I've been thinking about the Women's History issue for 25 years. There's precious little of it out there, precisely because men have been the historians. There have been excellent books on Herstory since the 70's, but I'm very disappointed to find that most young women have either never heard of them, or they buy into the smears directed at them by patriarchal sources. Cynthia Eller gets all the press because she sold her sisters out for a seat at the table with the big boys.

Her attitude is bullshit. Knowledge of the importance of women in the ancient world could have a very real effect on women's futures. It gives us a new way to view everything -- religions, politics, society, families, education, labor issues - all of it. We need to know where we've been. We need to know that the sad state of affairs in which we find ourselves today is neither natural nor inevitable. There have been and still are peaceful, matrifocal societies which have managed to survive patriarchy and colonialism. Representatives from these cultures attended a Matriarchy Conference in Austin last fall. Herstory is real, and we are discovering more every day. We have to dig through the ashes of witch burnings and Christian raids on ancient cultures to find it, but it's there for us and it's high time we give it a thorough look as women, for ourselves.

In honor of Women's History month, I want to encourage you all to read The First Sex by Elizabeth Gould Davis (out of print, but usually available on Amazon.com,) or anything by Marija Gimbutas, Barbara G. Walker, Merlin Stone, Starhawk or Shekhinah Mountainwater. If you've read them all, please, pick one and read it again. If you've never explored these works, please begin now. The patriarchy has done everything it could to wipe us from the historical record, but important pieces remain. Know them. Own them. Steel yourself to the prospect of returning women to their rightful place in society. American culture is at a crossroads - it is our responsibility to make sure that the path taken is in the direction of women, peace, the Goddess, social justice and freedom. Colonialism, competition, capitalism, racism, sexism and war feed on our silence. Silence is consent. Acceptance of the status quo is consent.

Take back you power.

Toward that end, I have started a Goddess Studies Wiki to make information about Goddess traditions, matriarchy, feminism and human rights freely available to serious students of the subject. It is in its infancy right now, so I'll wait until it is further along to post a link. I would like to invite the women here to contribute to its construction. If you are interested, write to admin@the-goddess.org .

The time is now.