January 20, 2020January 21, 2020 Mago Work AdminLeave a comment

(Essay 2) Magoist Cetaceanism and the Myth of the Pacifying Flute (Manpasikjeok) by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang, Ph.D.

Reversing the Reversed of the Buddhist Textual Erasure (Part 1) Among the many Sillan Magoist Cetacean expressions which stands out is the temple bell, traditionally known as the Whale Bell Read More …

October 29, 2019January 3, 2020 Mago Work Admin1 Comment

(Essay 1) Magoist Cetaceanism and the Myth of the Pacifying Flute (Manpasikjeok) by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang, Ph.D.

Manpasikjeok (the pacifying flute that defeats all) is a legendary flute, purportedly made from a narwhal’s tusk, originating in the 7th century Silla (57 BCE-935 CE). King Sinmun (r. 681-692) Read More …

(Art & Prose) She Who Runs With the Herds by Jude Lally

My dolls are born on the thresholds, one foot in this world and a foot in the otherworld. As I create a doll and build up the layers of wool and fabric I am also digging down to her bones, hearing her stories of her people and the landscape. The inspiration for this doll was born in a time of ice, a time when great herds of reindeer were able to cross from mainland Europe across to Britain. She was there with her people guiding them as they tracked the reindeer. The female reindeer, like the male, grows antlers. She is the leader of the herd, following the ancestral deer paths over the land that her mother led the herd on and her mother before that – stretching back thousands of years.There is an ancient connection between women who led her people and these female reindeer – one which has been honored and respected. The wise women of these clans were the women who went into trance to contact this Great Mother of the herds to ask for a sign of where to find the herds and in ritual gave thanks for using them for food, shelter, for sacred objects and clothing. Even today many women see the wisdom in this great Mother of the Herds, they search out her knowledge, dream of their foremother’s rituals and ceremonies. Visiting the Cairngorm Reindeer herd, Scotland Our spiritual journeys, too, take us through bogs of unconsciousness. We too must pass through raging rivers of grief, tread carefully over areas of icy despair, cross craggy ravines that reflect our terror of the unknown, and face feared enemies that threaten to devour us, like hungry wolf packs. As the earthly reindeer struggles to dig up grass and lichen for food to fuel her journey, so we must strive to find what nutures our spirit’. Linda Schierse Leonard. Creation’s Heartbeat. Following the Reindeer Spirit. It is not hard today to lose hope, to be overwhelmed by all that is unfolding and sink into despair and apathy. Wherever you are in the world we can be inspired by the Wise Woman who led her people and when they lost the herd it was she, She Who Runs WIth the Herd that moved into the threshold, shapeshifted into deer and ran through the snowfields of the otherworld to find the herd. Once she found them she ran with the reindeer, body running with body, heels clicking in the noise they make which allows them to hear where each reindeer is. She runs with them through valley, through forest recognizing both the reindeer and the terrain so she can return to her people and know which path to take. Transforming hopelessness into faith requires digging into the depths of the soul, just as the reindeer must dig deep in the snow for lichenLinda Schierse Leonard. Creation’s Heartbeat. Following the Reindeer Spirit. Yet running with the herd also allows you to dig deep for what is required to nourish your soul. To find that much-needed magic, the fodder that feeds the soul for this dark journey offers a rebirth of the soul. Click on the file below to take this journey to run with the herd. Perhaps take some time before you make the journey – consider your intention for your journey. Take some time to journey alone and keep a journal and pen by your side to record any insights or inspirations. (Meet Mago Contributor) Jude Lally https://soundcloud.com/sisterhood-of-the-antlers/she-who-runs-with-the-herds
(Prose) Liminal Time and Space by Deanne Quarrie

The word liminal comes from the Latin word līmen, meaning “a threshold.” The word threshold has several definitions. It can be the sill of a doorway or the entrance of a building. Ultimately, it means any place of point of entering or beginning. In psychology the term limen means the point at which a stimulus is of sufficient intensity to begin to produce an effect. Liminal time therefore, is that moment when something changes from one state to another. Examples would be dawn, when the morning sun rises high enough in the sky to bring daylight. Another is dusk, when the evening sun sinks into the horizon bringing nightfall. Another is that moment when we move from a clearing into a deep fog which shrouds us in mist and for a moment, we stop all thinking. There is that moment when we first wake from a deep sleep, not fully awake but no longer asleep. Plus there is that state when we move from wakeful consciousness into sleep. The scientific terms for these states are hypnogogic (toward sleep) and hypnapompic (from sleep). There are also those moments of transitions between life and death and from an unborn fetus to a living, breathing infant. Liminal Spaces are thin places occurring on boundaries between spaces. This includes places like the boundaries between properties where fences or trees mark them. Also edges between water and land or even between plains and mountains, highways and grass, etc. These are all edges where changes occur. Imagine the cliffs and boulders on the Pacific Coast and the massive waves hitting and then retreating, that moment of contact before withdrawal – a liminal moment. As the Earth travels around the Sun, we may view the year as divided into two halves, the bright half and the dark half. The liminal times for these events fall around the first of May and again at the first of November. The liminal time for the beginning of the dark half of the year is when many cultures honor their ancestors. We call this Samhain, which comes from sam fuinn meaning “summer’s end.” It marks the Celtic New Year, the day when the veil between the worlds is the thinnest, making it easier for us to establish communication with our ancestors. Also, our ancestors lit fires on sacred hills on this night. It was customary to extinguish the household fires, symbolizing the end of summer, and then relight them from the ceremonial fire marking the beginning of the new season, winter, the Season of Sleep. The other time of year honors the bright half and the beginning of summer which we call Beltane. It is a time of bursting forth with an abundant fertility. It was time to release the cattle from winter quarters and then they drove them between two fires in a ritual cleansing ceremony which certainly had practical purposes for the health of the animals. It was a time for many celebrations and for the mating of animals as well as human lovers. In Celtic mythology, two historical invasions involved in the settling of Ireland occurred at the liminal moment at the beginning of the bright half of the year. It is when the Tuatha de Danann arrived in great ships high above the clouds surrounded by a great mist. It is also when the sons of Mil arrived. At first, the Tuatha de Danann surrounded them in a great mist causing them to fall back behind the ninth wave. When the time was right, the great Druid Amergin, claimed the powers of Land, Sea and Sky and stepped ashore, claiming the land for the Gaels. No doubt we could find similar events in other cultures. A shaman (modern term applied to spirit walkers of many traditions) works in liminal time and space. She is an edge walker, one who walks between the worlds. Her work is on the edge as she has one foot in this world and one foot in the other. She travels between them walking this edge. She connects those of the spirit world with those of this one. Her work is to serve her tribe, to heal, to honor the gods of the people, to talk with the spirits, keeping life in balance and harmony with all. For those of us who live a magical life, liminal times and liminal spaces are where our magical work is done. Liminal times and liminal spaces are when and where the veil between this world and the Otherworld thins. Travel between them becomes easier for us (as well as spirits and deities). As we deepen in our work we come to recognize these liminal times and spaces, eager to understand them and work with them and finally to use them for the great work of the soul. We may choose liminal places to do our work and certainly we may choose a liminal time, moon wise, seasonally or in choosing the time of day. We also have liminal times not of our choosing. We can learn to recognize and use them for the best outcome. Many of them occur in our lives. Often we fail to see what they are until they are behind us. At other times we are able to see and understand and work with the changes so that what is coming is of the best quality for us. They are threshold moments and we will step through, whether willing or not. We are fortunate when we can see these moments for what they are and embrace them, knowing that a birth of some sort is about to happen. We have many liminal moments that we share. As women – our first bloods – our first sexual experience – our wedding day – the birth of a child – the death of a loved one – a divorce and an ending of what once was – our first job – the birth of a wonderful creative project – the ending of a …
(Poem) Between the Realms by Arlene Bailey

