Passing of Flash Silvermoon

updated 12/28/17
Flash Silvermoon (aka Deborah Kotler) died of renal failure December 15 at the age of 67 at the University of Florida Health Shands Hospital where she was a patient. Well known in the wider Goddess community, she was a musician, Tarot reader, psychic, astrologer, author of The Wise Woman 's Tarot book and creator deck of the same name. Also an animal communicator, she appeared on a weekly podcast, "What the Animals Tell Me." You can find more about these on flashsilvermoon.com. For a longer obituary with photos, see the Gainesville Times .

May Flash Silvermoon rest in the arms of the Goddess and be renewed.

In Memoriam: Lydia Ruyle 1935-2016, Creator of Goddess Icon Spirit Banners

updated 3/31/16, with addition of second video
updated 4/21, 4/23 with additional links at end

Lydia Ruyle, artist and scholar, died yesterday in her home state of Colorado of brain cancer diagnosed about a month ago. She was 8o. She was known internationally for her Goddess Icon Banners honoring female deities around the world.

She was an artist scholar emeritus at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, which established a Lydia Ruyle Room of Women’s Art, a scholarship in her name, and gave her a lifetime achievement award. She received her BA degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder, and MA degree from from UNC. She also studied with Syracuse University in Italy, France, Spain, and with the Art Institute of Chicago in Indonesia. She worked regularly at Santa Reparata International School of Art in Florence, Italy and Columbia College Center for Book and Paper in Chicago. For a number of years, she led women’s pilgrimage journeys to sacred places around the world. Among the countries where her Goddess Icon Spirit Banners have flown are: Australia, Canada, Britain, France, Luxembourg, Italy, Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Russia, Turkey, Ghana, Kenya, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Japan, Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet, China and the U.S. She is author of Goddess Icons Spirit Banners of the Divine Feminine  (2002), and Goddesses of the Americas: Spirit Banners of the Divine Feminine, published this month. She received the 2013 Brigit Award for excellence in the arts from the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology.

 

I became personally acquainted with Lydia on a internet discussion list where she kept us up to date on her many fascinating experiences with her banners. Perhaps the most remarkable one was her experience surrounding the disappearance and then reappearance of 40 of her banners. She allowed the story to be posted on this blog under her byline and the title , “Forty Goddess Banners Take a Detour in 2014.” When I contacted Lydia several years ago to ask if I could use her banner art on the cover of the third edition of my book, She Lives! The Return of Our Great Mother, she did not hesitate to say yes, and gave me innumerable banners from which to make my selection. I will always be grateful for her generosity.

May all the Goddesses of her banners surround her with love and blessings, and may she rest in their arms and be renewed.

 Here is a You Tube video with Lydia’s banners and other goings-on, first shown at a conference several years ago; music is Jennifer Berezan’s “Returning.”

update 3/31/16: The following video is copyright 2015 by filmmaker Isadora Gabrielle Leidenfrost. It is narrated by Lydia Ruyle and has autobiographical material beginning with her childhood.

 
Links with more information about Lydia Ruyle:

 

Extensive Wild Hunt obituary (quoting some material from this blog)

Family obituary with services and memorial gift info

Greeley(Co.) Tribute obituary

(Tribute) In Loving Memory of Lydia Ruyle (1935-2016) by Mago Circle Members

 

Announcement of her most recent book on Goddess-Ink.

Lydia’s  article in Goddess Pages 

Just Published: Merlin Stone Remembered

Last April I was asked to write what is known in the book trade as a “blurb,” or “endorsement” of a work-in-progress planned to be published as a remembrance of Merlin Stone and centered around the remembrances of Merlin’s life partner of 34 years, Lenny Schneir. A few months later the book was acquired by Llewellyn Worldwide. It has now been published with the authors listed as David B. Axelrod, Carol F. Thomas, and Lenny Schneir. A quote from my blurb is included among the many endorsements printed in the beginning and on the back cover of this book. As is common when a publisher has received many endorsements, they used only one line from most blurbs, including mine. I’d like to share with you here my entire blurb for the book, Merlin Stone Remembered, and also give you a little more of an idea of what the book contains.

