January 28, 2014October 2, 2019 Mago Work Admin

(Poem) Ants by Eileen Haley

ANTS

Hotel Artemis

Selçuk, Turkey

Ants smell my green plums

and come to get them

toiling along who knows how long a route

from their dark home

with its carved-out tunnels and shafts

its egg-festooned chambers and passageways

its subterranean granaries

its recycling plants where death and decay

are turned once more to life

Crawling up through a chink in the floor

they cross the hotel corridor

on a pheromone track

climb the leg of a chair

assemble at the mouth of the bag

descend fast to the treasure within

They fill their crops

and go

a dense relentless caravan

to feed their babes and their queen

and the amazons who wage for them

their vast and ceaseless wars

against their enemy ants

to see who will rule the earth

invading conquering enslaving

resisting defending rebelling

making small gains and losing

checking and being checked

Zealous contingents go further

cross from the chair to my bed

find themselves

a veritable continent

in autumnal mode

soft steppes and clefts and mounds

tufts

nippled hills

wrinkles

whorls

but they do not find

the scent they seek

the rich perfume of decay

Ants belong to the goddess

I approach them on bended knee

But a meal for them I am not

not now at least

not yet

This is an excerpt from Full Circle, a poem sequence which takes a novice grandmother around the world, seeking out magic places and connections as she summons up courage for a task she must accomplish before she comes back home.

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pagaian2013 says:

January 28, 2014 at 3:51 PM

oh excellent!

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(Commemorating Mary Daly 1) My Memoirs of Mary Daly (1928-2010) by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang

[Author’s Note: My personal encounter with Mary Daly, a U.S. post-Christian feminist thinker, goes back to 1994. I stayed in Korea from 1994-1997 during which I translated two of Mary Daly’s early books, Beyond God the Father: Toward a Philosophy of Women’s Liberation 하나님 아버지를 넘어서 (Seoul: Ewha Women’s University Press, 1996) and Church and the Second Sex 교회와 제 2의 성 (Seoul: Women’s News Press, 1997) in Korean. I carried with me to the U.S. A. our correspondences in the form of letters and documents mostly faxed to each other for the period of more than two decades. Later at one point I digitized them in images. Through these memoir series, I share some highlights of my memories with Mary Daly, her influence on my feminist thinking, and my own radical feminist journey to Magoist Cetaceanism.] I The new year Year 5 in the Magoist Calendar (2022 in the Gregorian Calendar) prompts me to revisit my encounter with Mary Daly. When something is in your mind consistently for a long time but you don’t take action to follow it up, you are carrying a mental baggage within you. I have carried Mary Daly in me for a long time. Time was not ripe until now. Even after she transitioned in 2010, I wasn’t ready. It feels timely now that I finally let the weight on my shoulders down. Why now? Because I was biding my time. I could not name what she was to me until now. To know what she is to me, I need to know what I am. And it is only now I feel I know what I am. Mary was an intellectual foremother to me. Don’t be mistaken, Mary did not act like my intellectual mother. She was like my big sister who had trust in me. Mary was not a caregiver to me or anyone. She cared but was not a caregiver. Mary treated me as her young colleague and an intellectual companion. I desperately needed my intellectual foremother and Mary was there for me.It’s been a long and arduous journey for me to see what I am. Unbelievably, I am entering the cronehood of age 60 in the New Year of 5919 Magoma Era (since the time of Goma in 3898 BCE). I have understood and accepted my own life’s mission and the way it has been achieved. I feel that my life has found its own roots. Things are falling into right places, I feel. This is the fifth year of the Magoist Calendar. I have restored for the world the luni-menstrual-soar 13 months 28 days calendar of ancient Magoist Koreans/Mother Peoples. Last week on December 17th, 2021, we, Mago Sisters and Associates, celebrated the whale bell ringing ceremony for the coming of the New Year. Whale bell ringing ceremony was not new this year. But this year’s one marked a leap. For the first time, I was able to hold it in the Moonlit Rock Garden of the Mago Academy Center where I currently reside for a small group of participants from around the world. We expressed gratitude for our lives and I called out the names of Mago Volunteers, Mago Sisters/Associates, and Mago Supporters. Living in the semi-wild place surrounded by mountains and hills that have streams of water running around the house for the last three and half years, I have found myself home. I have returned HOME! Year 4 or 2021 brought amazing encounters, events, and accomplishments. Among them are Virtual Mago Whale Pilgrimages (three tours throughout the year, each tour takes place daily for 6 days), which I conducted for the first time. Foremost, the fact that the Mago Work was able to continue to this day is a miracle. The Mago Work, self-established outside the patriarchal grid, has survived the harsh years of the rooting time. Personal is political and cosmic. Mago Academy Center is about to take off by receiving visitors. Despite the Covid19 pandemic or through the pandemic, the Mago Work has grown stronger. Last but not least, it is no coincidence that Jen Taylor and I undertook a new but belated project Commemorating Feminist Ancestors for Return to Mago (RTM) E-Magazine, announced in November, 2021. When I proposed this project to Jen Taylor, co-editor of RTM, who supported it open-mindedly and wholeheartedly, my memories of Mary Daly roared in the back of my mind. By all means, this essay commemorating Mary Daly is prompted by this call. And vice versa. My memories of Mary Daly urge me to march forward. (Call for Contributions) Commemorating our ancestor feminists: Matilda Joslyn Gage (1826-1898), Marija Gimbutas (1921-1994), Mary Daly (1928-2010), Audre Lorde (1934-1992), Paula Gunn Allen (1939-2008), Gloria Anzaldua (1942-2004), and Your Hera https://www.magoism.net/2021/11/call-for-contributions-commemorating-our-ancestor-feminists/ Flashbacks: I met Mary in person four times over the period of 28 years from the time I contacted her in person until she died (1994-2010). We stayed in touch for these years by speaking to each other over phone lines at an interval of monthly at the least. Apart from phone conversations, we faxed, mailed, and emailed our letters and documents. I had met Mary in person in April of 1999 for the first time. She had completed her book, Quintessence, in 1998 and visited Claremont Colleges in California the following year to promote her book. I will return to this event at a later time. I had written two pieces for an online magazine, Feminism and Religion, on my encounters with Mary Daly upon the invitation by Xochitl Alvizo. A Cross-Cultural Feminist Alchemy: Studying Mago, Pan-East Asian Great Goddess, Using Mary Daly’s Radical Feminism as Springboard by Helen Hye-Sook HwangThe Mago Hedge School: Why Remember Mary Daly? By Helen Hye Sook Hwang II My personal encounter with Mary Daly goes back to 28 years ago. In retrospect, Mary may have wished that I came strongly to support her when she needed during these years but she never demanded me to do so. I wanted to support her in a tangible way …
Re-Storying Goddess/Dea to the Creative Cosmos by Glenys Livingstone Ph.D.

