February 7, 2014October 2, 2019 Mago Work Admin

(Art) Venus of Willendorf by Lydia Ruyle

Venus of Willendorf is over 30,000 years old and the most well known paleolithic Venus. She is well endowed, small and mighty. On her head is a seven circle labyrinth. Her rainbows of energy in the banner background ripple around the world. For the new millennium, the Naturhistorische Museum in Vienna created a special shrine room for their most visited Venus.

Stone sculpture, c. 30,000 BCE, shrine, Naturhistorische Museum, Vienna

Read Meet Mago Contributor, Lydia Ruyle

3 thoughts on “(Art) Venus of Willendorf by Lydia Ruyle”

anisioluiz2008 says:

July 30, 2017 at 2:46 AM

Reblogged this on O LADO ESCURO DA LUA.

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Sketchuniverse says:

July 30, 2017 at 2:27 AM

Reblogged this on sketchuniverse and commented:
Hi beauties ! Today we can remember the famous Venus of Willendorf. 30,000 years old and the most well known paleolithic Venus. Have a nice sunday. Greetings from Barcelona ! ⚓⚓⚓

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snakeskinned says:

June 26, 2015 at 2:50 AM

Hey I love your art work! I have a blog dealing with questions of sexuality and exploring the power of the feminine. Would you allow me to use one of these beautiful venus designs. Check out my site at snakeskinned.com Would love to hear from you!

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Welcoming the Bees by Francesca Tronetti

Wikipedia Commons image Spring is one of my favorite times of year. In spring, I plan for my garden, one year a container on the deck, another year a pallet garden on the lawn. This year I am going to try for an actual garden in the old horse arena. In my region, you start some seeds indoors in the first week of March, so now is the time to gather your supplies. I’ve already purchased all the seeds for my garden, and for plants that I will start at my house for the community garden. This year I want lots of flowers. I have three packs of lavender seeds, three packs of perennial flowers, and six packs of butterfly and pollinator mixes. In the Cybeline tradition, bees are a symbol of the Goddess, owing back to the kissing bees of the Minoan civilization on Crete. Bringing bees into the garden and providing them with food and water is a way to help the earth, support several species teetering on the brink of survival, and bring beauty to your home. Inviting bees and butterflies can help your entire garden, and the smell of certain flowers deters some animals and pests. Nasturtiums keep pests away from tomatoes, and rabbits don’t like the smell of lavender. I cannot start planting out in the garden until around May 15, so now is the time to wait and prepare for the time when I can work in the garden at length. Since we all have this time, I wanted to share a few easy things you can do to prepare your land if, like me, you want to welcome butterflies and bees into your yard this year. First, you need to pick a sunny spot that is easy to water, a place close to your house, or where you can attach a hose and go to town. Don’t work in an area where you have sprayed pesticides or chemicals; even trace amounts can harm insects. Right now, it’s too wet and cold to work the soil properly. Wait until the soil is damp but not soaked. 2-3 days after heavy rain is good, especially in cold weather. If the area had high weeds or grasses last year, take a garden rake, pull them up, and put them aside for your compost pile. You can put some leftover fall leaves or compost on the area you want to plant in. Gather some thick, plain brown, cardboard, a little black or green ink is ok, but you do not want printed pictures. Pull off all tape and labels and break the boxes down. You can get boxes like this from your local grocery store when the fruits and vegetables are delivered. You can ask a manager or produce supervisor if you can have the boxes. Offer to pull around back and be polite, offer to come back when it’s convenient for them, and leave a number to reach you at. Layer on 2-3 pieces of cardboard and weigh it down so it doesn’t blow away. If rain is predicted soon, leave it alone; if not, spray it with a hose or use a watering can to soak the cardboard. Then leave it alone until after your last frost date. You can find your frost date online at the Old Farmer’s Almanac. Now comes the fun part, picking out your plants. In the United States, I recommend visiting NativeBackyards.com and searching “How to find native plants near me.” They have a list of sites you can visit to find out the best plants for your area. Bee balm is always a crowd-pleaser, but several varieties of milkweed are found across the country. Perennial plants are those which bloom year after year, such as hyssop, milkweed, lavender, lupine, and others. These are great to plant in areas where you want a permanent flower bed or along a path you know won’t be disturbed after a year. But don’t be afraid to toss in some annuals; sunflowers are beautiful and come in different colors, and even some herbs will attract pollinators and be useful in your kitchen. You can start your seeds indoors or purchase transplants at a garden center. However, most of your flowers you will direct sow into the soil after the last danger of frost has passed. Return to your yard with the garden rake on that day or a few days after. If the cardboard has decayed almost completely, you can break it up and work it into the soil. If not, shred it and toss it in your compost pile to continue breaking down. The cardboard will have prevented grass and weeds from growing in the area, leaving you with dead plants and no new growth. Wikipedia Commons image Wet the soil a little bit and run the garden rake over it to open it up and loosen the soil. Sprinkle in those direct sow seeds; sunflower seeds need to be planted at a depth of about 1 inch and grow very tall, so place them along the north edge of your planting area. Follow directions to plant transplants and throw some compost into the hole if your soil is poor. Make the hole at least twice as large as the pot; breaking up the soil makes it easier for the roots to spread out. After that, you can add fun extras to your garden. Get a nice lounge chair and a small table to lay in the sun and read a book as you admire your work. Get some pavers from a supply store and make a meditation area with a few potted plants. Put in a bird bath with some rocks to create ledges for bees and butterflies to stop by for a drink. Put up a few birdhouses or a bee hotel for solitary bees to rest in. A hummingbird feeder is a nice addition, as are hanging baskets of strawberries. It’s not quite spring, but now is the time …
(S/HE V2 N1 Essay 5) The Ancient Korean Whale-Bell: An Encodement of Magoist Cetacean Soteriology by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang

[Editor’s Note: This essay to be posted as sequels is from the second volume of the S/HE journal. See S/HE: An International Journal of Goddess Studies (Volume 2 Number 1, 2023). Page numbers and footnote numbers differ in this page.] BACKGROUND DISCUSSIONS Neither were Sillans the inventor of the Buddhist temple bell. Nor was Silla the cradle of Buddhism. Pre-Sillan Buddhist bells are found around the world. It is unknown what the exact original model of the Sillan bronze bell was or when the first Sillan bell was cast. What is evident is that Sillans were the originator of the whale-dragon bell. The specific feature of the Sillan bell, which I call the whale-dragon bell, originates from the period of Unified Silla. Noteworthy is that the whale-dragon bell is strikingly distinguished from the counterparts of the world including China and Japan (see Figures 4 and 5). I hold that the whale-dragon bell encodes the Korean identity as the whale-revering matriversal people. The whale-dragon bell embodies the matriversal principle, which is reductively adopted by the Buddhist church today. The topic of Sillan syncretism between Buddhism and Magoist Cetaceanism goes beyond the scope of this essay.[1] The cetacean identity of the Sillan bell opens the door to the Mother World, the reality of an ever-happening beginning. Reinvented in the eighth century of Silla, the Sillan bell invokes the matriversal consciousness in which whales are loved and revered as divine. The whale-dragon bell depicts the bio-sono-ecological behavior of cetaceans, which nurtures all planetary beings by way of managing planetary water, weather, and climate.[2] Upon being struck by the mallet, the whale bell symbolizes the song of whales, which equilibrates the terrestrial sonic resonance in harmony with the Cosmic Music, “the reverberating sound of a dragon,” expressed in the Name Text of the Divine Bell. The whale bell is a sublime representation of the cetacean divine (Nona Dragons) who represents the terrestrial divine as part of the triadic divine together with the heavenly divine, Nona Magos (Cosmic Mothers), and the humanly divine, Nona Gomas (Shaman Queens) (see [Figure 9]). (To be continued) [1] For example, early Buddhist temples of Silla were built on the sacred forest sites, famed from the pre-Buddhist times. These seven sites are Cheongyeongrim (天鏡林 Heavenly Mirror Forest), Samcheongi (三川岐 Three Streams Fork), Southern Dragon Palace, Northern Dragon Palace, Sacheonmi (Sand Stream End), Sinyurim (神遊林 Divine Staying Forest) and Seochengjeon (婿請田 Son-in-law’s Requested Field). Samguk Yusa Book 3, Heungbeop 3. An ancient Korean endeavor to transform Buddhism from the indigenous perspective of Magoist Cetaceanim was not limited to Sillans. Noteworthy is that, among others, early Korean Buddhist temples are associated with the Seon (Magoist) tradition. Goseonsa (高仙寺 Temple of Old Seon/Magoism) founded by Wonhyo (617-686) of Silla and Seonamsa (仙巖寺 Temple of Seon/Magoist Rock) whose old name was Haecheonsa (海川寺 Temple of the Sea and the River) founded by Ado of Goguryeo in 529 during the reign of Seong-wang, Baekje, are the examples. I posit that ancient Koreans were aware of the patriarchal core of Buddhism. They propagated the cetacean faith of Mireuk, the female cosmogonist. Mireuk is not the same as Maitreya, although it is commonly transliterated so. The word, mireuk (미륵 彌勒), is an indigenous word, derivative of mir (미르 the dragon) and mul (물 water) in Korean. Mireuk associated with a dragon is an embodiment of the Magoist Cetacean divine. Korean Shamanic lyrics describe Mireuk as a maternal cosmogonist who could grow flowers from her yoni, whereas Seokga (the Shakamuni Buddha) was a paternal counterpart who could not. Thus, he lied and stole the flowering power from her. Miruek, aware that Seokga was a cheater, retreated herself from the scene. The “flower contest” mythos manifests in East Asia and beyond. See “A map of the ‘flower contest’ motif in East Asian mythology,” accessed March 21, 2023, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Flower_contest_myth.png. As Buddhism enthroned the Shakimuni Buddha arrived at the land of post-Korean states, ancient Magoist Koreans forged the faith of Mireuk to cope with the colonial and patriarchal force backed by Buddhism. Note the two Shaman lyrics (Muga) documented from South Hamgyeong, presently North Korea, the Changsega (Song of Cosmogony) and the Saenggut (Ritual of the Saint). For the Changsega, see https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0055450. For the Saenggut, see https://encykorea.aks.ac.kr/Article/E0029901. I maintain that the Mireuk faith rose as a way of resisting and redefining Buddhism. Buddhism was perceived as a patriarchal religion, reductionist and colonialist, by post-Budo Koreans. A large corpus of Mireuk related sources (written and oral including placenames) accounts for my hypothesis. Construction of Mireuk Temples (Mireuksa) in Baekje (17 BCE-670) was among the examples. [2] Whales are known for stabilizing the global climate. Michelle Carrere in her article, “To fight climate change, save the whales, some scientists say,” underscores the importance of whales in not only fighting climate change but also in stabilizing marine ecosystems and writes: In addition to the carbon dioxide that whales capture in their bodies and store deep in the ocean when they die, they also fertilize the ocean with their feces and urine, leading to large phytoplankton blooms…“We have to minimize every threat affecting whales (and marine ecosystems as a whole) arising from human activities through decisive and concerted actions,” Hucke-Gaete said. Because of their ability to capture and store atmospheric carbon, as well as the many other ways they help stabilize marine ecosystems, he said, “Every whale counts and we should take care of them as if they were the golden goose.” Michelle Carrere, “To fight climate change, save the whales, some scientists say,” trans. Sara Engel, March 1, 2021,https://news.mongabay.com/2021/03/to-fight-climate-change-save-the-whales-some-scientists-say/. https://www.magoism.net/2013/07/meet-mago-contributor-helen-hwang/
(Essay 1) Finding Our Agency and Awareness in the Seeds of Self by Deepak Shimkhada and Lachele Schilling

