March 6, 2014January 15, 2023 Mago Work Admin

(Meet Mago Contributor) Frances Guerin

Frances Guerin holds a Ma Visual Arts, LaTrobe University Bendigo, Dip Ceramics, Federation University Ba Hons Philosophy/ Women’s Studies LaTrobe Melbourne Campus. Her work is influenced by Irish Contemporary Art, Feminist theory and Depth Psychology. Her studio is located outside the spa town of Daylesford in the Wombat Forest near a Dja Dja Wurrung women’s birthing tree. This powerful ancestral presence evoked a series of revelatory dreams of Celtic mythical figures who move between human and animal form. This is the inspiration for the kangaroo figurine with human face which is popular with collectors and features regularly at exhibitions and awards. This anthropomorphic figurine she believes, is a bridge between Celtic consciousness and the indigenous Australian spirit of place. Her work has been acquired by major galleries in Australia and internationally.

1 thought on “(Meet Mago Contributor) Frances Guerin”

Sally says:

February 3, 2023 at 5:20 AM

Really beautiful and evocative Frances..the parrots..the crow.. your dreams ,the lovely photo of the birthing tree in shards of sunlight light.. well done following all these lines in your work…earth kinship Love Sally

Loading...

Reply

Leave a Reply to the main postCancel reply

(Art Essay 2) Conversations with Women and Plants: A transcendental opening via the Voynich portal by Claire Dorey

[Author’s note: Page numbers are referenced as they appear in the actual manuscript as per The Voynich Manuscript,Yale Books, not this PDF. Link to PDF of the Voynich Manuscript, holybooks.com. Feel free to peruse before reading.] Art by Claire Dorey Nature is nurture, is art, is patience, is medicine. When night flowers and thistles whisper in the breeze listen to their secrets and ask what you can grow in your imagination. Botanical spas were popular during the Renaissance and imagery shows women and men bathing together, yet in the Voynich the narrative is female. Ten nymph-women bathe, in a viridescent, brew, beneath what appears to be a medieval tent (p76a). Look closer: it has a ‘chicory’ canopy, symbolising the cosmic-plant energy of the astrological medicine wheel. Apotropaic magic rains on the bathers. Wavy petals, code for Alkaid’s power, fringe the ‘canopy’ and decorate a tubular ‘plant stem’ rising to the cosmos – a conduit for star magic. The ‘tent poles’ are ‘plant stems’ delivering divine and cerebral energy to the bather’s crown chakras. There are two ‘chicory canopies’, beneath which six women face four women, seemingly in conversation. Above the six, a crucifix. Above the four – none. Does this image show women in conversation, talking Christian and Pagan beliefs? “Whosoever counts these Lays as fable, may be assured that I am not of his mind.” – Marie de France. – “Marie de France Quotes.” BrainyQuote.com. Women “languish in the footnotes” of medieval history but the poetry of Marie de France (born 1160) implies some enjoyed sexual and intellectual freedom, contrary to church orthodoxy. “Rosemary is the jewel of the Mediterranean and in Italy it’s said that rosemary grows near homes filled with strong women.” – Paige Vanderbeck, Green Witchcraft: A Practical Guide to Discovering the Magic of Plants, Herbs, Crystals and Beyond. Prick of nettle, thorn of rose, women’s hands blister and bleed foraging for magic. Blood drops on the white, lacy ‘wild carrot’ flower symbolise plant wisdom passing from fingertip to fingertip. Beyond the bathtub the conversation is female. Umbilical cords link bathtub to bathtub, describing a lineage of womb spaces – a matrix of ancestral plant wisdom in flow, incubated by the sisterhood (pp 77a,78,79a,81,84,85). Motherwort (mother root) supports the heart-yoni connection. Women’s hands reach into plant stem conduits (flowers removed) representing foraging, distilling, brewing and administering astro-plant magic via ‘plant straws’ (p77,78a,79a,82,83,84a). Are