History of Matriarchy II

February 11, 1996

     I was saying that in the matriarchal society there is a place for both the men and the women. For the men in that society there was status in their professional lives. That is to say, they were very respected for their positions as hunters, as warriors, as guardians of the tribe. They had their own society and their own status among themselves but in these matriarchal societies, all the sons loved their mothers. They respected those elder women who were their mothers and though they were fierce and made many decisions, if there was any kind of problem or serious matter, they would consult the clan mothers. The sons enjoyed the status of directing the tribe, but the major decisions would never be made without the advice of the elder women. The clan mothers must be consulted, for they held the power of the tribe. The clan could not be successful unless the clan mothers gave their blessing to the clan. So there was in these early societies a place for both the men and the women, but their place was different.

     Every girl knew that should she receive the blessing of the mothers, she herself could blossom and bloom into one of these great women. There was no prejudice as to whom could become. But those girls who could bear many healthy offspring and who lived through childbirth would pass the tests to become an elder and a wise woman. Then they would be initiated into the secrets of the clan mothers when they reached a certain age and maturity and it was felt that they had potentiality in this capacity. Those girls who had born many fine children successfully and had become more advanced in their years and in their wisdom would be allowed to share in the secret rites which were performed by the clan mothers. These were elder women of the clan.

     Then these girls would be initiated, and they would perform these rites and ceremonies from which these women gain certain psychic abilities. For the clans very much depended upon their capacity to foresee the future, to guard against enemies, to know where the hunting would be and when it would be successful, and to know when the storms would come and what damage they would do. So the sight of these women was very much sought after and there would be one among them who would stand out in this regard.

     Clans that had a powerful clan mother would thrive and grow and their numbers would increase and their bounty would be great. Clans that did not have such a good clan mother would not be so healthy. When a clan began to decrease in numbers, when it was plagued with illness and difficulty, it would be generally said by other clans, "They have no strong clan mother, that is their problem." And in fact that was usually the case. In those clans they sought to find a woman would could fulfill this role. But at times there would be none available, and then the clan would decline.

     So you see, in these societies, without this sight of the clan mother, the healing capacities, the wisdom that was developed in the sacred circles, there could be no serious progress for that clan because conditions were often very harsh. There were harsh circumstances of nature - predators to contend with, storms, and cold and hard winters. These clans, were they not well sheltered, could perish all together; were there not women who could bear many children successfully, the numbers would decline.

     So the value of these women was very high to these clans. And so the great clan mothers became the ancestral line, and when the city states came to exist, the ancient mothers of the past were held in very high status and became the guardian goddesses of the various clans. Each clan would have its own goddess. Each state, because they had come from a certain origin under so many different mothers back to the original great mother that had made their clan successful, that one would be worshipped as a goddess. And there would be sub-goddesses who were mothers of the past who were perhaps not as great as the one, but also were notorious in the lore of the clan to have brought great successes to the clan. So in this way a system of ancestor worship became a system of goddesses who were the protectors of the city-states.

     Around 12,000 BC this type of culture was very dominant. These states developed. Many of them had very sophisticated cultures, complex cultures. They developed fine architecture. They were refined in the arts. There was a great deal of trade between these city-states. And the degree of culture and sophistication of these peaceful societies was very high. Interacting with one another through trade routes they established shipping, trade, exchange of merchandise, and cultural exchange, so that in this booming time of the ancient world, in these peaceful city-states, there was a very good life. Most had settled in fertile regions of that time, and game was abundant, the soils rich, the climate gentile, and the people began to flourish. Their numbers grew steadily. Within the city-states, many had fine temples to worship the goddesses, which were the great clan mothers of the past who had become the benefactors not only in life but in death of that clan which had now grown in number to tribe and to city-state. These people had very fine weaving. Many of them excelled in the weaving, some in pottery, and in art work. There were many fine artisans in many of these city-states.

     The men of those states continued in their hunter role. They organized in kind of bands and began to form hunting bands which, as the game became less in a particular area, would foray out and out - three days ride, four days ride away. They would go out in many of these states for the hunting of large animals. They also would guard the state against predators and other such creatures. Many were also artisans.

     The women likewise were artisans and took the main responsibility of the children. Still in those societies, the men had very little to do with the children as there was no patronage at that time. They would collectively enjoy the children and raise them, but there was no association for any males that this is my child and that is not my child. They would enjoy the children, but the children belonged to their mothers.

     So it was like this that these societies grew and developed, and a complex system began to be in place. The worship of the goddess became quite formalized. Fine temples were often developed. And the simple rites that were done among the mature women of the early clans became more sophisticated and developed. There became orders of women who would ascend to these positions. In the mystical traditions of these ancient cultures, there was variation from one clan to another, but was an overall pattern that can be observed.

