Goddess Pages: Autumn 2008

The cover image of the Autumn issue of Goddess Pages ,is "Diana" by Gillian Booth; medium, paint on shelf fungi.

Continuing Goddess Pages' tradition of high caliber poetry, 9 poems crown this issue: "Another Year" and "She Stands on the Horizon" by Helen Carmichel, "Lammas 2007" by Rachel Clyne, "Sister Song" by Jacqui Woodward-Smith, "The Island of Mujares, Mexico" by Maria Duncalf-Barber, "The Mermaid’s Lament" and "The Watchtower" by Doreen Hopwood, "The Song of Iseult" by Caeia March, and last but definitely not least, "Wild Crafting" by Penn Kemp, which consists of several parts: opening verses, "Stirring Not Stirring," Homing to the Given," "Culture Shock and Smooth Return," "Last August Light", and "Recurring Dream Theme."

Articles include:
"Balancing on air" by Geraldine Charles. Written with reason, insight, and wit, this article tackles the questions of "balance and "equality" on the Goddess path. If you think Goddesses need to be "balanced" by Gods, read this spectacular article right away (if you don’t, you can wait 5 minutes)!

"Inner Journeys: Surfing the Imaginal Realm as a Struggling Shamama" by Theresa Curtis-Diggs begins with quotes from Joseph Campbell and Jim Morrison. Curtis-Diggs writes of trying to receive messages from ancient boulders connected with Goddess and how the practices of a "shamama"("budding female shaman") can help visit the archetypes of petroglyphs, honor the spiritual core of a place, and work through fear to follow a shamamic calling. She tells of seeing petroglyphs in Nevada bearing the same symbols that Marija Gimbutas found in Europe. "How is it that this has never been investigated?" she asks. A breath-taking article.

"Mythology, Menstruation and the ‘Woman with the Issue of Blood’," by Andre Zsigmond, begins with a story from the Gospel according to Mark about Jesus cursing and destroying a wild fig tree because it had no figs (it wasn’t fig season, DUH). Zsigmond points out that this may be a metaphor for destroying the Roman Goddess Juno, who was associated with wild fig trees. Zsigmond also explores the Scottish ritual uses of menstrual blood during Lammas and Beltane and also the healing of the "woman with the issue of blood" in the Christian gospels.

In "The Liberation of Surrender," Karen Tate poses the question of whether, when considered spiritually, obstacles are guideposts. For example, she tells about receiving an email about her new book, informing her that 650 pounds of the books (22 cases, she says--lets see, is that about 1200 books?) were being shipped to her home while she was away...and that was just the beginning.

Reviews in this issue are The Mary Magdalene Within, a book by Joan Norton, reviewed by Miriam Raven; and Living the Goddess: a way to Goddess through sacred chant, song and prayer, a music CD by Anique Radiant Heart, reviewed by Sandra Roman.

In accordance with our review policy , I can’t go into detail about this journal's "premium content," which you can read the beginning of for free, but have to pay to read the full article. I think I can get away with just listing the premium articles, though: "Amazing Artemisias" by Susun S. Weed, "Celebrating the Triple Spiral" by Glenys Livingstone, Ph.D., " Embracing the Feminine Consciousness" by Karen Tate, and "The Chronicles of Baubo Biggins," as told to Katara Moon.

Thanks, Inanna!

Many thanks to Inanna from at the end of desire for bestowing an "I Love Your Blog" award upon Medusa Coils. We tried to link to the award graphic but can't get it to show up (because we don't have the right Flash version?), but you can see it on Inanna's blog.
UPDATE Sept. 12: Thanks also to Copper at Manifold Oneness, who also has nominated us for this award :-D
UPDATE Sept. 25: Thanks also to Paul at Evoking the Goddess for also naming us for this award :-D.

Buzz Coil: August '08

Radical Goddess Thealogy: In an August 19 post, "Fooey on Fighting," blogger Athana takes issue with a documentary film about "warrior" Goddess Durga. Writes Athana:

But see, I just don't wanna go there. I want to heal the world through Mother love. Fooey on fighting violence via violence. Call me addle-brained, but I just can't let go of the idea that teaching, and "gentle prodding" will do the trick.*
In my opinion, Durga, Kali, Nemesis and other violent goddesses are simply patriarchal makeovers (i.e., beginning around 6000 years ago, the war gods began taking non-violent goddesses and turning them violent....

