Women in the Bible (20-Part Series) #1 - Introduction

In this series of short articles, I'm going to discuss the Sacred Feminine in the Bible. Each article, in general, will focus on one of the female characters in the story - including Eve, Rachel, Mary, and so many others - and what she represents.

In this first article, by way of Introduction, I want to talk about the approach we're going to take to these stories. We won't be talking about them as 'literal history', and for the most part we won't be talking about them in terms of the social or ethical lessons they may contain. We'll be talking about their inner, psychological meaning. What I mean is, the Bible can be read as an allegorical description, a symbolic 'Instruction Manual' if you will, for the inner work the soul must do to rise from this lowly material State of Being to a state of Spiritual Enlightenment.

More precisely, it tells the story of the soul's descent from Heaven to Earth (what the ancient Greeks called the Lesser Mysteries) and then it gives instructions for returning 'home' (the Greater Mysteries).

This Sacred Quest to return 'home', or to find what we've 'lost', has been called many names: "The Return to the Promised Land", "The Quest of the Holy Grail", "Persephone's Return to Olympus", and many others.

In the first sentence of the Bible, the One becomes Two: God, the One, creates Heaven and Earth. 'Heaven' represents God's Male aspect, and 'Earth' represents God's Female aspect. We will see that throughout every step of this path there will always be a Feminine aspect as well as a Masculine.

The Creation sequence ends the same way it began: the One becomes Two. In this case, an androgynous 'earth creature' is divided into Adam-the-Male and Eve-the-Female. (We'll talk more about Eve in the next article.)

Most of Genesis then covers the story beginning with Abraham, who talks to God in the 'Promised Land', and the stories of his children, grandchildren and descendants, ending in a state of slavery in Egypt. This entire story, taken symbolically, represents the preparation of an individual soul which comes from a state of communion with God and enters the experience of material life in which we find ourselves now. These are the Lesser Mysteries.

By the way, in the symbolism of the Bible 'Egypt' does not mean a literal 'place over there', and the 'enslavement' is not 'something that happened to other people a long time ago'. 'Egypt' is a symbol for our lives, right now.

We are all "the children of Israel enslaved in Egypt". We must find our way home again.

So the rest of the Torah, and through the Book of Joshua, consists of the Greater Mysteries: Moses leads the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land, from slavery to enlightenment.

At every step along the way there is a necessary Feminine Principle as well as a Masculine Principle: e.g., Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Joshua and Rahab, in the New Testament, Jesus and Mary.

In fact, we're going to see that without the help of the Sacred Feminine, attaining enlightenment is impossible! Allspiritual evolution would be impossible!

She is the key to Creation and Return.

Next time we'll talk about Eve.

Dr. Andrew Cort is the author of Love, Wisdom and God, The Sacred Quest in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and The American Psyche in Search of its Soul. Come find out more about the meaning of Biblical and Mythological Symbolism at his website http://www.andrewcort.com and receive a Free Report: Reconciling Science and Religion