The Gift, art by Roberta Orpwood The Old Ones have gatheredRound me, holding my handsAnd sheltering my broken heart,Supporting my body and soulAs I am stripped of everythingI’ve ever known, everything thatGives me meaning and heretoforeHas defined me as meAs I navigate the Death Mysteries,Erishkigal’s meat hook and thePromise of new tomorrows,New life and disintegration ofWhat no longer serves me,I wonder…Who is the Me that will move forward?Who is the Me that will fade away?How will I know the difference andWill I be able to discern what to burn,What to seed for new growth andWhat to release to the winds of change?Can I, like Inanna, release everythingWalking naked into the new now?It has been a long, deep descent into theCave of all time – the Cave of Before,Now and a Future still very much unknownI have learned much, released much, cryingTears upon tears upon tears and still I knowThere is more to comeI don’t want to question every choice, everyDecision I’ve ever made and, yet, DeathCalls us to do that, calls us to be the SerpentWho sheds her skin clearing the energiesOf the past so that She may move forwardCreating… truly creating… new lifeNo longer a fallow entity, but a well-tendedAnd nourished/nurtured landscape of stillUnknowable, but effing amazing potentialIf only… IF ONLY… we acknowledge thePowerful lessons Grandmother HecateHas taught us in this season of Death and herGreat mysteries, in this season of the primal belowAs the Sun’s light grows and as we approachThat point on the Great Wheel known as Imbolc,I look to the old stories and rituals realizingThis new now is a both/and place – a portal –Where we stand with one foot still in the darknessand the Death Mysteries as we simultaneouslyfly toward the Light of a new day and new lifeLight. Dark. Death. Life.Truly they are two sides of the same thingIntertwined so that we may find our trueStanding in any given momentI stand with my heart in the both/and ofThese places of stillness and contemplation,Transformation and the tiniest movementOf seeds of new growth, these placesOf new gifts just waiting to be revealedIt is truly a portal as I contemplate walkingThrough to the next light, the next dark,The teachings of the both/and, living in theLife of one who moves between the realmsAs Her Soul is called to a new lifeAs She is called to exist inThe Magical, Mystical Immortal RealmWhere one may/can walk throughAll the worlds simultaneously knowing,This is not only their work in the world,But their gift to the worldANDThe gift to their Soul. https://www.magoism.net/2020/04/meet-mago-contributor-arlene-bailey/
(Book Excerpt 5) “Placental Thinking: The Gift of Maternal Roots” by Nane Jordan

[This and the previous sequels are from a Chapter from Placenta Wit: Mother Stories Rituals, and Research, edited by Nané Jordan, Demeter Press, 2017, pp. 142-155.] BIRTH GIFTING: MOTHERS AT THE CENTRE Through placental relations and placental thinking, we can imagine this gift economy as located in the heart of the primal mother-baby dyad. There, I would locate a specific embodied maternal order of the gift that flows from mother to child, and onward into the whole social milieu, as life goes on from this primal, primary relationship. As Genevieve Vaughan notes, there are many hidden ways of the gift that are not yet named. I thus name the placenta, with its gift morphology (growth, structure, and design), as an embodied gift economy that has always existed. The eventual maternal act and power of giving birth flow from placental relations.. Beyond the birth process, mother and child are released from their in-utero placental bonds and set off on the trajectory of new mother-child gifting relations. In the current market system and exchange economy, placentas are literally thrown out after birth. This is a striking action and metaphor for our social understandings of the maternal gift as being literally worthless. The notion of garbage itself is “refuse” or what is refused. Thus, the gift is refused and made invisible. Mothers know little about their babies’ placentas, often never seeing them in the hospital except for as a bloody lump in a metal side tray left aside after the birth. In the exchange economy, value is only apparent when the market assigns value to the placenta, as in its use for stem cell research or in the cosmetics industry. We could read this in newspapers and hardly connect stem cells to the placentas of our own early lives, born from our mothers’ bodies and blood. The association of birth blood with refuse also relates to long-time taboos, secrecy, and shame associated with menstrual blood in Western cultures (Grahn). Rather than socially upholding the sacred function of the female body’s life-gifting powers, the public prefers the death blood dominate in popular media culture, and the lived realities of violence and war. In contrast, the blood of life and birth receives silent attention. Further separation rituals, such as early cord cutting and taking the baby away from the mother at the moment of birth, disrupt mother-baby bonding, hormonal systems, and unity. These procedures ultimately interrupt the physiological peak of mothers’ experiences of relief, pleasure, and love in birth gifting, which are part of early bonding and begin the moment a mother becomes pregnant (Buckley). There is an intended dynamic of “safe” birth care at work in obstetrical practices in order to diminish the risks of birth giving. Ostensibly, doctors work in concert with medical protocols and interventions to ward off the risk and fear of death and feelings of pain—truisms of birth. Mothers and babies do walk along the edges of life and death in birth’s passage, in which giving birth is an overwhelming experience that can be painful or dangerous, and requires our whole sense of being. The life-saving capacities of modern medicine are important in this regard. Yet it appears that through fear of pain and death, dominant authoritative structures have become linked to the medicalization of birth and the overuse of interventions. Fear of entering an overwhelming experience such as birth, and often without support, education, understanding, or some attending human warmth and kindness, may also be keeping people tied to a system that loses sight of the maternal gift. Also lost are the positive experiential potentials for relief and even pleasure in giving birth through one’s own power and agency. As we continue to apply medical technologies and market-based, hierarchical attitudes of authority in birth care, can we shift birth practices toward more giftlike ways? Can we put mothers and babies at the centre of birth gifting through placental thinking? In midwifery, a “motherer,”as Genevieve Vaughan names it, is anyone who satisfies needs unilaterally, not expecting reward. Is this a missing or lost gift economy in birth? Of course, there are doctors who practice this gift, putting mothers and babies at the centre of birth, who view mothers kindly and lovingly with care. But directing the gift of compassionate attention is a more common philosophy for midwives and doulas, which includes the ability and commitment to support and empathize with the mother. In a diagrammatic perspective, this looks like a circle, with supportive caregivers holding space for the mother, who is at the centre. In this circle, the mother can retain and direct her own energies and agency for birth giving, both physical and psychic, toward herself and her baby. She is in trusting relations with her attendants, who direct their energy toward her (and not themselves) as needed, and have ability to step back if not needed. In authoritarian and hierarchical systems of care, the energy of birth is directed in straight lines up and away from the mother and baby and toward the attendants at the top. Attention tends to focus on the birth attendants as they dictate the directions for birth experience and implement their expertise, often without regard to the mothers’ wishes. Mothers may feel depleted or worse, traumatized from giving birth under systems that appropriate their birth-gifting power without regard for the centrality of their agency and experience. Obviously, there many nuances and complexities to this topic, and often more analysis is needed on a case-by-case basis. In this regard, birth giving inherently asks a mystery of us. It is older and wiser than our clocks and interventions, and unfolds uniquely for every mother and baby who enter its experience. I have witnessed home and hospital births with “motherer” attendants at hand, where those mothers and babies are held at the centre of a circle of care and love. Attendants keep a respectful watch, moving toward or away as asked or needed. A birthing mother, feeling safe to surrender into her own birth process—however …
Why Do So Many People Hate Rain? by Sara Wright