This essay is an excerpt from the Introduction of the author’s new book A Poiesis of the Creative Cosmos: Celebrating Her within PaGaian Sacred Ceremony. Triple Goddess, Hatra, Iraq, second century. Lawrence Durbin-Robertson, The Year of the Goddess, 114. At the heart of PaGaian Cosmology is the re-storying and expression of Goddess metaphor for the sacred: it was She who called me – into Her, to learn of Her, to find a way to speak of Her. This cosmology is originally a study and embodiment of Goddess in three qualities – often known commonly as “Virgin, Mother and Crone,” but globally She has been named and praised in various terms: such as possessing the three qualities of ‘preserver/protector,’ ‘creative power,’ and ‘destructive power’ (Kali in India); or in other ancient depictions the three qualities are represented perhaps with grain, sword and snake (Hecate in Greece); perhaps with grain, throne and scorpion (Anatha of Egypt); perhaps as poet, physician and smith-artisan as in the case of Celtic Brigid. Sometimes She has been represented as three matrons (Germany and Italy). In East Asia, there are many triplicities and triads: in Korea Mago, the Creatrix, is identified with Samsin (Triad Deity) and also Goma is referred to as one of the “Three Sages.”[i] In South America, the Goddess Chia is known as a triple goddess. In our times She and Her multivalent dimensions have rarely been understood, and frequently Her triplicity has been re-configured as three sages or kings; and in some religions She has been replaced with an all-male trinity. Yet many continued to seek Her. The Form and the Shape that they sought was not in any Atlas. Her gaps had been covered up, Her hollows filled in, Her name blanked out. She lay buried beneath things, silent, but with a detectable visceral pulse.[ii] Re-Storying Goddess for me has meant re-storing a sense of She to the Cosmos, restoring female sacrality – to the small particular self to begin with, and to other, and to all-that-is: re-storingHer as Language, as sacred language – image and word – for the Creative Dynamic that unfolds the Universe. Why not? She has been absent for so long. And what might happen then? What difference might it make to the world we live in? The primary Place that She, Mother-Universe, may be sensed as present, is in one’s own bodymind, the breath, the whole phenomena of its ebbs and flows: and the breath may be the primary place for contemplating Her three aspects of waxing, peaking and waning – out of the void and back into it, over and over. A lot of inhabitants of Western industrialised culture have been turned into outsiders in our own land[iii] – and I mean primarily the ‘land’ of our own bodyminds, but it is also and inseparably true of the Earth land/country in which we dwell. In the patriarchal context, which dominates most present global cultures, this is particularly true for women. We are often (or have been) outsiders in our own land – the Land of our own bodyminds: the female in particular, by and large, at some point in the story, lost native title to her land. Most of us – female and male and all variations, have learned well how to think from outside ourselves: and with a consciousness that treats ourselves personally and thus usually also others, as less than worthy of reverence. Women particularly have been and are a colonized people: that is, female embodiment has become the unknown, unspoken, clouded continent in most present global cultures. An overwhelming majority of females on the planet are engaged in a daily claiming or re-claiming of our native en-titlement to our land, our bodymind: the details vary from culture to culture, and situation, and is more extreme/blatant in some contexts, but the overall effect is common, and ultimately shared. As Elizabeth Cady Stanton said, in the late nineteenth century, it is not female biology that has betrayed us, but the beliefs and the stories we have about ourselves. Most of the religious stories that most on the globe grew up with at this time, did not have the female in care-ful mind. Most world religions at this point in time still specifically story the female as problematic to creation or enlightenment or whatever, or at least secondary: though some are clever enough to attempt to disguise it. The term ‘God’ still commonly invokes the ‘Face of Ultimate Reality,’ the Absolute, and the term ‘Goddess’ still overwhelmingly invokes a mere mythological entity. ‘Goddess,’ or ‘God,’ is metaphor, a poetic image – suggesting a likeness of femaleness or maleness in the Sacred/Deity. According to the Webster’s Dictionary, a metaphor is a word or phrase used to suggest a likeness. ‘Goddess’ is a figure of speech suggesting a likeness of femaleness in the Deity – few would argue with that: though many do argue that ‘God’ does not suggest a likeness of maleness in the Deity, that it/He is neutral or may represent both, whereas Goddess may not. Some cultures don’t need the word ‘God’ nor do some need the word ‘Goddess’ because female sacrality is not a problem – femaleness in such cultures, is understood to embody transformatory powers[iv] – and replicates the very nature/essence of the Cosmos: birthing, lactating, conceiving, gestating are understood as cosmic transformatory, regenerative powers. And all genders in such cultures find purpose in supporting regenerative capacities. The texts we choose for our lives create the texture, the context – when we choose a story for our lives, or accept a pre-scribed one, it lives us. There is a cosmology in our everyday speech and action. Re-storying Goddess, and celebrating Her in Seasonal Moments however they manifest in your region, may participate in the process of scribing one’s self, authoring one’s self, at the deepest level, and re-storying the regenerative Universe as She. When I speak of ‘Goddess,’ I mean Her as a totality – not a ‘Feminine’ PART of the Sacred. ‘Goddess’ may be metaphor for Ultimate Creativity – the Sacred Cosmos … and in three qualities of Her Unfolding, …
(Art) Sekhmet by Jassy Watson

Sekhmet is one of the oldest known female Egyptian goddesses. Her name derives from the Egyptian word for ‘power’ or ‘night’, “Sekhem,” thus her name can be translated as “She who is Powerful.”
(Art) Sanctus Miscanthus—Latin Saint of Ornamental Grasses by Sudie Rakusin

Sanctus Miscanthus inspires us to adapt with grace and acceptance, despite difficulties or poor conditions in our surroundings. Feathery ornamental grasses whisper and dance in the wind. They burst forth, panicles arcing from the ground with vibrant strands of downy grass and flowers. They stand in reverent silence when the wind is still, royal guardians of the garden path. There are many different varieties of ornamental grasses. Many of their names evoke the rhythm of poetry – Northern Sea Oats, Silver Feather Maiden Hair, The Blaze, Purple Fountain, and Prairie Sky. They possess a linear, graceful beauty; their color and bloom reach their peak during the fall and winter months when much of the rest of Nature’s finery is fading. During periods of drought they withdraw into dormancy until much needed sustenance arrives. They require little care and cultivation beyond their annual grooming. Given a patch of ordinary dirt and plenty of sun, they usually flourish where they are planted. Though her diverse forms render an elegant, delicate beauty, Sanctus Miscanthus is resilient through the challenges of any season. Artist’s Note: The natural flow in my Feminist practice and Spiritual belief was to become an ardent and dedicated spokeswoman for animals and the environment. I am a vegan. My decision to stop eating meat was always an ethical and spiritual one. I cannot take another life for my subsistence. I believe animals have their own reason for being and they have the right to live out their purpose, not one we impose upon them. My art reflects my passion and love for animals as well as my respect and appreciation for the Earth. I paint, draw, and sculpt the world I dream of inhabiting. A place where the natural world is treated with deference and there is no hierarchy among humans and animals. In my world, we all walk the Earth in harmony. My art is the best way I know to express these feelings. www.sudierakusin.com Meet Mago Contributor Sudie Raskusin.
(Poem) She by Louisa Calio

Original illustration by Terry Lennox In the Eye of Balance 1978 From the coolest corner of the darkest space at the longest river of an unseen place She lies in wait a force a feminine force Pearl, in the eyes of the world Vulva eyes, lotus eyes black‑purple slits -that always smile. Louisa Calio Journey to the Heart Waters Legas Press 2014. https://www.magoism.net/2015/06/meet-mago-contributor-louisa-calio/
(Essay 4) Goddesses in Hinduism: “All the Mothers are One” by Mary Ann Beavis, Ph.D.

