Asked in an interview whether he believed in the existence of God, Carl Jung said, “I don’t believe – I know.” When I first read this quotation years ago, Jung’s distinction between believing and knowing was rather lost on me.  I even thought Jung’s declaration seemed a bit arrogant. Other people believed, but he knew? I thought to myself.  Isn’t that a bit of an ego trip? 

Today I think Jung was only speaking matter-of-factly about his spiritual experience. You might wonder how I arrived at such a different conclusion. My previous point of view was radically revised on a January day in the depths of mid-western winter. That afternoon I had been expecting more of the same: snow, ice and gray skies.  But when I lay down on my living room carpet to relax with music, I had an experience which changed my life. Inexplicably, a vision of a radiant and beneficent female presence appeared to me.

This event was only the beginning of a journey I could never have imagined. That vision foreshadowed the dialogue with deity which is the essence of the book I eventually wrote, Conversations with the Goddess: Encounter at Petra, Place of Power. 

 I asked questions about my own issues as a woman, and I was answered by that feminine Presence. A path through the mists of my confusions opened up. Yet though my tale begins with personal experience, it evolves from my personal story into a universal story about the role of the sacred Feminine in the future. The Presence also speaks of the ancient past, revealing a panoramic view of a time in which the Goddess was revered not only at Petra, in the country of Jordan, but also throughout the ancient world. Her story is a multiplicity of strands which she deftly weaves together, creating a tapestry that spans immense time frames in earth’s evolution. As her tale progresses, people from the deep past step forward to tell about their lives and their relationship with the Goddess. And a fascinating group of characters they are — representative are Zillah, slave woman from Petra, and Hayyan al-Shubri, high priest who serves the chief goddess of Petra.  

But wait, I’m getting ahead of myself. Before my encounter with the Presence I was, like so many women, marinated from birth in the disempowering story which my culture had given me about my life as a female. My life was overshadowed by a cultural mythology which has haunted women for centuries. I hadn’t been able to see a path through and beyond it. 

However, I had come across the work of Catholic theologian Rosemary Radford, who identified the elements of this mythology. Most basic is a fundamental dualism in which woman, body and nature are equated with the earthly finite aspects of existence. The other half of this equation is man, mind, spirit, and culture: this half of the equation is perceived to be more important and therefore dominant over the other half. The elements of this myth are more than merely philosophical, Ruether noted, for they have shaped the very fabric of our society.

Mending this split in perception seemed to my eyes a daunting and perhaps impossible task. The Presence addresses this dualistic split when she speaks about women’s natural transformational mysteries. She shows how our female bodies and psyches work together to create a consciousness that is uniquely a feminine consciousness. She also reveals why our natural mysteries are spiritual and evolutionary processes – not merely biological ones.   

Also woven into the dialogues are lively commentaries about Petra as a cosmic power point, women as agents for planetary evolution, and restoration of ancient Goddess knowledge. Other threads in this weaving are also relevant to modern women:  earth’s powers and the powers of woman, symbolism in female artifacts and the consciousness which created them, what the dark Feminine really is correction of misperceptions about the nature of the Great Goddess, and so much more.

From that day I saw the Goddess, interest in the Divine Feminine has become international, validating what the feminine Presence told me long ago: the beginning of a new planetary cycle is in place, in which the Feminine is re-emerging, and this will change our lives. 

Since I began this article with a quote from Carl Jung, It seems fitting to conclude this article with mention of a prediction he made: what is repressed must eventually find expression. The Divine Feminine is seeking expression now. The evidence is all around us.