Photo by Sara Wright People can’t make NOISE in rain Machines seize up and rust Screaming Motorcycles sit silenced Chainsaws sputter Weedwhackers clog Lawnmowers spit Power boats gasp Hunters stay home Gray sky blesses Emerald Green wind battered leaves sigh soaking in Cloistered Air Breathing deep Body vibrates in Peace soothed by the songs of Rain whose crystal drops are gifts for roots and frogs abandoned unloved trees underground mycelial networks Animals sigh with relief Haunted Souls return – If only briefly Rain nourishes the Earth. Is this why people hate rain? I wrote this poem this morning when it became obvious that a second quiet day was a probability because of steady rain and cold temperatures in the forties. In June ( I was wrong – one crazed person shot round after round – the rage is palpable – more gunshot violence down the road). Every day the noise is overpowering – motorcycles, guns, fireworks, fast cars and trucks spewing filth, roaring boats going nowhere, whining lawnmowers and other gardening accoutrements to keep those perfect lawns intact… Noise vibrates through my body enervating and buzzing me at the same time, an impossible combination. Mind feels fury. Body feels hopeless. There is no escape from noise pollution except by torrential rain or mountains of snow. Virtually no one complains. Even Refuge, a place I go to lessen the harsh cacophony has neighbors… I keep a bed in my car so that we can leave at a moments notice even there. I live in a Culture that worships Violence. Violence permeates the air like a fiery serpent ready to strike, again and again. My nervous system is attached to the Earth – we are One Being – She suffers, and Her suffering is mine. Last weekend someone exploded a bomb in the field below me – Turkeys screamed in terror. But S/he is biting back. ____________________________________ “As our physical and cultural landscapes transform around us what memories are held by water – what re -surfaces to haunt us, to guide us? There is a space between water and memory.” (my bold face) Emergence Is this another reason people dislike rain? Do some fall into the crack against their will? Do unwanted emotions flow to the surface, dark inner emotions that are normally buried by the fury of a Brutal Summer Sun? (More murders occur in the summer than at any other time of year. Heat apparently conjures up more Hatred). It’s an interesting question. I am in touch with my feelings. Like it or not. Today, I feel the leaves on the trees recovering from yesterday’s trauma when they were beaten down by hail and high winds. Amazingly, all wildflowers survived unscathed, even the lupine spires. Today’s soaking rain nourishes all living beings, and I lean into the songs of flowing water as my body rests. Two days of rain – the first so fierce it tore new leaves from their branches, toppled trees ripping roots from the ground as they fell. (Oh how the noise makers raged when their trees toppled, docks and moorings escaped)! Tons of topsoil were swept to the sea, thanks to the logging machine who has no use for protecting the water from raping the soil (as well as the trees). The second day dawned as a blessing. Quiet rain all day. Not enough to keep the birds from visiting the feeder. The cardinals were feeding each other. Woodpeckers, titmice, chickadees and golden finches flitted back and forth under a canopy of new leaves. All trees are recovering, their leaves open to the sky perhaps in prayers of supplication, while soaking in, soaking in the precious nutrients that will allow them to survive at least in protected places. Like here. For now. The WildFlower Moon passed by last night. Perhaps she brought mercy to those who needed her most, the fragile ephemerals. My animals and me. I used to love the moon but in the last few years I have come to fear her fullness for she now brings frightening extreme weather shifts in her wake. The dark side of moon is showing her revengeful face on a regular basis. This month was no exception. These days my moon ceremony consists of prayers to the Four Directions and a simple water blessing. This month I was grateful for water that I scooped out of overflowing rain barrels. Water that keeps the tadpoles happy. A blessing for the house, the Earth, myself, and my beloved animals. Bowing to the Goddess in Green. Thanksgiving. I am a Woman Who Comes to Life in the Rain… nourished by flowing waters and the golden green. https://www.magoism.net/2014/12/meet-mago-contributor-sara-wright/
(S/HE V2 N1 Essay 8) The Ancient Korean Whale-Bell: An Encodement of Magoist Cetacean Soteriology by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang

[Editor’s Note: This essay to be posted as sequels is from the second volume of the S/HE journal. See S/HE: An International Journal of Goddess Studies (Volume 2 Number 1, 2023). Page numbers and footnote numbers differ in this page.] Two Major Royal Matrilineages At the root of Sillan political power was the royal matrilineage. By the royal matrilineage, I mean the lineage of female royal members including queens and queen mothers who gave birth to a daughter in marriage with a ruler respectively and/or who gave birth to a son who became a ruler respectively. The title, “Queen Mother,” indicates that her son was enthroned, whereas “Queen” implies that she was married to a ruler. Within the Sillan matriarchal royal system especially during the Early Period and most of the Middle Period, which I call the strictly matrilineal period (57 BCE – 737),[1] Queen Mothers symbolically and virtually held the state power. Put differently, the royal matrilineage continued for nearly eight hundred years in Sillan history. That Sillan matriarchal leadership is inscribed in the royal matrilineage goes unnoticed among historians. Sillan history is queen-centered. Like their queens, male rulers are derived from the one royal matrilineage. Sillan royal patrilineages, sporadic and short-lived, take shape as a byproduct of the matrilineage. To the point, the Sillan royal matrilineage reflects the biological principle of Nature. As both sexes are issued from the mother or the Female, both queens and male rulers come from the royal matrilineage. The Sillan royal marriage was exclusively exogamous, insofar as the matrilineage was in place. This means that the progenitor of a royal matrilineage was a non-Sillan woman, an outsider who came to Silla and established her royal own matrilineage.[2] To maintain the exogamous marriage, the queen, the consort of a ruler, had to be of the royal matrilineage. On the part of the queen’s mother, her duty was to secure the succession of her matrilineage by her (queen) daughters. That way, queens were always of the non-local lineage. For queen mothers, her duty was to secure her son ruler to marry a woman of the royal matrilineage. A consanguineous marriage was rare but happened. In the case of Queen Mother Jiso, she married her ruler son and her daughter, each born from a different father.[3] Within this system, the patrilineage of Sillan rulers happened as a byproduct, which did not stand on its own. Male rulers carried his maternal lineage for his own generation.[4] This means that a male ruler was recognized as a son of his mother upon enthronement. Such a custom was a practice exactly opposite of today’s custom of Korean women who follow her father’s surname. Upon marriage, while she keeps her maiden name, her children follow the surname of her spouse. Her own lineage does not get carried on by children. And a few queen mothers ruled as a regent for their sons were too young to rule on his own.[5] The Sillan matrilineal marriage system provided Sillans with the solid foundation for stability and prosperity for the first eight hundred years. I posit that the custom of the Sillan royal matrilineage was pre-patriarchal in origin. Sillans adopted the old system of pre-patriarchal Magoist Korea, the One People of Mago, the Creatrix, a topic, which escape the scope of this essay.[6] The oral myth of Mago Halmi is not unrelated with this custom, as it tells that (1) Mago gave birth to eight daughters and sent them away to eight different islands. (2) Her eight daughters (who married a local man respectively) became the progenitors of mudang mothers (shaman mothers).[7] These shaman head mothers were trusted as the representative of Mago, the cosmic sovereign. Silla was shaped by the two successive major matrilineages. These two matrilineages stand in tandem rather than replaced by the latter. That Silla had two major royal matrilineages mark the change of capital from the coastal regions of the East Sea (the East Sea of present China) to Gyeongju, the coastal city of the East Sea also known as the Sea of Whales in the Korean Peninsula at the end of the Early Period.[8] Sillan history is summarized as the two major matrilineages. The first major matriarchal lineage begins from Holy Mother of Mt. Seondo and continued five generations to Queen Ahyo. The second major matriarchal lineage began with Sulrye and lasted for seventeen generations to Saso, the queen mother of the 37th ruler Seondeok. I maintain that royal matrilineages shaped the history of Silla. Based on the royal matrilineages, I have divided the matricentric history of Silla into three periods, the Early, the Middle, and the Late (see Appendix I). The Early Period (57 BCE-230), Early Silla, is marked by two matrilineages (see [Table 3]). The major matrilineage (the Holy Mother lineage) is headed by Holy Mother of Mt. Seondo, Queen Mother of the 1st ruler, Hyeokgeose, which ends with the consort of the fourth ruler, Talhae (r. 57-80). The second minor matrilineage is the Aerae-Naerae lineage.[9] Noteworthy is that Sillan patrilineages in the Early and the Middle Periods are the offshoot of the major matrilineages, as seen in Appendix II. The Middle Period (196-785), Middle Silla, spans nearly six centuries from 196 to 785, which is marked by the most prominent lineage, the Sulrye lineage. Queen Mother Sulrye,[10] the progenitor of the second major royal matrilineage, the Sulrye lineage continues through her female descendants for seventeen generations. I hold that the Sulrye lineage shaping the backbone of Sillan history was the last of the Magoist matriversal lineage among Koreans. With the decline of Silla in 935, the royal matrilineage was gone to the past. To look more closely into the Sulrye lineage, the royal matrilineage shows no sign of a strictly primogeniture succession (see [Table 4]). For example, the fourth Queen Ihye had two daughters. And one of her daughters, Gwangmyeong, had two daughters, Aryu and Boban. The Sulrye matrilineage culminates at the 9th generation Seonhye (Queen of the 21st ruler Soji) from whom …
(Essay 2) What It’s Like to Live on Wimmin’s Land by Hearth Moon Rising

