REVIEW: Correspondence by Joseph Campbell

 Correspondence, 1927-1987 by Joseph Campbell, edited by Evans Lansing Smith and Dennis Patrick Slattery,  New World Library, 2019, 419 pages.  
 
 This is the latest book in a series of collected works being published by New World Library in cooperation with the Joseph Campbell Foundation. At this writing, there are about 22 books listed in this collection. “Medusa Coils” has reviewed tw0 of these books previously: Goddesses and The Mythic Dimension. Correspondence, as the name implies, focuses not exclusively on Campbell’s other books, but rather on his correspondence with other people—some well known, others lesser known— about his and their work and sometimes about their personal lives, so it, in a way, becomes both  autobiography and biography. It provides an unusually personal view into the community of intelligentsia, both in and out of the university, particularly those who have a great interest in mythology. So I feel it will be of greatest interest to people today with similar interests rather than specifically those interested in Goddess—although like The Mythic Dimension, it includes this subject also.
 
The b&w pictures throughout the book are mostly of Campbell or Campbell and his correspondents. Most of the book’s chapters form a chronology of the development of Campbell’s approaches to mythology. The chapters, along with some of the people with whom Campbell corresponds in each chapter, are:

Chapter 1: “Wanderings— Paris to Pacific Grove, 1927-1939,” Angela Gregory (sculptor), John Steinbeck (novelist), Ed Ricketts (biologist).
Chapter 2: “Decade Mirabilis, The 1940s,” Roger Sherman Loomis (Celtic mythology scholar), Ananda K. Coomaraswamy (museum curator), Henry Morton Robinson (novelist and, with Campbell, author of A Skeleton Key To Finnegan’s Wake), Maud Oakes (artist, ethnologist, and writer specializing in Native American tribes).
Chapter 3: “The Banquet Years, The 1950s,” Margaret Mead (cultural anthropologist and author); Henry Corbin (philosopher, theologian, professor of Islamic Studies); Carl Jung, (founder of analytical psychology and explorer of archetypes); Stanley Edgar Hyman (literary critic and husband of author, Shirley Jackson).
Chapter 4: “The Masks of God, 1959-1968,” Alan Watts (author, philosopher, theologian and for 5 years, an Episcopal priest, who developed an interest in Buddhism, especially Zen, as well as other religions— in addition to their correspondence, Campbell’s 1974 introduction to Watts’ (d. 1973) TV series appears in this chapter.); Mircia Eliade (author and lecturer, especially on spiritual topics); John D. Rockefeller 3^rd (exhibitor at The Asia Society in New York City); Ted R. Spivey (English professor and author with interest in archetypes, dreams and psychic development); Signe Gartrell , aka Lynn Gartrell Levins, (author with interest in dreams and psychic development); Barbara Morgan (photographer and artist best known for her pictures and portrayals of famous dancers); Henry A. Murray, M.D. (psychologist and professor at Harvard University, where he was also director of the university’s, Psychological Clinic) Swami Nikhilananda, speaker originally from India, and founder of the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center in New York); Lewis Gannett (author); Larry Glen (reporter with interest in mythology); Joseph Chaiken (theater director, founder of The Open Theater in. New York; Herman Goetz (art historian who writes to Campbell of Hartmut Schmoke’s interpretation of the Song of Songs, “as an Ashtharot ritual dissected and disarranged because it had been too popular to be suppressed by the priests of Jehovah…”[Note: Ashtharot is transliterated elsewhere as Ashtoreth, Ashteret, Asherah and other spellings].
Chapter 5: “Political Matters – Thomas Mann to the Vietnam War, 1939-1970,” differs from other chapters in that it is devoted to a specific topic in multiple years, while the other chapters are devoted to enumerating individuals with whom Campbell corresponded in shorter time periods with specific years and contain multiple topics. The chapter starts with a full-page picture of Campbell from his 1954 passport photo. Among the people corresponding with Campbell discussed in Chapter 5 are (as you might guess from the title) Thomas Mann (novelist) who disagreed with Campbell’s political views although he previously had expressed admiration for Campbell’s work. Among other correspondents in this chapter are Arthur Miller (playwright), and Gary Snyder (environmental activist who combined Buddhist spirituality and nature in his poetry, essays, and lectures).
Chapter 6: “The Mythic Image, The 1970s,” opens with a description of the difference between Campbell’s approach to mythology, and those of other people famous for their approaches to mythology. It also notes in the material from several of Campbell’s correspondents – including that of the Herbert S. Bailey of Princeton University Press, which was, at that time the publisher of the book – Campbell’s receipt in 1977 of an honorary doctorate from Pratt Institute, and includes Campbell’s address to the Pratt Institute graduating class the day he received the award. It also includes 20 of the endorsements from writers and scholars, etc., encouraging Pratt to give Campbell the award. A number of the other notes and letters to and from Campbell and his correspondence relate to the editing and publishing of this book.
Chapter 7: “The Last Decade, The 1980s” includes a discussion that may be of particular interest to readers of this blog: the material published after Campbell’s death in the book, In All Her Names: Explorations of the Feminine in Divinity (HarperSanFrancisco, 1991), which Campbell edited along with Charles Musès, and in which Campbell discusses “the Mystery Number of the Goddess," and refers to Marija Gimbutas’ work. It includes correspondence from Einar Pálsson, a mythologist known mostly for his work related to Iceland. In letters to Campbell, Einar connects the mythology of “Fryr/Freyja” to that of “Osiris/Isis” as well as the relationship of elements (such as fire and water) to shapes and numbers. Also included in this chapter is correspondence between Campbell and Jamake Highwater (journalist and author of more than 30 books of fiction including some for children, art, poetry, and history), and Phil Cousineau (author, lecturer, filmmaker, whose work includes mythology).

The chapters of the book end with a “Coda,” of “Testimonials and Condolences” mostly to Campbell’s wife, Jean, after Joseph’s death from cancer in 1987.

Other information and comments by Campbell and other people about Jean appear throughout the book.