We're with you , Athana!

Branches Up, Roots Down: Deborah Oak writes about her reaction to her son’s all-too-real-life encounter with violence in her Aug. 22 post, "a call for help." After a vivid description of the events, Deborah concludes:

I have believed it’s important to try and do as little harm as possible in traversing life and to do what I can to devoke violence and face it down. That’s why I like the Wiccan Rede. That’s why I have no truck with calling myself a warrior. Because I have the power to heal, I know I could also hex. True strength means not doing so.

The Village Witch: In her Asheville NC Citizen-Times blog on August 23, "Cob...and More Cob...and what can we do with the rest of this cob?" Byron Ballard tells us what she and her circle did with that cob, starting with creating a votive Goddess. The circle is awaiting a land donation for their Mother Grove Temple. In her Aug. 5 post, "Shekhinah Mountainwater: The Final Interview," Ballard tells about an event held Aug. 15 in memory of Shekhinah Mountainwater who died last August. The Ashville NC group viewed the interview given by Shekhinah about a month before her death. Shekhinah lived in California. The Ashville group took an offering, with proceeds going towards the work on the Mother Grove Temple...I can see Shekhinah smiling about that....

A Flower for the Lady: Blogger Kelly offers poety tributes to Goddess several times a month. August 13th’s tribute is by Emily Dickenson.

Readthisandweep: UK blogger Mag asks, "Excuse Me, May I Have My Spirituality Back?" in her Aug. 19 post. She feels her Dianic spirituality is being "hi-jacked" by people who need to get their facts straight.

Panthea - All Things Are Goddess: In her Aug. 8 post, "The Goddess Lilith", Blogger Grian/Lee wonders about the demonization of Lilith, comparing interpretations that see Lilith as demon with interpretations that see Her as a Goddess. Grian/Lee’s July 31 post, "Create-a-Goddess" enables you (or your children?) to mix and match graphics to create a "goddess doll" which, if you want, can function as an "avatar." (If you post your creation to the web, please remember to link back to www.1greeneye.net/panthea/dolls)

The House of Inanna: Brian Charles tells of his reservations about the Kumari tradition in his Aug. 19 post, "The Living Goddess–until she bleeds." [If you want, compare the viewpoint in my post .] In his Aug. 22 post, "There is no fool like an old fool" Brian writes lyrically about exploring hills near Budapest.

Carrie and Danielle: Danielle Port began "The Goddess Experiment" on August 8. She writes:

I’m wondering what will shift or bloom or go bust in my psyche if I very intentionally envision God in female form. For the next 21 days, including weekends, I’m going to actively re-frame He into She. His Highness into Her Highness. I’m collecting images that speak to me of God-dess.

Among the Goddesses she blogged about are Kali (Aug. 11), Saraswati (Aug. 12), Isis (Aug. 14), Quan Yin (Aug. 21), Morgaine LeFay (Aug. 24), and Changing Woman (Aug. 25). Not all posts are about specific goddesses, though. For example, Danielle also includes in her Goddess experiment mandalas, Alicia Keyes, and perfume. There’s a link at the end of each post that’s supposed to take you to all the posts, but when I clicked it took me to good old "Error 404." Maybe they’ll fix it by the time you get there.

Evoking the Goddess: After the Glastonbury Goddess Conference, blogger Paul visited the town of Bath, in Somerset, England, which has "the only hot spring in Brigid’s Isles." In his Aug. 11 post, "Honouring Sulis," Paul gives us a fascinating history of the springs at Bath and also describes the site as it is today. With pics.

Textual Arachne: In her Aug. 4 post, "Still Time," Blogger Arachne completes a theme cycle with a post on the holiday, Lughnasa, whose meaning to her is not as clear as other Pagan holidays.

Gorgon Resurfaces : In her August 10 post, "Underground Ruminations," Laughing Medusa shares her thoughts on the relevance of the Persephone myth to her personal experiences. In her Aug 20 post, "The Moon and Healing Love," she wonders about the effect of prayers prompted by a beautiful moonrise.

