WHY GAIA?

The acronym GAIA was not intentional. It came to us, the Goddess Arts Institute, when we were contemplating our relationship with other institutions around the world and decided to create an Alliance-- a very strange coincidence indeed!

Gaia is best known as Mother Earth (the Greek common noun for "land" is ge or ga ) with a fairly complex family history. See side box. However, Gaia also has several other meanings that have relevance for us. In his article: The Meaning of Gaia: Is Gaia a Goddess or Just an Idea? (Earth and Spirit, Late Winter 1990), David Spangler poses the question: “When we talk about the spirit of Gaia, the spirit of a living earth, or even of the earth as being alive, just what do we mean in our time?” Spangler explains that the importance of the “bottom line” has made us forget that there is also a "top line" that gives the spiritual value, the holistic value, of a person, a plant, an animal, or a place. He notes that Gaia is an important concept not only as a "return of the Goddess" but also for expanding our awareness in at least five ways: (1) creating strategies for ecological and environmental responsibility; (2) focusing our attention on issue of life itself; (3) inspiring us to act in ways that are compassionate, co-creative, and cooperative; (4) allowing us to think of the spirituality of the earth and a deeper communion with our environment; and (5) providing a mirror in which to see ourselves anew.

Overall, Spangler is suggesting that the modern day image of Gaia can enlarge the vision of human purpose beyond the personal and put it into a planetary and cosmic context. At the same time, Gaia can be used very locally and specifically, to make us more aware of our interactions with the particular places we inhabit. She can inspire us to discover ourselves and the nature of life, and rally our energies to meet the needs of our environment—through a process of discovery and healing. In this context, Gaia is the perfect acronym for the Goddess Arts Institute Alliance--we'll take it!

Brief History of the Goddess Gaia

Gaia was born from Chaos , the great void of emptiness within the universe, and with her came Eros . She gave birth, without male intervention, to Pontus (the Sea) and Uranus (the Sky)--who later became her husband. Their offspring, included the Titans , six sons and six daughters, Cyclopes and three monsters that became known as the " Hecatonchires ". As the myth goes, Gaia found her offspring uncomfortable and at times painful, and, when the discomfort became to much to bear she asked her youngest son, Cronus, to castrate Uranus--thus severing the union between the Earth and Sky and preventing more monstrous offspring. It was Gaia who saved Zeus from being swallowed by Cronus. After Zeus had been born, Gaia helped Rhea to wrap a stone in swaddling clothes to trick Cronus in to thinking it was Zeus. Gaia's trick worked and Zeus was then taken to Crete.