Cholla drawing by Mary Emily Eaton Part 1 is here I loved living on wimmin’s land. And I hated it. The thing I hated most about living on the land was the fighting. Well, that and the chollas. Those prickly cactus prongs hurt worse on the way out than when they get stuck in you. I’m talking here not about harassment by neighbors and law enforcement, but infighting amongst women. Some of the blowups could be doozies, getting so out of hand there was no way to be neutral. You might think it obvious, with women coming together from vastly different walks of life, many of whom had never met before coming to the land, that there would be disagreements stemming from class, race, religion, sexual orientation, and disability. Sometimes the fights were about these issues (or, more commonly, devolved into these issues), but most of the fights were just…stupid. Dog poop was a perennial issue, and I probably only remember this one because it was a pet peeve of mine. Irresponsible compost practices was another bone of contention. Workers versus shirkers, messes in common areas, ecological considerations, decisions about repairs – I could go on, but you get the idea. The mundane nature of the issues should not suggest that the disagreements they sparked were minor. Tempers flared and fights could go on for days if not weeks. Photo: Katja Schulz Less explosive, but no less disturbing, were disagreements about personal choices perceived as harmful to the individual woman, if not the community. Alcohol abuse, management of medical and mental health issues, dysfunctional relationships, childrearing practices, unsafe sex, decisions to leave the land, decisions to stay on the land – these types of issues cannot remain private and “none of your business” in a women’s community. Some behaviors were automatic deal-breakers and would get a woman expelled quickly, albeit sometimes only temporarily. Bringing guns onto the land (can you imagine what would have happened if we’d been armed?) and abusive sexual relationships are two that I remember, but there were others. Stealing within the community didn’t happen much, mostly because none of us had anything worth stealing, but I doubt anyone would have been kicked out for that. Some of the women stole or scammed the outside systems, but that was tolerated. Illicit drug use was tolerated – actually a lot of things were tolerated that probably shouldn’t have been, but that was partly reflective of the times. Wimmin’s communities invariably fell short of ideals and could certainly be criticized for some things, but those leaving as a result of their own egregious behaviors were the most likely to gossip and try to stir up bad blood against the community. It was almost like some women could not leave the fighting behind. In Finding A Woman’s Place, Lorraine Duvall describes (among other things) infighting in a women’s community in upstate New York that stemmed from more substantive issues. A Woman’s Place struggled under financial pressures and an ambitious mission. The women were trying to run their land as a formal retreat, with workshops and programs, with few resources of their own or from the demographic they served. The location of A Woman’s Place meant better access to fundraising, but the harsh winter environment required ongoing financial investment, as did running what was essentially a business. At Adobeland we were in a better situation. The woman who generously opened the land as an intentional community, Joan “Adobe” Pepper, asked residents and visitors for a relatively small amount of money for modest living expenses and property taxes. There was no land mortgage to meet, property taxes in Arizona were low, and the climate did not require upkeep on modern structures. We welcomed women for a day or a weekend or a few months, but we didn’t advertise, and women dropped in, paid what they could afford, and moved on. We did a lot of alternative healing, and there were workshops arranged by residents or visitors, but no conscious attempt to create structure. Organically, we achieved some of what A Woman’s Place was trying to do, probably because we had fewer financial worries. Photo: Sue in az One disagreement on Adobeland was substantive and ongoing. Many women believed that Adobe held too much power in the community, that it wasn’t really wimmin’s land because it was not held in trust. Theoretically, Adobe could ask anyone to leave for any reason, although in practice she seldom asked anyone to leave even when there were good reasons. The future of the land was a contentious issue with no foreseeable path forward. Residents didn’t have the money to buy the land from Adobe, and she refused to make arrangements for the land to continue after her death. To most women, it seemed a no-brainer at the time to will the land to a trust so Adobeland could continue serving women for the next few hundred years. In retrospect that level of faith seems quaint, given the social changes that would make wimmin’s land everywhere more difficult to sustain. One thing we did not fight about on wimmin’s land was men, and this is the significant takeaway. As women in a patriarchal society, we aren’t taught how to negotiate conflict with other women. Most of the time, women are competing with women in structures men create for the crumbs that men allow us, or we are conspiring to protect women from males in male-led systems. When men are banished from the equation, what do we have? Of course we bring baggage from patriarchy, but what we don’t bring is experience resolving conflict. We’re taught to avoid conflict. It makes men uncomfortable, and when men are uncomfortable they hurt us. Though I hated the fighting at the time (even when I participated in it), I realized in retrospect that it was important. Maybe not as important as the loving, but one of the things we were ultimately there for. Living for long periods with only women …
(Prose & Photography) Patriarchy: For Love of Predators by Sara Wright