 
The front matter includes: The poem, “Correspondences” by Charles Baudelaire; “About the Collective Works of Joseph Campbell” by the editors; Foreword by Dennis Patrick Slattery, PhD; Introduction by Evans Lansing Smith PhD; Notes on the Text; Overture by Robert Walter.

The back matter includes: An appendix: “The Works of Joseph Campbell, (a list with pictures of 31 books and their relationship to the chapters in this book); “Notes,” (about the front matter and chapters); “Works Cited (alphabetically by author);” “Permission Acknowlegments,” with related page numbers; Index, including indication of subjects that are illustrated; and “About the Joseph Campbell Foundation.”

Yes, this is quite a thorough book and is likely to be especially valuable to students, scholars, and others with interest in Campbell and related subjects

Review: Medusa Anthology

Re-visioning Medusa: from Monster to Divine Wisdom, a girl god anthology; Glenys Livingstone, Ph.D, Trista Hendren, Pat Daly, editors; preface by Joan Marler; cover art by Arna Baartz; CreateSpace 2017, trade paperback 6” x 9”, 266 pages; also available as an e-book.

If you’ve ever wondered about the mythical persona known as Medusa, this is the book for you. Re-visioning Medusa covers a lot of ground and includes a number of different points of view and interpretations. It is excellently edited to alternate among essays, art, and poetry. Included among the many points of information, for instance, we learn that the animals associated with Medusa and her iconography include snakes, birds, horses, lions, and boars. 

In her Preface, Joan Marler, known for her association with Marija Gimbutas and for founding the Institute of Archaeomythology, explains that this volume contains work by people from “Australia, North America, Europe, Israel and Turkey.” With brief summaries of some of the essays in this book, Marler discusses the history of Medusa mythology in many different cultures, including Southeastern European, Greek, the Balkans, and Renaissance (Christian) Italy, as she writes: “Renaissance artists, inspired by Greek mythological themes, frighteningly realistic portrayals of decapitated women with snakes for hair….emblematic of the Inquisitional murders taking place in Europe during that time…. Later, during the 18th-19th centuries, Romantic artists, poets, and Decadents recast Medusa as a beautiful victim, not a monster….” She goes on to explain the influence of Freudian psychology in the 20th century and urges us to be present in the “here and now,” as we “listen deeply...to the ancient wisdom that is our True Inheritance.”

An introductory note by Editor Trista Hendren, explains why the editors of Revisioning Medusa decided to allow the authors from diverse countries and institutions to use the spelling, punctuation, and other style features that they were used to rather than standardizing such style items in the entire book, as is customary. I think it was a wise, innovative decision to allow this diversity and adds color to the book. In keeping with this style freedom, I am not including degrees (such as Ph.D. and Rev.) with the contributors’ names, although they are included in the book.

I’m going to leave my coverage of the many essays in this book until after I list the poets and artists, and approach the essays in what I hope is an innovative way.

Contributing poets (in order of appearance of their first poem in this anthology) are Barbara Ardinger, Susan Hawthorne, Janet Guastavino, Angela Kunschmann, Penny-Anne Beaudoin, Kerryn Coombs-Valeontis, and Elizabeth Oakes.

In order of appearance of initial art contribution, contributors of art showing various interpretations of Medusa (in black & white—both original and photos of art or sculpture) include: Glenys Livingstone, Cristina Biaggi, Miriam Robbins Dexter (within essay), Sudie Rakusin, Jeanne K. Raines, Lizzie Yee, Caroline Alkonost, Diane Goldie (with descriptive text), Kaalii Cargill (within essay), Luisah Teish (with descriptive text), Alyscia Cunningham, Jack K. Jeansonne (with descriptive text by Marija Krstic), Susan Hawthorne, Arna Baartz, Nuit Moore (with descriptive text and poem), Glenys Livingstone (artist unknown), Kerry Coombs-Valeontis, Marie Summerwood, Meg Dreyer, Pegi Eyers (with descriptive text).

Some of the essays are scholarly, some are more personal in tone, and others have still other stylistic approaches. To demonstrate the views and styles of the many essayists, I will briefly comment upon the essay and quote a short passage from each.

Writing from her personal experience over the years, Glenys Livingstone, in her essay, “Mother Medusa: Regenerative One,” writes of wearing a headpiece that was “characteristic of the ancient primordial Medusa, though I did not know it….Only gradually have I come to identify Her snake coils and bird wings, as an ancient combination representative of Medusa….I realize now that I had been invoking Medusa; calling Her into my being, embodying Her in Seasonal ceremony, embedding Her in regenerative creativity in my life.”

In her essay, “Medusa: Ferocious and Beautiful, Petrifying and Healing: Through the Words of the Ancients,” Miriam Robbins Dexter, one of Livingstone’s sources, presents scholarly material to show that “Medusa is a compilation of Neolithic European, Semitic, and Indo-European mythology and iconography.” She explores the meanings of Medusa’s name as well as her various myths, which she has translated from Greek and Latin texts. She points out the differences in the way Medusa is understood over the centuries, writing, “Whereas the Neolithic Goddess is a powerful arbiter of birth, death, and rebirth, she has been transformed in Greek from a Goddess of the life continuum to this a dead head.”

Jane Meredith’s long, personally-focused essay, “Calling Medusa In,” concludes with an invocation, I excerpt and quote here in part: “Oh, Medusa, I’m calling you in….I invoke you into my own life and the lives of my friends, I invoke you into the houses and families of childhoods everywhere….Bring your qualities Medusa….It is time serpents were released and wildness broke the stone face of what is acceptable and we saw behind the masks….”

In the shortest essay in the book, “To Stand Witness,” Teri Uktena writes that although the Medusa myth has always been a favorite of hers, she was “bothered by the myth from the very beginning because it made no sense.” She goes on to explain why she felt this way and ultimately links it to real life instances in which women have been sexually abused.

