October 3, 2018October 2, 2019 Mago Work Admin

(Art) No Estamos Todas by Liz Darling

I created this painting as a contribution to No estamos todas, an illustration project that seeks to visualize feminicides in Mexico by symbolically depicting femicide victims.

Check them out in Instagram, too:https://www.instagram.com/noestamostodas/

More information on femicide:
https://www.univision.com/univision-news/latin-america/femicide-the-scourge-that-kills-12-women-a-day-in-latin-america
http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/stories/2017/11/feature-prosecuting-femicide-in-mexico

(Meet Mago Contributor) Liz Darling.

Leave a Reply to the main postCancel reply

(Essay 2) Iyami and the Female Roots of Power in the IfaOrisha Tradition by Ayele Kumari, Ph.D.

An OponIfa and Odu binary language Ifa utilizes palm nuts and a divination chain called Opele to secure answers or Odu. The entire system is extremely feminine in nature in that the diviner sits on a mat symbolizing the weaving found in the fabric of existence. The initiation itself takes the person through a process that includes a river rebirthing, a red feather at the third eye, symbolizing menstrual blood, among others. Male initiates actually receive an artificial womb called Odu to awaken the female intuitive process within that will support their ability to divine and bring balance to their lives. The diviners sit with legs spread open as if giving birth with an OponIfa between their legs. It is a round wooden divination
(Quilt Art) Anat-Astarte of Israel by Kaarina Kailo

The “Fertile Crescent” refers to a crescent-shaped region in Western Asia. Formed by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and the Mediterranean Sea, this region gave rise to some of the world’s earliest matriarchal civilizations. It was the cradle of Neolithic economy (8th millennium BC) with famous sites such as Jerico and Catal Höyuk. Would the warmongers still terrorize people in the Middle East if, instead of competing over whose male god one has to obey and honor, battling over land and resources instead of sharing the fertile lands, people worshipped the Great Mothers of both Palestine and Israel! Here in my quilt work is the daughter ANAT of the motherline to which Anat (Asherat, Ashtaroth, Astarte), the Palestinian Goddess of Love, Goddess of Grain and Agriculture belonged. If Asherat was the omnipotent creatress and destructress; sister-bride to Baal, the Hebrew counterparts were not enemies or rivals, but mythic kin. Asherah is the great goddess in ancient Semitic religion but appears also in Hittite writings as Ašerdu(s). The goddesses were One, not rivals. Imagine if they now reigned over the war-torn Gaza! https://www.magoism.net/2016/03/meet-mago-contributor-kaarina-kailo/
Bona Dea: Goddess of Feminism? by Luna Anna

Bona Dea artwork by Sketchepedia on Freepik Bona Dea ‘Good Goddess’ was a Goddess of Ancient Rome. She presides over nature, the earth, and fertility, but also virginity and chastity. In Roman times purity and vitality were highly regarded attributes and therefore Bona Dea was considered to be a protector of Rome and an important Goddess. (1) She was so popular that evidence of Her worship has been found throughout the Mediterranean and North Africa where there was once Roman rule. (2) According to belief, She is an ancient Goddess who predates Rome and may have come from the Greek Goddess, Diama or Artemis, or possibly the Italian Goddess, Ops. There is little academic evidence of this Goddess, due to the secrecy that shrouded Her rites, and the fact that men were excluded from them. (3) In Her time, men were the only historians, and therefore Bona Dea was rarely written about. There are, however, artefacts and sacred places known to have been related to Her. (4) Perhaps the most fascinating thing about this Goddess was Her cult following and the fact that She does have links to scandals and the breaking of rules, which would never otherwise be broken in Ancient Rome. Men in patriarchal Roman Society, feared Bona Dea so much, that they allowed women to worship Her in private at festivals where Vestal Virgins (whose services were usually reserved for men), conducted the ceremonies. “Since the earliest literary documents, Bona Dea was presented as a prestigiously ancient State goddess, whose cult was the only one officially reserved for women. Extraordinarily, women were allowed to perform a sacrifice on the night between December 3 and 4 on behalf, and for the benefit, of the whole populace, i.e. pro populo and pro salute populi Romani1 (sacrifice was rigorously reserved for men). The ritual took place in the house of the magistrate cum imperio, where the festive celebration included music, dances, and wine (otherwise prohibited to women). Yet, the magistrate did not participate: men were strictly and scrupulously excluded from this religious festival, and the cult was led by his wife, the Vestal virgins and, possibly, female slaves. The mythographic rationale behind this gender separation was based on unlawful consumption of wine (a crime for women), an attempted rape, and a murder by the mythic Latin king Faunus, Bona Dea’s husband (or brother/father, according to other variants). Very little else is known about the cult itself, except that another festival was performed in the Aventine temple in May.” – Ambasciano, L, The Fate of a Healing Goddess: Ocular Pathologies, the Antonine Plague, and the Ancient Roman Cult of Bona Dea, (2016) (5) As you can imagine, men were curious about what went on during these festivities and the famous scandal came about when, in December 62 BC Clodius Pulcher dressed as a woman and snuck into the festival. That year it was Pompeia overseeing the rites as Julius Ceasar was the senior senator. Clodius was apprehended but not caught and this caused a scandal, speculation, and trials that lasted years. Julius Caesar divorced his wife saying, “Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion.” However, as is demonstrated throughout the stories of Bona Dea, once again, normal rules were broken to become more favourable to women, when, Caesar gave his wife a dowry and found her a new husband. (6) (7) Bona Dea is said to have been the reincarnation of the nature Goddess, Fauna, daughter of Faun. The myths vary, but one is that Fauna drank wine despite knowing that women were forbidden from drinking it. Her father, Faun, found her drunk and attempted to rape her, but she fought him off. He then beat her to death with a branch of myrtle to teacher her a lesson. Once dead, Faun elevated her to Goddess status, and She became known as Bona Dea. This is a nod to women’s sovereignty, although her fate ended in death. There are some versions of the myth that say Faun successfully raped Fauna, but I prefer the version where he doesn’t. (8) (9) Due to Her power to provide miracles to the people of Rome, She had a temple at Aventine Hill, where snakes dwelled and medicines were grown. The temple was for women only and rumour has it that the women made their own rules within this sacred space. (10) As well as that, at Her festivals which took place on 1st May for the public at the temple, and on 3rd December at the Pontifex Maximus house, at night, all men and male objects were removed to please the Goddess. This included animals and art. (11) Myrtle wasn’t allowed as this could anger the Goddess. Wine was drunk but relabelled as ‘Milk’ and was drunk from jugs renamed ‘Honey Pots’, to hide the fact that wine was being drunk. Since women were forbidden from drinking wine, this should have been punishable, but because it was in favour of Bona Dea, it was permitted. (12) My thoughts on this mysterious Goddess are that She was a Goddess of Feminism. She was a sign of hope for women and without realising it, her worshippers back then made progress for the future of all women. Without this Goddess, and the breaking of patriarchal rules, on Her behalf, how much deeper could Patriarchy have been embedded into everyday society? Throughout the stories of Bona Dea, there is a thread that continues, and that thread is the refusal to conform to patriarchal norms; to break the rules, all in the name of the Good Goddess. https://www.magoism.net/2023/11/meet-mago-contributor-luna-anna/ References and Suggested Other Reading 1: https://legendaryladieshub.com/goddess-bona-dea/ 2: https://web.archive.org/web/20220131052922id_/https://journals.openedition.org/antafr/4024 3: https://olh.openlibhums.org/article/id/4422/ 4: https://www.thybrisriverexperience.org/ 5: Ambasciano, L., (2016) “The Fate of a Healing Goddess: Ocular Pathologies, the Antonine Plague, and the Ancient Roman Cult of Bona Dea”, Open Library of Humanities 2(1), e13. doi: https://doi.org/10.16995/olh.42 6: https://diotima-doctafemina.org/translations/anthologies/womens-life-in-greece-and-rome-selections/x-religion/413-desecration-of-the-rites-of-the-bona-dea/ 7 & 9: https://ancientworlds.net/aworlds_direct/app_main.php?pageData=Post/238290 8: https://womeninantiquity.wordpress.com/2018/11/27/the-cult-of-bona-dea/ 10: https://www.ostia-antica.org/regio4/8/8-3.htm 11: https://pantheon.org/articles/b/bona_dea.html 12: https://oxfordre.com/classics Artwork by Sketchepedia on Freepik.
(Essay 1) Empress Influence on the Establishment and Rise in Popularity of the Virgin Mary and Kuan Yin by Krista K. Rodin, Ph.D.

