September 22, 2013November 15, 2019 Mago Work AdminLeave a comment

(Seasonal essay) Spring Equinox Southern Hemisphere September 2013 by Glenys Livingstone Ph.D.

As the new young light continues to grow after the transition of Early Spring/Imbolc, it comes into balance with the dark, at the Seasonal Moment of Spring Equinox or Eostar Read More …

August 30, 2013November 15, 2019 Mago Work Admin1 Comment

(Essay 2) The Terms ‘Feminine’ and ‘Masculine’ by Glenys Livingstone

This essay is the second part of an evolved version of an excerpt from Chapter 2 of her book PaGaian Cosmology: Re-inventing Earth-based Goddess Religion. In the first part of Read More …

July 29, 2013December 30, 2019 Mago Work Admin3 Comments

(Essay 1) The Terms ”Feminine” and “Masculine” by Glenys Livingstone Ph.D.

This essay is an edited version of an excerpt from Chapter 2 of the author’s book PaGaian Cosmology: Re-inventing Earth-based Goddess Religion. It is popular for writers in the Read More …

June 24, 2013November 15, 2019 Mago Work AdminLeave a comment

(Video) PaGaian Winter Solstice by Glenys Livingstone

At Her PaGaian MoonCourt, Bru-na-BigTree, Blue Mountains, NSW Australia. The Poetry is largely from the book “PaGaian Cosmology” available on-line at http://pagaiancosmology.com/. I acknowledge the work and inspiration of Starhawk, Thomas Read More …

June 2, 2013March 30, 2023 Mago Work Admin3 Comments

(Meet Mago Contributor) Glenys Livingstone

Glenys Livingstone, Ph.D. (Australia) Glenys Livingstone Ph.D. (Social Ecology) has been on a Goddess path since 1979: her path has included diverse spiritualities and a scientific perspective, inner work as Read More …

May 31, 2013November 15, 2019 Mago Work AdminLeave a comment

(Essay 2) The Body – Essential or Not? by Glenys Livingstone Ph.D.

This essay is the second part of an evolved version of an excerpt from Chapter 2 of her book PaGaian Cosmology: Re-inventing Earth-based Goddess Religion. Often the work of woman-centred Read More …

May 20, 2013November 15, 2019 Mago Work Admin5 Comments

(Essay 1) The Body – Essential or Not? by Glenys Livingstone Ph.D.

This essay is an evolved version of an excerpt from Chapter 2 of her book PaGaian Cosmology: Re-inventing Earth-based Goddess Religion. All knowledge is an experience of body – what Read More …

March 20, 2013November 15, 2019 Mago Work Admin8 Comments

(Essay) The Equinoxes as Story of Redemption: Sacred Balance of Maternal Creativity by Glenys Livingstone Ph.D.

At 11:02 UT March 20th it will be Autumn and Spring Equinox at the same time on the Planet – the Seasonal Moments of balance of light and dark that Read More …

February 6, 2013November 15, 2019 Mago WorkLeave a comment

(Poem) Precious Body Unknown by Glenys Livingstone

Precious Body I gave you away (we gave you away) Cast you before swine. ooo Precious Pearl, the Self … Embodied I delivered you to the pyre (we were delivered, Read More …

October 22, 2012November 15, 2019 Mago WorkLeave a comment

‘En-trancing Gaia’s Womb through Seasonal Ceremony: Re-creating Her Sacred Site’ by Glenys Livingstone Ph.D.

In the earliest of Her stories, Gaia – also known as “Ge”, meaning Earth – was the possessor of the oracle in Delphi, the place at the foot of Mount Read More …

(Essay 2) The Piggly Wiggly and the Black Madonna by Mary Saracino

[This is Part 2. Read Part 1 here.] To further stoke the fires of my Catholic ambivalence, ten years after my mother left him, my father petitioned the Archbishop to annul their twenty-three year marriage. He had fallen in love with a widow named Rose and wanted their marriage blessed by the Church, an act that would have been forbidden to him as a divorced man. With enough witnesses and enough cash, my father was able to reverse the effects of the Holy Sacrament of Marriage, into which he had entered with my mother, and erase the Church’s long-term memory. In the process, he relegated to illegitimacy, the souls of the six children he had sired with my mother. In the eyes of Mother Church, my brothers and sister and I became bastard-children. In a strange twist of canonical logic, the daughter of my mother and her priest boyfriend had become the only legitimate offspring in my family. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why my father has felt compelled to say Novenas for his sons and daughters, as if his nine-day devotions in our honor will placate his Catholic God, seduce Him into forgiving us our dubious birthright and accept us into the Kingdom of Heaven.
(Hymm) Adorations to Goddess Durga by Swami Pujananda Saraswati