Changes...touches...

The Corvid Diaries has morphed into Debi Crow’s Journal .

UPDATE 9/1:
In our July Buzz Coil, we reported that Women and Spirituality had being absorbed by http://www.alivemindmedia.com/, which I didn't feel was as good a presentation. Apparently others agreed because this situation has changed: Women and Spirituality has now become Alive Mind & Spirit (this is the new url, but the old Women and Spirit url will also get you there :-). This site now has all the bloggers from Women and Spirituality plus a few new ones, and it's much easier on my eyes than the previous format. We plan to report on the content next month.

Did we miss an item you think is important? We’d like to know about it, so please leave it as a comment.

Women's Equality Day

How shall we celebrate? August 26 was designated Women's Equality Day in the US by Jimmy Carter when he was President. It marks the anniversary of the achievement of woman's suffrage with the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920. Yes, dear ones, women have been allowed to vote for less than 100 years in the US of A.

You might want to celebrate by reading this brief history of the long, 72-year struggle for women's voting rights. And you might want to resolve to vote. I know it's part of my religion.

TAGS:news Women's Equality Day women's suffrage voting rights 19th Amendment

Praying at the DNC

I want to share part of a comment I just posted on Blue Pagans at the DNC in response to a post praising the interfaith service held Sunday night, but my stronger concern is really the language used to address deity in the "benediction" last night (Monday night). Here's part of what I wrote:

... We've taken such GREAT strides that an "interfaith" program that includes only 3 Abrahamic religions and Buddhism is considered fulfilling the term "interfaith"? And as much as I deeply appreciated Leah Daughtry's comment that the Creator could be a "he" or a "she" the fact that this is considered an unusual statement some 30 years after the spiritual feminist movement began speaks volumes about the persistance of patriarchal thinking--probably more so in religion than in other areas. To top it all off, we were treated Monday night to a "Benediction" by Don Miller, billed as an author and speaker on "Christian spirituality," who addressed deity as "Father God," a term rarely used. Usually "Father" or "God" or "Lord" is enough to get the idea across. But no, Miller had to be SURE that we understood that God is Father and NOT Mother.... I can only conclude that at this point the Democrats are more concerned with wooing evangelical and/or fundamentalist Christians than they are about excluding women of a variety of religious paths--including not only Pagan, but also, for example, Christian and Jewish, who have been working for decades to achieve degendered and/or inclusive "god" language.Seems the Democrats need some education on this topic. Maybe some of you are attending the Women's Caucus and could bring this up?

TAGS:news Democratic National Convention prayer spiritual feminism Leah Daughtry women and religion Don Miller

More Willendorf

Since my Aug. 8 post on the Austrian centenary celebration of the discovery of "Venus" (aka "Goddess") of Willendorf, I've been thinking about and discussing with others some ideas about celebrating the Willendorf discovery every year as a Goddess holiday.

People seem to like this idea a lot. A number of them have asked, though, what about the date? Both the Willendorf Project and the Natural History Museum in Vienna give the date of the discovery as August 7, 1908. A few of my online friends say they have seen an August 8 date "somewhere." I couldn't find it in relation to the archeological discovery, but Austria did issue their 3D Willendorf stamp (she's a beauty!) on Aug. 8 of this year, so we wouldn't be the first to use the Aug. 8 date. The argument about the Aug. 8 date goes something like this:

UPDATE: The argument below, now bracketed, quoted, smaller, and excerpted re: Hiroshima is inaccurate. Hiroshima Day is marked on Aug. 6 (not 7). I was relying on some usually reliable sources. That'll teach me! Folks, looks like we can have August 7 for Willendorf Day :-) and I think the movement from conflict/war (Aug. 6) to peace/nurturance (Aug.7) is still a valid one, if people want to incorporate it. The musings about 8 is interesting but, I think, mostly irrelevant at this point. Thank you to Glenys and Hope, whose comments you can read below.

