DVD - Women & Spirituality: The Goddess Trilogy

I didn't watch this movie nor did I see this DVD on sale over at this part of Asia yet. Since one of my pure intentions is to spread love and spiritual awareness, I am simply recommending this movie to our Spiritual Villagers who may have the opportunity to watch it or to entrepreneurs who wish to distribute this movie in Asia or other parts of the world.

Described by the Los Angeles Times as "...a massive and beautiful film...," Donna Read's classic trilogy WOMEN AND SPIRITUALITY explores the power of the sacred feminine in mythological, historical and cultural contexts. This stirring series examines goddess-based pre-historic societies, the witch-hunts of the Middle Ages and the continuing popularity of contemporary women's spirituality movements. An award-winning series never before released on DVD, WOMEN AND SPIRITUALITY is a stunning and poetic work comprised of three one-hour films (GODDESS REMEMBERED, THE BURNING TIMES and FULL CIRCLE) and is the definitive series on feminine spirituality.

As reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman:

Goddess Remembered is a 1989 feature that spans the globe while giving a perhaps over generalized review of ancient goddess worshiping practices. Intercut with then-current women's circles, the documentary provides evidence that goddess worship continues to this day and is in fact enjoying a resurgence. There are some interesting sidebars in this piece, including some female oriented takes on Hallowe'en, Silberry Hill in England and ubiquitous Maypole celebrations which occur all over the world. There's a bit of a bitter edge to some of the commentary in all three of these pieces, none more evident than when the timeline in this piece finally makes it to the Golden Age of Greece, which is herein defined as the end of goddess worship. That said, Read makes some cogent points about the shift in consciousness as Athena, once the goddess of wisdom and love, suddenly becomes the goddess of war, and that women's fallibility and subservience is codified in the archetypal story of Eve. While the intentions of this piece are certainly laudable, it may be hard to take some purported expert commentators seriously when they sport such names as Starhawk, Shekinah Mountainwater or Merlin Stone. Also, Martha Henry's narration in this documentary is just listless, with no emotion and very little inflection. That is made up for somewhat by Loreena McKennitt's beautiful and evocative underscore.

The second documentary in this set, The Burning Times is probably the best all around piece and deals with the history of witchcraft. This 1990 documentary begins with Roman Earth Goddess worship (based on Celtic deities whom the Romans appropriated when they conquered those peoples), and then moves on to show how women continued to practice ancient beliefs and continued worshiping female deities even as the world at large moved on to patriarchal practices. The witch here is defined as a healer, a woman alone fighting for her rights as a woman and non-traditional believer. There are some really interesting facts about the heyday of the witch trials, coming almost simultaneously with the Renaissance (but continuing for centuries afterward). It's fascinating to hear the experts here show how the scientific method was actually compared to the techniques of the Inquisition, and that both of these methods were used to interrogate supposed practitioners (always female) of the "Black Arts." To this piece's credit, the focus is not just on the better known European witch hunts, but also embraces other cultures such as Brasil's Ioruba "voodoo" women healers. As is to be expected, however, the main onus for witch-phobia is laid squarely at the feet of the Christian church, especially due to the influence of St. Paul, whose misogynistic tendencies are covered in some detail. Marsha Henry once again provides a curiously dead sounding narration, and similarly Loreena McKennitt offers some gorgeous music.

1992's Full Circle covers a lot of material that was frankly already dealt with in the first documentary, but which is utilized here to further make the case that modern practitioners of goddess worship are helping to bring our planet back from the brink of patriarchal-based destruction. As in Goddess Remembered, the "true believers" here are ardent environmentalists, believing that no better example of goddess worship can be found than taking care of and repairing the damage to Mother Nature. There are once again some interesting historical sidelights, such as an unnamed Greek female trinity goddess who oversaw birth, mating and death, and about whom little is known today. This piece is aided immeasurably by being narrated in first person by Donna Read, who injects a lot of life into her voiceover, something sadly lacking in the Marsha Henry voiced pieces. Following the lead of this piece's title, Read begins and ends with some personal connections to Celtic mythology, set to some glorious imagery and, once again, McKennitt's stirring music.