Buzz Coil: July '09

Radical Goddess Thealogy: In her June 25 post, "Dressing the Bride," Blogger Athana describes her appreciation of Geraldine Charles’ spectacular poem of the same name, which appears in the current issue of Goddess Pages . Don’t miss the good news ending of the post!

Alive Mind and Spirit: Carol P. Christ’s July 17 post, "Divine Birth Or Birth By Mothers in Ancient Greece," offers an alternative theory to one expressed by Marguerite Rigoglioso, who claims in her recent book that certain ancient Greek priestesses were able to give birth parthenogenically, like the Goddesses to whom they were devoted. However Carol Christ wonders:

if the “divine birth” priestesses in ancient Greece may have been dedicated not to producing children “miraculously” but rather to preserving matrilineal customs. In this case “Virgin” Goddesses would be those who gave birth in situations where motherhood was valued and biological fatherhood was not recognized as important—their children like all children in matrilineal societies were children of mothers. Perhaps the divine birth priestesses were struggling to retain the power and honor given to women in earlier matrilineal cultures that the patrilineal and patriarchal Greeks sought to overthrow.

Evoking the Goddess: Blogger Paul writes of a chapel on the Scottish Isle of Barra that is dedicated to St. Finnbar yet contains Goddess iconography. As he explains in his July 1 post, "Cille Bharra," Finnbar’s mother conceived him out of wedlock, for which she was sentenced to death. But he spoke from the womb and saved her life.

Daily Kos: Blogger Tara the Antisocial Social Worker has resumed her wonderful Wednesday series on Goddess spirituality and political activism, "How a Woman becomes a Goddess," in which she combines the myths of various goddesses with current socio-political issues. Her July 1 diary is about Unelanuhi, a Cherokee sun deity whose story, she says, has parallels with those of Amaterasu and Demeter/Persephone, yet has a different relationship with "privilege," which Tara then ties in with objections by some (not me!) to the SCOTUS nomination of Sonia Sotomayor. The July 8 diary is about Kali, and was prompted by the war in Afghanistan. On July 15, her diary focuses on Inanna, with a full retelling of the Goddess’s quest to the underworld, which blogger Tara compares to the situation of the US since 9/11, writing:

We stand naked at the gate furthest from the world above ground. It’s a long, cold and dark walk back. And when we reach the top, we need to have the courage to face the ones who wanted to keep us in the Underworld. Perhaps it would be easier to just give up and hang on a hook in the darkness.

These and previous diaries in this remarkable series can be found here. Her next diary will be after Lammas.

Driving Audhumla: In her July 12 post, "Snuggling under the Crone Quilt," Victoria Slind-Flor writes about the unusual approach she and a friend took when teaching a class for Pagan women about to become crones.

Blog o’Gnosis: In her July 21 post, "Elders, Revisited," Anne Hill relates a dream she had when 17 to the role of Pagan elders and "spiritual loneliness."

The Magdalene Review: Lesa Bellevie reviews on July 22 a UK TV documentary , "Mary Magdalene: Saint or Sinner," whose conclusion surprised her. She visits an issue many think settled in her July 24 post, "MM as harlot: a new perspective in academia."

Knitting, Sex and God: Blogger Anna offers a Mary Magdalene quote in a July 22 post, "From the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, on her Feast Day."

The Village Witch: In her July 9 Asheville (NC) Citizen-Times blog post, "A Saining! A Blessing!" Byron Ballard writes about various namings and names in a number of traditions.

The House of Inanna: In what may be a more-than-usually controversial post for some readers titled "and god divided," blogger Indris on June 25 brings together World War II, Hitler and Nazism, Zionism, the treatment of Roma in Europe, and other issues, tracing the root of the problems to what he sees as the divisiveness of Abrahamic religions as epitomized by Genesis 1:1-18.

The Washington Post’s "On Faith": In response to Jimmy Carter’s statement on women and religion, WaPo asked a panel "Who Speaks for Women?" Most of the panelists disagreed, for one reason or another, with Carter (and other self-appointed world "Elders" including Nelson Mandala and Desmond Tutu, who endorsed the statement). But there are some woman-positive responses, including those by Susan Brooks Thistelwaite, John Shelby Spong, and Herb Silverman. So far, no Starhawk :-(
UPDATE 7/29: This discussion now has a post from Starhawk :-). She concludes:

I applaud Jimmy Carter's courage and the stand he and the Elders have taken. It will mean a great difference in many women's lives.

