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Last March, I wrote about the pop culture magic of Donald Trump and how he was trumping American politics. When Trump won the election, I wasn't surprised. He had the momentum of emotion as well as his celebrity status behind him and that was enough to push him toward victory. 

The question that we currently face is: What now? What do we do now that Trump is in office for the next 4 years?

Should we link our politics and our faith?  This is a question that is beginning to be asked in our community.  Some of that has to do with the stir that Gods & Radicals has created, especially the recent controversy.

I try to stay out of online bickering, and when I feel I must get involved I try to do it in the form of a column so that we can have a mature, intelligent debate rather than a bunch of back-biting, pot-stirring and name-calling, with the usual wake of vultures showing up to cannibalize whomever looks weakest for their own self-glorification through gossip.  Hard experience has taught me that wading in to the mix while the shit is still flying is never helpful.  But even I was drawn partway into this one.  I guess it’s because it’s such an emotional issue for me.  It’s a button-pusher, and my buttons were pushed.

You are not alone if you believe domination and authoritarian patriarchy are destroying countless lives and our planet.  There is a more sustainable alternative and it's not new.  In fact it's ancient. Exiled for a time, but making a return, the Sacred Feminine has become indelibly integrated into our lives, reminding humanity during this time of crisis that the ideals of the Great She offer a pathway to secure a more sustainable future.   As people lose faith in organized religion, as the paradigm of power shifts across the globe, as climate change quickly approaches a point of no return, people are leading using their divine intelligence gleaned from Goddess teachings to find solutions and sanctuary. They're listening to their consciences, heart wisdom, and intuition to manifest a new normal.  They're practicing partnership, generosity, and compassion to establish a new way of being.  They're tapping into their empathy and morality as they hit the reset button. We are witnessing this awakening across the globe as people from all walks of life and cultures turn to Goddess, deity, archetype and ideal, to evolve from the malignant chaos we face today.

Maybe this comes as a surprise to you.  Your recollection of Goddesses are from middle school as you read about Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love and Beauty or Hera, the petulant wife of Zeus, always angry as she chased after her philandering husband.  Well, those patriarchal versions of those myths were hardly reflective of these powerful and empowering deities and archetypes of the Sacred Feminine.  Unfortunately as Goddess and her ideals were swept beneath the rug, so were her ideals of nurturing, caring, sharing, and concern for the common good.  Over time, egalitarian societies of peace and partnership inspired by Goddess were over-run by war-like tribes who revered war gods.  You see, our mythology shapes our culture and if we have male deities, then we have male leadership and we've seen the more exploitative and dominating type of authority and leadership can bring.  Research will tell us that in many cultures where the Divine Feminine was at the center of the lives of her people, a more balanced and peaceful society was the norm.

But how is that relevant to me today you might ask?  Well you can connect the dots between losing a feminine face of god and pay inequity for women.  Without Goddess we have patriarchal religions where women are brainwashed to believe they're second class citizens and are meant to submit to their husbands and often never lead an authentic life or reach their fullest potential.  We have men and some States telling women what they can and cannot do with their own bodies.  Women suffer female genital mutilation, are subject to arranged weddings, are forced in some cases to wear burkas against their will.  I'm sure you can think of other forms of oppression women suffer all across the globe and right here in the United States.

But you shouldn't think patriarchy has only been corrosive or destructive to women.  There is a direct connection between societies who oppress or exploit women and the destruction of the planet and the species on it.  And men are also prevented from being their authentic and whole selves under patriarchy as men strive to live their lives according to man-made dogma or rules determined by religion or society.  Take for instance the fella who is more inclined to be a painter or author and finds it pretty boring going to tailgate parties.  He suffers mercilessly at the hands of the other guys who think he's weak or too feminine.  Or think of the woman who is childless by choice.  She must answer endless questions about why she prefers not to be a mother.

Suffice it to say, the Sacred Feminine, deity, archetype and ideal, provides a pathway forward for a more whole, healthy and sustainable future for the most of us, and we're seeing folks embrace her ideals in many walks of life.  Turn on the news and we can witness this paradigm shift in politics as Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign calls for ideas that reflect the need for policy that benefit the "we and the us" rather than the "I and the me" - or as we might say the 1% versus the 99%.  He makes a convincing case we can have a future with the promise of a better world where all our boats float and we are no longer subject to the domination and exploitation of predator capitalism and corporations run amok taking advantage of employees and denying them benefits enjoyed by workers in countries around the globe.  Greed and exploitation are not the way of the Sacred Feminine.  Instead, generosity, compassion and partnership are hallmarks of belief for advocates of the Great She.

So are you sick of politics?  Tired of the election coverage?  For a political junkie like me, this election cycle has been one of the most amazing things I’ve ever witnessed and I just can’t wait to see what happens next!  I thank all of the deities that I am not only alive to witness this but that I’m old enough to truly appreciate it.  So what does this have to do with being a Solitary Pagan?  Actually, a fair amount.

This is part of my continuing series called “Blurring the Lines of Community”.  My point with these articles is that as Solitaries, we often find it difficult to worship with others or even to find others who worship in any way similar to ourselves.  So how can Solitaries be part of Community when we are often seen as “loners”, “anti-social”, or even “not real Pagans”?  Well, notwithstanding the ideas I’ve put forward in other articles for becoming part of the Greater Pagan Community, there is another aspect to “Community” that I think is at least as important, if not even more important.

“I was born a wild girl…

cradled tight in mountain arms…