July 3, 2019October 2, 2019 Mago Work Admin1 Comment

(Art & Prose) Becoming Safe to Feel by Lucy Pierce

We need all of our feelings, they are there for a reason and they need to be felt. We need to know we’re big enough to feel them all, even Read More …

(S/HE V2 N1 Book Review) Susan Ackerman’s Gods, Goddesses, and the Women Who Serve them, Reviewed by Mary Ann Beavis

[This is from S/HE: An International Journal of Goddess Studies (V2 N1, 2023) Its online edition and paperback are available at Mago Bookstore.] Susan Ackerman is a professor of women’s, gender and sexuality studies at Dartmouth College whose research has focused on women’s religious practices in ancient Israel since the 1980s. This book is a compilation of previously published works relating to women’s religion and goddess worship from as early as 1989, most of them prefaced by short introductions where Ackerman reflects on their significance from her standpoint as a mature scholar. The book is divided into four parts: Goddesses, Priests and Prophets, Queen Mothers, and Women and Worship. The chapters in Part One investigate the identities and practices associated with ancient Israelite and other Ancient Near Eastern goddesses beginning with a pioneering investigation of the deity referred to as the Queen of Heaven in the biblical Book of Jeremiah (4:16-20; 44:15, 25) (“And the Women Knead Dough”). This goddess, for whom the women of Jerusalem are said to have baked bread cakes, poured out libations, and burned incense, has similarities with “The great East Semitic goddess Ishtar, Ishtar’s West Semitic Counterpart, Astarte, the West Semitic goddesses Anat and Asherah, and even the Canaanite goddess Šapšu” (p. 7). Ackerman concludes that the deity in question particularly shares the characteristics of Astarte and Ishtar, both heavenly Queens—especially Ishtar—whose worship included the offering of bread cakes. Chapter 2, “Asherah, the West Semitic Goddess of Spinning and Weaving?”, considers the evidence for the ancient Hebrew/Canaanite mother goddess Asherah as the patron of women’s textile production hinted at by the reference in 2 Kings 23:7 to women weavers who lived in the Jerusalem temple compound during the reign of Josiah (c. 640-609 BCE). In view of the ubiquity of goddesses of spinning and weaving in the ancient Mediterranean world (Inanna, Uttu, Tayet, Athena), Ackerman surmises that these women, who were banished from the temple precincts during the Josianic reform, were producing garments to be draped over the cult images of Asherah housed in the temple. The chapter also contains an interesting consideration of the hypothesis that the eshet h̩ayil (“valiant woman”) of Proverbs 31, who weaves luxury fabrics for her household (vv. 22-23), is a personification of Woman Wisdom, a figure informed by the ancient goddess Asherah. The final chapter in the section, “The Women of the Bible and of Ancient Near Eastern Myth” considers the similarities between the Enuma Elish’s account of the defeat of the mother goddess Tiamat by her son Marduk and the notorious story of the Levite’s concubine (pîlegeš) in Judges 19. Ackerman does not posit a direct relationship between the two narratives, but points out that in both cases, a female figure (Tiamat, the pîlegeš) defies ancient near eastern gender norms and is destroyed and dismembered in horrendous acts of male violence. Part Two of the book beings with “Why Is Miriam Also among the Prophets? (And Is Zipporah among the Priests?)”. In fact, five women mentioned in the Hebrew Bible are called prophets (nĕbî’â)—Miriam, the sister of Moses (Exodus 15:20), Deborah the judge (Judges 4:4), the wife of the prophet Isaiah (Isa 8:3), Hulda, the prophet who verified the “book of the law” conveniently discovered during the Josianic reform (2 Kings 22:14; 2 Chronicles 24:22), and Noadiah, an opponent of Nehemiah (Nehemiah 6:14). These women, Ackerman posits, appear at liminal moments in the history of Israel when “the gender conventions that more usually restrict women from holding religious leadership can be suspended” (p. 100). Similarly, Zipporah, the wife of Moses, performs the priestly act of circumcising her infant son during the liminal site of an unspecified lodging on the family’s return to Egypt. Chapter 5, “The Mother of Esmunazor, Priest of Astarte,” investigates the issue of why priestly roles for women were exceedingly rare in Ugaritic and Hebrew religion, whereas upper-class women of surrounding cultures, like the Phoenician khnt (priestess), queen mother of Esmunazor II of Sidon (5th century BCE) played priestly roles. Ackerman theorizes that women of child-bearing age were excluded from blood sacrificial roles due to the ritual impurity incurred by menstruation and childbirth specific to these cultures. This issue is further investigated in “Priestesses, Purity, and Parturition,” which shows that menstrual impurity was by no means universally regarded as an impediment to female priesthood in the region. Further, Ackerman speculates that pre-pubescent girls, like the frame-drumming ‘ălamôt of Psalm 68:26, were able to access Yahweh’s sanctuary, whereas women of reproductive age were confined to the sanctuary’s periphery (2 Kings 23:7; Ezekiel 8:14; Exodus 38:8). Part Three focuses on another class of women past childbearing age—queen mothers, who, like the mother of Esmunazor, served as priestesses. In “The Queen Mother and the Cult in Ancient Israel,” Ackerman argues that the king’s mother (gĕbirâ) served not only as a trusted advisor to her son, but also as priestess of Asherah, Yahweh’s divine consort (1 Kings 15:2, 9-13; 2 Chronicles 11:20-22; 15:16). As royal representative of the goddess, the queen mother would have been able “to function as the second-most powerful figure in the royal court, superseded only by her son” (p. 169). The next chapter, “The Queen Mother and the Cult in the Ancient Near East,” situates the sacerdotal role of queen mothers in other West Semitic cultures; in a final section, Ackerman notes the attribution of the queen mother role to Mary in the New Testament infancy narratives and in the Protevangelium of James, where the child Mary is dedicated to the temple, and she and other virgins spin the wool for the temple curtain, until she reaches puberty. The two chapters in Part Four are devoted to considerations of Israelite women’s worship in the domestic sphere, encompassing the house of the God, the temple, the royal palace, and the family residence. In “At Home with the Goddess,” Ackerman concludes that Asherah worship was not confined to the elite, or to women; rather, she sees “a close interrelationship between the Asherah cult …
(Video) Ways to walk with ancestral family patterns by Cynthia Tom

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXWQr3D4gM8 Cynthia walks us thru her Hungry Ghosts art installation for 2018 Dia de Los Muertos @SOMArts Cultural Center, San Francisco. Curated by RioYanez and Carolina Quintania, created by Rene Yanez. Cynthia shares how she is healing herself by unraveling and exploring her ancestral family patterns of trauma. Colonization, patriarchy, extreme discrimination. She has learned that her self-doubt and depression are not hers, but learned behavior that can be unlearned. She shares this thru her art https://www.cynthiatom.com and art based healing workshops like https://www.aplaceofherown.org Https://www.ateliercynthiatom.com for merchant as meditation. https://www.magoism.net/2021/07/meet-mago-contributor-cynthia-tom/
(Essay 4) Reinterpreting Female Figures in the Bible by Francesca Tronetti

