April 20, 2015November 15, 2019 Mago Work AdminLeave a comment

(Essay 5) Response by Dr. Glenys Livingstone to Magos, Muses, and Matrikas: The Magoist Cosmogony and Gynocentric Unity by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang, Ph.D.

[Author’s note: This paper is published in the journal, the Gukhak yeonguronchong 국학연구론총 (Issue 14, December 2014). Here it will appear in five sequels including the response by Dr. Glenys Livingstone. Numbers Read More …

April 10, 2015October 2, 2019 Mago Work AdminLeave a comment

(Art) Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp (with the Lady Cerridwen) by Eileen Haley

Four campers dance holding balloons, which were a feature of the mass demonstrations outside the US Air Force base at Greenham Common in the UK, where women famously maintained a Read More …

March 11, 2015October 2, 2019 RTM EditorsLeave a comment

(Art poem) Ing’s Ride by Ingrid Andrew

I am Ingrid. I am Ing’s ride. I ride the chariots of Spring. I scatter petals in my wake; and gather birds, and throw them on the wing. I am Read More …

March 9, 2015November 15, 2019 RTM Editor3 Comments

(Essay) Notes on Leaving Christianity by Glenys Livingstone (1989)

This is the first in a three part series of old articles and papers by Glenys Livingstone Ph.D. that were written in the 1980’s and 1990’s, two of which were Read More …

December 22, 2014October 2, 2019 Mago Work Admin1 Comment

(Essay 1) Magos, Muses, and Matrikas: The Magoist Cosmogony and Gynocentric Unity by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang, Ph.D.

December 12, 2014October 2, 2019 Mago Work AdminLeave a comment

(Art) Volunteer Lifesavers (with Annette Kellermann) by Eileen Haley

Women lifesavers (including one in a burqini) dance on a beach. Mermaids populate the ocean behind the figures.

November 12, 2014October 2, 2019 Mago Work Admin1 Comment

(Book review) Poemas Ante el Catafalco: Grief and Renewal by Donna J. Snyder, reviewed by Mary Saracino

Poemas Ante el Catafalco: Grief and Renewal (Chimbarazu Press 2014) Donna J. Snyder It is a poet’s challenge to find language for emotions that elude language. In Poemas Ante el Read More …

October 15, 2014October 2, 2019 Mago Work Admin3 Comments

(Poem) Defiance by Mary Saracino

I was bred to appease, close the gaping mouth of desire, a child speaking in the foreign tongue of docility relying on conforming consonants, denying voracious vowels their due, jailing Read More …

July 30, 2014October 2, 2019 Mago Work Admin2 Comments

(Poem) Bella Madre, Stella Madre by Mary Beth Moser

The other night with the Moon’s light veiled in her dark monthly seclusion The wilderness Sky revealed A dome of dazzling stars So vast I gasped with delight A Read More …

July 16, 2014October 2, 2019 Mago Work AdminLeave a comment

(Poem) Fragrant Sacrifice by Melissa LaFlamme

Some wounds will not let go. They have not come for that. What pains you, shapes your soul, has come to claim you, call you to your knees, instruct you, Read More …

June 20, 2014October 2, 2019 Mago Work AdminLeave a comment

(Special Post 4) Why Goddess Feminism, Activism, or Spirituality? A Collective Writing

[Editor’s Note: This was first proposed in The Mago Circle, Facebook Group, on March 6, 2014. We have our voices together below and publish them in sequels. It is an Read More …

June 11, 2014October 2, 2019 Mago Work AdminLeave a comment

(Poem) Moon wears Serpent as Her crown by Donna Snyder

Sinuous and sensual touch exotic skin to skin and then more skin. A trill of strange thrills the hand. Serpent’s gift repaid with calumny. Not meant to be worn Read More …

June 9, 2014November 15, 2019 Mago Work AdminLeave a comment

(Essay 2) Feminism and the Future of Religion by Glenys Livingstone Ph.D.

Meet Mago Contributor, Glenys Livingstone. Part 2 of a paper presented by the author at the National Socialist Conference Sydney, 1990. Feminism is not the only force pushing change to old Read More …

(Mago Stronghold Essay 2) The Forgotten Primordial Paradise by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang, Ph.D.

Part 2: Mago, Mago Clan, and Old Korea “Mago Stronghold” is a magical (read gynocentric) word that engenders the power of the Great Goddess. Survived in written and oral texts as well as geographies, it, while disclosing the plot of magna-matricide[1] (killing of the Great Mother) in patriarchal mytho-historiographies, re-enthrones the Great Goddess.
(Art) Artemis by Liz Darling

