Essay: This paper examines the foundations of ancient matriarchal religions, attended by many gods and goddesses, with the emergence and eventual dominance of monotheistic patriarchal belief systems. Emerging religions have co-opted or suppressed the emotionally appealing aspects of the old matriarchal religions, even going so far as to reverse the meaning of the symbols in, for example, the Garden of Eden story. The author relies heavily on the patriarchal constructs of Joseph Campbell. She also cites the work of Jean Markale, Barbara Newman, Glynda-Lee Hoffman, and Margaret Atwood to supply ideas about the necessity of balancing both female and male qualities. This paper posits mere existence, reason, power, and war as male qualities and meaningful life, sacred ground (earth), the serpent (birth and rebirth), and the Tree of Life as potent female symbols. There is an ultimate human need for wholeness, therefore it is essential to balance the male and the female aspects in every person and culture. The author suggests that the Hebrew Qabalah is parallel to the brain’s evolution. She notes the continual process of inner life fertilizing outer life and outer life fertilizing inner life.