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.

Goddess Temple of Ashland Priestess Convergence

Early registration for the 3rd annual Goddess Temple of Ashland (Oregon) Priestess Convergence ends April 1. The event is scheduled for Sept. 14-17 and plans include: Ritual Immersion in the Sacred Spring (Mikvah); Honoring Ceremony for the Trusted Men of the Temple; Priestess Arts; Serpent Initiation; Holy Bee Medicine; Oracular Attunement; and omni-faith, all-generations Sisterhood. For registration information, go to the Convergence page on the Temple's Website  and scroll down to the registration information under the photos of last year's convergence.

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.

Deadline Extended to Oct. 6 for Abstracts for Pagan Studies Conference

According to an email received from the organizers of the Conference on Current Pagan Studies to be held January 23-24, 2016 at Claremont Graduate University, the deadline for "paper abstracts" has been extended to October 6. The theme of the Conference is Social Justice. Quoting from the email, with words of particular interest to readers of this blog italicized by me, and with the addition of the bracketed phrase at the end ):

"We face issues of social justice everywhere we look, from something as overwhelming as #blacklivesmatter to the seeming trivial Wiccanate privilege.  Like the innumerable heads of the Lernaean Hydra, it seems that every time we manage to quell an issue involving racism, sexism, or privilege, two more such issues appear.  Add to this the poisonous breath of the hate rhetoric that surrounds these issues, and virulent ichor of the rigid beliefs from which such transgressions emerge, the task of those on the side of social justice does appears quite Herculean. How do we as Pagans, Wiccans, Druids, Witches, Heathens and the many other paths that have arisen incorporate these concerns into our research, our outlook, our activism, etc.? We are using this idea in its broadest terms. We are hoping to encompass issues concerning racism, feminism, womanism, eco-justice, food security, gender justice, classism, neo-colonialism, etc. seen through the eyes of our scholars/activists.

"We are looking for papers from all disciplines. A community needs artists, teachers, scientists, healers, historians, philosophers, educators, thinkers, activists, etc. As usual, we are using Pagan in its most inclusive form, covering pagans, wiccans, witches and the numerous hybrids that have sprung up as well as any indigenous groups that feel akin to or want to be in conversation with Pagans. Abstracts should be no longer than 300 words. . . Go to our website www.paganconference.com for advice on presenting papers..." [and for the email address to which you can send papers].

Goddess Ritual Scheduled for Parliament of World Religions

{updated 9/15/15}
We are glad to share with you,  with permission,  an announcement from Faelind, High Priestess of the Tree of Knowledge Coven in Dallas.  (We edited it only slightly. Goddess Alive! is a different ritual from the "Dancing the Goddess Home" ritual that was part of the Goddess 2000 celebration.)   

 

“Goddesses Alive! A Ritual with Masks” has been chosen to be performed at the upcoming Parliament of World Religions in Salt Lake City, Utah, in October 2015.  Originally created in celebration of the Goddess 2000 Project by M. Macha NightMare (Aline O’Brien) and mask-maker Lauren Raine, this ritual draws from several different contemporary and historical Pagan paths.  Incorporating music and singing, chant and narrative, dance and direct interaction with attendees, 13 embodied indigenous, ethnic, and historical faces of Goddesses speak to the issues of climate change and care for creation, respect for women and Nature, and can bring an experiential awareness of the divine feminine.

 

What: The 2015 Parliament of the World’s Religions

When: October 15 - 19, 2015

Where: Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City, Utah, USA

The Parliament is the oldest, the largest, and the most inclusive gathering of people of all faith and traditions. The first Parliament took place in 1893. Since then, this historic event has taken place in Chicago, USA • Cape Town, South Africa • Barcelona, Spain R 26; Melbourne, Australia - and this year will be in Salt Lake City, Utah!

  

http://www.parliamentofreligions.org/content/salt-lake-2015

 

I am honored to be presenting Inanna among the 13 Goddesses. . . .Let me know if you would like to participate. We need technical assistants (low-tech for hand-held mag lights).

 

I hope to see some of you there!