It’s always interesting to me how an idea adapts to whatever medium is used. Even when I think I have a fairly clear idea of what I’m going for, paintings somehow end up with their own identities. Meet Mago Contributor Liz Darling
(Essay 12) 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 Branch of the Old European Civilization?” by Märta-Lena Bergstedt & Kirsten Brunsgaard Clausen, included in Goddesses in Myth, History and Culture (Mago Books, 2018) Edited by Mary Ann Beavis and Helen Hye-Sook Hwang.] IDUN — The White Disa and Keeper of Apples Fig. 32. Apple blooming In the light summer’s nights when mists are floating like white veils over the meadows, a common expression is that;“Now the disirs are dancing” (Diserne danser), or that the “Cailleach is brewing” (Kællingen brygger). Maidens, Mothers, and Crones still recur today as fundamental components of the living nature. For long, there has been an extended discussion about the nature of the Norse Disir. These discussions take their starting point in the rather twisted disir-figures depicted in the 13th century Iceland texts, for instance those in the Saga of Thorhall and Tirande, Flateyjarbók.[1] In these late texts, disirs are dualistically separated into two groups of black and white disir, good and bad ghosts, deities, or spirits of fate and the like. All the same, the word, disa in Scandinavian languages is simply and nothing but an old synonym word for maiden (mö), which over time, developed into the modern word, tös.[2] Consistently, early Danish translators would translate the Icelandic word, disir into young women (unge kvinder), and nothing else. Disa-Day, still celebrated in Sweden on the 2nd of February, is the day of the Bride of Spring returning, where also the Disa-Thing is still held in Uppsala, north of Stockholm. The Sagas count a number of Vanir disir of which the Vanadis Fröja is the most renowned. In this presentation, we will let yet another disa step forward, namely Idun. Travelling in her slough (skin) of a white swan, this Vanadis is also a guardian of growth and propagation wisdom. She is the famed Keeper of Apples, the round womb-fruits enclosing all the seeds of the future in their cores.[3] Idun´s mother is a ljus-disa (Maiden of Light), and has several names, Svan-hild (Swanlight), Guld-fjäder (Goldfeather), and Hilde-gun (Shining-Woman/Mother).[4] Idun is brought up by Svanhild and Svanhild´s brother, Idvalde (Ivalde), also known as Finn-Alf (Shining-White-Elven, postulated to be the first “King of the Elven and Finns in North-East Svitjod” (Uppland, Sweden), which may rather indicate that he was an elder in elven understanding). Idun, when grown, is engaged in a sibling parental pair with her brother Völund(Weyland), Smith of Beauty, renowned for his tender forging of every flower on earth born in his imagination. With great delicacy, Völund puts each petal in place, shapes each little green straw of grass, and rounds the cheek of every rosy apple. He entrusted the precious apples of eternity in his sister and partner, Idun´s keeping.[5] In Asgård, Idun was soon married away to Brage, and given the task of providing daily apples to the Asir gods, which they believed would keep them forever fit-for-fighting and avoiding old age. But one day, the Giant-son, Loke (Lug) had enough and sputters at her: “You are Id-valde´s family! How can you go on serving his murderers? Put on your slough (skin) and fly away home to your family and your brother! It is your duty, if you are not staying here to claim blood vengeance!” Next to murdering Id-valde, the up-bringer and uncle of Idun and her brothers, the Asir gods had also violated her brother Völund (Weyland) by putting his art of forging natural blooming into a contest, after which they nominated Völund’s work second best to Sindre’s. The dvarf Sindre had forged the hammer, Mjölner that became Thor’s pride and token, and his iron-gloves and power-belt. Völund never recovered from this degradation.[6] With his words, Loke succeeded to provoke Idun to put on her slough and fly off home together with her sisters, Siv and Aude to re-unite with their dear brothers. Realizing Idun was gone, and also the precious apples, the Asir gods of course got furious, demanding Idun back immediately, before rusting away! The Apple prototype all fruit, and is a universal symbol of offspring and launched projects – fruit of life, and fruit of one´s work. The apple-seeds in belly-round and womblike centers condense the idea of the over-all feminine, seeds awaiting in the peaceful dark core of the female womb. Apples belong to the Rose family. Idun’s magic apples symbolize the magic world of feminine of propagation; still today red roses are signs of love and love-making, and the fruits of apple are symbols of pregnancy and birth- giving. As Guardian of the Fruits of Eternal Regeneration (which the Asirs mistook for staying forever young), Idun symbolically belongs to the ancient apple orchards, the Apple Lands, in Greek, Roman, and Hebrew mythology. The Greek Hesperides, Nymphs of the Sunset, kept a strong guard over their golden apples. The Old Norse word apel (appel) means any round fruit,[7] and the apple-theme, found in many stories of our cultural heritage concerned with young maidens eating round apples, echo ancient female initiation rites performed on the threshold of becoming a woman. Initiation once gave the young maidens all necessary knowledge of their intrinsic procreating power and life-giving potential dwelling within, soon to flourish. Although now-a-days dressed in patriarchal costumes, fairy-tales like Snow White still contain fresh and recognizable fragments and memories of girls´ former initiation rites to become women. In Snow White, the innocent (snow-white) little girl makes thetransgression by a ritual dying, initiated when swallowing (integrating) a bite ofan apple (the apple-womb-knowledge); the transition takes place within a glass coffin (glas-borgs are discussed below),[8] her re-birth as woman is completed when meeting a man (the prince, the lover of her choice) and their first love-making (symbolized by the kiss); to be followed by her motherhood (pictured in the patriarchal wedding). Fairytales are full of these stories, but also medieval Sagas have remembered the old knowledge, too. In the Saga of …
(Essay 6) Mago Halmi (Great Mother) Shapes Topographies with Her Skirt: An Introductory Discussion by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang

[Author’s Note: This essay was included in the journal, S/HE: An International Journal of Goddess Studies (Vol 3 No 1, 2024). Footnotes numbers here differ from those of the original article.] Namu Wiki image Toponymic Discussion of Magoist Cetaceanism Assessing Magoist Cetaceanism in the skirt-motif folktales is a complex task. I will mention some relevant insights. Like Goma, the topic of whales remains submerged in Korean culture and literature. Whales are not fully surfaced in the Mago Halmi folktales. However, it is possible to detect the underlying context of Magoist Cetaceanism directly or indirectly indicated in Mago Halmi skirt-motif folktales. Foremost, the dragon stands as the primary indication of the Cetacean Divine.[1] The placename, Mt. Fish Dragon (魚龍山), is one among many cetacean toponyms (Tale D S-51).[2] In the case of Gaeyang Halmi, she manifests as the Cetacean Goddess. It is said that she comes from the rapid cave in Gomso-man (Gom Lake Bay), adjacent to the Sea of Seven Mountains. She governs the sea. And she walks through the sea to level and calm the water. It is said that she, after changing her clothes to the diving suit, dives into the water to save fishermen and the ship drifting in a faraway sea (see Tale F S-73).[3] When the story concerns the underground connection between the bodies of water, it indicates the path for a dragon, the personification of the “singing” of whales (see Tale A S-4). The narrative that Gumu Island, an island that Mago Halmi pulled from is pulled by Jeju Island through the sea, makes the sound of Mago Halmi’s cry at high winds, insinuates the path that one could hear the “singing” of cetaceans (see Tale E S-64). The placenames, the nomenclature of the Island of Cats and the Sea of Cats, may be derived from the fact that one could hear the “singing” of whales resembling the sound of cats (see Tale C S-29). In this tale, it is said that Mago Halmi who brought rocks from the Sea of Cats caused the seawater to spring up inside the stronghold. When it comes to toponyms, nona numerology and dragon themes manifest together with the Magoma Divine. I have grouped toponymic themes into four categories: the Mago, the Goma, the numerological, and the draconic ([Table 6]). These four major toponymic themes, reflecting Magoist Cetacean culture, hold the basis of the Magoist Cosmogony.[4] In the first group, the Mago toponyms, the epithets of Halmi, Mago, Nogo, and Magui stand as indicators. They include Halmi Stronghold (Halmi-seong), Hanmi Stronghold (Hanmi-seong), Nogo Stronghold (Nogo-seong), Mt. Halmi Stronghold (Halmi-sanseong), Mt. Nogo (Nogo-san), Mt. Nogo Stronghold (Nogo-sanseong), Mago Halmi Cairn (Mago Halmi Dolmudegi), Mago Rock (Mago-am), Halmi Rock (Halmi-bawi), Nogo Rock (Nogo-bawi), Nogo Rock (Nogo-am) Magui Rock (Magui-bawi) Mago Altar (Mago-dan) Mago Village or Magu Village (Mago-sil or Magu-sil), Mt. Mago (Mago-san), Mt. Mago Stronghold (Mago-sanseong), Halmi Stronghold (Halmi-sanseong), Mago Halmi Spinning-wheel Rock (Mago Halmi-muletdol) and Magui Stronghold (Magui-sanseong). The second group, the Goma toponyms, is primarily indicated by the affix “Goma,” “Gama,” “Gam,” “Geom,” “Gom,” or “Geum.” They include Gama-gol (Gama Village), Gama-so (Gama Lake), Gom-so (Gom Lake), Gomso-dumbeong (Gomso Lagoon), Gomso-man (Gomso Bay), and Goso-algang (Gomso Core River). “Gom,” is a homonym to mean both Goma and a bear. The logographic character, Ung (熊 Bear),” indicates Goma. Ungchon-myeon (Bear Clan Town) is an example. The asterism of the Seven Stars (the Big Dipper), the circumpolar asterism of the Polaris (Mago), is associated with Goma as in Chilseong-bawi (Rock of the Seven Stars). Goma is also indicated with such affixes as “Seon (仙 Magoist)” and “Dan (壇 Altar).” Seon refers to Magoist Luminaries or Mage, whereas Dan refers to the altar of the divine tree, the Goma Tree. Seondan-yeo (Magoist Altar Reef), Seonjeop-san (Mt. Magoist Realm), Seongap-do (Primary Magoist Island) are the Seon placenames. Mt. Kkamak (까막산) comes from “Geom-da” to mean the color black, a homonym of “Geom.” Kal-bawi (Sword Rock) is another homonym of “Geom,” which also means a sword. I consider “Daemo (Great Mother),” “Gomo (Halmi Mother)” and “Hol-eomeomi (Sole-Mother)” as references to the Magoma Divine. Lastly, “Go (Halmi)” in Godang (Halmi Shrine) refers to the Magoma Divine. The third group, the numerological toponyms, includes Nine-Rock Township (Guam-ri), Nine-Rock Village (Guam-maeul), Nine-Valley Township (Gugok-ri), Nine-Mountain Village (Gusan-dong), Ninety-Thousand Township (Guman-ri), Nine Maiden Shrine (Gurang-sa), Ninety-Nine Peaks (Aheunahop-bong), Mt. Nine Women (Gunyeo-san), Mt. Nine Women Stronghold (Gunyeo-sanseong), and Three-Brother Rock (Samhyeongje-bawi). The last group, the Dragon toponyms, includes Dragon Lake (Yongso, Yongyeon), Dragon Pond (Yongmot), Dragon Swamp (Yongneup), Dragon Well (Yongjeong), Dragon Reservoir (Yongji), Mt. Dragon Head (Yongdu-san), Mt. Transformed Dragon (Yonghwa-san), Dragon Village (Yong-dong) Dragon Woman Burial Cairn (Yongnyeo-chong), and Mt. Fish Dragon (Eeoryong-san). CategoriesTopographiesTales (Number of occurrences)MagoHalmi Stronghold (Halmi-seong), Hanmi Stronghold (Hanmi-seong), or Nogo Stronghold (Nogo-seong), Mt. Halmi Stronghold (Halmi-sanseong)S-19, S-20, S-22, S-23, S-49, S-52, S-54, S-57, S-71, S-93 (10)Mt. Nogo (Nogo-san), Mt. Nogo Stronghold (Nogo-sanseong)S-13, S-84 (2)Mago Halmi Cairn (Mago Halmi Dolmudegi)S-11, S-20, S-40 (3)Mago Rock (Mago-am) or Halmi-bawi (Halmi Rock)S-1, S-84 (2)Nogo Rock (Nogo-am), Nogo Rock (Nogo-bawi)S-77, S-84 (2)Magui Rock (Magui-bawi)S-12Mago Altar (Mago-dan)S-8Mago Village or Magu Village (Mago-sil or Magu-sil)S-48Mt. Mago (Mago-san), Mt. Mago Stronghold (Mago-sanseong)S-49, S-50, S-52 (3)Mago Halmi Spinning-wheel Rock (Mago Halmi-muletdol)S-41Magui Stronghold (Magui-seong)S-21GomaGama Village (Gama-gol), Gama Lake Valley (Gamaso-gol)S-57, S-73 (2)Mt. Jade Gama (Okgama-san), Peak Jade Gama (Okgama-bong)S-32Gomso Lagoon (Gomso-dumbeong), Gomso Bay (Gomso-man), Gomso Core River (Gomso-algang)S-72Mt. KKamakS-15Sword Rock (Kal-bawi)S-83Mt. Geumo StrongholdS-52Ungcheon (Bear/Sovereign Village)S-38Seondan (Magoist Altar) ReefS-25Rock of the Seven Stars (Big Dipper)S-24Mt. Daemo (Great Mother) Stronghold (Daemo-sanseong) or Mt. Sole-Mother (Hol-eomeoni) StrongholdS-74Halmi Mother Stronghold (Gomo-seong)S-49Halmi Shrine (Godang)S-75Numerology Nine-Rock Township (Guam-ri), Nine-Rock Village (Guam-maeul), Nine-Valley Township (Gugok-ri), Nine-Mountain Village (Gusan-dong)S-41, S-88, S-89 (3)Ninety-Thousand Township (Guman-ri)S-54Nine Maiden Shrine (Gurang-sa)S-72, S-73 (2)Ninety-Nine Peaks (Aheunahop-bong)S-83Mt. Nine Women (Gunyeo-san), Mt. Nine Women Stronghold (Gunyeo-sanseong)S-90Three Brother Rock (Samhyeongje-bawi)S-51DragonDragon Lake (Yongso, Yongyeon), Dragon Pond (Yongmot), Dragon Swamp (Yongneup), Dragon Well (Yongjeong), Dragon Reservoir (Yongji)S-15, S-59, S-62, S-77, S-79, S-85, S-91 (7)Mt. Dragon Head (Yongdu-san)S-31Mt. Transformed Dragon (Yonghwa-san)S-5Dragon Village (Yong-dong)S-59Dragon Woman Burial Cairn (Yongnyeo-chong)S-62Mt. Fish Dragon (Eeoryong-san)S-51 [Table 6: Themes and topographies] [1] I …
(Prose) Becoming the earth by Nane Jordan