“This book is a lovely and loving tribute to the late Merlin Stone, a foremother of Goddess feminism, author, sculptor, and professor of art history. Remembering Merlin Stone includes a beautiful and revealing memoir by her life partner, poet and poker player Lenny Shneir, along with his poetry, previously unpublished material by Stone, pictures, and other treasures by a number of contributors. What a gift to those of us familiar with Stone’s work, as well as those who want to know more about her life, both personal and professional.”

--Judith Laura, author of Goddess Spirituality for the 21^st Century: From Kabbalah to Quantum Physics
 
The book also includes a preface, essay, and epilogue by Carol Thomas; an editor’s note, poem, and several essays by David Axelrod; a long introduction by Gloria Orenstein, placing Stone’s work in the context of work that came before and was contemporaneous with hers; excerpts from Stone’s writing--published and unpublished--including chapter 10 of When God was a Woman, “Unraveling the Myth of Adam and Eve”; letters from admirers (mostly unattributed) including one (attributed) from Robert Kennedy in a section on Stone’s sculpture; and an essay by Cynthia Stone Davis. The book also has many illustrations.

In Memoriam: Margot Adler 1946-2014

With a great sense of loss yet gratitude for a life well lived, I inform you of the death today of Margot Adler from cancer. She was 68. Many are they who came to Goddess and Paganism through Margot's book, Drawing Down the Moon.  She is also the author of the autobiography, Heretic's Heart: A Journey through Spirit and Revolution, and most recently, Vampires Are Us. I am grateful for having being able to attend one of her workshops with ritual many years ago---she was an exquisite ritual leader. The world outside of the Pagan community probably best knows Margot from her reporting on National Public Radio, where she began working in 1979. NPR has posted this obituary.

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

In Memoriam: Lady Loreon Vigne of Isis Oasis

 We join the Pagan community in mourning the passing on July 15 of Lady Loreon Vigne, Founder and Archpriestess of Isis Oasis in Geyersville, California. She was 82. An obituary for Lady Loreon appears online in July 18 issue of  the Geyersville Press Democrat. Among the online memorializations are a Fellowship of Isis tribute on July 16, and in a July 19 post in The Wild Hunt. 

May she rest in the arms of the Goddess Isis and be renewed.

[updated July 26]

Morning Glory Zell, 1948-2014

We join the Pagan community in mourning the passing of Morning Glory Zell (aka Morning Glory Zell-Ravenheart), a founder with her husband Oberon of the Church of All Worlds and a creator and editor of  Green Egg Magazine, both founded in the mid 20th century. According to her Facebook page, she died May 13 at 5:42 p.m. For more information, see The Wild Hunt and her FB page.

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

In Memoriam: Olivia Robertson 1917-2013

Olivia Robertson, co-founder of the Fellowship of Isis, passed into spirit the evening of November 14 in the UK. She was 96. A tribute to her on the Fellowship of Isis Central website, along with links to related spiritual material, can be found here. A page of links to other information about her can be found here. Memorials and funerals will be held beginning with a service Nov. 20 at Huntington Castle in Clonegal, Ireland, followed by Church of Ireland service at St. Fiacc's in Clonegal. Additional memorials are being planned for Nov. 27 and for December. For more information see the websites of Fellowship of Isis  and Fellowship of Isis Central. [updated Nov. 17, 12:42 a.m.]

May she rest in the arms of Isis and be renewed.