Introduction The feminine spiritual figures of compassion, the Catholic Christian Virgin Mother Mary, and the Chinese Buddhist, Kuan Yin, share a number of traits and attributes in spite of their cultural differences. They also share a common history in the development of their devotional worship through two empresses who identified themselves with their respective cultural icon thereby enhancing their political roles while endearing themselves to the common people through their promotion of the spiritual figures of compassion. They diverge, however, in their legacies due in part to the influence, or lack of it, of religious institutional support. This paper seeks to show the parallels between the rise in devotion to Mary under the Byzantine Empress Pulcheria (399-453) and the corresponding rise in the interest in Avalokiteshvara/Kuan Yin under the Tang Dynasty Empress Wu Zetian (625-705) and how these two religiously powerful women rulers have vastly different legacies. While there has been a substantial amount written about how ancient political leaders used specially selected deities as vehicles for asserting their power, there are only a few that have looked at the these two unique empresses’ promotion and use of their figures of worship. None of them, however, has compared the influence these Empresses had in promoting devotion to a sacred female figure in a male dominated religion. This paper contends that the rise in the popularization of the cults of the Virgin Mary and that of Kuan Yin was at least in part based on the efforts of their culture’s respective Empress. Both Empress Pulcheria and Empress Wu Zeitan identified themselves with the spiritual figure and supported the construction of churches and pagodas for their worship across their wide-ranging Empires while fostering the creation and distribution of sacred texts that supported their religious beliefs. The paper is organized into three major sections: Empress Pulcheria, Empress Wu Zetian, and Common Threads. The first is an introduction to Empress Pulcheria and her relationship with Mary, the second an introduction to Empress Wu’s support of Buddhism in the early Tang Dynasty which led to the feminization of the Bodhisattva, Kuan Yin, and finally some common threads of the Empresses’ use of imperial power to promote their religious causes, foster devotional relationships to their chosen figures, while using the sacred images to solidify their political roles and as a basis for philanthropic endeavors. For the purposes of this magazine the section on Empress Wu is broken into two parts. The first deals with her biography and the second on her impact. Empress Pulcheria Empress Pulcheria (399-453) came from a Spanish-Frankish family and her Western Roman Empire heritage came through in her unabated support of the Roman Pope over more Eastern Church fathers. Pulcheria was the oldest daughter of Emperor Arcadius, and granddaughter of Theodosius I, who made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire in 389. When her father died in 408, her younger brother, Theodosius II, assumed the throne when he was only seven. Their mother, Eudoxia, had died a few years earlier, in 404. By 414, the Senate had proclaimed Pulcheria “Augusta” (empress) and made her regent for her younger brother. During their childhood, the family’s spiritual director and tutor was Atticus, who developed a “Treatise on Faith and Virginity” for Pulcheria and her younger sisters. While the work has disappeared, Constas cites Kenneth Holum’s argument that it probably “Exalted women and presented the Mother of God as the archetypal virgin whose chastity the three sisters would do well to emulate. If they did, Atticus suggested, Christ would be born in them mystically, just as he had taken form in the womb of Mary.” He also added a Marian feast to the Church calendar (Constas, 1995, p. 172). Atticus’ influence can be seen in that on the day of her investiture she went from the civil ceremony to the Basilica of St. Sophia to take her spiritual vows (Teetgan, 2010, p. 84). From the time she is named Empress, Pulcheria vowed to remain a virgin and convinced her younger sisters to do the same. The vow was taken at the altar of the Great Church of St. Sophia; her image was placed above the altar and her robe, possibly personally woven, placed on the altar. Her vow was etched onto the table itself. There is some question as to whether this vow was taken, by age 15, out of an inner conviction to be married to Christ and her devotion to the Virgin Mary or whether she was aware, even at that young age, that marriage would undermine her political influence. Whatever her reasons, she stayed true to her vow throughout her life. Her vow and the placing of her image above the altar are among the first documented events of how Pulcheria merged emotionally and spiritually with the Virgin Mary and how that would influence her political affairs. Brother and sister co-ruled for the next ten years, prior to his marriage, arranged by Pulcheria, to the Greek Princess Eudocia. Throughout this early time it appears that Pulcheria was the stronger and more influential of the two sibling rulers as Theodosius appears to have been swayed by whoever had his ear at a given moment. After Theodosius’ marriage, Pulcheria left the court and retired to a cloister away from the hub of political activity, but still within Constantinople, to meditate and fulfill her desire to be a nun. It seems that the two empresses, Pulcheria, who remained Empress while a nun, and Eudocia, got along in the beginning, but as Eudocia tried to exert her influence over her husband, Pulcheria felt she was being pushed aside. This didn’t seem to bother her until Eudocia reached into the spiritual affairs of the Empire by influencing the Emperor to appoint Nestorius as the Archbishop of Constantinople in 428. Nestorius came to the capital from Antioch, where there was a distinct separation of the sexes during worship and little regard for the figure of Mary in Church theology. He was “scandalized by the devotion …
(Dual-language Essay 1) The Goddess of Spirals by Noris Binet

Art by Noris Binet I began a drawing about the great Mother Goddess. The drawing was calling me. It wanted to be born. The goddess’ body is a swirl of spirals. I felt navigating the waters of reconnection with the feminine. I felt reverence and recognition of the importance and necessity of redirecting the attention to revindicating, restoring, and re-enthroning the Mother Goddess in her rightful place.Restoring the Mother Goddess to her rightful place is crucial to every human psyche. Instead of being constantly tangled in conflicts between opposites, it allows us to embrace the complementarity of opposites: the union of masculine and feminine energies—which is nature’s way of coming to fruition. The historical dethroning and devaluation of the feminine for the sake of reason, intellect, and mind, has left us with a linear approach to life—an approach which has lost sight of a cyclical and regenerating vision of life, and which demands unbridled growth in all aspects of life.If we take stock of this historic moment in the 21st century, we have to acknowledge that we have been in a crisis for quite a while—a crisis that includes all of society and the health of the planet: the food industry, the medical system, the economy, religious systems, politics, education, out-of-control use of land, mental health, wealth distribution—even the human condition is deteriorating at an alarming rate.The environmental impact of this neoliberal tendency towards unbridled growth alerts us to the fact that we need to find the way to rebalance all aspects of our existence. Reality calls on us to assume individual and collective responsibility for redirecting our orientation towards a future of sustainable progress, instead of suicidal progress. Individual responsibility begins with ourselves. We have to start by examining how we are living according to the conditions of a linear approach that has disconnected us from the cyclical regenerative world of the feminine.The feminine is the opposite of unbounded and thoughtless action. It is the cyclical part that stops, does nothing, and waits for energy to redirect itself to where it needs to go. It is the part that recognizes the regeneration necessary for existence to be sustainable.We operate according to an accelerated pattern of productivity: do more, want more, get more, improve more, demand more. We cannot tell when we have enough—when we don’t need more stuff, a better standard of living, more parties, more followers, a better image, or more outfits. The cyclical feminine aspect is like the moon—not always bright, not always dark. It goes from one end of the spectrum to the other, and periodically gives us a great display of light. The energy that emanates from this cyclical light pattern has had great cultural importance for centuries in the fields of language, calendars, art, and mythology. Its gravitational force creates tides and influences the length of our day. The moon’s influence affects agriculture, fishing, and the human psyche. If the moon were always full, it would produce tremendous disorder in our system. It would probably be a fatal catastrophe, as everything would be in such disarray that we would perish. The same pattern occurs when we damage the environment through the unmitigated destruction of wild animal and plant life, as we domesticate them to excess. It also happens when we destroy jungles, forests, and lakes in order to build more recreational areas or to produce oils for the cosmetics industry.Global warming is the result of climate change spurred by the excesses of a greedy, linear approach, where we all act as if conditions were mechanical, not organic—as if nature does not need to regenerate itself to be self-sustaining.The cyclical pattern of nature is key to sustainable equilibrium—not only for plants, but also for the animal world of which we are a part. Humans are the most powerful animal on the planet. We have proliferated massively and we have subjugated all animals. Thus, it is incumbent on us to redirect our actions and recover the balance we’ve lost. The revalorization of feminine characteristics is one of the ways in which we can regain that balance. This does not require big moves, but simply minimal changes in ourselves. It calls for small achievements, not large ones. It does not call for sudden changes overnight, but for slow movement—like the moon, which does not become full all of a sudden. Darkness lifts slowly, light increases gradually, until one night we have a full moon. Cycles are processes of return, repetition, reconnection, re-experimentation, reevaluation, reinterpretation. Cycles are aspects of nature that repeat over and over, and create opportunities for sustainability. Now we are in a stage in which we need to recover the incorrectly forgotten, disqualified, buried, suppressed feminine—so that we can go back to a cyclical consciousness, like our planetary system, and recover the ecological balance. For women, reconnecting with the feminine begins by discovering when and where in our lives we lost that union with the feminine. When did we find we had to reject the feminine in order to survive in the patriarchal world—where boys are valued more highly than girls; where men’s values and achievements are considered more important than women’s; where women are subjugated and denied the rights to control their own bodies, their freedom and their own minds, and have to submit to the canon established for them?This subjugation is totally dehumanizing, cruel, and traumatic. Almost every woman has to undertake a healing process in order to reclaim her rights to education, voting, and building the life she wants for herself.Since the late 20th century, we have seen some changes in this direction as a result of women’s initiative to struggle, protest, and demand the rights that belong to us. Women are still subjugated in all social systems, with some differences by country and culture. In so called first-world countries, women still earn less than men for the same work. It’s hard to believe that in the 21st century women’s contributions in all intellectual areas are not accorded the same value. …
(Essay) A Gallery of Toxic and Pornified “Goddesses” by Max Dashu