 

Blessings,

Faelind

High Priestess of the Tree of Knowledge Coven in Dallas, TX 

 

 

AAR Extends CFP Deadline for 2015 Regional Conference

The American Academy of Religion, Western Region, has extended to Oct. 5 the deadline of its Call for Papers.  The regional conference will be held in  Santa Clara CA on March 20-22. 2015. Among the many religions and traditions included in the Call is Goddess Studies, for which the Call includes:
"Whatever your methodology (archetypal, cultural studies, feminist, postcolonial theory, queer theory, race and ethnicity) or academic field (anthropology, archeology, literature, mythology, philosophy, psychology, religious studies), this panel seeks contributions to the importance of Goddess Studies within academia. From Egyptian goddesses to Catholic saints to the Haitian Vodou pantheon, we welcome a wide array of perspectives."

Among the other topics included in the CFP are Buddhism and Magick; Ecology and Religion; Ethics; Indigenous Religions; Pagan Studies; Philosophy of Religion; Queer Studies; Religion and Arts; Religion, Literature, and Film; Womanist/Pan African; and Women and Religion. 

Max Dashú, Australian Goddess Conference

Max Dashú, founder of the Suppressed History Archives in the U.S., will be one of presenters at the 2014 Australian Goddess Conference Oct. 24-26 in Sydney. Dashú will also be presenting lectures and workshops through November in Blue Mountains, Brisbane, Grange, Bundaberg, Melbourne (including an event with author Susan Hawthorne), and Tasmania.

With the theme, "The Wellspring," the Conference will include about 24 presenters including, in addition to Dashú, Jane Elworthy, shamanic musician; Glenys Livingstone, author and founder of MoonCourt in Blue Mountains; Anique Radiant Heart, author, musician, and founder of the Temple of the Global Goddess near Maitland. Also, Maree Lipschitz, Lindy Spanger, Asha Maria, Mardi Terrasson, Jennifer McCormack, Jacqui Bushell, Jane Hardwicke Collings, Kristen Lee Read, Sharon Freeman, Yia Alias, Elizabeth Brandis, Karen Oakley, Rena Hoffman, Chris Sitka, Frances Billinghurst, Kaalii Cargill, Tracy (Ariana) McFie & Larissa O'Neill, Sara Catherine Motta, Jess Krop, Kristan Lee Read, and Kerri Ryan.

CFP for ASWM 2015 Symposium

[link updated 11/2]
The Association for the Study of Women and Mythology (ASWM) has issued a Call for Proposals for presentations at its 2015 Symposium to be held April 11, 2015 in Portland, Oregon. The theme of the Symposium is "Tales and Totems: Lineage and Myth in Goddess Scholarship." The deadline for submission of proposals is November 15. 

ASWM invites proposals for papers, panels, and workshops including, but not limited to, these topics:
·       Tales and totems of the Pacific Northwest
·       Ancestry, foremothers and methodology
·       Prehistory, history and changing experiences of the sacred and the profane
·       Shakti, prakriti, and purusha from east to west
·       Goddess myths, clans, and communities
·       Cultural ecofeminism
·       Myth and lineage of sacred places
·       Animals as totems and symbols
·       Creation stories of the First Nations, particularly the Pacific North West
·       Indigenous myths, aboriginal histories, and women’s communities
·       First Nations, First Worlds, Third Worlds and the global environmental crises
·       Totems and symbolic language
·       Goddess lineage, rituals and community
·       Mother earth, motherhood and matriarchy
·      Altars in the home, nature and at work
For more information go here.

Australian Goddess Conference, Oct. 24-26

Early-bird registration for the 2014 Australian Goddess Conference, being held in Sydney Australia Oct. 24-26, is open now through Aug. 31. The early, reduced-fee registration requires that you be a member of the sponsoring organization, Goddess Association in Australia, Inc (GAIA); membership costs $15 AUD (currently $14.81 US, $15.12 Canadian, 10.96 EU, 8.20 £ ). Early-bird registration represents a $50 AUD savings over registration made after Aug. 31.

Announced presenters for the conference, themed "The Wellspring," include: Max Dashu, Jane Elworthy, Glenys Livingstone, Anique Radiant Heart, Maree Lipschitz, Lindy Spanger, Asha Maria, Mardi Ferrasson,  Jennifer McCormick, Jacqui Bushell, Jodie Danaan, Jane Hardwick Collings, Kristan Read, Sharon Freeman, Yia Alias, Elizabeth Brandis, Karen Oakley, Rena Hoffman, Chris Sitka, Frances Billinghurst, Kaali Cargill, Talulah Gough, Ariana McFie, Larissa O'Neill, Phoenix Arrien, Hollie B, Angela Brosso, Sara Catherine Motta, Jess Krop, and Kerri Ryan. More information about the presenters and their workshops is here.