In Memoriam: Layne Redmond, 1952-2013

We mourn the passing of Layne Redmond, author of When The Drummers Were Women, frame drummer and teacher.  Layne died of cancer the morning of Oct. 28 in Asheville NC. She was 61. I feel fortunate to have been able to attend her "Buzz Off" birthday party via live internet streaming August 17, and inspired by her high spirits and openness as death approached. Many tributes are already springing up like flowers on the Internet. At this moment, some of them are:
The Wild Hunt (posted by Jason Pitzl-Waters, written by Wendy Griffin) with 2 videos
One Vibration
Percussive Arts Society
The Witch of Stitches
Layne's Facebook Page
Women Frame Drumming on Facebook
Drum Magazine on Facebook
[updated 11:34 p.m. 10/29]

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

In Memoriam: Laura Janesdaughter

[updated 12:20 p.m. 5/29/13]
We join in mourning the death of Laura Janesdaughter, founder of the Temple of Isis/LA, priestess in the Fellowship of Isis, Arch Druidess in Hazelwood Grove in the Druid Clan of Dana, and member of Long Beach (CA) Womanspirit.  She died of cancer on May 27.

She was ordained as a Priestess of Isis in the Fellowship of Isis on September 28, 1990.

The following information is taken from the Long Beach Womanspirit public Facebook page:

"Laura took her last breath at 5:03AM while the sun was rising in the east and the moon setting in the west. After a few moments of silence the first morning bird began to sing through the window behind the altar.

"Encircled in red ribbon, wings draped across her breast and torso, Catherine, Cat and I at bedside read together, 'To Isis, Wings - En Iset, Denhwy' from Offering to Isis by Isidora Forrest, spoke the Hymn we have heard Laura speak in ritual for over 20 years:

"Open Heaven's Gates, draw back the bolts
We have come to sing for Isis!
We have come to praise Your Name, O Flame!
We have come to adore the Great Speaker of Spells.
How beautiful Her Face, happy, renewed, refreshed
As the day Her Mother first fashioned Her
All Praises to the Queen of Heaven and Earth.
All Hail the Goddess Isis
All Hail Laura"
In Laura's memory, we share a video of her in ritual at the Isis Birthday 2010/Heal the Waters.  


Two memorial services are being planned, one in October in Long Beach CA, and another by her family in Grants Pass OR.

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

Memorial services for Patricia Monaghan

Today I received the following news (and permission to publish it here) from Selena Fox of Circle Sanctuary about the memorial for her longtime friend, colleague and neighbor, Patricia Monaghan:

On Saturday, December 1, 2012 memorial services will be held in Wisconsin to celebrate the life, works, and legacy of scholar, poet, spiritual practitioner and leader, and social activist Patricia Monaghan (1946-2012) who died from cancer on Sunday, November 11. Michael McDermott, her husband, invites you to remember, honor and continue the work of Patricia.

Patricia carried on to the end on her work including the paperback version of the new Goddesses and Heroines; her book Brigit, Sun of Womanhood, co-edited with Michael; a new book of poetry linking her love of her Wisconsin with her Ireland; strengthening the Black Earth Institute (BEI) and the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology (ASWM).  These two organizations were important in building structures for the future. BEI was formed to have artists address the causes of inclusive spirituality, healing the earth and promoting social justice. ASWM was formed to increase the level and promotion of scholarship for goddess studies and women's mythical and legendary history.

Local food in all its facets was her other recent passion. Developing our home Brigit Rest as a center was yet another revealed. And the list can go on and on.

MEMORIAL EVENTS
On the morning of December 1, a Quaker Memorial Service will be held from 11 am - Noon at the Friends Meeting House of the Madison Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), 1704 Roberts Court in Madison, located behind the Associated Bank building near the intersection of Monroe Street and Spooner Avenue. This service is open to those of many faiths and philosophies. Some parking is available next to the building and on nearby streets. For more directions: http://www.madisonfriends.org   There is no need to RSVP to attend the Quaker Memorial Service.

In the afternoon, a Land-based Memorial Ceremony & Ashes Interment facilitated by Ruth Barrett will be held at 2 pm at Brigit Rest, the home of Patricia and her husband in the countryside near Black Earth. This ceremony will be held outdoors at a dedicated Ancestors' Grove where of some of Patricia's ashes will be placed under a tree recently picked out by Patricia and Michael.

Please bring a dish of already prepared food for the potluck reception table. If possible, bring a folding chair suitable for use outdoors and inside to use as seating, and if available, bring several to loan to others unable to bring their own. Please dress appropriate for the weather. Please do not bring dogs or other companion creatures. Parking is available along the driveway and nearby country roads.