Becoming the earth “Despite the difficulty and challenge of writing, I write to find the pleasure of its making, to put body and senses to text, in what Hélène Cixous calls “the earth of writing” where “we must work to the point of becoming the earth” (p. 156, Schoolof roots).” (Nané, Daughter of writing, 2015) During this past summer, between these research/work trips, between, and yet at home and in life with those I love, I hit a new (or old?) wall of frustration. When this frustration first appeared, I welcomed it. As if to notice that I can feel “frustrated,” what a luxury of energy! But what does it mean? It was distinct and continual, as I approached the production stage of my research, in work on publications, etc. At first, I was amused by it. Frustrated, now? After all this, you can feel frustration again? My illness of 3 years has curbed many of my edges, by dint of survival. I am learning to walk more carefully, mindfully, gently with myself, to not burn fast and hard in my work, and in relation to myself. In fact, I can’t burn much at all. Since the return of some energy, I don’t always manage this. But I pretty much always notice how I am. I can give a nod to myself, “Oh this again.” I noticed this past week in the LEGS workshops, I had so much excited energy to talk and be with all the women and gender scholars, to hear their work and share my own. It’s one of my favorite things, the exchange of ideas and life in groups, to move projects forward, and nourish good ideas and actions. Especially in this French academic context, I am learning about the work of scholars in France, and other parts of Europe. I had a hard time falling asleep, my energy revving ‘high.’ How to calm down and still interact, giving and receiving what I can with others. A lot is going on. A lot is manifesting. In the early summer, lying in the MA pose of “birth” with the Gestare art collective, I realized I still carry a sense of burnout. I don’t want to work myself too hard. There has to be rest and enjoyment. There has been much recovery, and happiness is being able to be well with my loved ones, and travel/work with new opportunities. Gratitude. But a continued need for regeneration, to regenerate lying on the earth, from the earth. Sitting in meditation in the Magdalene Basilica this morning, I felt this pull into the earth. It was her call back to me: No need to push production, let it come, it comes. This is the direction, beyond frustration. No words, mind empties, sensation of matter, deep internal release, movement downwards, spine rolling forward and head/skull hanging between knees, space opens between each vertebrae, mouth is loose, form shifts into its collection of matter, elements of themselves. The dark open space between particles arises. Hummmm of the earth. (Meet Mago Contributor) Nane Jordan, Ph.D.
Moving towards the Dark… “Elder”berry Musings… by Sara Wright

Photo by Sara Wright “I wake up under a tropical dome that has been with us most of August. The thick air feels like it is smothering me, and with emphysema that may not be my imagination. I can no longer walk or hike in this weather. Migraines and other peculiar headaches come and go – dizziness too – the former probably due to changes in pressure; As yet I have no diagnosis for the latter. I am feeling old because I am getting old. I move into my 77th year trying to adjust to increasing physical limitations.” On the first harvest moon that occurs in August, (according to ancient teaching by Northern Indigenous peoples) I harvested elderberries under a burning sun, sloshing through mud, thorny bushes and cattails to reach the clusters of ruby beads that would soon become a tincture that I knew would help me resist colds flu and perhaps also the Covid variants. The world health organization in Europe is presently researching elderberry because studies have indicated that it apparently block viruses from entering cells (it does with H1N1 virus), but I have been using this remedy for years and know that it mitigates the effects of colds and prevents flu, at least for me. While removing the berries from their tree –like stems my fingers were stained the most beautiful purple, reminding me of a story I had written when I turned 70 about becoming an old woman… In this tale I imagined that an Elderberry woman came to guide me into the future. My 82 year old friend Blaine, a veritable fountain of historical/wild orchid knowledge and fellow hiker calls me ‘Sunshine’ often remarking that aging requires a special kind of courage. He has demonstrated this in own life in concrete ways. Always an outdoors person and once an avid mountain climber who has topped every peak here in Maine he continues to hike today even after two hip replacements. I have been hiking with him and his wife for the past 15 years. These days we have to restrict our outings to cool mornings and make slow, sometimes labored climbs but these outings have been the highlight of this difficult summer. I have mentioned that I am worried about the future, and he and Margaret know first hand about some of this fear, although they have a support system that I do not. … It does take courage – enormous courage to stay with the truth of what is. And certainly I am not alone facing this dilemma. Aging is hard, not just on body but also on psyche soul and spirit because all are intimately interconnected. Lately I have been asking myself why I haven’t written about the perils of aging even though I am aware of the answer. SHAME. Shame silences us. The most humiliating part of growing old is the shame I feel at not being able to take care of myself like I used to. I also feel shame when I have to ask for help even when I PAY people. I have been self sufficient for perhaps too many years. Ironically, I am also an extremely generous person who is always ready to help others. Generous to a fault. How do I develop the ability to ask for help without feeling shame? At present I have no answer to this burning question, although I carry the awareness that it’s up to me. Today is September first, my birth month, and it is blessedly cool. Yesterday’s river walk catapulted me into the moment taking much joy from passing the beaver ponds, inspecting moss covered trunks, hearing the bear crash through the woods knowing that on this land at least, the bear would be safe. Generous people bought up mountains and valleys protecting the protecting the forests and allowing them to thrive… I offer them gratitude every time I walk on this hallowed land. These hikes and others I have taken alone helped me move through a difficult summer. For a time at least, all worries cease… As I move towards the dark of the moon, a few days away, I lean into the dark that hopefully will allow me to sleep deeply… Perhaps then the Elderberry woman might send me a dream. (Meet Sara) https://www.magoism.net/2014/12/meet-mago-contributor-sara-wright/
(Book Excerpt 2) Pagan, Goddess, Mother by Nane Jordan, Ph.D.