     For the males in these clans there was the development of a kind of ritual of their own, but their rituals were different from the women. Their rituals evolved around the hunt, and they would themselves do purification before the hunting and ceremonies to bring the spirits of the animals to them - to call the animal spirits to them so the animals would come for the hunt - and to worship the spirits of the animals that they would slaughter. So they had their own society and their own rights, and they would consult the mothers and receive their blessing and their guidance before the hunt could begin. And so there would be a process for this. It would vary from clan to clan.

     Now when the city-states were formed, these rituals became more elaborate, and they became departmentalized as these societies grew in size, in number. In specialty there began to be trades, and there began to be priests and priestesses. So there came a class of people who were the ones in charge to perform the rituals for the hunting, and for the agrarian tasks as well. Then there were those who were hunters, those who were farmers, those who were artisans and tradesmen. So the society became more complex.

     The priests of that society were the ones to officiate regarding the practical matters in most of the city-states. And the priestesses were the ones to guard the goddesses and to bring forth the word knowledge and wisdom from the goddesses to the people. So these women were of very high standing. It was not as is typically thought that they were temples of virgins. This was not the case. You must remember, these societies were based upon fertility, and the woman with greatest fertility who has proven herself in child-bearing would have the greatest status. It was cared through even in the city-states. These priestesses were not virgins; they were women with many children. That is how they were chosen to be among the priestess community. They were women who must first prove themselves, then they would be eligible to be selected for that elite community. This community was then dedicated to the worship of the goddess, or goddesses, and the great wisdom of their particular deity would come to the leading priestess, who would then convey it to the priests and to all others.

     Thus these societies functioned in this way. Still blood-lines were traced to the mother only. As time went on, there began to be more pairing of men and women, and the system of marriage began to occur. Slowly over time in many of these cultures there developed the association of the child with a particular father. Then fatherhood came to be a factor. The males were then held accountable to the children. This developed at different times in different societies.

     At the same time this transition was taking place within the social structures, many of these societies had become sufficiently large that the hunting parties must go far afield in their hunts. They would be large hunting parties, and they may meet hunting parties from other states and find they are in competition for the game. This created a certain rivalry between them, and the hunters began to war over rights of the game. Then it became that they would return and certain ones would have been killed fighting over the game and ill will developed. Then it became a matter of territory. When the hunting councils would assemble they became concerned for the safety of their states and for their territory when they discovered they were in competition with a neighbor. This led to the formation not only of hunting parties, but of raiding parties. Then these city states began to discover war.

     At the same time the social structures within many of these states were changing. This disrupted the trade that had been going on peacefully for thousands of years. Some of the internal practices had become decadent. At the same time the social structure was changing. The fathers of the children were acknowledged for their patronage, and they would take responsibility for caring for the mothers and their offspring. So it became looked upon by the children that they had one father to care for them. And the role of the mother became greatly diminished. With the changes in the social structure, there began to be in many of these states decay of culture. They became aggressive; their became a need for protection from aggressors. So the male consorts became more dominant in protecting against aggressors. Slowly, slowly the women lost both status and rights, and the gradual shift to patriarchy occurred.

     Now there was a hey-day of these city-states when their cultures were bright. Trade abounded. There was the development of many fine capacities in a peaceful world that grew and thrived with little competition and much exchange. And so it was a rich and growing time that lasted for perhaps four or five thousand years in many places, and slowly began to deteriorate. It varied from place to place, but between 15,000 years past and 6,000 years past these cultures blossomed, and then they began to deteriorate.

     So, you see, there was a great cultural renaissance or blossoming at that time. Then with many changes in social structure, with the growth in population and infringing of one state upon on another, the development of war, the development of patriarchy, and the loss of rights of women - all of these occurred together at the same time due to these frictions between the states and internal frictions with the social structure changing. Many of the trade routes deteriorated due to hostilities between states, and it all degenerated and this great golden time of matriarchy began to come to a close. The societies degraded in culture, became more barbaric, very warlike, war torn. Many of these states died altogether. Many then succumbed to natural difficulties due to the weakening that occurred due to these strong competitions. So the people again became more primitive and moved into the tribes. Living standards degraded. Their trades routes closed. Isolated, fending for themselves, they struggled a great deal and had to build themselves up once again. And thus the modern world has been built.

     But these great cultures that existed in the past, though they are not yet well traced, will come to light because they bear significance in the changes that are now occurring. For once again the cycle turns; once again the ages pass and a new energy is coming to this place. It will not return to matriarchy, but patriarchy is falling away also. A new shift, a new paradigm comes. A new energy is about to emerge in which there will be a blending of these two elements that have been strong periods in human history. A third time will come, and of the three periods this will be the greatest time in human development.

     So you should look to the future with high hopes and bright feelings, for a golden era will come to this world in the near future.