[Author’s Note; I am going back to feminist reinterpretations of the Bible, this one focusing on the work of Alice Bellis. I especially love her reexamination of Ruth. I remember watching the movie on TCM when I was in middle school, and it stuck with me. Even in the movie, made in 1960, Ruth is an active character, choosing her destiny and not passively accepting men’s plans for her. That is a definite lesson many interpretations of the story leave out, focusing instead on Boaz as the hero and YHWH’s protection.] Male interpretations of the Bible have often been criticized for opposing women and feminism. This opposition to women has spread to some sects of the three religions, which draw their foundations from this source material: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In this essay series, I have focused my research on Christianity and Judaism, hoping to encourage those who study Islamic interpretations of the text to continue the discussion. Even when the text itself seems to have a good message regarding hope or love, in the past, the overarching teaching of the Church and Synagogue has been that women are lesser beings, lesser in God’s sight, and less worthy of respect or protection. In fact, in the Orthodox Jewish community, the daily morning prayers recited by the men include their thanks to God that they were not born women. This kind of devaluation of women “justified” by sacred text is what finally ended my worship in the Catholic Church. It was not the teachings of Christ; I still consider myself a Goddess follower of his message to love each other and help those in need. It was what I saw as the Church’s hatred for women, for women’s ideas, for women’s very right to be free that ended our relationship. Philosopher and Jewish ethicist Anya Topolski experienced this same problem, but her struggle did not end her practice of Judaism but enhanced it. Topolski writes, “Being born a Jew means being required to challenge the world and G-d. … It is as if struggling is the unspoken root of all of Judaism’s rituals and rules.”[1] It is this constant struggle with the text that brought her attention to the story of Rebekah, which she believes lies at the root of Judaism’s unfair treatment of women because she helps her son Jacob trick his father Isaac into blessing Jacob as YHWH intended instead of his elder brother Esau as tradition demanded. Eliezer, a servant of Issac, meets Rebekah at a well where she gives him water. Rebekah is a remarkable woman; her genealogy lists her grandmother rather than just the father’s line, and unlike all other women in the Bible, Rebekah is given the choice to follow a stranger to meet her husband. Topolski rescues Rebekah’s good name, pointing out that while Isaac was weak, Rebekah became the keeper of the covenant and put her faith in G-d over tradition. Rebekah’s story is about a woman of true faith, belittled by the passage of time and male interpretation. It has only been through a reexamination of the text using a feminist lens that she has been redeemed. If we take Topolski’s understanding of the struggle to challenge the word of G-d and to rediscover the strong and faithful women of the Bible who have been made invisible by centuries of male-only interpretation, then women of faith can find a new meaning in the traditions without being driven away. Within the texts, there are numerous references to female prophets, such as Miriam, the sister of Moses. We also find women’s participation in religious festivals or rituals, such as the women who baked cakes for the Queen of Heaven in the book of Jeremiah. We know from studying other societies that Goddess cults like those in ancient Greece had female priestesses and sometimes excluded men altogether. Goddess cults attract, and their festivals, feasts, and rituals are oriented toward women. It is logical to believe that if we find evidence in the biblical and extra-biblical texts of a female divinity or Goddess worshiped by the ancient Israelites, women would not only have participated in these rites but would have had central positions of power. In the Hebrew Bible, we find references to named Goddesses such as Asherah, Astarte, and the unnamed Queen of Heaven, a figure that I have written about previously in the journal S/HE. Conclusion The sacred texts that form the basis of Judaism and Christianity have long been problematic for women and minority peoples. Used to justify marginalization and horrible treatment in the name of saving souls. When these people looked for figures in the text they could relate to, the accepted interpretation of the text hindered them. Within the last century, we have seen a rise in published works by marginalized groups that returned to the original texts and reexamined them through the lens of feminism and humanism. So many entrenched ideas that were taken for granted have been reevaluated, even within the established hierarchy, such as the idea that biblical figures such as Jesus were white with blond hair. Those who studied the text used anthropology and archaeology to understand the world the women named in the Bible lived in and to put their actions into context. Rather than looking at their actions from the surface, they looked deeper into the culture and society the women existed in to see how remarkable they were. Ruth left her homeland and faith to follow her mother-in-law back to the land of her husband’s people. She found a husband she respected rather than one she was expected to marry. Rebekah followed YHWH’s intention and had her son Jacob receive his father’s blessing, defying tradition but putting her faith in the Divine. If those who seek solace in the text do so with faith in their hearts and take the time to understand the ancient societies in which it was written, they will find that there is a place for them …
(Photo Essay 2) We Remember by Kaalii Cargill

There are places in the world that recognize you and can call you by name, even if you’ve never been there. Our ancestors live in the land, and are the land. Their voices speak to us when we remember and we ask to hear. Robyn Philippa, “Animism of the British Isles”, sacredearthgrove.com In my pilgrimages to visit with the Grandmothers at ancient Goddess sites, there have been moments when the extraordinary is present in the ordinary, a reminder that it is not just the sites themselves but also the land I’m standing on, the air I’m breathing, the sounds I’m hearing, the sights that stay with me. Here are some of those moments in my journeys to sacred places, moments that call me to remember . . . Cobbled path leading up to the summit of Cumae Archaeological Park, Pozzuoli, Italy. Walking in the footsteps of those who came before. This worn path has wound in a spiral around the hill past temples to the summit overlooking the coast of Naples for millennia. Lake Avernus, a volcanic crater lake near the Cumae Archaeological Park. Standing on the shore of Lake Avernus with the Tyrrhenian Sea in the background I could feel the ancient stories of gods, goddesses and oracles. “Mater becomes inspirited; it breathes divinity. Earth comes alive and sacred.” Sue Monk Kidd. Stones from the temple of Artemis, Selçuk, Izmir Province, Turkey. Built on an existing sacred site, the temple of Artemis was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (c 550 BCE). Now there are only scattered stones. Yet the land hums with memory and She still speaks through the frogs and cicadas, and the leaves whispering secrets . . . The ancient well at Byblos, Lebanon, in use from Neolithic times to the 1950s. The walls were added around 2500-3000 BCE. One of the oldest cities in the world, Byblos has been continuously inhabited since c5000 BCE. Ancient Egyptian mythology tells of the sacred well at Byblos. It is here that Isis meets the Queen of Byblos and recovers the body of Osiris. The land remembers . . . Meet Mago contributor KAALII CARGILL
(Fiction) The Prophetess: A Love Letter from the 23rd Century by Carolyn Lee Boyd