Space is limited for this afternoon ceremony and must be reserved in advance. Please RSVP as soon as possible and before November 30 to reserve a place and to receive the address and directions. Include the names, phone numbers, and email addresses of all coming with you to Michael McDermott through blackearthinstitute.wordpress.com/

More information about Patricia is on-line at her website:
http://www.patricia-monaghan.com Donations may be made in her name to the Black Earth Institute, PO Box 424, Black Earth, WI 53515.

Message from Patricia Monaghan's Husband, Michael McDermott

The following is from Michael McDermott, the late Patricia Monaghan's spouse. He has asked it be distributed widely. I learned of this on a mailing list I'm on and received permission to reprint it here. The "informal ceremony" mentioned in the next to last paragraph has already taken place. However, the "formal ceremony" and Quaker Service announced in the last paragraph will take place on Dec. 1 in Wisconsin. Brigit Rest is Patricia and Michael's farm near Black Earth, Wisconsin.

From Michael McDermott:
I am devastated by the loss of my beloved wife and partner in all things, Patricia.  I am also filled with gratitude and love for all the wonderful things said about Patricia.  She has left our lives and yet she will live long.  There is a huge hollow in me and in the life and all the things that Patricia and I did and will do.

She traveled a journey with cancer these last 2 years.  It was a journey of hope and disappointment. It was a journey that included her work, whether it was finishing the paperback version of Goddesses and Heroines, how to strengthen the Black Earth Institute, the decorating scheme for the Wisconsin house after we moved from Chicago, or how to control the temperature in the new root cellar.
She was concerned that we had not yet put the dried beans from the garden. On Friday evening we were working on editing a manuscript until 11:30 at night.She died at home in my arms on Sunday morning at 3:45 AM.

She didn't like to be called brave though she was.  She didn't at all like being called a force of nature but she was. She didn't like it when people said, "How can you do so much?", but she "did" from morn 'till night.  W would work hard all day on many things and then say, "Well at least we got a little but done."

Patricia was a scholar, artist, spiritual practitioner and leader and political activist.  She was a gardener and literally a path creator. One of my favorite memories is of her pulling our large honey suckle bushes in the wet spring soil to create a path in our woods.  This creation she carried into all things, whether leading us to the goddess, to a land ethic or to the struggle for a more just society.

There will be an informal get together at Brigit Rest this Saturday from 2 PM to 7 PM.  More like a potluck where in addition to covered dishes bring memories or mementos of Patricia.  (Bring the covered dish, deserts and libations as well.)

A formal ceremony will be held on Saturday December 1 at Brigit Rest as well. There will be a service at the Madison meeting hall of the Society of Friends (Quakers) likely the same day.

Let us all honor Patricia for all the things she was and will be.

Michael McDermott

Prayer Hour for Patricia Monaghan

The following is by Kathleen Jenks of the Black Earth Institute, and is used with her permission here:

For those interested, Patricia's BlackEarth Institute community started a 9 pm EST prayer-hour for Patricia and her beloved husband, Michael, on Saturday night....One group of BlackEarthers even built a roaring bonfire to honor Patricia's "light," letting it burn right down to the embers so that no energy was wasted that she might need.

We didn't learned til noonish Sunday that she'd died in Michael's arms, taking her last breath at 3:45am Sunday morning.... The bonfire people hoped they'd contributed extra energy to Patricia for her passing -- and I'm sure they did....She was such a powerful, wise, amazingly sensate force of nature! It seemed impossible that she'd be leaving so soon. She even has 4 more books coming out in the near future!

Anyway, the 9 pm (EST) prayer hour will continue for a number of days for both Patricia and Michael. If you'd like to join-in, there's no need to notify anyone or sign up. Some (like me) light candles, others read aloud passages to her from her books, or just talk, sing old Irish songs, pray, light bonfires, whatever.         