[Editor’s Note: This essay is from the same title, “Goddesses in Hinduism: “All the Mothers are One”‘ by Mary Ann Beavis with Scott Daniel Dunbar included in Goddesses in Myth, History and Culture (Mago Books, 2018).] CHINNAMASTA Chinnamasta is one of ten powerful Goddesses (Mahavidyas) whose mythology and symbolism transgress androcentric Hindu social norms. Her name means the “one with a severed head”, a feature clearly depicted in her iconography (see Figure 9). In this image, the neck of the beheaded Goddess spurts forth three streams of blood, one from the Goddess’s own mouth, the other two into the mouths of her devotees (yoginis). In some renderings, she holds her head on a platter, as if to make an offering. Beneath her, the deities of sexual desire, Kama and Rati, are engaged in sexual intercourse upon a lotus, with the female deity, Rati, on top. The background of the scene is often a cremation ground.[1] Catherine Benton explains: An image of reversals, Chinnamasta removes her head, has her blood flow outside her body, stands or sits not on the lotus or on the animal vehicle but on the deities responsible for engendering the desire that prevents the attaining of enlightenment. … But because in a Tantric context the obstacle becomes the path, sexual energy becomes the path of spiritual release. … In the iconography of Chinnamasta, Kama and Rati become her mount; they focus attention on the sexuality which is the foundation of her power. An image of untamed nature, Chinnamasta reveals in her nakedness, offers her blood with abandon, and is literally empowered by sexual energy as she touches her body to the copulating god of desire and his consort. Her alternate image communicates this idea even more explicitly by depicting the Goddess herself in sexual intercourse with Shiva as she performs the self-sacrifice. For Chinnamasta and her worshippers, sexuality is presented as an energy that empowers, and energy that can be tapped to realize spiritual identity. Sexual imagery in … iconography and worship … may be understood metaphorically as suggesting the dynamic polar rhythm of reality, the interaction of Shiva and Shakti (male and female principles) that creates and suffuses the cosmos. … the image of Chinnamasta mounted on the joined male and female, … reflects, but also connects [the worshipper] … to … the larger cosmos.[2] Like Kali, Chinnamasta figures significantly in Tantric tradition, where devotees seek to achieve liberation by freeing their consciousness from the limits imposed by everyday life, such as good and bad, pure and impure, proper and improper.[3] Benton notes that the decapitated Goddess can be interpreted “quite literally” to mean that “the practitioner must remove his or her analytical head, give away the physical life, and use the energy generated in sexual union to achieve liberation.”[4] THE MAHADEVI David Kinsley notes that “There is a tendency in many texts, myths, and rituals concerning Goddesses to subsume them all under one great female being” called simply Devi (“Goddess”) or Mahadevi (“Great Goddess”).[5] The Great Goddess tradition can be expressed in two ways: (1) a particular Goddess (e.g., Parvati) can be affirmed as the highest deity, with all other Goddesses interpreted as manifestations of her; (2) “assuming the existence of one transcendent great Goddess who possesses most classical characteristics of ultimate reality as understood in the Hindu tradition and then subsuming all particular Goddesses under her as partial manifestations of her.”[6] In the Shakta Tantra tradition, which developed between the 4th and 7th centuries CE, the Great Goddess, identified with Shakti, the active energy of the divine in creation, is regarded as the highest reality (brahman), and the source of all divine manifestations. Shaktism, devotion to the Great Goddess (Shakti), is one of the major denominations of Hinduism, alongside Vaishnavism (where Vishnu is regarded as the supreme God), Shaivism (where Shiva is supreme), and Smartism (all deities are treated as manifestations of ultimate reality). AVATARS In the Vaishnavite tradition, it is believed that Vishnu has ten (or even countless) incarnations, the most famous of whom are Rama and Krishna, both of whom are renowned demon-killers. The heroines of the myths of these avatars of Vishnu, Sita and Radha, the wives of Rama and Krishna, are considered to be avatars (incarnations) of the Goddess Lakshmi. The relationship between Radha and Krishna is exalted as a symbol of divine love. Sita, who remains faithful to Rama throughout a series of dangers and threats to her chastity, is the exemplar of the perfect wife.[7] Popular Hinduism also acknowledges avatars of other deities. In the 20th century, the “bandit queen,” Phoolan Devi, was a low-caste woman who was abducted by outlaws in the 1970s and eventually became their leader. She gained a reputation as a sort of “Robin Hood” figure who stood up for the poor, and she was popularly regarded as an avatar of the Goddess Durga. She surrendered to the police in 1983, and after 11 years in prison, she was released on parole in 1994. In 1996 she successfully ran for parliament, and she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998. She was assassinated in 2001. The controversial film The Bandit Queen (1994) is based on her life story.[8] (To be continued) [1] See Kinsley, Hindu Goddesses, 172. [2] Catherine Benton, God of Desire: Tales of Kamadeva in Sanskrit Story Literature (New York: SUNY Press, 2006), 125-26. [3] Ibid., 125. [4] Ibid., 125. [5] Kinsley, Hindu Goddesses, 132. [6] Ibid. [7] Ibid., 65-94. For a feminist retelling of the tale of Rama and Sita, see Nina Paley’s Sita Sings the Blues. http://www.sitasingstheblues.com/, March 8, 2018. [8] See Mary Anne Weaver, “India’s Bandit Queen: A saga of revenge–and the making of ‘the real India’,” The Atlantic (November 1996). https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1996/11/indias-bandit-queen/304890/, accessed March 8, 2018. (Meet Mago Contributor) Mary Ann Beavis, Ph.D. https://www.magoism.net/2014/02/meet-mago-contributor-mary-ann-beavis/ https://www.magobooks.com/textbooks/goddesses-in-myth-history-and-culture/
(Poem) A Mother’s Day Proclamation by Mary Saracino

“Arise, then, women of this day! Arise all women who have heart, whether our baptism be that of water or tears!” –Mother’s Day Proclamation, Julia Ward Howe, Boston, 1870 She couldn’t anticipate that we’d sip champagne at fancy brunches, turn her fervor into a hallmark holiday In the name of womanhood and of humanity Julia Ward Howe set her soul upon a nobler task We will not have our great questions decided by irrelevant agencies Set her courage upon loftier aims Our husbands shall not come to us, reeking with carnage, for caresses and applause She spoke of blood and bone Our sons shall not be taken from us to unlearn all that we have been able to teach them of charity, mercy and patience She invoked the language of the womb We women of one country will be too tender of those of another country to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs She sounded a clarion call for unity I earnestly ask that a general congress of women without limits of nationality may be appointed Against all adversity, she audaciously sought to abolish war to promote the alliance of the different nationalities, the amicable settlement of international question, She meant for all of us to mother the world the great and general interests of peace. She meant for us to mend our rivalries, go to our rooms until we cooled off, kiss and make up, the way she knew we could if we’d just listen to our mothers “A Mother’s Day Proclamation” was originally published at www.newsversenews.com on May 11, 2008. Mary Saracino is a novelist, poet, and memoir-writer who lives in Denver, CO. Her newest novel, Heretics, is forthcoming from Pearlsong Press in 2014. The anthology she co-edited, She Is Everywhere! Volume 3 (iUniverse 2012) earned the 2013 Enheduanna Award for Excellence in Women-Centered Literature. Her novel, The Singing of Swans (Pearlsong Press 2006) was a 2007 Lambda Literary Awards Finalist. Her short story, “Vicky’s Secret” earned the 2007 Glass Woman Prize.
(Art) Baba Yaga by Lydia Ruyle

Baba Yaga is flying in her magical cauldron and steering with her broom. She is accompanied by three white mother geese. She is a favorite in Russian fairy tales. Baba lives deep in the taiga forest in a hut which stands on chicken legs and is surrounded by a fence of skulls. It takes great courage to visit her. She is the wise old woman who demands our best effort at whatever we choose to manifest. Baba Yaga calls us to fierce truth, compassion and choice. Woodcut, 19th CE Background: Painted wooden bracelet, 1998 Meet Mago Contributor Lydia Ruyle
(Poem) The Blessings of Ravioli by Mary Saracino

