I will never forget the day that I found out that God can really look like me, and not just some old man in the sky.
It was a thunderclap, a truth, and a relief that I felt in my bones – a revelation to rival anything in the Bible that I grew up with. The church of my family and my ancestors had no place for me as a female. My longing – my calling – to be a minister was dismissed because of my gender.
Women could bake communion bread, but not bless it. Women could sew altar cloths, but could not serve at that altar to pray and preach. Women could lead the choir or play the piano but never call themselves music ministers. We could be minister’s wives or Sunday School teachers for young children, but never serve the community without the blessing of a man-in-charge.
I was told that women were the cause of all suffering, and because of that, a man had to die in order to wash away our sins. It felt wrong – all of it.
So on the day that I discovered that the Creator energy was female as well as male, the ties that had kept me linked to the Southern Baptist Christianity of my youth fell away. My heart and Soul were converted to worship of the Divine as She.
And just like that, I could make bread for sacred ritual AND bless it. I could choose cloths for my altar AND pray there. I wasn’t cursed or unclean because of my sex. I was celebrated as a vessel for the Divine.
As a Priestess, I lead our spiritual practices in community, and govern my own. I could answer the call to Ministry that I first felt when I was two years old, full of love for Jesus – which I still feel. I could stand in the center of a Circle in community and celebrate Sabbats and the glory of the Earth, officiate weddings and bless babies and celebrate the lives of our Dead.
And so I still do. And I teach other women who feel this calling too.
For nearly thirty years I’ve welcomed women into my home, into my sacred spaces, into classrooms and workshop spaces to teach them how to be a Priestess.
Whether it is a woman’s calling to learn in order to practice a solitary spiritual path, or to serve community like I do, or in the myriad ways that we can minister to others, it has been the greatest joy of my life to help women empower themselves and their spiritual practices.
Until I learned that God is also Goddess, I knew there was something missing in my understanding of all that Divine is. I knew that God lived in me, that I wasn’t the root of sin – and neither were my Mothers before me. I knew that God loved me, and the understanding of that truth came to its fullest expression by finding the Feminine in the Creator.
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For generations, there was a movement to suppress the Truth of the Goddess, the equality of women in religion, and the power of the union of the Divine Masculine and the Divine Feminine.
For generations, it seemed that the Goddess must be lost, relegated to myths and sometimes turned into a demoness to dissuade Her daughters from following Her.
The Goddess was never lost. She’s always been right here, waiting for us to remember Her. She has always been right here, in the heart of God.
I’m not trying to convert you to believe what I believe. I am a student of the wealth and depth of the religions of the world, and I deeply honor and hold genuine curiosity for how others find their connection to the God of their understanding. The richness of how humanity reaches for the Divine is beautiful, and it inspires my own spirituality in so many ways.
I am here as a witness to share with you that you don’t have to give up your Soul callings, your dreams, your self worth, your connection with the Divine. It is possible to be free and to find that connection in new ways.
If you have ever felt that there is more to your spiritual path, there is. If you have ever felt that there must be something missing from the spiritual teachings of the faith that you’re practicing, then you’re right. At least, it’s missing for you.
If you’ve ever felt a calling to investigate or pursue another spiritual path, pay attention to that longing. There is something there for you. If someone in your spiritual tradition has ever told you that you aren’t enough, that you are less than anyone else because of your gender, your sexual preferences, the color of your skin, your physical or mental health, or any other reason, then it’s time to question why you continue to believe why you continue to believe in something, or someone, who doesn’t believe in you.
I’m here to share with you that following the North Star of your Soul’s calling will lead you to a deeper understanding of the Divine, and a deeper faith. I hope that you will experience connection with the Creator who loves you exactly as you are and who made you for a holy purpose that cannot be dictated by anyone else.
Whatever your faith practice, I know that you are a child of the Divine, that you are a spark of that Creator let loose in the world. I honor you. The Light of God in me recognizes and honors the Light of God in you. May we be blessed in our acknowledgment of each other.
And so it is. Amen. And so mote it be.
Sarah Familar-Ragsdale is a High Priestess and Teacher of the Divine Feminine. She assists women in discovering and pursuing their Soul calling through 1:1 mentorship and coaching sessions, intuitive readings, workshops and courses on Priestesshood and the Divine Feminine,
and spiritual retreats. Along with her wife, Mina, she is co-founder of Seva Body Mind Soul, a whole Self wellness center located in Charleston, South Carolina.