In her essay, “Medusa: The Invitation,” Maureen Owen writes, “The story of Medusa is fundamentally the story of the domination of the patriarchal invaders of mainland Greece over the early goddess culture of North Africa….When I hear this story, I hear Medusa’s invitation, urging me to look deeper….” Owen continues by delving into the roles of serpents, and Medusa as high priestess, Goddess, and Queen, and Crone, depending on the time and culture.

In “Till We Have Bodies, “ Kaali Cargill, discusses Medusa mythology as part of her “love affair with myth.” She writes, “She [Medusa] has been known as the Destroyer aspect of the Triple Goddess called Neith in Egypt, Ath-eena or Athene in North Africa. It is through Medusa that mythology offers a hint of what once may have been possible for women in terms of birth control.”

In her essay, “Medusa, Athena, Sophia: the Fierceness of Wisdom Justice,” Bonnie Odione writes: “we cannot look at her face directly, as the patriarchs could not view Yahweh’s.” In exploring Medusa’s relationship to Wisdom goddess(es), she suggests, “a rapid transit from Greek mythology to pre-common era Jewish Alexandria….The Wisdom (Hebrew: Hockmah) tradition that was present throughout the Hebrew Scriptures is Grecianized (Greek: Sophia…) to better reflect Alexandrian culture….” She continues by discussing a quote from the Book of Wisdom, used at Donald Trump’s inauguration.

In her essay, “Medusa, My Mother and Me,” Barbara C. Daughter explores her relationship with her mother and her own self-image in light of various images of Medusa. She writes of conflating Medusa with “a small statue Arthur Evans is said to have unearthed at Knossos Greece: the Minoan Snake Goddess….Who were these snake-wielding women and what could they reveal to me?”

Marie Summerwood begins her essay, “Medusa Goddess: Up Close and Personal,” with a memory from her priestess initiation of “the first time I knowingly met the presence of Medusa….” She had called in other goddesses, including Isis, Quan Yin, Mary, Aphrodite. She had not planned to invoke Medusa, but “the moment when I had planned to speak the name of the next goddess, my hands clenched and unclenched and I found myself fiercely whispering – over and over – the name of Medusa.” She goes on to describe the work she has done through Medusa, and ends with a chant with notated music.

In her essay, “Medusa’s Hall of Mirrors,” Leslene della-Madre writes that as a result of her work with women’s mysteries, “I have felt that helping women to reclaim Medusa by symbolically reattaching her head through ritual is deeply empowering.” She goes on to discuss the ritual for such a working, as well as her research to try to find out why “the origins of myths from cultures around the world that seem to bear similar resemblances, even though contact amongst people living far apart most likely did not occur.” Her explorations take her to what to some may be a startling—and to me fascinating, and innovative— conclusion involving the possible change of “planetary configurations in our solar system.”

In “Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times, “ C. Loran Hills reflects on the effects of various versions of the Medusa myth. In some versions, she notes, “Wild women are condemned as corrupt, depraved, and wicked….unruly, ungovernable, visionary, savage, and ferocious….Strong-willed women are demonized in the patriarchal system and socialized to behave.” To counter this, she urges us to nurture each other and educate ourselves. She also comments that women’s aging is “viewed as repugnant”and “treated like a disease…” and discusses the history of the word, “hag.”

Marguerite Rigoglioso’s essay tells us “How You Can Reattach Medusa’s Head,” with instructions based on a ritual she first performed with a group in 2012 and which has been performed by a number of groups since. Of the ritual’s significance, she writes: “With the enactment of this reparatory ritual, we set in motion the re-memberment of this ancestor, and thus the reversal of her story. With that, we set into motion the reversal of all women’s disempowerment.”

“Medusa: Wisdom of the Crone Moon,” by Theresa Curtis is a dramatic (some may feel at times melodramatic) narrative. At the beginning of this essay Curtis writes, “her tale is long and rich, and constantly growing deeper – it can never truly be known…. For me, She reeks of endless mystery of the secrets beyond the dark moon.” Curtis then goes on to write of Sigmund Freud’s referral to Medusa as “Vagina dentata…exhibiting panic and horror…in the face of her power…. he was never able to complete his treatise on Her.” Curtis then recommends how women can “reflect on Medusa without statuing to stone” through an initiation that involves setting intention, an induction that involves becoming Medusa, and awareness.

Gillian M.E.(dusa) Alban begins her essay, ”Medusa’s Stunning Powers Reflected in Literature,” with this sentence: “The monstrously divine Medusa is emblematic of women’s struggles to rise above oppressions with her serpentine power and invincible gaze.” After reviewing Medusa mythology, among those whose work she delves into are Frieda Kahlo, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Robert Graves, Jean Paul Sartre, Margaret Atwood, Sue Monk Kidd, and Angela Carter.

Dawn Glinkski’s “Making Amends with Medusa” focuses on the fixed star, Algol, at 26 degrees of Taurus, which is known as the “demon star” or “Medusa’s head.” This position is of particular interest to me because I have a stellium (several planets) at or near this position. Among the famous people Dawn discusses whose planets are conjunct or near Algol, is Bob Dylan, whose birthday is the same as mine (yes, date and year)—our charts are close in time (taking into consideration time zone difference), differing most in location. Glinkski points out that Dylan has Uranus conjunct (in same degree as) Algol (as do I) and sees this related to his being involved in the civil rights movement (as was I) and rebelling “against the establishment though his music.” (as I have through my writing?) She writes that 3 words she associates with Algol are “protection, preservation, and prevention.” Though this information was unknown to me at the time (about 3 decades ago), I selected a statue of Medusa to place in my office at work for just such purposes. And that is also why I named this blog after Her. Among other people Glinski discusses who have birth charts with relationships to Algol are Oliver Cromwell, John F. Kennedy, and Donald Trump. Glinkski interprets the placement in their charts and also suggests ways to interpret this placement if it appears in your birth chart.