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

Mary Magdalene's Day

Today is the Mary Magdalene's Feast Day. Back in 2006 we wrote a post, "A Feast for Mary Magdalene," and in the last several days we have noted a number of visits specifically to that page and, at this writing, two comments added. So, since it seems to be an oldie but goodie, if you want to read it (again?) go here.

Jimmy Carter Leaves Southern Baptists Citing Doctrines on Women

Former US President Jimmy Carter, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, has published a formal statement about why he has left the Southern Baptist Convention. Carter writes that his reason for leaving the church with which he has long been affiliated is its policies and doctrines that hold that females are inferior to males and must be subservient to them. Here are links to his article in the Manchester Guardian (UK) and theage.com.au As far as I can see, same article in both publications. Well worth the read!

TAGS:news Jimmy Carter women and religion Southern Baptist Convention

Science & the Cutting Edge of Goddess Thought

This is the post I promised earlier this month to mark our 3rd blogging year–or the beginning of our 4th year—however you like to look at the passage of time. I’d like to explore with you the ideas of some authors who "push the envelope" of what has been become traditional in Goddess spirituality: Carol P. Christ, Glenys Livingstone, Jeri Lyn Studebaker and Judith Laura (who is me, when I’m not blogging). These aren't the only authors writing "on the edge"; they are mentioned here as being representative of a trend in Goddess spirituality, which many people think of as looking toward the past to prehistory, and too few realize can also represent the cutting edge of theo/alogical thinking. I want to invite you, after you read this post, to add as comments other authors you think are part of this trend.

Carol P. Christ’s book, She Who Changes (2003) brings us to the philosophical edge not only of Goddess spirituality, or Goddess religion as she sometimes calls it, but also of the(o/a)logy in general, by combining Goddess thought with process theology. Process theology could be said to be a philosophy of religion that strives to be scientifically based. At the beginning of this book's second chapter, "Change Is," Christ writes:

For process theology, the whole universe is alive and changing, continually co-creating new possibilities of life....The world is a web of changing individuals interacting....The body is the locus of changing life....The universe as a whole is changing in a continual process of evolution....all individuals, including human beings, other animals, cells, atoms, and particles of atoms, exercise creative freedom. Goddess/God is fully involved in the changing lives of every individual in the universe and in the evolution of the whole. Creation is co-creation. The whole world or cosmos is the body of Goddess/God. For process theology change, freedom or creativity, are interconnected. Everything in the world is in process.

Seems compatible with Goddess spirituality, right?

A little further on, Christ refers specifically to the "uncertainty principle" of physics and writes that the incorporation of this concept into process theology leaves room for freedom of humans and other animals as well as "the freedom of atoms to act in unexpected ways." She also writes that process theology is different from notions, including some Goddess and Pagan views and the Gaia hypothosis, that see the Earth as the "world," which is identified with female deity. Christ writes that the process view insists that the "world"

is not just the earth, but the universe as a whole...that is the body of Goddess/God.

I see nothing incompatible with Goddess thought in this, in fact I and others (see below) have also encouraged such thinking.

Where some of us may have trouble with adopting process theology whole cloth is in its view of divination and death. To a process theologian, as Christ explains, predictive divination is useless and there is no continuation of conscious being after death. However, IMO, it may be that we need to consider that perhaps the objections of process theologians are based on faulty assumptions. In her introduction, Christ writes that when divination is used to get information about the future, it is based on assumptions about the future. But she describes only one such assumption (which conflicts with process theology because it doesn’t account for change or allow freedom):

One assumption that might be made is that there is some perspective...from which the future is already determined, already known, or has already happened

Though this may be one assumption, it is not the assumption that most of the divining Pagans and Goddessians I’m acquainted with make. Speaking for myself, in the type of divination I practice, Tarot, I assume quite differently and inform people I read for that the future is not set in stone, that they retain free will, and that we are looking at possibilities, likelihoods even, but not certainties. We shuffle the cards to achieve randomness, a quality of the Universe. I also studied psychic messaging (no cards) with a nonPagan whose inspiration came from the Western Esoteric Tradition. Easily the most influential metaphysical teacher in DC in the second half of the 20th century, she emphasized that in a psychic reading, the readee retains free will.

