Meet Mago Contributor, Claudia von Werlhof.
Read the German version of this essay.
Rosalie was blessed with this love that was literally “planetary“. Possibly this planetary consciousness is something totally new, something that could lead our way in a manner that is deeply needed by us today. It shows us how connected she was to our planet Earth, perceiving it/her – new or ancient! – as a large, complex, powerful, but just as much as a sensitive and vulnerable cosmic being. “Mother Earth” was nothing less than motherly, even though not human, and in Rosalie’s mind and in all her love she did not view her as being too great, too abstract, or in any way un-understandable.
Who is able to think and feel in this way: in an unscientific, un-Christian, and un-anthropocentric or un-human way?
Rosalie was not necessarily very “mainstream“ in her Christian orientation as a nun when considering the silence of the church in regard to her discoveries of the mega-crimes against creation. Everything in and about nature was important to her, no matter if it were as small as a cell or as vast as the whole planet, as long as it was “alive” it was considered; she viewed it as a subject and she was able to enter into a kind of dialogue with it. However, I would not necessarily label her a mystic in the strict sense of the word, but yes, I would in the broader context. For she never forgot her scientific orientation, even though this definition may be different than the contemporary definition applied by the natural sciences that do not acknowledge the vitality of nature let alone defend it. On the contrary, it is justifying its actions against nature by defining her as – already – “dead matter”. The result being precisely what Rosalie and all of us here identify as: not just the “death of nature“, as defined by Carolyn Merchant, but rather the result of its gradual killing!
This is the only way of thinking and reconciling the nature of Rosalie as a scientist, a catholic nun, a kind of an “angel on Earth“, and an eco-feminist all in one person, contradictory only on the surface.
Rosalie was connected with love as a power, actually with something magical – “magan“ being the root of “love” and “be able to” – a power which holds together everything on this Earth and maintains its vitality, a power that most certainly is the only effective anti-power against those who rape the Earth for their own purposes in order to tame her, in order to create an obedient mega-machine, and who successively make a wreck out of her, as Rosalie tended to say.
And so Rosalie Bertell has shown us the way, made us understand that we cannot hide away fearfully in the face of these mega-dimensions mirrored in the real problems the planet is facing, but rather, that we must confront them head on, call things by their real name, and bring charges forward openly! For all that is right, all life, and the Earth herself are on our side. We must speak up in their names, in the name of their “rights” and “interests”. This is true spirituality so needed in today’s world. What a courageous, undeterred, loving, and powerful person, one who is literally Earth- oriented and planetary, one who has a standard for what needs to be accomplished, and one who will not give up…
Precisely this attitude that doesn’t toy with its own ego, but rather understands itself as a channel for the truly essential, is needed today. Rosalie was committed to other things than the self or anything political. This is what enabled her to endure the painful process of investigating the crimes that have been done unto the living Earth for decades. Therefore, she is a shining example for those who dispute this topic today. Apparently Rosalie was not paralyzed by the same fear that this topic seems to cause in those trying to protect themselves by exercising a “head in the sand approach” when confronted. Rosalie did not hide or seek protection. She was present at multiple sites and was the witness of terrible events: in Chernobyl, in Bhopal and in over 60 other countries throughout the world; she exposed herself for years: to toxins, radioactivity, and chemicals. All this in order to assess the events, investigate their causes, and evaluate their outcomes by presenting reports to the UN and other institutions and to support the people who had been affected locally and to keep in contact with them.
Due to her ability to love, Rosalie felt no fear that could keep her from doing her work, although she had been threatened and had evaded several attacks on her person. It almost appeared as though she was immune due to her knowledge and conviction to do the right things, in her case, something that there was no alternative to and probably something that was the most important thing to tackle in today’s world.
Planet Earth as a weapon of war – what could be more perverted, more absurd, or more unthinkable!?
The German translation of Rosalie Bertell, today´s Rachel Carson – who in her book Silent Spring warned about chemical poisoning of nature in the 60s – was distributed in just one year by printing 5,000 copies. However, apart from few exceptions, she was widely ignored by the media. Calling Rosalie a conspiracy theorist is not new and even less inventive, especially since she clearly demonstrated on hundreds of pages the existence of a kind of conspiracy practice unknown to us and kept in the dark, away from the mainstream public. So, maybe, we should consider that the content of these so called conspiracy theories is actually reality, which would mean that these conspiracy theories could be considered as being among the most knowledgeable of our times!
People in Europe probably cannot imagine how excited, touched, and happy those attending Rosalie’s memorial in Toronto were when I, as their guest of honor, explained how Rosalie played such a key role in the founding of our “Planetary Movement for Mother Earth“ and beyond that, how we translated her book into German including the many updates! The reason for everything we do being our perception of the necessity to transport Rosalie’s work overseas, that is what we are essentially doing – and the journey continues, taking us towards the south in order to reach the Latin American, indigenous world! It is for a reason that the “Pachamamicos” are increasing there…
There is still plenty of work that remains until a “critical mass“ will be formed, one that has the potential to tip over the sleepy consciousness of most people, allows for recognizing and perceiving the situation as one that has transpired beyond the “political“, transcended normality and is void of any possible trust in “those up there“ and in their new technologies…
So, the turn of the era, as predicted by the esoteric world, has taken place; however, it is not a turn to the better unless we are able to learn the lesson that Rosalie intended to teach us, the lesson of “planetary consciousness“, and unless we are ready and willing to take initiative! For, it cannot possibly be that we sit back passively and watch our conditions for life on Earth and finally the Earth herself being gambled away!
Innsbruck, December 2012
Bibliography
Bertell, Rosalie: No immediate danger? Prognosis for a radioactive earth, London 1986, The Women´s Press
______: Planet Earth. The Latest Weapon of War, London 2000, The Women´s Press
______: Kriegswaffe Planet Erde, Gelnhausen 2011, J.K. Fischer
______: Planeta Tierra: la última arma de guerra, Guadelajara 2013, La Casa del Mago (forthcoming)
Planetary Movement for Mother Earth, www.pbme-online.org
von Werlhof, Claudia: Rosalie Bertell has changed my life, Toronto 2012, www.pbme-online.org
______: The Latest Challenge: „Military Alchemy“ as a Dystopia for Planet Earth, in: The Failure of Modern Civilization and the Struggle for a „Deep“ Alternative. On „Critical Theory of Patriarchy“ as a New Paradigm, Frankfurt a. M. 2011, Peter Lang, pp.269-301
We, the co-editors, contributors, and advisers, have started the Mago Web (Cross-cultural Goddess Web) to rekindle old Gynocentric Unity in our time. Now YOU can help us raise this torch high to the Primordial Mountain Home (Our Mother Earth Herself) wherein everyone is embraced in WE. There are many ways to support Return to Mago. You may donate to us. No amount is too small for us. For your time and skill, please email Helen Hwang (magoism@gmail.com). Please take an action today and we need that! Thank YOU in Goddesshood of all beings!
(Click Donate button below. You can donate by credit card or bank account without registering PayPal. Find “Don’t have a PayPal account?” above the credit card icons.)