[(1) Aug. 7 is marked by some as Hiroshima Day....(2) August 8 gives us the aesthetically pleasing 8-8-8. Besides the kewlness of triple 8s (we won't even get into the numerology), to me visually the number 8, in its roundness, is compatible with the roundness of the Willendorf Goddess. (In addition, when you turn 8 on it's side, you have the infinity sign). Others counter that it might be good to have the holiday on Aug. 7, not only because it's historically more accurate, but also because it counters or has the potential to replace the war symbolism of Hiroshima with symbolism of peace and nurturance. Then again, putting the holiday on the 8th, directly after Hiroshima Day might accomplish the same thing but do it in linear time--conflict/war (Aug.7) followed by (Aug. 8) peace/nurturance, rather than fighting for the same space-time.]

How should we celebrate? Whichever date we select, it comes shortly after Lammas in the Northern Hemisphere and Imbolc in the Southern Hemisphere. At first glance, it didn't seem to me that the Willendorf Goddess was greatly compatible with the "First Harvest" symbolism of Lammas, but I have been persuaded otherwise by a woman from the farmlands of the American midwest, who says that there, the fullness of the land--the ripeness of the crops--corresponds very well to Willendorf's fullness and ripeness. Imbolc is a celebration of creativity and to me would go well with the creativity that brought the Willendorf statue into being.

Taking it a little further, one idea I had, inspired by recent reports of Goddess processions and of the role Lydia Ruyle's banners play in them, is that this new holiday be celebrated with a parade that involves banners, not just of the Willendorf Goddess, but of as many goddesses as possible who were not known to have existed in 1908 but who have since been unearthed and archeologically verified. Most of these are goddesses from the Neolithic, but there are also such more recent goddesses as the ANE Asherah). BTW, Willendorf, about 25,000 years old is not the oldest. That honor belongs (so far) to Acheulian Ancient Mother Goddess, who is estimated to be between 233,000 and 800,000 years old. So this holiday (Willendorf Day?) would in a sense be a tribute to Goddess archeology--that is archeological finds verifying Goddess cultures.

What I see is a procession with Willendorf being either the first or the last banner and the other banners going in chronological order of discovery or verification. The procession could be in a town, in a Temple, in the forest, in your back yard, in your home....well, you might need a big home...but you get the idea. This new observance could come before or after a Lammas or Imbolc ritual.

To close, here is an inspirational tidbit from Gabriella Gabrielle of Germany:

In the spirit of synchronicity and for everyone interested in astronomical, astrological and ancient agricultural calendars of Goddess, it is intriguing and powerful that 'Venus' '100th birthday' should [coincide] with the date of this year's 'Old Lammas' and the helical rising of the Isis/Sothis star - Sirius, which always both occur together at 15° Leo.

TAGS: life Willendorf spiritual feminism Goddess archeology Austria

Events Coil: Aug. 14 - Oct. 12

As far as we know, all events we list are open functions; but some may be limited to women or to adults. Please check the websites for group policies. If no country is given, the event is in the USA. All times are local. Events lasting more than 1 day are bolded. When listing events for the same date, we have tried to list those occurring first, taking into account time zone differences. If there is a difference between our listings and the listings on the web page linked to, assume their web page is correct, as it may have changed since we listed from it. The next Events Coil is planned for mid-September and will include events listed here that haven't yet happened, plus new events through the beginning of November. If you have an event you want listed, please leave info a comment. See the end of this Coil for what info we need for listings.

Aug. 14, 7:30 p.m. Screening of Max Dashu's Women's Power DVD, Revolution Books, Honolulu HI

Aug. 16, 7:30 p.m. Full Moon on the Mountain, Reclaiming, Montreal CANADA

Aug. 16, 7 p.m. Full Moon Drumming, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Aug. 16, gather 7 p.m., ritual 7:30 p.m. Full Moon Ritual, Temple of Goddess Spirituality Dedicated to Sekhmet, Indian Springs NV

Aug. 17, 11 a.m., Goddess Service: Olwen, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Aug. 20 7:30 p.m. Screening of Max Dashu's Women's Power DVD, Peninsula Women's Group, First Presbyterian Church, Palo Alto CA