In chapter 5, "Life is Meant to be Enjoyed," setting up the process argument that "life" after death is impossible, Christ writes:

...for process thinking, body and soul or body and mind are understood to be one continuum. There is no reason to expect that the mind and soul can live apart from the body.

This seems to me to be a conflation of "mind" and "soul" that may not be accurate. Are mind and soul the same? Or is mind merely a lay term for "brain" or "intellect?" To me, it’s closer to the latter. "Mind" is not synonymous with "soul" to me; "soul" is closer to "spirit," and whether there is such a thing as "soul" (or spirit) cannot be proven or disproven scientifically. The process position, as Christ presents it, is that there are no such things as "personal immortality" and "reincarnation." Yet she writes that process theology also includes the concept that "There is nothing in life or death that can separate us from the love of Goddess/God." How to reconcile these statements? To me, "personal immortality" and "reincarnation" are two different religious beliefs or even doctrines. "Personal immortality," sounds like a Christian description to me; it was theoretically what humans gained through Jesus’s crucifixion. Reincarnation—that human souls reincarnate as other humans and sometimes animals—is a concept that originates in Eastern religions (though mystical Judaism has a similar concept, it has some distinct differences). These are just two possibilities of what happens after physical death. And even if they aren’t "true," that still leaves other possibilities. The question to me is, Is there persistence of consciousness on some level after physical death in this world? In discussing her own mother’s death, Carol Christ recalls feeling that her mother was "going to love." How can a person go to love, and be with love (after physical death) if she loses consciousness of that love? How can nothing separate us from the love of Goddess if we no longer are conscious of that love. Wouldn’t loss of that consciousness necessarily entail separation?

Since we cannot really know, I prefer leaving options open regarding the persistence of consciousness after death. Although many involved in Goddess spirituality believe in such enduring consciousness, and some also believe in reincarnation, there is also room for those who believe that this life is all we have, that we "live on" in the recycling of our biological materials and in the influence our lives have had on others (which is the position of process theology). I think allowing for more than one view in a subject to which we have conflicting data is, at root, more compatible with the scientific method.

OK. I’ve gotten more wound-up with She Who Changes than I planned, so moving right along:

Glenys Livingstone in her book, PaGaian Cosmology (2005, 2008), relies heavily on science—mostly biology and chemistry with some physics—to construct a contemporary understanding of Goddess consistent with scientific thought. Her book also is probably the first to fully explore the meaning of the Sabbats in the Southern Hemisphere (her home is in Australia).

In her Preface, Livingstone explains that word, "PaGaian":

...expresses a reclaiming of the term "Pagan" as meaning a person who dwells in "country", yet with "Gaian" spliced in, it expresses a renewed and contemporary understanding of that "country". Gaia is a name for humanity’s Habitat, an ancient yet new name, which I understand to include whole Earth and Cosmos—there is no seam separating Earth from Her context.

In the first chapter, she says that what she is speaking of is

not a Deity: therefore this is not "theology" nor even "thealogy". It is cosmology: what I am speaking of and work with is a Cosmos—a place....PaGaian Cosmology is a way of speaking about this Place: it implies a metaphor and a practice. It is a synthesis of "celebrating Gaia-Goddess-Cosmos".

She writes that cosmogenesis is the "ongoing creative activity of the Universe" and quotes Brian Swimme and Thomas Berry on Einstein’s Cosmogenetic Principle. Livingstone writes:

That principle states that every point in the Universe is the same as every other point—basically that hydrogen in this part of the cosmos can be assumed to be the same as hydrogen in another part of the cosmos.

This principle, she continues, also states that the "dynamics of evolution" are the same at every point in the Universe, and that this means, among other things, that

the same Creative principle that gives birth to the Universe, pervades every drop of it with the same creative potency—that the center of the Universe is everywhere.

In the second chapter, exploring embodiment, Livingstone writes:

We do have a genetic code within each cell, that is a physical memory of our origins...[ellipses hers] we are seeded with memory. This is especially true of the female body, whose ovum transmits the cytoplasm from one generation to the next.