For the "herstory" of the Conference, click here. 

Glastonbury Goddess Conference in late July

Painting, "Antler" Copyright by Carolyn Hillyer

The 19th Annual Glastonbury Goddess Conference will be held July 29-August 3 in Glastonbury, England, with fringe events starting July 26. Themed "Celebrating the Crone Goddess: The Cauldron and the Loom," presenters (alphabetically by first name) include:  Anique Radiant Heart, Carolyn Hillyer, Dragonfly, Jane Meredith, Kathy Jones, Kelliana, Lydia Ruyle,  Starhawk, Tricia Szirom, Wendy Rule, and others. There will also be a masqued ball and, on the last day of the conference, a "Procession through Glastonbury to the Sacred Landscape of the Crone in Avalon." See the provisional programme for more conference event details. Fringe events will include a Lammas Ceremony, "Honouring the Abundant Mother," at the Glastonbury Goddess Temple on July 4 at 7:30 p.m., as well as events led by (in order of announced appearance): Katrina Soetens, Marion Brigantia Eupen, Starhawk, Carolyn Hillyer, and Joanne Foucher. You can register for the entire conference, for separate days, for parts of days, for Saturday evening's Masqued Ball only, and for fringe events separately. You can book directly online, or through the regular mail with a pdf form available here.   ("Antler" pic added 6/15/2014, 12:33 p.m., thanks to Kathy Jones.)

Preparations for last year's Conference: Video by Marion van Eupen
 

(This post is updated from a post last February, which has a video of the 2013 traditional procession through Glastonbury.)

Brighid Festival in May in Canada

"Brighid for All Seasons: Fire in the Soul," a festival for women, will be held May 2-4 in London, Ontario, Canada. It is sponsored by the Women's Centre for Spirituality, Activism and the Earth and will be guest facilitated by Mary Condren, national director of the Institute for Feminism and Religion in Dublin, Ireland, with additional facilitation by Mary Hamilton, pioneer in dance and theater education, and Ann Skinner, voice specialist and creator with Marion Woodman and Mary Hamilton of BodySoul Rhythms. The festival will include lectures, rituals, music and dance, and labyrinth walk.

Conference on Gimbutas' Work in Italy Next Month

"Marija Gimbutas: Twenty Years of Goddess Studies" will be held May 9-10 at Casa Internazionale delle Donne in Rome. The Conference opens on May 9 with an exhibit containing the work of 11 artists and introduced by Lydia Ruyle. This will be followed by meditative movement and ritual performance.  Saturday's program will be introduced by Luciana Percovich and Morena Luciani. Presenters are to include Joan Marler, Harald Haarmann, Sirka Capone, Filomena Tufara, Laura Leone, Sara Perini, Giovanni Feo, Adele Campanelli, Valerie Aliberti, and Sandra Schiassi. For more information (in Italian), see convegni.associazionelaima.it/2014/

Thanks to Lydia Ruyle for the assistance in translating the Conference information from Italian.

Goddess Conference 2014 in Vienna, Austria

A Goddess Conference will be held May 1-3 in Vienna, Austria. The conference honors the water goddesses in particular and is being held in the Schloss Laudon, a castle turned conference center situated on a lake (once a moat). The conference, under the matronage of Zsuzsanna Budapest, will include workshops, music, dance, and ceremonies led by various presenters . Z will also lead a separate workshop there on May 9-11.

The sites linked to in this announcement are in German.  Google Translate and other translation sites can be used to translate the German into whatever language you speak most fluently.

Glastonbury Goddess Conference 2014

The 19th annual Glastonbury Goddess Conference will begin July 29 and run through August 3, with fringe events beginning July 26, Kathy Jones, conference organizer, announced. The theme of this year's conference is "Celebrating the Crone Goddess: The Cauldron & the Loom." The conference is held in Glastonbury, England, aka Avalon, also the location of the Glastonbury Goddess Temple. The Conference traditionally culminates with a parade through Glastonbury (see video below for last year's).

