September 30, 2019October 2, 2019 Mago Work AdminLeave a comment

(Art) Naiad No. 1 by Sudie Rakusin

When I started this series of drawings, unusual images began filling the pages of my sketchbook; womyn with animal parts, womyn with animal companions. Some had wings. Some had the scales and tails of lizards. Others Read More …

September 30, 2019April 18, 2020 Mago Work AdminLeave a comment

Support RTM (Return to Mago) E-Magazine in your own way

Dear Contributors and Readers, Thanks to you who read this post, Return to Mago (RTM) E-Magazine has grown to a solid wheel that carries new and prominent researches, writings, artworks, Read More …

September 25, 2019October 2, 2019 Mago Work AdminLeave a comment

(Prose & Photography) Equinox Reflection 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 Read More …

September 24, 2019October 2, 2019 Mago Work AdminLeave a comment

(Book Excerpt 3) How to Live Well Despite Capitalist Patriarchy by Trista Hendren

3 Options If you don’t like something about yourself, you generally have 3 options—you can continue to despise that part of yourself, you can change it, or you can accept Read More …

September 23, 2019April 15, 2020 Mago Work AdminLeave a comment

(Essay 5) The Norse Goddesses behind the Asir Veil: The Vanir Mothers in Continental Scandinavia by Kirsten Brunsgaard Clausen

[This part and the forthcoming sequels are an elaborated version of the original article entitled “The Norse Goddesses behind the Asir Veil: The Vanir Mothers in Continental Scandinavia—a late Shamanistic Read More …

September 21, 2019October 2, 2019 Mago Work AdminLeave a comment

(Meet Mago Contributor) Deepak Shimkhada, Ph.D.

Deepak Shimkhada, Ph.D., teaches at Claremont School of Theology as Adjunct Professor of Hindu studies. He is the author of many journal articles and several book chapters. His edited volumes Read More …

September 20, 2019October 2, 2019 Mago WorkLeave a comment

Ancestral Journeys: A Pilgrimage to the Oracle Chamber by Jude Lally

There is a magic on the isles off the West of Scotland that I’ve never experienced anywhere else. A feeling of being at the edge of the world and at Read More …

September 19, 2019October 2, 2019 Kaalii CargillLeave a comment

(Goddess Writing 2) Notes by Kaalii Cargill

Excerpt from my speculative/historical novel Daughters of Time https://www.amazon.com/Daughters-Time-Kaalii-Cargill/dp/1482616971 . . .Haleli frowned. “There is more to this than you know. The prophecy is a warning. Global warming, degradation of Read More …

September 18, 2019October 2, 2019 Mago Work AdminLeave a comment

(Essay) The Internet and Research on Goddess History and Culture by Francesca Tronetti, Ph.D.

Scholars are consistently engaged in research of one type or another. Whether they are looking for primary sources, reevaluating established works, or considering new findings, there is always something new Read More …

September 17, 2019October 2, 2019 Mago WorkLeave a comment

(Art 9) Yemeja, Ishtar, Infancy the very beginning of by Megha

Keeper of our spirits, carrier of our prayers to the four corners of the universe Infancy – the very beginning of Remember the earliest part of your life, when you Read More …

September 13, 2019September 13, 2019 Mago Work Admin1 Comment

(Essay 1) The Blending of Bön, Buddhism and the Goddess Gemu in Mosuo Culture by Krista Rodin

[Editor’s Note: This series is included as a chapter in Goddesses in Culture, History and Myth (Mago Books, 2018), a textbook on Goddess Studies related courses at the university level.] In a small Read More …

September 12, 2019September 12, 2019 Mago Work AdminLeave a comment

(Prose) Eve and the Garden of Eden by Noris Binet

A garden is always a very intriguing place for me, because there are so many gardens that one can be in touch with in this life time and all of Read More …

September 11, 2019November 8, 2019 Mago WorkLeave a comment

(Essay) The Brewer was a Lady by Hearth Moon Rising

Like the swelling of the Tigris and Euphrates,You pour the filtered beer.Like the onrush of the sacred rivers, Ninkasi,You pour the filtered beer.~ Hymn to Ninkasi The grocery chain where Read More …