The ravioli lay on floured pillow cases on your dining room table looking like stuffed pillows themselves — the dough kneaded smooth, then rolled to the right thickness, the spinach and ricotta filling dropped like clusters of snow-crusted grass onto the naked strips of pasta, plumped into fullness with a quick fold of the dough, the corners tucked in place with the pinch of a fork. Your hands move in a holy rhythm. You anoint the ravioli with flour to prevent them from drying out. White halos the arch of your cheekbone as you laugh and sprinkle, saying, “Bless these ravioli,” like some Italian nun. I laugh, too, reminded of my Catholic grade school days. I wish we had known each other then. We could have draped our little girl bodies in my grandmother’s gaudy red and yellow aprons and watched her wrinkled fingers press each ravioli into perfect form. “The secret’s in the touch,” she told me. Life is full of such holy mysteries. How could I have known the blessings of ravioli passed from Grandma’s hands to mine, and now to yours. I touch your floured fingertips and smile. There is grace here and beauty beyond words. Originally published in Writers Who Cook, Herringbone Press (Minneapolis: 1993). https://www.magoism.net/2013/05/meet-mago-contributor-mary-saracino

(Special Post 2) Nine-Headed Dragon Slain by Patriarchal Heroes: A Cross-cultural Discussion by Mago Circle Members

[Editor’s Note: This and the ensuing sequels are a revised version of the discussion that has taken place in The Mago Circle, Facebook group, since September 24, 2017 to the present. Themes are introduced and interwoven in a somewhat random manner, as different discussants lead the discussion. The topic of the number nine is key to Magoism, primarily manifested as Nine Magos or the Nine Mago Creatrix. Mago Academy hosts a virtual and actual event, Nine Day Mago Celebration, annually.] Helen Hye-Sook Hwang: Here is another image of the nine-headed Lernaean Hydra slain by Herakles. https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydra_(mythology)… Glenys Livingstone: Yes, the Hercules story is more documentation of the Old Battle, of the rise of the “hero” to slay the Mother, when in the earliest of times he served with his beauty and labours. It is so interesting to see the analogies in other cultures/places as you are doing Helen, especially in Asia – it seems important work. Your perseverance is paying off, and will. Helen Hye-Sook Hwang: Glenys, I am re-reading a book on Chinese mythology and found a lot more on the nine Magoist symbolism. Someday, I hope to write about the topic in its own right. Glenys Livingstone: This chapter’s work is good re the Old Battle in Greek mythology: Valaoritis, Nanos. “The Cosmic Conflict of Male and Female in Greek Mythology”, in From the Realm of the Ancestors: An Anthology in Honor of Marija Gimbutas. Joan Marler (ed). Manchester CT: Knowledge, Ideas and Trends Inc., 1997, p.247 – 261. Helen Hye-Sook Hwang: Now back to the female divine who is depicted with the nine heads. See the nine-headed Guanyin/Kannon/Gwaneum. Also note that her icon comes in eleven-headed (the 8 Daughters and the Triad Creatrix, which makes eleven). http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/kannon.shtml Helen Hye-Sook Hwang: The symbol of nine dragons was adopted by imperial China. See the Nine Dragon Wall China. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine-Dragon_Wall Helen Hye-Sook Hwang: We connect the dots. When Guanyin is depicted with nine dragons, it conveys that the nine symbolism was/is once deemed sacred. https://i.pinimg.com/originals/4a/17/b3/4a17b33d9a4ae53bad6466a0eaf11722.jpg How popular the Guanyin icon, three headed and eight armed, to this day! Simply Google “eight armed Guanyin.” Below is from the Late Ming Dynasty, China. https://www.google.com/search?q=eight%20armed%20guanyin… She comes in a different name, Ushnishavijaya, in Tibetan Buddhism. https://www.himalayanart.org/items/65445 Helen Hye-Sook Hwang: We can draw that the female deity such as Guanyin and Ushnishavijaya, just to name two, is venerated in association with the nine symbolism. Within the mytho-history of Magoism, I infer that Guanyin or Ma Guanyin is a persona embodying Goma, the Magoist Shaman ruler of Danguk (3898 BCE-2333 BCE), the head of Nine Hans (Magoist Koreans). Note that Magoist shamans or priestesses are called “Mago.” See my essay, “Goma, the Shaman Ruler of Old Magoist East Asia/Korea and Her Mythology,” in Goddesses in Myth, History and Culture (Lytle Creek, CA: Mago Books), 2018. The insight that the major Goddesses in East Asia and beyond point to the same and old divine persona is NOT farfetched, considering that the nine-headed snake or dragon representing the female sovereignty of pre-patriarchal times is slain by male heroes across cultures. Judy E Foster: I’d have to agree with you here. As usual, interesting information! Patty Kay: My meditation this morning was on a history of mysticism. While I’m in the midst of appropriating all of the wonderful beliefs I find here, I also have found a strand in my own tradition that helps me understand why all the Divine Feminine stuff makes so much sense to me. I’ve been trying to determine when the patriarchal world view took over. According to this history, mysticism began to emerge in about 800 to 500 BCE. Could it be that mysticism kept alive the ancient understanding of the cosmos? This is just speculation, but in it I’m answering my own questions. (To be continued) Join us in The Mago Circle https://www.facebook.com/groups/magoism/.
(Special Post 1) Why Goddess Feminism, Activism, or Spirituality? A Collective Writing

[Editor’s Note: This was first proposed in The Mago Circle, Facebook Group, on March 6, 2014. We have our voices together below and publish them in sequels. It is an ongoing project and we encourage our reader to join us! Submit yours today to Helen Hwang (magoism@gmail.com). Or visit and contact someone in Return to Mago’s Partner Organizations.] Introduction by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang and Wennifer Lin-Haver Helen Hye-Sook Hwang I am asking each of us to consider writing a sentence or paragraph on “Why Goddess Feminism, Activism, or Spirituality?” This idea is prompted by Wennifer Lin-Haver, Founder of Mother Tree Sanctuary, and I agree that we need to and can create a sort of collective writing on the topic. What we write below will be included and published in The Girl God, Mother Tree Sanctuary, and Return to Mago. As a subaltern minority as we seem at the current point of time, Goddessians/Magoists [the term Mago means the Great Goddess] need to make extra efforts to make our voices and presences exposed to the public and inner circles. Length and style are open. Please also include your name, region/state/country, title, and/or website URL. We strongly encourage you if you are located in a place where Goddessians are rarely around. We intend to make a collective testimonial tapestry of WE as Goddessians/Magoists! Please keep this in your mind and join us in this collective effort. Thank you in advance. March 6, 2014 AF (Archaic Future)! Wennifer Lin-Haver Our “call” started as a conversation between Helen and me where I was expressing to her the real need for Mother Tree Sanctuary to be more articulate with exploring the significance and importance of Goddess in our lives. I was prompted to give such a response, when asked “why” we had to differentiate God and Goddess. “Isn’t everything God?” She asked. And “Isn’t Goddess also God?” “Isn’t it all the same as long was we’re all coming from our ‘higher’ self?” she asked. So I saw this warranted a longer and much deeper discussion. I initially thought I should formulate a response and post it as a Page or Tab in our website, but after some reflection with Helen, I saw how much better it would be if we replied to this question as a diverse and creative collective. I surely do not have all the answers as an individual but perhaps together, we can come up with something more whole, colorful and satisfying. I do hope you will contribute a little something! We are always grateful for all that you have to share.
(Special Post 4) Why Goddess Feminism, Activism, or Spirituality? A Collective Writing

[Editor’s Note: This was first proposed in The Mago Circle, Facebook Group, on March 6, 2014. We have our voices together below and publish them in sequels. It is an ongoing project and we encourage our reader to join us! Submit yours today to Helen Hwang (magoism@gmail.com). Or visit and contact someone in Return to Mago’s Partner Organizations.] Yvonne Lucia: “Feminism is the radical notion that women are people.” -British suffragist and journalist Rebecca West “When the God is male, the male is God.” -Mary Daly Yvonne Lucia sacredartportal.com Lila Moore: My first piece of performance art was a ritual inspired by Isis. However, as a young artist, my interest in combining art and ritual was devalued by my teachers and critics alike. I felt isolated and persecuted. Only after relocating to London was I able to gradually understand that my personal and creative aspiration was integral part of a collective and global feminine and feminist awakening. I realised that personal experiences of women have political perspectives, and that being a contemporary woman artist positions me in the midst of historical and cultural enterprise. As an artist-film-maker and scholar, I have regarded my work as a spiritual quest, exploring through dance-ritual and art films the interaction of the body and psyche with the natural environment and technology. In the 21st century, my interest in the healing and transforming aspects of images on screen has been combined with a growing sense of activism. It seems inconceivable to take images of nature out of context by ignoring the ecological holocaust which is evident everywhere. I have felt compelled to ask whether the needs of the body and mind can be separated from the needs of the Earth?