Passing of Patricia Monaghan

updated 11/12/12, 10:45 a.m.
It is with great sadness that I write to inform you of the death in the early morning of Nov. 11 of Goddess scholar, author, poet, and novelist, Patricia Monaghan. She died of cancer. I consider myself fortunate to have met and interacted with Dr. Monaghan online and I know that many in the Goddess community consider her a friend and mentor. Among her books are The Goddess Path, The Red-Haired Girl from the Bog, O Mother Sun! A New View of the Cosmic Feminine, Goddesses in World Culture, The Encyclopedia of Celtic Myth and Folklore, The Encyclopedia of Goddesses and Heroines, Meditation (co-authored with Eleanor Vierek), the novel Alaska by Heart, Recipes of Independence by Sarah Pagen. Her book of poetry, Homefront, was awarded the Pushcart Prize for Literature in 2004. Her other poetry included Winterburning, Seasons of the Witch, and Dancing with Chaos.  Dr. Monaghan was professor of interdisciplinary studies at De Paul University in Chicago. With her husband, Michael McDermott MD, she was co-founder of the Black Earth Institute and senior fellow there.

Born in Brooklyn NY in 1946, she moved to Colorado and then Alaska with her family. She received an undergraduate degree from the University of Minnesota, an MFA in creative writing from the University of Alaska, and a PhD in interdisciplinary studies (science and literature) from Union Institute in Cincinnati. 

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

Circle Sanctuary Urges Aid for Wisconsin Sikh Community

From the Circle Times & Circle Community News emailed today and published by Circle Sanctuary in Wisconsin. (I have slightly edited and excerpted the material, mostly to be consistent with our policy of not giving email addresses, phone numbers, but rather referring readers to the originating website) :

Help the Sikh community of Oak Creek, Wisconsin, and others impacted by the shootings at the Sikh Temple of Wisconsin this past Sunday, August 5, 2012.

Here are some ways to help:
(1) ATTUNE: On Friday, August 10, from 9-11 am central time at Oak Creek High School near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, there will be a public visitation and remembrance of the six Sikhs killed on Sunday. Circle Sanctuary is among the religious communities in Wisconsin with representation at this event. Wherever you are, please attune and send blessings of condolence, healing, strength, protection, and support during this time. We also invite you to kindle a candle of remembrance, healing, and renewal this Saturday, August 11 at Noon central time. Circle Sanctuary minister Bob Paxton will be facilitating a community meditation then as part of this month's Sanctuary Day.Sanctuary Day is free and open to the public. If you wish to attend some or all of the day, please contact the Circle office for more details

(2) DONATE: Circle Sanctuary is among those taking part in an interfaith effort to raise funds for those directly affected by the shootings, including the families of the slain, those injured, and the police office who was shot multiple times in the line of service and his family. We will be raising funds at our website through August 31, 2012 and then sending the money we collected to the Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee. . . . We also are accepting donations for this special fund by postal mail. All donations are tax deductible in the USA.

(3) NETWORK: Support interfaith endeavors. Speak out in support of religious freedom. Express condolences and support to the Sikh community of Oak Creek, Wisconsin and elsewhere. Share this email with others. Circle Sanctuary's expressions of support:
Audio: http://circlepodcasts.org/condolences-and-support-to-sikh-temple-of-wisconsin-community/
Written: http://www.circlesanctuary.org/ministries/interfaith/sikh_temple/

Memorial Services for De-Anna Alba (1952-2012)

This information is derived from an email newsletter from Circle Sanctuary, which Selena Fox asked be shared:

An interfaith memorial service for Pagan author, elder, and priestess De-Anna Alba, also known as Wendy White, will be held Saturday, May 12 at 11 a.m. at the Church of the Incarnation (Episcopal), 550 Mendocino Ave., Santa Rosa, California. Selena Fox, senior minister of Circle Sanctuary, will give the eulogy and be one of the officiants.

A Pagan Memorial Service and cremains interment will be held July 21 at Circle Sanctuary in Wisconsin.