Aug. 23, 7 p.m. Dark Moon ritual, Temple of the Sacred Arts, Germantown MD

Aug. 24, 11 a.m., Goddess Service: Damora, with guest priestess Marguerite Kusuhar, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Aug. 29-Sept. 1, Sacred Fire Circle, Circle Sanctuary, near Barneveld WI

Aug. 30, 7 p.m. Wildwoman Drumming: New Moon, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Aug. 31, 2-4 p.m., New Moon Healing, Glastonbury Goddess Temple, Glastonbury ENGLAND

Aug. 31, 11 a.m. Goddess Service: Baba Yaga, with Guest Priestess Rabbit, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Sept. 2, 7:30 p.m. The Craft Connection, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Sept. 5-7, "Gathering the Goddess," with Z Budapest, celebrating 30th anniversary of publication of Z's The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Sept. 7, 11 a.m. Goddess Service honoring Fortuna, with guest priestess Dr. Miluna Fausch speaking on "Healing, Energy & the Importance of Your Life's Work, " Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Sept. 8, 7 p.m. Jennifer Berezon, "Singing in the Body of the Mother," Center for the Divine Feminine, Palo Alto CA

Sept. 13, 2 p.m. Workshop with Anique Radiant Heart of Australia, "Changing the Chakras, Raising the Serpent Energy," Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Sept. 14, 11 a.m., Goddess Service honoring Ch'ango, with guest priestess Anique Radiant Heart; 7 p.m., Full Moon Drumming with Liz Prull, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Sept. 15 gather 7 p.m., ritual 7:30 p.m. Full Moon, Temple of Goddess Spirituality Dedicated to Sekhmet, Indian Springs NV

Sept. 20-21, Fall Equinox Celebration, Circle Sanctuary Preserve, near Mt. Horeb WI

Sept. 20, 4 p.m. Eostar/Spring Equinox, Akkademie PaGaian Cosmology, Blue Mountains AUSTRALIA

Sept. 20, gather 6 p.m., ritual 7 p.m. Autumn Equinox Ritual with Tracy Quigley, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Sept. 21, 2 p.m. Spring Equinox Ritual, Womenspace, Brisbane AUSTRALIA

Sept 21, 1:30 p.m. Mabon/Autumn Equinox with Native American theme, Temple of the Sacred Arts, Germantown MD

Sept. 21, 11 a.m.Goddess Service honoring Demeter with guest priestess Jackie Schrieber, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Sept. 21, gather 12:30 p.m., ritual 1 p.m. Mabon, Reclaiming, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco CA

Sept. 22, 7:30 p.m. Autumn Equinox Ceremony, Glastonbury Goddess Temple, Glastonbury ENGLAND

Sept. 22, gather 7 p.m., ritual 7:30 p.m. Mabon, Temple of Goddess Spirituality Dedicated to Sekhmet, Indian Springs NV

Sept. 22, time tba, Celebrate Fall Equinox and Grandmother Spider Woman, Daughters of the Goddess (Dianic), San Francisco Bay Area, CA

Sept. 28, Noon-6 p.m., Transformation & Sheela Na Gig, Womenspace, Brisbane AUSTRALIA

Sept. 28, 11 a.m. Goddess Service honoring Phra-Naret; 7 p.m. New Moon Drumming with Liz Prall, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Sept. 29, 7 p.m., New Moon Women's Mysteries, Temple of Goddess Spirituality Dedicated to Sekhmet, Indian Springs NV

Sept. 30, 2-4 p.m. New Moon Healing, Glastonbury Godddess Temple, Glastonbury ENGLAND

Oct. 5, 11 a.m. Goddess Service honoring Themis with guest priestess Melina Ailec, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Oct. 6, 7 p.m. Helen Hye-Sook Hwang PhD, "Exploring Trans-patriarchal Reality through the Study of Mago," Center for the Divine Feminine, Palo Alto CA

Oct. 7, 7:30 p.m. The Craft Connection, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Oct. 10-12, Australian Goddess Conference with Hollie Baker, Amrita Hobbs, Glenys Livingstone, Lynne Sinclair-Wood, Mikailah Gooda, Lucy Cavendish, Anique Radiant Heart, Eileen Haley, Laura-Doe Harris, Ruth Shepherd, Yia Alias, Eileen Kaufman, Tanishka; Goddess Association in Australia (G.A.I.A.), Broadbeach QLD AUSTRALIA