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

[Editor’s Note: This piece was presented during the first and inaugural S/HE Divine Studies Forum held on September 7th, 2024.] Photo by Luna Anna I was going to read the piece that I contributed to the wonderful groundbreaking book we’ve been speaking about here: Wounded Feminine: Grieving with Goddess, but I do take my cues from Divine Mother, and when we were on a comfort break she just dropped in something that she wanted me to speak of, so I haven’t actually prepared it, and I’m just going to kind of wing it and hope that She’s brought it up for a good reason! She drew my attention to the word blockage. And I love the word matriversial, by the way. But she drew my attention to the word blockage, and I noticed that it is made up of two words “Block” and “Age”. Block can be a shape, or it can be an obstruction. And age can be time. It can mean things like dying/aging, time, or it can relate to a phase. And I was then thinking about what a blockage is. And, you know, if we have a blockage in the body, we’re sick. So, you know, our ears are blocked. Our nose is blocked. Arteries or urinary tract retract are blocked. We know that that’s a sickness, and it’s the body’s way of getting our attention and a shout and a cry for help. And it’s asking for healing to come back to wholeness. And likewise, if we have a blockage in our home, so if the drains are blocked or maybe the WiFi signal is down so it’s blocked, we know that gets our attention and it’s asking for something to be done about it. Now, when I go back and think about the times when I’ve been really entrenched in grief and I’ve had really deeply grieving periods of my life, grief almost killed me. And I know that we don’t talk about that a lot, but grief does kill people. I’ve had an awful lot of people I love die by suicide. And they died because grief was just overwhelming for them. So they were drowning in the seas that Clare mentioned. They were drowning in it. They were overwhelmed by grief and that is when it turns into despair. And if despair isn’t dealt with it can lead to people dying by suicide. Suicide is featured in my own life. I’ve attempted to take my own life in the past, and I have been under, Crisis Teams that we have here in the U.K. who look after people who are considered to be a high risk of suicide. In the past, I have been under them for a number of years. So it’ s something that’s really been prominent in my life when I have been in this deep phase of grieving. What’s happened for me is it’s been a catalyst, and I have befriended my own heart because there was no choice. It was literally die or do it. And it was through befriending my own heart that I found the Goddess. That was where she lives within me. That’s where I found Her that healed me. Held me, supported me. It was Her who got me through. And this is not something like, you know, when I was 19 years old, for example. I had my first pack of Goddess Oracle cards. And I pray to the Goddess. I write about the Goddess. I talk about the Goddess. I have altars for the Goddess. This is a very deep embodied somatic experience of Goddess being alive and in my cells and being one with Her. So when I think about the world as a whole, and what we can see in the world at the moment is a deep sickness. You know, we’ve got genocide, the most horrific genocide imaginable. We’ve got rape, abuse, murder. Indeed, suicide is skyrocketing – the rates for suicide right up. So when we think about that it’s the cry for help. That is the blockage. And that is the cry for help. Just the same as we have the sickness in the body that might cry for help or a problem in the home with a blockage that’s asking for attention. That is a call to action for everybody. And on top of sacred activism, which I know everybody here knows the importance of – there is an action that every single person can do, and that is to love their own heart. If every single person in the world stopped right now in this moment altogether all at once and they all befriended their heart, patriarchy would die and it would not come back to life, because that’s where the Goddess lives. We all know that love is the creator of all and we know that Goddess is the creator of all. And there’s no separation – She is the love in our heart, and She’s the one that can solve all of this. But people have to reach the point; they have to be at the “age” that they notice the blockage and then it will become unblocked for all. https://www.magoism.net/2023/11/meet-mago-contributor-luna-anna/
A Bun in the Oven: Divine Trinity of Bread, Consciousness and Rebellion by Claire Dorey

Art by Claire Dorey Follows Understanding Tanit through Felt Experience, Visualising the Energy in Hathor’s Temple and Girls On Top (click to read). Flour is engrained in the creases of her hands. Wood smoke rises from the brick oven as she works the sour dough into ‘solar discs’ the same way her mother did. ‘Al-Shamsi’ / ‘solar bread’ baking is loaded with symbolism. ‘Shamsi’ means ‘sun’ – the dough rises in the sunshine. In Egyptian wood fired bread they twist three ‘handles’ into the dough and in ‘solarbread .. an ancient pharaonic heritage’ the number II and a circle, which could be vestiges of ancient symbols for ‘belonging to’ and ‘Ra’, are inscribed into the batter, possibly alluding to the holy bread of Ra. Joining the ‘handles’ forms a triangle across the bun circle which, in sacred geometry, represents divine Phi proportion, the mathematics of nature – the cryptogram of three-ness so many cultures enshrine into their mythology, including ancient Egypt: Osiris, Isis, Horus; Blue Nile, White Nile, Atbara; the three cosmic realms, Duat, Nun, Nut Intending to wrap up my search for meaning in triangular symbolism that seems so bound to rising female power, I spot a poetic sequence of hieroglyphs: Ankh – Conical Loaf – Hoe: ‘breath of life’ – ‘to give’ – ‘ love’, etched into the wall of Hathor’s shrine at the Mortuary Temple of Queen Hatshepsut. The symbol for ‘Conical Loaf’, a pot baked bread, is a small triangle within an elongated triangle (Gardiner X8). I’d followed the energy from Tanit’s cave Ibiza to Hathor’s temple Egypt, then up to Nut on the Hypostyle ceiling. I’m trusting this energy will let me go when it’s ready. It asks the observer to sit quietly with the symbols until meaning reveals itself. It’s dawning on me Hathor’s message is of ancient universal truths that astrophysics, astronomy and quantum explore. The ‘trinitisation’ of consciousness is encoded into the images there. “Study the science of art; Study the art of science. Learn how to see. Realise that everything connects to everything else.” – Leonardo da Vinci. Creativity and spirituality intertwine so can Hathor secrets decode bread symbolism and how is this relevant today? If traditional Egyptian bread baking is rooted in ancient practices it’s logical to assume, in the time of the Pharaohs, the solar bread, as Ra, embarked on a journey of returns, through the body of sky Goddess Nut, who swallows sun-Ra at night and births him each morning. Back then, eating the bread was to consume the sun-Ra, the vibration of the ‘mother baker’ and the omnipotent Mother Goddess. Hands bake divine wisdom into bread – female power rises and nourishes from within. It takes a village, both women and men, to feed a nation yet the pictogram for ‘bread’, a closed semi circle (Gardiner X1), is used as a determiner for feminine words, possibly comparing pregnancy to proofing with yeast; honouring female wisdom as a politically stabilising force; or in honour of bread Goddess Isis. As capitalist patriarchy and sky god religions rose bread baking was monetised. Even in ancient Egypt co-operative ovens became commercial enterprises because there was profit in baking, yet bread’s divine status still spoke in the temples. Monotheistic society rejected female spiritual power, viewing ‘women’s work’ as menial. Bread became ‘a gift from God’ and ‘the body of Christ’. When Jesus fed bread to the people it symbolised sharing, however the roots of sharing bread are etched in stone on temple walls, as the pictogram ‘Conical Loaf’ meaning ‘to give’ shows us. “Isis [ ] gives us the bread of earthly life; [ ] the Divine Baker Who makes the magical bread that gives us eternal life. [ ] Who feeds our bodies and souls.” – The Divine Bread of Isis, Isidora, Isiopolis. Isis is the Goddess of bread and direct speech and direct action – in ancient Egyptian texts no deity speaks more. Isis was vocal. Her husband Osiris was ‘Lord of Silence’ – the patriarch stole Her voice and Her bread when they conflated Her with Mary. An activator Goddess, associated with the passionate rose, it is Isis who gives women a voice. “bread for all, and roses too” – Helen Todd, American women’s suffrage activist. “Bread, more bread, and not so many words.” – Paris women heckling the National Assembly. “bread or blood” – women chant at the Richmond Bread Riots,1863. In 18C France food shortages led to the Bread Riots, the Flour Wars and the French Revolution. In 1977 Egypt stopped subsidising wheat sparking the Bread Riots. In Egyptian, ‘bread’ is ‘aish’ meaning ‘life’. Another pictogram for ‘give’ is a ‘hand offering a loaf’ (Gardiner D) – a wise gesture considering bread shortages spark riots. “Every society is three meals away from chaos.” – Lenin. The wings of Isis fan mass consciousness like the aroma of freshly baked bread wafting in the breeze. Love, harmony, nurture, protection, self-expression and rising into healing are powerful energies. The spirit of all the ancient Goddesses is within us all. Let it uncoil and rise like a serpent, breathing life and love into the causes important to us. Goddess wants us to be free, intellectually, spiritually, creatively and physically. Boudicca rising up in rebellion is a portrait of awakening female power. To align with resistance is to move into a surreal space. Ancient Egypt honoured this power, weaving it into the fabric of mythology: Hathor rampages as the Eye of Ra and Sekhmet had the potential to destroy humanity. Eventually conflated with Isis and as the personification of Sirius, the Goddess Sopdet, is the ’Triangle’ or ‘Sharp One’. The ‘Sopdet Triangle’ is similar to ‘Conical Loaf’ without the inner triangle. If there was ever confirmation of the triangle symbolising rising female power it is right there in Sopdet (echoes of Tanit’s symbol?). Perhaps the elongated ‘Conical Loaf’ pictogram, a triangle within a triangle, life within a womb, body as bread, yeast within dough, bread in a pot, love within cooking, rises up to Sirius. There’s more! One ceiling …
(Call for Contributions) Gathering Threads to Weave into the Ever-evolving Mago Tapestry