De-Anna Alba died on January 24 of complications of breast cancer. She was one of Circle Sanctuary's first priestesses and was Circle Sanctuary's first church secretary. She assisted Selena Fox with publications, events, music, networking, and other endeavors, and was part of the Pagan Spirit Gathering during its formative years.

You can share memories. tributes, etc. on this Circle Sanctuary page.

In Memoriam: Katrina 'Foxglove' Kessler, 1989-2012

We join the Pagan community in mourning the death on April 21 of Katrina "Foxglove" Kessler in a car accident in San Diego. She was host of the TV series "Foxglove's Lost and Found." Previously with the World of Witches Museum in Salem, Massachusetts, Foxglove recently moved to California and was active with Pagan groups there. A Wake will be held at Thomas Funeral Home in Canton, Massachusetts, Sunday, 4-8 p.m. A Memorial Service will be held 10 a.m. the morning of Beltane Eve. An on-air memorial is scheduled for May 4 on Pagans Tonight Radio at 9 p.m. ET. (This information comes from a more extensive April 27 post on The Wild Hunt.)
UPDATE:: 4/27, 10:46 p.m. More information about funeral arrangements can be found at the Dockray and Thomas Funeral Home website.
May she rest in the arms of the Goddess and be renewed.

In Memoriam: Christian Feminist Scholar Jane Schaberg

We mourn the passing of Christian feminist scholar, author, and poet Jane Schaberg, who died April 17. She was professor of religious studies and women's studies at the University of Detroit Mercy, and author of The Illegitimacy of Jesus, The Resurrection of Mary Magdalene, in which she related quotes from Virginia Woolf to her research on Mary Magdalene, and Mary Magdalene Understood. A more extensive obituary has been posted by Kathy Schiffer at Patheos.

In Memoram: De-Anna Alba, 1952-2012

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

De-Anna Alba, 59. author, singer, and priestess, died on January 24, 2012 in Santa Rosa, California from complications of breast cancer diagnosed on December 23, 2010. She is survived by her cherished son Ian Robert White and her beloved life partner, Lea Pierce of Santa Rosa, California. Memorials are being planned for California and Wisconsin.

De-Anna was born on March 31, 1952 and was the adopted daughter of Robert White and Dorothy Plock White of Wisconsin. where she grew up. She moved to Santa Rosa, California in 1999 and became life partners with Lea Pierce.

De-Anna began her studies of Goddess Spirituality, Wicca and Paganism in college. In her mid-twenties, she and then partner Lugh Shin McGhee led the First Wiccan Temple of our Lady in Milwaukee. In 1978, they began studying Circle Craft with Selena Fox and Jim Alan, and the following year, joined their household and began living with them at Circle Farm, a rented farmhouse near Sun Prairie, Wisconsin which served as Circle Sanctuary's first headquarters. She continued to be part of their household at later locations in Ashton and Black Earth. She was Circle Sanctuary's first church secretary and one of its first ordained priestesses. She took the name De-Anna Alba at the time of her ordination in 1979 and registered it as her ministerial name in 1980. From 1979-1983, she worked full-time for Circle Sanctuary, assisting Selena Fox with ceremonies, gatherings, education, public relations, publications, and other work. She helped Selena in developing Circle Sanctuary's worldwide Circle Network, which continues to serve Pagans of many paths. De-Anna served on Circle Sanctuary's Board of Directors from 1980-1983 and continued to work part-tiem for Circle Sanctuary after it moved its present headquarters to its land near Barneveld WI in 1983. She was among those who sang with Jim Alan and Selena Fox on their 1980 album "Songs of Pagan Folk," one of the first albums of contemporary Pagan music. She appeared with Selena and Jim in local and national media, including national television (interviewed by Phil Donahue on NBC's Today Show) and press (Time, People, Milwaukee Sentinel). She assisted Selena with interfaith endeavors, including being part of a meeting with the Dalai Lama during his first trip to the USA in Fall, 1979.