(S/HE V2 N1 Essay 7) 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.] Non-Patriarchal Indigenous Titles for Sillan Rulers The pre-patriarchal matriarchal root of Silla remains largely unexplored. Silla (57 BCE-935) lasted for nearly a millennium with 56 rulers.[1] I have discussed elsewhere that early Sillans operated the political system of a matriarchal republic.[2] They began by appointing the first male head, Hyeokgeose, to the task of defending the western border against ancient China in the subcontinent of East Asia, known as China.[3] Male “rulers” were selected from the three clans, the Bak, the Seok, and the Gim, throughout history.[4] For the lack of a better word, I use the word “ruler.” Sillan rulers should not be equated with a king or an emperor. They were functional, the head administrator of the state. They were the acting male shamans in place of their ancestor shaman mothers. Sillans took linguistics importantly, to distinguish their matriversal identity from the patriarchal rule. Sillan rulers were given the titles other than “the king” or “the emperor.” Sillan titles for rulers evolved over the period of nearly a millennium from Geoseogan (Head of the Western Territory) to Chachaung (the Shaman Head), to Isageum (the Wisest), to Marip-gan (the Highest in Rank) and to Daewang (Ruler the Great) (see [Table 2]).[5] Refusal to adopt the monarchical system of ancient China was reflected in their titles of rulers. Sillans repudiated the Chinese monarchical system for the first six centuries, approximately till the end of the reign of Munmu the Great (r. 661- 681).[6] They abhorred and deplored the patriarchal trend, which was sweeping the subcontinent of East Asia. Contrary to surrendering to the military threats of ancient China armed with the patriarchal monarchical system, Sillans held tightly onto their self-defined political identity, the One People of Mago, the Creatrix. TitlesMeaningRulersGeoseo-ganHead of Western Dweller1st HyeokgeoseChachaungHead Shaman2nd NamhaeIsageumThe Wisest3rd Yuri to 16th HeulhaeMarip-ganThe Highest in Rank17th Naemul to 23 Mojeukji (Beopheung)DaewangThe Great Ruler23rd Beopheung to 56th Gyeongsun [Table 2: Sillan Titles for Rulers] Sillan indigenous titles (Geoseo-gan, Chachaung, Isageum, Marip-gan, and Daewang) for rulers betray the consciousness that sovereignty belongs to Mago, the Creatrix. And human rulers represent the sovereignty of the Creatrix. Sovereignty is not in the hand of humans but in Mago, the Creatrix.[7] Such Magoist political belief is based on the concept of equality or egalitarianism,[8] the legacy bequeathed by their ancestor shaman head mothers. All humans are equal. Note the title “Daewang (Ruler the Great),” which became in use from the mid-sixth century.[9] Even “Daewang” is not close to the king or the emperor of the patriarchal monarchical system. It is highly possible that “Daewang” refers to the cetacean mother deities in pre-Silla times and was adopted for rulers by Sillan matriarchs.[10] “Yeongdeung Daewang” commonly known as Yeongdeung Halmi (Grand-Mother) is an example. Yeongdeung Halmi is an indigenous deity who controls the wind, the weather, and the sea waves. Note that, in the Jeju myth, Yeongdeung is referred to as Yeongdeung Daewang and enshrined in Hansuri Yeongdeung Shrine.”[11] Foremost, Sillan Daewangs were not enthroned by birth right. Patrilineages of Sillan rulers remained short-lived to three generations for the longest. They were in fact a byproduct of a long and stable matrilineage (see Appendix II). Male historians have made anachronistic errors to read the chronology of Sillan rulers from a later patriarchal perspective. Even during the late period of Silla marked by the absence of the royal matrilineage, Sillan rulers did not form stable patrilineages. Evidence shows that the system of matriarchal republic continued till the end of Silla. The absence of the royal matrilineage only accounts for political chaos and instability. Male rulers and their competitors were caught in rebellions and dethroned by polarized court politics. (To be continued) [1] A span of a millennium is a standard unit of time counting in the mytho-history of Magoism. The Danguk confederacy lasted for about a millennium and a half and the Budo Joseon confederacy for about two millennia. Goguryeo (37 BCE-668 or 277 BCE-668) for seven centuries and Baekje (18 BCE-660) for seven centuries. After Unified Silla, Goryeo (935-1392) lasted for about four centuries and the following Joseon dynasty (1392-1897) for about five centuries. [2] See Hwang, “Unveiling,” 52-59. [3] I hold that Early Silla moved its capital from the coastal region of the East Sea, the water edge of today’s mainland China to Gyeongju in the southeastern part of the Sea of Whales (the East Sea) of the Korean Peninsula during the period of Queen Naerae, the early third century CE (see [Table 3] and Appendix I). Naerae makes the end of the Aaerae lineage, her mother. After Naerae, the new royal matrilineage headed by Queen Mother Sulrye, mother of the 13th ruler Michu, takes place. [4] Moderns spell the surname “Gim” as “Kim.” The royal Gim clan emerged last but provided the greatest number of rulers. The progenitors of both the Bak and the Gim, the 1st ruler Hyeokgeose and the 13th ruler Michu, were the sons of queens from the two major royal lineages (the Holy Mother lineage and the Sulrye lineage respectively), whereas the progenitor of the Seok, the 4th ruler Talhae, was an exogamous male who married Queen Ahyo of the first major royal matrilineage. [5] Not only Sillans but also her contemporaries of Goguryeo and Baekje had ruler’s titles distinguished for those of China. “Titles for Rulers,” Namuwiki. accessed March 21, 2023. https://namu.wiki/w/%EA%B5%B0%EC%A3%BC%EC%9D%98%20%EC%B9%AD%ED%98%B8. [6] Silla led by Munmu the Great fought and defeated Tang China, the Silla Tang War (670-676), as the last war in realizing Unified Silla. His successors (his grandson, Seongdeok, and his great-grandson, Gyeongdeok) firmly established a diplomatic relationship with Tang. As the patriarchal system of Tang China was gradually adopted by Sillan rulers, a patriarchal religion of Buddhism began to gain state power in the Sillan royal house. …
(Art & Poem) Candelmas/Imbolc by Sudie Rakusin & Annie Finch

IMBOLC DANCE From the east she has gathered like wishes. She has woven a night into dawn. We are quickening ivy. We grow where her warmth melts out over the ice. Now spiral south bends into flame to push the morning over doors. The light swings wide, green with the pulse of seasons, and we let her in We are quickening ivy. We grow The light swings wide, green with the pulse till the west is rocked by darkness pulled from where the fire rises. Shortened time’s reflecting water rakes her through the thickened cold. Hands cover north smooth with emptiness, stinging the mill of night’s hours. Wait with me. See, she comes circling over the listening snow to us. Shortened time’s reflecting water Wait with me. See, she comes circling From Calendars (Tupelo Press, 2003) Art is included in Celebrating Seasons of the Goddess (Mago Books, 2017). (Meet Mago Contributor) Sudie Rakusin (Meet Mago Contributor) Annie Finch
Meet Mago Contributor, Jillian Parker

Aka “Momster”, is a mother of five, employed as an analyst, active in the autism community, and a Russian-English interpreter. She lives in Eagle River, Alaska in a little green house hugging the skirts of a mountain. Her alter ego Flame in the Snow sometimes emerges from hiding in order to write a poem.
(Art & Poetry) Stolen From the Heart by Lucy Pierce

Art by Lucy Pierce All my art, is stolen from the clutches of my motherhood. Poems scribbled on napkins, and drawings traced on the backs of my babies as they stumble towards sleep. Whatever births, had better be quick, hot and fast. No presence residing to revise and to intricately labour. Just the raw pouring forth, before I’m enveloped again by the detritus of my service. All my poems are stolen from the mouths of my babes. So excruciating at times to feel Her rise, the Queen of my creativity, suddenly there in the kitchen amidst the breakfast dishes, emerging inexplicably from the dregs of my servitude, an unexpected grace that I barely have room for. I scramble for a pen and a spare piece of paper to offer her. There’s some space on the back of a shopping list, and a child’s dirty crayon. I clear a space on the cluttered table, and wipe away the toast crumbs from the chair, I ask her to sit down but tell her she’ll have to be quick because we have to hang out the washing before dressing the kids. All my art is squeezed through the eye of a needle. The gravity of the couch with the tangled limbs of my no longer babies, the fierce, sticky love, is never quite what you bargained for and sometimes it feels as though you gave up too much for the privilege of peace-keeping between siblings and the trimming of dirty fingernails. But other times, that same grace descends, from the blue, as you watch your boy, your shining sun, hurtle down the hill towards you, golden and grubby and you understand that motherhood is its own art, and the humans grown each a rugged masterpiece, and all the poems lost, for lack of time, and all the paintings unrealized for arms too full to hold another thing, but the wood and the dishes and the washing, have somehow woven their way into the fibers of the future, in these wild and wayward beings, who love and fight so fiercely and with such chaotic abandon. I hear threads of thematic resonance between all the songs I never wrote and my 6 year old daughters glorious abandon to improvised soliloquies. There is the stolen thrill of being let in so close to the pristine magnificence of a daughter grown, the exquisite softness of her in the cusps of my hands. All my art, flows through the great canyon lands of my heart, carved with the tears and the blood and the sweat of my motherhood, the great ask of this love to make of myself something and nothing, all at once. I am learning to see, what my world may deny, that all life is an act of art-making, of love-making, and not the least of which, is the crafting of a heart that can map the terrain of a love so mind boggling vast and mundane. All the tiny acts, the minute strokes that build the world, that paint a picture, that write a poem, that tend to the wayward tangles in the wild mane of our Earth’s future custodians, each an act of labour, each an act of love. And I wonder how it might be different if I were to reframe my perception. That rather than being the artist I am despite my children, I am the artist I am because of them. Because all my art, including my motherhood, is stolen from the heart, as a prayer of love to the future unknown. (Meet Mago Contributor) Lucy Pierce.
(Book Excerpt 1) “Placental Thinking: The Gift of Maternal Roots” by Nane Jordan