they ‘talking’ emmenagogues, abortifacients, galactagogues, contraceptives and anodynes – herbs to support female body autonomy? Art by Claire Dorey One illustration is decidedly fallopian (p78a). A women sits upon an astral flower-womb, flanked by and connected to two women sitting upon flower-ovaries. Dangling from the flower-womb are what could be three magic mushrooms or three heart-shaped seeds – perhaps a homage to silphium, the possibly extinct contraceptive, aphrodisiac and abortifacient herb, revered by Minoans and ancient Egyptians. In The Offering of the Heart, a medieval tapestry, the heart became a romantic symbol. Three women, three seeds, three florets, seems like code for the Triple Goddess to me, perhaps referencing Hecate, Prosperina and Diana. Her own boss, lunar, forest Goddess Diana was patron of witchcraft in the middle ages. Leafy sheaths become bathtubs, climbing stems, in a vertical illustration down the page margin (p80a). It’s unclear which plant this is. It resembles Angelica, cow parsley, poison hemlock and the way silphium is drawn on Kyrenaica coins. This image tells a story. The nymph-woman at the top of the stem, taking a dip in her ‘leaf sheath’ bathtub, beneath an astral, medicine wheel, flower canopy, holds a crucifix. Further down the stem, a second nymph-woman reclines in her bathtub, holding a ring that could be part of a witches tool kit; a Celtic torc: an ancient Egyptian shen ring; or the rod-and-ring symbol held by Inanna – all divine infinity / protection symbols. Does this page discuss plant and religious poison? The myth of the nymph endured through the middle ages. In Greek mythology the flower nymph Chloris who, in fear, exhaled roses, helped Hera conceive by gifting her a flower stem. The stems sprout from an emerald pool (p80a bottom) where a mermaid bathes, surrounded by animals – spirit guides or animals poisoned by hemlock? I think she is Melusine, spirit of forest ponds, who married a supernatural man-beast. This image comes with a warning: no peeking on Saturday when Melusine grows her serpent tail or she’ll hex you with plant magic. This page is peppered with plant stalks resembling ‘rainbows’ – medieval symbol linking heaven and Earth, but I don’t think this references the godhead, since Christian iconography may conceal Pagan deities (the rose symbolises Mary and Isis). One nymph-women, who’s hands are inserted into a rainbow plant stem (purple Angelica or spotted poison hemlock?) has a mermaid tail. Another, sits upon a flower whose petals are sprouting aquatic tails. Is she Melusine, striding supernatural, Pagan and Christian realities, which her oftentimes split tail iconography may describe? Melusine’s lineage stretches to Atargatis, Delphyne, Medusa, Tiamat and the Lamia – aquatic, serpent Goddesses, predating patriarchy. If I’m correct then the ‘star map’ (in part one) could feature Melusine’s castle, Château de Lusignan and Avalon, the otherworld island of ‘wisdom apples’ and lush, healing vegetation. Shapeshifting, from human to dragon, Melusine flew off there. Perhaps the ‘rainbow stems’ reference psychoactive plants and ‘flying off’ describes ‘tripping’. ‘Unguentum pharelis’ (Flying ointment) induced hallucinations and illusions of flying. Threatened, patriarchy continued to link female power with poison – in 1834 Jean-Baptiste Dumas named chloroform after Chloris. Nymph Chloris metamorphosed into Flora, who is associated with flowers from the mythical Fortunate Isles, representing longitude 0 on the medieval map. Perhaps the ‘Voynich star map’ embodies the mythologies of all the Utopian Garden Paradises, including Eden. If this document of dichotomies were the World Tree I’ve probably travelled along one twig. Many mysteries wait to emerge. The Voynich portal has transported the wilderness of my imagination to some wild places: forest ponds inhabited by female spirits; nocturnal flower meadows …
(Art) She Who Has Faith in the Unknown by Jassy Watson

