VISIONS OF THE GODDESS - A MALE PERSPECTIVE
By Courtney Milne

From the book Visions of the Goddess by Courtney Milne and Sherrill Miller

	Copper Woman Primeval Woman of the Dene Aerial view of sand formations in William River, Lake Athabasca, Saskatchewan, 1993. Copper Woman, the Keeper of the Minerals and First Woman of the Dene and Chipewyan, moves through the landscape.

My first memories of the Earth Mother take me back to the age of four, when I lived overlooking a river and park in the center of town. It seemed to me that there was a great deal of magic out there in the trees and especially beside the fast flowing water. My little heart yearned to know where the river went and where it came from, the parts hidden from view further intensifying the mystery. When I was old enough to manage a tricycle on my own, I pushed the pedals beyond my known world, along the park paths and around the corner to new territory, places that held promise of beauty and grandeur and terrible excitement - terrible because there were no answers, only more unsolved mysteries and more unexplored places, each time luring me further away from home.

Yet my early days in natural places also held for me a deep and abiding sense of security and reassurance. The riverbank was a place that offered protection, security, even nurturance. When the "bad boys" from the fringe areas of town appeared on their bigger and faster bicycles, I could take refuge in the bosom of the cattails along the shore until they were safely out of sight. Her arms reached out to help me, and I knew every tree and limb that was climbable to assure a swift escape. The more I became familiar with the natural surroundings, the more I felt that nature was like a friend I could trust and rely on to be there when needed.

In the summer I would pick the petunias in the flowerbeds and make bouquets to celebrate the sheer joy of being out of school. We didn't call our two-month break a vacation: it was called summer holidays, and holidays were a time of thanksgiving and celebration. Then, one day when I was seven, frivolity turned to dismay when my mother informed me that the petunias were not for picking but must remain in the park for all to enjoy. Once I learned the value of sharing, I became a staunch defender of the public flowerbeds and became proud of the knowledge that I lived such a short distance to such unfathomable beauty.

Illumination - The Sky Dancer Sunset over Uluru (Ayers Rock) Australia, 1989.  The mists of ocher powder decorating Wuriupranala's body cause red stains on the sunset clouds.

Through the years the river maintained its hold on me, and when I finally had the means to make my own consumer decisions, a canoe was high on my list of priorities. The canoe in turn afforded me with opportunities for further wilderness exploration and a deepening awareness that I was much safer in the wilds than in places densely populated by human beings. Until the eleventh grade, when I grew 12 inches, I was shorter than the shortest girls in my class, which meant not only that I was bullied but also that I developed a kinship with the girls. 

One advantage of having a female as a playmate is that you learn to use your imagination. I have one sister, and until adolescence disturbed the alchemy of familial bonds, we spent years playing together. Times with my sister and her friends involved a land of make-believe, trying out adult roles, exploring relationships and learning to get along. By contrast, my experiences with boys mostly involved sports - kicking, running, jumping and competing. Looking back, I value both sets of experiences, but I am particularly thankful for the sensitivities that I developed by nurturing my "feminine" side.

 
All of us - men, women, little girls and young boys, big or small - need the Goddess in our lives. She teaches us about the mysteries of nature and shows us how to live in harmony. She comes to us in many forms and resides within us in many ways. She teaches us to appreciate beauty, to identify, own and understand our feelings, to deal with our rage, to revel in our joys and to celebrate our sexuality. She shows us that we can ask for love, nourishment, friendship, softness, power, peace, laughter and wisdom. The Goddess never asks men - or women for that matter - to deny their masculinity. Instead she teaches us to own our entire range of feelings and emotions, encouraging us to delve into our shadows, and in so doing, get to know ourselves inside out. In the process, we become not only more content individuals but also better friends, lovers, parents, partners, merchants and leaders. 

	Tara Queen of Time Prayer flags at Buddha's cave, near Bodh Gaya, India, 1989.  Tara may be seen in five colors and invoked under 108 names.

I feel both proud and privileged to be a landscape photographer, an outdoorsman and a student of goddess energies. In most of my photography I have attempted to interpret my joy in nature through straight unmanipulated documentation of the world in front of the lens. In several instances I have recorded my "impressions", using camera movement or multiple exposures. I have also enjoyed enhancing a number of images with the computer to better express a particular goddess or to create an image not possible with the camera alone. All special effects have been noted in the captions.

My experiences traveling the world have brought my delight, riches, warm friendships ad hopefully some wisdom. My journeys in quest of Mother Nature's sacred places have even landed me with a goddess of my own, as en route I met my mate, Sherrill, the author of this book. Perhaps it was the fire goddess Fuchi who stirred me to attempt a marriage proposal in Japan, and maybe Spider Woman held us securely in her web of unity as we exchanged our wedding vows on a warm August afternoon in the park where I pedaled my tricycle when I was four. Returning the places of nourishment and honoring the special places of our childhood are important ways to rekindle the feelings of connectedness that so easily vanish when the web is torn.

Cailleach Bheur Ancestress of Stones Double exposure of Standing Stones of Callanish with moon, Callanish, Scotland, 1989.  The Neolithic Moon Goddess is honored in the stone circle.

Producing this book has taken Sherrill and me down an incredible pathway of adventure and experiences. Together we have ventured into the darkness of the cave, and we have bathed naked in the radiant light. Happily the journey to discovery is not yet complete and we offer you this book as a milestone, a place perhaps where our paths can cross, as all of us continue to seek our truths.

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