I can’t stand it. For some time I’ve been thinking that something needs to be said about the the toxic femininity scripts creeping into “Goddess” imagery, mass-media contamination, and all in the name of women’s empowerment. These posed, stilted, playmate-like “goddesses”, sticking their breasts out and pouting like lipstick models are all over the net. You’ve seen them – on Youtube, on Facebook, in comix and videogames. Oh, let’s not forget video games and virtual world avatars. They’re proliferating like mad. This is not empowerment; it is monoculture, limiting, plastic, soul-less, and lacking in the relaxed boldness of real power. See what you think. I can’t stand it. These posed, stilted, playmate-like “goddesses”, sticking their breasts out and pouting like lipstick models are all over the net. You’ve seen them – on Youtube, on Facebook, in comix and videogames. They’re proliferating like mad. This is not empowerment; it constrains the female to the same toxic scripts as the mass media. I would’ve liked this painting if he had just left out that poor, contorted woman, with a head bigger that her waist. And what is she doing with her right leg? This artist does the same model-type over and over in different haircolor and fashions. Bizarrely, he calls it “Mythic Naturalism.” OH! I am so demure, so fair, and my proportions conventionally Barbie-like. My leg is drawn up in the obligatory bent-knee pose, and my gaze downcast. I am ready to do thy bidding. I show that even Nike, valiant winged goddess of Victory, can thrust her breasts out and arch her back as much as any pinup girl. I gaze fixedly at my ulna, which somehow inspires me. And I can fly! even though one of my wings is attached to my shoulder and the other to my kidney. This alone makes me a goddess. Another waste of talent: there’s some beauty here, the leggings are kind of cool, but the stereotypical pose ruins it. I am the Prom Queen Goddess (see my tiara?). I carry paganish symbols but never forget to point my toes and keep my legs together. Oooh. Coy much? This simpering ninny with the batwings is titled “Morrigan.” Wait til the real Morrigan, the Irish goddess of battle, gets her claws on the artist. Yes, arched back, butt out, that’s required, and so are the tiny waists and stick-arms. It’s all about display, never embodied Presence. Good luck dancing on those rocks with the stilettos. This one at least has muscles! though her body type otherwise fits the mold. Still, the muscles lend a little dynamism, even if she looks like she’s about to expire from sucking in that belly. What is it with the pointed toes? Pornified goddess template. “Flashbunny,” nuff said. It’s not just the “goddesses”: meet the “shamans.” “The Return” (of worshipping the blonde? creepy) And it’s not just the “goddesses.” They do the same to the “shamanesses,” “witches,” and even “Amazons.” Check it out. I first noticed a strong trend on Pagan YouTube videos toward soft-porn imagery of witches, but it goes well beyond that. Several months ago, I did a web search for images of “woman shaman,” “medicine woman,” etc., and this is some of what turned up. What’s sad is that people think they are reaching for a more powerful image of women, while conforming to the same old tired, limited ideas. Nearly all are glamour girls of the same body size and (often impossible) proportions. Virtually none represent old or middle-aged women, few are muscular, none are fat or even husky. Their stance and expressions are predictably uniform and modeled on porn archetypes. If you’ve already looked at the first two pages, I’ve reorganized them and added several more pages as of April 25: A Gallery of Phony “witches” A Gallery of Fake “Amazons” The Toxic Feminine Template: Video Games and Virtual World Avatars Enough! what women need is the Real Thing. (Meet Mago Contributor) Max Dashu.
(Video) Goddess Pilgrimage by Kaalii Cargill

[Editor’s Note: The video was created and produced as part of 2015 Nine Day Solstice Celebration organized by Mago Academy.] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fENgZ1_lBVE
(Prose) What Goddess Feminism, Activism, and Spirituality means to me by Joanna Kujawa

My encounter with Mary Magdalene My encounter with Mary Magdalene was unexpected. Being brought up a Catholic, I was aware of her though I believed the dominant narrative of Mary Magdalene as a penitent adulteress. When I was growing up, there was not really much spoken about her being a prostitute but rather she was viewed as a young adulteress. Despite that, or perhaps because of it, I had always liked her. She seemed to me, even in those days of dogmatic ignorance, the only real person in the narratives around Jesus’ life. I thought of her as a sensual rebel who did not give in to the limitations of her time, who made her own choices. I liked this view, and she was also so very different from the very obedient Virgin Mary. “The good girl’’ of the Virgin had no appeal for me, as she was forever surrendering to whatever Fate had brought her, a passive female of the patriarchal imagination. Just as Mary Magdalene was very real to me, the Virgin had always felt like a figment of that imagination. It was not until I was well into my 30s that I began to learn the truth about Mary Magdalene, firstly through contact with the Gnostic Gospels. I remember well the moment when a friend passed me the Gospel of Mary Magdalene. I gasped at the fact that she had her own Gospel. Even in my former religious indoctrination, Mary Magdalene having her own Gospel somehow suited her. Mary Magdalene the independent woman, the woman in charge of her destiny, the woman in charge of her sexual choices. By the sheer presence of its existence, the Gospel of Mary Magdalene has changed my life. I began to research, first about her Gospel and then about her. The Gospel of Mary Magdalene was first discovered in 1896 in Egypt by a British adventurer, then other parts of the Gospel continued to be discovered in the area of Akhmin in Egypt. Scholars argue about the dating of the Gospel, as some fragments are written in Coptic but were translations of earlier Greek versions. Eventually, the first edition of the Gospel was placed at sometime around 150 CE. This dating is not surprising, as even the so-called canonical Gospels of the Bible were not written by the disciples themselves but by their disciples. Similarly, the Gospel of Mary Magdalene was most likely originally present in oral form and then put on paper for the benefit of posterity – very much the same way as the canonical Gospels were. And here she speaks to us in her own words, not those of some dogma and indoctrination, but words reflecting the inner knowledge of a bearer of secret teachings that were not given to other disciples. Soon I also learned that Mary Magdalene was never a prostitute, that it was Pope Gregory, who in the year 591 CE in his Homily 33 made convenient ‘scriptural mistakes,’ and that even the Catholic Church denied her connection to prostitution in 1969. Yet this seems too little too late. Many other documents have been discovered which confirm Mary Magdalene’s status as an independent woman and the receiver of the most secret teachings. These documents include another Gnostic Document, the Gospel of Philip, discovered in nag Hammadi, Egypt in 1945. In both of these documents she was the favoured and most spiritually evolved disciple who was envied by the male disciples, especially Peter. It is interesting that in the Christian tradition it is Peter who is revered and not Mary Magdalene. It is even more interesting that all documents stating Mary Magdalene’s position as the Apostle of the Apostles, or the first among them, were deemed as heretical at the Council of Nicea in 325 CE while the ones with Peter leading were considered ‘true’. But this is not the only betrayal that Mary Magdalene and her name have endured. Apart from the exclusion of the Gospels which claim she was the prominent figure in the movement, and even apart from the ‘mistake’ of Pope Gregory in the sixth century that made her into a prostitute. Jane Schaberg, an ex-nun, in her book Resurrection of Mary Magdalene traces how the Biblical removal of Mary Magdalene as the ‘beloved disciple’ was gradually carried out until she was completely replaced by John through a process of sheer speculation because – who else it could have been? In the patriarchal minds, certainly not that woman, right? So my encounter with Mary Magdalene has awakened in me a desire to know the truth. It has awakened in me a sense of justice. It has awakened me to the fact that greater social powers, often disguised as the ‘leaders’ of society, manipulate the truth to their advantage, that they want some of us to be disempowered. Moreover, my encounter with Mary Magdalene has taught me that this kind of manipulation of the truth is no longer possible and, as with all forms of suppression, the truth is coming up to the surface with a greater power than ever before. It has taught me that activism also has a spiritual and scholarly aspect to it and that both are powerful tools in making a shift in global consciousness. And that there is no stopping now. [This piece was previously published in She Rises: What… Goddess Feminism, Activism and Spirituality? Volume 3 (Mago Books, 2019).] (Meet Mago Contributor) Joanna Kujawa, Ph.D.
Blow by Lise Weil