What’s your life story? What’s your passion? What are you exploring? experiencing? ruminating on? bringing to consciousness? Send us your unique thread to weave into the Return to Mago E-Magazine, a visible manifestation of the never-ending Mago tapestry. It might be prose, a poem, art, video, music, a combination of any of these, or something we’ve never thought of. Contributed to RTM before? We’d love to hear from you again! Not yet contributed to RTM? Our experienced and enthusiastic RTM team will be delighted to chat with you. We gladly consider all submissions. See Basic Guidelines for submission here.
(Essay 2) How Mother Nature Died: The bio-cosmic rupture of European Renaissance by Luciana Percovich

[This essay was presented at Roma Goddess Conference, May 22-23, 2021, under the theme of “Goddess & Environment – Save Mother Earth.”] The Lady with the Horn It is worthwhile to dwell on one bas-relief in particular, the Lady of the Horn of Laussel. We can consider this bas-relief coming from France and dated around 25,000 BCE as an exemplary summa of Paleolithic wisdom. The representation of a mature female body reflects and guarantees the generating and ordering intelligence present in nature and in the cosmos. Her right arm holds high a horn with thirteen notches: thirteen are the lunar cycles or months necessary to return to the conditions of the first observation. This horn can therefore be considered the first example of a lunar calendar, the lunar year made up of 13 moons (historically the lunar calendar precedes the later invention of the solar calendar). Her left hand is resting on her belly, indicating “as high as below”, that is “menstruation” is attuned with the lunar “month” of about 28 days. The Lady of Laussel, carved on the vault leading to the sanctuary cave whose walls are carved with other symbolic representations, shows a completely abstract form of thinking, which is contemporarily “scientific” knowledge, a piece of “art” and a sacred image. Standing on the edge of worlds, on the threshold of a cave/womb, her figure suggests a ceremonial place connected with life and death: coming to the light/returning to the darkness of Mother Earth. A Guardian of the Threshold, in all the numinous sacredness of an aged female body. An all-encompassing Mother/Crone who will be called for millennia Mother Nature, surrounded by an aura that welcomes, nourishes, and guarantees the return of light/life. From Paleolithic to Neolithic and Historical ages The transition between Paleolithic and Neolithic times occurred without major breaks in the bio-cosmic vision of our Ancestors, and with progressive adjustments in the symbolic representations mainly induced by the domestication of plants and animals. The most relevant consequences were the transition to an increasingly widespread sedentary lifestyle, the development of technologies related to plant growth and animal breeding, weaving, and the application of fire to a new technology that from cooking foods extends to the invention of terracotta, “from the Raw to the Cooked”. The lunar year was now clearly marked by the “seasonal rhythm” of life whose continuation, material and abstract, was synthetized in historical times as the Seed. The following three images come from the city of Catal Huyuk (Anatolia), which is the most documented center of a flowering Neolithic civilization that took shape over almost 5000 years of successive stratifications. They represent the Fisherwomen, Symbols of Life and Death, the Seasons. In the protohistoric and historical ages, the evolution of the image linking the female body with Nature or natural elements takes many forms: one of the most known is Lilith / Inanna / Ereshkigal in Sumer/Babylon (2000 – 1800 BCE) still representing contiguity / fluidity of realms, and the many forms of the Potnia Theron/Lady of the Beasts and/or Plants in the Mediterranean Basin. In Egypt and Crete, the vegetal world is richly depicted. First Ruptures The shift that happened in Classical Greek culture is crucial and can be represented through the distance of two icons measuring the gap between old and new cosmo-visions. The first, a historiated pebble (dated at the end of Paleolithic era between 14000 and 10000), proposing the fluidity of the borders between human and natural in the figure of the animal-headed Shaman of Tolentino (Marche, Italy). The second, a painting on a Greek vase of the Classical Period, sanctioning the forced end of a long phase in the history of humankind through Zeus, a male king god who – from then on – freezes and blocks with his lightning bolt of celestial fire the “hybrid” male-animal manifestation. The centrality of the multiform vitality of zoé is banished: either man or beast. The binary oppositional thinking that supports the patriarchal vision takes shape. The Olympic culture, the Greek philosophy inaugurate the clear separation of “Civilization” from Female Nature. The Goddess will continue to be represented and invoked, but takes the form of a Roman matron, a mother in a domesticated nature, who for a while will share her benign but limited power by sitting on the throne with her consort or children. (To be continued) https://www.magoism.net/2013/10/meet-mago-contributor-luciana-percovich/
(Bell Essay 5) The Ancient Korean Bell and Magoism by Helen Hwang