This is a painting I did in the second half of 2013 titled “She who has Faith in the Unknown”. She is my Inner Priestess Self.
(Video & Poetry) Resurgence 2020 by Lila Moore

Resurgence 2020 When the cat left her imprint on the Paleolithic cave’s wall to possess a body, Sekhmet was awakened and born from her stony flesh. The dreamers saw the feline-woman quenching her thirst with the blood of the flooding Nile, reclining on the back of a crocodile, weaving into a papyrus scroll the myths of civilizations and eons. The lotus dreamers dreamt of her being carried to the muddy shore on the back of a crocodile, a cat hidden by papyrus plants, breathing eternal life into the mouth of her priestess. The video integrates footage of performance with video projections, clips shot at the British Museum, Royalty-Free footage of lioness & cat, and graphically manipulated drawings by Moina Bergson Mathers. Performed, shot and edited by Lila Moore, 2019 Recommended viewing quality: Select setting on the horizontal menu bar. Next, select 1080p. More Digital Poems of Ritual Magic, here (Meet Mago Contributor) Lila Moore, Ph.D.
(Special Post 5) Multi-Linguistic Resemblances of “Mago” by Mago Circle Members

[This is a summary of discussion that took place around 2014 in The Mago Circle, Facebook group.] Magnetic Meridians, Wikimedia Commons Marka Zenmyo: Lash goes into the roots of magic, magi, and majestic, which is a word that has been coming to mind recently. Majesty. Majestic. It’s really a beautiful word. Helen Hye-Sook Hwang: Jigsaw puzzles are putting together. Below from https://www.livius.org/articles/concept/magians/. Magians Magians (Old Persian Maguš): experts in Iranian religious – probably: oral – traditions, perhaps belonging to a Median tribe. They are to be distinguished from priests. Magians and magicians A Magian (Oxus Treasure) When discussing the Magians of ancient Persia, one thing should be clear from the very start: Magians have nothing to do with magic or wizardry. The confusion, however, is understandable or – in any case – very old. In the sixth century BCE, the Greek philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus directed his prophecies against the wanderers of the night: the Magians, the Bacchantes, the Maenads, and initiates. Heraclitus threatens them with tortures after death, he threatens them with fire, for what they believe to be initiations in the mysteries are in fact impious rites. Heraclitus’ threats are well chosen, because, as we will see below, the Magians venerated fire and believed in rewards and punishments after death, which was a common religious idea in Iran. This was the first time that the word “Magians” was used negatively. Later authors lumped the expression together with words like “charlatan” and “wizard” and gave the word its now common meaning. The famous Macedonian philosopher Aristotle of Stagira (384-322), who had not spent part of his life in Persia’s western territories for nothing, felt himself forced to state explicitly “that the Magians neither know nor practice sorcery”.note (Read more.) Helen Hye-Sook Hwang: On Magian Order:https://www.metahistory.org/…/telestics/IlluminatiNIHI.php Helen Hye-Sook Hwang: https://www.amazon.com/Not-His-Image…/dp/193149892X AMAZON.COM Not in His Image: Gnostic Vision, Sacred Ecology, and the Future of… Marka Zenmyo: One of the most important books I’ve ever read. Period. Helen Hye-Sook Hwang: Yes, I can see that. Magoism is not in the picture yet. I am excited as well! Lizzy Bluebell: Helen Hye-Sook Hwang – “Not in His Image” – an enlightening ex-posit-ion!! Utter respect !! Thankyou! I so agree !! Some initial, important points to ponder:1. “The NHL uses the Coptic RHOME and the Greek anthropos interchangeably for humanity, the species, not “man,” the male gender, andros in Greek.” YES! This sleight-of-hand is also how the esoteric symbol for the YONIC RO/RU (Vesica Pisces or Piscis meaning SOURCE) was inverted by the Egyptians into a horizontal MOUTH symbol – then further inverted by Constantine’s Labarum – Greek RHO (P) superimposed by an “X” (Chi). Similarly, the US dollar $ sym-bowl achieves the same ‘end’ – by pronging Sophia’s feminine ‘silent-gnosis’ and energy on his RO-D – which ‘he’ rode with roads to Rome and Rho-des.2. “The Gnostic teacher today would insist that intervention is an event to be discovered as it is happening, rather than predicted as an act of divine will, or merely observed as a spectacle that requires no human involvement. The conditions that precede intervention, as well as the conditions in which it comes to be implemented or manifested, are to be determined by human imagination and critical intelligence, not by blind faith.” YES! My fav way of seeing it “the balls are still in the air” – we are still juggling them – but I sense the ‘fat lady is singing’ and also, that she has now emerged from the ‘back room’.3. “The assertion that “her name is Silence” presents a clue pointing to the way that Sophia intervenes in the world event. It is instructive to combine that clue with another key passage from the cosmological text, On the Origin of the World (II, 5.25)When Pistis saw the impiety of the Lord Archon she was filled with anger. Acting in her invisible form, she spoke in this way: “You are mistaken, blind one — false deity who cannot see. There is an immortal luminous child, the Anthropos, who came into existence before you and who will appear among your spectral forms (plasmata). This luminous child will trample you in scorn just as a potter’s clay is pounded (into a lump). And you will sink away to your proper zone, the abyss (of gravity), along with those who belong to your legion.For at the consummation of your work, the entire defect [of Archontic illusion] exposed in the light of truth will be abolished, and [that illusion] will be as if it never had been.” YES ! It’s clear (to me) that all book-burnings of the past were such attempts!4.Your story of the silent child drawing and scribbling gave me goosebumps – this is me!! This is ME now, and was the same me at age five. I CAN speak, but rarely do. I write and scribble instead! Trista Hendren: I wrote out a ton of quotes from that book when I read it several years ago. Good stuff! Helen Hye-Sook Hwang: You can see how “Mago” is linguistically co-related across cultures and regions here. You can do the keyword search with “Magus” and “Magi” etc. as well. Hope this helps, let me know please. Kirsten Brunsgaard Clausen: It´s thrilling, isn’t it?! Marka Zenmyo shared a link (on August 25, 2016) My [Marka Zenmyo’s] notes: Ancient cultures used sound and water to harness the earth’s magnetic energy to amplify food production, healing centers, etc… Then she goes deeper into Chavin culture (Peru) and Egyptian culture. Finding parallels in the use of magnetic energy. She talks about magnetic field around Earth and around us as a protective shield against high frequency rays. Theorizes about future Zero Point could signify shift out of body consciousness into body-less consciousness… The Sine Wave. Path of the Sun is the East West feminine energy line that forms a sine wave as it travels around the earth. North south is masculine. The Sun’s path used to go right through Giza. Then Earth’s axis shifted. Lion is exactly where Path of the Sun crossed the Path of the Earth (The Great Year) which travels in opposite direction. The …
Meet Mago Contributor Amy D’Amico

