ABSTRACT
Symbols and ritual acts are used to trigger altered states of awareness, in which the insights which go beyond words are revealed. . . . [T]he inner knowledge literally cannot be expressed in words. It can only be conveyed in experience, and no one can legislate what insight another person may draw from any given experience. (1979, 7)
Witches share the symbol of the Goddess, but that symbol has different meanings to different witches. For many neopagans the Goddess is a romantic symbol. They see the Goddess as a symbol of “ nature,” of course, but nature at its prettiest. The Goddess is always beautiful. She is often represented with pre-Raphaelite imagery: young, thin, delicate Cau casian features; everything about her flows-her clothing, if she is wearing any, her long wavy hair (for example, in the style of the Rider Waite tarot deck). Her body is often adorned with intricate jewelry, and she may be pictured with animals near her. Some covens even require that, since she becomes the Goddess in ritual, a priestess must retire when she is no longer “ young and beautiful.”