(Art & Poem) Candelmas/Imbolc by Sudie Rakusin & Annie Finch

IMBOLC DANCE From the east she has gathered like wishes. She has woven a night into dawn. We are quickening ivy. We grow where her warmth melts out over the ice. Now spiral south bends into flame to push the morning over doors. The light swings wide, green with the pulse of seasons, and we let her in We are quickening ivy. We grow The light swings wide, green with the pulse till the west is rocked by darkness pulled from where the fire rises. Shortened time’s reflecting water rakes her through the thickened cold. Hands cover north smooth with emptiness, stinging the mill of night’s hours. Wait with me. See, she comes circling over the listening snow to us. Shortened time’s reflecting water Wait with me. See, she comes circling From Calendars (Tupelo Press, 2003) Art is included in Celebrating Seasons of the Goddess (Mago Books, 2017). (Meet Mago Contributor) Sudie Rakusin (Meet Mago Contributor) Annie Finch
(Mago Almanac Excerpt 7) Introducing the Magoist Calendar by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang

Mago Almanac: 13 Month 28 Day Calendar (Book A) at Mago Bookstore. YEARLY LEAP DAY AND EVERY FOURTH YEAR LEAP DAY Each Sa includes a Dan of the big Sa. A Dan is equal to one day. That adds to 365 days. At the half point of the third Sa, there is a Pan of the big Sak (the year of the great dark moon). A Pan comes at a half point of Sa. This is of Beopsu (Lawful Number) 2, 5, 8. A Pan is equal to a day. Therefore, the fourth Sa has 366 days. Each year has a leap day (Dan), which makes a total of 365 days. Every fourth year is a leap year that has a leap day (Pan), which makes a total of 366 days. The Dan day comes before the New Year in the winter solstice month. And the Pan day comes before the first day of the summer solstice month in the fourth year. The above, however, does not indicate when the New Year comes. Logographic characters of Dan and Pan each suggest their meanings. While each year includes the Dan day (the morning), every fourth year has the Pan day. A unit of four years makes the Big Calendar. Dan (旦 Morning) Leap day for every first three years Pan (昄 Big) Leap day for every fourth year I have postulated that the year begins on the Dan day (one leap day), a day before New Year that comes in the month of Winter Solstice in the Norther Hemisphere. And the Pan day comes on the day before the first day of the 7th month that has Summer Solstice in the fourth year in the Norther Hemisphere. Years Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Months Dan Dan Dan Dan 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 Pan 7 7 7 7 8 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 10 10 10 10 11 11 11 11 12 12 12 12 13 13 13 13 Days 365 365 365 366 The Magoist Calendar’s intercalation involves one leap day every year and one leap day every four years. That is, each year has one extra day to make it 365 days. Every fourth year has an extra day to make it 366 days. Four years has a total of 1461 days (365×3+366), which makes the mean of 365.25 days. Considering that the month is following the sidereal period rather than the synodic period, it is inferred that the year also follows the sidereal year rather than the solar year. In fact, Magoist Calendar’s one year is very close to today’s 365.25636 days of the sidereal year compared to 365.24217 days of the solar year or the tropical year. Given that, as seen below, the Budoji mentions the tiniest discrepancy of one leap day for 31,788,900 years, the discrepancy between 365.25 and 365.25636 (0.00636 day) can be explained that the year was actually 365.25 days at the time of Budo circa 2333 BCE, 4440 years ago. In other words, there is a discrepancy of 0.12375936 seconds between 2017 CE and 2333 BCE. Regarding Lawful Numbers 2, 5, 8, it is involved as follows: 365 days (3+6+5=14, 1+4=5) Lawful Numbers 2, 5, 8 refers the unit of 365 days (364 days with one intercalary day). Further dynamics are unknown. The sidereal year refers to the time taken by the Earth to orbit the sun once with respect to the distant stars. In contrast, the solar or tropical year means the time taken by the Earth to orbit the sun once with respect to the sun. The sidereal year, 365.25636 days, is about 20 minutes and 24 seconds longer than the mean tropical year (365.24217 days) and about 19 minutes and 57 seconds longer than the average Gregorian year of 365.2425 days. The difference occurs primarily because the solar system spins on its own axis and around the Milky Way galactic center making the solar year’s observed position relative. Time is no independent concept apart from space and the agent. The very concept of time is preceded by the agent bound in a space. It is always contextualized. In Magoism, both calendar and time are born out of the cosmogonic universe, the universe that is in self-creation. Like calendar, time is to be discovered or measured. It is a numinous concept. The very concept of time testifies to the reality of the Creatrix. Time proves the orderly movement of the universe into which we are born. Calendar patterns time, whereas time undergirds calendar. How can we measure time? We are given the time of the Earth that comes from its rotation, revolution, and precession in sync with the moon and the sun (and its planets). One type of time is the solar time. The solar time is a calculation of time based on the position of the sun. Traditionally, the solar time is measured by the sundial. The solar time is, however, specific to the Earth only. It is valid only for the-same-observed-location. It is not made to be used for the time of another celestial body. For example, Mars’ solar time has to be measured independently based on its own rotation and revolution rates. The solar time is an isolated time. It is static and exclusive, not made for the time of other celestial bodies. By nature, it is unfit for connection and communication across celestial bodies. The second type is the sidereal time. The sidereal time is a time scale based on the rate of Earth’s rotations measured relative to the distant stars.[29] Because the observed position is in the far distant stars beyond the solar system, the sidereal time may as well be called an extrasolar stellar time. We can think of the observer’s position of an imaginary cosmic bird far out there, infinitely far beyond not only the solar system and …
Lammas/Late Summer in PaGaian tradition By Glenys Livingstone Ph.D.