And a few paragraphs later:

I am suspicious of "texts" that would erase the body...since in patriarchal cultures it is the female particularly that is associated with physical reality....The early Greeks denied her inclusion in the "kosmos" because of her messy body.

In a discussion of the terms "masculine" and "feminine," Livingstone looks at the popularity of describing the "active differentiating force" as masculine and relating that "force" to consciousness, with the corollary that "maternal" consciousness is "simply amorphous and chaotic, and incapable of evolutionary move." She counters by pointing out that

The biological emergence of the male at about 1.5 billion years ago, is quite distinct from so-called "emergence of consciousness", which is quite distinct from the development of Neolithic matristic cultures, which again is quite distinct from the development of patriarchy....There is no need to masculinize this force/face that urges the move into individuation and complexification....the consciousness of the Mother is not an amorphous sludge....She has...full creative capacity, has always been quite capable of change; in fact, it is in her very nature.

In the chapter, "Cosmogenesis and the Female Metaphor," Livingstone integrates scientific theories of cosmogenesis with the Virgin, Mother, and Crone aspects of Goddess. Later, she examines the spirochete bacterium as "an example of the Female Metaphor."

Jeri Lyn Studebaker’s book, Switching to Goddess (2008), contains a large amount of material about ancient (and persisting) Goddess cultures. Yet it also includes science-based material. Though warning against using science in place of or as a form of religion, Studebaker uses significant amounts of material from scientific literature–especially biology and biochemistry–to back up her arguments on such topics as human behavior, the difference between men and women (mothers, in particular), the role of oxytocin and the relationship of all of this to how we image deity. For more on this book, see our review .

Moving on to Judith Laura’s Goddess Spirituality for the 21st Century (1997, 2008): the first chapter explores concepts in Goddess spirituality including various understandings of "Goddess" that go beyond the conception of a specific concrete deity:

...this understanding of Goddess as "something more than immanence" goes even beyond panentheism because energy is exchanged between the creator and the created. This synergistic divinity is individual people, animals, the Earth, the planets—yet is also greater than the sum of these parts, providing guidance, inspiration, and healing that we as individuals or even as a group, cannot provide on our own. Goddess is within each of us and we are within her. She flows through all; she flows outwardly to connect us to one another and to nature in which she is also immanent.

And a little later in that same chapter, the author writes that a concept similar to Mary Daly’s "Be-ing" as a verb rather than a noun has become common among Goddessians and continues:

Others consider Goddess a term for a form of energy or a metaphor....Understanding Goddess as spiritual energy means that we accept that there is a spiritual dimension to the Universe, that we can (and do) interact with this dimension, and that this dimension is best understood when characterized as Goddess....The difference between understanding Goddess as energy and Goddess as metaphor is that to understand the former, you need to accept that there is a spiritual dimension to the universe. If you cannot accept this...then you can still understand and honor the Goddess as a metaphor for the natural world, which is divine....our metaphor for divinity is Goddess the Process who is one with the Universe ....she is one with her creation...the creator and created are in constant flow...the universe is interactive and in constant flux...we are to live as part of nature.

In the book’s last chapter, "Taking the Quantum Leap," ideas from new physics—such as the formation of the Universe; space-time and relativity (which the author sees being a possible explanation for intuitive or psychic experiences); theories of light and cones of energy; particle physics including the uncertainty principle and the fields of gravity, electromagnetism, and weak and strong interaction; dark matter, black holes, and "the void"—are integrated with Goddess concepts. A section on "The Universe: Stars and Spirals" begins, in part, with the following:

Spirituality that honors the Goddess is often called "Earth-centered"....The term was first applied to the cosmology of Ptolemy...the Earth was said to be the center of Universe....Today we know the Universe behaves quite differently, and we are certainly aware that Earth is not its center. When we talk about Earth-centered spirituality or Earth religions today, we are more likely to have in mind our interdependence with the Earth from an ecological perspective and spirituality that fosters closeness to the Earth and its cycles. Yet we would do well to reexamine the term "Earth-centered" in light of its original meaning and our current intent....
Women have been culturally inculcated to believe science is too much for them to
handle....Patriarchal religion has taught us that science and religion are incompatible. Neither of these notions is true....We may, therefore, want to consider whether it might not be more appropriate to refer to what we now call Earth-centered spirituality as nature-centered, and its religions, nature religions. These terms include not only the Earth, but also the rest of the cosmos.

