli Ninmah or "Ki" the first Whole Earth Mother Goddess. Ki is also called the Goddess of the Primeval Sea and Goddess of the Womb. Then An and Ki get together to form Anu the God of Firmament (Heaven) ABOVE; Ki remains the Goddess of Whole Earth BELOW. Other primary Gods/Goddesses are formed from "emanating" out of forces and energies of the primeval divine force and chaos. The whole Doctrine of Emanations of the Greeks started way back in Sumer/Babylon. The "Goddess" concept is that of Female/Passive creative energies in Nature being worshiped along with Male/Aggressive creative energies to form Life or Life Force. The balancing and manipulating of these forces is what the entire pagan system of theology is all about. God is a Force and not a personality and is INSIDE all creation as opposed to the Judeo/Christian concept of God as a Personality with attributes OUTSIDE of all creation.

After Primeval Force and Chaos (a sort of scrambled essence) create the goddess Ki then all the other Goddesses emanate from here and there are hundreds. Do these sound familiar? - Gaia (Greek), Isis (Egyptian), Ishtar (Babylonian), Juno (Roman), Devi (Hindu), Tara (Tibetan), Kybele-Artemis (Ionian), Danu (Celt). There are many more which are different personalities of the one goddess concept. The Creative Principle is the base. Don't let the names confuse you when you study this

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>