This essay is an edited excerpt from Chapter 5 of the author’s book PaGaian Cosmology: Re-inventing Earth-based Goddess Religion. Traditionally the dates for this Seasonal Moment are: Southern Hemisphere – Feb. 1st/2nd Northern Hemisphere – August 1st/2nd however the actual astronomical date varies. See archaeoastronomy.com for the actual moment. Lammas table/altar Lammas, as it is often called[1], is the meridian point of the first dark quarter of the year, between Summer Solstice and Autumn Equinox; it is after the light phase has peaked and is complete, and as such, I choose it as a special celebration of the Crone/Old One. Within the Celtic tradition, it is the wake of Lugh, the Sun King, and it is the Crone that reaps him. But within earlier Goddess traditions, all the transformations were Hers[2]; and the community reflected on the reality that the Mother aspect of the Goddess, having come to fruition, from Lammas on would enter the Earth and slowly become transformed into the Old Woman-Hecate-Cailleach aspect …[3] I dedicate Lammas to the face of the Old One, just as Imbolc, its polar opposite on the Wheel in Old European tradition, is dedicated to the Virgin/Maiden face. The Old One, the Dark and Shining One, has been much maligned, so to celebrate Her can be more of a challenge in our present cultural context. Lammas may be an opportunity to re-aquaint ourselves with the Crone in her purity, to fall in love with Her again. I state the purpose of the seasonal gathering thus: This is the season of the waxing dark. The seed of darkness born at the Summer Solstice now grows … the dark part of the days grows visibly longer. Earth’s tilt is taking us back away from the Sun. This is the time when we celebrate dissolution; each unique self lets go, to the Darkness. It is the time of ending, when the grain, the fruit, is harvested. We meet to remember the Dark Sentience, the All-Nourishing Abyss, She from whom we arise, in whom we are immersed, and to whom we return. This is the time of the Crone, the Wise Dark One, who accepts and receives our harvest, who grinds the grain, who dismantles what has gone before. She is Hecate, Lillith, Medusa, Kali, Erishkagel,Chamunda, Coatlique – Divine Compassionate One, She Who Creates the Space to Be. We meet to accept Her transformative embrace, trusting Her knowing, which is beyond all knowledge. Lammas is the seasonal moment for recognizing that we dissolve into the “night” of the Larger Organism of whom we are part – Gaia. It is She who is immortal, from whom we arise, and into whom we dissolve. This celebration is a development of what was born in the transition of Summer Solstice; the dark sentient Source of Creativity is honoured. The autopoietic space in us recognizes Her, is comforted by Her, desires Her self-transcendence and self-dissolution; Lammas is an opportunity to be with our organism’s love of Larger Self – this Native Place. We have been taught to fear Her, but at this Seasonal Moment we may remember that She is the compassionate One, deeply committed to transformation, which is actually innate to us. Whereas at Imbolc/Early Spring, we shone forth as individual, multiforms of Her; at Lammas, we small individual selves remember that we are She and dissolve back into Her. We are the Promise of Lifeas was affirmed at Imbolc, but we are the Promise of Her- it is not ours to hold. We identify as the sacred Harvest at Lammas; our individual harvest isHer Harvest. We are the process itself – we are Gaia’s Process. Wedo not breathe (though of course we do), we borrow the breath, for a while. It is like a relay: we pick the breath up, create what we do during our time with it, and pass it on. The harvest we reap in our individual lives is important, andit is for us only short term; it belongs to the Cosmos in the long term. Lammas is a time for “making sacred” – as “sacrifice” may be understood; we may “make sacred” ourselves. As Imbolc was a time for dedication, so is Lammas. This is the wisdom of the phase of the Old One. She is the aspect that finds the “yes” to letting go, to loving the Larger Self, beyond all knowledge, and steps into the power of the Abyss; encouraged and nourished by the harvest, She will gradually move into the balance of Autumn Equinox/Mabon, the next Sesaonal Moment on the year’s cycle. References: Durdin-Robertson, Lawrence. The Year of the Goddess.Wellingborough: Aquarian Press, 1990. Gray, Susan. The Woman’s Book of Runes.New York: Barnes and Noble, 1999. Livingstone, Glenys. PaGaian Cosmology: Re-inventing Earth-based Goddess Religion. NE: iUniverse, 2005. McLean, Adam. The Four Fire Festivals. Edinburgh: Megalithic Research Publications, 1979. Notes: [1]See note 3. [2]Susan Gray, The Woman’s Book of Runes,p. 18. This is also to say that the transformations are within each being, not elsewhere, that is the “sacrifice” is not carried out by another external to the self, as could be and have been interpreted from stories of Lugh or Jesus. [3]Lawrence Durdin-Robertson, The Year of the Goddess, p.143, quoting Adam McLean, Fire Festivals,p.20-22. Another indication of the earlier tradition beneath “Lughnasad” is the other name for it in Ireland of “Tailltean Games”. Taillte was said to be Lugh’s foster-mother, and it was her death that was being commemmorated (Mike Nichols, “The First Harvest”, Pagan Alliance Newsletter NSW Australia). The name “Tailtunasad” has been suggested for this Seasonal Moment, by Cheryl Straffon editor of Goddess Alive! I prefer the name of Lammas, although some think it is a Christian term: however some sources say that Lammas means “feast of the bread” which is how I have understood it, and surely such a feast pre-dates Christianity. It is my opinion that the incoming Christians preferred “Lammas” to “Lughnasad”: the term itself is not Christian in origin. The evolution of all these things is complex, and we may evolve them further with our careful thoughts and experience.
(Book Excerpt) Imbolc/Early Spring within the Creative Cosmos by Glenys Livingstone Ph.D.

This essay is an excerpt from Chapter 6 of the author’s new book A Poiesis of the Creative Cosmos: Celebrating Her within PaGaian Sacred Ceremony. Traditionally the dates for Imbolc/Early Spring are: Southern Hemisphere – August 1st/2nd Northern Hemisphere – February 1st/2nd though the actual astronomical date varies. It is the meridian point or cross-quarter day between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox, thus actually a little later in early August for S.H., and early February for N.H., respectively. Some Imbolc Motifs In this cosmology Imbolc/Early Spring is the quintessential celebration of She Who is the Urge to Be. This aspect of the Creative Triplicity is associated with the differentiation quality of Cosmogenesis,[i] and with the Virgin/Young One aspect of the Triple Goddess, who is ever-new, unique, and singular in Her beauty – as each being is. This Seasonal Moment celebrates an identification with the Virgin/Young One – the rest of the light part of the cycle celebrates Her processes. At this Moment She is the Promise of Life, a spiritual warrior, determined to Be. Her purity is Her singularity of purpose. Her inviolability is Her determination to be … nothing to do with unbroken hymens of the dualistic and patriarchal mind. The Virgin quality is the essential “yes” to Being – not the “no” She was turned into. In the poietic process of the Seasonal Moments of Samhain/Deep Autumn, Winter Solstice and Imbolc/Early Spring, one may get a sense of these three in a movement towards manifest form – syntropy: from the autopoietic fertile sentient space of Samhain, through the gateway and communion of Winter Solstice to differentiated being, constant novelty, infinite particularity of Imbolc/Early Spring. The three are a kaleidoscope, seamlessly connected. The ceremonial breath meditations for all three of these Seasonal Moments focus attention on the Space between the breaths – each with slightly different emphasis: it is from this manifesting Space that form/manifestation arises. If one may observe Sun’s position on the horizon as She rises, the connection of the three can be noted there also: that is, Sun at Samhain/Deep Autumn and Imbolc/Early Spring rises at the same position, halfway between Winter Solstice and Equinox, but the movement is just different in direction.[ii] And these three Seasonal Moments are not clearly distinguishable – they are “fuzzy,”[iii] not simply linear and all three are in each other … this is something recognised of Old, thus the Nine Muses, or the numinosity of any multiple of three. Some Imbolc/early Spring Story This is the Season of the new waxing light. Earth’s tilt has begun taking us in this region back towards the Sun. Traditionally this Seasonal Point has been a time of nurturing the new life that is beginning to show itself – around us in flora and fauna, and within. It is a time of committing one’s self to the new life and to inspiration – in the garden, in the soul, and in the Cosmos. We may celebrate the new young Cosmos – that time in our Cosmic story when She was only a billion years old and galaxies were forming, as well as the new that is ever coming forth. This first Seasonal transition of the light part of the cycle has been named “Imbolc” – Imbolc is thought to mean “ewe’s milk” from the word “Oimelc,” as it is the time when lambs were/are born, and milk was in plentiful supply. It is also known as “the Feast of Brigid,” Brigid being the Great Goddess of the Celtic (and likely pre-Celtic) peoples, who in Christian times was made into a saint. The Great Goddess Brigid is classically associated with early Spring since the earliest of times, but her symbology has evolved with the changing eras – sea, grain, cow. In our times we could associate Her also with the Milky Way, our own galaxy that nurtures our life – Brigid’s jurisdiction has been extended. Some sources say that Imbolc means “in the belly of the Mother.” In either case of its meaning, this celebration is in direct relation to, and an extension of, the Winter Solstice – when the Birth of all is celebrated. Imbolc may be a dwelling upon the “originating power,” and that it is in us: a celebration of each being’s particular participation in this power that permeates the Universe, and is present in the condition of every moment.[iv] This Seasonal Moment focuses on the Urge to Be, the One/Energy deeply resolute about Being. She is wilful in that way – and Self-centred. In the ancient Celtic tradition Great Goddess Brigid has been identified with the role of tending the Flame of Being, and with the Flame itself. Brigid has been described as: “… Great Moon Mother, patroness (sic … why not “matron”) of poetry and of all ‘making’ and of the arts of healing.”[v] Brigid’s name means “the Great or Sublime One,” from the root brig, “power, strength, vigor, force, efficiency, substance, essence, and meaning.”[vi] She is poet, physician/healer, smith-artisan: qualities that resonate with the virgin-mother-crone but are not chronologically or biologically bound – thus are clearly ever present Creative Dynamic. Brigid’s priestesses in Kildare tended a flame, which was extinguished by Papal edict in 1100 C.E., and was re-lit in 1998 C.E.. In the Christian era, these Early Spring/Imbolc celebrations of the Virgin quality, the New Young One – became “Candlemas,” a time for purifying the “polluted” mother – forty days after Solstice birthing. Many nuns took their vows of celibacy at this time, invoking the asexual virgin bride.[vii] This is in contrast to its original meaning, and a great example of what happened to this Earth-based tradition in the period of colonization of indigenous peoples. An Imbolc/Early Spring Ceremonial Altar The flame of being within is to be protected and nurtured: the new Being requires dedication and attention. At this early stage of its advent, there is nothing certain about its staying power and growth: there may be uncertainties of various kinds. So there is traditionally a “dedication” in the ceremonies, which may be considered a “Brigid-ine” dedication, or known as a “Bridal” dedication, since “Bride” is a derivative of …
A PaGaian Wheel of the Year and Her Creativity by Glenys Livingstone Ph.D.

