[Author’s Note: Mago is an East Asian/Korean word for the Cosmic Mother or the Creatrix. This piece is written as the second of the four-part essays. I am surveying the past 9 years of The Mago Work (A collective effort to restore the consciousness of Mago, the Creatrix), which birthed the Movement of Goddess Feminist Activist Spirituality, while being shaped by the latter. A slightly revised version is first published in Feminism and Religion on October 12, 2024]
This year marks the 9th anniversary of the first volume of She Rises trilogy, a collective writing project, which was first published in 2015 by Mago Books. Entitled Why Goddess Feminism, Activism and Spirituality?, the 93 contributors trumpeted the onset of the Goddess Feminist Activist Spirituality. It was followed by the second volume, How… Goddess Feminism, Activism, and Spirituality?, with 96 contributors, in the following year, and the third one, What… Goddess Feminism, Activism, and Spirituality?, in 2019. The 9th anniversary of the first volume provided a new momentum for all contributors of the trilogy to come together as a virtual group, which we named “She Rises…” This group allows the authors of all three volumes to gather together for the first time, while inviting newcomers from outside the She Rises trilogy.
Where is the Movement of Goddess Feminist Activist Spirituality now? We certainly are not in the same place as we were 9 years ago. The vision, intelligence, and passion that made the She Rises trilogy must not be forgotten or dried out. Where should we go from here? We need to move together and evolve in order to help ourselves and the world. There is another uphill for us to climb, to arrive in the area in which we can have the bird-eye view, to look back at what we have done and see where we are going. The bird-eye view heals in the vision of ALL. Our efforts do not have to be left on some brave individuals. Everyone will walk together as we have done for the She Rises trilogy. Here is the herald that I bring: The evolution of the GFAS Movement is underway. We in the 21st century are not the only ones on this path. What do I mean by that? The answer is embracing the nine symbology.
I suggest that we adopt a systematic way of ever re-membering the beginning and ever staying on the course by honoring the Nine Symbol. A way that won’t exhaust us or defeat us. Contrarily, we get ever inspired and ever envisioned. That is possible. The Nine Symbol signifies that we are on the spirally interdependent journey. We are guided by our journey itself, spiral and interdependent. The spirally interdependent journey is the way of Life. Biologically, organisms are structured not arbitrarily but rhythmically, in three ways by the ceaseless interplay of nine numbers, to be explained later. I am inviting us to tap into the power of the Nine. The Nine encodes soteriology for ALL on the planet. We are called to see matters from the perspective of the Creatrix, ALL (including non-organic beings) are found kindred. Celebrating the 9th anniversary of the She Rises trilogy offers a momentum for us to enter the matriversal (of the maternally perceived universe) consciousness. Our pre-patriarchal ancestors bequeathed us moderns Nine Soteriology. Nine Soteriology is an intangible heritage embedded in our cultures. The Nine Symbol unfolds the reality of matriversal unity. We are transformed by the power of the Nine Symbol.
On August 10 of this year (2024), we, She Rises trilogy authors and new members of the She Rises… group, celebrated the ninth anniversary by holding a salon in which the authors shared their then and now whereabouts under the theme of “She Rises: Tell the World Your Journey of Goddess Feminist Activist Spirituality.” Among them were Molly Remer, Glenys Livingstone, Amy Smolinski, Leslene della-Madre, and myself. Kaalii Cargill kindly and generously facilitated the session. Our presentation summaries are available below:
The salon was a perfect format wherein the authors of different volumes came, met, and learned from each other. It confirmed our matured, ever charged, and endured commitments. It seemed like a reunion of comrades who came from matriarchal villages in pre-patriarchal times. New neighbors, Dr. Helen Benigni, Jillian Burnett, and Dr. Stephanie Mines, from outside the trilogy also came to meet us.