We are all so much more than we think we are…. We are air exhaled by hemlocks, we are water plowed by whales, we are matter born in stars, we are children of deep time.Kathleen Dean Moore, Great Tide Rising It was our last day in Baja. I had come here to spend time with whales. I am not fond of heat and Baja is hot. And truthfully, whales, though I worshipped them from afar, had not been my favourite mammals. Despair drove me to Baja. It was March 2017 and I was still reeling from the elections and what they said about the U.S. and our chances of redeeming ourselves as a species. Could nature recover from our relentless assaults? Was there any reason to hope? I thought the whales might have some wisdom to offer. That I would be travelling with a women’s wilderness outfit and a guide who communicated with whales seemed to increase the likelihood of this outcome. When a blue whale first approached – we were camped on the shore of the Sea of Cortez, just gathering for our morning circle—all the other women fell to their knees and stayed there as we watched her circle the bay (a mama and her calf our guide told us). In circle, the women spoke in tones of reverence and rapture. I abstained. I had seen those huge bodies blowing and breaching and yes it was impressive, they were BIG (the biggest mammals on the face of the earth, we had been informed, up to two city blocks in length), and these enormous creatures had come to us, or so the others insisted, come repeatedly, but I felt nothing…. certainly by contrast with my companions. Or, to be honest, I felt rage. What the fuck makes you think they are coming for us? Why the fuck would they want to come to us? After what we’ve done to them? Done to the oceans. I said this one night around the campfire, my face wet with tears which in all honesty were probably less tears of shame for our species than pain at not being able to feel what the others felt, at feeling separate from them. But after five days on the Sea of Cortez, spying one fluke after another, watching those giant bodies dive and surface and dive again, I had come to believe, I can’t say how exactly, that maybe yes they did love us and yes they had come for us. Now we were staying in cabins on San Ignacio Bay on the other side of the peninsula. San Ignacio is a protected lagoon where gray whales come to calve and where for this reason they were murdered en masse by humans in the nineteenth and for much of the twentieth century. But in 1977, a fisherman in the bay received a visit from a mama gray and her calf who would not leave the side of his boat until he had stroked the baby. Since then, San Ignacio has become a pilgrimage site, a place where humans can venture out in boats and be pretty sure that they’ll not only see but be able to touch a gray whale. It was now our fourth day here on the lagoon and already its rippling waters had come to feel like one of those neighborhoods that was sacred to me because she lived there—the woman I loved—and any second she might suddenly appear. It had been a hard morning. The hardest of the trip. Several days earlier, after a rough day of paddling that had done me in, I had leapt to the aid of someone who was heaving a double kayak out of the water—in the spirit of pitching in but also so as not to be outdone by my younger travel mates. In the process I pulled something skeletal badly out of whack. It had caught up to me the day before and I had barely slept. All night I had dreamt of a chiropractor—could I find one in this area? In the morning in the circle I told the dream and then, since the dream seemed to be wanting it of me, asked if anyone in the circle knew anything about alignment. There were on this trip an assortment of healers and yoga teachers and I was secretly hoping someone might offer to help straighten me out. No one did. I felt—there is only one word for it—rejected. No one wanted to take on my case, my crooked, aging body. An old haunted place—not beautiful enough—I went back to it. But there is something I’ve left out here, something about that sleepless night that feels important to say. I have spent many nights lying awake with one kind of ailment or another just listening to the minutes tick away. This night was not like any of those. Because throughout the hours, and the muscular cramps that seized my neck and held it in a vice, I remained completely calm. I remained calm because I had every confidence I would be healed….in fact it occurred to me during that long night that there is no healing without affliction. So maybe affliction is necessary? I was afflicted, and I needed this affliction so that I could be healed. I had been reading about whales the night before, suddenly ravenous for knowledge about these beings about whom until now my main source of information had been Moby Dick. In one book I read that just by the way they navigate, conducting waves of light and sound, whales serve to bring everything into balance. “Planetary alignment” is how the writer put it. Well if they could align planets why not one human body? In late morning, after the circle, we went out in the boats. The driver of my boat was Sextos, a big burly Mexican who never ventured out into the lagoon without his flute. “A blow!” someone would shout, pointing, and all binoculars would take aim as Sextos sped up to get near, …