This essay is an excerpt from Chapter 2 of the author’s new book A Poiesis of the Creative Cosmos: Celebrating Her within PaGaian Sacred Ceremony. for larger image see: https://pagaian.org/pagaian-wheel-of-the-year/ Essentially a PaGaian Wheel of the Year celebrates Cosmogenesis – the unfolding of the Cosmos, none of which is separate from the unfolding of each unique place/region, and each unique being. This creativity of Cosmogenesis is celebrated through Earth-Sun relationship as it may be expressed and experienced within any region of our Planet. PaGaian ceremony expresses this with Triple Goddess Poetry understood to be metaphor for the creative dynamics unfolding the Cosmos. At the heart of the Earth-Sun relationship is the dance of light and dark, the waxing and waning of both these qualities, as Earth orbits around our Mother Sun. This dance, which results in the manifestation of form and its dissolution (as expressed in the seasons), happens because of Earth’s tilt in relationship with Sun: because this effects the intensity of regional receptivity to Sun’s energy over the period of the yearly orbit. This tilt was something that happened in the evolution of our planet in its earliest of days – some four and a half billion years ago,[i] and then stabilised over time: and the climatic zones were further formed when Antarctica separated from Australia and South America, giving birth to the Antarctica Circumpolar Current, changing the circulation of water around all the continents … just some thirty million years ago.[ii] Within the period since then, which also saw the advent of the earliest humans, Earth has gone through many climatic changes. It is likely that throughout those changes, the dance of light and dark in both hemispheres of the planet … one always the opposite of the other – has been fairly stable and predictable. The resultant effect on flora and fauna regionally however has varied enormously depending on many other factors of Earth’s ever-changing ecology: She is an alive Planet who continues to move and re-shape Herself. She is Herself subject to the cosmic dynamics of creativity – the forming and the dissolving and the re-emerging. The earliest of humans must have received all this, ‘observed’ it in a very participatory way: that is, not as a Western industrialized or dualistic mind would think of ‘observation’ today, but as kin with the events – identifying with their own experience of coming into being and passing away. There is evidence (as of this writing) to suggest that humans have expressed awareness of, and response to, the phenomenon of coming into being and passing away, as early as one hundred thousand years ago: ritual burial sites of that age have been found,[iii] and more recently a site of ongoing ritual activity as old as seventy thousand years has been found.[iv] The ceremonial celebration of the phenomenon of seasons probably came much later, particularly perhaps when humans began to settle down. These ceremonial celebrations of seasons apparently continued to reflect the awesomeness of existence as well as the marking of transitions of Sun back and forth across the horizon, which became an important method of telling the time for planting and harvesting and the movement of pastoral animals. It seems that the resultant effect of the dance of light and dark on regional flora and fauna, has been fairly stable in recent millennia, the period during which many current Earth-based religious practices and expression arose. In our times, that is changing again. Humans have been, and are, a major part of bringing that change about. Ever since we migrated around the planet, humans have brought change, as any creature would: but humans have gained advantage and distinguished themselves by toolmaking, and increasingly domesticating/harnessing more of Earth’s powers – fire being perhaps the first, and this also aided our migration. In recent times this harnessing/appropriating of Earth’s powers became more intense and at the same time our numbers dramatically increased: and many of us filled with hubris, acting without consciousness or care of our relational context. We are currently living in times when our planet is tangibly and visibly transforming: the seasons themselves as we have known them for millennia – as anyone’s ancestors knew them – appear to be changing in most if not all regions of our Planet. Much predictable Poetry – sacred language – for expressing the quality of the Seasonal Moments will change, as regional flora changes, as the movement of animals and birds and sea creatures changes, as economies change.[v]In Earth’s long story regional seasonal manifestation has changed before, but not so dramatically since the advent of much current Poetic expression for these transitions, as mixed as they are with layers of metaphor: that is, with layers of mythic eras, cultures and economies. We may learn and understand the traditional significance of much of the Poetry, the ceremony and symbol – the art – through which we could relate and converse with our place, as our ancestors may have done, but it will continue to evolve as all language must. In PaGaian Cosmology I have adapted the Wheel as a way of celebrating the Female Metaphor and also as a way of celebrating Cosmogenesis, the Creativity that is present really/actually in every moment, but for which the Seasonal Moments provide a pattern/Poetry over the period of a year – in time and place. The pattern that I unfold is a way in which the three different phases/characteristics interplay. In fact, the way in which they interplay seems infinite, the way they inter-relate is deeply complex. I think it is possible to find many ways to celebrate them. There is nothing concrete about the chosen story/Poetry, nor about each of the scripts presented here, just as there is nothing concrete about the Place of Being – it (She) is always relational, a Dynamic Interchange. Whilst being grounded in the “Real,” the Poetry chosen for expression is therefore at the same time, a potentially infinite expression, according to the heart and mind of the storyteller. NOTES: [i] See Appendix C, *(6), Glenys Livingstone, A Poiesis of the Creative …
A Southern Hemisphere Perspective on Place by Glenys Livingstone Ph.D.