[Author’s Note: This is the Introduction chapter from: Pagan, Goddess, Mother, edited by Nané Jordan and Chandra Alexandre, Demeter Press, 2021, pp. 11-28, https://demeterpress.org/books/pagan-goddess-mother/.] Introduction (continued) Pagan and Goddess: Unruly Terms Pagan and Goddess spiritual movements and practices are multifaceted and diverse—it is not our intention to define and debate these various theologies, thealogies, philosophies, and traditions. Rather, this anthology adds to the literature of these fields from mother- and family-centred perspectives, offering insight to the study of women and others as mothers in religion and spirituality. We have chosen to capitalize the terms “Pagan” and “Goddess” to keep these two terms in view throughout our introduction. But this need not be so—anthology authors may or may not capitalize these terms in the chapters that follow. The mother-authors of this anthology are each unique in their voices and visions, reflecting how Pagan and Goddess pathways allow for differing expressions and multiple contexts. Throughout Western, European-based history, the terms “Pagan” and “Goddess” were deemed derogatory titles. The term “Pagan” was historically used in a negative sense to define and denigrate non- Christians as being heathens or irreligious (Ball 423). This was especially so as Christianity came to dominate all forms of faith and spirituality in the European historical context and extended into European histories of global colonization. In its contemporary, Western-based spiritual use, the term “Pagan” has been reclaimed to honour the beliefs and practices of pre-Christians, of sacred Indigenous and ancestral spiritual traditions, and regarding contemporary polytheistic (multiple divinities), Earth- based, and pantheistic or panentheistic (divinity as pervading nature and the cosmos) views. In this, nature, all life forms, and the land itself, including elements of water, fire, earth, and air, are regarded as sacred, alive, and full of spirit, with the human body being equally sacred. From the term Pagan comes the “neo-Pagan” movement, which references the modern revival of Pagan beliefs, deities, festivals, and celebrations (Adler). From its Latin root, Pagan means a “country dweller,” as in peoples who lived closely with the Earth and the cycles of nature. As defined in this volume by Pagan theologian Christine Hoff Kraemer, Western spiritual movements in contemporary Pagansim include “Wicca, Druidry, Heathenry, and various reconstructionist Polytheisms” (this volume). Further terms for Pagan spirituality include “the Craft” or the “Old Religion,” which refer to the aforementioned pre-Christian religious identification and involve valuing women’s wisdom and female spiritual power. Another unruly term related to Pagan and Goddess spirituality is the infamous “witch.” As noted by women’s history scholar Max Dashu, “Modern Western culture is saturated with demonized concepts of the witch, while lacking knowledge about authentic cultural practices of its own past” (59). Dashu points to lineages of the term “witch” across proto Indo-European languages as related to words for “wise woman,” “wisdom,” and “seer, prophet, or sage” (60). The witch as an archetypal female figure—with her European history of vilification through the mass persecution of women in the historical “Burning Times” (Reid), turned modern, magical icon of North Amer-ican movie and TV fame (e.g., Harry Potter and Maleficent)—is a powerful, galvanizing term. Some Pagan and Goddess practitioners have reclaimed the word “witch” to identify themselves. For witches, this statement reclaims and empowers women’s social status, self-authorization, and bodied, sexual life-giving capacities beyond patriarchal control. Contemporary witches identify across Pagan and Goddess spiritual pathways—seeking to break through historical and contemporary misogyny and to offer liberation through a spiritual revival of female/feminine power and magic for modern life. The practice of magic is active in many traditions as a tool for nature-, self-, community-, and spirit-based connections, with potential for trans- formation, healing, and inner growth through rituals and celebrations. Paganism writ-large encompasses many peace-loving ways of life. Most Pagan communities value individual autonomy and self- actualization. Some operate under a hierarchical order with progressive levels of leadership, whereas others engage community consensus. Furthermore, some Pagans chose to practice alone. Deities worshipped or honoured in Paganism come from wide-ranging sources—including ancient Greek, Egyptian, British, Irish, African, East Asian, and Middle Eastern traditions—and may reflect male, female, or gender fluid forms. Some Pagans honour sacred wisdoms, such as the Tarot or Kabbala, whereas others access pantheons and deities from folklore and myth in an extensive array that can be both personal and varied (Adler). Traversing this spiritual terrain, “Goddess” is an equally contested term. Being an “other” to male-centred divinity, this word claims the power of female/feminine divinity in singular and multiple forms. Whereas some people may speak of and honour “the Goddess” as a singular Supreme Being, others worship Goddesses from many cultures and/or in many forms. Feminist theologian Mary Daly pointed out over forty years ago in, Beyond God the Father, that patriarchal religions revering a male-only, father God tend to legitimize hierarchical, power- over, and oppressive relations in daily social life that place male above female and father over mother. Countering these patriarchal symbolic, physical, and psychological effects, Goddess spirituality in its contemp- orary North American feminist revival seeks to empower and validate women’s lives, bodies, and spiritual experiences (Christ). Goddess as a spiritual “She,” thus reflects, through varied female and feminine forms, the experiences of women’s lives through a diversity of expressions and traditions. Reclaiming Goddess(es) in singular and multiple forms has been a central practice of the women’s spirituality movement in North America. Women’s spirituality as a social movement is conjunct with feminist politics. Although it includes secular concerns for women’s rights and critiques of patriarchy towards women’s empowerment, women’s spirit- uality goes further to reimagine religion, culture, society, personhood, and community from spiritualized, postpatriarchal views (Spretnak). Women’s, feminist, and Goddess spirituality struggled to give birth to and liberate the very notion of Goddess. Through such spiritual, cultural, political, and bodied liberations—often anathema to the views and practices of organized religion—visions and practices of female-centred spirituality have emerged through contemporary practices. These traditions are forwarded and embodied by American women’s spirituality leaders, such as Elinor Gadon, Luisah Teish, Zsuzsanna Budapest, Vicki Noble, and Judy Grahn. As editors, we …
(Poem) Command, O Mistress! by Jillian Parker aka Flame in the Snow

Swift her strokes in dizzy rumble ramble burning scarlet gulps she glides crimson Flicker-Tail no net has gained a purchase no wall could bar her from her destination no words have ever marred her murmurs to the moon like red hair that skips a generation like a royal-blue poppy sprouting along the highway like long-lost notes to a Requiem she waits flip-flopping alone in a shallow canal, she’s spent her seed till nothing’s left but a throbbing center those lazy breadcrumb-munching mallards don’t care, they’re watching a grey gull preen himself then, trembling-frail, perched on a rusting shopping cart, Salmon Woman nods and the spindle-legged white crane turns step-dancing, bends and tears out her heart and together they ascend a single silhouette into a smog-scented sunrise. (Meet Mago Contributor) Jillian Parker.
(Essay 1) Gestating Thealogies Through Birth by Nané Jordan

[Author’s Note: I seek to reclaim a wider understanding of birth in society-at-large and in human spirituality. Birth mysteries have been invariably silenced, lost, or co-opted towards metaphors that disconnect our birth-y origins from actual mothers and women. As a foundational experience of human life, re-visioning birth can provide socially transformative values. I want to open a birth-based dialogue into the deep Goddess energies of S/he, from Her powers of creation and renewal through female generated being. Understanding Goddess—and goddessing—as a verb and a process, is enriched by honouring the inherently female-originated condition, wisdom, and value of the human process of gestation and birth.] Birth invites mystery into our lives if we can, or want to, receive that. Wound up into that mystery is personal and societal fear of death, which birth…stands at the doorway of. So much of medical birth practice is about diverting this mystery into knowable forms with time-tables, charts, clocks and interventions. Yet birth is older and wiser than our clocks and technological tricks. Every birth unfolds in its own way in its own time. Birth inherently asks a mystery of us, women in particular. This is a true gift of listening to its calling, allowing the mystery to be present and unfold in our lives as the new being emerges into our arms. (Nané Jordan, Birthdance, Earthdance, 2002, p. 116) I have a life-long passion to wander in the field of “birth” and birth-giving through women- and love-centred practices and philosophies. I have variously pursued my birth-calling as a midwifery student and lay midwife, a birth advocate/activist and post-partum caregiver, as a ritualist, and through writing and scholarship that highlights women’s voices and experiences.

(Special Post) Discussion on Mother-Daughter Wound by Mago Circle Members

[Mago Circle members discussed and answered the question, “What do you think of this (the topic article below)? If you are a feminist, it is something that you would promote? If so, why? If not, why not?” The discussion took place on May 15, 2017 and shortly thereafter in The Mago Circle.] Topic Article: “For The Daughters Who Don’t Love Their Mothers – Screw Mother’s Day” by Sade Andria Zabala Everyone talks about a mother’s unconditional love. But what if it doesn’t exist? Daughters are socially expected to be close with their mothers. But are you one of the women who aren’t? Mother’s Day isn’t just for celebrating moms. It’s a day some of us dread because we are reminded we grew up (or are still) unloved, not good enough. (Read the whole article here.)
(Special Post 8) Why Goddess Feminism, Activism, and Spirituality?