[This and the ensuing sequels are from a Chapter from Placenta Wit: Mother Stories Rituals, and Research, edited by Nané Jordan, Demeter Press, 2017, pp. 142-155.] I did not set out to learn about placentas. The afterbirth was an afterthought in my birth and mothering experience, grassroots work, and theory making. I became an avid and early student of what was the lay midwifery movement in Canada (Shroff), after attending the homebirth of my little brother in 1980s Toronto. I worked as a homebirth midwife’s assistant, a hospital birth doula, and a postpartum home caregiver. We used the word “lay” to denote midwives in Canada and the United States who practised through community-based efforts and grassroots activism, from at least the 1970s onwards. Without legal status, women trained themselves in the art and science of midwifery through various means, including studying obstetrical textbooks, working with supportive doctors, travelling to birth clinics in other countries, doing apprenticeships with experienced midwives, and learning from birth itself. Through attending mothers giving birth at home, this movement restored natural, physiologic, low-tech birth giving to mothers and families. My aims are multiple but interconnected in this chapter. I move from birth practice to maternal social theory and activism as I speak to the power of midwifery and woman-centred and mother-centred birth. I describe placenta structure and function, and share placenta practices from my early birth-study days. Finally, I play with ideas for what I am calling “placental thinking,” as related to the maternal gift economy as theorized by philosopher Genevieve Vaughan. I explore the birth-gifting relations of mother-centred birth care, which is (by nature) at the heart of placental thinking. I suggest that mother-centred care is always possible, no matter the place and manner of birth gifting. As a woman-centred philosophy of care, midwifery holds mothers and babies at the centre of birth, which supports women’s power, rights, choices and self-sufficiency, through honouring and loving women and babies. Pregnancy and birth are understood to be normal lifecycle events. Support from an experienced midwife can help mothers to holistically navigate the experiences of pregnancy, birth, and postpartum and to maintain optimal health and wellbeing not only in the physical dimensions of birth but in the mental, emotional, and spiritual ones as well. “Holistic,” thus, refers to the whole person as a multifaceted being. With available medical backup as needed, midwifery care is possible for most healthy women. I became an early promoter of home and natural childbirth, and the amazing physiology that is inherent in birth. I witnessed over and over the courage of mothers, and the self-empowering, healing, and even ecstatic spiritual potentials of giving birth (Buckley; Young). In particular, North American mothers and midwives were discovering and recovering from the intervention-focused, paternalistic, and hierarchical limitations of the medical system in regards to holistic and woman-centred care (Arms). One limitation—only fully realized after others, such as episiotomy, lithotomy position, and strapping of limbs)—was the lack of connection between birthing mothers and their babies’ placentas. Umbilical cords were and still are cut quickly, and once born, placentas were and are immediately removed from mother and baby to be disposed of. Mothers may not be fully aware of this organ, which has been an integral part of the growth of their own baby. Or there may be an aversion to or disinterest in its mysterious, blood-filled mass. It is true that the bloody placenta is the only organ that willingly exits a human body once its life-giving purpose is fulfilled, still attached to the human it sustained. Yet the placenta as a real, physical, ritualistic, and meaningful aspect of pregnancy and birth was and is undervalued. This was and is not well understood in mainstream medical economies of birth. The most common treatment of the placenta is as blood waste or as medical property for research purposes. For many mothers, the placenta may appear as the final byproduct of birth—as refuse or something left for others to use or dispose of at an institutional level. As theorized by anthropologist Robbie David-Floyd, this kind of birth practice is a form of ritual. Ritual can be any continuous action or sociocultural practice that establishes key orders and regulations of thought, materials, or services. In this case, the medical ritual disconnects mothers and babies postbirth from each other and their placentas. Mothers and midwives, in what was the midwifery and homebirth movement, were vicariously rediscovering and learning about babies’ placentas. They were also discovering birth-giving powers and strengths that had been disparaged or hidden, much like the humble placenta itself. (To be continued) (Meet Mago Contributor) Nane Jordan.
(Essay 2) The Giant Huwawa by Hearth Moon Rising