(Special Post 5) 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: I have come across the origin of the Dokkaebi (image, Heavenly Ruler Chiu, 14th Hanung of Danguk. Chiu represented the Magoist rule aided by her 81 giant sister clan allies (nine groups of Nine Hans) fought Huangdi (Yellow Emperor), one of the ancient rulers of pre-historic China. Chiu is known as the empeor of Guri-guk or Guryeo-guk (Nine Ri State or Nine Ryeo State), which is alternatiely referred to as Goryeo-guk and Goguryeo-guk by East Asians. She was worshipped as the deity of war and remembered/depicted for her helmet made of copper and iron. Records about her war against Hungdi inundates ancient Korean and Chinese texts and myths. About Chiu or Chiyou, it is too complex to discuss here. It is a topic to be treated in its own right. Suffice to say that even some of basic information from Wikipedia is illuminating. “Chiyou (蚩尤) was a tribal leader of the Nine Li tribe (九黎) in ancient China. He is best known as a king who lost against the future Yellow Emperor during the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors era in Chinese mythology. For the Hmong people, Chiyou was a sagacious mythical king. He has a particularly complex and controversial ancestry, as he may fall under Dongyi, Miao or even Man, depending on the source and view. Today, Chiyou is honored and worshipped as the God of War and one of the three legendary founding fathers of China.” “According to the Song dynasty history book Lushi, Chiyou’s surname was Jiang (姜), and he was a descendant of Yandi. According to legend, Chiyou had a bronze head with a metal forehead. He had 4 eyes and 6 arms, wielding terrible sharp weapons in every hand. In some sources, Chiyou had certain features associated with various mythological bovines: his head was that of a bull with two horns, although the body was that of a human. He is said to have been unbelievably fierce, and to have had 81 brothers. Historical sources often described him as ‘cruel and greedy’, as well as ‘tyrannical’. Some sources have asserted that the figure 81 should rather be associated with 81 clans in his kingdom. Chiyou knows the constellations and the ancients spells for calling upon the weather. For example, he called upon a fog to surround Huangdi and his soldiers during the Battle of Zhuolu.” “Chiyou is regarded as a leader of the Nine Li tribe (九黎, RPA White Hmong: Cuaj Li Ntuj) by nearly all sources. However, his exact ethnic affiliations are quite complex, with multiple sources reporting him as belonging to various tribes, in addition to a number of diverse peoples supposed to have directly descended from him. Some sources from later dynasties, such as the Guoyu book, considered Chiyou’s Li tribe to be related to the ancient San miao tribe (三苗). In the ancient Zhuolu Town is a statue of Chiyou commemorating him as the original ancestor of the Hmong people. The place is regarded as the birthplace of the San miao / Miao people, the Hmong being a subgroup of the Miao. In sources following the Hmong view, the “nine Li” tribe is called the “Jiuli” kingdom, Jiuli meaning “nine Li”. Modern Han Chinese scholar Weng Dujian considers Jiuli and San Miao to be Man southerners. Chiyou has also been counted as part of the Dongyi.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiyou Above all, her depiction by ancient China is of a pejorative one. As we will see in the next part, she is contrasted with her opponent Huangdi (Yellow Emperor), a triumphantly depicted ancient hero of ancient China. Above Wikipedia. See her images created by ancient Koreans, the middle one in the three figures, depicted as a woman with female breasts, one of Dokkaebi images. There are other records that describe one of her allies. as one adorned with snakes in the head, which reminds me of Medusa. Silla (left), Baekje (Center), Goguryeo (right) http://lasvegaskim.com/Etc_Poem_55.htm Max Dashu: Oe-ri, Buyeo, in the Baekje period. Helen Hye-Sook Hwang: That is where the rooftile at the center is excavated. That is the original image of Dokkaebi that Lydia Ruyle chose and depicted in her banner work. I could not connect this image with Chiu until now. We have the female ruler who subdued the patrilocal force of Yellow Emperor, the forebear of ancientChinese emperors. There are lots of myths and data that I have found on them. Chiu is also numerously depicted as Dokkaebi faces, which makes me think of its connection to the iconography of Medusa and Gorgon (who comes as Three Sisters). Eight-snake-headed Medusahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medusa Gorgon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorgon https://www.magoism.net/2013/06/art-dokkaebi-by-lydia-ruyle/ Lizzy Bluebell: ‘Gonggong’ is not a far stretch phonetically from ‘Gorgon’ – I note. Briefly here – because it is a complex explanation – much more can be said about the etymology. For example, “gorge” relates to deep mountain passes with water flowing through them as well as the human throat or gullet, (relating the word to both speech and eating) and mountains are/were Goddess terrain, later usurped by MON-A-Ster-ies. The masculine name Ge-Orge is code which relates to GE/Gaia/Gay as well as to ‘orgy’. Sanskrit “garg” begets English ‘gargle’, and a guttural (gut-her-all) sound. I’ve always seen the archetypal Medusa/Gorgon’s ‘snaking curls’ as the energy emmitted from her head by her Wild I-Deas, which returns us to the theme of the Pythia/Oracle/Snake connections too. “In Greek mythology, a Gorgon (/ˈɡɔːrɡən/; plural: Gorgons, Ancient Greek: Γοργών/Γοργώ Gorgon/Gorgo) is a female creature. The name derives from the ancient Greek word gorgós, which means “dreadful”, and appears to come from the same root as the Sanskrit word “garğ” (Sanskrit: गर्जन, garjana) which is defined as a guttural sound, similar to the growling of a beast,[1] thus possibly originating as an onomatopoeia. While descriptions of Gorgons vary across Greek literature and occur in the earliest examples of Greek literature, the term commonly refers to any of three sisters […]
(Special Post Mother Teresa 1) A Role Model for Women? by Mago Circle Members

[Editorial Note: The following is an edited version of the discussion that took place spontaneously on Mago Circle from March 1, 2013 for about two weeks. It was an extensive, heated, yet reflective discussion, now broken into four parts to fit the format of the blog. We thank each and all of the participants for your openness, generosity, and courage to stand up for what you believe and think! Some are marked as anonymous. As someone stated, something may have been “written in the heat of the moment” and some might like to change it at a later time. So we inform our readers that nothing is written in stone. As a matter of fact, the discussion is ongoing, now with Magoism Blog readers. Please comment and respond as you wish.] Part I: Why are we talking about Mother Teresa? [The conversation began among Anne Wilkerson Allen, Helen Hwang, and Wennifer Lin in a personal message and editor’s group. We agreed that Mother Teresa’s Western (Albanian) identity is hardly taken into consideration in the public perception of her as a secular and religious leader. Then, we decided to bring the topic to the Mago Circle.] Anne Wilkerson Allen: [A] posted this today and I think it is discussion worthy. Mother Teresa: Anything but a saint… scienceblog.com The myth of altruism and generosity surrounding Mother Teresa is dispelled in a paper by Serge Larivée and Genevieve Chenard of University of Montreal’s Department of Psychoeducation and Carole Sénéchal of the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Education… http://scienceblog.com/60730/mother-teresa-anything-but-a-saint/#IdkpoWrDtMAAVCAg.99 Anne Wilkerson Allen: It is not my desire to bash the Church – I think everyone here is fully aware of the evils of patriarchy and the way the Church has used women, abused and killed women…but Teresa is an icon in the West, in particular, of saintliness. Even non-Catholics love her. Why? And is what she did really worthy of role modeling? Anne Wilkerson Allen: This was also on the thread. Not a huge fan of Hitchens, and I think calling her work a “death cult” is extreme, but I am interested in your opinions please. Christopher Hitchens – Mother Teresa: Hell’s Angel [1994] In 1994, three years before her death, journalist Christopher Hitchens made this documentary asking if Mother Teresa’s reputation was deserved… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76_qL6fiyDw Anne Wilkerson Allen: I would also like to talk about altruism and some of the areas we have touched on before…at what point is my “help” an imposition in a third world country? Is my desire to “help” spurred by years of programming or heart? I honestly don’t know anymore. Anne Wilkerson Allen: There is also a part of me that wonders if this deflection of blame and highlighting of Teresa’s faults now is yet another “Let the women take the fall” action. Anne Wilkerson Allen: NOT that I find her blameless – her advocacy against contraception and abortion is decidedly anti-female, but there is so much focus on the Pope and the priests now….I keep wondering when the abuses of the nuns is going to come to light. Anne Wilkerson Allen: I think Ireland recently had something in the news about this… Ireland apologizes for Catholic laundry scandal Ireland’s premier has issued a state apology to the thousands of Irish women who spent years working without pay in prison-style laundries run by Catholic nuns. Former residents of the now-defunct Magdalene Laundries have campaigned for the past decade to get the government to apologize and pay compensation to an estimated 1,000 survivors of the workhouses. Two weeks ago the Irish government published an investigation into the state’s role in overseeing the laundries. It found that more than 10,000 women worked in 10 laundries from 1922 to 1996, when the last Dublin facility closed down… http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-202_162-57570107/ireland-apologizes-for-catholic-laundry-scandal/ Anne Wilkerson Allen: One of my friends was one of these girls. [Z]: I have wanted to bring attention to this issue for a long time but did not have a chance or was biting my time. Now Anne is pointing out some of the crucial issues about her, Mother Teresa, I am so thankful for this opportunity for us to sort out and think collectively. Thank you Anne! [Z]: Yes, the Catholic Laundry Scandal was shared here too!!! Anne Wilkerson Allen: It’s hard. She is iconic for many women. I did not know the sordid details or the horrors – not that it excuses anything….but when I was young, I saw her as someone to emulate….and thus became immolated…. [Z]: I have been thinking all along the way that she should not be a role model for women. Can you believe that I did even as a once Catholic Sister?!!! I know that many religious women out there will agree with me too. [Z]: My critique is not much on her as a person. But the fact that she represents morality for especially women makes me mad. Oh, there seems a lot more about reasons why we should debunk the mystique of Mother Teresa. Anne Wilkerson Allen: One of the things Hirchens pointed out was that it made Westerners feel good that this wonderful white woman was helping the poor in Calcutta….though she rarely seemed to be in Calcutta. Another friend told me that he knew one of the sisters of charity and that she told him they were encouraged to flog themselves on a regular basis….sick sick sick Anne Wilkerson Allen: This is why I have a problem with the mentality that says evil exists to teach us something…..that suffering exists to highlight our joy….there is just something WRONG with that. Anne Wilkerson Allen: We are all dark and light and in-between. [Z]: I am not surprised. Yes, definitely. What a waste of time and intelligence if not already damaging many turning the navigation backward!!! [Helen Hwang calls out the individual names to join the discussion, and is responded by what follows.] [B]: In Minneapolis there is a charity founder, Mary Jo Copeland, who helps the homeless & hungry. She just received an award from the President. She seems selfless, like Mother Teresa did (at least in […]
(Special Post 2) 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.] Harriet Ann Ellenberger I got involved with women’s liberation in the early 1970s, so involved that it became my life for many years. During those beginnings of what is now called “the second wave of feminism,” everything was new to us and everything was mushed together — the political, the economic, the intellectual, the emotional, the spiritual. I liked that a lot; it felt as if all the parts of myself were coming together. During that time, I learned something crucial the imagery and concepts of patriarchal religion justify and are embedded in the material structures of oppression. I don’t know which came first, institutionalized oppression (of everyone; I’m not speaking here only of women) or the religious expression of that oppression. All I’m certain of is that patriarchal religion permeates, for example, the Oxford English Dictionary, which I use all the time, in conjunction with Websters’ First New Intergalactic Wickedary of the English Language, conjured by Mary Daly in cahoots with Jane Caputi.