"Come and enjoy this amazing Transformational Spiritual and Bodily Experience held within the temenos of the Sacred Isle of Avalon, in which Priestesses, Presenters and Participants journey together through Sacred Ceremony, Presentations, Workshops & Performances, moving ever more deeply into the Heart of the Mysteries of the Crone Goddess." Kathy wrote.  "Come for a day or for an ultimate life-changing Goddess experience participate in the whole Conference!!"
 
Among the announced presenters are Anique Radiant-Heart, Carolyn Hillyer, Dragonsfly, Kathy Jones, Jane Meredith, Julie Felix, Kellianna, Starhawk, Terence Meaden, Tricia Szirom, and Wendy Rule.

Among the art exhibitions:
--Carolyn Hillyer: The House of the Ancient Weavers, including:  "The Loom of Ancient Weavers," "The Tomb of Ashes and Earth," "The Old Women’s Weaving Room," and "Old Woman’s Face through Young Woman’s Eye."  Carolyn and Annabel du Boulay will coordinate the creation of a Death Road to be sewn by volunteers during the conference and walked in Ceremony.
--Tiana Pitman: "Crow and Crone."
--And work of Ange Massey, Foosiya, Miller, Gwen Davies, Vikki Shillingform, and Kent Goddess Temple.

The full Conference programme is here. The full fringe program is here.

Here's video from last year's Procession (thank you, You Tube.):

'Cons on the Coasts

The East and West Coasts of the United States will be hosting Pagan conferences about a month apart.

Sacred Space will be held March 13-16 at the Holiday Inn in Laurel MD, about midway between DC and Baltimore. Registration is currently open. Among the presenters are featured presenters Selena Fox, Orion Foxwood, and M. Macha NightMare, and sponsored teachers Jason Pitzl-Waters and Renna Shesso. A complete list of presenters and workshops currently scheduled is here.  

Pantheacon 2014 will be held Feb. 14-17 in San Jose CA. Though online registration is now closed, you can register at the 'Con. Lodging information is here. Just some of the many individuals and groups presenting workshops and other events are: Max Dashu, Thalassa, Margot Adler, Mary Greer, Selena Fox, Starhawk, Brandy Williams, Victoria Slind-Flor, Luna Pantera, Sara Astarte, Amber K, Temple of Aphrodite, Sacred Fires and CAYA Coven, and Temple of Inanna and Dumuzi. There will be several opportunities to participate in sacred dance, and several concerts, including one with Holly Tannen and Ruth Barrett. For more on events and presenters see the program guide.

Update for ASWM Conference

The following information is a slightly edited version of information from Sid Reger, who encouraged recipients to share it widely:

January 31 is the deadline for Early Bird registration for Borderlands: Scholarship as Pilgrimage and Mystery, the March 28-29 National Conference of the Association for the Study of Women And Mythology (ASWM).  It will feature keynotes by Jean Shinoda Bolen-- “Borderlands;” Sylvia Marcos--“Duality and Divinity: Gender and Eros in Mesoamerican Spirituality” and Laura Fragua-Cota, Jemez Pueblo artist, on her art and inspirations.

Some of the panel topics include: Collective Goddesses of Place in Ancient Europe, The Persistence of Corn Mothers, Gender Borderlands as Sacred, Transformation of Divinities, The Goddess in the Jewish Tradition, Exploring Horses as Living Myths, Mothers Who Won't Back Down, Myth & Magic: Spiritual Power and Sexual Agency in European Folk Tales, Crossing Over: Intra and Inter-species Transformation and Empowerment, Reading the Goddess: Literary Interpretations of the Great Mother, and Shamanism, Indigenous Grandmothers and Art: Remembering our Womb Connection to Ashpamama.

For the past decade, ASWM has been creating events intertwining scholarship, education, ritual, and the arts exploring aspects of the sacred feminine, women, and mythology. It has become known as a great place to hear what’s new in scholarship and to meet other like-minded people. This year’s national conference will take place March 28-29 at the El Tropicano hotel on the Riverwalk in San Antonio, TX. Please see ASWM Conference program updates and registration information for the latest details.
 

The ASWM Conference will be preceded on Thursday, March 27, by Matriarchal Studies Day--a symposium of international speakers. Click the preceding link for more information on the program and registration details for this separate event.

Matriarchal Studies Day and ASWM Conference

Matriarchal Studies Day 2014 will be held March 27, 2014 in San Antonio, Texas. It precedes by one day the Conference of the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology (ASWM), March 28-29 in San Antonio. These are two separate conferences requiring separate registrations but held at the same venue.

