April 21, 2017October 2, 2019 Mago Work AdminLeave a comment

(Poem) Spring Equinox Dance by Andrea Nicki

Some placed offerings on the room’s center altar One woman added a green blown glass bird She said her daughter made it when she was 17 Now in her 30’s Read More …

April 14, 2017October 2, 2019 Mago Work AdminLeave a comment

(Essay) The Gift Alternative by Genevieve Vaughan

[Editor’s Note: This essay is based on Vaughan’s speech delivered at EWHA University July 2014.] Although the South Korean economy is flourishing, the economic (and environmental) situation worldwide is worsening Read More …

April 13, 2017October 2, 2019 Mago WorkLeave a comment

(Prose) Liminal Time and Space by Deanne Quarrie

The word liminal comes from the Latin word līmen, meaning “a threshold.” The word threshold has several definitions. It can be the sill of a doorway or the entrance of Read More …

April 7, 2017October 2, 2019 Mago Work AdminLeave a comment

(Poem) Hystory by Susan Hawthorne

[Author’s Note: This poem is written in honour of the work of Marija Gimbutas, archaeologist, linguist, visionary. I was lucky enough to hear her give a lecture one day in 1990 Read More …

April 6, 2017October 2, 2019 RTM EditorsLeave a comment

(Poem) Open Hearts by Janie Rezner

music pours from open hearts, beauty surrounds our open wounds bathing us all in the warmest of waters in a balm of love, bathing us that we might become Read More …

March 29, 2017October 2, 2019 Mago Work AdminLeave a comment

(Art) Mother of All by Nicole Shaw

March 28, 2017October 2, 2019 Mago Work AdminLeave a comment

(Prose) "Mary" As a Title by Alaya Dannu

Holder of Mary – Entry dated October 14, 2015 – meditation: Yesterday, I was told to rest. As the evening came along, I was informed that they’d have to give Read More …

March 27, 2017October 2, 2019 Mago Work AdminLeave a comment

(Art) The Door Where Time Stands Still by Jhilmil Breckenridge

In a neighbourhood near my house, which is modern and in a privileged area, is this poorer area,

March 25, 2017October 2, 2019 Mago Work AdminLeave a comment

(Call for Contributions) RTM relies on your sharing of talents/passions/struggles!

Return to Mago E-Magazine is created to serve as a venue (1) that visualizes the community of writers, researchers, advocates, poets, artists, and activists who are committed to Goddess-centered/Magoist feminist Read More …

March 22, 2017January 19, 2023 Mago Work AdminLeave a comment

(Art) Sekhmet by Jassy Watson

Sekhmet is one of the oldest known female Egyptian goddesses. Her name derives from the Egyptian word for ‘power’ or ‘night’, “Sekhem,” thus her name can be translated as “She Read More …

March 20, 2017October 2, 2019 Mago WorkLeave a comment

(Prose and Poetry) The Breath of Goddess by Deanne Quarrie

I am a child of the Earth. I live and breathe, walk and dance upon Her face. She is my source and I learn from Her each day. This I Read More …

March 17, 2017October 2, 2019 Mago Work AdminLeave a comment

(Poem) Woodpecker by Andrea Nicki

Not a bird liked by everyone a “beautiful swan” gliding soundlessly through a pond in a restful park inspiring sketches and paintings or a fairy-like hummingbird gifted with ornate feeders Read More …

(Poem 2) pears (still so terrified) by Kerryn Coombs-Valeontis

(still so terrified of pears) stretched with birthing its sacrifice of tenderness – summer’s cervix dilated with chart- reuse-grained generosity curved into cooling evenings fruition, delivered at the splendour of the leaves surrender with the fullness of time
(Essay 3) Goddesses in Hinduism: “All the Mothers are One” by Mary Ann Beavis, Ph.D.

[Editor’s Note: This essay is from the same title, “Goddesses in Hinduism: “All the Mothers are One”‘ by Mary Ann Beavis with Scott Daniel Dunbar included in Goddesses in Myth, History and Culture (Mago Books, 2018).] Independent Goddesses Hinduism has many “independent Goddesses”, that is, Goddesses who aren’t associated with any male deity, or whose divine husbands are secondary at best. Two Goddesses who initially functioned independently, but who were eventually identified as aspects of Parvati (and thus coupled with Shiva) are Durga and Kali, both fierce and aggressive deities, uncoupled from male gods. Durga is a very popular warrior Goddess whose primary role is to combat demons who threaten the stability of the universe.[1] She is not mentioned in the Vedas and was probably inherited from the tribal and peasant peoples of India. She first appears in the 4th century C.E. in images of the Goddess slaying a buffalo demon.[2] There are several myths about her origin: one that she arose from the magical, creative power of Vishnu; another that the Goddess Parvati took on the name of Durga after slaying a demon by that name. The most common account of her origin is that a demon called Mahisha performed such extreme austerities (mastery of meditation and self-denial) that he became invincible to anyone except a woman. The gods assembled and were furious at the demon’s power and arrogance, so they pooled their fiery energies to create a beautiful woman, formed from the parts of the male deities’ bodies and endowed by them with their weapons. In all versions of the myth, the newly created Goddess, Durga, easily defeats the demon. In many stories, the man or demon she is supposed to defeat falls in love with her and doesn’t want to fight her, so she has to claim that only the warrior who can defeat her in battle can become her husband; all the while, she has no intention of marrying the demon warrior.[3] In her guise as an independent warrior Goddess, Durga has no male counterpart or protector. Kinsley notes: In many respects, Durgā violates the model of the Hindu woman. She is not submissive, she is not subordinated to a male deity, she does not fulfill household duties, and she excels at what is traditionally a male function, fighting in battle. As an independent warrior who can hold her own against any male on the battlefield, she reverses the normal role for females and therefore stands outside normal society. Unlike the normal female, Durgā does not lend her power or śakti to a male consort but rather takes power from the male gods in order to perform her own heroic exploits.[4] At the same time, as a demon-slayer she is the guardian of dharma (right conduct, cosmic order) and identified with prakriti (nature, primordial matter, without which existence is not possible). She is often shown riding a lion (or tiger) with eight additional arms (symbolizing her continuous motion as divine Shakti), slaying the buffalo demon (Figure 7). Her most important festival is the nine-day Durga Puja, celebrated in North India in late October, where her role as warrior and regulator of the cosmos are highlighted. Traditionally, her role was also to ensure the success of rulers in battle.[5] Kali is a Goddess who, to the western observer, may superficially resemble Durga in that she is portrayed as multi-armed and warlike, with a male body at her feet, and holding a severed head, depicting her destructive side. However, unlike the beautiful Durga, Kali is usually shown with a scowling, forbidding appearance, dark-skinned and naked with long unkempt hair. Her girdle is made of severed arms, her necklace is made of skulls, she has children’s corpses for earrings, and serpents for bracelets. She has fangs and claw-like hands, and her favourite locations are battlefields and cremation grounds. Although she is usually treated as an independent deity, she is sometimes associated with Shiva, whom she incites to dangerous and destructive behaviour.[6] In one myth of her origin, she springs forth from the forehead of Durga in one of her battles; the only thing that can stop the new Goddess from destroying the universe in her murderous rampage is when Shiva throws himself under her feet, at which point she sticks out her tongue in surprise (she is often illustrated with her tongue sticking out). Another explanation of Kali’s extended tongue is that when the demon “Blood-Seed” (Raktajiba) bled on the battlefield, thus creating other demons, Kali destroyed them with her tongue, and sucked the rest of the blood out of the Blood-Seed, thus killing him.[7] Despite her fearsome appearance and habits, and her relatively late appearance in Hindu mythology (c. 600 CE),[8] she occupies an important place in Hindu piety. In the Tantric tradition, which emphasizes the union of the male and female principles in the universe, she can be described as higher than brahman, ultimate reality. In left-handed Tantra, which seeks the divine through exposure to polluting and forbidden substances (meat, wine, drugs) and activities (illicit sex), Kali’s association with death, destruction and terror makes her the ideal object of meditation for the Tantric adept, allowing him/her to overcome all dualities.[9] Another Hindu tradition where Kali holds a central position is in the Bengali devotional literature of the late medieval period. The poetry of one of her most ardent devotees, Ramprasad Sen (1718-1775) has become famous. In this tradition, the devotee adopts the position of a helpless child approaching a beloved yet forbidding mother: O Mother, who really Knows your magic? You’re a crazy girl Driving us crazy with all your tricks. No one knows anyone else In a world of your illusions. Kālī’s tricks are so deft, We act on what we see. And what suffering— All because of a crazy girl! Who knows What She truly is? Ramprasād says: If She decides To be kind, this misery will pass.[10] In this tradition, the commonplace image of Kali dancing on the dead body of Shiva represents …
(Art) Eyes of the Virgin by Mario Colín