Part V: The Nine Nipples and Korean Magoist Identity Part V demonstrates the difference in bells of Korea, China, and Japan with regard to the relief of nine nipples. Chinese bells after the Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE) got away with the nipples wholesale, whereas Japanese bells inaccurately mimicked nine nipples. On the other hand, the nine nipples continued to be sculpted on Sillan Korean bells and throughout history. In fact, the nine nipples became the hallmark of Korean bells. Why did post-Han China discontinue the nine nipples, a legacy from Shang and Zhou times? What made Japan mimic the nipples on the bell? What does it mean that Korean bells kept the nine nipples intact throughout history? These questions remain unanswered without the framework of the mytho-history of Old Magoism that defines ancient Korea as the creator and defender of Magoism in pre- and proto-Chinese times. The fact that bells with the nine nipples re-emerged during 7th-8th century Silla (57 BCE-935 CE) is no accident. In fact, it supports the premise that Old Magoism during which Magoist female shamans ruled was revived by Sillan leaders. Silla Koreans took the role of witness to the legacy of Old Magoism before it vanished into the subliminal memory of history once and for all. Like other symbols of the number nine such as the nine dragons, nine-tailed fox, and nine maidens that I have shown in a series of preceding essays, the nine nipples are the cultural/conceptual relic from the bygone Magoist history underlying Sinocentric historiography of East Asia. On one level, the relief of nipples forged on the bells from Korea, China, and Japan in one way or another at some point of history substantiates the cultural influence of Old Magoism across the national boundaries of East Asia. On another level, the fact that the nine nipples characterize Korean bells throughout history suggests the primary association of ancient Koreans with Magoism. Korean bells have served the mission of carrying the cultural memory of Old Magoism. Let us backtrack a bit and ask: Is it possible to conclude that the Zhou bell was the original model of the Sillan bell? It is dubious to deem that the Sillan bell took the model of the Zhou bell solely. That is primarily because the Sillan bell is far more explicit than the Zhou bell in female symbology. The Zhou bell’s nipples are not even called nipples. Foremost, official history of ancient China has no explanation for the female principle embodied in the nine nipples of Zhou and Shang bells. It appears that the Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE) was the landmark that defined China without regard to its attitude toward Old Magoism. The umbilical cord was not only cut off but also used to matricide, marking the birth of full-fledged patriarchy. The bloody hand was washed in falsified historiography. The Han dynasty marks the period of transition from the pseudo-Magoist to the anti-Magoist for China. In other words, China as a political force began, or rather continued, to abandon the legacy of Old Magoism and forged a new identity of patriarchal rulership in writing. In about four centuries thereafter, we find the bells of the Dang dynasty (618-906) utterly non-traditional in style, showing no sign of female symbology. Bell, Chen Dynasty (575), China Jingyun Bell, Tang Dynasty (711), China Protruded knobs are expressed in Jingyun bell cast in 711 CE but hard to associate them with nipples. The number nine symbology is no longer included. Instead, the magnitude in size and weight (247 cm and 6,500 kg) was there to adumbrate what has gone into oblivion, the magical work of epiphany. Discontinuity between Zhou bells and Dang bells cannot be more overt. As seen in above images, Chinese bells of the post-Dang period are adorned in entirely new styles among which the convoluted end-lines are one of the most distinctive features. Creativity without harmony is no ingenuity but an expression of confusion. Power without harmony is only a disguise of fear and guilt. And harmony comes from the Great Goddess, Mago. The contrast of the Dang bell is heightened when it is juxtaposed with the contemporaneous Sillan counterpart. It is unequivocal that the Sillan Korean bell is closer to the Zhou bell in appearance than the Dang bell to the Zhou bell. Experts may deem this as a corollary that ancient Silla was under the influence of Zhou culture. However, I suggest that both Silla and Zhou took the footstep of the pre-Chinese tradition of Old Magoism. Put differently, there were older models that are not fully exposed at this time. Precisely, Sinocentric thinking is under investigation. On the part of proto-Chinese Korean history, according to mainstream historians, Joseon (2333 BCE-232 BCE) is rendered a myth lacking historicity. Silla not only duly inherited the heritage of Old Magoism but also sought to revive the rule of Old Magoism whose political stance strikingly differed from her contemporaneous neighboring state, Dang China. In fact, the Dang dynasty (618 CE-906 CE) coexisted with the united Silla period (668 CE-936 CE), shorter than the last third of the Silla period (57 BCE-935 CE). What prevents one from thinking that Silla inherited the symbolism of nine nipples directly from pre-Chinese East Asian/Korean Magoist Culture? Interestingly, Japanese bells have nipples whose numbers are, nonetheless, inconsistent, more than nine. While showing no overt symbology of female sexuality, the Japanese bell displays the nipples in the four corners aligning with its predecessors. In comparison with Korean bells, nonetheless, they are evidently monotonous in artistry. Absent are the breast circumferences as well as the seats for nipples. Neither goddess images nor intricately designed rinceau designs are employed. However, a hue of mimicry is echoing. The lack of originality in Japanese bells seemed plainly noticed by the Japanese themselves upon encountering Korean bells. More than fifty Korean bells were taken to Japan during the colonial period (1910-1945) and even before then and still remain there. Among them, six bells are known from Silla, cast before the 10th century CE. In fact, the bell in Unjuji, Japan, is alleged …
(Essay 2) The Blending of Bön, Buddhism and the Goddess Gemu in Mosuo Culture by Krista Rodin

