The seeress, Vanna:
"...had had an experience of Gaea that decided the whole meaning of her life..." (p. 104)
There are several ways to interpret that statement:
she experienced Gaea as described by Gaeans, assuming that that description is accurate;
she deluded herself;
she experienced oneness with her environment and interpreted this experience in terms of Gaeanity;
she began to approach God but, at this stage of her understanding, misunderstood God as "Gaea."
When, at University, a Theological student spoke of a person's "experience of God," I interpreted this to mean a person's experience of life, theistically interpreted. Experience plays a big part in religion but discussion of it is not straightforward.
Kaor, Paul!
ReplyDeleteI would consider the third and fourth possibilities you listed as most nearly the right ones describing what Vanna experienced.
Ad astra! Sean