[Editor’s Note: This was first proposed in The Mago Circle, Facebook Group, on March 6, 2014. We have our voices together below and publish them in sequels. Special thanks to Trista Hendren, founder and author of The Girl God, who passionately and painstakingly promotes the message of each contributor via Facebook’s memes. Without Trista’s devotion to the advocacy, this collective effort would not have continued. It is an ongoing project and we encourage our reader to join us! Submit yours today to Helen Hwang (magoism@gmail.com). Or visit and contact someone in Return to Mago’s Partner Organizations.] Marija Krstic-Chin To remember who we really are (nature, cycles, network, creative force, one, infinite…) for the benefit of all of humanity and all living things; and to unite and unify as we broadcast, hand down, protect and defend this truth and each other against the oppressive intentions and actions of patriarchal perpetrators, puppets, and pawns who seek to enslave us by various old and new divide-and-conquer strategies.
(Special Post) BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE FOR EL PASO ARTIST MARIO COLÍN by Donna Snyder

Born in Juárez in 1959, Mario Colín lived his entire life in the Five Points area of Central El Paso, where he attended Houston Elementary and Austin High School. From the age of fifteen, he worked as a construction worker, building silos and other large construction projects across the U.S.A., at some point hitch hiking from the Pacific coast to the Atlantic shores. In his late twenties, he began to focus all his attention and energy on art, which had been an interest since early childhood, working as a muralist and portrait painter. Much of his art is of a religious nature, although he also painted secular art, portraits, and historical scenes. Colín painted his first mural of the Virgin of Guadalupe in collaboration with deceased artist Chuck Zavala in 1987 at Esparza’s Grocery, a small store in Central El Paso. It has now become a shrine, with community members building a stone arch and bringing flowers and candles, and has been pronounced a religious site by the parish church. Since that first mural, Colín has painted over 40 pieces of public art, many of which have become landmarks. Many of those murals are in that same Central El Paso neighborhood, on or near Piedras, including the House of Pizza, Los Alamos Grocery, The Elbo Room bar, the former Sanitary Plumbing at Piedras and Fort Boulevard. Colín twice painted a 25 foot mural of the Virgin of Guadalupe, at Alameda and Zaragoza, across from the Ysleta mission. The first version, painted in 1997, became decayed, but was a popular landmark. That mural has appeared in periodicals, art books, calendars, many newspaper articles, and in photographs exhibited in the El Paso Art Museum and galleries. In 2004, Señor José Villalobos donated and members of the community contributed money to pay laborers to replaster the wall of the century-old adobe building where it is located, and Colín repainted the entire mural for donations from passers-by and community members. Colín’s work has also been featured on the International History Channel and Canal 44, XHUI TV, in a Ford television commercial, and numerous times in the El Paso Times and the defunct El Paso Herald-Post, as well as in periodicals such as Texas Monthly, Dallas Morning News, Texas Observer, Austin American Statesman, Stanton Street magazine; literary journals such as Mezcla and GypsyMag.com; in documentaries including Walls that Speak: El Paso’s Murals, directed by Jim Klaes; in art books such as Colors on Desert Walls: The Murals of El Paso and Texas 24:7, and in various editions of Chicano Studies: Survey and Analysis, a text book used throughout the country.

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

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

A SEED FOR SPRING EQUINOX . . . till I feel the earth around the place my head has lain under winter’s touch, and it crumbles. Slanted weight of clouds. Reaching with my head and shoulders past the open crust dried by spring wind. Sun. Tucking through the ground that has planted cold inside me, made its waiting be my food. Now I watch the watching dark my light’s long-grown dark makes known. Art and poem are included in Celebrating Seasons of the Goddess (Mago Books, 2017). (Meet Mago Contributor) Sudie Rakusin (Meet Mago Contributor) Annie Finch
(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.
(Essay) Summer Solstice/Litha Within the Creative Cosmos by Glenys Livingstone Ph.D.

This essay is an edited excerpt from Chapter 9 of the author’s book A Poiesis of the Creative Cosmos: Celebrating Her within PaGaian Sacred Ceremony. The dates for Summer Solstice/Litha are: Southern Hemisphere – December 20-23 Northern Hemisphere – June 20-23 A Summer Solstice altar The ‘moment of grace’[i] that is Summer Solstice, marks the stillpoint in the height of Summer, when Earth’s tilt causes the Sun to begin its ‘decline’: that is, its movement back to the North in the Southern Hemisphere, and back to the South in the Northern Hemisphere. This Seasonal Moment is polar opposite Winter Solstice when it is light that is “born,” as it may be expressed. At the peak of Summer, in the bliss of expansion, it is the dark that is “born.” Insofar as Winter Solstice is about birth, then Summer Solstice is about death. It is a celebration of profound mystical significance, that may be confronting in a culture where the dark is not valued for its creative telios. Summer Solstice is a time for celebrating our realized Creativity, whose birth we celebrated at Winter Solstice, whose tenderness we dedicated ourselves to at Imbolc/Early Spring, whose certain presence and power we rejoiced in at Spring Equinox, whose fertile passion we danced for at Beltaine/High Spring. Now, at this seasonal point, as we celebrate light’s fullness, we celebrate our own ripening – like that of the wheat, and the fruit. And like the wheat and the fruit, it is the Sun that is in us, that has ripened: the Sun is the Source of our every thought and action. The analogy is complete in that our everyday creativity – our everyday actions, and we, ultimately, are also “Food for the Universe”[ii] … it is all how we feed the Universe. flowers to flames – everyday creativity consumed Like the Sun and the wheat and the fruit, we find the purpose of our Creativity in the releasing of it; just as our breath must be released for its purpose of life. The symbolism used to express this in ceremony has been the giving of a full rose/flower to the flames.[iii] We, and our everyday creativity, are the “Bread of Life,” as it may be expressed; just as many other indigenous traditions recognize everyday acts as evoking “the ongoing creation of the cosmos,”[iv] so in this tradition, Summer is the time for particularly celebrating that. Our everyday lives, moment to moment, are built on the fabric of the work/creativity of the ancestors and ancient creatures that went before us; and so the future is built on ours. We are constantly consuming the work and creativity of others and we are constantly being consumed. The question may be asked: “Who are you feeding?,”[v] and consideration given to whether you are happy with the answer. It is the Sun that is in you. See how you shine. Summer Solstice is a celebration of the Fullness of the Mother – in ourselves, in Earth, in the Cosmos. We are the Sun, coming to fullness in its creative engagement with Earth. We affirm this in ceremony with: “It is the Sun that is in you, see how you shine.” It is the ripening of Her manifestation, which fulfills itself in the awesome act of dissolution. This is the mystery of the Moment. Brian Swimme has described this mystery of radiance as a Power of the Universe, as Radiance: the shining forth of the self is at the same time a give-away, a decline of the self – just as the Sun is constantly giving itself away. This Solstice Moment of Summer is a celebration of communion, the feast of life – which is for the enjoying, not for the holding onto. Summer and Winter Solstices are Gateways – between the manifest and the manifesting, and Summer Solstice is a Union/Re-Union of these, a kind of meeting with the deeper self. Winter Solstice may be more of a separation, though it is usually experienced as joyful, because it is also a meeting, as the new is being brought forth. The interchange of Summer Solstice may be experienced as an entry into loss – the Cosmological Dynamic of Loss, as manifestation passes. Beltaine, Summer Solstice and Lammas – the next Seasonal Moment, may be felt as the three faces of Cosmogenesis in the movement towards entropy.[vi] The light part of the annual cycle of Earth around Sun is a celebration of the Young One/Virgin quality of Cosmogenesis, with Her face gradually changing to the Mother/Communion quality; and through the Autumn, the dark part of the annual cycle, it is a celebration of the Old One/Crone quality, whose face will gradually change also, back to the Mother/Communion. They are never separate.In this cosmology, desire for full creativity has been celebrated as the allurement of the Cosmos, and being experienced as gravity, as relationship with Earth, our place of being, how She holds us. At both Solstices there is celebration of deep engagement, communion. REFERENCES: Livingstone, Glenys. A Poiesis of the Creative Cosmos: Celebrating Her within PaGaian Sacred Ceremony. Girl God Books: Bergen, Norway, 2023. Spretnak, Charlene. States of Grace: The Recovery of Meaning in the Postmodern Age. San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1993. Starhawk. The Spiral Dance: A Rebirth of the Ancient Religion of the Great Goddess. New York: Harper and Row, 1999. Swimme, Brian. Canticle to the Cosmos. DVD series. CA: Tides Foundation, 1990. NOTES: [i] As Thomas Berry named the Seasonal transitions. [ii] Swimme uses this expression in Canticle to the Cosmos, video 5 “Destruction and Loss.” [iii] This is based on the traditional Litha (Summer Solstice) rite described by Starhawk, The Spiral Dance, 206. [iv] Spretnak, States of Grace, 95. [v] As Swimme asks in Canticle to the Cosmos, video 5 “Destruction and Loss.” [vi] Just as Samhain, Winter Solstice and Imbolc may be felt as the three faces of Cosmogenesis in the movement towards toward form – syntropy.