Tree in field, photo by Carolyn Lee Boyd Margaret Fuller engraving, Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons In 1845, Margaret Fuller wrote the first major American book about feminism, Woman in the Nineteenth Century, and expressed her expectation that if women “had every arbitrary barrier thrown down” and “every path laid open” to them: “We believe the divine energy would pervade nature to a degree unknown in the history of the former ages, and that no discordant collision, but a ravishing harmony of the spheres would ensue” (p. 37). She was prophetic in her belief that a powerful spiritual movement would follow an opening of women’s opportunities. I think she would be inspired by our generation’s excavation of women’s spiritual history and reclaiming and creation of ancient and new traditions celebrating female deities, holy women, and the divinity within ourselves. It can be nearly impossible to appreciate the true effects of our efforts on goals that may only be accomplished far into the future. Just as I wish I could travel back in time to tell Margaret Fuller that progress towards equality would be made and that her prophecy of a feminism-led spiritual transformation is happening, I wonder what a prophetess from the 23rd century might wish to say to us from a world that has, hopefully and presumably, made the changes necessary for our planet’s survival and continued the spiritual progress we have begun, including, for the purposes of the story, time travel. A rune-carved pebble, a labrys-shaped silver pendant, a holed witch stone, a copper goddess statue, a bronze chalice, and a shattered gold-plated casket all emerged from beneath the ancient tree as heavy rain churned the soil to reveal the treasure. The Prophetess, who had come to sing to the tree as she did each morning, wondered “Who had buried these items and why?” The pendant had 2020 stamped on the back so she knew they were very old, but nothing more. The Prophetess was old herself now. For decades she had journeyed to timeless, spaceless realms to bring peace, warnings, or messages of love to her village. Now she was free to roam the centuries as she pleased and seek answers to whatever questions arose in her mind. She placed her hands on the tree and felt its girth melt away as the year 2023 materialized around her. The sight of the sky empty of birds and butterflies, the forest bereft of animals, the soil deserted of insects chilled her soul. The spirits and bodies of the trees yearned for sustenance in the air full of toxins. The mycelium beneath her feet vibrated with constant alarms rather than the matrix songs of joyful life common in her own time. A woman arrived with the gold casket, now shining and whole, and sat by the tree. She dug a hole and placed the casket in. After an incantation and word of thanks to the tree, she walked away. The Prophetess followed her back to the village they both lived in, though in different centuries. In the 23rd century the village was a lively, cheerful place with people calmly meeting and chatting, small, cozy houses and shops just big enough for their purpose, exuberantly colored murals, temples celebrating all expressions of divinity, and gardens and wild places everywhere. Now in the 21st century, she saw mostly empty sidewalks, streets full of rushing cars, looming plain concrete buildings, and parking lots. Where were the Whisperers to communicate with the trees, plants, birds, and animals; the Peaceweavers to ensure community harmony; the Prophetesses to guide the people boldly into their future? These professions had not yet been created. While the environment had certainly been bleak, she was much more stunned by her empathic impressions of the psychological and spiritual burdens carried by the people, especially the women. Unlike many 21st century people, the Prophetess had been raised without undeserved guilt and shame or the sense that she was sinful. She understand fully every day that she was sacred. She had no barriers to being who she was meant to be, to doing what she was meant to do, to living in a world where all were loved and taken care of, including the Earth. As she explored the inner world of the 21st century people around her she wondered how her ancestors had survived such abuse, such repression of who they truly were and lack of opportunity to accomplish their hearts’ desire all their lives? The Prophetess conjectured that the woman had buried the casket partly out of fear that women of the future would face even worse oppression and need the items for their own renewal, but also out of hope that maybe someone from a better future would find it and remember how hard 21st century women had toiled to reclaim their spiritual realm. The Prophetess knew what she had to do. She wrote out a message and placed it at the base of the tree in case the woman returned. The message read: Dear Woman of the 21st century, The objects you buried brought me to you from 200 years in the future and there are things I wish to tell you. Know that I see you creeping up to the spiritless wall of repression and fear that kept women from their own sacred hearts for so long. I see you pushing your bleeding finger into the tiny crevices of hope and grinding away at the debris until the glimmer of a luminescent future lights up your hands. I see you opening your eyes and seeing not what you had been told see, but the divinity that is really there. I see you touching stone and feeling spirit. I see you opening yourself to the both the love and the risk that comes with understanding that we are never alone but connected to all life, The Earth, and the Cosmos Herself. Know that the wall will come down and a portal of flowers will lead the people …
(Poem 2) pears (still so terrified) by Kerryn Coombs-Valeontis

(still so terrified of pears) stretched with birthing its sacrifice of tenderness – summer’s cervix dilated with chart- reuse-grained generosity curved into cooling evenings fruition, delivered at the splendour of the leaves surrender with the fullness of time
(Dual-language poem) Sky Openings: Khartoum by Louisa Calio

The night was totally still empty of any artificial light or sound as it rarely is in industrial countries, and although you complained of these troublesome blackouts the poor electrical connections in Khartoum for me, so burdened with progress and stress this was a reprieve– the sky so close and black except for punctuating stars, I could nearly touch the diamonds as you walked weighted beside me, an ancestral figure head filled with thoughts of war bent you were with only your eyes touching the heavens.
(Prose 1) Pseudo-Tolerance by Aisha Monks-Husain

Growing up with an Agnostic English mother and a Muslim Pakistani father has taught me a lot, to say the least. It’s taught me everything is deeper than it seems, always. There is always more to know, more to see, and more to think about. It’s taught me people assume I am white because I look white. For that, I am a child of passing and of privilege. I was in Morocco a couple of years ago. As I wondered through the maze like markets, smelling the cumin and garlic, fresh naan and mint tea, I realized I grew up with these smells. One would think I’d feel at home in Morocco because it all felt familiar. But I was disconnected. A white girl, with green
(Essay 3) The Queen of Heaven: Depictions of Asherah in Ancient Israel by Francesca Tronetti Ph.D.