Photography by Sara Wright I live just down the road from one of our many lakes and ponds here in western Maine. Almost every morning I hear the haunting call of the loons as they fly over the house. Although I cherish the symphony I have never figured out why some of these birds making this early morning flight from one lake to another. I have never seen any research that supports my experience – but obviously, for unknown reasons some loons move routinely from pond to pond. Why remains a mystery. I used to have a woodsman friend who once commented that he didn’t understand why everyone loved loons so much because they were fierce predators who speared their hapless fish, duck, or goslings to death before devouring them. At the time I found Don’s statement ironic (and irritating!) because this man was an excellent brook trout fisherman and deer hunter. In his defense I must add that I had to acknowledge that he also loved all animals; after deer hunting season ended he fed his deer all winter. I want to digress a moment to tell a story about Don. The year before his death one buck left him a complete set of antlers on the night of the winter solstice; the next year on solstice night Don died. At the time of his death (I didn’t know this until the next day) an antler he gave me clattered to the floor. Although we never spoke of it I understood that Don’s relationship with wild animals was as intimate as my own. Acknowledging this truth created enormous ambivalence in me because I loved and studied wild animals. I did not kill them. I wanted to separate myself from Don. But at the same time I ate fish and chicken so how could I really make a distinction between him and me? And what about all the plants I ate? Wasn’t I a predator too? I carried this contradiction with great discomfort for years before finally being able to accept it. All life feeds on the lives of others…like it or not. Life, death, and renewal, as Carol Christ believed. To return to my original story, Don’s remark about the loons stayed with me because up until then I had never thought of loons as predators… I had grown up falling asleep to the sound of loons calling on the lake, watched them raise their young ones at a time before speedboats became a summer reality. Whippoorwills, loons, frogs, and lightening bugs brought in our joyous summer nights. Who could imagine that all of these animals would become so endangered? Loons are iconic water birds and once they began dying Audubon, followed by many other groups, attempted to bring back the loons, many of which were dead from lead poisoning. As most people know this effort was successful. Today loons once again grace summer ponds… Eagles also became threatened but through tireless conservation efforts these birds returned to our waters too. On the pond closest to me eagles abound, often plucking loon chicks for dinner. Initially, I took sides with the loons, especially after witnessing a lone chick being snatched up by deadly hooked talons to be swept away, perhaps to feed one of the two eaglets. For years now we have had a giant eagle’s nest on one of our islands that attracts enormous attention from people in boats every summer, people who hope to get a glimpse of one. And everyone I know covets an eagle feather except me. On our lake we also have a whole gaggle of wild geese who are shot (- illegally in summer – during the fall migration there is an open hunting season on geese as well as other water fowl -) by the people who live here because they don’t like geese fertilizing their lawns. I happen to love geese. They are birds that live in genuine community. As vegetarians they munch away at wild grasses and raise their young with great tenderness gathering in large groups to surround the fuzzy goslings as they mature. There is always a papa goose who acts as protector keeping a sharp eye on all of the others. Geese are shy of humans because they have been treated so badly. Whenever I am paddling in the pond I talk to them hoping they will allow me to kayak close by, but they make no exceptions. In the fall, one of sounds I love the most is listening to the geese as they gather in large V’s to migrate south – a perilous journey. At dusk the skies overflow with their poignant goodbyes. Often, as these birds take flight above me, Mother Goose tales come to mind, because as most feminists on FAR know, geese are associated with the Great Mother. I think it was my love of geese that also helped me to answer a question I had. I wondered why saving predators of all kinds, loons, eagles, raptors, wolves, wild cats etc. was a priority for the American people (true for other countries too). It is only now, for example, after we have lost 2.9 billion birds, that songbirds like nightingales and warblers, are finally getting some attention. Other birds like geese are perceived to be nothing but a nuisance – an expendable one at that. What is it about predators that humans find so attractive? I think predators reflect the patriarchal structure that humans have adopted for the last five thousand years. Patriarchy supports a hierarchal society where some people – mostly middle class white men have all the power. I think our love of predators is a mirror in which men and many women see themselves, one that reflects the power over model, while peaceful matriarchal egalitarian societies like the ones Carol Christ studied, as well as other Indigenous peoples, animals and birds are ignored or hunted, often to extinction. (Meet Mago Contributor) Sara Wright https://www.magoism.net/2014/12/meet-mago-contributor-sara-wright/
May Day Celebration by Sara Wright

Wild trillium, Photo by Sara Wright Warms spring rain. The flooding fractured a poorly built bridge, rising waters overflowed moss covered banks – roads disappeared under the deluge, and I was out transplanting the last of my perennials! Working in the rain is a sensual experience – the scent of sweet earth grounds me, the sound of rushing waters not only stills inner chatter but reminds me that this is the time of year that every tribal culture used to celebrate the coming of the rains, the rising of the waters, and the blessing of wildflowers. Today, I know of no one that celebrates May Day but me, although some still honor this day as a Turning of the Wheel of the Year. And how can the latter not be? After transplanting, moving stones, and feeding the tadpoles in my frog pond, I check on the progress of all the wild bee loving violets around the house. No flowers yet. I visit the brook to peer down at budded trillium and marsh marigolds. One golden blossom greets me in the rain; Mary incarnates! The first delicate trumpets of trailing arbutus glow like pearls. Too late for frog breeding, vernal pools are now overflowing. Walking into the field, wild rose thorns grab my leg, spiny leaved lupine cup crystal raindrops. Old fashioned lemon lilies, another bee favorite is breaking ground so I carefully step around each plant except for the violets that I cannot avoid; I apologize profusely. By the end of May this huge carpet of wild violets, trout lilies, ajuga, anemones, woodland phlox and narcissus will disappear under towering lupines, wild iris, buttercups, and queen anne’s lace as the field becomes a meadow edged by fragrant roses and lemon lilies followed by masses of sweet milkweed, ending with goldenrod and bright purple asters that bring in late summer and fall. A bee and butterfly paradise. It won’t be long before I will only be gazing into Nature’s bouquet from my chair in the pines. The crabapple trees are leafing out, the maples paint the sky with crimson buds. All plants, trees, and flowers celebrate the rain. I sing too. And then I remember… As a child on May Day my brother and I gathered wildflowers for my mother and my grandmother. At school we still danced around a maypole twining colorful ribbons round and round, The girls wore handmade wildflower crowns, the boys a flower tucked into white shirts. Of course, I had no idea then that I was participating in an ancient ceremony, one that stretched across time. But the child senseda resonance that has stayed with me throughout my life. On May Day (and throughout this month) I still feel the need to honor the sacredness the sanctity of all spring flowers, the coming of the rains and the Greening. This feeling/sense has grown stronger with time. Our planet is heating up. Rain is scarce or comes in deluges (as it is now). Droughts are more common and yet most people still hate rainy days. I am so grateful NOT to be a part of all this – to be participating in a genuine communal celebration that probably originated with hunting and gathering tribes millennia ago, even if I must jump the prevailing culture to do so. Thankfully, I have a relationship with every wildflower that grows on this land, and with rain. We cannot know, but my guess is that early foraging folk gathered wildflowers not for beauty, although no doubt they were deeply appreciated, but because so many are excellent sources of nutrition; Indigenous tribes wherever they were located across the globe also understood the power of their medicines. And unlike the greed -driven generations of today, these people never took more than they needed. Some of the flowers I mention are not strictly wild but old fashioned flowers that retained their original scent which attracts wild bees as well as an ability to reproduce for generations to come. True wildflowers are unique in their ability to appear in unexpected places almost always in the early spring beginning shortly after the snow recedes. Before their appearance I have deep purple crocus with flaming orange pistils and stamens that attract all manner of bees. Crocus are wildflowers native to the Mediterranean and other places that feed our wild bees because they are the very first flower to bloom besides catkins. Snow crocus provide early nectar and pollen for bees emerging from hibernation. Before they find a nest site some bumblebee queens will sleep in crocus flowers at night. Most wildflowers require a person to drop to their knees to peer at diminutive blossoms. Here, the second wildflower to bloom is bloodroot that also is loved by bees. Some have already blossomed, and their stars are falling; pods are seeding up. But I have many more shaded clumps to look forward to because my bloodroot keep spreading. Calendula, sadly considered a nuisance by many, is also loved by bees and is sprouting delicately scalloped leaves of deep-sea green wherever it pleases (easy to uproot). Buttercup yellow flowers will bloom on all summer long before and after buttercups and bluegrass have gone by. Old fashioned ajuga are budded creeping over the mosses that surround most of the earth around the house and when these bloom bumblebees are wed to deep purple spiked flowers. Twin flower, goldthread, and pyrola rosettes are visible. Wild lilys of the valley are spiked in lime. Frilled anemones blush pale pink. Mayapple umbrellas shoot up in one night. Solomon’s seal too. More spotted trout lily leaves uncurl, lacy wild columbine surfaces everywhere; always speading. Star of Bethlehem clusters will be followed by bee loving white stars. More violets are taking over the ground beneath and around my feet. Miner bees love them, but so do all the others. It occurs to me that I cannot separate wildflowers from bees! The two are always communing. What else can I say? Wildflowers love the rain! …

(Special Post 7) Why Goddess Feminism, Activism, and Spirituality?

