In Goddess religion death is not feared, but is understood to be

Hear, O child of earth and sky, the wisdom of Carol P. Christ, a voice of renewal in our time: “In Goddess religion death is not feared, but is understood to be a part of life, followed by birth and renewal.” These words flow like an ancient river, echoing the songs of our ancestors, who saw in the rhythms of nature not endings, but circles. For in the heart of the Goddess religion, life and death are not enemies, but companions, forever entwined in the dance of creation.

Consider how the ancients lived close to the soil. They planted seeds, watched them die beneath the earth, only to see them reborn as green shoots in spring. They watched the moon wax and wane, vanish into darkness, and yet return with silver light. They saw women bleed with the cycles of the moon, not as a curse but as a mystery of renewal. In this sacred rhythm, death was never the end; it was the threshold to transformation. The Goddess, in her many forms—Isis, Demeter, Inanna—taught that to descend into darkness is but a prelude to rising again.

Behold the story of Demeter and Persephone, treasured by the Greeks. Persephone was taken into the underworld, and in her absence the earth grew barren, winter spreading its cloak of death. But she returned, and with her came spring, flowers, and the harvest. Here is the eternal lesson: death and life are two halves of one whole, and the cycle of loss and return is woven into the very fabric of existence. What men fear as destruction, the Goddess teaches as renewal.

In contrast, many later faiths cast death as the great terror, a punishment, a chasm to be feared. The Goddess way is gentler, though no less profound. It whispers: do not tremble before death, for you have seen it before. Every autumn leaf that falls, every night that overtakes the day, every silence after the song—these are small rehearsals of death. And yet, always, life returns. Always, renewal follows. To live in harmony with this truth is to live without fear.

History shows us the power of such belief. Among the Celts, death was seen as a doorway, and warriors went to battle unafraid, knowing that life would come again in another form. Among the ancient Egyptians, death was not annihilation but passage, with Isis gathering the broken pieces of Osiris to breathe life anew. In every corner of the world where the feminine divine was honored, people faced mortality not as doom, but as part of the sacred spiral of existence.

What then is the lesson for us? It is this: release your fear of endings. See in every loss the seed of a beginning. When relationships end, when seasons close, when loved ones depart, do not despair as though all is destroyed. Instead, trust that in time, new growth will rise. It may not be the same, for nothing repeats exactly, but the pattern of renewal is eternal. The Goddess religion teaches us to hold life and death in the same embrace, knowing both are needed for the wholeness of existence.

Practical wisdom follows. When you face grief, let yourself mourn, but also look for the shoots of renewal that will follow. When you face change, do not resist it in fear, but welcome it as part of the sacred rhythm. Celebrate the cycles in your own life: moments of planting, moments of harvest, moments of rest. Honor the moon, the seasons, the tides of your own heart. In doing so, you live not in dread, but in harmony with the eternal dance.

Therefore, O seeker of balance, remember Carol Christ’s truth: death is not to be feared, but embraced as part of life’s circle, always followed by birth and renewal. In this wisdom lies freedom from terror, and the courage to live fully. Walk gently with the cycles of the earth, honor both the falling leaf and the budding flower, and you shall find peace deeper than death and joy that endures through every season of your soul.