(Mago Essay 1) Toward the Primordial Knowing of Mago, the Great Goddess by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang

Introduction: Why Inaugurate the Great Goddess Consciousness? The Great Goddess is known by many names around the world. “Mago” is one known by East Asians from time immemorial. As such, the term “Mago” is a common noun referring to the Great Goddess rather than the name of a particular goddess. According to my assessment of a large volume of primary sources that I have documented, Mago’s divine nature is characterized as the progenitor, creator, and ultimate sovereign. In short, Mago is supreme as the Creatrix. That does not mean that there is nothing before or even after Her. In fact, according to the Budoji (Epic of the Emblem City), principal text of Magoism, Mago was born into the cosmic era prior to our cosmic era by the music/vibration/movement of the universe. Being the Creatrix, She is the beginning and the end. She is the Origin of humankind. She will be with us insofar as humanity continues to exist on its cosmic journey. She is the Great Ancestor of all humans as well as goddesses and gods. Furthermore, She is “the Cosmic Great Mother” from whom everything is derived. “Mago” is eponymous of human civilization. With regard to the world, She is immanent and transcendent at once. Standing at the threshold of the world, She embodies the world. She is the Channel that connects humanity with nature and the universe. She is the Lens through which we humans perceive Ultimate Reality. To be precise, She is the Cause for human consciousness. Through Her, we enter the world. She is self-sustained, as symbolized in the ouroboros. The beginning and the end for the world relies on Her. While holding the key to eternity, She shares the rise and fall with humankind. Here is Her intimacy with humanity: We are part of Her and She is in our DNA. My reconstruction of Mago and Magoism did not begin with a teleological scheme. No pre-measured outcome was there to motivate my undertaking of the research project. On the contrary, the topic was a serendipitous yet timely encounter, which I had never consciously expected. Nonetheless, I was not in a vacuum. As a self-identified radical feminist, I sought a new mode of knowing within my own cultural roots that can remedy Eurocentric, nationalist, colonialist, racist, and ethnocentric knowledge. The years of my graduate studies were spent in exploring such possibilities. Only after furthering my research of Mago and Magoism for over a decade, I began to grasp something at which my intellectual/spiritual voyage is destined to arrive. It was this phrase, in fact a very old mandate that ancient Magoists self-identified with, “Return to the Origin of Mago (Mago Bokbon, 麻姑複本),” that surfaced over the horizon with clarity. How do we return to Mago’s Origin? Do we return to Her Realm or invoke Her Reality to our time? Time is one seamless measurement. No need to go there or bring it here. The fact that “Mago” refers to the Great Goddess rather than an individual goddess intimates an implication at the level of consciousness. Talk of Mago invokes the Great Goddess consciousness, primordial unity/oneness. A “new” mode of knowing is re-birthed once and time and time again. Individuals are placed in unity with the whole. Each shares with the subject position, WE. After all, everyone is progeny of the Great Goddess! We are re-stored within the scheme of old knowing that the whole (universality) comprises parts (particularities) and that they are organically interconnected. Complexity and precision of the way microcosmic entities work in harmony with the cosmos are beyond the human grasp. However, we know that an assault on a part affects the whole. And vice versa. This is why I study Mago and Magoism: Reenacting the Great Goddess consciousness is the ultimate antidote to the patriarchal consciousness. WE learn how to see things beyond the isolated position of an “I,” the notion of the self molded to stand against its environments (the other) by the patriarchal mastermind. The separated “I,” implanted in one’s psyche from birth through patriarchal institutions such as the state, religion, family, and heterosexuality, conjoins the new awareness of WE. The Mago consciousness is the original, pristine perspective prior to the split of the patriarchal consciousness. It is an undifferentiated state of mind that underlies patriarchal socialization. Ancient cultures had an understanding of the mysterious working of Mago. With Mago, WE Re-Turn to the Origin! The Female is epistemically invincible, nullifying the assaults of the patriarchal “I.” The power of the Mago consciousness is well depicted in the icon of Durga defeating the patriarchal demon. One should not be mistaken that the Mago consciousness is just another form of patriarchal thinking with reversed gender. It fundamentally differs in nature from the latter. Suffice it to say that “the Almighty God,” unlike the Great Goddess, does not share the same DNA with humans. In fact, He has no DNA! The monotheistic god rules over and against the world in protection of himself. He is needy. He isn’t even transcendent but disconnected from primordial unity. He can’t be “He” but only he of She. He can’t be the representative of the world because he is biased against the female principle. Ultimately, he is incapable of embracing everyone, unlike the Great Goddess. To hide the fact that the monotheistic god leads only to the abyss of self-destruction, patriarchal religions have created dogmas to indoctrinate people. The Great Goddess consciousness exposes the patriarchal deception. As patriarchy developed over the course of history, Mago was made unintelligible. People lost the Original Knowing! The Paradise was gone not only in a physical manner but also epistemically! That may as well be a corollary in that patriarchy precludes the concept of the Great Goddess by definition. It is not patriarchy if a society upholds the female as supreme. Nonetheless, patriarchy could not get rid of the manifestation of Mago in history, culture, and the collective consciousness of people. In fact, the ancient cultures, histories, myths, topographies, religions, and memories …
(Italian language essay) Corea: la Musica cosmica di Mago by Luciana Percovich

