Talk:Great Mother
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"Great Mother" the archetype and "Mother goddess" are not the same. Though they should be cross-referenced, the two should not be combined, in my opinion.
I agree. There is a risk that one might link from Carl Jung's archetypes and pick up "Mother goddess." That, in my humble opinion, is unacceptable.
- So do I. In general, the article "Great Mother" should take more reference to Jung's archetypology. Maybe also some examples, where the archetype of the Great Mother can be found in myths, legends, religions, tales and so on. I would do this job - if my English was good enough ;-). de:Benutzer:Dr. Meierhofer
I also agree. The phrase "Great Mother" enters the general vocabulary through Eric Neumann's 1955 book of the same name in reference to Jungian psychology. That the term was picked up by NeoPagans and applied to mother goddesses of various sorts is true, but conflating the two muddies things. Rorybowman 00:01, 11 November 2005 (UTC)
I also agree. I think there need to be three very separate entries:
- the archetype of the Great Mother used in Jungian psychology
- the generic idea of the mother goddess type used by mythographers
- the Roman goddess Magna Mater, often translated into English "Great Mother", who like every mythologic entity has her own distinct identity.
Tom Lougheed 2005-12-13.
I also agree. I think that the mother goddess is simply and example of Carl Jung's archetype in mythology. However, Carl Jung's archetypes also apply to the mind, so they should be kept seperate.
[edit] 'archal' to 'lineal'
I changed the word 'matriarchal' to 'matrilineal', as there is no definite proof of any ancient matriarchal societies. In fact I would like to see this article expanded. I'm sure there's much room for more information about the idea of a 'Great Mother' in archaelogical thought. Anyhow, if anyone would like to discuss the changing of 'archal' to 'lineal' then by all means discuss :-) Ryan 09:40, 27 February 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Merge suggestion
I believe that at the very least there needs to be a single coordinating entry for all Great Mother like entries. A classicist searching for the Magna Mater will likely go for Great Mother, where there is absolutely no mention of Magna Mater, despite that being one of her names. I suggest that this entry contain an overview of the Great Mother figure in general as applies to many different cultures with a list of links to specific kinds of mother goddesses. 24.22.45.52 06:36, 31 March 2006 (UTC)
[edit] cleanup needed: adding originalresearch tag
Much of this article does not portray the accepted scholarly understandings on the subject. That's OK, but the ideas need to be attributed to their sources, and the more commonly accepted view needs to be mentioned for comparison.
Furthermore, some of the ideas in this article I find very surprising, and they sound like original research. You need to cite reputable sources for these, or remove them. In particular, I'm thinking of Queen Mab/Medb and the tiny/impregnating theme. It sounds like it's trying to draw a comparison with myths like the Gwydion/Cerridwen myth, and from what I can see it's going way out on a limb: a) Mab isn't male; b) she isn't swallowed by women. I don't even know what it means when it is suggested that "her qualities as a fertility goddess were more pronounced and emphasized as she endured time". I'm rather surprised to see Medb held up as a prime example of the Great Mother at all - she seems to me more likely to have been a historical personage who was over time given fairy qualities similar to the Matronae (I'm thinking of the plaiting of the horses' manes), but was never widely worshipped as the "Great Mother".
The Cattle raid of Cooley seems better explained as a historical event than as a remnant myth of a war goddess.
There's really good scholarly evidence of widespread goddess worship available (try Carlo Ginzburg for instance); this article could be much more convincing if it used reputable theories. Fuzzypeg 10:10, 7 May 2006 (UTC)