[Editor’s Note: This series is included as a chapter in Goddesses in Culture, History and Myth .] Legends of the Goddess View of Dragon Mt. and Lugu Lake from Goddess Gemu’s Cave, photo K. Rodin The Naxi and the Mosuo may have originated from the same group in the distant past as they have similar funerary rites in which the soul of the deceased is guided back to the spiritual home of the ancestors. According to Knödel, during the ceremony a Daba practitioner or Dongba priest lists the places the soul is to travel. The journey begins at the place where the person resided during life and ends where the clan’s ancestors reside in the afterlife.[1] The ancestors live in physical places in the region; for the Mosuo in Yongning on Lugu Lake it is on the south side of Mt. Chha-na-dorje. The Lijiang Naxi, on the other hand, land on the holy mountain Junarulo. Both Naxi and Mosuo identify themselves by clan, i.e., siri, which is like a lineage. According to Knödel, for the Mosuo the siri comprises the children of a particular mother. The children stay within the mother’s household; traditionally, the Mosuo did not marry, but instead had ahzu (often spelled ‘ahxia’) relationships, mutually agreed upon bonds between a couple that could be stopped at any time on the wishes of either party. As there is neither a financial nor social obligation to either partner, the Mosuo tend not to have acrimonious split-ups. The men visit the women at night, but leave before daybreak returning to their mother’s households where, as uncles, they help raise the children. Some of the current tourist information about the region cites Rock’s mistaken statement that the Mosuo do not know who their fathers are. While this is not accurate, it is true that fathers are not responsible for taking care of their offspring; instead they have the obligation to help take care of their nieces and nephews. The practice of matrilineal uncles being the leading male figures in the clan is not unique to the Mosuo, but is found in a number of other southern Tibetan and Northern Nepali cultures, including the Tamang, who share a number of other similar shamanic traditions with the Mosuo, although not the ahzu relationships. Chinese exploitation of these traditions with the intent to increase regional tourism has led to the misunderstanding that the Mosuo believe in “free love” with rotating partners every night, when in fact nothing could be further from the truth. Ahzu relationships, or ‘walking marriages’ are often for a lifetime. The concept of Mosuo “walking marriage” goes back to the Goddess Gemu in their creation stories, of which there are many. One of the most common is that Gemu was the most beautiful girl in the known world. She fell in love with Hu Zhau, a dragon and he with her. This was a forbidden love as dragons belong in heaven and people on earth. Nonetheless, the two lovers arranged to meet at night; Hu Zhau would go to Gemu’s house after dark where they would then spend the night together. Hu Zhau always had to leave before daybreak so no one would know about their relationship. One night, he fell into a deep sleep and didn’t wake up in time. Heavenly King found out and decided to punish him by turning him into a mountain. Gemu was so upset that she cried and cried and cried; over seven days and nights her tears created Lake Lugu, which took the shape of a broken heart. Heavenly King then turned her into a mountain as well, where she rules from a cave. Today the mountain lovers still meet crossing the waters after dark. Gemu is the female mountain, which is also called the Lion Mountain as it looks like a lion lying on its side; it is on the left of the Dragon Mountain, which is a reversal of typical traditional Chinese gender role placement. The Goddess resides within a large cave from where she judges people after death and sends those who haven’t been good down the dark unending hole of Hell, while those who were good ascend to Heaven. There are many versions of her story. In some she was at one time a young human girl whom the god of the sky wanted for himself. In others, she is a sky god from the beginning. In either case, she was unhappy in the sky and fell into a forbidden love, which led to an ahzu relationship. A different version recounted by a young Yongning townswoman, Sadama, is that Gemu was a very beautiful girl who all the boys and men wanted to marry, but she wasn’t interested in any of them. She was renown for her winemaking skills, so she said that whoever came and drank her wine and didn’t get drunk was the one she would marry. Her wine was so good, though, that everyone did imbibe too much. Then one day when she was at a festival she saw a young handsome archer, Hulung. The two immediately fell in love. The sky god interfered forbidding their marriage as he wanted Gemu for himself, wine is after all the drink of the gods. Hulung warned Gemu to run away and save herself, but she wanted to stay with him no matter what happened. He threw a special necklace his mother had given him for protection to Gemu, but she wasn’t able to catch it. The great god in his jealous anger turned both of them into mountains; they could see each other but never touch. For the Mosuo the idea of “walking marriages” extends even to the heavens. It is said that the moon is the ahzu of the sun, although he visits her only once a month. Venus is considered the azhu of Polaris, although he visits her only once a year.[2] [1] Knödel, 214-215. [2] Chuan-kang Shih, “Mortuary Rituals and Symbols among the Moso,” Naxi and Moso Ethnography: Kin, …
(Prose) Dark Matrix, Dark Matter, Dark Mother by Rhyannan

THE DARK MOTHER The Dark Mother ‘face’ of the Goddess has probably existed since the beginnings of self-reflective awareness. In fact, it is likely that so-called ‘primitive’ concepts of both the Bright and Dark Mother precede any distinct concept of a Goddess as deity — recognized only as an all-pervading ‘Presence’, most commonly referred to as ‘the Great Mother’.

(Special post) Interweaving Mago Threads by Mago Circle Members

“Mago” tradition Magoism is a new word to the modern Western vocabulary, yet it has its linguistic roots in many parts of the globe and in an ancient knowledge and know-how almost lost. Dr Helen Hwang determinedly and methodically is excavating the little-understood historical Mother-Goddess knowledge of Korea, and its traditions, the Mago, and Magoism, and in doing so is unlocking another previously invisible door, and replacing another ripped-off corner of the global map of significant, almost-lost tradition and forgotten knowledge. This is a most welcomed prospect. The newness of this discovery for those who learn of it fills them with excitement because every step to remember the ancient ways, particularly the lost Goddess ways, and those ways that hint of Source, are crucial to humanity remembering itself. Moderns have become accustomed to modes of mind that strip the soul and psyche of finer attunement to earth, sea, stars and each other. This renders most adrift on a sea of seeming limitless freedoms, to be picked up by any technological hook that would substitute for inner knowing. The map becomes the new computer wiring, insurance policy or bank regulation to follow. But once we scrape from our psyches the encrustation of mind most moderns have settled with (which calcifies the innate senses and finer antennae of knowing, emboldening technologically driven modes of mind and being to take their place), then we are on our way to a vivifying recollection. Here is an earlier presentation of the “mago” root word in “imago” or image. Not coincidentally, perhaps, it is connected to maps. (Mary Ann Ghaffurian, culled from Through a Darkened Door—Light, Part 2 by Mary Ann Ghaffurian PhD [http://magoism.wordpress.com/2012/11/26/through-a-darkened-door-light-part-2-by-mary-ann-ghaffurian-phd/]) A very special online, global group Dearest X, …Which brings to mind the “other” reason why I wanted to write to you … Other than just saying “hello” and letting you know that you are very much missed, I also wanted to share with you about a very special online, global group that I have had the honor of being a part of. This group is called Mago Circle and it was founded by my dear friend, “sister” and colleague, Helen Hwang. Helen’s work and commitment to restoring Mago, Ancestral Mother Goddess, to her rightful place as progenitor and creatrix of the Korean people, has not only been admirable but truly critical during a time when we are in real need for inspiration from thought leaders and scholars with a solid foundation in the arts and research of the sacred feminine. As you know, with the roots of Korean shamanism in the realm of women, it makes perfect sense that Korean spirituality must also have sprung within the womb of Woman … the great cosmic goddess, Mago. While Helen’s work is very much grounded in meticulous research — showcasing Korea to the rest of the world in all of Her depth, herstory, and vibrance — it is more importantly, founded in genuine intentions of love, transparency, and humility. I know that Helen can explain the depth, breadth, and height of her work much better than me so I think it will be better to have her directly share more of herself with you; what I simply hope to do through this letter is perhaps help serve as a familiar hand …. reaching out to you and letting you know that your presence and blessings as a well-regarded and much-admired Korean female shaman and scholar would be much appreciated in Mago Circle. Do you remember, X, … you once told me … about 20 years ago: “Sanity is insanity with a focus.” These words I still remember and hold true … they have helped me through times that were truly dismal and chaotic in my life, and with this reassuring and transformational way of looking at myself, looking at my life, looking at the world, I have made it through. My life continues to have its share of insanity, but I know that with focus, all sanity is restored. I know that my letter to you today may feel unexpected and random (especially after not having seen each other for so, so long), but as you know, somehow, life brings us through twists and turns that may seem awkward and strange at first, but upon retrospect, all makes complete sense. In closing, may I have the honor and pleasure of introducing Helen Hwang and the Mago Circle to you … I realize that you must be very busy, but it is my sincere hope that you will find a little time to acquaint yourself with Helen and this wonderful group of women (and men) who are very much dedicated to restoring the balance and peace of Korea and the world via Mago and her goddess sisters of many names… (Wennifer Lin, culled from her letter to her old friend) I share your call for staying connected with each other at a time of cultural and religious tensions. I too believe that all tensions arise from a patriarchal system of hegemony or domination. In the absence of patriarchal hegemony, there would be little or no tension among human beings. The belief in the Mother Goddess would remove the necessity for aggression and hence domination of other human beings or animals. In the eyes of the Mother, every living being is her creature. Hence love, kindness, nurturing and all that is beautiful would prevail everywhere. Am I sounding too idealistic or am I pining for a utopian society that is just not possible? But in theory, it is possible to return to the spirit of Mother, manifest in everything in nature and in our thoughts and actions. With admiration and preservation of Mother we can change the world for a better place. So with this in mind, I submit to all women (who are the living image of the Great Mother Goddess) and goddess lovers in the world to unite in our efforts to bring back the ideals of the Great Goddess. As an academic, I […]
(Special Post 2) "The Oldest Cilivization" and its Agendas by Mago Circle Members