A modern interpretation of an Asherah pole. Image taken from TheBibleNet blog. Women’s Worship of Asherah: The primary source of information regarding the cult of YHWH and the worship of the ancient Israelites is still the Bible. However, the text does not include essential details concerning women’s religious activities. The authors typically denigrate women’s worship and acts of devotion that are described. The Bible does not venerate women’s worship; nevertheless, a close reading of specific passages provides many clues to the queen mothers’ cultic obligations in Judah’s kingdom. According to Ackerman, “…the queen mother did have an official responsibility in Israelite religion: it was to devote herself to the cult of the mother goddess Asherah within the king’s court…the queen mother’s devotions to Asherah stand behind and are fundamental to the role accorded to her in matters of succession”[1]. There is evidence that at least four of Israel’s queen mothers were part of Asherah’s cult and that their worship of her was one of their central roles in the royal court. The queen mother Ma’acah, mother-in-law of Jezebel, is described as worshipping the goddess Asherah and making a cultic statue for her in 1Kgs 15:13[2]. Whether Jezebel devoted herself to the cult of Asherah as entirely as Ma’acah did is still in question. However, there is sufficient evidence to support the belief that Jezebel was an active participant in Asherah’s cult. Jezebel is most noted in the Bible for her worship of the Canaanite god Baal. Still, she likely participated in Asherah’s cult while Ahab’s queen as part of her marital responsibilities and as part of her obligation to the state. We can speculate that Jezebel continued to participate in the cult after Ahab’s death when she became the queen mother[3]. Athaliah, the daughter of Judah and Jezebel, who served as queen regent, was also a possible Asherah follower. Athaliah is believed to have been responsible for the building of a temple to Baal in Judah. If this is the case, then we can presume that Athaliah also aligned herself with other cults that her mother followed. Since Asherah’s worship was a standard part of Yahwistic devotion, we can assume that Athaliah would have been a follower of Asherah as the queen mother. The final queen mother who may have been a participant in Asherah’s cult was Nehushta, Jehoiachin’s mother. Nehushta’s name nehusta’ is most likely derived from the root nahas meaning “serpent.” Also, “…as the ‘serpent lady,’ the gebira Nehushta bears, I would suggest, an epithet of Asherah, whose associations with snakes[4] are attested to in multiple sources.” With numerous sources linking Asherah and serpents, it is very likely that Nehushta, like Ma’acah, Jezebel, and Athaliah, was a devotee of Asherah. In Judean royal ideology, YHWH was believed to be the king’s adopted father; so, if Asherah was considered the consort of YHWH in the state and popular cult, it follows that Asherah was believed to be his adopted mother. Ackerman acknowledges that the language of divine adoption implies that YHWH is a surrogate father and that Asherah was a surrogate mother. If the queen mother was perceived to be the earthly counterpart to Asherah, she might have been considered the human representative or surrogate of Asherah. Such a direct correspondence would explain why those queen mothers in the Bible who are described as having cultic allegiances are depicted to be patronesses of the goddess Asherah. It would be appropriate for these queen mothers to devote themselves to their divine alter-ego. In Judah’s royal ideology, it might have been part of their cultic obligation to the country. It may even have been necessary for the queen mother to make this association because “…if the queen mother is considered the human representative of Asherah in the royal court, she should be able to legitimate her son’s claim to be the adopted son of YHWH. Indeed, the queen-mother, speaking as the goddess and as YHWH’s consort, is uniquely qualified to attest to her son’s divine adoption”[5]. Asherah worship was common among the everyday people of Judah as well. In Jeremiah 14:15-25, the prophet admonishes the people for their worship of Asherah. The men reply, “We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and will pour out drink offerings to her just as we and our fathers, our kings and our officials did in the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. At that time, we had plenty of food and were well off and suffered no harm. But ever since we stopped burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and pouring out drink offerings to her, we have had nothing and have been perishing by sword and famine” (Jer. 14:17-18). The women then respond, “When we burned incense to the Queen of Heaven and poured out drink offerings to her, did not our husbands know that we were making cakes like her image and pouring out drink offerings to her?” (Jer. 14:1). Asherah’s role in YHWH’s cult lasted for several centuries, but eventually, the people turned to a more monotheistic belief system. The Shift Toward Monotheism: Beginning in Exodus and continuing through Joshua and 2Kings, we see more challenges to alternative divine figures by the ancient Israelites. The different prophets called people away from other gods’ worship, and the Biblical kings are labeled as good or evil based upon their devotion and loyalty to YHWH. In 622 BCE, Josiah’s reforms demonstrate how idolatry had become common in the southern kingdom, even entering the temple precincts and the temple prayers[6]. Josiah is written to have removed Asherah’s vessels as part of her sacrificial cult from the Temple in Jerusalem. He also and tore down the structures within the Temple compound where women wove garments to be draped over Asherah’s cult statue[7]. The removal of Asherah from the lives of the ancient Israelites, like all significant religious reforms, resulted from great upheavals in the people’s lives. In 722 BCE, Judah’s northern kingdom fell, and the southern kingdom followed in 587 …

(Special Post 3) Nine-Headed Dragon Slain by Patriarchal Heroes: A Cross-cultural Discussion by Mago Circle Members

[Editor’s Note: This and the ensuing sequels are a revised version of the discussion that has taken place in The Mago Circle, Facebook group, since September 24, 2017 to the present. Themes are introduced and interwoven in a somewhat random manner, as different discussants lead the discussion. The topic of the number nine is key to Magoism, primarily manifested as Nine Magos or the Nine Mago Creatrix. Mago Academy hosts a virtual and actual event, Nine Day Mago Celebration, annually.] Helen Hye-Sook Hwang: Xiang Yao or Xiangliu is the Chinese equivalent to Hydra in Greek mythology. And Hercules is to Yu, the Great, founder of the Xia dynasty. We will see in the course of this discussion that the myth of Yu, the founding ruler of Xia, the oldest dynasty of China, who slains the nine-headed snake, is only a variation of its older prototype, the myth of Huangdi who fought Chiu, the alliance of the Nine Han Giants (East Asian/Korean Magoists). “According to the Classic of Mountains and Seas, Xiangliu was a minister of the snake-like water deity Gonggong. Xiangliu devastated the ecology everywhere he went, leaving nothing but gullies and marshes devoid of animal life. Eventually, Xiangliu was killed by Yu the Great, whose other labors included ending the Great Flood of China. In other versions of the story, Xiangliu was killed by Nüwa, after being defeated by Zhurong, but his blood was so virulently poisonous that the soil which it soaked could no longer grow grain.[1] An oral version of the Xiangliu myth was collected as late from Sichuan as 1983, in which Xiangliu is depicted as a nine-headed dragon, responsible for floods and other harm.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xiangliu Helen Hye-Sook Hwang: Ancient China had to demonize the pre-Han myth of the nona Mago because it bespeaks the matriarchal/gynocentric history that it overthrew… the past that had to be severed in order to fake patriarchal originality. With this in mind, we have a better look on patriarchal mythopoeia, which appears to be complex but, nonetheless, transparent in its motive to hide/hijack pre-patriarchal gynocentric histories. “One of the most harrowing myths from ancient China is the story of Gonggong’s rebellion. You can revisit the whole story here, but the quick version is that the evil water god Gonggong attempted to drown the world and was only prevented from doing so by the heroic last resort actions of the beneficent creator goddess Nüwa, who cut the legs off the cosmic turtle in order to set things to rights. In the chaos of the climactic battle, however Gongong’s chief minister and partner in crime Xiangliu the nine-headed snake monster completely escaped. Filled with bitterness about Gonggong’s failure, Xiangliu crawled away across the soggy lands of Szechuan (which were water-logged after the nearly world-ending floods). Wherever he went, the snake monster left permanent fens and swamps which were toxic to life. His very being had become steeped in poison, and his progress through the damp and moldy world had to be stopped. Yu the hero, the third of the three sage kings, finally caught up with the nine-headed monster and killed him in a pitched battle. Yet still there was a problem: Xiangliu’s pestiferous blood has poisoned the whole region, which now stank of rot. Crops would not grow and civilization began to falter. Yu dug up the blood soaked soil again and again, but the corrupted blood of the monster just sank deeper into the ground. Finally, Yu excavated a deep valley by Kunlun mountain and rid the world of Xiangliu’s toxins. With all of the land he had excavated he built a great terraced mountain for the gods. Yu then went forth to found the kingdom of Xia, the first civilized state in Chinese history. Of course some people say that Yu did none of this, that, it was the goddess Nüwa who once again came forth to battle the monster and undo the damage he had caused. Then, with accustomed modesty she let Yu take the credit and begin his kingdom (for Nüwa cared not for empty praise and hollow glory but only for the well-being of her children).” https://ferrebeekeeper.wordpress.com/2013/09/24/xiangliu-the-nine-headed-snake/ Max Dashu: These patriarchal heroes! Nova Scheller: What a fascinating thread…that the nine headed hydra correlates to the nine headed dragon as a linkage to patriarchy or gynocentric/ matriarchal beginnings…the root being in Korea! Dropping into your work of so many years…a privilege as well as informing some of my personal awareness. Helen Hye-Sook Hwang: Nova Scheller, indeed! The myth of slaining the nine-headed snake/dragon across cultures shows; (1) The onset of patriarchy did not come naturally but forcefully, which proves that patriarchy is not original. It was a reaction to what had been before, its matrix. Patriarchy faked its originality by inventing the myth of demonizing and killing the female principle. (2) Patriarchal rules established across cultures adopted the mythic motif of slaining the nine-headed snake or dragon, which appears to be of Chinese origin. (3) The Nine Mago mythic system preserved in Korean Magoism testifies to gynocentric/matriarchal beginnings, which were remembered by peoples of the ancient world. (4) Furthermore, Korean Magoist mythology explains the origin/meaning of the nona Goddess symbol. Let’s explore how the Nine Mago pantheon was remembered in East Asian myths and religions. For this, we need to unravel the patriarchal mythopoeia of Goma, the Shaman ruler of Old Magoist East Asia/Korea. Helen Hye-Sook Hwang: In principle, we can tell if an ancient rule/culture was patriarchal or gynocentric by the myth of the nine-headed snake/dragon. In the case of ancient China whose heroes are told to have killed the opponent, the nine-headed snake. Nonetheless, the people’s memory of pre-patriarchal gynocentric history never dies. The nine symbolism is still described as auspicious. It revives time and time again throughout history. In other words, ancient China was a small regional power, only modern scholarship seals it all mighty China. Find out what other ancient myths concern about the nine female symbolism. (To be continued) Join us in The Mago Circle https://www.facebook.com/groups/magoism/.
(Special Post Isis 3) Why the Color of Isis Matters by Mago Circle Members