Amy D’Amico is a writer, mama, attorney, who is learning slowly what the spirit of the universe is made of, and how it intersects with the creation and editing of poems. Amy has also a great affinity for pine trees. Published posts from the recent:
(Imbolc poem) Winter Rain by Sara Wright

Sheets of slippery silver slide over the roof’s edge; torrential curtains eat snow. In January a gift of rain brings bare trees to life, blushing maple buds swell.
(Poem) In the beginning by Janie Rezner

In the beginning was the LIGHT the light shone forth in all directions creatures great and small, basking in the light resting upon the earth like babes nestled against their mother’s breast were utterly at peace
(Essay 2) The Role of Myths in Paganism by Francesca Tronetti, Ph.D.

[Author’s Note: It’s based on one of my lectures for my CHS class on Pagan Theology. I’m looking to rewrite the book and will be doing more articles as this project moves along.] Diorama_of_a_Cunning_Woman_in_the_Museum_of_Witchcraft_and_Magic, Wikimedia Commons Pagans today take spiritual guidance from myths, but this is tempered with what Kraemer calls “The sophisticated ethical thinking of Western philosophy.” Or, as I tell my middle and high school students, don’t be a jerk. How the sentence is worded might lead one to believe that ethical thinking is purely a product of Western thought, as though no other group ever developed ethics. And using myths doesn’t lessen Paganism’s truth or spiritual impact on its followers. All religions and faiths come from legends. Even the “religions of the book” are based on mythology. What is the Torah, the Bible, or the Quran but a collection of oral stories passed down through generations before eventually being written down? Myths have become part of history through retellings or to make a political point. Columbus was the first to think the world was round. Myth. Most people in Europe knew this to be true. Mrs. O’Leary’s cow started the great Chicago fire. Myth. Two newspaper reporters made up the story to stoke hatred against the Irish. With enough retellings, fiction can become fact, but that doesn’t mean that Pagans don’t have facts to support them. Pagan origins are often framed in terms of history, the existence of cunning folk in the 1600s who cured or made predictions. Rumors of groups of witches in the countryside, what some now call hidden covens. But, while some groups can claim a written history, such as revivalist pagans, limiting the origin of paganism to a historical question ignores the part that myth plays in the origin stories. Again, this issue of how the word myth is perceived and understood is the problem. “It’s a myth” is used as a derogatory term. It’s dismissive of someone’s ideas or assertions in movies or TV; of course, the myth is often proved to be correct in a film. An ancient monster is coming to eat you, or a creature is hunting to reclaim its territory. The SciFi channel’s summer movies use mythical creatures as their monsters or make up a myth to help the story along. In school, we are taught that a myth is a story that isn’t true. It’s a relic of a pre-industrial society that didn’t understand science, was ruled by religious fear, and didn’t have logical explanations for natural events. These explanations are accurate because myths have existed for as long as humans can communicate. Long before we understood germ theory, plate tectonics, and the solar system’s movement, this doesn’t mean myths are devoid of truth. Of course, there are modern myths that aren’t true, but these are myths that evolved from bad science or conspiracy, like the myth of racial superiority, the lizard people running the government, or the Lake Erie monster. Pagans don’t like to admit that their belief is based on myth. They want it to be truth, to have a history backed up by facts. Because when an event or person is recorded in the historical record, it becomes true to most people. This is problematic because we know history as it is currently written is one-sided. The dominant culture wrote it. From the Christian perspective, the victors of wars, the colonizers. Myths “are things that never happened but always are.” Again playing into the idea that a myth is untrue. But myths, legends, and folk tales often originate in events that happened, mixed with events that didn’t happen. Greer proposes that “it’s not the source that defines something as myth, but the function; not whether the thing happened, but whether it is – whether it goes beyond the merely factual into the realm of meaning and ultimate concern.” Myths are at their heart, stories people use to teach themselves. They shape human understanding and experience. Biblical scholars now believe that many of the stories in the Old Testament are retellings of stories from Mesopotamia. The Atrahasis is the flood story, and the Lud Low is Job. We shouldn’t point to them and say, “Oh, these are from an earlier religion, so they can’t have anything to do with YHWH.” Instead, we need to look at them and ask what in them was so fundamental to people’s understanding of humans, the universe, and the nature of the Divine that these stories transcended millennia, cultures, languages, geographical changes, and belief systems. On the other hand, myths have come to be treated with suspicion in postmodernist circles because problems arise when myths are accepted as unshakeable truths that no number of facts can counter. Trying to destroy myths as an understanding of life, as was done during the Scientific Revolution, replacing them with history and science creates new myths. People will use facts as the basis for new myths, and because they have a basis in fact, they will draw you in. Postmodernists see history as another mode of fiction, bringing more problems. As discussed before, yes, history is written from a certain point of view and cherry-picked to heck by those who want to support their agendas. Dissenting opinions are ignored, and gaps in the story are filled in because they seem to fit. Again, the Bible is full of places where we have filled in the gaps because there is a break in the story or because there are several unnamed characters of the same gender, and we want to form a cohesive story. Sybil_Ludington_stamp, Wikimedia Commons Think back to the story Humpty Dumpty you read as a child. What did Humpty look like in the illustrations, in your mind? I’ll get back to that. Lastly, we come to the issue of moral dualism, good vs. evil, which in theory is rejected by pagans, but mythology is often couched in those terms. The world isn’t dualistic, all good or all bad, it’s shades of …
(Poetry) Bare Bones by Sara Wright

Photography by Sara Wright In the pure white sun dream I wore a necklace – bearstone and bone. For months meaning eluded me, but feeling erupted from within- a volcano was burning somewhere beyond me – destructive fires, my body knew. And beyond that stones and bones. Extremes freeze authenticity. Why is it that I cannot hold onto Dark the way others do? I keep shedding Shades like outworn skins – “Let them go” I pray, missing the point completely. An error bordering on personal stupidity – Sometimes Shadow casts a shroud to create clarity. Instead of berating myself, I need to look to others to uncover what’s hidden in them. I own my flaws. There are dark rooms in everyone’s house – not just my own. Working notes: As we move into the dark of the year I have an illumination about a dream I had at the height of the summer – a dream that was offering me truth about someone I considered a friend. It interests me that understanding didn’t “dawn” until now. We are close to All Hallows and the Feast of the Dead – a time to reflect on darkness and shadow. What comes to me is the necessity of not focusing exclusively on being account able. My tendency is to find fault with myself while failing to look at what others do. Maybe at this turning more women need to do the same?

(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?
(Special Post 4) Multi-Linguistic Resemblances of “Mago” by Mago Circle Members