What about the Nine? In fact, we have been consciously honoring the Nine. All anthologies of the She Rises trilogy are structured as Nine Sisters (Chapters) under Three Mothers (Sections).
| Three Mothers | Nine Sisters |
| Mother One | Sister East |
| Sister South | |
| Sister West | |
| Mother Two | Sister North |
| Sister Center | |
| Sister Wind | |
| Mother Three | Sister Fire |
| Sister Water | |
| Sister Earth |
From the perspective of Magoism, celebrating the Nine is to make a Ceto-Magoist statement that ALL is in harmony with the Cosmic Music, the creative force of the Matriverse. I wrote about the Nine below in the announcement:
“9 years is a symbol for the Cosmic Music (Sonic Numerology), the metamorphic force of the matriverse (maternally perceived universe), which refers to a ceaseless interplay of sonically charged nine numbers. We have completed the first full cycle of nine years!”
And I presented on the topic of the Nine at the salon. My presentation, “The Nine Maps the Sono-Numerological DNA of Mativersal Soteriology,” explains why we celebrate the ninth anniversary. Revival of the Nine Symbol is an act of decoding the message of the pre-patriarchal ancestors, Old Ceto-Magoists. Below is the summary of my presentation:
We moderns have forgotten the Nine. The ancient world across cultures bequeathed the legacy of Nine Sisters, Nine Mothers, Nine Mountains, Nine Villages, Nine Worlds, Navratri, and Novena, to name a few. Nine signifies Matriversal Soteriology; The Matriverse (Maternally Perceived Universe) is a sono-numerological organism of LIFE, represented by Mago, the Creatrix. Salvation lies in knowing and honoring the nine-fold sonic force of the Matriverse, the Cosmic Music. Nine conveys the consanguineous matriversal ontology of ALL. ALL are on the homecoming journey (causal becoming) to the Cosmic Mother by way of the birthing, evolving, and transforming force of the Cosmic Music. The Cosmic Music for which I coined “Sonic Numerology,” a ceaseless interplay of sonically charged nine numbers, summons the Reality of WE/HERE/NOW. Nine numbers (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9) represent all that have forms. The ninth number is a mother number, the Creatrix, which interweaves the other eight daughter numbers manifest as myriad forms.
The topic of the Nine requires another space to discuss due to its complexity. Suffice it to say that commemorating the Nine helps us remember the beginning. Actually, the very writing of these essays demonstrates how it works. It makes me revisit our beginning efforts of the GFAS Movement. I am reminded of freshness and brought out when we began. I am corrected and guided by re-membering the beginning. Remembering the beginning brings me back to the track of the course. I am humbled to realize that the Movement of GFAS was the vision for ALL. Remembering the beginning is important in that it applies to our remembrance of the Creatrix, the beginning of ALL in the Matriverse. As we contributors of the trilogy remember the beginning of the GFAS, we moderns need to remember the Creatrix. That is how we in the GFAS Movement enter the matriversal (maternally perceived universe) consciousness collectively. To cultivate the matriversal consciousness, it is important to remember the beginning. The spiral journey patterned by nine numbers guides us.
The symbolic language of the Nine originates from pre-patriarchal Ceto-Magoism (the Cetacean-caused Way of the Creatrix). Magoism is short for Ceto-Magoism. The discovery that the matriarchal whale veneration in pre-patriarchal times enabled matriversal civilization, which we moderns inherited is my contribution to the world. I have just begun to address Ceto-Magoist Soteriology this year. There are important premises to be laid out before fully introducing Ceto-Magoism. Foremost, Ceto-Magoism rescues the original triad divine from the force of patriarchal magna-matricide (killing of the Creatrix), to be discussed in the sequel. Understanding the Magoist Cosmogony unlocks the pre-patriarchal symbology of the Nine. The Cosmic Music, the metamorphic force of the Matriverse, refers to the Nine-toned Music, a ceaseless interplay of sonically charged nine numbers. ALL in the Matriverse, shaped by the Cosmic Music, which I call Sonic Numerology, sets out the mind in the open-ended reality of WE/HERE/NOW.