The Eyes of the Virgin no longer exist. They were painted in memory of Monseñor Gómez, on the exterior wall of the party hall of Holy Family Church in the historic Sunset Heights neighborhood of El Paso, Texas, on the side of I-10, directly across the river from Juárez, Chihuahua, México.
(Book Excerpt 2) Jesus, Muhammad and the Goddess, the Girl God anthology by Trista Hendren

Jesus, Muhammad and the Goddess: a Girl God Anthology. Edited by Trista Hendren, Pat Daly and Noor-un-nisa Gretasdottir Several weeks ago on the news, we saw pictures of 40,000 people starving to death in Madaya, Syria. The elderly, women and children—all horribly emaciated. Their faces haunt me, especially the children’s. I have felt unbearably burnt out these last weeks so I decided to clean out our flat instead of working as I usually do during the weekend. My husband offered to help, but I declined. The deep cleaning was something I wanted to tackle myself for my own mental health—and, he had work to do downstairs that we frankly needed the income from.
(Meet Mago Contributor) Marie de Kock

With her menopause and concurrent kundalini awakening in 2012, Marie connected the dots of wisdom from her first written female spirituality book and continued studies, 20 years of meditation, magical passes-, tai chi and chi kung practices, female spirituality rituals, and Reiki work. The consciousness inside her body became a clear voice that she could eventually hear and finally, verbalize. www.marie-de-kock.wix.com/femininessence https://www.facebook.com/healyourfemininessence
(Novel 2) The Singing of Swans by Mary Saracino

Note: This is an excerpt from the first chapter in Mary Saracino’s novel, The Singing of Swans (Pearlsong Press 2006). Used by permission from the publisher. For more information, visit http://www.pearlsong.com/thesingingofswans.htm Chapter 1 continued. Read part 1. Night Riders Four times a year, on the Ember Days this benevolent tribe took leave of their mortal bodies to do battle with their archenemies — the Malandanti — the ones who had perverted their supernatural gifts in the pursuit of power and greed. Theirs was a battle as ancient as time. Every three months these opposing forces engaged in ritual combat. The livelihood and protection of their townsfolk lay in the hands of Ziza and her band of Benandanti warriors. This night they would affect the outcome of the grain, the vineyards, the livestock. Would there be enough wheat to reap and store? Enough grain to grind into flour to make bread and pasta? Would it be enough to see their village through the long winter? Would the grapes ripen and yield exquisite wine? Would the sheep and cattle give birth to healthy offspring, provide sufficient milk, supply ample meat when it came time for slaughter? It was yet to be determined. Would these Benandanti be brave enough, strong enough to overcome the Malandanti? Health and harmony ruled when the Benandanti were victorious. Empty storage bins, sparse larders, inadequate libation, even starvation held sway when the Malandanti triumphed. This night of nights it would be decided. On a stretch of stony field, at the stroke of midnight, on the night before the new moon, the battle would be waged. In the darkness the factions would fight until one side overcame the other, driving them to the riverbed in defeat. Matters of life and death hung in the balance. For centuries it had been this way. And the score was far from even. Ziza and her compatriots slipped through the coal-black silence like night geese, joined by others en route to their farmland battleground. Paolo the eldest of their town’s Streghe, placed the Benandanti banner in Ziza’s right hand. Its white silk fabric, embroidered with a golden lion, instilled courage in the hearts of these soldiers of good. In her left hand, Ziza gripped a stalk of fennel. As was the custom, this herb was to be her warrior’s saber, for fennel was sacred to St. Lucy, the patron of the blind and of deeper ways of seeing. Streghe, such as Ziza and her Benandanti companions, revered Lucy, not as a Catholic saint — although they made pretense to do so to assuage those in the Church who would condemn them as heretics. No, Ziza and her kind cherished an earlier, lesser known manifestation of Santa Lucia, the Mighty Goddess, Isis, one of the many pre-Christian manifestations of the Divine Mother. They honored the time before God dwelt solely in the realms of the masculine, a time before the female voice of spirit was silenced and forgotten. With a furious wave, the Benandanti shook their fennel stalks at the air, invoking their Protector. They beseeched St. Lucy, imploring her to shed light on their endeavors and guide their battle through the waning, moonless night. Across the field, the Malandanti hovered behind their banner of red silk and raven-colored wolves. Ready with their sabers of sorghum stalks they chanted to rouse their courage. The wind howled and the leaves swirled around them. Stands of oak and olive trees witnessed the impending struggle. Night creatures big and small gathered to watch. The Benandanti sounded a collective whoop and charged over the wheat field at their enemy. Fennel slashed through the night sky; sorghum tore at the air. Stalk chafed against stalk as the wind moaned. Banners waved and spirits cried out, wounded and weary. The air was foggy with groans and dusty with plant residue. Benandanti clashed with Malandanti. All were swift and brave, strong and determined.
(Prose) Angrboða, Her Children, and Our Shadow Selves by Deanne Quarrie