In “Re-visioning Medusa: A Personal Odyssey” Sara Wright tells how, when she was a child, for her a painting conflated her mother with Medusa. She writes, “This image of my mother with her long, curly hair, seemed quite frightening to me. It was as if this painting held a key – but to what?” Continuing, she writes, “as an adolescent, I started to call myself Medusa….self-loathing became the mask I wore. I hated my body.” The essay ultimately tells how, as an adult, she came terms with the fear of her mother by finding out more about Medusa. Near the end of the essay. She ties her “odyssey” in with a current political situation.

Laura Shannon, in her essay “Medusa and Athena: Ancient Allies in Healing Women’s Trauma,” sees these goddesses as helping women, mostly in similar ways, despite their differences in mythology. She cites a number of other authors who have written on the topic of these goddesses and trauma (such as PTSD) including Patricia Monaghan, Sigmund Freud, Joseph Campbell, Carol P. Christ, Marija Gimbutas, Miriam Robbins Dexter, Anne Baring, and Annis Pratt. She sees both Athena and Medusa as protectors and writes: “By placing Medusa’s head in her heart, Athena gives Medusa a post-traumatic sanctuary in a safe and strong body, and Medusa gives Athena a part of her protective powers.” Shannon goes on to discuss the role of circle dancing, both in ancient Athens and in current Greece and the Balkans (and, I would add, in other countries such as the U.S., where I have participated in such dances).She feels these dances help women heal from trauma as well as “affirm and transmit pre-patriarchal values.”

Trista Hendren is another one of the authors who, as she puts it in“Re-stor(y)ing Sanity,”the book’s last essay, was, as a child “terrified of Medusa.” In exploring the reasons why— both as a child and growing into adulthood— she delves into the writings of Margaret Atwood, Mary Oliver, Toni Morrison (particularly Sula), bell hooks, Jane Caputi, Hélène Cixous, Monica Sjöö, Barbara Mor, Andrea Dworkin, Audre Lorde, Mary Daly, and Starhawk. One of the conclusions Hendren reaches is: “Our patriarchal brainwashing thoroughly rinsed out the richness of our being— even the biological realities of our bodies. Everything is supposed to be bleached. Our body hair removed. Our faces, masked. Our glorious womanly smells, perfumed over. Our menses, hidden or erased completely….”

An exceptional anthology, Re-visioning Medusa will be valued not only by people who have studied and worked with Medusa for some time, but also those who haven’t yet wondered about Her. A complete list of the Table of Contents, including title of contribution and contributor’s name, can be found by clicking on the “Look Inside” feature on the book’s page on Amazon.com

Glastonbury Goddess Conference 2017

The annual Glastonbury Goddess Conference will be held this year  August 1-August 6 in Glastonbury, England, with fringe events, including concerts and other activities, July 29-31. This year’s theme is Celebrating...“the Great Goddess in all Her many forms, expressions, and colours. She of a million names and faces.” In addition to presentations, workshops, and rituals, the conference will include art exhibits.
 
Some of the special events are Conference Welcome, Aug. 1, 10 a.m.-1 p.m.; Opening Ceremony, Aug. 1, 7 p.m.; Lammas Ceremony, Aug. 2, 7:30 p.m.; Goddess Procession through Glasonbury/Avalon Aug. 6, 10 a.m.; Conference Closing, Aug. 6, 4 p.m. 

Just some of the presenters are to include: Marion Brigantia, Katinka Soetens, Dr. Makgathi Mokwena, Lilia Khousnoutdinova, Annine van der Meer, Carolyn Hillyer, Anique Radiant Heart, Dov Ahava, Ka Dineen, Roz Bound, Angie Twydall, Bee Helygen, Miriam Raven, Sadhu, Kathy Jones, Jane Meredith, Brooke Medicine Eagle, and Eline Baath.

 

For more information about events and presenters,plus how to book and register, see goddessconference.com/2017.

Nov.9-19 Women's Trip to Israel to Include 'Divine Feminine'

The following information is from Rabbi Rayzel Raphael, who gave us permission to post it here:

"Dear Friends, and colleagues and sisters of spirit,
In honor of Miriam crossing the Red Sea, I’m excited that the details have finally come together for my women's trip to Israel this fall.  It's a peace mission/spirituality journey with emphasis on interaction with various local Israeli cultures.  This is a great trip for Asherah fans as we will be going to the roots of worship of the Divine Feminine in ancient Israel, as well as meeting contemporary manifestations of Her Presence.

"We invite you to join a women’s INTERACTIVE trip to Israel, embracing the land, people, and promise of peace. This 11-day trip from November 9 to 19, 2017 is equally appropriate for those who have never been to Israel as it is for those who have been in other contexts but want a deeper richer experience with a focus on the women of the land. 

 "Each day’s itinerary was crafted and featured speakers were selected using the template of the heroines’ journey of transformation.  Our intention for this trip was to explore the ancient roots of Jewish women’s spirituality. We will visit archeology sites and receive an overview about matriarchal worship in ancient Israel at the Israel Museum. Our journey then follows this path of growth and blossoming from these roots. We will visit feminist change makers, secular and religious. Weaving between layers of history, we will find the thread of connection, women-to-women, through herstory. Our hope is that each participant also finds their own place on the path of the Divine Feminine as we travel -  adding her voice to this ongoing tradition.

 "One exciting feature is that we have included an optional culinary package to engage with Arab and Israeli women cooks and sample creations from various cultures in Israel.  

 "We have tried to make it economical- we are staying at good - but modest accommodations- because we felt location and convenience trumped luxury. We have included a number of meals, but have not covered all meals, as we know some folks like to wander on their own.  We also priced the trip without credit card fees to give you the choice to save a few bucks if you pay by check. Our guides, driver, speakers are all paid in line with fair wages.

"Please share this widely with those who you think would like this.

Sincerely,

Geela Rayzel"

"A Woman's Journey of Spiritual Transformation in Israel

Roots of Shechinah, Branches of Peace

There is no setting like Israel for profound spiritual transformation. This trip is designed for women who are seeking a rich, deep, yet fun journey.