The first salon triggered something deeply stored in our collective psyche. Participants addressed the wish to continue in the second salon. We are currently planning the second salon on October 26, (Salon #2) 9th Anniversary of She Rises Trilogy: Goddess Feminist Activist Spirituality. New presenters came forth. Our voices are emboldened. I am inviting you who read this essay to the upcoming salon. I am ready to deliver the next portion of Ceto-Magoist revelation. I have figured out the ultimate message that I want to bring to the world. It is entitled, “Goddess Feminist Activist Spirituality as Pre-patriarchally Originated Ceto-Magoist Soteriology.” I feel I have finally articulated what I wanted and intended to for the last 24 years! I wrote the following summary:
What if we, Goddess feminist activist spiritual practitioners in the 21st century, are the scion of pre-patriarchally originated tradition of Ceto-Magoism (the Cetacean-caused Way of the Creatrix) taught by Goma, the Shaman Queen of Old Korea in the fourth millennium BCE? That is, we in modern times are not isolated from our pre-patriarchal cetacean-devotee ancestors in our advocacy. To recognize this bond requires an understanding of Ceto-Magoism and Goma, the Ceto-Magoist progenitor. Ceto-Magoism is not my invention but an entity with mytho-historical-cultural roots. Originating in the pre-patriarchal past, it refers to the consciousness of the Cosmic Mother (thealogy) for the purpose of maintaining peace and prosperity on the planet. Ceto-Magoism is teleological. It was invented and advocated by Goma whose vision was to deliver humanity from the forthcoming disaster of patriarchy. Foreseeing the arrival of patriarchal usurpation one and millennia years in advance, she implanted matriversal soteriology in human lives once and for all. Prompted by her cetological discoveries, she carved out the matriversal civilization to remind forthcoming generations of Great Unity of ALL in the Cosmic Mother. Goma’s discovery of the planetary aqua-sono-atmospheric influence maintained by whales marked a watershed in human history. Whales, appearing 45 million years prior to the arrival of humans, cultivated the terrestrial environment for earthlings to thrive by generating and regulating the sonic resonance of the planet in harmony with the Cosmic Music, the metamorphic force of the Matriverse. Goma’s teaching aimed to awaken innate human intellectuality to recognize the Common Origin of ALL from Mago, the Creatrix. The veneration of whales took on the symbol of a dragon representing the grace of divine cetaceans, if not demonized as a sea monster. Goma’s teaching of Magoism was indelible in that it is inscribed in the very civilization that she raised. She chiseled socio-politico-cultural institutions in the way that reflects the Cosmic Music, the interplay of sonically charged nine numbers. That Goma, the greatest deity born of a woman, manifests in myriad names and forms across cultures remains to be discussed. We, Goddess feminists, activists, and spiritual practitioners, are the sign of Goma’s Ceto-Magoist soteriology.
As shown above, I have finally unraveled the layers of Magoism. Magoism is short for Ceto-Magoism or Magoist Cetaceanism. I have newly (re-)invented such terms as matriverse (maternally perceived universe), soteriology, Ceto-Magoism, and S/HE Divine Studies or Creatrix Studies after the previous ones, the Magoist Cosmogony, the Cosmic Music (Sonic Numerology), and Magoism. The plot of patriarchal magna-matricide is about to debunk. We are going to rescue the original trinity: the Creatrix (Mago), the Terrestrial Divine (Whales), and the Human Divine (Goma)! I feel my tongue is finally freed. The evolution process of Goddess feminist activist spirituality is still well underway. Again, we do not know how the encounter of Goddess feminist activist spirituality and Ceto-Magoism will fare. The spotlight is shed, and the clock is ticking.
I am going to close this essay with my latest summary of the Magoist Cosmogony:
We humans, like all other beings in the Matriverse, are the embodiment of sonic resonances to the Cosmic Music, the metamorphic force of the Matriverse. We are the eight scions of the Ninth Mother Song, the Source of ALL, originated in the Northern Center of the Matriverse. We are born to aid the terrestrial song composed by whales in tune with the Cosmic Music (Sonic Numerology), the constant interplay of sonically charged nine numbers (frequencies). Ultimately, we are the biochemical harps that play by the wind and the word.
(To be continued)