[Editor’s Note: The following discussion took place in response to an article listed blow by the members of The Mago Cirlce, Facebook group of Goddessians/Magoists from May 6 to May 10, 2016. Readers are recommended to read the original article linked below that has invoked the converation.] “The Danube Civilization: Oldest in the World” in The Ancient Ones upon the ruins of our ancestors, published April 3, 2016.
(Special Post 1) "The Oldest Civilization" and its Agendas by Mago Circle Members

[Editor’s Note: The following discussion took place in response to an article listed blow by the members of The Mago Cirlce, Facebook group of Goddessians/Magoists from May 6 to May 10, 2016. Readers are recommended to read the original article linked below that has invoked the converation.] “The Danube Civilization: Oldest in the World” in The Ancient Ones upon the ruins of our ancestors, published April 3, 2016.

(Slideshow) Beltaine Goddess by Glenys Livingstone, Ph.D.

Tara, Hallie Iglehart Austen, p.122 On November 7th at 22:56 UTC EarthGaia crosses the midpoint in Her orbit between Equinox and Solstice. In the Southern Hemisphere it is the Season of Beltaine – a maturing of the Light, post-Spring Equinox. Beltaine and all of the light part of the cycle, is particularly associated with the Young One/Virgin aspect of Goddess, even as She comes into relationship with Other: She remains Her own agent. Beltaine may be understood as the quintessential annual celebration of Light as it continues to wax towards fullness. It is understood to be the beginning of Summer. Here is some Poetry of the Season: Earth tilts us further towards Mother Sun, the Source of Her pleasure, life and ecstasy You are invited to celebrate BELTAINE the time when sweet Desire For Life is met – when the fruiting begins: the Promise of early Spring exalts in Passion. This is the celebration of Holy Lust, Allurement, Aphrodite … Who holds all things in form, Who unites the cosmos, Who brings forth all things, Who is the Essence of the Dance of Life. Glenys Livingstone, 2005 The choice of images for the Season is arbitrary; there are so many more that may express this quality of Hers. And also for consideration, is the fact that most ancient images of Goddess are multivalent – She was/is One: that is, all Her aspects are not separate from each other. These selected images tell a story of certain qualities that may be contemplated at the Seasonal Moment of Beltaine. As you receive the images, remember that image communicates the unspeakable – that which can only be known in body – below rational mind. So you may open yourself to a transmission of Her, that will be particular to you. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKGRoVjQQHY Aphrodite 300 B.C.E. (Hallie Iglehart Austen, The Heart of the Goddess). This Greek Goddess is commonly associated with sexuality in a trivial kind of way, but She was said to be older than Time (Barbara Walker p.44). Aphrodite as humans once knew Her, was no mere sex goddess: Aphrodite was once a Virgin-Mother-Crone trinity – the Creative Force itself. The Love that She embodied was a Love deep down in things, an allurement intrinsic to the nature of the Universe. Praised by the Orphics thus: For all things are from You Who unites the cosmos. You will the three-fold fates You bring forth all things Whatever is in the heavens And in the much fruitful earth And in the deep sea. Vajravarahi 1600C.E. Tibetan Tantric Buddhism (Hallie Iglehart Austen, The Heart of the Goddess). A Dakini dancing with life energy – a unity of power, beauty, compassion and eroticism. Praised as Mistress of love and of knowledge at the same time. Tara Contemporary – Green Gulch California ,Tibetan Buddhist. (Hallie Iglehart Austen, The Heart of the Goddess). “Her eroticism is an important part of her bodhisattvahood: the sweetpea represents the yoni, and she is surrounded by the sensual abundance of Nature. One of Tara’s human incarnations was as the Tibetan mystic Yeshe Tsogyal, “who helped many people to enlightenment through sacred sexual union with her”. – Ishtar 1000 B.C.E. Babylon (Hallie Iglehart Austen, The Heart of the Goddess). Associated with passionate sexuality (and with Roman Goddess Venus) – which was not perceived as separate from integrity and intelligence … praised for Her beauty and brains! Her lips are sweet, Life is in Her mouth. When She appears, we are filled with rejoicing. She is glorious beneath Her robes. Her body is complete beauty. Her eyes are total brilliance. Who could be equal to Her greatness, for Her decrees are strong, exalted, perfect. MESOPOTAMIAN TEXT 1600 B.C.E. Artemis 4th Cent.B.C.E. Greece. (Hallie Iglehart Austen, The Heart of the Goddess) – classic “Virgin” image – wild and free, “Lady of the Beasts”, Goddess of untamed nature. As such, in the patriarchal stories She is often associated with harshness, orgiastic rituals but we may re-story “wildness” in our times as something “innocent” – in direct relationship with the Mother. She is a hunter/archer, protector, midwife, nurturing the new and pure essence (the “wild”) – in earlier times these things were not contradictory. The hunter had an intimate relationship with the hunted. Visvatara and Vajrasattva 1800C.E. Tibetan Goddess and God in Union: it could be any Lover and Beloved, of same sex. Image from Mann and Lyle, “Sacred Sexuality” p.74. Sacred Couple –Mesopotamia 2000-1600 BCE “Lovers Embracing on Bed”, Inanna Queen of Heaven and Earth, Diane Wolkstein and Samuael Noah Kramer. Represents the sacred marriage mythic cycle – late 3rd and into 4th millennium B.C.E. (See Starhawk, Truth or Dare). This period is the time of Enheduanna – great poet and priestess of Inanna. Xochiquetzal 8th century C.E. Mayan (Hallie Iglehart Austen, The Heart of the Goddess). Her name means “precious flower” – She is Goddess of pleasure, sexuality beauty and flowers. Sometimes represented by a butterfly who sips the nectar of the flower. “In ancient rituals honouring her, young people made a bower of roses, and, dressed as hummingbirds and butterflies they danced an image of the Goddess of flowers and love.” Her priestesses are depicted with ecstatic faces. (called “laughing Goddesses” !!) She and Her priestesses unashamedly celebrated joyful female sexuality – there is story of decorating pubic hairs to outshine the Goddess’ yoni. https://www.magoism.net/2013/06/meet-mago-contributor-glenys-livingstone/ REFERENCES: Iglehart Austen, Hallie. The Heart of the Goddess. Berkeley: Wingbow, 1990. Mann A.T. and Lyle, Jane. Sacred Sexuality. ELEMENT BOOKS LTD, 1995. Starhawk. Truth or Dare. San Fransisco:Harper and Row, 1990. Walker, Barbara. The Woman’s Encyclopaedia of Myths and Secrets. San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1983. Wolkstein,Diane and Kramer, Samuel Noah. Inanna Queen of Heaven and Earth. NY: Harper and Rowe, 1983. The music for the slideshow is “”Coral Sea Dreaming” by Tania Rose.
(Photography & Poetry) Thoughts of Spring by Deanne Quarrie