[Editor’s Note: This and the next sequel is first published in She Rises: What… Goddess Feminism, Activism and Spirituality? Volume 3 as an article entitled, “Finding Our Agency and Awareness in the Seeds of Self” co-authord by Deepak Shimkhada, Ph.D. and Lachele Schilling, Ph.D.] The Source Dr. Deepak Shimkhada It is possible humans might wonder how we got here: a work economy where most people spend eight-hour shifts making minimum wage, too tired and poor to tend to much beyond dinner, shower, and sleep; a concrete urban life where, yes, it is convenient to buy a carton of milk instead of walk out into nature and milk a cow, but, we feel a sense of loss for the spicy smell of grass and warm, tingling sun; a broken global structure of inequality where crumbling buildings in Bangladesh actually do crumble and catch on fire. Meanwhile, those in the Global North can buy a striped crop top for $3 at H&M. We continue on with our ramshackle awareness, blinking towards increased knowledge about how one community’s consumption and waste can create poverty and pollution in another, while waiting for someone to do something, accepting that this way of life is perhaps too embedded to un-root itself in time, and that even if the Industrial Revolution was a moderately recent chapter, human greed for wealth, power, and control is, if we are to take any indication from ancient literature about the tendencies and practices of human beings then, irreversibly encoded within our DNA. But we certainly do know how we got here. It’s how we always get anywhere. It is how a woman can look at her life and assess, at 40, it does not look like what she wanted it to be: she reviews the seeds that have been planted, which have been watered and which neglected. The seed is the embryonic state of all plants and vegetables, for animal, including human, reproduction. Gaia teems with life of all kinds because of the multitude of seeds intentionally and unintentionally finding placement. Seeds of Life Seeds are the reason we can be healthy, in taking in the eventual, after their long and hard journey to fruition, grains, fruits and vegetables in the form of food. It is also because of seeds that we might encounter beautiful landscapes in both the cities and the countryside. Gaia can breathe and dance because of the seeds of the past. If seeds were not so valuable, Monsanto would not be a billion dollar giant industry that aims to monopolize and patent seed banks. We owe all we have to seeds that we or someone else have planted. Every journey has a beginning that includes choices, even if it is the choice to be silent and not act. In addition to its biological function of reproduction and development, some mystical orders consider seeds to hold or be consciousness or energy itself. The dialogue between a student and a teacher concerning Brahman (Ultimate Reality) in the Chhandogya Upanishad is a case in point. The dialogue begins with the words of the sage Uddalaka: “My child, you are so full of your learning and so censorious, have you asked for that knowledge by which we hear the unhearable, by which we perceive what cannot be perceived and know what cannot be known?” “What is that knowledge, sir?” asked Svetaketu. His father replied, “As by knowing one lump of clay all things made of clay are known – so, my child, is that knowledge, knowing which we know all.” “But surely these venerable teachers of mine are ignorant of this knowledge; for if they possessed it they would have imparted it to me. Do you, sir, therefore, give me that knowledge?” “So be it,” said the father. And he said, “Bring me a fruit of the Nyagrodha tree [fig tree].” “Here it is, sir.” “Break it.” “It is broken, sir.” “What do you see there?” “Some seeds, sir, exceedingly small.” “Break one of them.” “It is broken, sir.” “What do you see there?” “Nothing at all.” It is only because humans collectively or individually can wait to pause until what was destined from the seed to manifest itself in the beautiful monstrosities of creation, where the thorny brambles intertwine and serpentine around our limbs and one feels rather trapped, stuck, a lotus rooted in the mud so intimately that to break away would cost our lives. Sensory beings, humans seem to be distracted by what we can touch, hear, and see. Thus the tools of publicity and advertisement ensure we cope with the human predicament in ways that produce profit for our companies and institutions instead of our well-being. But we need to gather our focus and attend to the emptiness, the void, where possibility exists. We need to re-orient ourselves to perceive what is essential in contrast to the spectacle that lusts for our eyes. Vedantic, Hindu and Buddhist traditions perhaps more explicitly or obviously than other traditions assert the non-duality of existence and access to the True Self (as opposed to the more monolithic, absolute, ideal false self) as being within generative energy itself. The father said, “My son, that subtle essence which you do not perceive there – in that very essence stands the being of the huge Nyagrodha tree. In that which is the subtle essence of all that exists has its Self. That is the True, that is the Self, and thou Svetaketu art That.” Not all significant change in the world takes highly advanced problem-solving skills. Some just take the simple wisdom that everything is connected and everything is eternal. If we can constantly remind ourselves of this, we might make the kinds of choices, plant and water the kinds of seeds that would produce a more compassionate, less-polluted and damaged world and life that we have collectively crafted of our own volition, whether we are aware or not. The dialogue goes on to say the following: “Pray, sir,” said the son, “tell …
(Photo Essay 1) Grandmothers by Kaalii Cargill

The so called “Venus” figurines are prehistoric figurines that I prefer to call “Grandmothers”. The figurines were carved from soft stone, bone or ivory, or formed of clay and fired. Over the last 5 years, I have been visiting with the Grandmothers. This series of posts includes images and impressions of those visits. MALTA, August 2015 Ġgantija is a megalithic temple complex from the Neolithic on the Mediterranean island of Gozo. The Ġgantija temples are the earliest of the megalithic temples of Malta, built during the Neolithic (c. 3600–2500 BCE). The shape of the temples echoes the shape of Grandmother figures found in Ġgantija and elsewhere. Model of aerial view of Ġgantija Temples, Gozo Museum of Archaeology, Cittadella of Victoria,Gozo, Malta. Grandmothers from Ġgantija Temples, Ġgantija Temple complex museum. The Ġgantija complex is surrounded by a boundary wall, with some of the giant megaliths exceeding five meters (16.40 ft.) in length and weighing over fifty tons. Boundary wall of Ġgantija complex. Ancient megalithic structures have often been interpreted as tombs, although clearly the Ġgantija complex was a centre for ritual gatherings. From the perspective of the Abrahamic religions, a place of worship is a permanent setting that is tended between gatherings. In other traditions, such as Hinduism in Bali, Indonesia, the temples are used only for ceremonies. Built of stone and empty between ceremonies, the temples are open to the sky (and the monkeys). It may, therefore, be that temples like the Ġgantija complex did not have roofs and were more exposed to the elements than “Sky God” churches, mosques, synagogues etc. Standing in the landscape where the Grandmother figures have been found invites us to see with different eyes and to enter the imaginal experience of ancient ceremonies. Meet Mago Contributor KAALII CARGILL
(Meet Mago Contributor) Jack Dempsey, Ph.D.

