Graves’s critical method is quite undisciplined, and the book would have benefited from proper editing; but then again, it probably would have been impossible to edit this book properly. Graves is obsessed with the idea that all ‘true’ poetry is inspired by a ‘single poetic theme’, Goddess-worshship, and his book essentially consists of an unending effort to find evidence for this argument.

The key theme here is the role of ‘The White Goddess’, also referred to as the Triple Goddess, who recurs in most religious pantheons as a mother/wife figure, often in a triple aspect as mother, daughter, and crone (or as maiden, seductress, and hag). The argument is that in matriarchal society, before the development of agriculture and before the Bronze Age, this goddess was a prevailing archetype across most of Europe and indeed the wider world, whose primary position was overthrown by male gods over a period of time due to the rise of patriarchal society and the concomitant development of patriarchal religion. This goddess figure was thenceforth subjugated in her commonly known forms such as Isis, Hera/Juno, Frigg/Freya, etc.

The central idea is that there exists a single fundamental story on a global scale, an essential motif in mythology and in all “true” poetry.
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This is my final article of the year and its one so very close to my heart. I somehow managed to combine Ayurvedic/Yoga philosophy with Pagan concepts and a hint of Jungian psychology.

I believe that everything is connected, not just energetically but in language and in myths and fairytales. In this article I talk about the Greek name “Kore” which is pronounced “Kor-ee” and means “Young girl, Princess, Maiden” but it looks like the English word “Core” for Apple Core which sounds like “Kaur”, the Indian/Sikh name for “Princess, Maiden”. See how language is connected? See how the myth of Persephone being the “Kore” had to find her “core” self in the underworld and thus transcend beyond the persona of Princess and become a Queen.

And so here in this article I explore how Ayurvedic concepts are not that much different to Pagan beliefs. This is a time to remeber the light within us, nutritionally we eat warming foods to stoke our Agni and the Solar Plexus but as we descend into darkness, we explore our inner radiance like the Greek goddesses Hestia, Persephone and Hecate.

I truly love writing for Rebelle Society because they allow me to be true to myself, which in turn makes me couragous with how I write. Continue reading →