Buzz Coil: August '10

A look at some posts of interest from our blogroll and sometimes beyond:

The Village Witch: In the Asheville (NC) Citizen-Times, Byron Ballard’s Aug. 24 post, "Osun Veneration" gives information about a celebration this Friday, Aug. 27, in Asheville NC. The event is sponsored by the Zamaria African Cultural Center and honors their sister city, Osgobo, Nigeria, and the Orisha Osun (also spelled, Oshun). Mother Grove Goddess Temple is creating the event’s altars for both Osun and Yemaya.

Association for the Study of Women & Mythology: In an Aug. 4 post, ASWM announces their "March 12-13 Symposium in Philadelphia". The keynoter will be Dr. Miranda Shaw, author of books on women and Buddhism and Buddhist Goddesses. More info to come...

Tablet: An Aug. 20 post by Jeremy Gillick, with the (imo) unfortunate title "Priestly Caste," is about the Kohenet (Hebrew priestesses) and other feminist and "earth-based" groups within Judaism.

Hecate: Blogger Hecate continues her campaign to get people—especially journalists, bloggers, and others who write for public consumption—to capitalize Pagan, Witch, and related terms especially in situations where other religions/spiritual paths would be capitalized. In her Aug. 21 post, "People Keep Doing It. I’m Going to Keep Complaining," she links to the above Tablet post as an example. Her moving Aug. 13 post, "Red in Tooth and Claw," starts with a quote from Richard Louv about a trend that keeps children from experiencing nature. She then segues into a memory of when she was a girl and her younger sister seemed to disappear during a walk along a creek, an experience which turned spiritual and sustained her later in life.

Dirt Worship: In her Aug. 21 post, "Home Again—and on to the Next Adventure," Starhawk writes about returning home from two Earth Activist trainings to find her garden improperly tended, and about future journeys to Reclaiming’s "Dandelion," to the Goddess Conference in Spain and events elsewhere in Europe.

PaGaian: Glenys Livingstone tells us about "Equinox Spring/Autumn at EarthGaia," in her Aug. 22 post about the moments of balance at approaching Autumn Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere and Spring Equinox in the Southern Hemisphere, where she lives. Her Aug. 8 post, "Sacred Images -August New Moon" features a pic of Judy Chicago’s Dinner Party setting for Artemis Gentileschi, with info and links about Gentileschi.
　
Pagan Godspell: In her Aug. 10 post, "To Witness Beauty: Thoughts on Ritual," blogger Ruby Sara recalls a summer solstice ritual from several years ago and helps us appreciate why it was so meaningful. In her Aug. 16 post, "Bride of Good News Communique," she announces that she is reinstituting Good New Communiques and presents "#3012657."

The Great Tininess: Blogger Johnny Rapture’s Aug. 13 post, "On Magic and Religion (Pt.I)," explains a comment he made in a previous post that

No distinction between "magic" on the one hand and "religion" on the other has ever been made successfully.

The Magdalene Review: In her Aug. 18 post, Lesa Bellevie attempts to answer "A difficult question" : "what does Mary Magdelene mean to me?" She explores several possiblities. Her Aug. 15 post gives us a link to a "Church of Mary Magdalene Tour," a virtual tour of a Russian Orthodox Church in Jerusalem.

Mary Magdalene Within: After participating in July celebrations honoring Mary Magdalene, in her Aug. 6 post, "The Call of the Wild," Joan Norton writes that we are "moving toward the ‘taking stock’ time of things." She continues:

Mary the Magdalene is the call of the wild as much as devotion to mate and motherhood. What else would you say about a woman who had the nerve to marry the heretic?

Cosette From Jupiter: In her Aug. 8 post, Cossette reviews the film, "Agora" , about the murder of Hypatia by Christian monks and the destruction of the Library and Pagan temples in Alexandria, Egypt near the end of the 4th Century CE.

Another review of Agora, this one by Max Dashu, can be found on on Coreopsis.

Paleothea: Blogger Alia’s Aug. 6 post is about "Rape in Greek Myths". It describes the varieties of ways rape is presented in so many Greek myths and explains their significance.

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

New Edition of She Lives!

I am happy to share with you news of the publication of the Combined Third Edition of my book She Lives! The Return of Our Great Mother, which explores the return of the divine personified as female through myth-like stories, rituals for both personal and seasonal celebrations with songs and dances, and a variety of meditations.