This essay can be read on its own, or first part is here. Gilgamesh’s assault on the forest giant Huwawa has several written forms. The later Akkadian version is most widely known, as it forms part of the much longer Epic of Gilgamesh. There are other extant versions in the earlier Sumerian, however. They are part of a collection of stories about Gilgamesh and his servant Enkidu that emerged at the beginning of written narrative poetry, sometime before 2000 B.C.E. Gilgamesh was king of Sumer (now southern Iraq) around 2700 B.C.E. Dead kings of this period had ritual cults, and there were special hymns to Gilgamesh recorded in the centuries after his death. The Sumerian Gilgamesh stories as a whole are not integrated, but they have some repetitive themes. These include heroic impulses, apprehension of death, and appreciation of wilderness. Sumerians were justly proud of their wealthy cities, yet there is a strain of recognition in even the earliest stories that something has been sacrificed in the pursuit of civilization. Slaying of Huwawa. Photo: Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin. In the longest Sumerian version of “Gilgamesh and Huwawa,” our hero, like generations of Kilroys to follow, feels inspired to put his name on a faraway place. He will make his mark on the Land of the Living One’s Mountain, also called the Cedar Forest, through an expedition. The sun god Utu (Shamash in Akkadian) does not think much of this plan. He chides Gilgamesh to remember that he has a prominent place in his city of Uruk but is a nobody in the Cedar Forest. Gilgamesh responds by whining that he has seen men die and knows he cannot escape death. Can’t he just have this one thing? In Akkadian and Sumerian texts, Gilgamesh does a lot of whining, and his favorite thing to whine about is the inevitability of his distant death. While most of his countrymen are resigned to an eventual one-way journey to the world below (just not today, please!), Gilgamesh is a farseeing man. Utu takes pity on his tears and grants Gilgamesh his blessing, which includes seven divine warriors to accompany him and his servant Enkidu to the Cedar Forest. These are believed by scholars to be constellations used for navigation and protection. Gilgamesh appeals for volunteers in his quest, and fifty young men from Uruk form a regiment. The party encounters a variety of hardwood trees (translations vary), which are cut down by and for the fifty men. Gilgamesh has his own heart set on a cedar of magnificent quality, and the group passes through six cedar ranges before Gilgamesh finds an acceptable tree at the seventh. So far, the biggest danger on this trip is getting hit by a tree branch or taking the wrong road. That changes when the chosen cedar hits the dirt. Huwawa, guardian of the Cedar Forest, is now alerted, and he is incensed. Text of the story. Photo: Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin. Huwawa is one scary dude. He has the face of a lion, with dragon teeth, and a forehead of fire. He rushes at his prey with a wide chest, and his tongue is never sated with blood. Moreover, he is protected with seven “divine radiances” that he hurls at his foes. The first of the radiances sends Gilgamesh into a stupor. Enkidu shakes him awake, crying that it’s time to retreat, but Gilgamesh’s fears seem to desert him at curious times. He insists that the two of them can beat the giant. Gilgamesh’s tactic for conquering Huwawa is variously called “trickery” or “cunning,” but a more accurate word would be “lying.” He bends over and puts his hands on the ground to appear less threatening, then tells Huwawa that in exchange for one of the radiances, he will give the giant his oldest sister in marriage. (What?!! you say. Calm down, he doesn’t mean it.) Huwawa accepts the offer and relinquishes his first line of defense. These radiances of Huwawa’s are rather mysterious. They are also translated as “defensive auras.” They seem to be some kind of a psychic shield, but when surrendered they are trimmed and stacked as if they are trees. One by one Huwawa relinquishes one of his defenses in exchange for (the promise of) a present: another sister, food, shoes, precious stones. When all seven radiances have been surrendered, Gilgamesh and Enkidu win the battle with Huwawa. Gilgamesh almost succumbs to pity as Huwawa pleads for his life. The giant appeals to Utu and to Gilgamesh himself, bemoaning the treachery that seduced him. Gilgamesh contemplates freeing the now helpless giant, but Enkidu will not hear of it, arguing that, once free, Huwawa will seek revenge and Gilgamesh will not return home alive. As in the later epic, Huwawa curses Enkidu as Enkidu cuts off his head. Huwawa. Photo: Osama Shukir Muhammad Amin The two take the head back to Sumer, to the city of Nippur, to the temple of the divine couple Enlil and Ninlil. They present the head of Huwawa as an offering, but the god Enlil is incensed. He berates Gilgamesh for killing Huwawa, exclaiming that the giant should have been treated with respect and offered good food and water. Enlil takes the seven radiances and distributes them to the fields, rivers, thickets, lions, forests, temples, and the underworld goddess Nungal. Radiances still remain, and these Enlil keeps for himself. The tale ends with the standard lines of praise, in this case to Gilgamesh and the writing goddess Nissaba. The Sumerian versions differ from the standard Akkadian Epic in several ways, aside from the obvious fact that they are not excerpts from a longer narrative. Gilgamesh sets out to obtain a prize cedar tree, and the killing of Huwawa is incidental to that objective. Taking the cedar is an appropriation on Gilgamesh’s part, as the god Utu reminds him at the outset. Invading the forest and stealing the forbidden tree precipitates the killing of Huwawa. It’s interesting that this is …
(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
(S/HE V2 N1 Essay 2) 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.] Identifying the Sillan Bell as the Whale-Dragon Bell A whale is the very model that the Sillan bell takes after. Because the modern mind has been insulated from whale totemism, the cetacean identity of the Sillan bell may appear unexpected. I hold that whale totemism is a matricentric practice in origin, inseparable from the shaman head mothers of pre-patriarchal times who in turn invented the dragon symbol to express divine cetaceans. The whale-dragon bell exposes the three-way bond among shaman mothers, whales, and the dragon, the three axes that constitute the cetacean divine. By “the cetacean divine,” I mean both whales and female deities who are associated with the dragon. Put differently, whale totemism is a matricentric practice, inseparable from its shaman mothers, the originators. Deductively speaking, the royal association with the dragon accounts for the derivative nature of the throne from the socio-political authority of Magoist Cetacean Mothers.[1] The dynamic force of a dragon conveys that the cetacean divine is no abstract concept. Such triadic bond has survived in the iconography of a shaman deity known as Yonggung Buin (龍宮夫人 Dragon Palace Mother),[2] whose iconography comes as a mother seated on a dragon against the background of the sea (see [Figure 1]).[3] That said, the question, “Is the Sillan Bell really a whale bell?” is only a point of departure. Truth is that the whale bell is one of the myriad expressions of Magoist Cetaceanism.[4] Adding to the gamut of cetacean manifestations, Sillan bells take a special place to hold together the tie between a whale and the dragon. The artistic and poetic language of the Sillan bell betrays the whale-dragon linkage.[5] The dragon represents the “calling” of whales, the sonic waves carried through water. We have the expression, which metaphorically describes the bronze bell as “a standing mountain with the reverberating sound of a dragon.”[6] At the outset, the whale names, the whale-shaped striker, the Dragon Loop, and the Dragon Tube, all taken together, bespeak the whale-dragon bell (see [Figure 10]). The whale identity of the Sillan bell is unequivocal in the following manners: Primarily, its whale names are noted in East Asian sources. The Korean bell is parochially called Gyeongjong (鯨鐘 Whale Bell), Janggyeong (長鯨 Eternal Whale), Hwagyeong (華鯨 Splendid Whale), or Geogyeong (巨鯨 Gigantic Whale).[7] As such, the sound of the bell is alternatively called “the sound of whales (鯨音gyeongeum).”[8] The Sillan bell is an extension of the sound of a whale. Secondly, its striker comes in the shape of “a whale” (see Figures 2 and 12). Some of the Buddhist temple bells in Korea have kept the whale-shaped striker to this day: Sudeok-sa in Yesan, South Chungcheong, Seonam-sa in Suncheon, South Jeolla, and Gwaneum-sa in Palgong-san, Daegu.[9] Thirdly, the Dragon Loop of the whale bell (see Figures 15 and 16) is widely noted as Poroe (蒲牢 Pulao in Chinese) in East Asian historical sources. The whale-dragon link was a puzzle for the ancient mind as well. The lore of Pulao in a Chinese source was known from as early as the Tang dynasty (618-907), which goes: In the sea there is a big fish called whale, and on the shore there is a creature whose name is pulao. The pulao has always been afraid of the whale. Whenever the whale strikes [or attacks] him, pulao cries [or roars] loudly. Thus those who want to make a loud [bell] would put a pulao on top. Therefore the bell-striker would be made [in the shape of] a whale.[10] According to the same source, Pulao became incorporated in a later time as one of the “Nine Children of the Dragon (龍生九子Longshen-jiuzi)” during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644).[11] Note the nona symbol for the dragon of the whale bell, which signifies the Cosmic Music or Palryeo (Palryeo (八呂Eight-toned Music).[12] The tone of the above, however, is only a playful stopgap at best: Pulao is “afraid of the whale.” When struck by the whale-shaped striker, it “cries [or roars] loudly.” The Pulao scheme is only a reductionist conceptual apparatus. Whales and dragons are not two separate entities. It is inapt to convey the matriversal inter-cosmic consciousness involved in the whale-dragon symbol. The dragon is a phenomenological representation of the divine cetacean. Taken together the whale names, the whale-shaped striker, and the whale-dragon mythopoeia of Pulao, the Sillan bronze bell, analogized as a standing mountain wherein the sound of a dragon reverberates, is certainly a depiction of the whale in the action of breaching (see [Figure 3]). When the whale-shaped striker hits the striking seat of the bell’s body, the sound waves transmit through the hollow inside of the bell’s body. Some sound waves move upward and pass through the Dragon Tube to the air (see Figures 15 and 16]! Some sound waves move downward to the Depression of Sound Resonance (analogically the bottom of the sea) to be rebounded (see [Figure 13]). The dragon (the sound waves emitted by whales) “soared through the highest peak of heaven and reached below through the bottomless valley.”[13] Note that the bell’s body is adorned with the aquatic images of water nymphs,[14] lotus flower, the sea-wave-like curvilinear designs (see Figures 20-21, 22, 24, 25). The whale-dragon bell reenacts the phenomenon that all beings on the planet are resounding and dancing in responding to the calling of whales! Now let us turn to a Korean Buddhist utterance on the dragon, Poroe, and the whale-shaped striker. Gyeongdeok the Great (r. 742-765), the 35th ruler of Unified Silla, had the wind-powered automated artifact made, which is called the Manbul-san (Mount of Ten Thousand Buddhas). According to the Samguk Yusa (Memorabilia of the Three States), the Manbulsan was an imitation of a paradisiacal mountain, carved and decorated on a sunken fragrant wood piece about 2 meters in height. Manbulsan was created and presented as a gift to …
(Video) AWARENESS is Curative. The Origin and Ongoing Stories by Cynthia Tom