Jack Dempsey (b. 1955) began writing freelance in New York City, and published Ariadne’s Brother: A Novel on the Fall of Bronze Age Crete in 1996. With his Ph.D. in Native and Early American Studies from Brown University, Jack wrote, edited and produced four books and two films in those fields, including New English Canaan by Thomas Morton of Merrymount; Mystic Fiasco: How the Indians Won The Pequot War, and Nani: A Native New England Story. Working on People of the Sea since the 1990s, Jack created the collaborative multimedia website Ancientlights.org, and revealed ancient Western astronomy with
The Other Side of Thanksgiving by Sara Wright

Photo by Sara Wright The grandmother thread November is the month when the veil is thin and permeable and it is possible to engage with the ancestors … i recently received information that for me november’s moon belongs to the grandmothers, and the liminal space in between and not to the hunter/killers. How is it that what seems so obvious was wrapped in the shroud of my unknowing? On all hallows i crossed a threshold when the hunters moon transmuted from male to female. Trusting my senses, i called up the archetypal grandmothers while grieving my lost connection to my own grandmother. I honored these elders as a powerful force of nature… and left it at that. it is important to note that during the last six years, i lost what once had been an archetypal, distant but meaningful relationship to the full moon’s light. This loss was replaced by the frightening presence of the moon’s dark side which interrupted my sleep and brought on nightmares that often seeped into day time experiences. once my longing to be a grandmother was a grieiving animal that raged in my body but family betrayal, and mental illness on the part of others severed all possibilites. Despite these handicaps i am proud to say that over my lifetime i developed into a woman who possessed integrity, one who created a life of deep meaning in the face of impossible odds. I couldn’t have done this without Surrendering to nature. I made a commitment to care for her like a mother… every forest, field and river, every dog and deer, bear and bird became a cherished beloved. I continue this practice today at 78 as an ‘old woman’, but no longer as a mother. I have surrendered hope that life will continue as i once knew it, grieve accordingly, and choose acceptance of what is.* Now back to my story… I learned from each non-human living being more about what it meant to be loved for just who i was than i ever did from any person with the exception of my brother and grandmother and one steadfast friend. My lack of trust in all humans but one, an animal healer, and my dedication to nature walked side by side. How could i have known that i would live most of my life in this space and have to face death to recover what was lost? After a recent fall and incarceration in a house of horrors the love of one person who was able to stay emotionally present to my dying self helped me survive. i came home transformed. When i returned to my house a few weeks ago i dreamed that i was a little girl standing at my grandmother’s bedroom door crying out with joy and clapping my hands in ectascy as i repeated over and over “it’s my birthday!” I puzzled over this dream with its strange reference to my absentee grandmother. as i sat with the vignette, long buried memories of my grandmother’s steadfast love began to bubble to the surface, flooding my awareness with feeling. I remembered crawling into my grandmother’s bed on nights when i was frightened, the way she lovingly washed my face with warm water before bedtime, cared patiently and lovingly for me when i was ill, cooked applesauce from the golden apples on her tree, taught me how to sew, made all my clothes, witnessed my confused feelings without judgement even when i had tantrums, demonstrated to me the joys of birdwatching and gardening from the beginning… Since i was only 24 when my grandmother died, and because i loved her so much, i couldn’t figure out why i never felt the loss of someone who was so important to me or why i never dreamed about her. Who and what had kept her from me? i witnessed my grandmother’s agonizing death after she was pushed onto the floor by my violent three-year old son. My grandmother broke her hip and never walked again. For the next year i drove 300 miles every month to see and care for her myself. My grandmother told me that i was all she had. Now, i know that she was right because i was the only person who was able to be emotionally present for her during her dying. The night i returned from the hospital for the last time it was thanksgiving. I had spent my time there washing her face and telling her how much i loved her even though she was unconscious. after driving to my parents’ home from the hospital supposedly to particpate in thanksgiving festivities, without provocation my drunken mother struck me hard, knocking me to the floor and stunning my grandfather into his usual silence. He was used to her crazed and violent outbursts. No one ever held her accountable. The next morning my grandmother died at 5 am. Her death occurred on the heels of my little brother’s suicide less than two years before. Now i had lost the two people who were closest to me and still felt nothing. the dead years had begun. in my grandmother’s place came the family abusers and there were a lot of them. My mother was the worst. In time i learned to dread these family interactions and nightmares which threw me into hopeless despair. My father and grandfather were the two exceptions. Throughout my life there have been many others… When i returned to the land of the living, i longed to be re-united with my grandmother the way i had been with my little brother. But this was not to be. Finally, i reached the conclusion that because i had never become a grandmother myself, my grandmother (who i had curiously named ‘baba’ as a baby), was permanently lost to me. In the meantime as a student of nature i gradually learned as i aged how to stay focused on the whole, most of the time; to live …
(Poem) Sicily by Mary Saracino