The Passing of Last Summer’s Growth by Glenys Livingstone Ph.D.

The ‘passing of last Summer’s growth’ as is experienced and contemplated in the Season of Deep Autumn/Samhain, may be a metaphor for the passing of all/any that has come to fullness of being, or that has had a fullness, a blossoming of some kind, and borne fruit; and in the passing it has been received, and thus transforms. The ‘passing of last Summer’s growth’ may be in hearts and minds, an event or events, a period of time, or an era, that was a deep communion, now passed and dissolved into receptive hearts and minds, where it/they reside for reconstitution, within each unique being. Samhain is traditionally understood as ‘Summer’s end’: indeed that is what the word ‘Samhain’ means. In terms of the seasonal transitions in indigenous Old European traditions, Summer is understood as over when the Seasonal Moment of Lammas/Lughnasad comes around; it is the first marked transition after the fullness of Summer Solstice. The passing and losses may have been grieved, the bounty received, thanksgiving felt and expressed, perhaps ceremonially at Autumn Equinox/Mabon; yet now in this Season of Samhain/Deep Autumn it composts, clearly falls, as darkness and cooler/cold weather sets in, change is clearer. In the places where this Earth-based tradition arose, Winter could be sensed setting in at this time, and changes to everyday activity had to be made. In our times and in our personal lives, we may sense this kind of ending, when change becomes necessary, no longer arbitrary: and the Seasonal Moment of Samhain may be an excellent moment for expressing these deep truths, telling the deep story, and making meaning of the ending, as we witness such passing. What new shapes will emerge from the infinite well of creativity? And we may wonder what will return from the dissolution? What re-solution will be found? We may wonder what new shapes will emerge. In the compost of what has been, what new syntheses, new synergies, may come forth? Now is the time for dreaming, for drawing on the richness within, trusting the sentience, within which we are immersed, and which we are: and then awaiting the arrival, being patient with the fermentation and gestation. Seize the moment, this Moment – and converse with the depths within your own bodymind, wherein She is. Make space for the sacred conversation, the Conversing with your root and source of being, and take comfort in this presence. We may ponder what yet unkown beauty and wellness may emerge from this infinite well of creativity. The Samhain Moment in the Northern Hemisphere is 17:14 UT 7thNovember this year. Wishing you a sense of the deep communion present in the sacred space you make for this holy transition.
(Essay) The Emergence celebrated at Spring Equinox by Glenys Livingstone Ph.D.

The Spring Equinox Moment occurs September 21-23 Southern Hemisphere, March 21-23 Northern Hemisphere. The full story of Spring Equinox is expressed in the full flower connected to the seed fresh from the earth; that is, it is a story of emergence from the dark, from a journey, perhaps long, perhaps short, through challenging places. The joy of the blossoming is rooted in the journey through the dark, and an acknowledgement of the dark’s fertile gift, as well as of great achievement in having made it, of having returned. Both Equinoxes, Spring and Autumn, celebrate this sacred balance of grief and joy, light and dark, and they are both celebrations of the mystery of the seed. The seed is essentially the deep Creativity within – that manifests in the Spring as flower, or green emerged One. the full story: the root and the flower As the new young light continues to grow at this time of Spring, it comes into balance with the dark at Spring Equinox, or ‘Eostar’ as it may be named; about to tip further into light when light will dominate the day. The trend at this Equinox is toward increasing hours of light: and thus it is about the power of being – life is stepping into it. Earth in this region is tilting further toward the Sun. Traditionally it may be storied as the joyful celebration of a Lost Beloved One, who may be represented by the Persephone story: She is a shamanic figure who is known for Her journey to the Underworld, and who at this time of Spring Equinox returns. Her Mother Demeter who has waited and longed for Her in deep grief, rejoices and so do all: warmth and growth return to the land. Persephone, the Beloved Daughter, the Seed, has navigated the darkness successfully, has enriched it with Her presence and also gained its riches. Eostar/Spring Equinox is the magic of the unexpected, yet long awaited, green emergence from under the ground, and then the flower: this emergence is especially profound as it is from a seed that has lain dormant for months or longer – much like the magic of desert blooms after long periods of drought. The name of “Eostar” comes from the Saxon Goddess Eostre/Ostara, the northern form of the Sumerian Astarte[i]. The Christian festival in the Spring, was named “Easter” as of the Middle Ages, appropriating Goddess/Earth tradition. The date of Easter, which is set for Northern Hemispheric seasons, is still based on the lunar/menstrual calendar; that is, the 1st Sunday after the first full Moon after Spring Equinox. In Australia where I am, “Easter” is celebrated in Autumn (!) by mainstream culture, so we have the spectacle of fluffy chickens, chocolate eggs and rabbits in the shops at that time. There are other names for “Eostar” in other places …the Welsh name for the Spring Equinox celebration is Eilir, meaning ‘regeneration’ or ‘spring’ – or ‘earth’[ii]. In my own PaGaian tradition, the Spring Equinox celebration is based on the Demeter and Persephone story, the version that is understand as pre-patriarchal, from Old Europe. In the oldest stories, Persephone has agency in Her descent: She descends to the underworld voluntarily as a courageous seeker of wisdom, and a compassionate receiver of the dead. She represents, and IS, the Seed of Life that never fades away. Spring Equinox is a celebration of Her return, Life’s continual return, and thus also our personal and collective emergences/returns.We may contemplate the collective emergence/returns especially in our times. I describe Persephone as a “hera”, which of old was a term for any courageous One. “Hera” was a pre-Hellenic name for the Goddess in general[iii]. “Hera” was the indigenous Queen Goddess of pre-Olympic Greece, before She was married off to Zeus. “Hero” was a term for the brave male Heracles who carried out tasks for his Goddess Hera: “The derivative form ‘heroine’ is therefore completely unnecessary”[iv]. “Hera” may be used as a term for any courageous individual: and participants in PaGaian Spring Equinox ceremony have named themselves this way. The pre-“Olympic” games of Greece were Hera’s games, held at Her Heraion/temple[v]. The winners were “heras” – gaining the status of being like Her[vi]. At the time of Spring Equinox, we may celebrate the Persephone, the Hera, the Courageous One, who steps with new wisdom, into power of being: the organic power that all beings must have, Gaian power, the power of the Cosmos. This Seasonal ceremony may be a rejoicing in how we have made it through great challenges and loss, faced our fears and our demise (in its various forms), had ‘close shaves’ – perhaps physically as well as psychicly and emotionally. It is a time to welcome back that which was lost, and step into the strength of being. Spring Equinox/Eostar is the time for enjoying the fruits of the descent, of the journey taken into the darkness: return is now certain, not tentative as it was in the Early Spring/Imbolc. Demeter, the Mother, receives the Persephones, Lost Beloved Ones, joyously. This may be understood as an individual experience, but also as a collective experience – as we emerge into a new Era as a species. Thomas Berry and Brian Swimme speak of the ending of the sixty-five million year geological Era – the Cenozoic Era – in our times, and our possible emergence into an Ecozoic Era. They describe the Ecozoic Era as a time when “the curvature of the universe, the curvature of the earth, and the curvature of the human are once more in their proper relation”[vii]. Joanna Macy speaks of the “Great Turning” of our times[viii]. Collectively we have been away from the Mother for some time and there is a lot of pain. At this time we may contemplate not only our own individual lost wanderings, but also that of the human species. We are part of a much bigger Return that is happening. The Beloved One may be understood as returning on a collective level: …
(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
(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.
(Prose) Desire: the Wheel of Her Creativity by Glenys Livingstone Ph.D.