[This is a summary of discussion that took place around 2014 in The Mago Circle, Facebook group.]Helen Hye-Sook Hwang: I am writing an entry on “Mago” for the Glossary of my book, The Mago Way: Re-discovering Mago, the Great Goddess from East Asia:Mago (麻姑): East Asian word for the Great Goddess. Read “Ma” as in “Mama” and “Go” as in “to go.” The logographic characters are pronounced/romanized as Mago in Korean, Magu in Chinese, and Mako in Japanese. When it is used in historical contexts, “Mago” refers to the Great Goddess AND HER cultural matrix, Magoism (Magoist shamans/priestesses/rulers and/or the bygone mytho-history of Old Magoist Korea). S/HE represents Ultimate Reality as One Undividable Unity. The Great Goddess embodies the Creatrix, the cosmic sonic system of Life. Through HER, we enter the view of the whole, the consciousness of WE/HERE/NOW. Also known to have originated from the Big Dipper (Seven Stars) in lore—part of the Big Bear constellation—the Guardian of the Polaris, S/HE is the Guardian of the solar system. S/HE causes the stabilization of the solar system. In that sense, S/HE is the Sun Deity or Heavenly Deity. Self-emerged with Mago Stronghold (Earth) and two moons of the Earth through the sonic movement of Pal-ryeo (Eight Tones), the Great Goddess oversees the cosmic music of Yul-ryeo (Rhythms and Tones), another term for the sonic movement of the universe. Mago gives birth to two daughters (Gung-hui) and (So-hui) parthenogenetically. Thus, they form the Mago Triad (Samsin). S/HE delegates HER two daughters to oversee the cosmic music of Oeum-chiljo (Five Pitches and Seven Tunes). Gung-hui and So-hui respectively give birth to four daughters parthenogenetically. The Primordial Mago Clan forms the Nine Magos, the archetype of Gurang (Nine Goddesses). Mago delegates eight (grand)daughters to oversee the cosmic music of Pal-ryeo (Eight Tones). S/HE causes the self-evolution of the Earth through which all terrestrial beings are brought into existence. In that sense, S/HE is the Earth Deity. As Samsin Halmi (Triad Grand-Mother), S/HE controls the birth and illness of children. Mago allows the Early Mago Clan in the paradise of Mago Stronghold to procreate progenies and entrusts them to take in charge of the terrestrial acoustic equilibrium. Revered as the Cosmogonist, Progenitor, and Ultimate Sovereign, Mago delegates the Mago Descent, the entirety of the divine, human ancestors, and humans, to oversee the acoustic harmony of the Earth in tune with the cosmic music. Hereupon, the paradisiacal Home of Mago Stronghold is established. S/HE is called by many names. Among them are Samsin (Triad Deity), Cheonsin (Heavenly Deity), Halmi (Grandmother/Goddess), Nogo (Ancient Goddess), and Seongo (Immortal Goddess). Also referred to as Mugeuk Nomo (None-Polarized First Mother) or Musaeng-nomo (Non-birthed First Mother) in Daoism. Mago appears resembling many Goddesses from around the world by way of such mythemes as the triad, parthenogenesis, cosmic music, animal companions, and the cosmogonist. “Mago” is linguistically identical or similar with “Mago” in Italian and Portuguese, “Magus/Magi” in Latin, “Magos” in Greek, “Maka” in Mycenaean Greek, “Magus” in Old Persian, and “Ma Guanyin” in East Asian languages, to name a few. Brian Kirbis: Funny, despite my fondness for language, I never made the connection. Though I have explored the lineage potential between naga and Nuwa 女娲. Helen Hye-Sook Hwang: What did you find the linkage between naga and Nuwa, Brian? There is sometimes linguistic linkage relevant and other times mythological linkage… Brian Kirbis: Linguistic, iconographic, and mythological links are all available to us within a broad cross-cultural frame. My own analytic tendency is to see such mirror-image male-female representations as matrilineal and patrilineal essences which, in Chinese energy theory, reside in the kidneys (ancestral qi).Consider the Adam and Eve myth, for instance, with the figures on either side of the tree (spine, cosmic pivot, Milky Way), within which is contained the serpentine energy. There is ample information extant on such Tree of Life symbolism, all of which illustrates the inner energy body. The nagini-naga / Nuwa-Fuxi conjoint images in India and China absorb the serpent iconography into the human – an internalization of Kundalini energy.As you know, my area of interest is in the underlying cultural complex of tea-growing peoples located in Southwest China and upland Southeast Asia, an area replete with serpent mythology. Brian Kirbis: Comparison of Indian and Chinese representations of the Naga-Nagini and Fuxi & Nuwa. Helen Hye-Sook Hwang: Yes, indeed, there is similarity between the two. Interesting! Thanks for sharing them. Lizzy Bluebell: Brian Kirbis – fascinating – any idea what kind of tool each is holding in the sculpture? I see a chevron or M to the right of the Nagini’s head; (M and MA are fairly universal root symbols for Mother; Latin M encodes breasts, mounds, mountains, paps, tophets, etc. plus a general historical dispute over the importance of hills versus valleys.)I also note the inversion of right/left positions in the Nu Wa image.In terms of your statement – “The nagini-naga / Nuwa-Fuxi conjoint images in India and China absorb the serpent iconography into the human – an internalization of Kundalini energy.” — My thought: Have you ever considered it otherwise – that humanity has actually EXTERNALIZED chi energy into the form of the snake as a means of expressing it in non-vocal (sonic) symbolism which also manifests form via means of visualization as opposed to sonic/vocalizations or cymatics which creates form via RESONANCE.Helen – note that the tails are knotted – very important symbolic notion of ‘tying things’ as in the Shen Ring and Ankh – a masonic motif – related to measuring and containing within an Ouroborus SYSTEM which is closed, not cyclic or spiraling vis a vis Nature’s Way. It is the CLOSED CIRCLE as Plato’s “perfect form” which traps us in the flaws of re-peating and re-petitioning any ‘his-story’ we follow which does NOT HONOUR AND REVERE MAGO or hold her values close to HEART, as HEARD, in the HERD.Your original post (O/P thereafter) is fascinating and revealing and provides much to discuss on the topic of Zoroaster/Zarathustra and the Persian/Arabic/Semitic invention of Algebra and Astrology. In […]
(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.

(Poem) Samhain by Annie Finch

In the season leaves should love, since it gives them leave to move through the wind, towards the ground they were watching while they hung, legend says there is a seam stitching darkness like a name. Now when dying grasses veil earth from the sky in one last pale wave, as autumn dies to bring winter back, and then the spring, we who die ourselves can peel back another kind of veil that hangs among us like thick smoke. Tonight at last I feel it shake. I feel the nights stretching away thousands long behind the days, till they reach the darkness where all of me is ancestor. I turn my hand and feel a touch move with me, and when I brush my young mind across another, I have met my mother’s mother. Sure as footsteps in my waiting self, I find her, and she brings arms that hold answers for me, intimate, waiting, bounty: “Carry me.” She leaves this trail through a shudder of the veil, and leaves, like amber where she stays, a gift for her perpetual gaze. From Eve (Carnegie Mellon University Press, 2010) (Meet Mago Contributor) Annie Finch
(Slideshow) Summer Solstice Goddess by Glenys Livingstone Ph.D.