De-Anna's matron Goddess was Cerridwen, and she felt strongly connected with Mother Mary during the last years of her life. She engaged in solitary Wiccan practice and also was active in several spiritual organizations in addition to Circle Sanctuary, including the First Wiccan Temple of Our Lady, EarthSisters (later renamed MoonSisters) a women's spirituality group within the Circle Sanctuary Community in the early 1980's, and Pagan Spirit Alliance. She was a co-founder and co-facilitator of Earth Conclave of Madison, Wisconsin, a member of the Reformed Congregation of the Goddess, and later founded her own initiatory tradition.

De-Anna's Goddess spirituality writing career began with her contributions to CIRCLE Magazine, originally known as Circle Network News. She was an editor of Circle News and among the contributors to the first Circle Guide to Pagan Resources (1979) and the Pagan Spirit Journal (1982). Later, her writings appeared in periodicals of other organizations. For the past 22 years, De-Anna was a regular columnist for the women's spirituality journal SageWoman. In addition to published articles, De-Anna was author of the book, Cauldron of Change: Myths, Mysteries and Magick of the Goddess (1993). An interview with De-Anna conducted by Lea will be published in the March 2012 issue of SageWoman. Her book on Candle Magic, will be published posthumously later this year.

She was also part owner with Lea of Indian Ridge Real Estate and with Lea founded Wine Competition Management LLC in 2007, which launched The National Women's Wine Competition, the Organic & Biodynamic Wine Competition, the U.S. Professional Wine Buyers Competition, and the NextGen Wine Competition for Millennial Wine Drinkers. Wine Competition Management received world-wide publicity including from Decanter Magazine and The Wall Street Journal for re-definining wine competitions.

This information is from a memoriam page on the Circle Sanctuary website and a SageWoman newsletter.

Merlin Stone Memorial Saturday to be Streamed Live

"Remembering Merlin Stone, a Memorial Celebration" this Saturday near Tampa, Florida, this Saturday, Sept. 24, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. ET will be streamed live on the internet at utstream.tv , according to information we received today from Selena Fox of Circle Sanctuary.

The memorial, which is open to the public, both women and men, is being held at at Unitarian Universalists of Clearwater, 1470 Nursery Road in Clearwater. Donations welcome, but not required.

In an email meant to be publicly circulated, Selena writes: "Merlin Stone was an artist, art historian, author, and visionary feminist. She focused attention on Goddess reverence of the ancient past. She gathered together Goddess imagery, symbols, and lore from many peoples and shared with others through her books, radio appearances, and other endeavors. She inspired the emergence of multicultural Goddess spirituality in contemporary times. Her memorial is an wonderful opportunity to celebrate Merlin Stone, her works, her life, and her legacy"

Selena will be among Merlin's friends and colleagues speaking at the memorial. Other speakers include Z Budapest, Ruth Barrett, Barbara Walker, Susun Weed, and Margot Adler. The memorial will also include music by Hecate's Wheel, Emmet Bondurant, and Ruth Barrett.

The memorial, organized by Z Budapest and the Women's Spirituality Forum, has the support of Merlin's family, Selena writes. It is part of the "In Search of Merlin Stone" project.

Here are some other links about this event:
Latest information
Other information about Memorial and Merlin Stone
Short video about Merlin Stone
Additional information is also available at merlinstone.net

Several Tributes Planned for the Late Merlin Stone

Several tributes are being planned to honor the late Merlin Stone who died Feb. 23 at the age of 79.

Z Budapest has proposed a global "dumb supper" (silence while eating) for April 10 that takes place wherever you and your friends gather. Z's suggested ritual is posted here.

A "Benefit Memorial Celebration" is being planned for September 24 in Clearwater, Florida, at a Unitarian Universalist church; Internet live-streaming of the event is also planned. A biographical documentary DVD and a book, both titled, In Search of Merlin Stone, are also underway. Information about how to participate in these is on merlinstone.net

Marilyn C. Stone, who, under the name Merlin Stone, wrote books including When God Was A Woman and Ancient Mirrors of Womanhood, and was also an artist and sculptor, was born September 27, 1931 in Brooklyn, NY. See the obituary written by Bobbie Grennier on merlinstone.net for more information.