Oct. 11, 7 p.m. Full Moon with Croning (tentative) , Temple of the Sacred Arts, Germantown MD

Oct. 12, 11 a.m. Goddess Service honoring Chicometcoatl, with guest priestess Elivia Melodey, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Ongoing
Australia
Canberra, 10 a.m.most Saturday mornings, Meditation. The Goddess Shrine, Temple of Lunation Magick
Perth (White Gum Valley): Mondays, 17:30, Chalice Ceremony, Daughters of Ishtar.
Canada
Sudbury: 1st Friday (Sept.-June) 7:30 p.m., Sudbury Women's Circle.
Hamilton: Saturdays, 4-6 p.m. Open Classes ; gather 6:30-7 p.m. Open Circles , Hamilton Temple, Wiccan Church of Canada.
Sweden
Soderhamn, Mondays, 7-9 p.m., meditation prayer, conversation, Gudinne Templet.
USA
Arlington VA: 3rd Sunday of month, gather 12:45 p.m., ritual 1 p.m. Moonfire CUUPS.
Baltimore MD: Sundays 10 a.m., Rites of Cafeina, Cedar Light Grove (ADF)
Canton CT: Sundays, 10:30 a.m. Services, Women's Temple: In Her Name

Geyersville CA: Sunday Services 2-4 p.m. Temple of Isis
Houston TX: Sundays, 10 a.m. Magdalene Community, Rothko Chapel; 1st &3rd Fridays at Noon, Group studying Gospel of Mary, Brigid's Place, Christ Church Cathedral.
Irvine CA: Sunday Services: 1st Service at 9:30 a.m. inward, meditative; 2nd service at 11 a.m., dancing, drumming, singing; see dates for guest speakers. Goddess Temple of Orange County,
Rockville MD: night before new moon, Dark Moon Book Group, Spiral Heart (Reclaiming).
San Francisco CA: Wednesdays, Christian Goddess Rosary, Ebenezer Lutheran Church; 1st Fridays, evenings at various locations, Woman's Spirituality group.
San Francisco CA: New Moon and Full Moon observances, Maa Batakali Cultural Mission.
St. Sandy UT: second Saturday of each month, 4:30 p.m., Isis Devotionals, Iseum of Muth/Lyceum of Auset and Heru em Aakhuti
Washington DC: 2nd Sunday of month; gather Noon, ritual 12:15 p.m. , National Arboretum, Becoming DC.
West Concord MA: 1st Monday, 7-9 p.m. Women's Circles; other ongoing groups include Demeter & Persephone's Circle for mothers and daughters; Council of Mother Bears; Menopause As Spiritual Journey; Menarche, for mothers and Daughter, at Women's Well.

We'll be happy to add your Goddess and spiritual feminist events (and those you know about that are open to the public) no matter where in the world they are. Leave a comment with your event, giving: Name of event, sponsoring organization (if any), town, date, time (if known), and, required: url of website where person can get more info (no pdf pages). (Do NOT give street addresses, phone numbers or email addresses. People should go to the website to get that info.) We plan to publish an Events Coil every month.

Austrians Celebrate Anniversary of Willendorf Find

Austria is issuing a stamp today as part of a celebration to mark the 100th anniversary of the discovery of the statue known as the "Venus of Willendorf." A special show about Her and similar figures will open tomorrow at the Natural History Museum (Naturhistorisches Museum) in Vienna (Wien), where She is permanently housed. According to news accounts, chocolates, soaps and other products in Her image will also be available.

Here is a shorter version of the above BBC link: http://tinyurl.com/5kct8s
A shorter link for the museum's Willendorf information page (in English) is
http://tinyurl.com/2nbxtl

UPDATE 1: Museum Willendorf Celebration Program (in German)
UPDATE 2: The stamp is in 3D!!! You can see it on at least two sites: the Austrian PO site, www.post.at followed by a long string so I've given you a tinyurl link; and at at British stamp publication, www.hellmail.co.uk/ also followed by a long string so I've linked it again with the help of tinyurl (try to ignore the rather flip headline). You can probably get the best idea of the 3D effect on the British site.

TAGS:news Willendorf spiritual feminism Goddess archeology Austria philately

Global Goddess Oracle: First Harvest '08 Issue

This issue of Global Goddess Oracle opens with a light-spiritied invocation - or prayer - of thanks to "Mother of Harvest" by Mary Lyons.

In "Ask Your Mama," Mama Donna Henes responds to a question about the appropriate size of a ritual group.

Maria Yraceburu discusses Apache beliefs in "Basic Evolutional Traits" including the 1st World of Love, the 2nd World of Kinship, the 3rd World of Time, the 4th World of Soul Sickness, and the 5th World of Coming Together.

How'd you like to meet the Goddesses Dot Compot, Pornie, Nerdix, Compuquia, Pimpernella, and Cyberia? You'll find them in "Found Goddess - The Computer Goddesses," part of Barbara Ardinger Ph.D's continuing hilarious series.

Dawn "Belladona" Thomas' contributions to this issue include: "Herb of the Season - Oat," "Moon Schedule from Lammas to Mabon," and a review of the e-book, In Her Service: Reflections from a Priestess of Aphrodite by Laurelei Dabrielle.

"Women - This is What Your Life is For" is attributed to Gayle Goldwin. But Goldwin writes that it is channeled material from "the Golden Circle of Ascended Feminine Masters." Nice piece, but personally I think women should be allowed to decide for themselves what their "life is for."

This first harvest issue also includes "In Memorial: Denessa Smith, 8/25/1965 - 7/28/2008," a tribute to the founder to the Tempest Smith Foundation.

Matrifocus: Lammas '08 Issue

Congrats to Matrifocus which with this 28th issue celebrates its 7th birthday!!!

Kate Clapper’s art, entitled "Spiraling," opens this Lammas issue.

Johanna Stuckey continues her exploration of Mesopotamian Goddesses with the article, "Ancient Grain Goddesses of the Eastern Mediterranean," in which she compares deities of this region with the Greek Demeter. Did you know, for example, that the more horns on the Goddess or God, the more important the deity? Do you know what grain is most usually represented in this part of the world? Well, I’m not going to tell you. . .pop quiz at Midnight will include material shown in ancient drawings that accompany the article.

Written in Santa Cruz amid wild fires, Vicki Noble’s "Get Beyond Fear: Save What You Love," tells about the Black Dakini (with pics and art).

In "One Woman’s Trash," Mary Swander writes about gardening, and about helping an Amish friend.

Susun Weed reveals ways to treat backache that your doctor probably never told you in "Back Ache First Aid Tips—The Wise Woman Way."

In "High on the Mother in the Desert," Lance writes about traveling through red canyons, across pink sands, and becoming aware of time, while trying to reconcile the Utah landscape’s matrist images with patriarchal names given them by colonists. Lance writes:

And after we uncover the ancient names, how hard would it be to include aboriginal names with every official reference to these natural monuments, these children of earth, wind, and water? It would demonstrate a bi-cultural consciousness, and stretch the imaginations of visitors. It would convey a reverence for the Mother, a connection with, rather than a domination of the Earth. It would go a long way towards reversing the colonizer mentality pervading U.S. and global patriarchal history.”

Poems include "Birthday" by Andrea Gibson, and "Monday Afternoon" by Sharon Brogan. This issue’s photo essay is "Clouds at Sunset, Blue Mounds Wisconsin" by Gwyn Padden-Lecthen.

Madelon Wise reviews the book Transforming Feminist Practice: Non-Violence, Social Justice and the Possibilities of a Spiritualized Feminism by Leela Fernandes. Wise begins the review by quoting from one of my posts on this blog.

In this issue’s editorial, "The Biggest Bully on the Block...Any Block," Feral explores the various meanings of "bully," and various types of bullies, at this particularly political time in the U.S.

Crossword puzzle? Yes, yes intellectual game-players, this issue has a crossword puzzle: "Grains of the World" by Sage Starwalker.