Sekhmet by Katlyn Each year between December 20-23 Sun reaches Her peak in the Southern Hemisphere: it is the Summer Solstice Moment. Poetry of the Season may be expressed in this way: This is the time when the light part of day is longest. You are invited to celebrate SUMMER SOLSTICE Light reaches Her fullness, and yet… She turns, and the seed of Darkness is born. This is the Season of blossom and thorn – for pouring forth the Gift of Being. The story of Old tells that on this day Beloved and Lover dissolve into the single Song of ecstasy – that moves the worlds. Self expands in the bliss of creativity. Sun ripens in us: we are the Bread of Life. We celebrate Her deep Communion and Reciprocity. Glenys Livingstone, 2005 The choice of images for the Season is arbitrary; there are so many more that may express Her fullness of being, Her relational essence and Her Gateway quality at this time. And also for consideration, is the fact that most ancient images of Goddess are multivalent – She was/is One: that is, all Her aspects are not separate from each other. These selected images tell a story of certain qualities that may be contemplated at the Seasonal Moment of Summer Solstice. As you receive the images, remember that image communicates the unspeakable, that which can only be known in body, below rational mind. So you may open yourself to a transmission of Her, that will be particular to you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syTBjWpw3XU Shalako Mana Hopi 1900C.E. (Hallie Iglehart Austen, The Heart of the Goddess), Corn Mother. Food is a miracle, food is sacred. She IS the corn, the corn IS Her. She gives Herself to feed all. The food/She is essential to survival, hospitality and ceremony … and all of this is transmuted in our beings. Sekhmet Contemporary image by Katlyn. Egyptian Sun Goddess. Katlyn says: Her story includes the compassionate nature of destruction. The fierce protection of the Mother is sometimes called to destroy in order to preserve well being. And Anne Key expresses: She represents “the awesome and awe-full power of the Sun. This power spans the destructive acts of creation and the creative acts of destruction.”- (p.135 Desert Priestess: a memoir).A chant in Her praise by Abigail Spinner McBride: Sheila-na-gig 900C.E. British Isles. (Hallie Iglehart Austen, The Heart of the Goddess). From Elinor Gadon The Once and Future Goddess (p.338): “She is remembered in Ireland as the Old Woman who gave birth to all races of human…. In churches her function was to ward off evil”, or to attract the Pagan peoples to the church. From Adele Getty Goddess (p.66): “The first rite of passage of all human beings begins in the womb and ends between the thighs of the Great Mother. In India, the vulva “known as the yoni, is also called cunti or kunda, the root word of cunning, cunt and kin … (the yoni) was worshipped as an object of great mystery … the place of birth and the place where the dead are laid to rest were often one and the same.” Getty says her message here in this image “is double-edged: the opening of her vulva and the smile on her face elicit both awe and terror; one might venture too far inside her and never return to the light of day …” as with all caves and gates of initiation. In the Christian mind the yoni clearly became the “gates of hell”. And as Helene Cixous said in her famous feminist article “The Laugh of the Medusa”: “Let the priests tremble, we’re going to show them our sexts!” (SIGNS Summer 1976) Kunapipi (Australia) “the Aboriginal mother of all living things, came from a land across the sea to establish her clan in Northern Australia, where She is found in both fresh and salt water. In the Northern Territory She is known as Warramurrungundgi. She may also manifest Herself as Julunggul, the rainbow snake goddess of initiations who threatens to swallow children and then regurgitate them, thereby reinforcing the cycle of death and rebirth. In Arnhem Land She is Ngaljod …” (Visions of the Goddess by Courtney Milne and Sherrill Miller – thanks to Lydia Ruyle). More information: re Kunapipi. NOTE the similarity to Gobekli Tepe Sheela Turkey 9600B.C.E., thanks Lydia Ruyle.Lydia Ruyle’s Gobekli Tepe banner. Inanna/Ishtar Mesopotamia 400 B.C.E. (Adele Getty, Goddess: Mother of Living Nature) She holds Her breasts displaying her potency. She is a superpower who feeds the world, nourishes it with Her being. We all desire to feel this potency of being: Swimme and Berry express: “the infinite striving of the sentient being”. Adele Getty calls this offering of breasts to the world “a timeless sacred gesture”. Mary Mother of God 1400 C.E. Europe (Hallie Iglehart Austen, The Heart of the Goddess). A recognition, even in the patriarchal context that She contains it all. Wisdom and Compassion Tibetan Goddess and God in Union. This is Visvatara and Vajrasattva 1800C.E. (Sacred Sexuality A.T. Mann and Jane Lyle). Sri Yantra Hindu meditation diagram of union of Goddess and God. 1500 C.E. (Sacred Sexuality A.T. Mann and Jane Lyle, p.75). “Goddess and God” is the common metaphor, but it could be “Beloved and Lover”, and so it is in the mind of many mystics and poets: that is, the sacred union is of small self with larger Self. Prajnaparamita the Mother of all Buddhas. (The Great Mother Erich Neumann, pl 183). She is the Wisdom to whom Buddha aspired, Whom he attained. Medusa Contemporary, artist unknown. She is a Sun Goddess: this is one reason why it was difficult to look Her in the eye. See Patricia Monaghan, O Mother Sun! REFERENCES: Gadon, Elinor W. The Once and Future Goddess. Northamptonshire: Aquarian, 1990. Getty, Adele. Goddess: Mother of Living Nature. London: Thames and Hudson, 1990. Iglehart Austen, Hallie. The Heart of the Goddess.Berkeley: Wingbow, 1990. Katlyn, artist https://www.mermadearts.com/b/altar-images-art-by-katlyn Key, Anne. Desert Priestess: a memoir. NV: Goddess Ink, 2011. Mann A.T. and …
(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 …
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) 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.
Artful Ceremonial Expression by Glenys Livingstone Ph.D.

This article is an edited excerpt from Chapter 7 of the author’s book PaGaian Cosmology: Re-inventing Earth-based Goddess Religion. I always wore a special headpiece for the Seasonal ceremonies when I facilitated them over the years, and I feel that any participant may do so, not just the main celebrant. My ceremonial headpiece with its changing and continuous Seasonal decoration took on increasing significance over the years; it became a personal central representation of the year-long ceremonial art process of creating, destroying and re-creating. For the research period of my doctoral studies particularly, when I was documenting the process, I realised that this headpiece came to represent for me the essence of “She” – as Changing One, yet ever as Presence – as I was coming to know Her. In my journal for the Mabon/Autumn Equinox process notes one year I wrote: As I pace the circle with the Mabon headpiece in the centre, I see “Her” as She has been through the Seasons … the black and gold of Samhain, the deep red, white and evergreen of Winter, the white and blue of Imbolc, the flowers of Eostar, the rainbow ribbons of Beltane, the roses of Summer, the seed pods and wheat of Lammas, and now the Autumn leaves. I see in my mind’s eye, and feel, Her changes. I am learning … The Mother knowledge grows within me. The headpiece, the wreath, the altar, the house decorations, all participate in the ceremony: they are part of the learning, the method, the relationship – similar to how one might bring flowers and gifts of significance to a loved one at special moments. Then further, the removal and re-creation of the decorations are part of the learning – an active witness to transformation through time.