 We will learn with top-notch women scholars, activists, artists, musicians, and peacemakers and pray with Women of the Wall. The itinerary combines touring with activities that engage the senses. We will taste the fruits of the land through the hands of women cooks from various cultural backgrounds. We will experience the Kabbalistic elements of Israel: Earth, Air, Fire and Water. Archeology will ground us, Biblical women, contemporary mystics and prophetesses will inspire us… and then the gates to the other worlds will open in order that we may receive personal guidance on our own path.  Drawing on the power of some of Israel’s holiest sites, we will open to the mystery of our encounter.  Fun, food and frolic are of course, part of the adventure.

Come for the tour leave with transformation.

 Registration deadline: July 20, 2017"

 

Review: The Mythic Dimension by Joseph Campbell

The Mythic Dimension: Selected Essays 1959 – 1987 by Joseph Campbell (edited by Anthony Van Couvering). New World Library, 2017, in conjunction with the Joseph Campbell Foundation, 348 pages trade paperback. (Hardback published in 2008.)

This book is part of a series of “Collected Works” by Joseph Campbell (1904-1987) being published by New World Library. We have previously featured two other books in this series. Goddesses: Mysteries of the Feminine Divine and Romance of the Grail: the Magic and Mystery of Authurian Myth.

The Mythic Dimension has one chapter about the Goddess and touches on the subject in several other chapters. In his Foreword to the book, the editor, Anthony Van Couvering, points out that the essays in the book are in two categories (which he has given section headings): “Mythology and History” and “Mythology and the Arts.” He also notes that the essays are presented “with a minimum of editorial change.” I noticed that this apparently included leaving in Campbell’s use of the generic “Man” (sometimes with initial cap, sometimes not) and “men” for what most of us today would term humans — or more simply, people — as well as other male generics such as “mankind” when humanity or humankind would be more appropriate, and “fathers” instead of parents. I don’t know if this outdated usage will bother many readers, but it will probably come as no surprise to you that it bothered me, at times diverting me from the other content of the book, which contains a huge amount of material often of great historical and mythological interest. Although the use of the male generic occurs throughout the book, the use of “Man” is particularly curious in the first chapter (“Comparative Mythology as an Introduction to Cross-Cultural Studies”), an essay by Campbell about how he developed a course for his students—all women—at Sarah Lawrence College beginning in 1939. This course eventually became a series of lectures on television, beginning in 1963.
   

Thanks to permission from the publisher, here is an excerpt from the third section of the chapter on Goddess. The title of the chapter is “The Mystery Number of the Goddess.” It is the last of 4 chapters in the first of the section titled “Mythology and History.” This excerpt is from material under the heading “Māyā–Śakti–Devī.” Campbell writes:

 

The earliest and richest aggregate of testimonials to the character and functionality of this all-embracing and supporting, universal divinity in the earliest period and theater of her preeminency is that illustrated and expounded in Marija Gimbutas’s unprecedented exposition. And the fundamental original trait of the Goddess there represented at the opening of her historic career is that she was at that time bisexual, absolute, and single in her generative role. “As a supreme Creator who creates from her own substance, she is the primary goddess,” Gimbutas declares, “of the Old European pantheon. In this she contrasts with the Indo-European Earth Mother, who is the impalpable sacred earth-spirit and is not in herself a creative principle; only through the interaction of the sky god does she become pregnant.”

 

The idea is equivalent to that which in India is implicit in the compound noun māyā–śakti–devī, the “goddess” (devī), as at once the “moving energy” (śakti) and the “illusion” (māyā) of phenomenality. For according to this nondualistic type of cosmogonic metaphor, the universe as māyā is Brahman, the Imperishable, as perceived. ….

 

An outstanding characteristic of many of the artworks illustrated in Gimbutas’s volume is the abstract formality of their symbolically adorned and proportioned form….

Painted or inscribed upon these symbolically composed little revelations of powers intuited as informing and moving the whole spectacle of nature were a number of characteristic signs or ideograms….

Statuettes of the Goddess in many forms…identify her with every one of these tokens of the structuring force of a universe of which she… is at once the source and the substance….

[end of excerpt]

 Other sections of this chapter are “All Things Anew,” which discusses a number over 100,000 (I don’t want to give it away if you don’t already know it), which relates to a “cycle of time.” Campbell puzzles over the fact that the number of years appears not only in writings about the mythology of “recurrent cycles of time” from India, but also in writings of similar subject from Iceland. He continues with related numerology from various other sources, bringing him to the next section, “The Goddess Universe,” which begins with a discussion of various Flood texts, continues with discussion of the relationship of mythologies among various cultures, and leads up to the appearance “everywhere” of a “paramount divinity” that is a “metaphoric apparition of life that outlives death who became in later centuries venerated as the Goddess of Many Names.” The chapter after “Māyā–Śakti–Devī” is titled “The Pulse of Being” and discusses the dates given by Gimbutas of the appearance of the Goddess in various cultures and their relationship to the special number with which Campbell is concerned. The next two sections discuss the Goddess-related forms, “Creatress and Redemptress,” and “The Muses Nine,” after which Campbell moves on to sections titled, “Of Harmony and of Discord,” and “Ragnorok,” about other Goddess roles and relationships. In all, “The Mystery of Number of the Goddess” spans about 65 pages, one of the longer chapters in the book. It is preceded in the Mythology and History section by “The Historical Development of Mythology,” “Renewal Myths and Rites,” and “Johann Jacob Bachoften.”

 

In the section, Mythology and the Arts, chapters are “Creativity,” “The Interpretation of Symbolic Forms,” “Mythological Themes in Creative Literature and Art,” “The Occult in Myth and Literature,” and “Erotic Irony and Mythic Forms in the Art of Thomas Mann.” The back matter includes the Sarah Lawrence course reading list, notes, a bibliography, and an index.