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fTX2k-YTFo Oct 2022 PLACE Origin and Ongoing Artists’ Stories: AWARENESS is Curative A PLACE OF HER OWN artists illuminated their creative journeys. Learn the art based origins of the workshops and how we use found objects, cultural heritage and generational healing as art mediums. 1.25 hr speakers, 1hr Q&A -cup of tea and a chat (Chapters listed below) PLACE provides artistic tools, and perspectives to wake us to our purpose and guide us on our journey. Chronic heartache transforms to resilience through layers with love, creativity, community and compassion. Featuring our wonderful panel: Cynthia Tom, Ahran Lee, Julie Andersen, Emily Yamauchi, PAZ Zamora, Norma Carrera, Mylene r.a.d. Leng Leng Acknowledgements: Boys & Girls Clubs of San Francisco’s Sankofa grant California Arts Council. San Francisco Arts Commission Do A Little Foundation AAWAA, Asian American Women Artists Association: PLACE’s fiscal sponsor Photos: Cris Matos| Presentation guidance: Susan Almazol Dedicated: Janet King, Diana Lew and Sue Tom 00:00 Start 04:06 Cynthia speaks to PLACE’s Art based Origin 25:52 Emily Yamauchi 34:10 Mylene rad Leng Leng – Reyna 42:52 Patricia Zamora 54:42 Julie (JillieLee) Andersen 1:03:59 Norma Carrera 1:13:40 Ahran Lee 1:23:45 Cup of Tea and a Chat, Q&A and Upcoming (1:24:48 Jordan’s film screening and Bronwyn) About PLACE A PLACE OF HER OWN (PLACE) https://www.aplaceofherown.org, an arts based healing program. This series of workshops, culminating exhibitions and artists’ talks uses intuitive art making processes for self-reflection and sharing to address and release ancestral trauma. Participants learn to recognize and release ancestral patterns, including links to family, and cultural dysfunction. To claim aspirations and self-worth, the art exhibition provides a way to artistically answer: “If you had a place of your own, what would it be?” Leadership Development: The program continues to provide workshop alumnae with opportunities to develop self-agency and leadership skills. Alumnae are invited to participate as exhibition artists, workshop facilitators, speakers and event coordinators. https://www.magoism.net/2021/07/meet-mago-contributor-cynthia-tom/

(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 […]
(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) Laurie Baymarrwangga, Senior Australian of the Year 2012

Posted with permission in Return to Mago on ‘Australia Day’, 26 January 2014 (Australian time), in recognition of the ill-treatment and misunderstanding of Aboriginal people that was set in train when, in 1788, white people first settled in the land now known as Australia.

(Essay) The Emergence celebrated at Spring Equinox by Glenys Livingstone Ph.D.

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

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

This essay is an excerpt from Chapter 3 of the author’s new book A Poiesis of the Creative Cosmos: Celebrating Her within PaGaian Sacred Ceremony. MoonCourt Ceremonial Space set for Autumn Equinox ceremony, 2013 Ritual/ceremony is often described as “sacred space.” I understand that to mean “awareness of the space as sacred”: all space is sacred, what shifts is our awareness – awareness of the depth of spacetime, and of the depth of all things and all beings. I understand “sacred awareness” as an awareness of deep relationship and identity with the very cosmic dynamics that create and sustain the Universe; or an awareness of what is involved in the depth of each moment, each thing, each being. Ceremony is a space and time given to expression, contemplation and nurturance of that depth … at least to something of it. Ceremony may be both an expression of deep inner truths – perceived relationship to self, Earth and Cosmos, as well as being a mode of teaching and drawing forth deeper participation. Essentially, ceremony is a way of entering into the depth of the present moment … what is deeply present right here and now, a way of entering deep space and deep time, which is not somewhere else but is right here. Every-thing, and every moment, has Depth – more depth than we usually allow ourselves to contemplate, let alone comprehend. This book, this paper, this ink, the chair, the floor – each has a history and connections that go back, all the way back to Origins. This moment you experience now, in its particular configuration, place, people present, subtle feelings, thoughts, and propensity towards certain directions or outcomes, has a depth – many histories and choices that go back … ultimately all the way back to the beginning. Great Origin is present at every point of space and time – right here. In ceremony we are plugging our awareness into something of that. In this holy context then – in this mindframe of knowing connection, everything one does is a participation in the creation of the Cosmos: for the tribal indigenous woman, perhaps the weaving of a basket; for another, perhaps preparing a meal; for you, perhaps getting on the train to go to a workplace. It is possible to regain this sense, to come to feel that the way one breathes makes a difference – that with it, you co-create the present and the future, and you may even be a blessing on the past. In every moment we receive the co-creation, the work, of innumerable beings, of innumerable moments, and innumerable interactions of the elements, in everything we touch … and so are we touched by them. The local is our touchstone to the Cosmos – it is not separate. Ceremony may be a way into this awareness, into strengthening it. Ceremony is actually ‘doing,’ not just theorizing. We can talk about our personal and cultural disconnection endlessly, but we need to actually change our minds. Ceremony can be an enabling practice – a catalyst/practice for personal and cultural change. It is not just talking about eating the pear, it is eating the pear; it is not just talking about sitting on the cushion (meditating), it is sittingon the cushion. It is a cultural practice wherein we tell a story/stories about what we believe to be so most deeply, about who and what we are. Ceremony can be a place for practicing a new language, a new way of speaking, or spelling – a place for practicing “matristic storytelling”[i] if you like: that is, for telling stories of the Mother, of Earth and Cosmos as if She were alive and sentient. We can “play like we know it,” so that we may come to know it.[ii] Ceremony then is a form of social action. I have found it useful to describe ceremony using and extending words used by Ken Wilber to describe a “transpersonal practice,” which is needed for real change: he said it was a practice that discloses “a deeper self (I or Buddha) in a deeper community (We or Sangha) expressing a deeper truth (It or Dharma).”[iii] My extension of that is: ceremony may disclose a deeper beautiful self (the I/Virgin/Urge to Be/Buddha), in a deeper relational community (the We/Mother/Place of Being/Sangha), expressing a deeper transformative truth (the It/Old One/Space to Be/Dharma). This is the “unitive body,” the “microcosmos” that Charlene Spretnak refers to in States of Grace.[iv] Since ceremony is an opportunity to give voice to deeper places in ourselves, forms of communication are used that the dreamer, the emotional, the body, can comprehend, such as music, drama, simulation, dance, chanting, singing.[v] These forms enable the entering of a level of consciousness that is there all the time, but that is not usually expressed or acknowledged. We enter a realm that is ‘out of time,’ which is commonly said to be not the “real” world, but it is more organic/indigenous to all being and at least as real as the tick-tock world. It is a place “between the worlds,” wherein we may put our hands on the very core of our lives, touch whatever it is that we feel our existence is about, and thus touch the possibility of re-creating and renewing ourselves. NOTES: [i] A term used by Gloria Feman Orenstein in The Reflowering of the Goddess (New York: Pergamon Press, 1990), 147. [ii] As my doctoral thesis supervisor Dr. Susan Murphy once described it to me in conversation. [iii] Ken Wilber, A Brief History of Everything (Massachusetts: Shambhala, 1996), 306-307. [iv] 145. [v] As Starhawk notes, The Spiral Dance, 45. REFERENCES: Livingstone, Glenys. A Poiesis of the Creative Cosmos: Celebrating Her within PaGaian Sacred Ceremony. Girl God Books: Bergen, Norway, 2023. Orenstein, Gloria Feman. The Reflowering of the Goddess. New York: Pergamon Press, 1990. Starhawk. The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess. New York: Harper and Row, 1999. Wilber, Ken. A Brief History of Everything. Massachusetts: Shambhala, 1996.
(Mago Almanac Excerpt 7) Introducing the Magoist Calendar by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang

Mago Almanac: 13 Month 28 Day Calendar (Book A) at Mago Bookstore. YEARLY LEAP DAY AND EVERY FOURTH YEAR LEAP DAY Each Sa includes a Dan of the big Sa. A Dan is equal to one day. That adds to 365 days. At the half point of the third Sa, there is a Pan of the big Sak (the year of the great dark moon). A Pan comes at a half point of Sa. This is of Beopsu (Lawful Number) 2, 5, 8. A Pan is equal to a day. Therefore, the fourth Sa has 366 days. Each year has a leap day (Dan), which makes a total of 365 days. Every fourth year is a leap year that has a leap day (Pan), which makes a total of 366 days. The Dan day comes before the New Year in the winter solstice month. And the Pan day comes before the first day of the summer solstice month in the fourth year. The above, however, does not indicate when the New Year comes. Logographic characters of Dan and Pan each suggest their meanings. While each year includes the Dan day (the morning), every fourth year has the Pan day. A unit of four years makes the Big Calendar. Dan (旦 Morning) Leap day for every first three years Pan (昄 Big) Leap day for every fourth year I have postulated that the year begins on the Dan day (one leap day), a day before New Year that comes in the month of Winter Solstice in the Norther Hemisphere. And the Pan day comes on the day before the first day of the 7th month that has Summer Solstice in the fourth year in the Norther Hemisphere. Years Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Months Dan Dan Dan Dan 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 6 6 6 6 Pan 7 7 7 7 8 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 10 10 10 10 11 11 11 11 12 12 12 12 13 13 13 13 Days 365 365 365 366 The Magoist Calendar’s intercalation involves one leap day every year and one leap day every four years. That is, each year has one extra day to make it 365 days. Every fourth year has an extra day to make it 366 days. Four years has a total of 1461 days (365×3+366), which makes the mean of 365.25 days. Considering that the month is following the sidereal period rather than the synodic period, it is inferred that the year also follows the sidereal year rather than the solar year. In fact, Magoist Calendar’s one year is very close to today’s 365.25636 days of the sidereal year compared to 365.24217 days of the solar year or the tropical year. Given that, as seen below, the Budoji mentions the tiniest discrepancy of one leap day for 31,788,900 years, the discrepancy between 365.25 and 365.25636 (0.00636 day) can be explained that the year was actually 365.25 days at the time of Budo circa 2333 BCE, 4440 years ago. In other words, there is a discrepancy of 0.12375936 seconds between 2017 CE and 2333 BCE. Regarding Lawful Numbers 2, 5, 8, it is involved as follows: 365 days (3+6+5=14, 1+4=5) Lawful Numbers 2, 5, 8 refers the unit of 365 days (364 days with one intercalary day). Further dynamics are unknown. The sidereal year refers to the time taken by the Earth to orbit the sun once with respect to the distant stars. In contrast, the solar or tropical year means the time taken by the Earth to orbit the sun once with respect to the sun. The sidereal year, 365.25636 days, is about 20 minutes and 24 seconds longer than the mean tropical year (365.24217 days) and about 19 minutes and 57 seconds longer than the average Gregorian year of 365.2425 days. The difference occurs primarily because the solar system spins on its own axis and around the Milky Way galactic center making the solar year’s observed position relative. Time is no independent concept apart from space and the agent. The very concept of time is preceded by the agent bound in a space. It is always contextualized. In Magoism, both calendar and time are born out of the cosmogonic universe, the universe that is in self-creation. Like calendar, time is to be discovered or measured. It is a numinous concept. The very concept of time testifies to the reality of the Creatrix. Time proves the orderly movement of the universe into which we are born. Calendar patterns time, whereas time undergirds calendar. How can we measure time? We are given the time of the Earth that comes from its rotation, revolution, and precession in sync with the moon and the sun (and its planets). One type of time is the solar time. The solar time is a calculation of time based on the position of the sun. Traditionally, the solar time is measured by the sundial. The solar time is, however, specific to the Earth only. It is valid only for the-same-observed-location. It is not made to be used for the time of another celestial body. For example, Mars’ solar time has to be measured independently based on its own rotation and revolution rates. The solar time is an isolated time. It is static and exclusive, not made for the time of other celestial bodies. By nature, it is unfit for connection and communication across celestial bodies. The second type is the sidereal time. The sidereal time is a time scale based on the rate of Earth’s rotations measured relative to the distant stars.[29] Because the observed position is in the far distant stars beyond the solar system, the sidereal time may as well be called an extrasolar stellar time. We can think of the observer’s position of an imaginary cosmic bird far out there, infinitely far beyond not only the solar system and …
(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.
Beltaine/High Spring within the Creative Cosmos by Glenys Livingstone Ph.D.

