Mai, The Holy Breath, and God as Mother

The founder of Mai-ism, Mai Markand, writes “Mai-ism, turning to the Trinity preached under Christianity, viz., that of The Father, The Son and The Holy Ghost, emphatically asserts that The Holy Ghost is only the masculine name of Mother … Nothing can be more simple and spontaneously acceptable than that the Third of the Trinity can only be The Mother.”

While in Latin and in common usage, the “Holy Ghost” is treated as masculine in gender, in the original Hebrew and Aramaic context of Christianity, the expression is “Ruach HaQodesh/Ruach HaQadosh” and “Rucha Qadishta”, both of which are feminine in gender. The words “Ruach”/”Rucha” both convey the idea of breath.

The Bible tells us that creation is accomplished and maintained by the Divine Breath (“Ruach YHWH”, “Ruach El/Elohim”, “Nishmat Shadday”, etc.) (Gen. 1:2; Ps. 33:6; Job 33:4). Breath maintains life and so is essential, is at the very essence of any breathing creature. By analogy, the Divine Breath is the inherent Divine Life Force, is at the very Essence of God. Since the Divine Breath is Biblically used with feminine gendered verbs, it is thus Feminine and the Feminine is at the Divine Essence.

So, even if one does not subscribe to the Christian concept of the Trinity, it is clear that the idea of God as Mother, as conveyed in Mai of Mai-ism, also is expressed in the Bible’s analogy, which places the Feminine at the very Essence of God.