Though a serious, scholarly, book, The Mythic Dimension is not without its humor. For example, in the first chapter of Mythology and History Campbell writes: “… for six days a week we honor the humanistic values of Greece and Rome and on the seventh for half an hour or so, confess guilt before a jealous Levantine god. Then we wonder why so many of us must repair to the psychoanalyst.”

 

Review: Sheela na gig, a book by Starr Goode

Sheela na gig: The Dark Goddess of Sacred Power by Starr Goode, Inner Traditions 2016, 8” x 10”, 2.4 lbs., 384 pages. Also available as an ebook.

Sheela na gig: The Dark Goddess of Sacred Power is a large, beautiful book in which the author, Starr Goode, delves into the art, history, and mystery of one of the most sexually assertive and explicit figures honored by those who revere Goddesses and a subject studied by researchers of ancient artifacts. As you might guess from its dimensions, the book is illustration-intensive with a total of 151 excellent black and white illustrations—mostly images—of Sheelas or related deities, such as Baubo. The images come from various time periods (most recently dated back to at least 9600-800 BCE) and various cultures, and can still be seen on churches in the UK, including Ireland. In exploring them Goode, who teaches writing and literature at Santa Monica College and produced and moderated the cable TV series “The Goddess in Art,” travels back to the Neolithic and forward to art in our own time. The latter features contemporary interpretations of Sheela. A number of the photos were taken by the author, others are from the work of Marija Gimbutas and from other well-known sources. The seven chapters of Part I, “History,” contain 73 illustrations; the two chapters of Part II “Journeys,” 30 illustrations; and the four chapters of Part III, “Image,” 48 illustrations.

 

This scholarly book about the “displaying” (holding apart vulva lips) female figure begins with a historical overview that includes agreements and disagreements about Sheelas’ origins and significance. Today, there is apparently no agreement on the meaning of Sheela na gig’s name, nor her significance at various times in history, nor even when She first appeared historically. Goode discusses various theories of origin, such as Neolithic, early Pagan, Romanesque, and even later. She includes the role that Romanesque architecture played in the popularization of Sheela representation and the relationship of the transfer of Irish and other goddesses to Christian saints, which resulted in the probable transfer of symbolism that occurred when displaying Sheelas were placed on churches and castles—where many remain today.

 

In her discussion of Sheela symbolism Goode considers several possibilities, including as “a regenerative symbol for the cycle of life, representing fecundity, decay, and renewal.” She writes, “Certainly, the mysteries of sex, death, and rebirth, have accrued around the image of the vulva. It is an open invitation to sex, a birth canal, and, paradoxically, a symbolic return to Mother Earth following death.” In Christianity, Goode writes, the displaying figures became “a warning against lust.” Later their symbolism became more protective and powerful. One of the strongest and longest associations with Sheelas is “apotropaic” power, in which the displaying female genitals have the power to avert negative influences or bad luck. For example, people used Sheelas to guard against the “evil eye.” Related are various titles that have been given to Sheelas by different cultures, such as “Evil Eye Stone” and “the Witch.” Citing the German writer Georg Kohl, Goode also discusses “human Sheelas,” living women who, in Ireland, were and are still called “Shila na Gigh” and who help people’s luck to change from bad to good by “lifting their skirts to display their female nakedness.” Goode also discusses why and when stone Sheelas become less prominent in Ireland, including through their mutilation. Goode explains that in medieval times, Christian clergy considered Sheelas “the devil” and ordered them to be “burned as witches even though they were made of stone, not flesh….in later centuries and to this day, many are being recovered from where they were sometimes tossed into rivers or buried deep beneath castles. Other carvings had their vulvas hacked away....”

 In sections on the Sheela’s “forebears,” the author discusses the relationship of other figures to Sheela , such as Baubo (as in the Demeter-Persephone myth/Eleusinian Mysteries); Medusa; and the Frog Goddess. One of the sections that was especially interesting to me (because I was involved in Eastern European folk dance groups for many years and came to feel that many of them had Pagan and/or Goddess roots), is Goode’s discussion of a Bulgarian women’s ritual with dances related to the Frog Goddess. The dance, which is still done today, is a spring rain dance called Peperouda, While the dance is related to power of frogs, its name is translated “Butterfly” on You Tube videos (butterflies of course also have a springtime association.) I have placed three videos of different (though similar) versions of this ritual dance the end of this review.
 

Part I of the book also includes a section on “Male Interpretive Bias.” Part II looks more deeply into what Goode learned from her travels to Sheela sites, especially in Ireland and England. Part III focuses on images of Sheelas and deities that resemble Sheela, such as some versions of Kali, and includes contemporary artists’ Sheela interpretations. The back matter includes both Footenotes and Endnotes, plus a Bibiography.

Both the large number of excellent illustrations and the details and depth of Goode’s discussion make Sheela na gig: The Dark Goddess of Sacred Power an extremely valuable book that many Goddess folks and students of the mythology — as well as others — will treasure.

 

 Peperouda Videos

Full ritual with dance in the village of Tsar Samuil, municipality of Tutrakan in northeastern Bulgaria. Features “frog girl” surrounded by older women (The word in the You Tube link  “German” refers to another dance on the same video group, not the location of the ritual of this Peperouda ritual, which appears at the very beginning of the video):

 

Children in Radost Folk Ensemble with some adult women:

More choreographed version, Bulgarian women’s group, you can see similarities in waving of hands, and headdresses of 2 of  the women:

 

 

ASWM issues Call for Proposals for 2017 Symposium

The Association for the Study of Women and Mythology has issued a call for proposals for presentations at its symposium in Philadelphia on March 25, 2017.  The symposium theme is "Mythology, Women and Society: Growing the Groundswell." ASWM suggests that proposals aim at answering the question: How can the study of women and mythology contribute to our current conversations about women, justice, and society? The deadline for proposal submission is October 15. Full details, including a list of possible proposal topics, are on the ASWM site.

Review of The Hebrew Priestess

The Hebrew Priestess: Ancient and New Visions of Jewish Women’s Spiritual Leadership by Jill Hammer and Taya  Taya Shere (Ben Yehuda Press 2015), trade paperback, 330 pages.