The Black Madonna of Tindari, Sicily, by Mary Saracino How was I to know I’d be coming home when first I tasted the salt sea air of your sun-stained shores? Isola Bella, something rattled my DNA, dislodging its memory awakening its forgotten longing. Isola Madre, something birthed voice erasing a long silence; that which had been lost suddenly reclaimed. In Erice, the homeward-seeking doves soar back to Africa each spring released by those who remember how true blood sings for its Mother. In Ragusa Ibla, St. George could not slay the Amazon hunters or their ebony strength. The dragon of memory loomed fiercer than his shining sword. In Tindari, the Dark One reigns still Her benevolent eyes welcome pilgrims of every hue seeking solace, affirmation in Her declaration: “I am black and beautiful.” In Trapani, Siracusa, Custonaci, Enna, Palermo — over hillsides littered with ruins, through valleys, bleeding with stark red poppies across mountains erupting beside turquoise seas swelling we remember our First Womb marked as we are by Her ancient imprint. Sicily’s salty air whispers a mournful dirge, a litany inviolable the eternal archive of names — women and men, young and old, native-born and foreigner living and dead — who see everything, hear always speak unfailingly releasing their long soulful sighs into the waiting watchful wind. [Previously published in: “Sicily,” She Is Everywhere! Volume 3: An anthology of writings in womanist/feminist spirituality, iUniverse March 2012, Mary Saracino and Mary Beth Moser, co-editors. Originally published at newversenews.com on April 30, 2006] https://www.magoism.net/2013/05/meet-mago-contributor-mary-saracino
(Hymm) Adorations to Goddess Durga by Swami Pujananda Saraswati

Source: ISKCON Adorations to Goddess Durga, Mother of all auspiciousness,May She Bless us in the journey to 2019 and onwards,Wherever time takes us. May Goddess lead us to the destructionof all negative forces within us. May Maya Shakti destroy all ignorance.May Chamunda, the Deviji who destroyed the demons Madhu and Kaitabha,symbols of attachment to pleasure and all forms of hatred (and fears),liberating us from petty ties to matterin the Manipura Chakra, the chakra of Creation and will power,render us fit to ascend to the challenges and glories of higher Chakras. And may Her message of discernmentshine through our movement to wisdom! May SHE guide us from within! Adorations to Goddess Lakshmiwho conquered Mahishasura, the demon of mental distractionscaused by subtle unconscious desires–and its buffalo-mind that changes forms like magic–allowing the Lotus of highertalents and aspirations to blossomdeep within. May She confer upon usthe health of body and mindto pursue unbound wealth in ethical qualities and unbound Love Divine for Dharma, Jewel of jewels. May Her spear or Shaktipenetrate the heart within us ending all negative tendencies,and obstacles to the victory in body-mind-spirit! May Her message of discernmentshine through our movement to wisdom! May SHE guide us from within! Adorations to Goddess Saraswati who conquered the demon Dhumralochana,the smokey-eyed expression of perverted visionby simply uttering HUM!; to Her who conquered Chanda and Munda,servants of the limited/mortal I-mine concept, hiding at the source of all afflictionsand corrupted identity expressing in illusionsrelated to action and inaction;to Her who conquered the sly Raktabija,an evil force as cunningas perverted rationalizations,that produced a clone of the demon from every drop of his blood–just as externalization of mind and sensesgives rise to endless fields of illusions–as She extended Her mighty tongueto absorb the evil multiplied to infinityuntil no drop was left to torture goodness in this world;to Her who conquered Shumbha and Nishumbha,rulers of egoism and mineness,centers of dualistic epistemes,sources of terror to all that is good, noble and lastingwithin us, ending thus all our afflictions by the shining sword of Viveka Khyati,the intuitive knowledge awakened in samadhi.To Her,to Tridevi, Goddess in Her three forms, to Maha Shakti, as One, to that Goddess,I offer endless adorations! Namastasyai, Namastasyai, Namastasyai Namo Namah! Sarva Mangala MangalyeShive Sarvardha SadhikeSharanye Triyambhake GauriNarayani NamostuteNarayani NamostuteNarayani Namostute! Om Shantih, Shantih, Shantih! (Meet Mago Contributor) Swami Pujananda Saraswati
(Essay 2) Divining the Masculine by Bart Everson

[This essay was originally published in the book, Finding the Masculine in Goddess’ Spiral: Men in Ritual, Community, and Service to the Goddess (2016, Immanion Press)]. These ideas are not very original. They must be amongst the oldest and most primal religious impulses. As a child of my era, however, I was drawn to scientific theories on the subject, in particular Gaia theory as formulated by James Lovelock and Lynn Margulis. (Oberon Zell formulated the same basic theory at the same time, but I was not familiar with his work). In simplest form, Gaia theory proposes a holistic view of the planet, looking at the Earth as a single organism. Naming the theory after the ancient Greek Earth goddess alienated many scientists but captured the popular imagination.

