When God Was a Woman, BBC Religion Documentary


A documentary that tracks the history of the female divine, a brutal force of both life and death. 

This documentary tracks the history of the Goddess from the beginning of human history to modern India

Throughout history, The Goddess was revered as a force of life and death.

Some of her rites were even bloody and involved self-mutilation.

One such rite was in Rome, where priests would castrate themselves before the “Magna Mater” – Great Mother, or when a priest would shower himself in the blood of a sacrificed bull. Twice, the “Magna Mater” saved Rome. The first time was against the invasion from Carthage. The second, was when Augustus Caesar ended the endless civil wars and ushered in the Pax Romana (100 years of peace).

This documentary ends in modern India, where the Goddess is still worshiped in a colorful and passionate display.

Can the great and terrifying Magna Mater help us with today’s problems in the modern world? I think she can.

4 responses

  1. I think i may have been this already, or may be getting the title mixed up with the book When God Was a Woman or something similar, so will watch it later today. Thanks.

    November 19, 2013 at 11:48 am

  2. I think the actual title is “When God Was a Girl,” but I think “Woman” is more appropriate for the subject matter, since “girl” suggests a young and inexperienced female.

    November 19, 2013 at 12:00 pm

    • They probably named it that so as to not infringe on the copyright of the title of the book, which was written in 1978 by Merlin Stone.

      November 19, 2013 at 12:20 pm

  3. A reblogué ceci sur Sighild's Lair and commented:
    A reblog which may interest many of you

    November 19, 2013 at 1:50 pm

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