[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. Special thanks to Trista Hendren, founder and author of The Girl God, who passionately and painstakingly promotes the message of each contributor via Facebook’s memes. Without Trista’s devotion to the advocacy, this collective effort would not have continued. 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.] Kaalii Cargill: Life emerges from the Feminine: Woman, Nature, Goddess. When we value the life-giving power of the Feminine we are less likely to kill other human beings who have been held in a mother’s arms.
(Special Post 8) Why Goddess Feminism, Activism, and Spirituality?

[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. Special thanks to Trista Hendren, founder and author of The Girl God, who passionately and painstakingly promotes the message of each contributor via Facebook’s memes. Without Trista’s devotion to the advocacy, this collective effort would not have continued. 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.] Marija Krstic-Chin To remember who we really are (nature, cycles, network, creative force, one, infinite…) for the benefit of all of humanity and all living things; and to unite and unify as we broadcast, hand down, protect and defend this truth and each other against the oppressive intentions and actions of patriarchal perpetrators, puppets, and pawns who seek to enslave us by various old and new divide-and-conquer strategies.
(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.

(Book Excerpt) Imbolc/Early Spring within the Creative Cosmos by Glenys Livingstone Ph.D.

This essay is an excerpt from Chapter 6 of the author’s new book A Poiesis of the Creative Cosmos: Celebrating Her within PaGaian Sacred Ceremony. Traditionally the dates for Imbolc/Early Spring are: Southern Hemisphere – August 1st/2nd Northern Hemisphere – February 1st/2nd though the actual astronomical date varies. It is the meridian point or cross-quarter day between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox, thus actually a little later in early August for S.H., and early February for N.H., respectively. Some Imbolc Motifs In this cosmology Imbolc/Early Spring is the quintessential celebration of She Who is the Urge to Be. This aspect of the Creative Triplicity is associated with the differentiation quality of Cosmogenesis,[i] and with the Virgin/Young One aspect of the Triple Goddess, who is ever-new, unique, and singular in Her beauty – as each being is. This Seasonal Moment celebrates an identification with the Virgin/Young One – the rest of the light part of the cycle celebrates Her processes. At this Moment She is the Promise of Life, a spiritual warrior, determined to Be. Her purity is Her singularity of purpose. Her inviolability is Her determination to be … nothing to do with unbroken hymens of the dualistic and patriarchal mind. The Virgin quality is the essential “yes” to Being – not the “no” She was turned into. In the poietic process of the Seasonal Moments of Samhain/Deep Autumn, Winter Solstice and Imbolc/Early Spring, one may get a sense of these three in a movement towards manifest form – syntropy: from the autopoietic fertile sentient space of Samhain, through the gateway and communion of Winter Solstice to differentiated being, constant novelty, infinite particularity of Imbolc/Early Spring. The three are a kaleidoscope, seamlessly connected. The ceremonial breath meditations for all three of these Seasonal Moments focus attention on the Space between the breaths – each with slightly different emphasis: it is from this manifesting Space that form/manifestation arises. If one may observe Sun’s position on the horizon as She rises, the connection of the three can be noted there also: that is, Sun at Samhain/Deep Autumn and Imbolc/Early Spring rises at the same position, halfway between Winter Solstice and Equinox, but the movement is just different in direction.[ii] And these three Seasonal Moments are not clearly distinguishable – they are “fuzzy,”[iii] not simply linear and all three are in each other … this is something recognised of Old, thus the Nine Muses, or the numinosity of any multiple of three. Some Imbolc/early Spring Story This is the Season of the new waxing light. Earth’s tilt has begun taking us in this region back towards the Sun. Traditionally this Seasonal Point has been a time of nurturing the new life that is beginning to show itself – around us in flora and fauna, and within. It is a time of committing one’s self to the new life and to inspiration – in the garden, in the soul, and in the Cosmos. We may celebrate the new young Cosmos – that time in our Cosmic story when She was only a billion years old and galaxies were forming, as well as the new that is ever coming forth. This first Seasonal transition of the light part of the cycle has been named “Imbolc” – Imbolc is thought to mean “ewe’s milk” from the word “Oimelc,” as it is the time when lambs were/are born, and milk was in plentiful supply. It is also known as “the Feast of Brigid,” Brigid being the Great Goddess of the Celtic (and likely pre-Celtic) peoples, who in Christian times was made into a saint. The Great Goddess Brigid is classically associated with early Spring since the earliest of times, but her symbology has evolved with the changing eras – sea, grain, cow. In our times we could associate Her also with the Milky Way, our own galaxy that nurtures our life – Brigid’s jurisdiction has been extended. Some sources say that Imbolc means “in the belly of the Mother.” In either case of its meaning, this celebration is in direct relation to, and an extension of, the Winter Solstice – when the Birth of all is celebrated. Imbolc may be a dwelling upon the “originating power,” and that it is in us: a celebration of each being’s particular participation in this power that permeates the Universe, and is present in the condition of every moment.[iv] This Seasonal Moment focuses on the Urge to Be, the One/Energy deeply resolute about Being. She is wilful in that way – and Self-centred. In the ancient Celtic tradition Great Goddess Brigid has been identified with the role of tending the Flame of Being, and with the Flame itself. Brigid has been described as: “… Great Moon Mother, patroness (sic … why not “matron”) of poetry and of all ‘making’ and of the arts of healing.”[v] Brigid’s name means “the Great or Sublime One,” from the root brig, “power, strength, vigor, force, efficiency, substance, essence, and meaning.”[vi] She is poet, physician/healer, smith-artisan: qualities that resonate with the virgin-mother-crone but are not chronologically or biologically bound – thus are clearly ever present Creative Dynamic. Brigid’s priestesses in Kildare tended a flame, which was extinguished by Papal edict in 1100 C.E., and was re-lit in 1998 C.E.. In the Christian era, these Early Spring/Imbolc celebrations of the Virgin quality, the New Young One – became “Candlemas,” a time for purifying the “polluted” mother – forty days after Solstice birthing. Many nuns took their vows of celibacy at this time, invoking the asexual virgin bride.[vii] This is in contrast to its original meaning, and a great example of what happened to this Earth-based tradition in the period of colonization of indigenous peoples. An Imbolc/Early Spring Ceremonial Altar The flame of being within is to be protected and nurtured: the new Being requires dedication and attention. At this early stage of its advent, there is nothing certain about its staying power and growth: there may be uncertainties of various kinds. So there is traditionally a “dedication” in the ceremonies, which may be considered a “Brigid-ine” dedication, or known as a “Bridal” dedication, since “Bride” is a derivative of …
(Essay) Conceiving, Imagining the New at Samhain by Glenys Livingstone Ph.D.

