Merlin Stone, the woman who some say gave us back our feminine history through her book “When God Was a Woman” passed into the Summerland, she was approximately 80 years old.  According to information from Z. Budapest Merlin had reportedly been battling a long illness that included bouts of dementia which had her at home receiving round the clock care.  Stone was a sculptor and professor of art history at the State University of New York at Buffalo.  Her 1976 book “When God Was a Woman” is often credited with being responsible for one of the major contributors to the rise in Goddess spirituality and feminist thought during into the 1980s.

I admit that it’s been years since I read “When God Was a Woman” cover to cover.  I was taking classes on Goddess history a few years back and used it to supplement another book we had been assigned in class and even at that time I was thinking about how great and eye-opening her book had been when I read it initially.  It’s sad that only upon hearing of her death did I say to myself  “I need to read that again.”

There’s little you can say about her, I think.  Her work spoke for herself.  She had passion and she felt the Goddess in her work.  Last year I finally purchased the “Goddess Remembered” DVDs after having them on my mental wish list for many years and I remember listening to Merlin in those documentaries and knowing you were listening to a woman that helped shape the future, our present, of Goddess spirituality and understanding.

Rest if deep, deep peace, Merlin.  And know your life left a huge mark on the world, forever.