This Combined Third Edition has all material from the first edition published by Crossing Press in 1989, including 30 songs with notated music for 26 of them. (The four songs for which notation is not included in this edition have well-known melodies. The 1999 second [10th Anniversary]edition had notation for only 11 of the songs.) This new edition also includes material added in the 10th Anniversary edition, such as guided meditations for each of the seasonal rituals and a section, “Reflections on Seasonal Rituals,” with information on holidays of a number of different traditions. There are also some changes and additions found only in this Combined Third Edition.

My approach in She Lives! might be considered unusual among Goddess spirituality books. Its material doesn’t fit neatly into any one category, such as Pagan. Rather, especially in its myth-like stories, it describes how female divinity might return to people on diverse paths, and addresses a variety of issues in a number of different religions and in secular settings. Its seasonal rituals contain aspects of Pagan, Jewish, Christian and other traditions. What is commonly called belly dance, as well as other folk dance forms, are included the rituals and there is one individual meditation devoted to belly dance, which I call the "Dance of the Womb." The personal rituals for women and for men focus on sex-related life milestones.

I am grateful that Lydia Ruyle allowed me to use on the cover of the Combined Third Edition one of the Goddess icon banners from among the more than 150 she has created. You may have seen them flying at conferences, libraries, museums and elsewhere.

The book is available in the US, UK, EU, and elsewhere. For more complete information about She Lives! The Return of Our Great Mother, including reviews, table of contents with links to excerpts, and also links to booksellers, please visit judithlaura.com/slgm.html

TAGS: news books Great Mother Goddess women's spirituality spiritual feminism

90th Anniversary of Women's Suffrage in US

Google's home page notes that today is the 90th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th amendment to the US Constitution, giving women the right to vote. That's right, only 90 years. Thanks to Google for that reminder. Women's Equality Day, which in part celebrates this, is celebrated on August 26, and was first proclaimed by President Jimmy Carter. For some ideas on how to celebrate, you might want to visit Gerri Gribi's web page . Also, as you may be aware, many of the suffragists recognized the role religion played in keeping women from being full citizens. For extra inspiration, you want want to read, Elizabeth Cady Stanton's The Woman's Bible and Matilda Joslyn Gage's Women Church, and State (yes, these are the full texts!).

And join me in sending blessings to those ancestors who, over several decades, fought and some who died to achieve this for us.

Isaac Bonewits 1949-2010

We join the Pagan and other communities in mourning and marking the passing on August 12 of Isaac Bonewits, founder and Arch Druid of Ár n Draíocht Féin (ADF). He died of cancer at the age of 60. An obituary has been posted on the blog maintained by Isaac and his wife, Phaedra, at neopagan.net/blog. An obituary by Margot Adler can be found on the NPR website. Two tributes by Jason Pitzl-Waters, one dated August 12, the other dated August 13, can be found on the Wild Hunt . The August 13 post has links to many other tributes.

May he rest in the arms of the Goddess and be renewed.

Events Coil: Aug. 15-Sept. 30

As far as we know, all events we list are open functions; but some may be limited to women or to adults and some may require that you notify them that you plan to attend. Please check the websites for group policies. If no country is given, the event is in the USA. All times are local. Internet events have the time zone indicated, usually taken from the event listing. Events lasting more than 1 day are bolded. When listing events for the same date, we have tried to list those that occur 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-September and will include events listed here that haven't yet happened, plus new events through late October or early November. 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 - Aug. 15, "The Lost World Of Old Europe," (same exhibition as previously at NYU), Ashmolean Museum, Oxford University, Oxford ENGLAND

Aug. 15, 10:30 a.m. Ascent of Holy Sophia, Church of Gnosis, Mountain View CA

Aug. 15, 11 a.m..Goddess Service honoring the Melissae, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Aug. 18, 6:30 p.m. Showing of DVD "In the Mother Grove," Black Mountain NC

Aug. 19, 6:30 p.m., 1st meeting of Women's Study Group to discuss Women's Rites, Women's Mysteries by Ruth Barrett, True Colors Book Store, Minneapolis MN