It is the Season of Samhain/Deep Autumn in the Southern Hemisphere at this time. In the PaGaian version of Samhain/Deep Autumn ceremony participants journey to the “Luminous World Egg” … a term taken from Starhawk in her book The Spiral Dance[i], where she also names that place as the “Shining Isle”, which is of course, the Seed of conception, a metaphor for the origins of all and/or the female egg: it is the place for rebirth. Artist: Bundeluk, Blue Mountains, Australia. The “luminous world egg” is a numinous place within, the MotherStar of conception: that is, a place of unfolding/becoming. The journey to this numinous place within requires first a journey back, through some of each one’s transformations, however each may wish to name those transformations at this time. The transformations for each and every being are infinite in their number, for there is “nothing we have not been” as has been told by Celts and others of Old, and also by Western science in the evolutionary story (a story told so well by evolutionary biologist Elisabet Sahtouris, particularly in her video Journey of a Silica Atom.) Ceremonial participants may choose selves from biological, present historical self, or may choose selves from the mythic with whom they feel connection; from any lineage – biological or otherwise. Selves may also be chosen from Gaia’s evolutionary story – earlier creatures, winged or scaled ones … with whom one wishes to identify at this time. Each participant is praised for their “becoming” for each self they share. When all have completed these journeys/stories of transformation, the circle is lauded dramatically by the celebrant for their courage to transform; and she likens them all to Gaia Herself who has made such transitions for eons. The celebrant awards each with a gingerbread snake, “Gaian totems of life renewed”[ii]. gingerbread snakes Participants sit and consume these gingerbread snakes in three parts: (i) as all the “old shapes” of self that were named; and (ii) remembering the ancestors, those whose lives have been harvested, whose lives have fed our own, remembering that we too are the ancestors, that we will be consumed; and (iii) remembering and consuming the stories of our world that they desire to change, the stories that fire their wrath or sympathy: in the consuming, absorbing them (as we do), each may transform them by thoughts and actions – “in our own bodyminds”. When all that is consumed “wasting no part”, it is said that “we are then free to radiate whatever we conceive”, to “exclaim the strongest natural fibre known” – our creative selves, “into such art, such architecture, as can house a world made sacred” by our building[iii]. This “natural fibre” is a reference to the spider’s thread from within her own body, with which she weaves her web, her home; and Spider has frequently been felt in indigenous cultures around the globe as Weaver and Creator of the Cosmos. Spider the Creatrix, North America, C. 1300 C.E., Hallie Iglehart Austen, The Heart of the Goddess, p.13 In the ceremony, participants linked with a thread that they weave around the circle, may sail together for a new world “across the vast sunless sea between endings and beginnings, across the Womb of magic and transformation, to the “Not-Yet” who beckons”[iv]: to the Luminous World Egg whereupon the new may be conceived and dreamed up. Samhain/Deep Autumn ceremony is an excellent place for co-creating ourselves, for imaginingthe More that we may become, and wish to become. This is where creation and co-creation happens … in the Womb of Space[v], in which we are immersed – at all times: and Samhain is a good season for feeling it. References: Livingstone, Glenys. PaGaian Cosmology: Re-inventing Earth-based Goddess Religion. NE: iUniverse, 2005 Sahtouris, Elisabet. Earthdance: Living Systems in Evolution. Lincoln NE:iUniversity Press, 2000. Starhawk, The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess. NY: Harper and Row, 1999. Swimme, Brian. The Earth’s Imagination.DVD series 1998. NOTES: [i]p.210 [ii]a version of this Samhain script is offered in Chapter 7 PaGaian Cosmology [iii]These quoted phrases are from Robin Morgan, “The Network of the Imaginary Mother”, in Lady of the Beasts, p.84. This poem is a core inspiration of the ceremony. [iv]“Not-Yet” is a term used by Brian Swimme, The Earth’s Imagination, video 8 “The Surprise of Cosmogenesis”. [v]note that creation does not happen at the point of some god’s index finger, as imagined in the Sistine Chapel – what a takeover that is!
(Video) Winter Solstice Breath Meditation by Glenys Livingstone Ph.D.

Winter Solstice/Yule Southern Hemisphere – June 20 – 23. Northern Hemisphere – December 20 – 23 Winter Solstice is a celebration of the Mother/Creator aspect of the Triple Goddess in particular – as both Solstices may be, as dark or light come to fullness. Winter Solstice Moment celebrates the ripe fullness of the Dark Womb, and the gateway from that fullness back into new growing light. It is a Birthing Place – into differentiated being, and Her birthing happens in every moment in the breath, and is seamlessly connected with all layers of being – of self, Earth and Cosmos. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDsVZzXtoyM The Text in the Meditation[i] Take a deep breath and let it go. Notice the Void at the bottom of emptying your breath … feeling it, and feeling the Urge to breathe as it arises. And again … feeling it over and over – this breath that arises out of the full emptiness in every moment, birthing you in every moment. – Recall some of the birthings in your life, your actual birth – see it there in your mind’s eye … you coming into being – your Nativity, your Nativity. Recall projects you have brought into being, new beings within yourself, perhaps children, new beings in others, how you have been Creator and Created – even at the same time … who was birthing who? Staying for a while with the many, many birthings in your life. – recalling now Earth-Gaia’s many birthings out of the Dark everyday … the dawn is constant as She turns. See Her in your mind’s eye – the constant dawning around the globe, the constant birthing. Recall Earth’s many births right now of all beings – as day breaks around the globe – the physical, emotional, spiritual births. Her many, many birthings everyday, and throughout the eons. recalling now Universe-Gaia’s many birthings – happening in every moment – right now in real time and space … supernovas right now, stars and planets being born right now. Her many, many birthings in every moment and throughout the eons. – recalling now Universe-Gaia’s many birthings – happening in every moment – right now in real time and space … supernovas right now, stars and planets being born right now. Her many, many birthings in every moment and throughout the eons. Come back to your breath – this wonder – none of it separate … the Origin Ever-Present, birthing you in every moment – out of Her Fertile Dark, in real time and space. Feeling this breath, Her breath. NOTES: [i] Glenys Livingstone, PaGaian Cosmology, Winter Solstice ceremonial script, p. 195-196. Reference: Glenys Livingstone, PaGaian Cosmology. Music: Fish Nite Moon by Tim Wheater, permission generously given Images: – Birth of the Goddess, Erich Neumann, The Great Mother, pl. 155. See https://pagaian.org/book/cover-goddess-image/ – Winter Solstice window, MoonCourt Australia 2016 – some sources unknown
(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.
(Mago Almanac Excerpt 5) Introducing the Magoist Calendar by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang

Mago Almanac: 13 Month 28 Day Calendar (Book A) Free PDF available at Mago Bookstore. THE 28-13-7 INTERPLAY How does the number, 28 (days), for the lunar cycle come about? Why is it 28 days and not 29 or 30, the latter implicated in the traditional lunar calendar of East Asia? It appears that 28 days is a value closer to the moon’s sidereal period (about 27.3 days) than the synodic period (about 29.5 days). Or is it that 28 days points to the median between the synodic lunar cycle and the sidereal lunar cycle? To answer these questions, it is important to note that a value in the Mago Time captures an inter-cosmic biological cusp/juncture derived from the matrix of sonic numerology. Distinguished from the patriarchal measure of time fixated into a solipsistic space, it makes visible the interconnectedness of all bodies. It never stands as an isolated single occasion. The 28 day, 13 month calendar has to do with how we perceive the moon. There are two ways of understanding the lunar cycle; the sidereal period and the synodic period (see Figure 2). The synodic period refers to the time, about 29.5 days, that we on earth see the moon complete one round of revolution, e.g. from the full moon to the full moon. In contrast, the sidereal period refers to the actual time, about 27.3 days, that the moon takes to complete one round of revolution. While the synodic time is measured relative to the Earth (the observer’s position is on earth), the sidereal time is measured relative to the distant “fixed” stars (the observer’s position is far out at the distant stars). Since the distant stars are considered at rest, the sidereal period is taken as a universal value, not affected by the location of the viewer, we on earth. There is, apparently, a discrepancy between the lunar cycle that we on earth see the moon return to the same phase and the lunar cycle that the moon actually completes a revolution. The former is based on our observation of the moon’s phases, whereas the latter is based on the moon’s actual orbital motions. The two differs basically because all celestial bodies, the moon, earth, and sun, in the solar system are in motion. It is not just the moon that we watch revolving but Earth also revolves around the sun. We are watching the movement of the moon on a moving vehicle, earth, so to speak. Therefore, the moon has to travel about 2 more days in order for us on earth to see it in the same phase (see the green portion in Figure 2 part). At the position A of the moon in Figure 2, the moon is in line with the sun and the distant stars, which is a new moon. In the position of B (the new moon), the moon is in line with the sun but not with the distant stars. The right hand line of the green portion in line with the distant stars is where the moon started as a new moon. The moon has traveled about 2 more days to be in line with the sun. That is why the synodic period is about 2 days longer than the sidereal period. When it comes to “the lunar calendar”, moderns tend to think of it as the waxing and waning phases of the moon (29.5 days, the synodic period). The problem lies in that, following the synodic period, people see nothing beyond the moon’s phases. They overlook the fact that the moon rotates and revolves on its own axis and around the earth approximately 13 degrees every day. The synodic lunisolar calendar is a navel-gazing vision. Attending to the moon’s phases may seem benign. However, that is a planned pitfall; the synodic lunisolar calendar with 12 months in a year is here to supersede the 28 day, 13 month gynocentric calendar. Its irregularity with the number of days in a month (29 or 30 days with about 11 extra days for intercalation) is an inherently critical flaw. Its inaccuracy when incorporated within the solar annual calendar (approximately 365.25 days) stands out. Seen below in the table, the synodic lunar track results in as many leap days as a total of 44 days for 4 years, whereas the sidereal lunar track has 2 days for 4 years. The synodic lunisolar calendar undercuts the moon’s given capacity – guiding earthly beings into the intergalactic voyage of WE/HERE/NOW. In it, both the moon and women are, glorified and objectified by the viewer, cast under the male voyeuristic eye. On the contrary, the sidereal lunisolar calendar, based on the cyclic synchrony between the moon and women, offers the lens to the interconnectedness of all bodies in the universe. Synodic Lunar Track (Patriarchal) Sidereal Lunar Track (Magoist) Focus Moon’s phases Moon’s motions Days of month 29 or 30 (irregular) 28 (regular) No. of months in a year 12 13 Women’s menstrual cycle Assumed sync Synced Luni-centric Astolonomy Unknown 28 Constellations Intercalations 11 days annually, a total of 44 days for 4 years 1 day annually & 1 day every 4 years, a total of 2 days for 4 years Sources prove that the sidereal lunation is, albeit esoterically, known across cultures to this day. Through the comparative study of ancient cultures of Babylon, Arabia, India and China, W. B. Yeats (1865-1939) observes the substantive difference in dynamic between the two lunation tracks, the synodic and the sidereal. He notes that the moon’s orbital motion, apart from the sun’s, charts out the celestial sphere as the 28 Mansions. I have learned that the 28 Mansions or 28 Constellations of the Moon is a popular form of the 28 day and 13 month Magoist calendar, widely circulated among East Asians especially Koreans from the ancient time. Yeats’ following insights corroborate the Budoji’s explication of the Magoist Calendar in general and the faulty nature of the patriarchal (ancient Chinese) calendar in …
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/

(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 …
(Book Excerpt 3) The Mago Way: Re-discovering Mago, the Great Goddess from East Asia

[Author’s Note: The following is from Chapter 8, The Consciousness of WE/HERE/NOW.] The Budoji stories the primordial drama of Mago’s beginning. It furnishes a yet-to-be-heard story of the beginning of the Great Goddess, the taboo story in patriarchy. It is the story of the Creatrix that patriarchy has attempted to erase. It can be temporarily forgotten but can never die because it is the story that is at the root of patriarchy. Ultimately, it is The Story that is happening HERE and NOW. The merit of the Magoist Cosmogony lies in the fact that it, through storying, restores the view of the whole, the macrocosmic view of the All. The holistic view necessarily involves the Great Goddess or the First Mother in that S/HE is the Creatrix. Time is not a linear concept, flowing from one end to the other. Time is the unified Present, happening NOW. It may be said that time is circular or cyclic, as all beings are constantly in motion to enhance the process of self-creation, which causes the whole to change ceaselessly. The Present hosts an infinite number of stories that take place in the undividable One Space HERE. The beginning of the Great Goddess is still happening and we are invited to re-cognize HER STORY in the HERE and NOW. The beginning is a process, not a single isolated event that took place in the remote past.[i] All things exist in the process of becoming HERE and NOW as part of WE. Put differently, the beginning of the Great Goddess is the LIVE SCENE/DRAMA/STORY. We are part of HER STORY. Mago’s beginning is the heart that pumps fresh blood to the body of the terrestrial becoming. The beginning of the Great Goddess is still taking place HERE/NOW. The terrestrial beginning is attributed to the Great Goddess who is self-born through the sonic movement of cosmic light. The beginning story of the Great Goddess is no ordinary one. It is of power and truth, that is, metamorphic. It provides the original text to the meaning of “salvation.” HER Beginning that is happening HERE/NOW holds all from falling into cacophony. For one thing, it delivers us from the patriarchal misconception of ultimate reality that does away with the Creatrix. The holistic view of the Creatrix is capable of saving us from misconceptions and misconduct. Ultimately, it guides us to live our life in harmony with the whole, HERE/NOW. The Magoist Cosmogony engenders the consciousness that WE ARE HERE/NOW. The universe is existent without beginning or end. In one ever-existing reality, things ceaselessly appear and disappear in relation to one another on all levels. All things are in the constant movement of autogenesis striving to arrive at a new position of balance. S/HE IS HERE/NOW telling us the STORY of WE. That is the source of our metamorphosis. Notes: [i] Process thought founded by Alfred North Whitehead, Charles Hartshorne, and John B. Cobb shares a common premise on that regard, although it does not associate ultimate reality with the Creatrix. (See Book Excerpt 1 and Book Excerpt 2. Available in Mago Bookstore.) Meet Mago Contributor, Helen Hye-Sook Hwang, Ph.D.
(Poem) Knowing Mago Calendar by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang

[Author’s Note: This poem was an offshoot of an essay on Magoist Calendar and Nine Numerology, to be included in the forthcoming anthology, Celebrating Seasons of the Goddess (Mago Books, 2017). I thank Genevieve Vaughan, Danica Anderson, and Harriet Ann Ellenbeger who have given me feedback to the article and inspiration to this poem.] Mago Calendar is the umbilical cord of the Great Goddess, the umbilical cord that re-members the Beginning Story of us all terrestrial beings, that enables the one and many songs/dances of the Earth, and that nourishes the human world to sing the chorus to the cosmic lullaby. Mago Calendar is the grand wheel of the Great Mother, the grand wheel that spirals the inter-cosmic orbit of truth, goodness, and beauty, that carries all earthlings to the fullest becoming, and that builds bridges into the inter-protonic galaxies. Mago Calendar is the everlasting blessing of the Nine Mago Creatrix, the everlasting blessing that scripts the ecstasy of Heavenly Numerology, that charts the Earth’s metamorphosis from the infinite to the physical, and that unfolds the Reality of the Mago Time, WE/HERE/NOW. (Meet Mago Contributor) Helen Hye-Sook Hwang.