This essay is an edited excerpt from the concluding chapter (Chapter 8) of the author’s book PaGaian Cosmology: Re-inventing Earth-based Goddess Religion. Place of Being is a passionate place, where desire draws forth what is sought, co-creates what is needed[1]; within a con-text – a story – where love of self, other and all-that-is are indistinguishable … they are nested within each other and so is the passion for being. I begin to understand desire afresh: this renewed understanding has been an emergent property of the religious practice of seasonal celebration: that is, the religious practice of the ceremonial celebration of Her Creativity. It has been said She is “that which is attained at the end of desire[2].” Within the context of ceremonial engagement and inner search for Her, I begin to realize how desire turns the Wheel. As the light part of the cycle waxes from Early Spring, form/life builds in desire. At Beltaine/High Spring, desire runs wild, at Summer Solstice, it peaks into creative fullness, union … and breaks open at that interchange into the dark part of the cycle – the dissolution of Lammas/ Late Summer. She becomes the Dark One, who receives us back – the end of desire. It has been a popular notion in the Christian West, that the beautiful virgin lures men (sic) to their destruction, and as I perceive the Wheel, it is indeed Virgin who moves in Her wild delight towards entropy/dissolution; however in a cosmology that is in relationship with the dark, this is not perceived as a negative thing. Also, in this cosmology, there is the balancing factor of the Crone’s movement towards new life, in the conceiving dark space of Samhain/Deep Autumn – a dynamic and story that has not been a popular notion in recent millennia. Desire seems not so much a grasping, as a receiving, an ability or capacity to open and dissolve. I think of an image of an open bowl as a signifier of the Virgin’s gift. The increasing light is received, and causes the opening, which will become a dispersal of form – entropy, if you like: this is Beltaine/High Spring – the Desire[3]that is celebrated is a movement towards dis-solution … that is its direction. In contrast, and in balance, Samhain/Deep Autumn celebrates re-solution, which is a movement towards form – it is a materializing gathering into form, as the increasing darkness is received. It seems it is darkness that creates form, as it gathers into itself – as many ancient stories say, and it is light that creates dispersal. And yet I see that the opposite is true also. I think of how there is desire for this work that I have done, for whatever one does – it is then already being received. Desire is receiving. What if I wrote this, and it was not received or welcomed in some way. But the desire for it is already there, and perhaps the desire made it manifest. Perhaps the desire draws forth manifestation, even at Winter Solstice, even at Imbolc/Early Spring, as we head towards Beltaine – it is desire that is drawing that forth, drawing that process around. Desire is already receiving; it is open. Its receptivity draws forth the manifestation. And then the manifestation climaxes at Summer and dissolves into the manifesting, which is perhaps where the desire is coming from – the desire is in the darkness, in the dark’s receptivity[4]. It becomes very active at the time of Beltaine, it lures the differentiated beings back into Her. So the lure at Beltaine is the luring of differentiated beings into a Holy Lust, into a froth and dance of life, whereupon they dissolve ecstatically back into Her – She is “that which is attained at the end of Desire.” And in the dissolution, we sink deeper into that, and begin again. All the time, it is Desire that is luring the manifest into the manifesting, and the manifesting into the manifest. Passion is the glue, the underlying dynamic that streams through it all – through the light and the dark, through the creative triplicities of Virgin-Mother-Crone, of Differentiation-Communion-Autopoeisis[5]. Passion/Desire then is worthy of much more contemplation. If desire/allurement is the same cosmic dynamic as gravity, as cosmologist Brian Swimme suggests[6], then desire like gravity is the dynamic that links/holds us to our Place, to “that which is”, as philosopher Linda Holler describes the effect of gravity[7]. Held in relationship by desire/allurement we lose abstraction and artificial boundaries, and “become embodied and grow heavy with the weight of the earth[8].” We then know that “being is being-in relation-to”[9]. Holler says that when we think with the weight of Earth, space becomes “thick” as this “relational presence … turns notes into melodies, words into phrases with meaning, and space into vital forms with color and content, (and) also holds the knower in the world[10].”Thus, I at last become a particular, a subject, a felt being in the world – a Place laden with content, sentient: continuous with other and all-that-is. Notes: [1]“…as surely as the chlorophyll molecule was co-created by Earth and Sun, as Earth reached for nourishment; as surely as the ear was co-created by subject and sound, as the subject reached for an unknown signal.” As I have written in PaGaian Cosmology, p. 248. [2]Doreen Valiente, The Charge of the Goddessas referred to in Starhawk, The Spiral Dance, p.102-103. [3]I capitalize here, for it is a holy quality. [4]Perhaps the popular cultural association of the darkness/black lingerie etc. with erotica is an expression/”memory” of this deep truth. [5]These are the three qualities of Cosmogenesis, as referred to in PaGaian Cosmology, Chapter 4, “Cosmogenesis and the Female Metaphor”: https://pagaian.org/book/chapter-4/ [6]Brian Swimme, The Universe is a Green Dragon, p.43. [7]Linda Holler, “Thinking with the Weight of the Earth: Feminist Contributions to an Epistemology of Concreteness”, Hypatia, Vol. 5 No. 1, p.2. [8]Linda Holler, “Thinking with the Weight of the Earth: Feminist Contributions to an Epistemology of Concreteness”,Hypatia, Vol. …
Imbolc: Through Goddess Eyes by Carolyn Lee Boyd

Photo by Carolyn Lee Boyd In times past, Creation’s Winter cupped me in her icy hand of sanctuary Gathered in, I sucked dormant life, and slumbered Till Earth’s rebirthing groans awakened my new body Now, older and full of life’s weeping and wondering awe At all that has happened in my decades on Earth I must shake myself into consciousness My seed’s opaque, blinding hull disintegrates and Bodyless, at last I can see through Goddess eyes I ache as my blood paints each flower petal I spin the whirlwind that cannot stop creating abundance I push the seasons through the year that mortals believe revolve of their own accord. Through Goddess eyes I can see me, I inhabit Winter’s hand as my own. I make the cold to slow creation of outside of me To gather the seed into fertile stillness within. That burgeons in my own time. https://www.magoism.net/2016/08/meet-mago-contributor-carolyn-lee-boyd/

(Mago Almanac 4) Restoring 13 Month 28 Day Calendar by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang

[This and the following sequels are from Mago Almanac: 13 Month 28 Day Calendar (Book A), Years 1 and 2 (5, 6, 9, 10…), 5915-6 MAGO ERA, 2018-9 CE (Mago Books, 2017).] We want to get back the 13th Friday. This almanac shows how that is possible. Helen Hye-Sook Hwang INTRODUCTION (Continued) 13 MARY DALY QUOTES Each monthly calendar, headed by quotes from Mary Daly’s Wickedary, has space for users to continue OUR Story. 1 Elemental Rhythms 1: rhythms displaying the infinite interplay of unity and diversity characteristic of Elemental phenomena such as tides, seasons, phases of the moon: TIDAL RHYTHMS 2: cadences and vibrations of the wordings of Websters, which are Be-Spoken in cosmic concordance Background the Realm of Wild Reality; the Homeland of women’s Selves and of all other Others; the Time/Space where auras of plants, planets, stars, animals and all Other animate beings connect. 2 New Space Space on the Boundary of patriarchal institutions; Space created by women which provides real alternatives to the archetypal roles of fatherland; Space in which women Realize Power of Presence New Time Time on the Boundary of patriarchal time; women’s Life-Time; Time in which the past is changed and Archaic Futures are Realized 3 Archaic Time Original Creative Time, beyond the stifling grasp of archetypal molds and measures; the measure of Original Motion/E-Motion/Movement Archespheres the Realm of true beginnings, where Shrews shrink alienating archetypes and Unforget Archaic Origins, uncovering the Archimage, the Original Witch within 4 Re-calling 1: persistent/insistent Calling of the Wild; recurring invitation to Realms of Deep Memory 2: Active Unforgetting of participation in Be-ing; Re-membering and giving voice to Original powers, intuitions, memories 5 Courage to live The Courage to refuse inclusion in the State of the Living Dead, to break out from the deadforms of archetypal deadtime, to take leap after leap of Living Faith; Fiercely Biophilic Courage 6 Elemental Spirits Spirits/Angels/Demons manifesting the essential intelligence of spirit/matter; Intelligences ensouling the stars, animating the processes of earth, air, fire, water, enspiriting the sounds that are the Elements of words, connecting words with the earth, air, fire, water and with the sun, moon, planets, stars 7 Tidal Characterized by cosmic interconnections and rhythms; Elemental; Wild Tidal Memory Memory of the Deep Background, characterized by Tidal Rhythms of Re-membering: ELEMENTAL MEMORY Tidal Time Elemental Time, beyond the clocking/clacking of clonedom; Wild Time; Time that cannot be grasped by the tidily man-dated world; Time of Wicked Inspiration/Genius 8 Wild The vast Realm of Reality outside the pinoramic world view constructed by the bores and necrophiliacs of patriarchy; true Homeland of all Elemental be-ing, characterized by diversity, wonder, joy, beauty, Metamorphic Movement and Spirit 9 Biophilic Bonding 1: the Lusty combining of Elemental forces among Others 2: the uniting of Life-Loving women in Hopping/hoping harmony 10 Metabeing Realms of active participation in Powers of Be-ing; State of Ecstasy 11 Re-membering 1: Re-calling the Original intuition of integrity healing the dismembered Self – the Goddess within women; Re-calling the Primordial connections/conversations among women, animals, and other Elemental beings 2: Realzing the power to See and to Spell out connections among apparently disparate phenomena: Spinning, Creating 12 Powers of Be-ing Be-ing the Verb, understood in multiple and diverse manifestations, e.g., Knowing, Creating, Loving, Unfolding – and through diverse Metaphors – e.g. the Fates, Chaning Women (Eastan Atlehi, Creatrix of the Navaho People), Shekhina (female divine presence in Hebrew lore) 13 Thirteen represents the Other Hour, beyond the direction of disaster. It signals the Presence of the Otherworld – Metamorphospheres – True Homeland of all Hags, Crones, Furies, Furries and Other Friends. It represents the Realm of Wild Reality, the Background, the Time/Space when/where auras of plants, planets, stars, animals, and all truly animate be-ing connect. It points to Living Worlds utterly foreign to foolocracy – Worlds that are Eccentric, Erratic, Odd, Queer, Quaint, Outlandish, Weird. (Meet Mago Contributor) Helen Hye-Sook Hwang.
How do you say what The Mago Work is? by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang & Mago Circle Members

It took many years for me to pronounce the communal nature of the Mago Work. Defining the Mago Work necessarily endows us with the bird’s eye view of the Great Goddess, the primordial consciousness of WE in S/HE. Early this year, I asked people to define the Mago Work and their definitions are illuminating about what this book ultimately seeks to achieve.[1]
(2018 Mago Pilgrimage) Peak of Nine Wells in Yeongam (Spiritual Rock), South Jeolla by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang, Ph.D.

[Author’s Note: This essay comprises a summary report and its unfolding awakenings to be unraveled in sequences. I dedicate this essay to my 2018 Mago Pilgrimage companions, Narayani Ankh, Kate Besleme, Hyunsuk Jee, and Julie Jang. Learn more about Mago Pilgrimage.] Hike Report The town, Yeong-am (Spirit Rock), emanates an aura from its Magoist natural, historical, and cultural legacies. Among them, what grabbed my attention include Wolchul-san (月出山 Moon Rising Mountain), Dogap-sa (Dogap Temple), and Gurim Village, known for the birth place of Doseon Guksa (State Master Doseon), a prominent Buddhist monk, the 9th century of Silla (827-898). I was most attracted to the Peak of Nine Wells (九井峰 Gujeong-bong) as well as the Loom Cave shaped in the form of a vulva, part of the Moon Rising Mountain ranges. Our goal was to hike the Peak of Nine Wells (hereafter Gujeong-bong). We took the seemingly shortest trail, through Cheonwang-bong (Peak of Heavenly Ruler), the highest peak of Moon Rising Mountain, 809 km above sea level. It took about 8 hours for the entire hike took about 8 hours and it was one of the two most strenuous and significant ones that I have taken. About 30 years ago, I climbed Mt. Halla in Jeju Island and had received the vision of my life. No longer a youth, I had a much clearer vision about my life and the act of high altitude hiking this time. With my two companions, Narayani Ankh and Kate Besleme, who showed no sign of hesitation or tiredness in the beginning and throughout the course, I embarked my day’s journey. With occasional breaks, we were able gain distance and progress. Beautiful streams adorned the valley. Rocks were emitting the oldest song of the earth. Our talks continued and deepened, when we had breath to spare. It was such a blessing that I had these two co-hikers from elsewhere! My mind zoomed in and worked in detail. All thinking and feeling became registered. Impromptu, I began to count my steps up on stiff wooden stairways. My counting one, two, three… and thirteen carried me to the top of the stairs. The 13 counting chant worked; There was no medium between me and WE/HERE/NOW. We were gifted a 360-degree bird’s eye view on Cheongwang-bong. Several ridges with the depth of Magoist history came within a vision. We took a small lunch break. On a high mountain top wherein all remains visibly related, everyone becomes kin. On Cheongwang-gong, we were instructed by the rangers we met along the journey about the ridge path to Gujeong-bong. Gujeong-bong would be about another one and half hour hike away from us. We passed by a few masses of gigantic boulder formations for which Wolchul-san is known for. Among them was the standing stone called the Phallic Rock, a name that I suspected to be original. For standing stones are called the Rock of Mago Halmi in other regions of Korea. In any case, the very existence of the Phallic Rock (남근바위 Namgeun Bawi) heralded the appearance of the Loom Cave, a misnomer for the Yoni Cave (여근바위 Yeogeun Bawi). Heart beatings escalated as we approached our destination. We finally reached the Loom Cave, which closely resembled the vulva. The cave was made of a huge boulder, three times taller than an average person in size. A small pond sat inside the entrance made the cave a real yoni of nature. I was pulled into the state of trance, as we made a final climb up the stairs around the left side of the Loom Cave. I was able to see that the Peak of Nine Wells is located on the top plain of the Loom Cave. It is part of the yoni cave! I saw a number of wells pocketed in various sizes of ponds. They numbered more than nine, about 13, variable in number in that a couple of them were made in between adjacent boulders. The biggest well was larger than one meter (3.3 feet) in diameter. Moderns do their typical things in a time like this, indeed odd out of other options or necessity to share with others: I took photos of the wells and my companions, which were absolutely beautiful as they were. However, mental imprints were not able to be contained then and in nature. WE/HERE/NOW embraced all on the spot, perhaps like a black hole. Casual conversations wouldn’t continue. The silence and the oneness fast permeated our time/space. Our minds worked on layers. The deepest mind was stored in the reservoir of the unspoken. Descending is good as a time/space of tuning/balancing oneself to the power of WE/HERE/NOW. There wasn’t much time left for us to return, while the sun was still out. We hurriedly descended a different tail. I was no longer the same person I was prior to the experience of hiking Gujeong-bong. No need to dig up and count the number of branches in one’s root. To live means to grow and evolve, as we are meant to be. To be continued. (Meet Mago Contributor) Helen Hye-Sook Hwang.