In the land of the Northern Europeans, the very first beings were the giants and giantesses. I call them the Jötunn folk for they come from the realm of Jötunheimr. One story that I find particularly fascinating is that of Angrboða and her three children. She is known as the Hag of Iron Wood, one of the witches of Iron Wood who are a group of giantesses that gave birth to fierce wolves. Angrboða took Loki as her consort, and as a product of that union, gave birth to Fenrir, Jormungandr, and Hela. Angrboða was called Hag, but this comes to us in the same way as Hagia, meaning wise. She was the tribal wise woman of the Nine Clans of Iron Wood, often referred to as the chief of chieftains. The Iron Wood Clan were known to be werewolves – some staying in animal form, others shapeshifting at will to other forms, some were feathered and some scaled. So it comes as no surprise that the children of Angrboða were a wolf, a serpent, and a woman, half-dead/ half-alive. Angrboða is a grief-giver. Her name means “foreboding” and she ultimately functions as the giantess who undoes creation or brings about destruction through each of her children Angrboða reveals herself to us primarily as a mother figure through the stories of her children. She is however, much more. In her stories we can find all aspects of the Goddess in her. In the time that these stories originated, marriage was not as we know it today. It is often thought that she was married to Loki but in fact, he was her consort. She is a perfect example of independence and our right to choose, her choice of a consort. She was a tribal wise woman referred to as chief of chieftains, her strength and wisdom honored by her people. She chose to bring three children into the world and no more. Angrboða’s children give us a great opportunity to explore our own shadow nature – that which we hide in all its perceived ugliness. And Angrboða, as their mother, gives us a beautiful example of unconditional mother love, a mother loving her children in the darkest of ugliness. Fenrir is a terrible monster in the shape of a wolf. There was a story that one day, Fenrir would be responsible for the destruction of the world, and so they did everything in their power to destroy him before he could. After many attempts to chain him, with each chain being too weak to hold him, they appealed to the dwarves to create a chain that could contain him. And so they did. In the process of getting this chain on him, Fenrir bites Tyr’s hand off and ultimately consumes Odinn—the wise one. From Dungeons N Dragons Website Fenrir serves as the raw, passionate power of women from which we may feel overwhelmed by or deny or suppress. When we read of Fenrir’s passion, his fierceness, and his raw power, we can look within our own lives for this, living in a patriarchal society in which so much of who we are is, or can be, suppressed. Through Fenrir the patriarchal-based Norse cosmology ends—Fenrir cannot ultimately be contained no matter how hard Odinn tries. This tells us that no matter how hard we try to suppress this power and passion, it is there and something we need to learn how to be comfortable with, for within it is a divine creative ability, meant for us to use. At one time, Jormungandar lived in Asgard, another realm of the Norse. He was cast out by Odinn and banished to the sea surrounding Midgard (the home of humans) and it was Odinn’s hope that he would be consumed in the waves. However, rather than be consumed, Jormungandar thrived and pretty soon all the fish had been eaten and the water levels fell so low that Jormungandar encircled the entire planet. He is the serpent that wraps around and contains Midgardr. Jormungandar holds the world together preventing disorder and chaos from ensuring, until Thor comes along and disrupts everything; the serpent rises and unleashes poison into the world and the world fragments. Again we see the ugliness of shadow and the suppression of the energy available for creative uses. In learning of his story we need to ask, “How do I feel that I hold things together in my life and for those around me? What would happen if I let go? What “poison” do I fear they have or might become unleashed if that were to happen? And lastly, we have Hela, who is the half-living/half-dead goddess. She was cast into the netherworld to care for those souls who did not die in battle. Her realm is called Helheim. She accepts all into her realm and is who decides what is to become of each soul who arrives. Helheim is a shelter rather than a “hell” as often portrayed by Christians. It is where souls gather until they reincarnate. As the keeper of the dead, she is always in a state between the light and the dark. Many believe that our shadow nature is made up of those negative traits we wish to hide and not acknowledge. However, the other side of that, also a part of our shadow, are all of those brilliant things we could do – the talents and gifts that we have that we do not use. And so like Hela, we live between light and dark. We need to ask ourselves, what aspects of our lives that we carry around and are afraid to let go of are no longer breathing life into us? How do these aspects also give us power and discernment? What aspects of ourselves do we fear to develop or push aside for less important things? These are all the parts of us. We are both light and dark. We would not be who we are without every aspect of our being. …
(Nine Sister Networks E-interview) Glenys Livingstone’s PaGaian Cosmology by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang

[Editor’s Note: Return to Mago E-Magazine (RTME) introduces Sister Organizations under the banner of the Nine Sister Networks as a way of consolidating Matriversal Feminism previously known as Goddess Feminist Activist Spirituality. If you are interested in interviewing or being interviewed for this project, please see here.] Helen Hye-Sook Hwang: I am delighted and grateful to interview Dr. Glenys Livingstone for her organization, PaGaian Cosmology. Glenys has come to The Mago Work more than two decades ago and has walked with me steadily for those years. In my advocacy of Matriversal Feminism (Goddess Feminist Activist Spirituality), I have relied on PaGaian Cosmology. Now as RTM undertakes a new project, Nine Sister Networking, I feel honoured and privileged to introduce PaGaian Cosmology. Sometimes, we don’t choose who become sojourns and can’t explain why they do. When that happens, it’s a gift from our Cosmic Mother. Helen: Tell us about your organization’s mission, founder, and its brief history. Glenys Livingstone: I am the author and founder of PaGaian Cosmology, which brings together a religious practice of seasonal ceremony based in a contemporary scientific sense of the cosmos and female imagery for the sacred. This original synthesis was created within my context/situation of being female and white European growing up in the Southern Hemisphere, and specifically Australia: and my people had lost all connection with country as sacred, even before they arrived from the ancestral lands. The sense of alienation from my place of being, and myself as a place of being, was profound, though it had seemed normal to be so in early years. From early years I was hungry for the deep truths and a sense of the Beloved of the Cosmos. I had already set out on the path of the Search, mostly within known world religions, and in particular the more radical and mystical traditions of Christianity, but as soon as I became aware of the deep betrayal of my kind as female in particular (in the late 1970’s), I was passionate to know more of the Great Mother, to learn Her story, and to celebrate Her, and grow Her in myself and in the world. She became my chosen topic for post-graduate studies: both for a Masters degree in Theology and Philosophy (1982 Graduate Theological Union Berkeley California), and for a doctorate in Social Ecology (2002 University of Western Sydney). Ceremonial celebration of the Seasonal Moments of the Old European calendar, with an open community, have been the main part of PaGaian Cosmology, as it developed through the 1990’s in particular. A special ceremonial space – MoonCourt, was built by my partner for the ceremonies in 2008. Helen: How do you see your organization contribute to the cause of feminist activist spirituality directly or indirectly? Glenys: I understand ceremonial practice as an action for change. When it is done religiously: that is, with commitment to the whole process, with intention, and attention to detail, it is a pathway to embodying Her. The speaking and expressing of the truths of the deeper self, in a deeper relational community, is transformative and healing/wholing. It may be described as Geotherapy. Helen: What are your wishes for the future of your organization? Glenys: For decades now the work of PaGaian Cosmology has been rippling out, picked up by many others – mostly students, who have blended it into their own felt understandings, and it then ripples further in unique ways. In recent years there appears to be a new receptivity, a new audience, more who are hungry to express Her and grow Her: more have grown tired of spiritual/religious pre-scriptions. Desire/holy Lust for new language and expression has been ignited. I see that many more are practicing ceremonies celebrating and expressing Her extant Creativity: may it continue to be shared in ever unique ways – the deep knowledge of Her in self, other, and cosmos. Helen: How would you like the Nine Sister Networks project help and/or connect with your organization? Glenys: I am happy to be present to the Nine Sister Networks, part of the community, present on this page, inspiring others in their journey, and being nurtured myself by the presence and work of sisters. Helen: I can see that PaGaian Cosmology has guided you to have come this far, as you gave birth to it and have nourished it. I cherish this opportunity and appreciate your PaGaian Cosmology work. May we continue to rely on each other and bear the fruits beyond our expectations. Thank you and Mago blessings to you and ALL. https://www.magoism.net/2013/07/meet-mago-contributor-helen-hwang/
(Nine Poets Speak) Isis II by Louisa Calio

[Editors’ Note: Learn about how the “Nine Poets Speak” series came to be in place here.] Louisa Calio performing Isis Sepia-1 I come as Isis ….. again, again, again Up from pyramidal smoke that rises From distant fires that once lit my shrineWhere I was worshipped in ancient Egyptian enigmas far and wideI was loved in Greece, Adored in Sicily For my words, Words of Power! Healing words, Ancient herbal words That save men and restore them to life. I took the sun’s very eye to make myself goddess To rebuild humanity to lead it to sanity. I walked across all the great waters of every Nile For I am bold, bold as love. I speak words made of flesh I speak the words that carry everywhere I spend my time searching for the words to make things right; To Decipher the hieroglyphs of life. I, Isis am your twin I have the healing words for earth if, you will listen! I am your necessary double Your sister, brother, mother, wife Isis I come to restore the balance and symmetry to life Hoping to return the earth from its original dreadful tilt. And if you let me I will build you piece by piece As you can build me to make us whole again We, who have been torn to shreds by world machines That break human beings into pieces. Minds without bodies lives without spirits To turn the wheels, turn the cogs of whose machines? Not yours, not mine Not for our life forces. If you will help me and give up the privileges of your top position To see, from the very bottom of mineThen I will give up any privileges of my position To build together… A new world…A new way Not in space but here in clayIn love’s labor we can toil Sifting from the soil those cliches and traditions That segregate and pull apart. (Work Rhythm)We can forge with our own heat The iron for tomorrow’s world. If, you will join me we can weave together The cloth in black and white to cover all the world. If you will help me we can create and cradle The child of our dreams blowing with our own breath The breath of life into its being Activating, gyrating, moving our child in total being If you will dare to you can make me the woman As I make you the man, bit by bit, brick by brick Building in our life-styles the foundation For the change we seek. You can be the drum I beat and I can be your sound That resonates, moves and shakes the earth Radiating in waves the technology of change. If we will dare to: We can reshape humankind this time! Author’s Note: This poem was excerpted from the original longer poem, Isis IIfrom In the Eye of Balance (Paradiso Press).(Meet Mago Contributor) Louisa Calio – Return to Mago E-Magazine (RTME)

(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 3) 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 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.] Helen Hwang I study and advocate Goddess feminism or Magoism because it is a way of living for me. I find myself in Mago (the Great Goddess) who in turn leads me to the Way wherein I learn how to become the person who I can be. It has to be Mago, the Female Divine, because She is real! She is the Primordial Mother who is the Beginning and the End of everything to us on the planet Earth. She teaches me the real. I can’t negotiate Her to anything less. Helen Hye Sook Hwang, Ph.D. California http://magoism.net Bridget Robertson A Goddessian I was introduced to a form of meditative journeying by a resident in my grandmother’s retirement community. She approached to me. I know she was at least part Native American, and that alone made her the topic of much gossip in the building. Her Rose colored lipstick, deep brown eyes, wrinkles that only helped illuminate her face and a chiffon scarf that matched none of her clothes. I thought she needed help with her groceries. She didn’t. She had me stop the elevator. and directly asked about my looking tired. My response was about being, busy balancing all the areas of my life. In fact I was exhausted doling out time like pieces of pie.
(Special Post 1) Multi-linguistic Resemblances of “Mago” by Mago Circle Members

