What is Dianism?

[Mithrea]

I thought it might be good if we had a sticky thread that we work on to develop a working definition if Dianism that people can read if they are interested in knownig what it is and what it is not.

I particularly liked this description I found on wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dianic_tradition)


Dianic tradition is difficult to define, because it is a spiritual tradition that encourages creativity, celebrates diversity, and demands personal empowerment and responsibility. For some, Dianic tradition is every day folk religion, hedge-witchery or kitchen-witchery. For others, Dianic tradition is more formal, with highly developed liturgy and cosmology. For most, in its essence Dianic tradition is a Women's Mysteries tradition, linked to such traditions across time and across cultures. They are a celebration of women's bodies, women's experiences, the Divine Feminine, and the biology and culture of womanhood, rather than rejection or dismissal of men and masculinity.

Do you agree? How would you elaborate or edit this?

[Amanda Mitchell]

Very cool. Thanks for sharing.

[Miss Dana]

So does that mean males can or can't follow it?

[Philosophia]

So does that mean males can or can't follow it?

Depends on which group. Some don't allow it but others do.

[Snapdragon]

If 'Dianic' applies to a mode of worship--directed only towards the feminine and female divine--then there is no way anyone can control who practices it. Of course, if you equate participation in a group with 'worship,' then the case could plausibly be made that you could be excluded.

It does depend on how you understand 'worship,' it seems. For a solitaire, it is of course moot and also obvious as to what is entailed. Once you get into the dynamics of groups, however, things change.

One more note: 'Dianic' does not equate to "worship of women." As I like to say, "I worship the Goddess--not the princess." A princess is someone who acts like she thinks she's a goddess. There is a serious point to this, as I hope you recognize. After all, if it were worship of the female, then anything any female says would be taken as holy writ. The problem with this is, of course, that there's no lack of females who are less than exemplary. There are female Nazis, female child molesters, female...well, you see the point.

The feminine is not gender-bound: some men are more feminine than some women, as some women are more masculine than some men. It's a useful point, I think, to discuss whether one's worship goes towards the feminine or towards the female. It's not the same thing.