[Editor’s note: The discussion took place in Mago Circle during the month of July, 2013. Our heartfelt thanks go to the members who participated in this discussion with openness and courage.] Part 3 Isis, Arab Women Revolution, and Black Goddesses Naa Ayele Kumari Going back to the original topic of the post…. Some quotes ” Women are in half the society… How come there are only 7 in the Assembly… and they are all Islamist! ” I can’t beat up my wife and almost kill her and call it discipline… this is not discipline… this is abuse and insanity” http://youtu.be/y4umifTLSII 12-Year Old Explains Egyptian Revolution in Under 3 Minutes www.youtube.com Max Dashu It is tremendously heartening to see these insights being expressed, and spread. The Salafis have made such inroads, and now the pushback is happening. Harita Meenee Dear Naa Ayele Kumari, thank you actually reading my post and commenting something relevant to it. It’s refreshing when someone does hear what we have to say instead of projecting their own notions. Building a solidarity movement with those who are oppressed but fighting is very important during these critical times! Harita Meenee See also: https://www.facebook.co/intifadat.almar2a?fref=ts The uprising of women in the Arab world انتفاضة المرأة في العالم العربي حرية الفكر ، حرية التعبير ، حرية الاعتقاد ، حرية التنقل ، حرية الجسد ، حرية اللب…See More Glenys Livingstone … as you say Max …” way too much of it going on” – amongst people who should know better (I would have thought): “Dark goddess as terrifying, challenging, white goddess as benign; “black magic” as harmful; I see way, way too much of this going on out there.” And related to that in my mind is all the “love and light” business that is so common: the Ground of Being is Dark … it seems to me that mystics have always understood the quintessential darkness of Love/Deity. Max Dashu Sure. I would just like to add that the critique raised here addressed issues much broader than the substance of the article, which made some good points. But once the choice of graphics flagged the issue of representation, people had much more to say about that old yet still very fresh wound which is constantly reopened by the cultural habit of whitening Egypt, or interpreting Africa through a eurocentric lens. It is not on any one person to carry the weight of that; we all have a responsibility to address the issues, but especially those of us of European heritage need to familiarize ourselves with how this plays out over and over. Just as men have a responsibility to speak up in support of women when patriarchal assumptions are on board. We all can learn something from each other, along all the various axes of domination, and overthrow them in coalition. Naa Ayele Kumari I have often considered where the roots of this psychology comes from. It is dualistic thinking that causes us to compare and contrast, then sum up judgement of good or bad and place a value on each. It extends into competition and justification for war. It also doesn’t escape me that often this came with certain civilizations who systematically destroyed others. It didn’t just happen with blacks in Africa… but blacks in Asia and the Indus Valley as well. With the Aryan invasions of India, came the eventual introduction to lighter divinities and more emphasis on male divinities. Southern Indians, Sri Lankans are very dark… even more so than many African Blacks. The caste systems implemented by the Aryan invaders did the same thing to them casting them as “untouchables”. With that came the marginalization of their black female divinities such as Kali. Kali actually has 10-16 forms… from compassionate mother, the fountain of wisdom, to she of great beauty but she is minimized as just destructive and terrifying… especially as Brhaman, Vishnuu, and Shiva grow in popularity. One of Kali’s statues has her black self standing on top of Shiva because she conquered him. Later there is a discussion in on of the Hindu text explaining Kali (as Parvati) after being subdued by Shiva she becomes lighter. Further they have stories about him rejecting her and calling her blackie which made her do austerities to rid herself of her black skin. Naa Ayele Kumari It should not be overlooked that in the Story of Alice in Wonderland… a story intended to keep Goddess elements for future generations, has the Elder sister ( the Queen of Hearts) portrayed as man, ego, and power driven who cuts off heads and has a fierce dragon…a clear reference to Kali. The White goddess as the younger sister is her opponent… and her mission is to usurp the throne of the Queen of Hearts even though she was the rightful heir as the oldest … or primordial. Stories like these also reinforce the stereotypes and negative iconography. Max Dashu Yes, it is pervasive in many cultures of domination. Demons are portrayed as black not only in Europe, which we know well, but also in China and in a lot of Buddhist iconography. In modern India, the sweet goddesses are shown as pink, the wrathful as black; and Krishna (name means “dark”) is turned powder blue. (Another of his titles, s’yam, also meaning dark, is the word translated as “green” in Green Tara.) The countercurrents (Black Mazu, loving Kali – esp in Bengal and south India, Black Madonna) bubbled up from the common people, who knew and longed for something other than the dominant racialized hierarchy. Naa Ayele Kumari I am just discovering Mazu ( Matzu/LuShui) in China today! Never knew about her. This discussion has led me to look deeper for black goddesses in Asia. Max Dashu Taoist spiritual tradition often refers to Xüan Nü, which can be translated in several ways. You’ll usually see it rendered as “the Mysterious Female,” a phrase that occurs in the Dao De Jing (Tao Te Ching), and this is a valid translation; but what is less emphasized is that it also means “the Dark Woman.” In […]
(Special Post Isis 2) Why the Color of Isis Matters by Mago Circle Members