This essay is an edited excerpt from Chapter 8 of the author’s new book A Poiesis of the Creative Cosmos: Celebrating Her within PaGaian Sacred Ceremony. Traditionally the dates for Beltaine/High Spring are: Southern Hemisphere – October 31st or 1st November Northern Hemisphere – April 30th (May Eve) or 1st May though the actual astronomical date varies. 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. The twin fires lit in older times on hilltops in Ireland for Beltaine likely represented the two eyes of night and day.[i] With this vision, Goddess as Sun and Moon sees Her Land, and with the power of Her eyes (Sun and Moon) brings forth life and beauty. With the fire eyes, Goddess“reoccupied and saw her whole land…”[ii] The twin fires later came to be used to run cattle between as they headed out to Summer pasture, for the purpose of burning off the bugs and ticks of Winter; the fires may thus be understood to serve a cleansing effect and likely the origins of the tradition of the ceremonial leaping of flames by participants in Beltaine festivities. In PaGaian Cosmology this is poetically expressed as the Flame of Love that burns away the psyche’s “bugs and ticks,” and sees the Beauty present, and calls it forth. The Beltaine flames may be a celebration of Sun entering into the eye, into the whole bodymind: a powerful creative evocation upon which the Dance of Life depends, and as the cleansing power of love and pleasure. PaGaian focus for Beltaine is on the Holy Desire/Passion for life, and it may be accounted for on as many levels as possible … the complete holarchy/dimensions of the erotic power. On an elemental level, there is our desire for Air, Water, the warmth of Fire, and to be of use/service to Earth. There is an essential longing, sometimes nameless, sometimes constellated, experienced physically, that may be recognized as the Desire of the Universe Herself – desiring in us.[iii] We may remember that we are united in this desire with each other, with all who have gone before us, and with all who come after us – all who dance the Dance of Life. Beltaine is a time for dancing and weaving into our lives, our heart’s desires; traditionally the dance is done with participants holding ribbons attached to a pole or tree (a Maypole in the Northern Hemisphere, which may be renamed as a “Novapole” in the Southern Hemisphere), wrapping the pole with the ribbons. This is not simply the heterosexual metaphor as is thought in modern times (thanks largely to Freudian thinking) – it is deeper than that. As Caitlin and John Matthews point out: it is symbolic of a far greater exchange than that between men and women – in fact between the elements themselves. … the maypole, a comparatively recent manifestation in the history of mystery celebrations, can be seen as the linking of heaven and earth, binding those who dance around it … into a pattern of birth, life and death which lay at the heart of the maze of earth mysteries.[iv] Beltaine is a celebration of Desire on all levels – microcosm and on the macrocosm, the exoteric and the esoteric.[v] It brought you forth physically, and it brings forth all that you produce in your life, and it keeps the Cosmos spinning. It is felt in you as Desire, it urges you on. It is the deep awesome dynamic that pervades the Cosmos and brings forth all things – babies, meals, gardens, careers, books and solar systems. We have often been taught, certainly by religious traditions, to pay it as little attention as possible; whereas it should be the cause of much more meditation/attention, tracing it to its deepest place in us. What are our deepest desires beneath our surface desires. What if we enter more deeply into this feeling, this power? It may be a place where the Universe is a deep reciprocity – a receiving and giving that is One. Brian Swimme says, in a whole chapter on “Allurement”: You can examine your own self and your own life with this question: Do I desire to have this pleasure? Or rather, do I desire to become pleasure? The demand to ‘have,’ to possess, always reveals an element of immaturity. To keep, to hold, to control, to own; all of this is fundamentally a delusion, for our own truest desire is to be and to live. We have ripened and matured when we realize that our own deepest desire in erotic attractions is to become pleasure … to enter ecstatically into pleasure so that giving and receiving pleasure become one simple activity. Our most mature hope is to become pleasure’s source and pleasure’s home simultaneously. So it is with the allurements of life: we become beauty to ignite the beauty of others.[vi] Beltaine is a good time to contemplate this animal bodymind that you are: how it seeks real pleasure. What is your real pleasure? Be gracious with this bodymind and in awe of this form, this wonder. Beltaine is also a good time to contemplate light, and its affects on our bodyminds as it enters into us; how our animal bodyminds respond directly to the Sun’s light, which apparently may awaken physical desires. Light vibrates into us – different wavelengths as different colours – and shifts to pulse. It is felt most fully in Springtime (“spring fever”), as light courses down a direct neural line from retina to pineal gland. When the pineal gland receives the light pulse it releases “a cascade of hormones, drenching the body in hunger, thirst, or great desire.”[vii] We respond directly to Sun as an organism: it is primal. NOTES: [i] Michael Dames, Ireland, 195-199. [ii] Ibid., 196. [iii] I have been inspired and informed by Swimme’s articulations about desire, particularly in Canticle to the Cosmos, video 2 “The Primeval Fireball,” video 5 “Destruction and Loss,” and video 10 “The Timing of Creativity.” [iv] Matthews, The Western Way, 54. And for more, see “Creativity …

(Essay 2 Part 2) Why Do I Love Korean Historical Dramas? by Anna Tzanova, M.A.

