Matrifocus: Beltane issue

I always enjoy reading Matrifocus. The Beltane '08 issue continues to have great stuff. It opens with art called "Bear Gate" by Sara Teofanov. The articles include:

"Sacred Repositories and Goddess Figurines" by Johanna Stuckey, which tells about the archeological artifacts from the 9th Century BCE found in a Philistine Temple site near what is now Tel Aviv, Israel. The goddess figurines are accompanied by lions, bovines, goats, and sacred trees. Johanna speculates on how an "ordinary person" in ancient times might treat a "female pillar figurine," as many archeologists call them, or representations of Asherah as some of us might call them.

In "Buying a Tibetan Peace Vase in Peru," Vicki Noble tells how she took one of 6,000 Tibetan peace vases to Peru, where she was working to counter male-biased archeology. Read the article to find out where she and her companions buried the base--and what they buried with it.

In "Hitting Bedrock," gardener Mary Swander writes about "a host of golden daffodils"...and much more, with some fascinating geological info about Iowa.

Nancy Vedder-Shults Ph.D. describes dancing as a way to enter "ecstatic trance" in a number of different trads in her article, "Dance." She also gives instructions on how to use dance in divination.

In "Menopause is Enlightenment," Susun Weed explores similarities between menopause symptoms and the "awakening of kundalini." Are "hot flashes" signaling "enlightenment"? I found this fascinating.

Clea Danaan tells how she made a mask from her own own face in "Facing My Power: The Queen Mask." Clea tells about the role this mask has played in her life.

"Highway 138" by Shay Harris takes you on a trip down a country road that leads to "simple adventures" and Goddess encounters. With photos.

Why does Rev. Nano Boye Nagle hate her curly long dark red hair? Read her article, "The Long and Short of It" to find out--and learn what she did about it.

Madelon Wise asked for a Dutch oven for a holiday gift. In the "Cauldron and the Crone," she shows what she received, describes how she has worked with this gift over the last few months, and tells about celebrating Walpurgisnacht in Wisconsin, rather than Beltane.

This issue's wonderful poetry includes 4 poems by Sharon Brogan: "The Making of Eve,"the bubbling place," Fibromyalgia," and "All Fall Down"; and Holin Kennen's "Returning to Our Senses."

This Beltane issue has 3 photo essays focusing in the U.S. Midwest: "Mississippi River Backwater" by Gwyn Padden-Lecthen, "Images of Compassion, Love, and Mercy" by Jacki Hayes, and "Full Moon in Libra" by Lance Link.

And there are 3 book reviews: Madelon Wise's review of The Woman in the Shaman's Body by Barbara Tedlock Ph.D.; Dahti Blanchard's review of Big Fat Manifesto (young adult fiction) by Susan Vaught; and Staci Schwarz's review of the novel The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd.