Buzz Coil: September '08

Gorgon Resurfaces : Blogger Laughing Medusa treats us to an ambitious and innovative 4-part series on "Finding the Female Hero." Part I (Sept.5) discusses Jungian archetypes and myths, with references to the works of Riane Eisler, Gerda Lerner, and Rosemary Radford Reuther. Part II (Sept. 8) begins looking for new forms to replace old hero forms. Part III (Sept 12), is about trans-mythic journeys to the Underworld, which may also be understood as "the Divine Feminine Womb" and how these myths differ with the gender of the hero. Part IV (Sept. 15) explores the new model of the female hero in popular fiction.

Evoking the Goddess: In his Sept. 22 post, "Balancing on Air" blogger Paul writes about the closing of some small churches in England, the symbolism of English Norman cathedrals, and, referencing Geraldine Charles article in the current Goddess Pages , the need for balance filled by Temples honoring Goddess(es).

Alive Mind & Spirit: In her Sept 17 post, "Does the Sex of God Matter?" Carol P. Christ connects Sarah Palin’s participation in "the hypermasculine world of the Christian Right," to "a vision of the world where believers are warriors," and discusses Elizabeth Gilbert’s contention (in Gilbert's book, Eat, Pray, Love) that calling God by exclusively masculine nouns and pronouns is okay.
Starhawk’s Sept. 25 post, "Collapse and Elections: My Lessons from Katrina," reviews the lessons of the 2006 hurricane in light of "a new round of storms, Wall Street deconstruction and capitalism in meltdown mode..." and tells us that she plans to vote for Obama.

Peacock Dreams: In her first post on Sept 11, T. Thorne Coyle fills out her voter registration form and reveals her election plans. In her second post for this day, she is "inspired" by Sarah Palin to download a certain movie.

Broomstick Chronicles: In her Sept. 23 post, "The Veil Grows Thin" , M. Macha NightMare shares a video of San Francisco Reclaiming’s Spiral Dances dating back to 1979.

At Brigid’s Forge: Blogger Lunaea honors the Greek Goddess Persephone on the Autumn Equinox in her Sept. 22 post, "Prayer to Persephone."

Textual Arachne: In her Sept 22 post, "Balancing, spinning, moving," Blogger Arachne shares Equinox reflections and prayer.

The Wild Hunt:Jason Pitzl-Water looks at a variety of traditions in his Sept. 22 post, "Happy Autumnal Equinox."

Goddess in a Teapot: Seeing a fox loping across her office parking lot starts Carolyn Lee Boyd on a fascinating post on Sept. 19, "The Wild is Where You Find It". Carolyn finds it in what many people would think an unlikely place. (No, I’m not going to tell you–go read the post.)

House of Inanna: In his Sept 25 post, "....I am now back on track," Brian Charles writes of the restorative power of a ceremony in the Budapest Goddess Temple.

At the end of desire: In two posts on Sept. 1, blogger Inanna shares her "Pagan Church" experience that includes pancakes, her new dog, her partner, and other joys.

The Village Witch: In her Sept. 25 post, "Feel the Fear and Let it Go" in her Asheville NC Citizen-Times blog, Byron Ballard tells of a working her group did to name and let go of a fear, with chanting and toning.

Washington Post: On Faith Starhawk writes on "Abortion and the Goddess" in her Sept. 25 post. She quotes a passages from what she wrote in The Pagan Book of Living and Dying, of which I quote only a part here:

"It is in our encounter with the the mysteries of birth and death, growth and suffering, pleasure and sorrow, that we meet the Goddess. So to take away our right to have that encounter, to face that often painful and difficult choice, is to deny a woman's deepest spiritual self."

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

Palin & Religion

Concerns about the effect US Republican Veep candidate Sarah Palin’s religious affiliations might have on a McCain/Palin administration – or, even worse, should she ascend to the Presidency – are being expressed by many bloggers. The congregation of The Assembly of God church with which Palin is connected in Alaska is known to have beliefs connected with Christian Reconstructionism , "Third Wave" Christianity, and Dominionism. The latter takes its name from the exhortation in Genesis for "man" to have "dominion" over the Earth. According to some accounts , the Dominionists take this further, believing that God wants believers in (a certain type of?) Christianity to have dominion over people of other faiths, and has as one of its aims, establishing a Christian theocracy in the USA, with militarism and violence part of the picture. Let me say at the outset, that although it’s known that people in Palin's church advocate this and the other beliefs, what’s not known is to what extent Palin believes and acts on these. This would make an excellent question for a reporter to ask her – should the McCain campaign ever allow her to answer reporters’ questions.

There are at least two sets of beliefs adopted by Palin’s AoG church that readers of this blog might want to examine further. First, is the connection between Pastor Thomas Muthee , who, looking for the cause of a Kenyan village’s problems that included an increase in car crashes, pointed the finger at a woman in the village whom he accused of witchcraft, eventually causing the woman to flee for her safety. This is the aspect of Palin’s religious connections that has been most widely covered in the mainstream media. Palin credits Muthee's praying over her, with being largely responsible for her being elected Governor of Alaska. Palin has praised him for his "prayer" in which rather than ask God to help Palin win, Muthee tells God to clear the way for Sarah to come into political power. Update: An additional instance of Muthee praying to protect Palin from "witchcraft" was reported shortly after this post was written. See AP article linked below.

I'm not aware of there being much, if any MSM discussion about another set of beliefs, possibly because of their complexity. But I think this is of interest to readers of this blog. Dominionists/Christian Reconstructionists/"Third Wave" Christians conflate the "Queen of Heaven" against whom the prophet Jeremiah rails in the Hebrew scriptures, with "Diana" (aka "Isis") of Ephesus, and with Mary, Mother of Jesus (apparently because she was called "Queen of Heaven" extra-biblically by the Catholic church). All these they lump together as being demonic Diana, the enemy of Dominionist Christians.

Here are some links to more on all of this (which will lead you to even more....):
Dark Christianity--many posts, the most recent to date on Sept. 24
Wild Hunt Blog--several articles, latest Sept 18:"Update:Palin's Anti-Pagan Co-Religionists"
Daily Kos--"You Tube Censors Viral Video On Palin's churches"
Street Prophets--"Voodoo Palin...."
Street Prophets--"Sarah Palin:Daimonizomai & Belief in Powerful Demon Possession"
Starhawk on WoPo "On Faith"
Radical Goddess Theology--"Curled My Hair"
Alternet.org--"Weird Theology in Wasilla: A Look Inside Sarah Palin's Pentecostal Church" (includes discussion of anti-Goddess aspect)
AP: "Palin once blessed to be free of 'witchcraft' "

TAGS:news Sarah Palin Elections Dominionism Thomas Muthee Christian Reconstruction Queen of Heaven

Events Coil: Sept. 13 - Nov. 1

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-October and will include events listed here that haven't yet happened, plus new events through the end 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.

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, gather 12:30 p.m., ritual 1 p.m., Fall Equinox/Mabon, Connect DC, Washington DC

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

Sept. 30, gather 7 p.m., Service 7:30 p.m., Rosh Hashanah for Jewitches, Pagans, etc., with Kitzerah Carly, Hyattsville MD

Oct. 5, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Workshop: The Goddess Tara or Quan Yin with Lisa Prajna Hallstrom, The Women's Well, Concord MA

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

Oct. 14, 7:30 p.m. Full Moon on the Mountain, Montreal Reclaiming, Montreal CANADA

Oct. 14, 7 p.m. Full Moon Drumming with Melinda Rodriguez, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Oct. 14, gather 7 p.m., ritual 7:30 p.m. Full Moon Ritual, Temple of Goddess Spirituaity Dedicated to Sekhmet, Indian Springs NV

Oct. 15, 7-9 p.m. Practices of the Great Wisdom Mother with Lama Tsultrim Allione, Womens Well, Concord MA

Oct. 17-19, Hallows Gathering, Re-formed Congregation of the Goddess, Wisconsin Dells, WI

Oct. 20, 7 p.m. Exploring the Body of the Mother with Virginia Anderson, Ph.D, Center for the Divine Feminine, Palo Alto CA

Oct. 24, marketplace opens 6:30, ritual begins 7:30 p.m. 25th Annual Womyn's Ritual and Spiral Dance, Daughters of the Goddess, San Francisco CA

Oct. 25, 7 p.m. Crone Encounter Ritual, Circle of Aradia (Dianic), Sherman Oaks CA

Oct. 26, 11 a.m., Goddess Service honoring Yama-Na-Shinbo, with guest priestess Jeanne Michele, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Oct. 28, 7 p.m. New Moon Women's Mysteries, Temple of Goddess Spirituality Dedicated to Sekhmet, Indian Springs NV

Oct. 28, 7 p.m. New Moon Drumming, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Oct. 21-Nov. 2, Samhain Festival, Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserves, Mt. Horeb/Barneveld WI

Oct. 31, 7:30 p.m. Samhain Ceremony, Glastonbury Goddess Temple, Glastonbury ENGLAND

Oct. 31, gather 7 p.m., ritual 7:30 p.m., Samhain, Temple of Goddess Spirituality Dedicated to Sekhmet, Indian Springs NV

Nov. 1, 5 p.m., Beltane/High Spring, Akkadamie PaGaian Cosmology, Blue Mountains AUSTRALIA

Nov. 1, 7 p.m. Samhain, Temple of the Sacred Arts, Germantown MD

Nov. 1, doors open 6 p.m., ritual starts 7:30 p.m., Spiral Dance (Reclaiming) San Francisco CA

Nov. 1, gather 6 p.m., ritual 7 p.m. "Hallows" with the Abbey of Avalon, 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.

Great Britain
Glastonbury, England, ongoing, Priestess/Priest of Avalon Training Program, both in Glastonbury (Avalon) and by correspondence, Glastonbury Goddess Temple.

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.
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,
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.