“Ma” in “Mago” and “Ma-Gaia” Mother Goddess, ca.7250-6700 BCE, Catal Huyuk Turkey [Conversation between Carol P. Christ, Ph.D. and Helen Hye-Sook Hwang, Ph.D.] Carol P. Christ (CPC): Below is culled from “Gaia” in Wikipedia: The Greek word γαῖα (transliterated as gaia) is a collateral form of γῆ (gē, Doric γᾶ ga and probably δᾶ da) meaning Earth, a word of uncertain origin. R. S. P. Beekes has suggested a Pre-Greek origin. In Mycenean Greek Ma-ka (trans. as Ma-ga, “Mother Gaia”) also contains the root ga-. Helen Hye-Sook Hwang (HHH): “Mago” and “Goma” are closely linked. Gom or Goma means the bear and Magoist shaman queen of the late fourth millennium BCE. She is also related with the Big Bear constellation. “Go” is used as a modifier referring to Mago or the Goddess in various texts of East Asia. “Mago” is related with “magi,” whose singular form is “magus” or “magos.” Will have to check for more details and the source. CPC: My intuition is that “ma” and “na” are baby talk for mother. In other words, preceding any language. Mycenean is IE language, “Pre-Greek” is not IE. CPC: Below is “Mother” from Wikipedia: Synonyms and translations The proverbial “first word” of an infant often sounds like “ma” or “mama”. This strong association of that sound with “mother” has persisted in nearly every language on earth, countering the natural localization of language. Familiar or colloquial terms for mother in English are: Aama, Mata used in Nepal Mom and mommy are used in the United States, Canada, South Africa, Philippines, India and parts of the West Midlands including Birmingham in the United Kingdom. Mum and mummy are used in the United Kingdom, Canada, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Hong Kong and Ireland. Charles, Prince of Wales publicly addressed his mother Queen Elizabeth II as “Mummy” on the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee. Ma, mam, and mammy are used in Netherlands, Ireland, the Northern areas of the United Kingdom, and Wales; it is also used in some areas of the United States. In many other languages, similar pronunciations apply: Maa, aai, amma, and mata are used in languages of India like Assamese, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu etc. Mamá, mama, ma, and mami in Spanish Mama in Polish, German, Russian and Slovak Māma (妈妈/媽媽) in Chinese Máma in Czech and in Ukrainian Maman in French and Persian Ma, mama in Indonesian Mamaí, mam in Irish Mamma in Italian, Icelandic, Latvian and Swedish Māman or mādar in Persian Mamãe or mãe in Portuguese Mā̃ (ਮਾਂ) in Punjabi Mama in Swahili Em (אם) in Hebrew A’ma (ܐܡܐ) in Aramaic Má or mẹ in Vietnamese Mam in Welsh Eomma (엄마, pronounced [ʌmma]) in Korean In many south Asian cultures and the Middle East, the mother is known as amma, oma, ammi or “ummi”, or variations thereof. Many times, these terms denote affection or a maternal role in a child’s life. HHH: The name for Goddess seems as ancient as the language itself. [“Ma” being the first intentional word to be spoken by a baby.] Helen Hye-Sook Hwang: Scholars and mythologists agree that “ma” means both one’s mother and the Goddess, I quoted it in my dissertation written in 2004. Judy E Foster: Brilliant discussion, Helen and Carol! So many revelations… hard to keep up! But do continue, its fascinating – makes so much sense. (To be continued)Join the discussion of this and other topics in The Mago Circle, Facebook Group.

(Prose) Desire: the Wheel of Her Creativity by Glenys Livingstone Ph.D.

This essay is an edited excerpt from the concluding chapter (Chapter 8) of the author’s book PaGaian Cosmology: Re-inventing Earth-based Goddess Religion. Place of Being is a passionate place, where desire draws forth what is sought, co-creates what is needed[1]; within a con-text – a story – where love of self, other and all-that-is are indistinguishable … they are nested within each other and so is the passion for being. I begin to understand desire afresh: this renewed understanding has been an emergent property of the religious practice of seasonal celebration: that is, the religious practice of the ceremonial celebration of Her Creativity. It has been said She is “that which is attained at the end of desire[2].” Within the context of ceremonial engagement and inner search for Her, I begin to realize how desire turns the Wheel. As the light part of the cycle waxes from Early Spring, form/life builds in desire. At Beltaine/High Spring, desire runs wild, at Summer Solstice, it peaks into creative fullness, union … and breaks open at that interchange into the dark part of the cycle – the dissolution of Lammas/ Late Summer. She becomes the Dark One, who receives us back – the end of desire. It has been a popular notion in the Christian West, that the beautiful virgin lures men (sic) to their destruction, and as I perceive the Wheel, it is indeed Virgin who moves in Her wild delight towards entropy/dissolution; however in a cosmology that is in relationship with the dark, this is not perceived as a negative thing. Also, in this cosmology, there is the balancing factor of the Crone’s movement towards new life, in the conceiving dark space of Samhain/Deep Autumn – a dynamic and story that has not been a popular notion in recent millennia. Desire seems not so much a grasping, as a receiving, an ability or capacity to open and dissolve. I think of an image of an open bowl as a signifier of the Virgin’s gift. The increasing light is received, and causes the opening, which will become a dispersal of form – entropy, if you like: this is Beltaine/High Spring – the Desire[3]that is celebrated is a movement towards dis-solution … that is its direction. In contrast, and in balance, Samhain/Deep Autumn celebrates re-solution, which is a movement towards form – it is a materializing gathering into form, as the increasing darkness is received. It seems it is darkness that creates form, as it gathers into itself – as many ancient stories say, and it is light that creates dispersal. And yet I see that the opposite is true also. I think of how there is desire for this work that I have done, for whatever one does – it is then already being received. Desire is receiving. What if I wrote this, and it was not received or welcomed in some way. But the desire for it is already there, and perhaps the desire made it manifest. Perhaps the desire draws forth manifestation, even at Winter Solstice, even at Imbolc/Early Spring, as we head towards Beltaine – it is desire that is drawing that forth, drawing that process around. Desire is already receiving; it is open. Its receptivity draws forth the manifestation. And then the manifestation climaxes at Summer and dissolves into the manifesting, which is perhaps where the desire is coming from – the desire is in the darkness, in the dark’s receptivity[4]. It becomes very active at the time of Beltaine, it lures the differentiated beings back into Her. So the lure at Beltaine is the luring of differentiated beings into a Holy Lust, into a froth and dance of life, whereupon they dissolve ecstatically back into Her – She is “that which is attained at the end of Desire.” And in the dissolution, we sink deeper into that, and begin again. All the time, it is Desire that is luring the manifest into the manifesting, and the manifesting into the manifest. Passion is the glue, the underlying dynamic that streams through it all – through the light and the dark, through the creative triplicities of Virgin-Mother-Crone, of Differentiation-Communion-Autopoeisis[5]. Passion/Desire then is worthy of much more contemplation. If desire/allurement is the same cosmic dynamic as gravity, as cosmologist Brian Swimme suggests[6], then desire like gravity is the dynamic that links/holds us to our Place, to “that which is”, as philosopher Linda Holler describes the effect of gravity[7]. Held in relationship by desire/allurement we lose abstraction and artificial boundaries, and “become embodied and grow heavy with the weight of the earth[8].” We then know that “being is being-in relation-to”[9]. Holler says that when we think with the weight of Earth, space becomes “thick” as this “relational presence … turns notes into melodies, words into phrases with meaning, and space into vital forms with color and content, (and) also holds the knower in the world[10].”Thus, I at last become a particular, a subject, a felt being in the world – a Place laden with content, sentient: continuous with other and all-that-is. Notes: [1]“…as surely as the chlorophyll molecule was co-created by Earth and Sun, as Earth reached for nourishment; as surely as the ear was co-created by subject and sound, as the subject reached for an unknown signal.” As I have written in PaGaian Cosmology, p. 248. [2]Doreen Valiente, The Charge of the Goddessas referred to in Starhawk, The Spiral Dance, p.102-103. [3]I capitalize here, for it is a holy quality. [4]Perhaps the popular cultural association of the darkness/black lingerie etc. with erotica is an expression/”memory” of this deep truth. [5]These are the three qualities of Cosmogenesis, as referred to in PaGaian Cosmology, Chapter 4, “Cosmogenesis and the Female Metaphor”: https://pagaian.org/book/chapter-4/ [6]Brian Swimme, The Universe is a Green Dragon, p.43. [7]Linda Holler, “Thinking with the Weight of the Earth: Feminist Contributions to an Epistemology of Concreteness”, Hypatia, Vol. 5 No. 1, p.2. [8]Linda Holler, “Thinking with the Weight of the Earth: Feminist Contributions to an Epistemology of Concreteness”,Hypatia, Vol. …
(Prose & Photography) Equinox Reflection by Sara Wright