Even in the unlikely event that it were proven that the generally accepted version of Goddess veneration in prehistory was a figment of our collective imaginations, works such as these would argue strongly for the legitimacy of the Goddess path because they speak to issues in today’s world and are compatible with contemporary science. We will continue to be inspired by the Goddess cultures of the distant past, yet it’s clear to me that a significant part of the present and future of Goddess spirituality/religions lies in their compatibility with science. Critics who see us as a movement tied to and only influenced by the Neolithic are not looking at the whole picture.

TAGS:life science and religion spiritual feminism Goddess Goddess spirituality women and religion

Events Coil: July 16-Sept.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. Ongoing events are listed after the dated events. The next Events Coil is planned for mid-August and will include events listed here that haven't yet happened, plus new events through late September. If you have an event you want listed, please leave info as a comment. See the end of this Coil for what info we need for listings.

Now-July 26, "Mami Wata: Arts for Water Spirits in Africa & Its Diasporas," Smithsonian Museum of African Arts, Washington DC

July 16, start of online course, "Spiritual Heritages of Ancient Europe," with Max Dashu, World Wide Web

July 18 7 p.m., Marguerite Rigolglioso speaks on "The Cult of Divine Birth in Ancient Greece," Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

July 19, 11 a.m., Goddess Service, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

July 19 , 2-4 p.m., Isis and Mary Magdalene Birthday Salon and Tea, Vintage Tea Leaf Room, Long Beach CA

July 21, time tba, New Moon Celebration, Matreum of Cybele, Palenville NY

July 21, 7 p.m., New Moon Drumming, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

July 22, 2 p.m., Magdalene Feast Day, New Moon Healing, Glastonbury Goddess Temple, Glastonbury ENGLAND

July 22, 7 p.m. New Moon Women's Women's Mysteries, Temple of Goddess Spirituality Dedicated to Sekhmet, Indian Springs NV

July 23, 7 p.m., Chanting for Peace with Anique Radiant Heart, Glastonbury Goddess Temple, Glastonbury ENGLAND

July 23-25, Workshop with Melinda Allec (no "All Souls Service" on July 24-see "Ongoing" below), Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

July 26-Aug. 2 Goddess Conference 2009, with many presenters including Lydia Ruyle, Anique Radiant Heart, Starhawk, Jacqui Woodward-Smith, Carolyn Hillyer, Sandra Roman, Kathy Jones, Lady Olivia Durdin-Robinson, Glastonbury, ENGLAND

July 28, 7:30 p.m., Lammas Ceremony, Glastonbury Goddess Temple, Glastonbury ENGLAND

July 31-Aug.2, Goddess Gather, Magickal Cauldron, Isis Oasis, Geyersville CA

July 26, 11 a.m. Goddess Service with Nancy Johnson, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

July 28, 6-9 p.m. Seasonal Dressing of Temple for Lammas, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

July 31-Aug. 2, Winter Retreat: "Coming Home to Ourselves," Daughters of Ishtar, near Harvey AUSTRALIA

July 31-Aug. 2, Green Spirit Festival, a Celtic Lughnassadh Celebration, Circle Sanctuary Nature Preserve near Barnesveld WI

Aug. 1, 19u30, Lammas, Goddess Temple, Gent BELGIUM

Aug. 1, gather 12:30 p.m., ritual 1 p.m. Lammas, Reclaiming, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco CA

Aug. 1, 7 p.m. Lammas, Temple of the Sacred Arts, Germantown MD

Aug. 1, doors open 6:30 p.m., ritual begins 7 p.m., doors lock 7:15 p.m.,Lammas with Aeyrie Silver Eagle, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Aug. 1, gather 7 p.m., ritual 7:30 p.m. Lammas, Temple of Goddess Spirituality Dedicated to Sekhmet, Indian Springs NV

