Goddess Pages: Spring Issue

Here are the free online articles, poems, and reviews in the Spring Issue of Goddess Pages :

"Avatar, Religious Oppression of Women and the Syndrome of the Male Messiah," by Lauren Kaye Clark claims there is a trend in Jimmy Carter’s announcement about leaving the Southern Baptist Church due to its "silencing and oppression of women and girls," Nelson Mandala’s formation of the Elders Council to address misogyny supported by "various religious doctrines", and the Dali Lama’s declaration that he is a feminist. Clark believes that the publicity surrounding these actions sends a message that "true women’s liberation comes from men." She then links this to the controversies surrounding the film, "Avatar." Clark concludes:

When we examine the liberation of women from religious oppression, it is not to state that men cannot be part of such movement....what needs to change is the negative reception of women (specifically in the mainstream media) who bring up such contradictions....

An anonymously-written article, "Demeter’s Story of Spring," is a compelling contemporary story of a mother and adopted daughter told through the lens of the Demeter-Persephone myth.

In "Womb with a View—Embracing the Waves of Change," Kathy Jones writes about a recent Goddess retreat in Maui, of which she was one of three leaders. The retreat focused on a Hawaiian lizard Goddess. Jones also discusses her previous visit to the Hawaiian island, recalling interactions with Elders there that helped her realize

...that the Goddess work we were doing in Glastonbury was directly connected to the spiritual work of other indigenous peoples across the world. We were not just an isolated blip in the ocean of patriarchy, but part of a living network of remembrance of Goddess all over the world.

"Six Women in Search of the Goddess in Crete" by Rachael Clyne gives an account of a tour lead by Cheryl Straffon and Lana Jarvis through Knossos, a Minoan cemetery at Phourni, Mt. Juctas, 2 Goddess caves, Malia Palace temple, Heraklion Museum and other Goddess sites.

The journal continues its publication of first rate poetry with:
"Beside the Altar" by Alison Leonard
"Black Balsam and "Looking Glass" by Annelinde Metzner
" Marjory’s Garden" (an extraordinary prose-poem) by Patricia Monaghan
"Re-membered" and "The Kavousi Olive Tree," by Rachael Clyne.

Geraldine Charles reviews the books, Daughters of the Witching Hill by Mary Sharratt and The High Heeled Guide to Entertainment by Alice Grist.

The journal also has "premium content" which you pay and login to read in the entirety. (After a year, premium articles are available free in the journal’s online archives). This issue’s premium content articles are: "Celtic Warrior Queens Cartinandia and Boudicca: Guidance for Women Today?" by Mari Ziolkowski, "Frolicking with the Fairies" by Susun S Weed, and "Goddess Reflections" by Samjhana Moon.

Goddess Pages also publishes a print edition in the UK, which can be ordered world-wide.