(Review) Journey into Dreamtime by Munya Andrews, reviewed by Glenys Livingstone

Although the term “Dreamtime” is often not considered an adequate translation of the cosmology, religion or spirituality of Indigenous Australians, Munya Andrews of the Bardi people from the Kimberley region of Western Australia, acknowledges this and chooses to name her recently published book with it, explaining that: “I love the term … For me, it conjures up a magical and mysterious world.”, and she feels that the term aligns perfectly with the common global religious concept that Diety is beyond words and human understanding. For me, as Munya Andrews describes “Dreamtime”, it seems resonant with the sense of “ever-present Origins”[1]; that is, original space and time that is omnipresent. This is a space/place that I understand to be referred to as “between the worlds” and “beyond the bounds of space and time”, by Indigenous Europeans (Pagans), a tradition with which I am familiar. I understand it to be a sentient world in which we are immersed actually, and which may be revealed to the observant person in synchronous moments. With practice one may live with clearer everyday connections with this world, and Munya’s book is an important contribution to making those connections from within the cosmology of her people; and for “all beautiful souls to keep the Dreamtime alive”, as she says in the book’s dedication. This book provides informative story that should be part of every Australian’s education at various levels: it lays a groundwork and also elicits deepening understandings. The teachings offered in Journey into Dreamtime should be considered essential knowledge for living on this land named Australia, whereas heretofore most present occupants have often not had easy access to such learning. This very readable and small book provides some basic facts: for example, that there are “250 or so Indigenous nations, each having their own language, their own names and ‘country’ or tribal lands.”; and that terms such as Koori, Nunga or Murri are “pan-Aboriginal” names taken on since colonisation, for the sake of asserting a distinct Indigenous identity, in the face of forced removal from families and land. In the course of the seven chapters Munya develops understanding of Dreamtime, and also understandings of Indigenous Law, Songlines, sacred sites, bush doctors/bush medicine, Rainbow Snake, and Kindredness. I found all of this really helpful, an invitation into a world of being and relationship; and it is told with frequent analogies from Western science and academic and spiritual texts, with which the reader may be more familiar, enabling the bridge into Indigenous science and worldview. There is a list of suggested readings offered, along with links and details for further connection and learning. At the conclusion of each chapter of Journey into Dreamtime there are “Dreamtime Reflections”, posing questions for personal consideration, inviting personal participation and pathways into some actual sense of an alive self in relationship with the alive world described. This book needs to be in spaces/places where everyday people can read it, like waiting rooms of all kinds (where there are frequently Bibles); as well as in every library, and especially Australian libraries. I highly recommend Journey into Dreamtime as an educational resource, for your self, for educational programs, and/or for any group that you may gather. Aunty Munya, as she names herself, has an impressive track record of speaking engagements, mentioned at the conclusion of the book, and invites you to have her speak to your organisation. She describes her life purpose as “to create better understanding and appreciation of Aboriginal people and to leave behind a legacy of Dreamtime wisdom for generations to come.” May it be so, as readers of Journey into Dreamtime absorb its teaching and resources. To order a copy of Journey into Dreamtime visit Evolve Communities NOTES: [1]“ever-present origin” is the English translation of Jean Gebser’s Ursprung und Gegenwart, Stuttgart, Deutsche Verlag, 1966.
(Special Post) To Contributors: Strengthening Our Roots by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang

Dear Contributors, Do you know that Return to Mago (RTM) E*Magazine is entering its fifth year this fall? And, thanks to our collective effort, we are still growing! As of today, our contributors have grown to more than 130 in number and our readership is from about 140 countries around the world. We have some hundred email followers as well as Wordpress blog followers. We draw 3000-4000 clicks per month on average; that is no small accomplishment for a Goddess blog that is named after a yet-to-be heard word, Mago (the Great Goddess), and that began from scratch.
(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/.

(Poetry & Photo Essay) Pongal by Susan Hawthorne

I am a secularist rather than a ritualist, but I can’t help but be drawn into the celebrations that people make when they honour the passing of the seasons. Even as a child I felt the disconnect between Christmas and the hot dusty days of summer. When Christians invaded and colonised Australia they brought their holidays but did not consider changing the dates to match the seasons. I was in India recently, invited as a speaker at the Hindu Lit For Life Festival in Chennai where I had lived ten years ago. The last day of the festival was the first day of Pongal. A friend, feminist economist Devaki Jain, who had grown up in Chennai eighty years earlier invited me to join her in a car ride to see Pongal celebrations in the streets. This is a Tamil festival dating back at least a thousand years, a sun festival, welcoming the next six months of the sun’s journey, also a harvest festival. During this time many women produce beautiful drawings, known as kolam. In my book Cow I wrote a poem about kolam which I think says more than I can explain here. what she says about kolam where they are drawn and when is all important early morning is auspicious it sets the shape of the day the hard ground is cleaned points of white grain sprinkled she works quickly she knows her design for the day runs the powdered grain from point to point it is a mandala a yantra a sign so the forces of the universe align themselves with her intentions Back to Pongal. The festival goes for four days. On the first day, which is called Bhogi, people are on the streets with the fruits of harvest, piles of tumeric and stacks of sugar cane tied in bunches. My friend, Devaki, bought flowers to take back to her room in the hotel. The second day, called Thai Pongal, I was invited to a harvest lunch at the house of my friend Mangai who is a playwright, theatre director and human rights activist. The word ‘pongal’ means ‘boiling over’ or’ overflow’ and I saw this in the cooking of the sweetened rice dish into which each of the twelve people present poured some water and milk as it almost overflowed the pot. This sweet rice dish was added to the collection of other dishes on the table. I cannot tell you what they were, but the meal was delicious. After lunch everyone relaxed, someone sang, we talked and caught up on news. The third day, is called Maatu Pongal, and cattle are at the centre of celebrations on that day. I don’t know if this line up of cattle had anything to do with the day’s celebration but there they were tied up alongside a very busy main road. These were not cows and I did not see any cows with decorated horns and flowers on their heads. on that day as I have on other occasions. On the fourth day, Kaanum Pongal, things begin to wind down. One of my co-speakers at the festival said she would be visiting family members on that day. The kolams are drawn again, sugar cane is consumed and people go back to their daily lives. What I liked about being in Tamil Nadu during the Pongal festival is that it felt absolutely right. The time of the year, the connection with harvest, so I did not feel the discomfort I so often feel in the midst of the out-of-season commercialised holidays as they are celebrated in Australia. Susan Hawthorne’s book Cow is available worldwide from distributors in USA, Canada, UK, from all the usual online retailers or from Spinifex Press. http://www.spinifexpress.com.au/Bookstore/book/id=215/ © Susan Hawthorne, 2019 (Meet Mago Contributor) Susan Hawthorne.
(Essay and Video) Cosmogenesis Dance: Celebrating Her Unfolding by Glenys Livingstone