[The authors are co-founders of Kohenet Hebrew Priestess Institute. In an email response to my query, Rabbi Hammer explains that the title rav kohenet was given to them both by their students and is based on the ancient Phoenician title rab kehinit, which, translated to English, means high priestess. Except for the bios at the end, this review will refer to the authors as Rav Kohenet Jill and Rav Kohenet Taya, using their first names rather than their patriarchally-determined surnames. Unless otherwise noted, Rav Kohenet Jill is author of all sections of the book with the exception of Rav Kohenet Taya’s Introduction and the practice sections at the end of chapters about the individual priestessing paths.]

The authors’ introductions to The Hebrew Priestess are just the beginning of the treasures in this book. Both introductions tell of the authors’ journeys to the priestess path and their co-founding of the Kohenet Hebrew Priestess Institute, which now has chapters on both the East and West Coasts of the United States.
 
Rav Kohenet Jill’s introduction, the longer of the two, begins and ends with symbolic and possibly prophetic dreams, discusses the influence of her childhood, her education, the conflicts in her desire to be a rabbi, and the influence on her of the feminist movement and Jewish women poets, of which she writes:

“To me, what these women were writing could not be defined solely as poetry. It was liturgy. God was mother, lover, bride, queen, even rebel lesbian . . . . I learned the word Shekhinah – divine presence, bride of God – and then heard a respected professor rail against Jewish feminists’ use of the word. . . . Why all the anger? I began to wonder. What is there to be afraid of in a female image of God?”

She also tells of her time in rabbinical school, her writing of midrash (stories interpreting biblical texts), her time studying in Israel, of her building of altars centering around the female divine and earth-based spirituality, and other subjects leading to the founding of the Kohenet Hebrew Priestess Institute.

In her introduction, Rav Kohenet Taya writes of her involvement in African-Brazilian spiritual tradition while in graduate school and her time in a “women’s collective house that was a living laboratory of ecofeminist spirituality,” along with her discovery of Goddess. She ends her introduction with questions she suggests readers ask themselves and concludes:

“Know that you are not alone and that you are necessary. The world, Jewish and beyond, is gifted and transformed by your unique expression of spiritual connection and leadership. Your work and play and prayer are powerful. Your dancing and your loving are medicine. Your waking and sleeping dreams are sacred. Your laughter and your tears are holy. Your being is ancient and new and alchemical. We need your priestessing. We need you, priestessing. We need you, priestess.”

In Chapter 1, “A Brief History of The Hebrew Priestess,” Rav Kohenet Jill discusses the relationship of the Hebrew priestess to priestesses of other religions of the ancient Near East, Africa, and Europe, such as  Sumerian poet and priestess Enheduanna, best known for her poem/hymn, “Exaltation of Inanna; the Delphic Oracles; priestesses of the Egyptian Goddess Hathor; Demeter’s bee priestesses; Yoruba priestesses; and women who had similar roles in Ireland, Germany, the Americas, and Asia. She elaborates on the names by which Israelites who held the role of priestess were known, prominent biblical priestesses, and the controversy over whether or not certain titles referred to priestesses involved in sacred sex practices. She traces the history of Hebrew priestesses from their prominence to the lessening of their role beginning with the Babylonian exile after the first destruction of the Temple; their presence in the Egyptian Jewish community; and their role or lack thereof in medieval times. The chapter ends with a brief discussion of contemporary Hebrew priestesses. She goes on, in chapter 2, to give “A Brief History of the Hebrew Goddess,” by the various names by which she was known, her relationship with other Middle East deities of the time and their similarity to goddesses of other cultures. Also discussed are the roles of the Goddess in the “portable Tabernacle” in the 11th century BCE, and in the Temple in Jerusalem in 953-586 BCE. Rav Kohenet Jill writes:

“Post-Temple Jewish ritual hints at the Goddess even as it erases Her. The Torah, dressed in finery and then undressed during the Torah service for a ritual of learning and knowing, is an image of a woman.”

She goes on to quote Amichai Lau-Lavi, who has written:

“the ark. . . is separated by a curtain, as it was in the Temple, and behind the curtain is the Torah, wearing a silver crown and velvet dress, always referred to in the feminine. Then we bring her out with great decorum, kiss her, undress her, open her up and commence the ritual of knowledge in the biblical sense.”

I applaud Rav Kohenet Jill for pointing out that “Torah,” is a feminine noun in Hebrew and for having the courage to write of the underlying symbolism of the ritual that precedes its reading in the synagogue. For me, personally, it is wonderful to have confirmed a similar interpretation that came to me in the 1990s as I was writing my book, Goddess Spirituality for the 21st Century: from Kabbalah to Quantum Physics. In the second chapter, I wrote:

“. . .the Torah. . . continued to be perceived by kabbalists as a crowned female wrapped in beautiful garments. And to this day, ‘garments’ cover the Torah scroll. . . . Before the Torah can be read, her crown and garment—usually fringed, embellished, and embroidered velvet or silk—are removed. The two wooden legs of the scroll part as it is unrolled.” (1997 ed., p. 46; 2008 ed., p. 60)

In Chapter 2 of The Hebrew Priestess, Rav Kohenet Jill quotes from the Zohar (an early major kabbalistic text) demonstrating the role of the Shekhinah in medieval Jewish mysticism and goes on to write:

“the modern feminist movement has transformed and reclaimed Shekhinah as a female experience of deity, a way that women may begin to see themselves in the Divine image, and a way that all people may begin to experience God as multigendered.” She then points out that “Modern Jewish feminism, like other types of spiritual feminism, has woven itself with the ecological movement.”

The chapter closes with a look at contemporary views of Goddess in Judaism from several authors and introduces an in-depth look at the role of priestessing today, a focus which continues for the next 13 chapters, each of which is devoted to one of the “thirteen specific priestesshoods documented in the Bible an/or later Jewish tradition. . . . In myth, thirteen is a significant number, representing the moons of the year and the months of a woman’s cycle.” Each of these chapters ends with a “spirit journey,” much like a guided meditation, and with Rav Kohenet Taya’s practice suggestions.

These thirteen priestess paths with which the Kohenet Hebrew Priestess Institute works are: Weaver-Priestess, Prophetess-Priestess, Shrinekeeper-Priestess, Witch-Priestess, Maiden-Priestess, Mother-Priestess, Queen-Priestess, Midwife-Priestess, Wise-Woman-Priestess, Mourning-Woman-Priestess, Seeker-Priestess, Lover-Priestess, Fool-Priestess. Chapter 16 takes another look at all these paths, focusing on their future potential. Chapter 17, an epilogue, tells about the 2009 ritual ordaining the first class of priestesses trained by the Institute.

The back matter of the book contains two appendices:“MotherLine Ritual Materials,” and “Kohenet Biographical Statements” from the priestesses, including the 3 core faculty, and the 43 students who had been ordained by the time the book went to press. There are also 18 pages of endnotes, 12 pages of references, a 14-page index, an Acknowledgments section, and an “About the authors” page.

The Hebrew Priestess brings together an enormous amount of historical material, making a convincing case for the inclusion in Judaism of what we call today the sacred feminine, or the divine embodied as female, or Goddess, as well as the participation of women as priestesses. The book shows how these traditions persisted despite efforts to suppress and deny them, and how Hebrew Goddess priestessing might further be developed today and in the future. It is an extraordinary book – scholarly, inspiring, and, for me, exciting. I recommend it to you with great enthusiasm.

In addition to their continuing leadership at the Hebrew Priestess Institute:

Rabbi Jill Hammer holds a Ph.D in social psychology from the University of Connecticut and received rabbinical ordination from the Jewish Theological Seminary. She is director of spiritual education at the Academy for Jewish Religion in Yonkers, New York, author of 4 previous books and co-author, with Taya Shere, of Siddur haKohenot: A Hebrew Priestess Prayerbook.

Taya Shere teaches at the Starr King School for the Ministry, has recorded several albums of chant, has led a Jewish congregation in the D.C. area of which she is now spiritual leader emeritus, and currently leads a spiritual community in Oakland, California

Two Additional ASWM Opportunities

In addition to the Kore Award mentioned in our August Buzz Coil (see post below), the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology has announced two additional opportunities (ASWM material that follows is marked "please distribute widely"):

2016 Biennial Conference

Association for the Study of Women and Mythology

April 1­2, 2016, Boston, Massachusetts

 

Call for Proposals

“Seeking Harbor in Our Histories: Lights in the Darkness”

Goddess Scholarship draws on historical, ethnographic and folk sources, among others, to document and honor the sacred and mundane stories which animate the traditions and spiritual lives of our global sisters and our foremothers. In past conferences, the innovative methodologies and scholarship of ASWM participants have served to problematize contemporary perceptions of civilization, “modernization” and “progress.” Multi­discipline research methodologies have focused on representing historical, thealogical, philosophical, mythological, symbolic, cultural, linguistic and aesthetic lineages.

 

This year’s conference theme embraces the heritage of location in the historical City of Boston, a harbor city rich in stories and symbols of First Nations of the Atlantic Northeast and the formation of the United States.

 

We invite papers and panels including,​but not limited to​the following topics:

●Harbor and hearth as women­centered metaphors

●Myth and lineage of the spirit of place, especially focus on the larger Boston area

●Indigenous stories, histories, and women’s communities of the Atlantic North East

●Paradigms of rebellion, freedom and independence

●Water, ritual and civilization, stories of aquatic goddesses

●Perspectives on First Nations/First Worlds

●Women’s sense of self, social agency, and their roles as citizens

●The female principle in ethics and ancient wisdom for modern times

●Cultural ecofeminism

●Animal mysteries and myth

●Ancestry, foremothers and methodology

●Changing experiences and definitions of the sacred and the profane

 

Papers should be 20 minutes; panels with up to four papers on a related topic may be proposed together. Workshop proposals should be organized to provide audience interaction and must clearly address the theme. All sessions and workshops are limited to 90 minutes.

Presenters from all disciplines are welcome, as well as creative artists and practitioners who engage mythic themes in a scholarly manner in their work. Presenters must become members of ASWM.

Send 250 ­word abstract (for panels, 200 word abstract plus up to 150 words per paper) in PDF or MSWord to aswmsubmissions@gmail.com by November 15, 2015. ​Use “2016 proposal” and last name in subject header.  ​Include bio of up to 70 words for each presenter, as well as contact information including surface address and email. See ​www.womenandmyth.org​ for program updates and registration.

 

Association for the Study of Women and Mythology

Sarasvati Nonfiction Book Award Notification

 

The Sarasvati Book Award solicits nonfiction books published during 2013-2015 in the field of goddess studies.  Named for the Hindu goddess of learning and the creative arts, the Sarasvati award from the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology (ASWM) honors creative work in the field of goddess and mythology studies. The award will be presented during ASWM’s biennial conference, Boston, April 1-2, 2016.

 

Past winners include Sacred Display: Divine and Magical Female Figures of Eurasia by Miriam Robbins Dexter and Voctor H. Mair (Cambria, 2010). and The Dancing Goddesses:  Folklore, Archaeology and the Origins of European Dance, by Elizabeth Wayland Barber (Norton, 2013).

 

Note to Publishers

 

Please submit books for consideration and guidelines queries at this email address: aswmsubmissions@gmail.com  Deadline for submissions is December 1, 2015; the winner will be notified by February 25 2016.

 

The award covers books published during the past two calendar years. Nominations must come from the publisher. Self-published books and anthologies are not eligible for the award.

 

Criteria for Submission

 

·        --Must be published in the last two calendar years 

·      --Must belong to the field of goddess studies and mythology  

·      --Must add to and enhance the field of goddess and mythology studies with distinction 

·      --Must demonstrate an original approach to goddess and mythology studies in all its diversity