Part 2 ENGAGING THE MIND It makes me cringe every time someone calls Korean drama, especially the historical genre, a soap opera. The fact that they are TV series doesn’t necessarily make them foamy. Quite the contrary, they are full of substance. They don’t go on and on for years, season after season. On average, most of them are 24 to 60, one-hour-long episodes. Some have fewer episodes, some have more episodes, but after they are done—we move on. It’s a good way to learn non-attachment. Korean historical drama is thought provoking. It is multidimensional in the way it presents characters and stories. Plots are well developed, intelligent, intriguing, and entertaining. Yes, there are some predictable outcomes, but there is also a lot of substance and artistic craftiness, as well as clever twists and fascinating surprises. Sageuk (Korean Historical Drama) can teach about history and culture, and also about mythology, philosophy, and spirituality. It reminds us of the values that are fading or have vanished in Western culture in the 21st century. The importance of subtleties in life is shown through plot development, rhythm, and acting. Reoccurring themes convey lessons like patience, acceptance, forgiveness, trust, integrity, perseverance, and courage… That is, the true meaning and practice of those. There is depth in the understanding of the writers, as well as in the corresponding depiction by actors. There is profundity, which evokes a reciprocal reaction in the viewers’ mind. The characters are likable—and their outlook on life and their behavior are admirable. They evolve and influence each other and their environment. There is this definitive sophistication in expression of emotion. Something akin to meditation. In Sageuk, “silence speaks”. Thus, the experience is not only pleasant, relaxing and/or exciting, but many times healing and enlightening. Confucian ideas mixed with Buddhist and Daoist ideals motivate the protagonists’ kind and considerate actions. A particularly valued quality in Korea is “착하다/착한 [chakhada/chakhan]”. I first heard it mentioned in an interview[i]/book[ii] presentation of Euny Hong. The translation in the dictionary reads, “good, nice, good-natured, kind-hearted, meek, obedient, docile, gentle, quiet.” Actually, it is all this and much more. It is a trait that when faced with, being cynical—as we often are in the 21st century—we can easily dismiss as being naive, gullible, submissive, and even foolish. However, in the words of Rumi, “Before you speak, let your words pass through three gates: at the first, you ask yourself, ‘Is it true?’ At the second gate ask, ‘Is it necessary?’ At the third gate ask, ‘Is it kind?’”. The heroines and heroes in Korean historical drama follow this teaching in words and action. Most epitomize pure heartedness. There is a child-like sweetness about many of them—come to think of it, by losing innocence, has humanity really gained wisdom? In the online edition of Entertainment Weekly, I encountered a quote by Jacqueline Sia, Director of Video Operations of New York based DramaFever—one of the largest databases of subtitled Asian films and TV programs. In speaking about Korean drama she states: “Portrayal of love is a little more PG,”[iii] an observation that strikes any novice in the genre. We have become used to quick climaxes, crash-and-burn liaisons, as well as media glorified dysfunctional relationships. The predominant understanding of sex (and certainly the one staring at us from the TV and cinema screens) is hurried, flat, and linear. There is a disconnect between sex and love. Profanity and violence pour daily from everywhere. Exhibiting symptoms of an empath can easily be diagnosed as a psychiatric condition, and yet we are conditioned to be less and less sensitive. In this background, complex and refined emotional states, longing, embodied sacredness, and the act of leaving much to the viewers’ imagination, seem to be suitable only for children. Are we awake and mature enough to realize that all the psychological and social implications of the well-manipulated programming we are subjugated to is already bearing fruit in ‘real life’? (Read Essay 2 Part 1. To be continued in Essay 2 Part 3.) Notes: [i] The Korean Society, “Euny Hong discusses with WSJ columnist Jeffrey Yang her first nonfictional book,” YouTube (November 6, 2014). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxHv2gT539o [ii] Euny Hong, “The Birth of Korean Cool: How One Nation Is Conquering the World Through Pop Culture,” Simon and Shuster (2014). [iii] Hillary Busis, “Korean Dramas: A Beginner’s Guide,” Entertainment Weekly (April 11, 2014). Description of Korean Historical Dramas: This course offers a series of Korean Historical TV-dramas or Sageug (사극) and discusses the traits of female characters as well as general features of Korean history, culture, art, aesthetics, thought, customs, and people. What makes Korean drama so unique? What is the “secret recipe” that makes it so popular internationally? Why is it that, after a few episodes, one can‘t wait to see the next one or the next new drama? Those questions have made many wonder, from audiences to journalists and critics. Participants are invited to explore answers to these questions and more. Our emphasis is on woman’s place in history, as well as her role as creator, healer and leader; her strife to discover and reinvent herself, her inherent wisdom, her abilities to surrender, without giving up, and her potential to adapt, thrive, and ultimately transform the world she is in. Our selection of dramas qualifies high criteria in story content, character development, actor portrayal, multiplicity of ideas and values, and abilities to educate, while engaging and entertaining the viewer. Facilitators (Dr. Helen Hye-Sook Hwang and Ms. Anna Tzanova) will provide articles and audio-video materials concerning salient themes. (For more, see here) Info on online class, Korean Historical Dramas. See Meet Mago Contributor Anna Tzanova.
(Photo Essay 3) ‘Gaeyang Halmi, the Sea Goddess of Korea’ by Helen Hwang

Part III: Archaeology Bespeaks What Ideological Hetero-sexuality Can’t Do Our story-tellers informed us that Gaeyang Halmi is venerated and celebrated on January 14th annually on the lunar calendar. There are two separate rituals performed on that day. Villagers, both men and women, offer their ritual ceremony in the morning in Confucian style. The officiant must preserve the purification ritual, confining oneself to home to avoid ominous affairs for a week prior to the ceremony. After the ceremony of the villagers, Mudang groups come from outside the town and offer their Shaman rituals. A cleavage between two groups is still freshly detected in their narratives. While villagers conform to the Confucian style rituals with a despising but curious eye for the female-centered Shaman rituals, Mudangs are much more powerful in their capacities to command people, spirits, and materials. The Shamanic ritual celebration is fairly well-known domestically as well as overseas to the Chinese and the Japanese, according to our lore transmitters. People from China and Japan come to join the Mudang rituals, a vestige of the intercultural celebration that may have originated in ancient times, a point to be elaborated later. What caught my attention was the fact that the ritual celebration is known as the Ritual of Yongwang (the Dragon King) not the Ritual of Gaeyang Halmi. Our two narrators, Mr. Jeong Dong-Uk and Ms. Jeong Si-Geum, brother and sister, testified contradictorily vis-à-vis the Dragon King. Mr. Jeong mentioned that Gaeyang Halmi is the wife of Dragon King,[i] whereas Ms. Jeong spoke of Gaeyang Halmi as a solo deity without spouse. Ms. Jeong sternly said, “She was alone [without spouse]. She had eight daughters.” “It is said that there used to be a house wherein Gaeyang Halmi and her eight daughters lived together. I saw the cooking pots and household things in the ruin,” added Ms. Jeong. [Interestingly, the motif that she saw the cooking pots and other kitchen items in the ruin reminded me of other Mago folk stories from other regions. People seem to take such artifacts as pots and household things discovered in the ruin as an indication that the myth of Mago Halmi who is told to have lived in the place is plausible.] The topos of “the dragon king” was likely added later on to comply with Confucian ideology. In fact, none of our narrators mentioned the dragon king as the main deity of the Suseong Shrine. The fact that it is called the ritual of the dragon king suggests another layer of erosion/castration/dethronement done to the supreme divinity of Gaeyang Halmi.
(Essay 2) Returning Home with Mago, the Great Goddess, from East Asia by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang

[Author’s Note: This essay was first published in Trivia, Voices of Feminism, Issue 6, September 2007. Also to be included in the forthcoming anthology She Rises: Why Goddess Feminism, Activism, and Spirituality?] An Introduction to Magoism Mago is the Great Goddess of East Asia. Nonetheless, she remains barely known to the world. Her equals, Xiwangmu (the Supreme Goddess of Daoism) and Amaterasu (the Sun Goddess of the Japanese imperial family), are said to comprise the pantheon of East Asian cosmic goddesses. Considering that these goddesses are often aligned with the ancient culture of China or Japan, one notices that the pantheon of East Asian Great Goddesses thus omits both Mago and “Korean culture.”

Month: September 2019

(Art) Naiad No. 1 by Sudie Rakusin

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Support RTM (Return to Mago) E-Magazine in your own way

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(Prose & Photography) Equinox Reflection by Sara Wright

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(Book Excerpt 3) How to Live Well Despite Capitalist Patriarchy by Trista Hendren

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(Essay 5) The Norse Goddesses behind the Asir Veil: The Vanir Mothers in Continental Scandinavia by Kirsten Brunsgaard Clausen

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(Meet Mago Contributor) Deepak Shimkhada, Ph.D.

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Ancestral Journeys: A Pilgrimage to the Oracle Chamber by Jude Lally

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(Goddess Writing 2) Notes by Kaalii Cargill

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(Essay) The Internet and Research on Goddess History and Culture by Francesca Tronetti, Ph.D.

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(Art 9) Yemeja, Ishtar, Infancy the very beginning of by Megha

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(Essay 1) The Blending of Bön, Buddhism and the Goddess Gemu in Mosuo Culture by Krista Rodin

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(Prose) Eve and the Garden of Eden by Noris Binet

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(Essay) The Brewer was a Lady by Hearth Moon Rising

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Mago Almanac Year 9 Monthly Wheels

S/HE: IJGS V4 N1-2 2025 (B/W Paperback)

Mago Almanac Year 8 (for 2025)

Program Booklets

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