The dance begins with two concentric circles, which will flow in and out of each other throughout the dance, resulting thus in a third concentric circle that comes and goes. The three circles/layers are understood to represent the three aspects of Goddess, the Creative Triple Dynamic that many ancients were apparently aware of, and imagined in so many different ways across the globe. In Her representation in Ireland as the Triple Spiral motif, which is inscribed on the inner chamber wall at Bru-na-Boinne (known as Newgrange)[1], She seems to be understood as a dynamic essential to on-going Cosmic Creativity, as this ancient motif is dramatically lit up by the Winter Solstice dawn. It seems that this was important to the Indigenous people of this place at the time of Winter Solstice, which celebrates Origins, the continuing birth of all. Thus I like to do this Cosmogenesis Dance, as I have named it[2], at the Winter Solstice in particular. The three aspects that the dance may embody, and are poetically understood as Goddess, celebrate (i) Virgin/Young One – Urge to Be as I have named this quality – the ever new differentiated being (also known as Fodla in the region of the Triple Spiral)[3]. This is the outer circle of individuals. (ii) Mother – the deeply related interwoven web – Dynamic Place of Being as I have named this quality – the communion that our habitat is (also known as Eriu in the region of the Triple Spiral)[4]. This is the woven middle circle where all are linked and swaying in rhythm. (iii) Crone/Old One – the eternal creative return to All-That-Is – She who Creates the Space to Be as I have named this quality (also known as Banba in the region of the Triple Spiral)[5]. This is the inner circle where linked hands are raised and stillness is held. The three concentric layers of the dance may be understood to embody these. The Cosmogenesis Dance represents the flow and balance of these three – a flow and balance of Self, Other and All-That-Is. It may be experienced like a breath, that we breathe together – as we do co-create the Cosmos. Thomas Berry and Brian Swimme have named the three qualities of Cosmogenesis in the following way: – differentiation … to be is to be unique – communion … to be is to be related – autopoiesis/subjectivity … to be is to be a centre of creativity.[6] The three layers of the dance may be felt to celebrate each unique being, in deep relationship with other, directly participating in the sentient Cosmos, the Well of Creativity. The Cosmogenesis Dance as it is done within PaGaian Winter Solstice ceremony expresses the whole Creative Process we are immersed in. It is a process of complete reciprocity, a flow of Creator and Created, like a breath. There is dynamic exchange in every moment: that is the nature of the Place we inhabit. The dance may help awaken us to it, and to invoke it. The Cosmogenesis Dance on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dR73MDMM9Fk For more story: Cosmogenesis Dance for Winter Ritual For Dance Instructions: PaGaian Cosmology Appendix I Meet Mago Contributor Glenys Livingstone NOTES: [1] The Triple Spiral engraving is dated at 2,400 B.C.E. [2] This dance is originally named as “The Stillpoint Dance”, or sometimes “Adoramus Te Domine” which is the name of the music used for it. I learned it from Dr. Jean Houston in 1990 at a workshop of hers in Sydney, Australia. I began to use the dance for Winter Solstice ceremony in 1997, and it was only in the second year of doing so that I realised its three layers were resonant with the three traditional qualities of the Female Metaphor/Goddess, and also the three faces of Cosmogenesis. I thereafter re-named and storied the dance that way in the ceremonial preparation and teaching for Winter Solstice. See Glenys Livingstone, PaGaian Cosmology: pp. 280-281 and 311. [3] Michael Dames, Ireland: a Sacred Journey, p.192. [4] Michael Dames, Ireland: a Sacred Journey, p. 192. [5] Michael Dames, Ireland: a Sacred Journey, p. 192. [6] Brian Swimme and Thomas Berry, The Universe Story, p. 71-79. I have identified these qualities with the Triple Goddess, and the Triple Spiral in the synthesis of PaGaian Cosmology: see Glenys Livingstone, PaGaian Cosmology, particularly Chapter 4: https://pagaian.org/book/chapter-4/ References: Dames, Michael. Ireland: a Sacred Journey, Element Books, 2000. Livingstone, Glenys. PaGaian Cosmology: Re-inventing Earth-based Goddess Religion. Lincoln NE: iUniverse, 2005. Swimme, Brian and Berry, Thomas. The Universe Story: From the Primordial Flaring Forth to the Ecozoic Era. NY: HarperCollins, 1992.
(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.
(Video) A Samhain Ceremony by Glenys Livingstone Ph.D.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVRoK2XNeqw The purpose of the video is for ceremony and I suggest pausing the video where it suits you, to add your own processing, embellishments and/or your own drum, percussion and voice wherever you please. I have made short spaces in the video where it could be paused. For more full participation in the ceremony, you could have some past photos of yourself, an altar with ancestor photos, a gingerbread snake, some apples sliced up, and some apple juice. The script for this Samhain ceremony is offered in Chapter 4 of my book A Poiesis of the Creative Cosmos: Celebrating Her within PaGaian Sacred Ceremony, with all acknowledgements and references there. However I want to acknowledge here the inspiration and some text of Robin Morgan’s poem “The Network of the Imaginary Mother” in her book Lady of the Beasts, for which I was given permission in my book. I also acknowledge here the paraphrase of some words by Starhawk in her book The Spiral Dance, used in the rite of Sailing to a New World. I also use a line from the poem Song of Hecate by Bridget McKern. The elements of Water, Fire, Earth and Air on the altar in this video are placed in directions that are appropriate to my region in the Southern Hemisphere, and East Coast Australia: you may place yours differently, and transliterate when I mention the direction (which I do minimally). For the rite of the Transformation Journey (remembering old selves) I use an adaptation of a children’s game “In and Out the Windows”, where each participant travels in and out of upraised and linked arms of the circle, and when ‘in’ may speak and /or show photos of themselves from the past. Some may choose to remember any self from the entire evolutionary story, with whom they would like to identify. The game seems appropriate to what each being does existentially in so many ways, over the eons as well as in our personal lives. The chant can be found on YouTube. The photos used are a collage of footage and photos from the 2024 Samhain ceremony at my place in Wakka Wakka country, South East Queensland Australia, and from previous Samhain ceremonies I facilitated over the decades in MoonCourt, Goddess ceremonial space in NSW Australia, Darug and Gundungurra country. Music credit: All music used in this video is by Tim Wheater, which has previously generously allowed me to use in my work. The pieces used are from Tim’s CD Fish Nite Moon: they are Ancient Footsteps, Fish Nite Moon, Spiritbirth, and Conception. I thank my partner Robert (Taffy) Seaborne for his participation in the creation of the video.
Happy New Year, Year 2/5916 Magoma Era! by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang

“The Bell of King Seongdeok, known as the Emille Bell, a massive bronze bell at 19 tons is the largest in Korea.” Wikimedia Commons. Cast in 771, the bell reenacts the music of whales to remind people of the Female Beginning, the self-creative power innate all beings. Today is Day 2 of the New Year in the reconstructed Magoist Calendar characterized by 13 months per year and 28 days per month. We are heading toward the Solstice that falls on Dec. 21/22 (Day 5 of the first month in the Magoist Calendar), which happens to be the day of the first full moon of Year 2. Below is the details about the Magoist Calendar. https://www.magoacademy.org/2018/03/27/magoist-calendar-13-month-28-day-year-1-5915-me-2018-gregorian-year/ The Gregorian year 2018 marks a watershed in that we began to implement the Magoist Calendar. The Magoma Era is based on the onset of the nine-state confederacy of Danguk (State of Dan, the Birth Tree) traditinally dated 3898 BCE-2333 BCE. We just passed Year 1 or 5915 Magoma Era (the Gregorian 2018). For Year 1, we had the New Year Day on December 18 of 2017, the first new moon day before the December Solstice. That makes December 18 of 2017 our lunation 1, the first lunar year that the reconstructed Magoist Calendar determines its first day of the Year 1! Although relatively short in history, the Mago Work began to celebrate the Nine Day Mago Celebration on the day of December Solstice annually since 2015. With the reconstructed Magoist Calendar, we placed it in its due timeframe, the Ninth Month and the Ninth Day, which fell on August 8, 2018 (US PST) and celebrated it for the first time according to the Magoist Calendar. Apparently, this had to be a mid-Summer event. This left us with another seasonal event, the New Year/Solstice Celebration. For Year 2, we hold the 3 Day New Year/Solstice Celebration on December 20, 21, and 22 (December 22 to be the Solstice Dat in PST) and the Virtual Midnight Vigil as a precussor to the New Year Day. http://www.magoacademy.org/2018/07/17/2018-5915-magoma-era-year-1-nine-day-mago-celebration/ https://www.magoacademy.org/home-2/new-year-solstice-celebrations/ We just greeted the Year 2 by holding the event called Virtual Midnight Vigil during which we sounded the Korean temple bell, in particular the Emile Bell or the Divine Bell of King Seongdeok the Great, to the world. A few from around the globe (Germany, Korea, Italy and the US) participated in it or hosted their own local vigils. The Korean temple bell is the key symbol for the Magoist Calendar as well as the Magoist Cosmogony. It is not a coincidence that it is struck on the midnight of the New Year’s Eve. It is Korean tradition that even modern Koreans gather at the bell tower in Seoul to hear the sound of the bell at midnight. And these bells are gigantic weighing 19 tons in the case of the Emile Bell. That this convention has an ancient Magoist root remains esoteric. For not only they strike the bell 28 times in the evening indicating the 28 lunar stations that the Moon stops by in the sky throughout the year (please read below what the 28 day lunar journey means and how it is represented by women). But also the Korean temple bell is no mere acoustic device to play the beautiful sound only. It is designed to reenact the Magoist Cosmogony. https://www.magoacademy.org/2018/12/14/virtual-midnight-vigil-dec-17-2018-to-new-year-year-2-5916-magoma-era/ That said, that is not what’s all about the Korean Magoist convention of welcoming the New Year by sounding the temple bell, however. That the bell sound is a mimicry of the music of whales has been in the hand of wisdom seekers! Ancient Korean bells testify that whales are with us in the journey of the Moon and her terrestrial dependents headed by women. You may like to hear the sound of the Magoist Korean whale bell included in the Participation Manual for Virtual Midnight Vigil below. Happy New Year to all terrestrial beings in WE/HERE/NOW! https://www.magoacademy.org/2018/12/16/participation-manual-for-virtual-midnight-vigil-year-2/

(Video) The Mago Work by Mago Sisters by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang

https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PL-hbgxa5v1IfUM6h6PvOTpLe8fLv5ExRG&v=HUM6EQ7sEaQ
(Book Announcement 5) Introduction (part 3) by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang

[Editor’s Note: This Introduction is from She Rises: How Goddess Feminism, Activism, and Spirituality? Volume 2.] Pre-order available now! Engendering the Gynocentric Economy In the sense that the She Rises collective writing project does NOT begin with a ready-made blueprint, it is distinguished from a standard anthology. More to the point, this book is a book of the Goddess. By saying that, I do not mean that it is just about the Goddess. It is created in a gynocentric way and it serves a gynocentric purpose. Motivations matter; the task of the She Rises collective writing was first undertaken as a way of enhancing the Goddess/Mago Movement in 2014.[i] It has taken place spontaneously by the hand of volunteers. It relies on the gynocentric economy, a system of enabling the life of all beings operated through voluntary collaboration and egalitarian coordination. As an extension of the Gift Economy that Genevieve Vaughan advocates, the gynocentric economy is based on the voluntary sharing of one’s available resources for the whole.[ii] Gift-givers not only give what we can give freely but also enable a whole new (read non-patriarchal) mode of doing economic activities. In other words, they summon gynocentric reality to take place. Gynocentric economy secures free gift-giving activities and at the same time is shaped by the latter.
(Essay 2 Part 1) Why Do I Love Korean Historical Dramas? by Anna Tzanova

Part 1 Fans, journalists, critics, and academia in multiple fields have studied this world phenomenon; have written blogs, articles, books; and presented in conferences, dissecting, and making predictions. Still, the magic and mystery of its success persists to be as thrilling as ever. This is the way I see it: DELIGHTING THE SENSES