This essay is an edited excerpt from the Introduction to the author’s book PaGaian Cosmology: Re-inventing Earth-based Goddess Religion, which was an outcome of her doctoral research/thesis entitled The Female Metaphor – Virgin, Mother, Crone – of the Dynamic Cosmological Unfolding: Her Embodiment in Seasonal Ritual as Catalyst for Personal and Cultural Change. This doctoral work was in turn a documentation and deeper research of the Seasonal ceremonial celebrations that the author was already engaged in for over a decade. The whole of the process is here named as her “Search”. photo credit: David Widdowson, Astrovisuals. The site of seasonal ceremonial celebrations will always be significant. In my case, the place in which I have created them has been notably in the Southern Hemisphere of out Planet Earth. The fact of my context being thus – the Southern Hemisphere – had contributed in the past to my deep internalized sense of being “other”, and dissociated from my senses, since almost all stories told were based in Northern Hemisphere perspective. Yet at the same time this context of inhabiting the Southern Hemisphere contributed to my deep awareness of Gaia’s Northern Hemisphere and Her reciprocal Seasonal Moment: thus, awareness of the whole Planet. My initial confusion about the sensed Cosmos – as a Place, became a clarity about the actual Cosmos – which remained inclusive of my sensed Cosmos. PaGaian reality – the reality of our Gaian “country” – is that the whole Creative Dynamic happens all the time, all at once. The “other”, the opposite, is always present – underneath and within the Moment. This has affected my comprehension of each Sabbat/Seasonal Moment, its particular beauty but also a fullness of its transitory nature. Many in the Northern Hemisphere – even today – have no idea that the Southern Hemisphere has a ‘different’ lunar, diurnal, seasonal perspective; and because of this there often is a rigidity of frame of reference for place, language, metaphor and hence cosmology[i]. Indeed over the years of industrialized culture it has appeared to matter less to many of both hemispheres, including the ‘author-ities’, the writers of culture and cosmos. And such ‘author-ity’ and northern-hemispheric rigidity is also assumed by many more Earth-oriented writers as well[ii]. There has been consistent failure to take into account a whole Earth perspective: for example, the North Star does not need to be the point of sacred reference – there is great Poetry to be made of the void of the South Celestial Pole. Nor need the North be rigidly associated with the Earth element and darkness, nor is there really an “up” and a “down” cosmologically speaking. A sense and accountof the Southern Hemisphere perspective with all that that implies metaphorically as well as sens-ibly, seems vitally important to comprehending and sensing a whole perspective and globe – a flexibility of mind, and coming to inhabit the real Cosmos, hence enabling what I have named as a ‘PaGaian’ cosmological perspective, a whole Earth perspective. It has also been of particular significance that my Search has been birthed in the ancient continent of Australia. It is the age of the exposed rock in this Land, present to her inhabitants in an untarnished, primal mode that is significant. This Land Herself has for millennia been largely untouched by human war, conquest and concentrated human agriculture and disturbance. The inhabitants of this Land dwelt here in a manner that was largely peaceful and harmonious, for tens of thousands of years. Therefore the Land Herself may speak more clearly I feel; one may be the recipient of direct transmission of Earth in one of her most primordial modes. Her knowledge may be felt more clearly – one may be taught by Her. I think that the purity of this transmission is a significant factor in the development of the formal research I undertook – in my chosen methodology and in what I perceived in the process, and documented; from my beginnings as a country girl, albeit below my conscious mind in the subtle realms of which I knew little, to the more conscious times of entering into the process of the Search. In this Land that birthed me, ‘spirit’ is not remote and abstract, it is felt in Her red earth[iii]. Aboriginal elder David Mowaljarlai described, “This is a spirit country”[iv], and all of Her inhabitants, including non-Indigenous, may be affected by the strength of Her organic communication. It took me until the later stages of my research to realize the need to state the importance of this particular place for the advent of the research: the significance of both the land of Australia, and the specific region of the Blue Mountains in which I was now dwelling, as well as the community of this particular region, which all lent itself to the whole process. The lateness of this perception on my part, has to do with the extent of my previous alienation; but the fact that it did occur, is perhaps at least in part attributable to the unfolding awakening to my habitat that was part of the project/process. The specific region of the “Blue Mountains” – as Europeans have named them – is significant in that I don’t think that this project/process could have happened as it did in just any region. David Abram says, “The singular magic of a place is evident from what happens there, from what befalls oneself or others when in its vicinity. To tell of such events is implicitly to tell of the particular power of that site, and indeed to participate in its expressive potency[v]”. Blue Mountains, Australia: Dharug and Gundungurra Country The Blue Mountains are impressive ancient rock formations, an uplifted ancient seabed, whose “range of rock types and topographical situations has given rise to distinct plant communities”[vi]; and the presence of this great variation of plant communities, “especially the swamps, offer an abundance and variety of food sources, as well as habitats for varied fauna”[vii]. I feel that this is the case for …

(Book Excerpt 5) The Mago Way by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang, Ph.D.

[Author’s Note] The following is from Chapter One, “What Is Mago and Magoism and How Did I Study HER?” from The Mago Way: Re-discovering Mago, the Great Goddess from East Asia, Volume 1. Footnotes below would be different from the monograph version. PDF book of The Mago Way Volume 1 download is available for free here.] How My Education and Experience Helped Me Study Mago The topic of Mago came to me in time for writing my doctoral dissertation for the Women’s Studies in Religion program that I was enrolled in at Claremont Graduate University. My graduate education, which I crafted to be a feminist cross-cultural alchemical process of de-educating myself from the patriarchal mode of knowledge-making, led me to encounter the hitherto unheard-of Goddess of East Asia, Mago. I came to read the Budoji, the principal text of Magoism, in 2000 and did some basic research to find out that Mago was known among people in Korea and that S/HE was also found in Chinese and Japanese sources.
(Photo Essay 2) ‘Gaeyang Halmi, the Sea Goddess of Korea’ by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang

Part II: The Lost Iconography of Gaeyang Halmi We visited the Suseong Shrine a second time on July 11, 2012. I looked inside the Shrine wherein a shaman ritual was being performed by a Mudang (Korean Shaman)[i] and her assistants. The Mudang in colorful ritual outfit appeared to console her female client on behalf of the spirit. The ritual continued another hour or so and we waited outside until she finished her performance. We had come here on the day of arrival in Jungmak-dong, Buan. The shrine was locked, apparently not being in use. On our second visit, the shrine was packed with four people and their instruments and equipment. It was so compact that it left no room for another person to sit; however, it was pumping up the sober energy. In fact, I have no recollection of which musical instruments were being played inside the shrine. Nonetheless, it feels like that I was hearing the sharp and high banging of the kkwaenggwari (gong) accompanied by the janggu (hourglass drum) rhythm [symbolizing the sound of thunder and rain respectively]. The “musical” sound that I heard shook off the debris of ordinary thoughts and took me to the Other Side of Reality. I began to see things clearly the way they are. I was stepping into the history of this place that I was going to discover.
(Poem) Knowing Mago Calendar by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang

[Author’s Note: This poem was an offshoot of an essay on Magoist Calendar and Nine Numerology, to be included in the forthcoming anthology, Celebrating Seasons of the Goddess (Mago Books, 2017). I thank Genevieve Vaughan, Danica Anderson, and Harriet Ann Ellenbeger who have given me feedback to the article and inspiration to this poem.] Mago Calendar is the umbilical cord of the Great Goddess, the umbilical cord that re-members the Beginning Story of us all terrestrial beings, that enables the one and many songs/dances of the Earth, and that nourishes the human world to sing the chorus to the cosmic lullaby. Mago Calendar is the grand wheel of the Great Mother, the grand wheel that spirals the inter-cosmic orbit of truth, goodness, and beauty, that carries all earthlings to the fullest becoming, and that builds bridges into the inter-protonic galaxies. Mago Calendar is the everlasting blessing of the Nine Mago Creatrix, the everlasting blessing that scripts the ecstasy of Heavenly Numerology, that charts the Earth’s metamorphosis from the infinite to the physical, and that unfolds the Reality of the Mago Time, WE/HERE/NOW. (Meet Mago Contributor) Helen Hye-Sook Hwang.