[Editor’s note: The discussion took place in Mago Circle during the month of July, 2013. Our heartfelt thanks go to the members who participated in this discussion with openness and courage.] Part 2 The Color Talk in Goddesses Kahena Dorothea Athena was also whitened which is sad. However the statues were worshiped by many women to whom they brought comfort. And their origins were later remembered by the abundance of Black Virgins that became important in Italy and other parts of Europe. I don’t see Dark Goddesses as shadows but as having depths of Creativity and Knowledge. My main Goddess is Kirke and the bast relief I have of her is a chocolate brown. Diane Horton The worship of Isis broadened from Egypt to all the countries bordering the Mediterranean, as well as the Middle East and the isles called now the British Isles. She and Her worship were virtually everywhere in the westernly known world of the time! She IS the Goddess of 10,000 Names! And as such she was adapted to each culture’s vision of Her. She was the basis of all the” Black Madonnas”. I do not think of this as Isis/Auset representing the “dark” Goddess as something somehow bad or to be dealt with, but rather that ancient darkness represents infinite potential, eternal creativity/fertility, the beginning and ending of all things, and the always deepening knowledge of magick. Max Dashu However, there is a politics of representation that we all need to be aware of, that pushes original African iconography down and away, and fronts Europeanized images. There is no possibility of “colorblindness” in such a system; a restoration of the original must be actively striven toward. This is incumbent on all of us not of (recent) African descent. Otherwise we perpetuate the injurious status quo, instead of overturning it. Harita Meenee I agree with those who say that race is largely a social construct. Its roots seem to lie in colonialism and the slave trade. I would also like to add that racism is used to oppress people of different nationalities and colors. Ηere in Greece the IMF neo-liberal policies are destroying our economy (and lives); they go hand in hand with a vicious racist campaign against immigrants, along with the rise of a neo-Nazi party. This is part of an effort to redirect people’s anger away from the government and bankers, towards those who are poor and foreign and often have a different color or religion. Fortunately, many grassroots activists are responding to this by building a strong anti-racist, antifascist movement. You can see our Facebook page below. It’s in Greek but the photos are quite revealing. If anyone is interested in learning more about the situation here, please message me and I’ll try to find some articles in English for you. https://www.facebook.co/19JanuaryATHENSvsFASCISM?fref=ts 19 Γεναρη – ΑΘΗΝΑ ΠΟΛΗ Αντιφασιστικη Μπροστά στη κλιμάκωση της φασιστικής απειλής και της ρατσιστικής βίας, στη εμφάν…See More Naa Ayele Kumari Let me put this in the context of something you might understand. This is a goddess group that honors the feminine and the power it represents. People in this group understand the oppression and misrepresentation of women. We understand the implications of misogynistic patriarchal thinking. We understand the implications of stealing the information, rites, and traditions from goddess centered cultures and rephrasing them into male dominated themes… especially those that then went on to oppress women today. This is the same thing that has happened as it related to race and our cultures. It infuriates us when a man may say… why do we have to focus on the goddess? Let us just accept that we are all human and no special consideration should be given to anyone because of their gender. Or, this is just a distraction or social construct and it really doesn’t matter. We understand the blatant disregard and ignorance of those statements. Yet, the same is true for race and people of other races. Your attitude and casual disregard perpetuates a lie that you are comfortable with and don’t wish to move from that comfort zone. It means you don’t have to be accountable for the injustices or oppression it continues to perpetuate in the larger culture toward people who do not look like you. As far as I am concerned, I truly believe that the dark goddess for many with white skin IS their shadow… It is the part of themselves that they deny and fear. That you may have come from black people may scare you… even when the science proves it. That deep down… you fear what you don’t understand. To even confront it is frightening… something that you would rather ignore and deny… Yet… here we are. Black, Yellow, Red… people.. women… who have been oppressed for thousands of year because of this… and are asking… to be seen in their true likeness… not as you wish them to be… or fear them to be. Naa Ayele Kumari Thank you Max Dashu, I so appreciate your scholarship and dedication to the truth where ever you find it… and Helen Hwang for staying open to it as well. [Someone withdrew the threads.] Rick Williams No, you can’t passively aggressively slither your way out of this, reread your own statements and that last post contradicts most of your ascertains. I can’t believe that you honestly say fire away at you like you’re some sort of martyr and VICTIM of being misunderstood, not at all, I understand you very well. I don’t think you understand yourSELF. That’s the real tragedy. Rick Williams “The Lips of Wisdom are Closed except to the Ears of Understanding.” It is in quotes, and it’s part of Ancient Wisdom, of Tehuti, DJehuti, or Hermes Trimegitus… The Great Scribe of KMT.. they have alot of pretty pictures of him all over KMT(Egypt).. still have no idea what you are saying have the time. Max Dashu Thank you Naa Ayele for taking the time to make the extremely apt analogy of women’s oppression to clarify the politics of race oppression […]

(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) A Beltaine Ceremony by Glenys Livingstone Ph.D.

Beltaine/High Spring: the traditional dates are Southern Hemisphere – October 31st or 1st November Northern Hemisphere – April 30th (May Eve) or 1st May The actual astronomical date varies, and it is the meridian point or cross-quarter day between Spring Equinox and Summer Solstice, thus actually a little later in early November for S.H., and early May for N.H., respectively. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pODpbkzfrIU The purpose of the video is for ceremony and I suggest pausing the video where it suits you, to add your own processing, embellishments and/or your own drum, percussion, music, and voice wherever you please. I have made short spaces in the video where it may be paused. The script for this Beltaine ceremony is offered in Chapter 8 of my book A Poiesis of the Creative Cosmos: Celebrating Her within PaGaian Sacred Ceremony, with all acknowledgements and references there. The elements of Water, Fire, Earth and Air on the altar in this video are placed in directions that are appropriate to my region in the Southern Hemisphere, and East Coast Australia: you may place yours differently, and transliterate when I name the direction, which I only do at the beginning. The images used are a collage of footage and photos from the 2024 Beltaine ceremony at my place in Wakka Wakka country, South East Queensland Australia, and from previous Beltaine ceremonies that I facilitated over the decades in MoonCourt, Goddess ceremonial space, in Gundungurra and Darug country, Blue Mountains Australia. To enhance participation in the ceremony, you may like to have the following: the element of Water flavoured with rose water. the element of Earth in a large dinner plate and card paper large enough for handprints, along with a bowl of water for washing hands after. a small bouquet of scented flowers and/or herbs for the element of Air. a firepot for the element of Fire. This may be a clay pot of sand into which a small amount of methylated spirits will be poured and lit: it produces a soft flame that will not set off fire alarms, though care should still be taken. a larger firepot or two – either near the altar or located where suitable, for either leaping the flames, or simply passing your hand over flames. This firepot may be a larger version of the one for the element of Fire. coloured ribbons, ideally attached to a pole/tree, but it is possible to manage this rite in another creative manner. a pink ring cake, topped with rose water and honey and petals, sliced ready for serving, but whole. sweet pink wine/juice and glasses for serving. Dance Instructions: Celebrant as #1, person next on right as #2. All 1’s face right, all 2’s face left. All 1’s go in & under first, all 2’s go out & over first. The chant for the dance around the tree (a “Novapole” in the Southern Hemipshere, a “Maypole” in the Northern Hemisphere): “We are the Dance of the Earth, Moon and Sun We are the Life that’s in everyone We are the Life that loves to live We are the Love that lives to love.” (Note: This is a slight variation of the chant written and taught to me by thea Gaia. Music credits: A few clips from Coral Sea Dreaming by Tania Rose: https://www.taniarose.net A clip from Benediction Moon by Pia from her album by that name, New World Music, 1998. A clip from “Shedville 28th Nov 05” by Nick Alias, who has generously shared his music, and given permission for me to use it. Image credits: Ishtar (Middle East, 1000 BCE), Hallie Iglehart Austen, The Heart of the Goddess, p.131. Aphrodite (Europe, 300 BCE), Hallie Iglehart Austen, The Heart of the Goddess, p.133. Xochiquetzal (Mayan, 8th century CE), Hallie Iglehart Austen, The Heart of the Goddess, p.135. Inanna/Ishtar (Mesopotamia 400 B.C.E.), Adele Getty, Goddess: Mother of Living Nature, p.39. Birth of the Goddess, Erich Neumann, The Great Mother, plate 155. Milky Way photo: Akira Fujii, David Malin images. Beau Ravn’s “Goddess” and “God” artworks (2000). Sri Yantra (1500 CE.), A.T. Mann and Jane Lyle, Sacred Sexuality, p.75.
(Prose) Halcyon for the Season by Deanne Quarrie