[Author’s note: From Colei che dà la vita. Colei che dà la forma. Miti di creazione femminili, Venexia, Roma, Italia, 2009] Capitolo 3 Corea: la Musica cosmica di Mago Mago Nell’Età del Primo Cielo, esistevano solo la luce del sole e l’acqua. Quando Ryoe Ryul (la Musica cosmica armonizzata) risuonò più volte, emersero le stelle. Da Pal Ryoe (la Musica cosmica otto volte avvolta), si generarono Mago e il paradiso di Mago (Mago Sung). Fu un evento che ebbe luogo nell’Età Cosmica di Mezzo chiamata Jim Se (il Suo/Loro mondo). Mago preparò l’età che si chiama Ultimo Cielo. Mago non provava sentimenti né di piacere né di dolore. Nell’Età del Primo Cielo la grande cittadella di Mago stava sopra il SilDal (la Terra reale) e vicina all’HeoDal (la Terra ideale). Anche queste erano emerse dalla musica. Quando il Jim Se ebbe compiuto i suoi cicli per molto tempo, prima dell’Ultimo Cielo (il Nostro/Questo mondo), Mago generò da sola due figlie, Kung Hee (volta) e So Hee (nido) e affidò loro l’Oem Chil Jo (le cinque note e i sette toni). E mentre praticavano l’arte di vivere, dalla terra sgorgava il latte; Kung Hee e So Hee generarono ciascuna due figlie e due figli. In seguito, Mago affidò Ryoe (la Musica cosmica femminile) alle quattro nipoti femmine e Ryul (la Musica cosmica maschile) ai quattro nipoti maschi. Il paradiso di Mago, Mago Sung (la cittadella di Mago), che onorava l’Emblema celeste, seguì al Primo Cielo. Le quattro coppie, chiamate Hwang Gung (volta gialla), Baek So (nido bianco), Chun Gung (volta azzurra) e Heuk So (nido nero) furono posizionate ai quattro angoli della città. Ed esse costruirono i tubi (flauti) e composero musica. Il ciclo dell’Ultimo Cielo si srotolava. Ryul e Ryoe tornavano a risuonare. Si formò Hyang Sang (la rappresentazione dell’eco), suoni e musica si mescolavano. Mago tirò la grande cittadella di SilDal e la immerse nella regione dell’Acqua celeste. L’energia del SilDal salì e coprì la nuvola d’acqua. Quando il corpo del SilDal si espanse, comparve la terra in mezzo all’acqua. Terra e acqua stavano parallele, sorsero le montagne e le correnti si allungarono. La regione dell’Acqua celeste divenne terra e le due nuove regioni di acqua e terra ruotarono ripetutamente, finché il sopra e il sotto si rovesciarono. Da qui iniziarono numeri e calendario. Energia, fuoco, acqua e terra si generavano, mescolavano e equilibravano in mutua relazione. Da quel momento la luce separò il giorno dalla notte e le quattro stagioni. Piante e animali crescevano in abbondanza. C’era tanto lavoro da fare sulla terra… Poiché non c’erano altri se non i quattro uomini e le quattro donne celesti che amministravano la musica originale e la rappresentazione dell’eco, le cose apparivano e sparivano rapidamente senza tenersi in equilibrio. Mago allora mostrò loro come procreare dalle ascelle. Fu allora che i quattro uomini celesti si unirono alle quattro donne celesti. E ciascuna generò tre figlie e tre figli: gli antenati umani che apparvero per la prima volta sulla terra. Tutti gli abitanti di Mago Sung avevano disposizioni di cuore e di mente pure e sincere e conoscevano l’armonia. Bevevano il latte che sgorgava dalla terra e il loro sangue era energia pura. Avevano oro nelle orecchie e sentivano la musica celeste. Correvano e camminavano a loro piacere, erano liberi nei movimenti. Alla fine della loro vita, diventavano polvere dorata. L’essenza dei loro corpi si conservava. Con l’hon (spirito dell’aria) risvegliato, sapevano parlare senza voce e muovendo il baek (spirito del corpo) sapevano agire senza forme. Vivevano sparsi tra le energie della terra e la lunghezza delle loro esistenze era infinita… Quando ogni clan raggiunse il numero di 3000 … Ji So (nido di ramo), del clan dei Baek So (nido bianco), non riuscì più a bere il latte della terra. La sorgente del latte era così piccola e affollata che Ji So perse il suo turno più volte. Così Ji So per la fame assaggiò l’uva e invitò altri a farlo e fu così che un gruppo fu mosso a provare questa nuova esperienza… Il loro sangue e il loro corpo cominciarono a diventare torbidi, crebbero loro i denti, gli si aprirono gli occhi … stavano perdendo la loro natura celeste. Cominciarono a morire e la morte non fece più parte della vita. Nacquero creature bestiali. L’ordinato calendario cadde nel disordine. La comunità si divise e quelli che mangiavano l’uva lasciarono Mago Sung con vergogna, disperdendosi in luoghi diversi … . Fu allora che Mago chiuse i cancelli e ritirò le nuvole attraverso cui la gente poteva restare in sintonia con la Musica cosmica.
(Book Excerpt 4) The Mago Way by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang, Ph.D.

[Author’s Note] The following is from Chapter One, “What Is Mago and Magoism and How Did I Study HER?” from The Mago Way: Re-discovering Mago, the Great Goddess from East Asia, Volume 1. Footnotes below would be different from the monograph version. PDF book of The Mago Way Volume 1 download is available for free here.] This chapter,[i] interweaving the personal (how I came to study Mago) and the political (why I advocate Magoism), informs the general and particular tenets of Magoism. My study of Mago was, although it took the form of a doctoral dissertation, ultimately motivated by my self-searching quest as a Korean-born radical feminist. I came to encounter the Great Goddess known as Mago in East Asia by way of several detours on my life’s journey. Like my non-Western and

Category: Feminism

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