Aug. 20-29, Sept. 10-11, "Ancient Trypillia: Seven Thousand Years of Spiritual Art" includes "The Sacred Rites of Trypillian Life and the Image of the Great Mother Goddess" on August 27, Ukrainian Institute, New York City, NY

Aug. 22, 11 a.m..Goddess Service honoring Chin Mu, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Aug. 24, 7 p.m. Women's Full Moon Gathering, Mother Grove Goddess Temple, Asheville NC

Aug 24, 7 p.m. Full Moon Meditation, Goddess Temple Inc, Lakewood OH

Aug. 24, 7 p.m., Full Moon Ritual, Temple of Goddess Spirituality Dedicated to Sekhmet, Indian Springs NV

Aug. 25, 7 p.m. Full Moon Circle Labyrinth Magic, Circle Sanctuary, near Barneveld WI

Aug. 27, 6-8 p.m. (in Asheville), "Blessing the River," Osun/Oshun veneration and concert, Zamari African Culture Center, with Mother Grove Goddess Temple, in the sister cities of Osgobo NIGERIA and Asheville NC

Aug. 28, 4 p.m. The Earth Path, Gaia's Garden, Victoria AUSTRALIA

Aug. 28, Palenville Pagan Pride Day, Maetreum of Cybele, Palenville NY

Sept. 1, reception 5:30 p.m., program 6:30 p.m., "The Image of the Great Mother Goddess in the Sacred Rites of Trypillian Life," RSVP, US-Ukraine Foundation, Washington DC

Sept. 4, 5 p.m., Goddess Meetup, Maetreum of Cybele, Palenville NY

Sept. 5, 10:30 a.m. Descent of Holy Sophia, Church of Gnosis, Mountain View CA

Sept. 5, 11 a.m. Celebrate Mama Yemaya with pilgrimage to the sea, Daughters of the Goddess, San Francisco CA

Sept. 5, 11 a.m. Goddess Service honoring Malkuth with Lyena Strelkoff, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Sept. 5, 1 p.m PT, Webinar Premiere: "Treasures of African Women" with Max Dashu,WORLD WIDE WEB

Sept. 5, time tba, Full Moon Song and Drum Circle, Montreal Reclaiming, Montreal CANADA

Sept. 7, gather 7 p.m., start 7:30 p.m. New Moon Women's Circle of Selene, Red Tent Women's Circles, Canberra AUSTRALIA

Sept. 7, 7:30 p.m. The Circle of Craft with Lady Deberah, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Sept. 8, gather 7 p.m., start 7:30 p.m. New Moon Women's Circle of Diana, Red Tent Women's Circles, Canberra AUSTRALIA

Sept. 8, 6:30 p.m. first meeting of Cakes for the Queen of Heaven course, UU Fellowship, Salisbury MD

Sept. 8, time tba, New Moon Celebration, Maetreum of Cybele, Palenville NY

Sept. 8, 6:30 p.m. Women's New Moon, Temple of Goddess Spirituality Dedicated to Sekhmet, Indian Springs NV

Sept. 8, 7 p.m. New Moon Drumming , Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Sept. 2-6 Sacred Fire Circle, Circle Sanctuary, near Barneveld WI

Sept. 9-12, Z Budapest's Goddess Festival 2010, near San Jose CA

Sept. 10, 2:30 p.m. Moontide Mysteries Women's Empowerment Workshops, Glastonbury Goddess Temple, Glastonbury ENGLAND

Sept. 11, time tba, Introduction: Path of Initiation for Priestess/Priest of the Goddess, Nederlandse Godinnen Tempel, Hillegom NEDERLAND

Sept. 12, 11 a.m. Goddess Service honoring Bast with Meredith Kirby; 1:30 p.m. Workshop: The Mirror of Oshun with Meredith Kirby, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Sept. 12, 1 p.m. PT, Webinar: "Grandmother Stones of Megalithic Europe," with Max Dashu, WORLD WIDE WEB

Sept. 14, 6 p.m. 1st meeting for "Cakes" course, UU Church of North Hills, Pittsburgh, PA

Sept. 17-Oct. 24, "Without and Within" Louis Lasowski's photography and painting, including Creatrix subjects, Tippecanoe Arts Federation Galleries, Lafayette IN

Sept. 17, 4 p.m. Temple Dressing for Autumn Equinox, Glastonbury Goddess Temple, Glastonbury ENGLAND