A bird for this season is the Kingfisher, also known as the Halcyon. The Kingfisher is associated in Greek myth with the Winter Solstice. There were fourteen “halcyon days” in every year, seven of which fell before the winter solstice, seven after; peaceful days when the sea was smooth as a pond and the hen-halcyon built a floating nest and hatched out her young. She also had another habit, that of carrying her dead mate on her back over the sea and mourning him with a plaintive cry. Pliny reported that the halcyon was rarely seen and then only at the winter and summer solstices and at the setting of the Pleiades. She was therefore, a manifestation of the Moon-Goddess who was worshiped at the two solstices as the Goddess of Life in Death and Death in Life and, when the Pleiades set, she sent the sacred king his summons for death. Kingfishers are typically stocky, short-legged birds with large heads and large, heron-like beaks. They feed primarily on fish, hovering over the water or watching intently from perches and they plunge headlong into the water to catch their prey. Their name, Alcedinidae, stems from classical Greek mythology. Alcyone, Daughter of the Wind, was so distraught when her husband perished in a shipwreck that she threw herself into the sea. Both were then transformed into kingfishers and roamed the waves together. When they nested on the open sea, the winds remained calm and the weather balmy. Still another Alcyone, Queen of Sailing, was the mystical leader of the seven Pleiades. The heliacal rising of the Pleiades in May marked the beginning of the navigational year and their setting marked the end. Alcyone, as Sea Goddess protected sailors from rocks and rough weather. The bird, halcyon continued for centuries to be credited with the magical power of allaying storms. Shakespeare refers to this legend in this passage from Hamlet: Some say that ever ‘gainst that season comes Wherein our Saviour’s birth is celebrated, The bird of dawning singeth all night long; And then, they say, no spirit can walk abroad; The nights are wholesome; then no planets strike, No fairy takes, nor witch hath power to charm, So hallow’d and so gracious is the time. Hamlet, I, i 157 When I was a young mother, and my children were little, we lived in a house that had a creek in the back yard. There were small trees along the far bank of this creek and every day, a kingfisher would sit in the branches overlooking the creek. Sometimes he sat there very quietly for a very long time. Suddenly he would dive from his perch straight into the creek. Every time he did he came out and up into the air with a fish. It gave me great pleasure to watch him from my kitchen window. I love birds. I love learning about their habits because it teaches me ways of being that are closer to nature. I love drawing birds as well. When I was a young and more able, I was an avid bird watcher, out with my friends hoping for a sight never seen before. I love the story of the kingfisher and her connection to the Halcyon Days of the Winter Solstice. It is for most of us the busiest time of year. Whether it is for the Solstice or Christmas (often both) we are in a frenzy to get things done, making sure everything is just right and perfect. I celebrate the Winter Solstice. As a priestess, my days right now are very busy creating ritual. It is at the Solstice that many passage rites are happening with the women I work with. And of course, I celebrate with my family with our magical Yule Log each year. But I try to honor those seven days before and the seven days after by trying to have the frantic moments before the Halcyon Days begin and then even when busy, hold the peace and calm of that beautiful smooth sea in my mind. Peace and love and joy surrounding the Winter Solstice make it perfect. May the Peace of a Halcyon Sea be yours in this Solstice Season. Do hold the image of that little kingfisher in mind! Meet Mago Contributor, Deanne Quarrie
(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 …
(Prose & Photography) Equinox Reflection by Sara Wright

Photography by Sara Wright I gaze out my bedroom window and hear yet another golden apple hit the ground. The vines that hug the cabin and climb up the screens are heavy with unripe grapes and the light that is filtered through the trees in front of the brook is luminous – lime green tipped in gold – My too sensitive eyes are blessedly well protected by this canopy of late summer leaves. The maples on the hill are losing chlorophyll and are painting the hollow with splashes of bittersweet orange and red. The dead spruces by the brook will probably collapse this winter providing Black bears with even more precious ants and larvae to eat in early spring. I only hope that some bears will survive the fall slaughter to return to this black bear sanctuary; in particular two beloved young ones… Mushrooms abound, amanitas, boletes morels, puff balls, the latter two finding their way into my salads. The forest around my house is in an active state of becoming with downed limbs and sprouting fungi becoming next year’s soil. The forest floor smells so sweet that all I can imagine is laying myself down on a bed of mosses to sleep and dream. The garden looks as tired as I am; lily fronds droop, yellowing leaves betraying the season at hand. Bright green pods provide a startling contrast to fading scarlet bee balm. Wild asters are abundant and goldenrod covers the fields with a bright yellow garment. Every wild bush has sprays of berries. My crabapple trees are bowed, each twig heavy with winter fruit. Most of the birds have absconded to the fields that are ripe with the seeds of wild grasses. The mourning doves are an exception – they gather together each dawn waiting patiently for me to fill the feeder. In the evening I am serenaded by soft cooing. One chicken hawk hides in the pine, lying in wait for the unwary…Just a few hummingbirds remain…whirring wings and twittering alert me to continued presence as they settle into the cherry tree to sleep, slipping into a light torpor with these cool September nights… Spiders are spinning their egg cases, even as they prepare to die. I can still find toads hopping around the house during the warmest hours of the day. Although the grass is long I will not mow it for fear of killing these most precious and threatened of species. I am heavily invested in seeing these toads burrow in to see another spring. My little frogs sit on their lily pads seeking the warmth of a dimming afternoon sun. Soon they too will slumber below fallen leaves or mud. I am surrounded by such beauty, and so much harvest bounty that even though I am exhausted I take deep pleasure out of each passing day of this glorious month of September, the month of my birth. Unlike many folks, for me, moving into the dark of the year feels like a blessing. Another leave -taking is almost upon me, and I am having trouble letting go of this small oasis that I have tended with such care for more than thirty years… I don’t know what this winter will bring to my modest cabin whose foundation is crumbling under too much moisture and too many years of heavy snow. In the spring extensive excavation will begin. A new foundation must be poured and this work will destroy the gardens I have loved, the mossy grounds around the south end of the house that I have nurtured for so long. In this season of letting go I must find a way to lay down my fears, and release that which I am powerless to change. Somehow… I have no idea what I will return to except that I have made it clear that none of my beloved trees be harmed. I am grateful that Nature is mirroring back to me so poignantly that letting go is the way through: That this dying can provide a bedrock foundation for another spring birth. As a Daughter of the Earth I lean into ancient wisdom, praying that this exhausted mind and body will be able to follow suit. (Meet Mago Contributor) Sara Wright.
(Essay) Walking with Bb by Sara Wright