Spring At the highest point on the tree, you stretch, reaching for the sun. Your pink petals elegant in their grace, you stand alone. Bravest of all, for leaves have yet to come to offer shade Branches bare except for furry buds that will soon follow in imitation of your daring first move. Intrepid flower of Spring, I feel like you in my yearning for the Sun!
Lammas/Late Summer in PaGaian tradition By Glenys Livingstone Ph.D.

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

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

(Essay 1) Returning Home with Mago, the Great Goddess, from East Asia by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang

[Author’s Note: This essay was first published in Trivia, Voices of Feminism, Issue 6, September 2007.] I come from Korea. When I say I came from Korea, I do not mean “Korea” in a nationalistic sense. Nationalism, reinforced by international politics as a cardinal rule of the global community, precludes the agency of women; it is a game of the patriarchal controllers. When I say I am Korean, I mean I am a Magoist Korean, a gynocentric Korean. My Korean identity refers to my cultural and historical root. Fortunately, I have found my Korean gynocentric root in the tradition of Mago, the Great Goddess, from East Asia.1
(Book Announcement 4) Introduction (part 2) by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang

[Editor’s Note: This Introduction is from She Rises: How Goddess Feminism, Activism, and Spirituality? Volume 2.] Pre-order available now! The Text of the Primordial Mother/the Creatrix/Mago She Rises Volume 2, like her predecessor, is born out of the Magoist vision.[i] It intends to raise the collective consciousness of WE, a cognitive symbolic system derived from the knowing of the Primordial Mother or the Creatrix. One may call it an embodied knowing or gynocentric epistemology. Our stories shed light on the holistic view in which all parts are revered as a microcosm of the Creatrix. The She Rises book is an emblem of gynocentric cosmology: All contributions are interconnected and the book is enriched by each and all contributions. This book is NOT just about what we have discovered and what we have experienced about Goddess feminism, activism, and spirituality but what and how we do with our discoveries and experiences. Where are we heading to with our knowing of S/HE? The collective consciousness of WE summons a gynocentric reality. This book is designed to show our togetherness in our uniqueness. It stands for unity that is enhanced by the diversity of individuals. The key phrase in the subtitle, “Goddess feminism, activism, and spirituality,” is a reminder of the all-embracing gynocentric way of our becoming. We ARE committed to the making of the book to reflect the gynocentric principle of unity in diversity. We allow our differences to lead us to a new (read gynocentric) territory without making ourselves fall into factionalism. Competition in a constructive manner helps us grow. But factionalism destroys us. We speak our truths not to argue or win. We speak our truths because they are true to us. Truth speaks, even when we can’t hear. And we trust ourselves to speak our truths in HER. And S/HE shall bring us together in WE. To trust in our contributors is the map that we editors have followed in She Rises collective books. In the process, we have learned that what we really need to be careful of, not the other camp of Goddessians, but what really divides us among Goddessians/Magoists. In my Introduction to She Rises Volume 1, I drew attention to the word “Goddess,” concerning our need to reclaim it despite its linguistic drawback. Summarily, we strategically adopt the word, “Goddess,” knowing its derivative and subsequently dualistic nature from the word “God” in the English language.[ii] We are aware of the functional nature of language, a means for the meaning that we intend to convey. We choose one word over another for our political and utilitarian reasons. Our use of the word “Goddess” has given us a common ground to come together and interweave the She Rises books. The Magoist vision of the book merits the stance that the Goddess is not just the female divine or a sum of female deities but the Great Goddess, the Primordial Mother. It is S/HE who allows us the holistic view of WE/HERE/NOW, the ultimate reality. We who are awakened in S/HE know that we ARE this S/HE reality. In writing my Introduction to the second book, another term has come to my attention, “feminine.” As seen in this book, some of our authors have favorably chosen the word, “feminine” in support of Goddess feminism, activism, and spirituality for reliable reasons. The context wherein the term is used is complex and highly suggestive of the female divine power. In their uses, some make it clear that the feminine refers to the female divine nature/power of women. Others use it in redefining and deconstructing patriarchal definitions of “the feminine.” It is true that “the divine feminine” or “the sacred feminine” has taken on popularity so much so that it appears almost indispensable in the Goddess Talk. Nonetheless, I hold that there is a point that we need to think and explore together the meaning of “feminine.” Linguistically speaking, referring to the gender quality of women, the meaning of “feminine” fluctuates. I find it worth broaching these questions to us: Is the term “feminine” empowering Goddess feminism? Why yes? Why no? These questions can only be answered by our authors and readers. We editors by no means advocate the purge of the term, feminine, from this book. Forcing unity is not gynocentric. We propose the question as an ongoing conversation among Goddessians. Here is my stance to the question, which is yes and no. When the context indicates an ancient (read gynocentric) or feminist meaning, the word “feminine” certainly empowers women. When “the divine feminine” indicates the Primordial Mother within an environment like this book, the word is empowering. Put differently, the meaning of “feminine” can be conveyed as gynocentric, that is, women-empowering, when “the divine feminine” refers to the Creatrix, the Great Goddess. In this case, the gender quality of “feminine” is coherent with the biological quality of “female.” The meaning of “feminine” in such context does NOT reflect the patriarchally-imposed qualities of women; the feminine is gynocentric and sacred. However, when the word “feminine” is used outside the gynocentric context, it becomes dubious in meaning, if not self-defeating, obstructing the impetus of women’s empowerment. Referring to the gender quality (read a social/patriarchal construct), of women, the meaning of “feminine” changes in different times and cultures. It is not free from socio-cultural settings. Being feminine today in the U.S. would be very different from being feminine two centuries ago. Also, being feminine today in one country would be very different from being feminine today in another country. On the other hand, the word, “female,” conveying the biological and biologically-derived quality of women, remains coherent in meaning across times and cultures. “Female” offers us a solid ground to build our feminist activism and feminist spirituality. Thus far, we women still hold the power of female biological and biologically-derived traits. The word, “feminine” alone risks a powerful conceptual ground for Goddess feminism. Precisely, it falls short in capturing the divine power of the Primordial Mother, the Creatrix. For example, I …
(Bell Essay 2) Ancient Korean Bells and Magoism by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang

Part II Overall Structure and Parts of the Ancient Korean Bell The ancient Korean bell takes on the female form figuratively. In other words, its female implication is expressed symbolically rather than descriptively. Unlike the ancient Greek bell that literally depicts a woman’s body (See Bell Essay 1), the ancient Korean bell characterizes female anatomy with symbols and designs. Neither limbs nor a human face is seen. Instead, breasts and nipples are stylized. The head is represented by a dragon. The belly is adorned with the relief of celestial nymphs. The female symbology that the bell invokes is not limited to the material body of the bell only, however. The legend of a female child sacrifice to the casting of the bell should be taken in the light of its female symbology. Likewise, the inscription made on the Sangwonsa Jong indicating that the commissioner was a woman needs to be taken into consideration. Foremost, the Magoist cosmogony that attributes cosmic music to ultimate creativity holds the key to unlock the very purpose of the bell: The bell is created to sound the Call of Mago, the Great Goddess. Visualizing Her, the bell emits the Sound of Mago for which its sacredness is explained. The bell, if we call it Buddhist, redefines Buddhism, Korean Buddhism, to be precise. It calls people to the arcane knowledge of the female origin. These points are to be discussed in more detail in the forthcoming sequels. In this part, I discuss the overall structure of the bell and examine some major characteristics of its parts. An ancient Korean bell consists of two parts: the bell’s body (jongsin) and the dragon loop (yongnu). The bell’s body part includes the Nipples, the Bell Breast, the Breast Circumference, Bell’s Belly, Celestial Nymphs, Bell’s Mouth, the Striking Seat, the Heavenly Plate, the Upper Support, and the Lower Support. And the dragon loop part includes the Dragon Loop and the Dragon Tube (Sound Tube). In addition, the piece of wood (mallet) that is designed to strike the bell on Dangjwa (Striking Seat) is called Dangmok (the Striking Wood). It also requires an Ullimtong (Depressed Ground for Sound Transmission) for the sound waves to travel. Each part, as a microcosm, adds to the beauty and function of the bell. Images sculpted including foliage, flower, lotus, humans, celestial nymphs, breasts, nipples, and dragon are achieved in sophistication. Artistic mastery is sublime. Behold! The bell is a metaphor of not only the body of a woman, the vulva in particular, but also what she is, her purpose! The bell transforms the female to the divine, the Goddess. Now I invite the reader to take note of the overall shape of the bell made in the form of a large Korean crock (hangari) placed upside down. The curved line drawn from top to bottom with the diameter of its mouth smaller than that of the belly is another distinguishing feature. In fact, there are quite a few features that distinguish ancient Korean bells from the bells of China and Japan. The parts that I illustrated above, in particular the nine Nipples, the Bell Breast, the Dragon Tube, Celestial Nymphs, and the Striking Seat, are its representative characteristics. As a percussion instrument, the ancient Korean bell epitomizes precision and sophistication. Everything contained on the surface of the bell is made to resonate with the inner hollow to maximize the travel of sound waves. As shown below in the figure, even the metal residue remaining on the inner wall plays a key role, creating the sound waves. Without those irregular lumps, the sound will have a far lower frequency making fewer waves. In other words, the rough surface of the inner hollow is intentional. Beauty and functionality are conjoined to create the sound of the Goddess. Functional parts such as the Dragon Loop, Dragon Tube (or Sound Tube), and the Striking Seat are seamlessly integrated with the artistry. The Dragon Loop is there to represent the divinity of the Goddess and at once to be used as a hook for hanging. The Dragon Tube open-ended upward is there to vent out the impurity of the sound. When all is said and done, it is designed not just to please the eye but to awaken the mind to seek. The bell in its mesmerizing beauty wakes up the mind of people, otherwise made dull or dormant under patriarchal inflictive routines. Buddhists might say that the reality to which the sound calls is “the way things are” or “suchness.” However, such understanding is only a tingle of the patriarchal mind that refuses to hear the deeper call. The bell awakens people to the reality of the Goddess. Each striking carries the pulse of Mago, the Great Goddess. Sources: Norugwi. [http://blog.daum.net/euijj31/11296149] Cultural Heritage Administration [http://www.cha.go.kr/main/KorIndex!korMain.action] Sin Hyeongjun. “Why is the Sound of Bell beautiful? The Delicacy of the Striking Spot… The Uneven Thickness Creates Sound Waves” Choson Ilbo, October, 9, 2001. (To be continued in Part III, Read Part I)

Tag: Glenys Livingstone

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