Sept. 18, 7 p.m., Lydia Ruyle & Goddess Icon Spirit Banners, Center for the Sacred Feminine, Institute for Transpersonal Psychology, Palo Alto CA

Sept. 18, doors open 6 p.m., ritual 7 p.m., Fall Equinox, Circle of Aradia, Studio City CA

Sept. 18, gather 6:30 p.m., ritual 7 p.m. doors lock, 7:15 p.m. Autumn Equinox , Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Sept. 19, doors open 13.00 uur; ceremony begins 14.00 uur, Herfst Equinox Ceremonie, Nederlandse Godinnen Tempel, Hillegom NEDERLAND

Sept. 19, gather 11:30 a.m., ritual Noon, public Mabon/Fall Equinox Ritual, Connect DC, Washington DC

Sept. 19, 11 a.m. Goddess Service honoring Fortuna Redux with Lyena Strelkoff, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Sept. 19, 3 p.m. Mabon Service, Goddess Temple Inc, Lakewood OH

Sept. 19, 8 p.m. (7 p.m. if raining) Harvesttide Sabbat, Wiccan Church of Canada Toronto Temple, Toronto CANADA

Sept. 19, 1 p.m. Mabon/Equinox ritual, San Francisco Reclaiming, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, CA

Sept. 19, time tba, Mabon Ritual, Moonfire, Arlington VA

Sept. 19, time tba, Celebration of Autumn Equinox, Church of Gnosis, Mountain View CA

Sept. 21, 6 p.m. Ritual: Tadpole Season/Oestre/The Emergence, Gaia's Garden, Victoria AUSTRALIA

Sept. 21, 7 p.m. Mabon/Full Moon, Temple of Goddess Spirituality Dedicated to Sekhmet, Indian Springs NV

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

Sept. 22, 1st "Cakes" course meeting, 12:30 p.m., Burbank CA

Sept. 22, 7 p.m. Full Moon Drumming, Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Sept. 26, 11 a.m. Goddess Service honoring Abundantia , Goddess Temple of Orange County, Irvine CA

Sept. 25, 3 p.m., Eostar/Spring Equinox celebration, Pagaian Moon Court, Blue Mountains, AUSTRALIA

Sept. 25, time tba, Welcome Fall Celebration, Circle Sanctuary, near Barneveld WI

Sept. 24-27, First Goddess Conference in Spain, Association 'We Reclaim the Goddess', Madrid SPAIN

Sept. 24-26 Equinox Celebration, Frau Halla Lessons and Full Moon, RSVP, Maetreum of Cybele, Palenville NY
Sept. 29, time tba, Weekly Evening Circle begins, Nederlandse Godinnen Tempel, Hillegom NEDERLAND

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
Hamilton: Saturdays, 4 p.m. Open Classes ; gather 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.
Asheville NC: Sundays, 10 a.m drumming, 10:30 a.m. Service, Morning Devotionals, Mother Grove Goddess Temple.
Berkeley CA: last Sunday of month, 5 p.m., East Bay Goddess Rosary, University Lutheran Chapel.
Canton CT: Sundays, 10:30 a.m. Services, Women's Temple: In Her Name
Charleston SC: 1st Tuesday of month, Women's Circle with Carolyn Rivers, The Sophia Institute
Geyersville CA: Sunday Services 2-4 p.m. Temple of Isis
Grants Pass OR: Sunday Services; doors open 10:45 a.m., service starts 11 a.m., doors lock 11:10 a.m. Southern Oregon Temple of the Goddess
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 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
Minneapolis, MN: Monthly Womens Spirituality Group, True Colors Bookstore.
Palenville NY: Saturdays, 5 p.m. training sessions; Sundays 4-6 p.m, open classes, 7 p.m. Pagan Circles, Maetreum 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.

World Wide Web
Online, various times, Woman Shaman, course with Max Dashu.
Online, Wednesdays, 6 p.m. PT "Voices of the Sacred Feminine" interviews with well-known Goddessians and Pagans, hosted by Karen Tate, Blog Talk Radio.
Online, Sundays, 11 a.m. PT, "Creatrix Media Live" roundtable discussions include guests and phone-in audience participation, co-hosted by Jayne DeMent and Anniitra Ravenmoon, Blog Talk Radio.

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.