Mago, the First Mother from East Asia by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang

[Excerpts from “Mago, the First Mother from East Asia,” Creatrix Media Live (CML) Roundtable Radio Talk with Dr. Helen Hye-Sook Hwang. May 23, 2011] Jayne DeMente: Welcome Helen, I was fortunate to read some of your research and I applaud you because, we in the Western WSE movement have long needed to hear more from Asian women spiritual leaders and feminists and your reference to the Neolithic timeline… For our listeners and participants online, let’s lead with the question of who is Mago, was she a mother figure, what is Magoism, does any other deity pre-date her? Helen Hye-Sook Hwang: *Mago is the great goddess known to East Asians throughout history. She is the first mother of all, cosmogonist, and ultimate sovereign/ruler. She has many names. Among them are Triad Deity (Samsin), Grandmother (halmi), Auspicious Goddess (Seogo), Evil (Magui), and Old Goddess (Nogo). She is also known as the Giantess who shaped the natural and cultural landscape. Her manifestations are so multivalent that one may think they do not refer to the same goddess. She was well loved, given high esteem, celebrated by East Asians in the past. She was almost completely forgotten, however in modern times, up until the 1980s in Korea, when the principle text of Magoism, the Budoji, re-emerged. *Mago is a mother figure in the sense that she bore two daughters, Kunghee and Sohee, and managed her household called the Castle of Mago, the primordial paradise of humanity. She is the ancestor of all races. She takes care of everything on earth via the equilibrium of cosmic music/sound/vibration. *Magoism is the term that refers to the totality of culture/civilization venerating Mago as the great goddess. It is a tradition largely unnoted but co-opted and distorted in major East Asian religions. The concept of Magoism helps one identify and understand Mago’s multivalent manifestations that are found trans-nationally. It also makes possible to name the female-centered original/primal civilization that gave birth to the forthcoming East Asian civilizations and religions. *Whether Mago is the earliest deity known to East Asia is unknown. In fact, there are goddesses unearthed from “pre-historic” archaeological sites without their names. The life-sized goddess statue was unearthed in the site of Hongshan Culture, northeastern region of present China dating from 4,700 to 2,900 BCE. The heavy use of jade along with the partly bear-figured female icon is congruent with the account of Magoism in the Budoji. Also, of course, there are numerous female figurines called dogu excavated in Japan’s “pre-historic” times. The ancient origin of Mago or Magoism has a merit to explain some facts that remain a mystery, so to speak. Korea is also known as the land of dolmens. Half of the world megaliths are populated in the Korean peninsula. There are numerous pyramids found in mainland China. There is a documentary film about the sunken temple beneath the sea of Okinawa Japan, etc. dating to 10,000 years ago. *Then, how early does Mago date to? It is difficult to date the earliest evidence of Mago or Magoism simply because written history does not exist in pre-patriarchal times. As you see here, when we talk about the earliest of something, everyone assumes it is of Chinese. So let me follow this line of thought: Ge Hong’s record on Magu from China dates to the early fourth century CE (Ge Hong 283—343 CE). However, Daoist scholar Robert Ford Campany states that the cult of Mago dates back to the Stone Age. It is more difficult to date Mago in Korean records simply because ancient written records did not survive. Two books, the Budoji and the Handan Gogi, alleged to have been written in the late 4th or early 5th century and subsequent later times, which refer to Mago otherwise known as Samsin (Triad Deity) remain controversial. Considering that the name Mago is embedded in Korean language as in “gom,” “geum,” and “gam,” whose meaning indicates ruler, sovereign, and head, the origin of Mago is as old as these words. Likewise, most materials that recount Mago as cosmogonist are of folklore, place names, literature, arts, and debris of historical and religious records, most of which are difficult to date for its origin. Anniitra Ravenmoon: Thank you Helen, you have done much academic research and hold several degrees, can you explain to us how your education or experience informed you regarding Mago? Helen: *I would say that encountering Mago as a doctoral research topic is ultimately prompted by my intellectual quest as a Korean feminist. Following radical feminism of Mary Daly, I wanted to seek spirituality that is not only non-patriarchal but also East Asian and Korean. This made me study feminism and East Asian religions, histories, and cultures, etc. I end up with so much to study over the past decade and a half. I did not take up graduate studies as a means to develop an academic career. I loved reading and studies from youth. This kind of attitude is not that practical in the job market. However, I believe this is the right path for me. To look back, I did not follow the ready-made conventional path of life. I was a dreamer and idealist. I still value those qualities in myself and others. I used to think to myself, if I had remained a Christian, I would not have sought Mago. How could I? Likewise if I had resorted to Buddhism, I would not have encountered Mago. Because I wanted to carve out my own spiritual path as a Korean feminist, I was able to encounter Mago. Another factor at work in my study of Mago is the cultural or spiritual tradition of cultivating the Dao, the Way, in East Asia. I wanted to find out what the truth was, how I could make the most out of my life and etc. So I tried the shoes of a Catholic overseas missionary for a while. Leaving Christianity behind, however, helped me realize the cultural heritage that I have within. It was …
(Book Excerpt 1) Mago Almanac Planner for Personal Journey by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang, Ph.D.