Aug. 2, doors open 12.00 uur, ceremony begins 14.00 uur, Lammas, Nederlandse Godinnen Tempel, Hillgom NEDERLAND

Aug. 2, 11 a.m. Goddess Service, "The Queens Speak" Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Aug 4, time tba, Celebrate Lunar Lammas and Tailtu, Daughters of the Goddess, San Francisco CA

Aug. 4, 7:30 p.m. The Craft Connection, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Aug. 5, time tba, Full Moon Celebration, Matreum of Cybele, Palenville NY

Aug. 5, 7 p.m. Full Moon Drumming, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Aug. 6, gather 7 p.m., ritual 7:30, Full Moon Ritual, Temple of Goddess Spirituality Dedicated to Sekhmet, Indian Springs NV

Aug. 8, 6 p.m. Imbolc/Early Spring, PaGaian Akkademie, Blue Mountains AUSTRALIA

Aug. 9, 11 a.m. Goddess Service with Rev. Karen Tate, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Aug. 14-16, Harvest Meadows Women's Festival, Matreum of Cybele, Palenville NY

Aug. 14, 8 p.m. Anique Radiant Heart in Concert, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Aug. 15, 2 p.m. "Invoking Pele," workshop on releasing anger with Anique Radiant Heart; 7 p.m. "The Fragrant Heart Puja," workshop with Rev. Ayanna Mojica, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Aug. 16, 11 a.m., Goddess Service with Anique Radiant Heart, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Aug. 20, 2 p.m. New Moon Healing, Glastonbury Goddess Temple, Glastonbury ENGLAND

Aug. 20, doors open 6:30 p.m., New Moon Drumming, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Aug. 20, 7 p.m. New Moon Women's Mysteries, Temple of Goddess Spirituality Dedicated to Sekhmet, Indian Springs NV

Aug. 21, time tba, New Moon Celebration, Matreum of Cybele, Palenville NY

Aug. 22, Lady of the Lake Workshop with Viviane, Glastonbury Goddess Temple, Glastonbury ENGLAND

Aug. 22, 7 p.m. Magickal Summer's Eve of Revelry, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Aug. 23, 11 a.m.Goddess Service honoring Sekhmet, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Aug. 29, 1 p.m. Middle Eastern Drum Workshop, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Aug. 30, 11 a.m. Ceremonial Healing Day, Glastonbury Goddess Temple, Glastonbury ENGLAND

Sept. 1 7:30 p.m. The Craft Connection, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Ongoing

Australia
Perth (White Gum Valley): Mondays, 17:30, Chalice Ceremony, Daughters of Ishtar.

Belgium
Gent, most days 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Goddess Temple open for personal prayers.

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: Priestess/Priest of Avalon Training Program, both in Glastonbury (Avalon) and by correspondence, Glastonbury Goddess Temple.
Glastonbury: Most days except Mondays, Noon-4 p.m. Temple Open for personal prayers; Tuesdays, 6:30 p.m. Belly Dancing; Thursdays, 7 p.m. Temple Ritual Dance Class, Glastonbury Goddess Temple.

Sweden
Soderhamn, Gudinne Temple Open weekdays Noon-6 p.m. Mondays, 7-9 p.m., meditation prayer, conversation.

USA
Arlington VA: 3rd Sunday of month, time tba, ritual Moonfire.
Canton CT: Sundays, 10:30 a.m. Services, Women's Temple: In Her Name
Charleston SC: 1st Tuesday of month, Women's Circle, The Sophia Institute
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. until July 5, then 10 a.m. inward, meditative; 2nd service at 11 a.m., dancing, drumming, singing; see dates for guest speakers. Friday services, gather 6 p.m., service 6:30 p.m. "All Souls in Reverence." Goddess Temple of Orange County
Palenville NY: 1st Saturday of month, 4 p.m. Goddess Meet-Up Group, Matreum of Cybele.
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 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, no password-protected 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.

Our Third Blogaversary!

Our Third Blogaversary slipped quietly by us while we were celebrating Independence Day. I hope to blog a "think piece" later this month to initiate our 4th year. Meanwhile, I want to thank the other bloggers, our guest bloggers, everyone who leaves comments and who links to our posts - and all our readers - for their participation in Medusa Coils, and for making blogging here a very enriching experience for me.