Walking with Bb: a story exploring the psychic connection between one woman and her bear. Preface: The black bear – hunting season in Maine is brutal – four months of bear hell – five if one includes the month where hunters can track bears for “practice” with hounds – separate mothers and cubs, terrorize them, tree them and do anything but legally kill them. During the legal slaughter, Hunters bait bears with junk food by putting old donuts etc. in cans and shoot the bear while he or she is eating. Most bears (82 percent) are slaughtered in this manner, the rest are killed by hounding and trapping. The season begins in August and lasts through December. Trapping, by the way, is illegal in every state but Maine. Black bears are hated, and that hatred will, of course, eventually result in their extirpation. I had a shy (male) year old black bear visiting my house this past summer with whom I developed a friendship, and what follows is part of our story: Last Saturday I was walking down the road when I remembered that I had not done my daily “circle of protection” imaging for Bb (standing as he was the day he visited me at the window early in August). When I began to do this another picture of Bb moving on all four feet with his face turned towards mine super-imposed itself over his standing image. I could almost see his expression, but not quite. I didn’t know what this imaging meant beyond that we were communicating in some unknown way, and he was in the area (not a good thing on hunting Saturdays). He had not been coming in most nights and I was worried… That night he came. He is still making nightly visits five days later, the most sequentially consistent visits since September 15th, the day I believed that he had been shot. This experience prompted me to write about telepathy and precognition. It is close to All Hallows and the full Hunter’s moon (Nov 3). I keep listening to Charlie Russell’ story which reminds me that loving bears (especially male bears) is hard, almost a sure recipe for disaster, and that I was not alone in this deep concern for and fear of losing Bb. I can barely stand to remember my other bear losses and I can’t stand feeling them. Even after I wrote about the incident with Bb, the experience seemed to carry a charge that didn’t dissipate. Had I missed something? Next I wrote “Root Healer,” exploring the possibility that as I continued to act as Bb’s “little bear mother” now employing psychic techniques to keep him safe (in some desperation as it was the only means left open to me to protect this very vulnerable yearling), that Bb’s presence might also include a gift for me and that it might involve some kind of root healing for my body because Nature thrives on reciprocity. One idea I missed completely, for it was so obvious. Bb’s image was communicating to me that we were having a psychic conversation in that very moment. It was the first time in three months of imaging protective circles that moved with him that I had confirmation from him that we were communicating effectively in this unknown way. This rarely happens. Normally when I do this kind of work, I just do it. I don’t get direct confirmation that it’s working from the animal itself (except with Lily b). Knowing this helped me make another decision I might not have made so intentionally. The hunting season will last into mid December, and I will be traveling during that last month. I keep thinking that putting actual physical distance between Bb and I might pose more of a threat for his life and I have to remind myself that psychic phenomena are not distance dependent. I should be able to image that protective circle every day and feel that it is working. Bb has already shown me that it can but I fear adding distance because I don’t completely trust my own perceptions.* I suspect believing might be an additional dimension of ensuring success when it comes to psychic protection for this bear. But how do I incorporate belief into a picture that is so clouded with personal/cultural doubt? Half the time I don’t believe myself and virtually no one except Rupert Sheldrake, Iren and Harriet have ever taken my experiences seriously. I have to remind myself that I have done this work many times dealing with doubt and it worked anyway. The point of writing this reflection might be to put me on a new edge of increasing Bb’s odds of survival. If it’s possible that an attitude that embraces believing in what I do could help me protect Bb more effectively until hunting is over and its time for him to den in peace I want to claim it. The question I need to answer now is how to go about moving into a more trusting self as a woman who continues to walk with a bear at her side? The night after I wrote the above paragraph I dream of the doubters in the roles of my parents, and in a friend. I take these dreams seriously as doubters inside me and out. These dreams may be telling me that it is unreasonable to expect me to believe that what I do works when no one else does? The problem with this idea is that on some level I do believe. I feel as if I am walking with this bear, every single day. I think about him constantly. The only thing that got me out of the house yesterday was that he was out of chocolate donuts. Something is intensifying my relationship with Bb although I never see him. I am caught in a field of bear energy and information, perhaps through some version of beauty and the beast. That an archetype is …

(Budoji Essay 5) The Magoist Cosmogony by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang

Part 5: Magoist Cosmology “The primary aim of Magoist cosmology lies in lifting up the conceptual veil in people’s mind so that they can see what is given at birth.” [This is a translation and interpretation of the Budoji (Epic of the Emblem City), principal text of Magoism. Read the translation of Chapter 1 of the Budoji.] Magoist cosmology: Magoist cosmology, knowing of the female principle of Magoist cosmogony (story of the Female Beginning), reconstitutes, heals, and maintains the original vision of gynocentric soteriology. Its primary function is to guide humanity according to the law of nature whereby all things are born and evolve into their greatest potential. In short, Magoist cosmology is a gynocentric mode of thinking that shows the Way of all beings. By extension, it is an inherent principle of nature- and women-honoring civilizations. I suggest Magoist cosmology, underpinning of the Magoist cosmogony, as an antidote to the detriments of patriarchal consciousness. Its female principle restores the original unity among all entities, which has been thwarted by patriarchal cosmologies. Comprising the most foundational program of human consciousness, so constitutive that no one is born without it, Magoist cosmology is ever active and accessible to people. Nonetheless, it is made dormant in the conscious mind of people under patriarchal cultures. Thus, the primary aim of Magoist cosmology lies in lifting up the conceptual veil in people’s mind so that they can see what is given at birth.
How do you say what The Mago Work is? by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang & Mago Circle Members

It took many years for me to pronounce the communal nature of the Mago Work. Defining the Mago Work necessarily endows us with the bird’s eye view of the Great Goddess, the primordial consciousness of WE in S/HE. Early this year, I asked people to define the Mago Work and their definitions are illuminating about what this book ultimately seeks to achieve.[1]
(Video) Gurang (Nine Goddesses), Gaeyang Halmi (Grandma Gaeyang), and Goddess Gom: Exploring Old Magoism in Korea by Helen Hwang

Meet Mago Contributor, Helen Hye-Sook Hwang, Ph.D. Read (Photo Essay 5) Gaeyang Halmi, Sea Goddess of Korea.

Day: July 3, 2019

(Art & Prose) Becoming Safe to Feel by Lucy Pierce

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