the chalice and the blade by riane eisler

Throughout her book, Riane Eisler refers us to all the latest archeological research (at that time), giving convincing evidence. This lens represented by the symbols of the chalice and the blade helps us to understand our history and these two aspects of humanity.

So many towns, villages, bastides, fortresses, castles build on high land that can more easily be defended from invaders. If you travel through Europe today, you see visual evidence of this process. In the end, the mighty Roman Empire adopted Christianity and masculinised the religion, treating the true texts of old, such as the gnostic gospels, as heresies. Jesus Christ himself, and other prophets before him, came in warlike times and preached the other way. The undercurrent of the feminine always remained, underneath the masculine domination. But the ‘equal’ civilisation of Old Europe effectively died out when Minoan Crete (‘Atlantis’) was destroyed by natural disaster (the flood) around 1400BC. In the warlike years the masculine dominated in the peaceful years the pendulum swang the other way and culture flourished. Successive waves of invaders led, over the years to periods of war and hardship, followed by periods of peace and creativity as the invaders were absorbed. When they took over an area with violence these people eventualy settled and were influenced themselves to adopt more peaceful ways. These people were shaped by hardship and became increasingly masculine and warlike. In hard times, perhaps climate change, they could not resist invading the land of peace. The residents were what we might call pastoralists, but around the edges of Old Europe were the nomads who move around from place to place. It was a veritable Garden of Eden, the source of the myth in the bible. The feminine was ‘worshipped’ as the source of new life. All people were equal, creativity and arts flourished, and peace reigned. It begins in Old Europe maybe 10000 years ago, a land of peace and plenty, well organised, with advanced technologies of the day. I soon got stuck in and became entranced by a story of human development. First published in 1987, this has been a hugely influential book. I’d seen references to this memorable title and author name in many other works. This Christmas I got lucky, as on my list of possible presents was the book by Riane Eisler The Chalice and the Blade: Our History, Our Future.

The chalice and the blade by riane eisler