[Author’s Note: Year 4’s Mago Almanac celebrates the birth of Mago Almanac Planner for Personal Journey. The Magoist 13 month 28 day calendric movement has grown steadily and we welcome the public as well!] PREFACE: What Mago Almanac Planner Offers The Mago Almanac Planner for Personal Journey enchants people and our societies to live with a sense of the natural timespace patterned by the luni-menstrual rhythm in company with the earth’s song and dance. This is not a statement of poetic fancy unsupported by science or mathematics. We are invited to walk through the matrix of Sonic Numerology, the organizing force of Life. The 13 month 28 day Magoist Calendar returns calendric regularity to us. Calendric regularity is the very vision that unfolds the metamorphic reality of WE/HERE/NOW. Unlike the 12 month irregular day calendar that modifies the natural rhythm to serve the purpose of controlling people, the Magoist Calendar guides human activities within the natural rhythm to harmonize the human world with the natural world. The Mago Almanac Planner is built to provide flesh to the bones of the Mago Almanac. Taking the latter as foundation, Mago Almanac Planner partitions a year into the units of weeks and days. The regularity of 28 days makes it possible to lay out 52 weeks and 364 days with one or two extra days seamlessly. The rhythm of nine numbers becomes transparent. Each day of a year is named accumulatively in order i.e. the first to 364th. Likewise, each week of a year is named accumulatively in order i.e. Week 1 to Week 52. Each day is given the daily number, the moon phase, and/or 24 Seasonal Marks. Special days include such double dates as New Year (1st Moon 1st Day), double second (2nd Moon 2nd Day), double third (3rd Moon 3rd Day), and so forth. By writing the Mago Almanac Planner, I have observed that Double Ninth (9th Moon 9th day) overlaps with the 16th mark of 24 Seasonal Marks, Ipchu (立秋 Entering Fall) or Lammas in the Northern Hemisphere. The day of Double Ninth is indeed the center point of a year! Also the interval of 24 Seasonal Marks is about every 15 days, whereas that of 8 Seasonal Marks is about every 45 days. In three Appendixes, I have provided a traditional style of one year calendar, Year 4’s 364 Days (52 Weeks) with 2 Extra Days and their Gregorian Dates or the conversion chart, Large Calendar 1 (Years 1-4) marked in Gregorian C. Dates, and Year 4 Lunar-Menstrual Chart in which one can add their menstrual dates in relation to the moon phases and seasonal marks. As a whole, the Mago Almanac Planner is designed to personalize one’s own celebratory or commemorative days in tune with nature’s rhythm. This Planner marks the 4th year (Volume 4) of the revived Magoist Calendar, Mago Almanac: 13 Month 28 Day Calendar. We are about to complete the first Large Calendar, which refers to the first four years (Years 1-4). We set the new moon date (December 18) before Winter Solstice in 2018 in the Northern Hemisphere as the first lunation of the revived Magoist Calendar. If we count the year from the onset of the nine-state Danguk confederacy (3898 BCE-2333 BCE) founded by Goma, Magoist Shaman Queen Mother, our Year 1 would be 5916 ME (Magoma Era). Technically speaking, the Magoist Calendar formed at the time of our beginning came to be reincarnated on December 18, 2018 in the Northern Hemisphere (hereafter it implies the Northern Hemisphere otherwise indicated.) The year 2018 for the rebirth of the revived Magoist Calendar was arbitrary in that it could have been in 2017 or 2019. In retrospect, I must say that we are lucky to set the time of our first lunation on December 18 2018 because it makes the calendric migration process the smoothest. This means that our Magoist Calendar runs as less as 13 days behind the Gregorian Calendar. If we had begun in 2017, our New Year would have been December 17. Only one day difference. However, if we had begun in 2016, our New Year would have been on November 29. Likewise, if we had begun in 2019, our New Year would have been on November 26. These dates are the new moon date before Winter Solstice, the New Year day. The Magoist Calendar charts the human world into the Reality of WE/HERE/NOW. The Magoist Calendar needs to be in use today, which means that it has to be translated into the language of the Gregorian Calendar. For we have lost the actual counting of the Magoist Calendar into our days in the course of patriarchal history. Mago Almanac serves the purpose of making our calendric migration possible from the 12 month Gregorian Calendar to the 13 month Magoist Calendar. It guides our collective journey in the Mother TimeSpace interwoven by the cosmogonic force of Sonic Numerology, the musical interplay of nine numbers, which gives birth, nurtures, and transforms all beings in the cosmos. Intriguingly, I have realized only last year that the Magoist Calendar is identical with “the 13 Moon Turtle Calendar,” the calendar of North American indigenous peoples, which adopts the turtle shell that has 13 inner sections and 28 outer sections for the calendar of 13 moons and 28 days (see figure). This speaks volumes that the 13 month 28 day calendar was once widely known among peoples of the ancient world. The Magoist Calendar restores the link between lunation and menstruation as a 28 day monthly cycle, a topic that I have discussed in my essay, “Introducing the Magoist Calendar: Original Blessing of the Womb Time,” included in this planner. Why do we need to reinstate the calendar that is based on the luni-menstruation rhythm? That is because the Magoist Calendar is in accordance with Sonic Numerology. Put differently, the moon-women duet inscribed in the 13 month 28 day calendar is given by the Natural World. In fact, the Magoist Calendar is the first and …
(Art) Mago by Lydia Ruyle

Mago of old Korea and East Asia, also known as Magu, Mako, Samsin Halmeoni (Triad Grandmother Goddess) and Cheonsin (Heavenly Deity), is the Great Goddess. Mago is the progenitor, creatrix, and ultimate sovereign. Early gynocentric cultures venerated Her in many forms. Her multivalent identities include an immortal, mendicant, crone, shaman, and/or nature-shaper of mountains, rocks, caves and seas. In art, Mago often carries a basket of lingzi mushrooms, medicinal herbs and flowers–all symbols of immortality. Source: Painting c. 1400 CE by Seokgyeong. Joseon Dynasty. Korea (Meet Mago Contributor) Lydia Ruyle.