Matriarchal Studies Day presenters include Lydia Ruyle, Joan Chihon, Christina Biaggi, Lauren Rain, Miriam Robbins Dexter, and Vicki Noble. For a full list of presenters and bios, as well as registration information, see kaykeys.net/ms-day-registration-2014 Registration is least expensive if you register by the end of January.

The theme of the Third National ASWM Conference is "Borderlands: Scholarship as Pilgrimage and Mystery." Keynote speakers are Jean Shinola Bolen, Sylvia Marcos, and Laura Fragua-Cota. Activities include a number of panels on a variety of subjects and cultures. For program information, see womenandmyth.org. For registration information see aswm.conferencetime.com Registration is least expensive before the end of January.

ASWM Issues Call for Papers

The Association for the Study of Women & Mythology (ASWM) has issued a Call for Papers to be presented at its upcoming biennial symposium, "Lady of Ten Thousand Lakes: Finding Wisdom in Places" to be held in St. Paul, Minnesota on April 20, 2013. Proposals may include papers, panels, and workshops. ASWM says it will give preference to the following topics, but is not limiting submissions to these topics: 

--How do and should the scholarship in Goddess Studies and Women’s Mythology and Spirituality engage with the sense and reality of place? 

--What women’s myths are especially grounded in a place or places?

--What happens when such disciplines as Natural History, Ecology, and other sciences of place interact with Women and Mythology?

--What does place mean methodologically?

--How does our scholarship change when place becomes an element or partner in our research? How does this intersect with Embodied Research or Embodied Methodologies?

--What are the criteria for solid scholarship using these new models?

--Do issues of place add an activist quality to our scholarship?
--Does activism have a place in scholarship?
--What does it mean to find wisdom in places?
 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. (Workshops are limited to 90 minutes.)

Presenters from all disciplines are welcome, as well as creative artists and practitioners whose work includes scholarly presentation of mythic themes. Deadline for submissions is January 15. If interested, please read complete information on the ASWM website. 

Third Iberian Goddess Conference In Madrid This September

The Third Iberian Goddess Conference will be held in Madrid, Spain, September 27-30. It is sponsored by the We Reclaim the Goddess Association.  The Conference opens with a Masked Ball on Friday, Sept. 28, followed by a buffet dinner and Goddess songs, theater, and dance. Saturday and Sunday events include presentations, ceremonies, and workshops. Announed presenters include Kathy Jones and Mike Jones of the Glastonbury Goddess Temple, Miranda Gray, author; Miriana, founder of La Arboleda de la Gaia; Carmen Manderas, dance therapist; Carmen Garcia Enguita, teacher, artist, sex therapist; Katinka Soetens, Priestess of Avalon, doula, and dancer; Helen Peris of La Arboleda de la Gaia and dancer. For more information see the Conference website with information in English and español . 

April 17 Early Deadline for ASWM Conference & Matriarchal Studies Day

The Association for the Study of Women and Mythology has announced that the deadline for early registration reduced fee has been extended to  April 17  for its 2012 Conference, "Creating the Chalice: Imagination and Integrity in Goddess Studies" in San Francisco, May 11-12. Planned speakers and presenters include Charlene Spretnak, winner of the ASWM 2012 Demeter Award, Judy Grahn, Luisah Teish, Ana Castillo, Miriam Robbins Dexter, Heide Goettner-Abendroth, Max Dashu, Patricia Monaghan, Annie Finch, Jennifer Berezen, Dorotea Reyna,  Jean Shinoda Bolen, Macha NightMare, Lauren Raine,Vicki Noble,  Z Budapest, Morning Glory Zell, Letecia Layson, Sudie Radusin, Christina Biaggi, and Ava Park. More information on the Conference program can be found here and  here. More information on registration can be found here and here.

In conjunction with the Conference, a "Matriarchal Studies Day" will be held May 10, keynoted by Heide Goettner-Abendroth. Other planned presenters include Lydia Ruyle, Max Dashu, Joan Marler, Lucia Birnbaum, Vicki Noble, Marguerite Rigoglioso, Leilani Birely. Delphine Red Shirt, MaShiAat Oloya Tyehimba-Ford, Mariam Tazi-Preve. Malika Grasshof–Kabyle, and Deborah L. Neff. Early registration deadline is also April 17. More information can be found here.