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

The ‘passing of last Summer’s growth’ as is experienced and contemplated in the Season of Deep Autumn/Samhain, may be a metaphor for the passing of all/any that has come to fullness of being, or that has had a fullness, a blossoming of some kind, and borne fruit; and in the passing it has been received, and thus transforms. The ‘passing of last Summer’s growth’ may be in hearts and minds, an event or events, a period of time, or an era, that was a deep communion, now passed and dissolved into receptive hearts and minds, where it/they reside for reconstitution, within each unique being. Samhain is traditionally understood as ‘Summer’s end’: indeed that is what the word ‘Samhain’ means. In terms of the seasonal transitions in indigenous Old European traditions, Summer is understood as over when the Seasonal Moment of Lammas/Lughnasad comes around; it is the first marked transition after the fullness of Summer Solstice. The passing and losses may have been grieved, the bounty received, thanksgiving felt and expressed, perhaps ceremonially at Autumn Equinox/Mabon; yet now in this Season of Samhain/Deep Autumn it composts, clearly falls, as darkness and cooler/cold weather sets in, change is clearer. In the places where this Earth-based tradition arose, Winter could be sensed setting in at this time, and changes to everyday activity had to be made. In our times and in our personal lives, we may sense this kind of ending, when change becomes necessary, no longer arbitrary: and the Seasonal Moment of Samhain may be an excellent moment for expressing these deep truths, telling the deep story, and making meaning of the ending, as we witness such passing. What new shapes will emerge from the infinite well of creativity? And we may wonder what will return from the dissolution? What re-solution will be found? We may wonder what new shapes will emerge. In the compost of what has been, what new syntheses, new synergies, may come forth? Now is the time for dreaming, for drawing on the richness within, trusting the sentience, within which we are immersed, and which we are: and then awaiting the arrival, being patient with the fermentation and gestation. Seize the moment, this Moment – and converse with the depths within your own bodymind, wherein She is. Make space for the sacred conversation, the Conversing with your root and source of being, and take comfort in this presence. We may ponder what yet unkown beauty and wellness may emerge from this infinite well of creativity. The Samhain Moment in the Northern Hemisphere is 17:14 UT 7thNovember this year. Wishing you a sense of the deep communion present in the sacred space you make for this holy transition.
(Poem) Samhain by Annie Finch

In the season leaves should love, since it gives them leave to move through the wind, towards the ground they were watching while they hung, legend says there is a seam stitching darkness like a name. Now when dying grasses veil earth from the sky in one last pale wave, as autumn dies to bring winter back, and then the spring, we who die ourselves can peel back another kind of veil that hangs among us like thick smoke. Tonight at last I feel it shake. I feel the nights stretching away thousands long behind the days, till they reach the darkness where all of me is ancestor. I turn my hand and feel a touch move with me, and when I brush my young mind across another, I have met my mother’s mother. Sure as footsteps in my waiting self, I find her, and she brings arms that hold answers for me, intimate, waiting, bounty: “Carry me.” She leaves this trail through a shudder of the veil, and leaves, like amber where she stays, a gift for her perpetual gaze. From Eve (Carnegie Mellon University Press, 2010) (Meet Mago Contributor) Annie Finch

(Bell Essay 1) Ancient Korean Bells and Magoism by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang

Part I The bell as both a percussion instrument and an idiophone is one of the most pacific, sublime, and ingenious human inventions. It appears cross-culturally from the remote past. Its artistic and ritualistic aspects are fairly well recognized by many. However, many overlook that the bell is a female icon with functionality. Put differently, the bell symbolizes the Goddess, the female who has the purpose. This essay, to be written in parts hereafter, will examine the symbology of ancient Korean bells and explore its implications with regard to Magoist history, cosmogony, and soteriology. At the outset, I posit that ancient Korean bells cast in the form of a woman’s body are there to awaken humanity to the arcane reality of the Female, that is Mago. In East Asia, bell connotes two distinct types, the open ended and the enclosed. In Korean, the open ended bell is called jong (鐘, Chinese zhong), whereas the enclosed one is called bang-ul or ryeong (鈴, Chinese ling). Jong and bang-ul are also distinguished by size. While the former tends to be larger, the latter are commonly used by a shaman or diviner to hold and shake (a group of bang-uls) to invoke the spirit. However, these differences are not unbridgeable. Some bang-uls are open-ended, like jong. By definition, jong is a bell made of metal not stone. (The character jong 鐘 has the radical (basic element) of geum 金, metal or gold. The stone bell is called gyeong.) When jong is used in music, in particular as a musical instrument consisting of a set of bronze bells, it is called pyeon-jong (編鍾, Chinese bianzhong). Perhaps the invention of pyeon-jong follows pyeon-gyeong (編磬, Chinese bianqing), a stone musical instrument consisting of a set of L-shaped stone chimes. Discussing the differences between the two instruments goes beyond the purpose of this essay. Suffice it to say that jong was likely a metallic replica of gyeong presumably first introduced in the Bronze Age. (See the images below for comparison.) My primary focus in this essay is on jong, in particular the Korean bells cast in the 8th century CE and thereafter. The beauty and significance of ancient Korean bells shed a new light on ancient Korea to be re-dis-covered in relation to Magoism. Both scholars and the public appear to be unaware that the ancient bells of Korea symbolize the female principle as well as woman’s body. It is my hope that this essay allows the ancient bells of Korea to reverberate through time and call people to return to the female origin. Ancient Greek Bells as Woman’s Body A variety of jong from the ancient world appears across cultures. The most explicitly rendered bells which mirror the female form are the terracotta bell figurines of Greece (Thebes) dated circa the 8th century BCE. Both are housed in the Louvre Museum, Paris. Protruded breasts are placed on the upper part of the bell. The body of the bell is sculpted to resemble the skirt that she is wearing. Two arms annexed from her shoulders appear to be aesthetic rather than functional. The elongated neck is made as a handle to be held. Her neck is adorned with elaborate necklaces. Geometrical designs and swastikas are compelling in both figurines — rife with arcane meanings. The legs are made as mallets. Imagine, then, where the sound comes from upon being shaken! It is her belly, more precisely the vulva from which the sound originates. In the first, above, icon of the Greek bell, women are drawn on the bell’s body in a simplified and exaggerated manner. They are connected with each other hand in hand forming a circle, perhaps dancing a circle dance. As a whole, the bell depicts a dancing woman with her arms raised, standing on her toes. The women painting befits the spirited nature of the bell. In the second, above, icon of the Greek bell, 39.5 cm in height, her breasts are highlighted, encircled by the drawing of two circles. Thus, they appear to be more nipples than breasts. Her arms are laid downward as if pointing to the birds standing below on each side. Each bird is holding an elongated earthworm-like swirling thing at the tip of its beak. Geometric designs in the center of her body are catchily inviting to interpretations. The symmetrical balance is heightened. She appears to stand firmly or be ready to walk. As shown below, one leg when placed out to the side conveys to its viewer that the legs are mallets and at once creates a look that she is real, in motion. In my documentation, the Greek bell idols and ancient Korean bells are the only two groups that are explicitly made in the shape of a woman’s body. Yet, as to be shown shortly, these Greek bell idols, far smaller in size, date about a thousand years earlier than the ancient Korean bells. Furthermore, there is a vast geographical distance between the two bell icons. In comparing them, however, I have no intention to assume that the ancient Greek bell figurines are the earliest of their kind. (It is difficult to discuss the origin of bell as a woman’s body due to the nature of the task, too complex and daunting. It suffices to say that the Chinese bells, dated older than the Thebes bell figurines, have relevance to ancient Korean bells, a point to be discussed at a later part.) Ancient worlds appear not too heterogeneous to say the least, as moderns tend to think. Sillan Bells Let me begin with introducing some ancient Korean bells from the Silla period (57 BCE-935 CE) and their major features that are also uniquely ancient Korean (read Magoist). They sound beautifully and deeply when struck. Sounding waves are calculated in the structure of the bell upon being cast. It is known that there are eleven jongs extant from the United Silla period. Only five of them are currently located in Korea, whereas the rest are in Japan. These bells are known as beomjong, a term referring to a bell in Buddhist temples used for Buddhist …
(Budoji Essay 2) The Magoist Cosmogony by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang

“Mago, the eponymous Goddess, is the head, ruler, and guardian of Mago-seong. She represents the eco-community of the Earth in the intergalactic universe.” [Author’s Note: This and subsequent essays are part of the forthcoming book tentatively entitled, The Magoist Cosmogony from the Budoji (Epic of the Emblem City), Translation and Interpretation, Volume 1, that I am currently writing. I am indebted to Harriet Ann Ellenberger, who has given me her prompt feedback and editorial advice in a most supportive manner. I am thankful to Dr. Glenys Livingstone, who has inspired me to write this book sooner than later. I am also grateful for Rosemary Mattingley, who has provided copy-editing of my essays in Return to Mago Webzine.] Chapter One (Translation) Mago-seong was the grand castle located in the highest place on earth. Revering the Heavenly Emblem (Cheon-bu), it succeeded the Former Heaven (Seon-cheon). There were four Heavenly Persons[i] at the four corners of the castle. They built pillars and sounded music.[ii] The eldest was named Hwang-gung (Yellow Gung),[iii] the second Cheong-gung (Blue Gung), the third Baek-so (White So), and the last Heuk-so (Black So). Mother of two Gungs was Gung-hui (Goddess Gung)[iv] and mother of two Sos was So-hui (Goddess So). Gung-hui and So-hui were the daughters of Mago. Mago was born in Jim-se (My/Our/This World).[v] Mago had no [human] emotion of pleasure and resentment. Taking the Former Heaven male and the Latter Heaven female, Mago bore two Hui Goddesses without mate. Like Mago, two Goddesses, without mate but by the emotion [of the cosmic periods], each bore two Heavenly Persons and two Heavenly Women. They were four Heavenly Persons and four Heavenly Goddesses in all. [i] Here “in” in Cheon-in 天人 is transliterated as a gender-neutral term, “beings.” It means “a person” but often transliterated as “a man.” [ii] The whole sentence can also be translated as “They made tubes and composed music.” [iii] “Ssi” in Hwang-gung-ssi 黃穹氏 intimates both a leader by name of Hwang-gung and the clan led by Hwang-gung. Other terms of “Cheong-gung-ssi,” “Baek-so-ssi,” and “Heuk-so-ssi” are used in the same way. [iv] Literally “hui” in Gung-hui 穹姬 and So-hui 巢姬 means a woman. Since it refers to Mago’s two daughters, I translated it “Goddess.” [v] “Jim” in Jim-se 朕世 can be transliterated as “my,” “our,” or “this.” ◊ Mago-seong (Mago Castle) was the grand castle located on the highest place on the Earth. Mago-seong, located on the highest mountain, is the primordial home of Mago, the Primordial Goddess, and Her descendants, human ancestors. Mago-seong also refers to the Earth itself (see Chapter 2). Mago, the eponymous Goddess, is the head, ruler, and guardian of Mago-seong. She represents the eco-community of the Earth in the intergalactic universe. Mago-seong’s location on the highest mountain symbolizes Mago-seong’s supremacy as the prototype of a Magoist state that will follow the cosmogonic event. Mago-seong’s location also indicates its proximity to the extraterrestrial cosmos, in particular to the Sun, the direct cause of the auto-genesis of all things on Earth. Mago-seong: Paradisiacal home of Mago and Her descendants, human ancestors. The axis mundi (world axis, center of the world) of the Magoist cosmogony.
(Goma Article Excerpt 3) Goma, the Shaman Ruler of Old Magoist East Asia/Korea and Her Mythology by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang

[Author’s Note: This essay was first published in Goddesses in Myth, History and Culture, published in 2018 by Mago Books.] The Goma Words The Bear Goddess In the coventional interpretation of the Korean foundation myth, “Ungnyeo (熊女)” is the name given to the bear (Gom) who received a female body upon enduring the trial of the cave initiation, married Hanung, and gave birth to a son who later became the founder of the ancient Korean state, Joseon (2333 BCE – 232 BCE). As such, “Ungnyeo” and “Gom” are unequivocally identified as the same figure. Nonetheless, the notability of “Ungnyeo” remains secular to most modern Koreans. That Gom is also involved with the bear constellation, the Northern Dipper in particular, remains esoteric at best. The bear mytheme of the Goma myth offers an insight to the etymology of both words, “Mago” and “Goma.” Given the mythological evidence that associates both Goma and Mago with the bear constellation, we may establish that the syllable “Go (姑 Ancient Goddess)” in “Mago” and “Goma” is derived from “Gom,” which means the bear in Korean. Modified by “Ma,” a universal sound for “mother,” both “Goma” and “Mago” refer to the Bear Mother. This assessment merits, among others, an explanation for the bear mytheme in the Goma myth in which Goma is depicted as the head of the royal bear clan. The bear is one of the most prominent symbols of Goma and Mago together with the nine and the tree. Goma, as the bear Goddess, holds together the animal bear, the bear worshipping people, and the circumpolar constellation of the Bears (Ursa Major and Ursa Minor) in the Northern Hemisphere. Indicating the bear totem and the bear constellation, the bear symbol runs through her myths and linguistics. In the story, the cave initiation that Goma proposed intimates the ancient bear worshippers associated with the bear’s cyclic behaviors including hibernation for the long winter months in a cave. The bear symbol is important in that it connects Goma (the queen of the bear clan), Mago (the Goddess of the bear constellation), and their devotees, “the royal bear clan,” broadly recognized across cultures. It is not surprising to note that Goma and Mago appear conflated in cultural and devotional practices. Doumu (斗母 Mother of the Northern Dipper) is a prominent example of the amalgamated divine, Magoma. Doumu is well noted for her conflating manifestations among kindred Goddesses in Daoism. Marnix Wells states that Doumu is alternatively identified as Taiyi Yuanjun (太一元君 Goddess of the Great One) and Jiuhuang Daji (九皇大帝 the Great Emperor of Nine Emperors). Doumu is considered as “Mother of Dipper” known as Doumu Yuanjun (斗母元君 “Goddess of the Chariot”) and conflated with Taiyi Yuanjun (太一元君 “Goddess of the Great One”), who is one of the Three Pure Ones. She is considered the mother of the seven stars of the Dipper and two not visible ones, the Jiuhuang Daji (九皇大帝 “Nine Great Divine Kings”).[1] Here Taiyi Yuanjun corresponds to Mago (or the Mago Triad) and Jiuhuwang Daji to Goma (or the Nine Mago Creatrix). As such, Doumu is also related to the number nine symbol, which connects Mago and Goma, a topic to be explained below. Suffice it to say that Doumu, representing Magoma, is a female personification of the inter-cosmic reality unfolded through the circumpolar constellation of the Bears in the Northern Hemisphere in sync with the eco-biotic behavior of bears, as such venerated by their devotees. Goma and the Korean Identity Goma’s alternative names include “Ungnyeo (Female Sovereign),” “Hanung (Han Sovereign),” “Cheonung (Heavenly Soverein),” “Daeung (Great Sovereign),” “Seonhwang (Immortal Emperess),” and “Daein (Great Person)” as well as “Ungssi-ja (Decendant of the Goma Clan), “Ungssi-wang” (Ruler of the Goma Clan), and “Ungssi-gun” (Head of the Goma Clan). The Goma words also include such modifiers as “Ung,” “Gom (Gam, Geum, Geom, Kami)” and “Baedal (Barkdal, Baekdal), “Dan.” Given that her worship is old in origin and non-ethnocentric in nature, the Goma epithets are not limited to the above. It is conjectured that she was revered by other names including the aforementioned Goddesses across cultures. In fact, the Magoist hermeneutic of the Goma myth enables us to reassess variant Halmi (Great Mother/Grandmother/Crone) stories in Korea that have the Magoma mytheme. Among them are Gaeyang Halmi, Seogu Halmi, Angadak Halmi, Dangsan Halmi, to name a few. In any case, the epithet “Goma” is by no means a modern invention. Intriguingly, they are found in place-names, state-names and clan-names, to be discussed shortly. The link between “Ung” and “Gom” is not something unfamiliar to most Koreans. Researchers note that “Goma-seong (Goma Stronghold)” better known “Ungjin-seong” was the capital of ancient Baekje Korea from 475 to 538 CE.[2] However, “Gom” as an alternative epithet of “Goma” remains unfamiliar to many modern Koreans. Furthermore, little known is that “Ungnyeo” is derived from “Goma,” the queen of the bear clan. Korean linguists infer that “Ungsim (熊心)” is an Idu word and should be read “Goma.”[3] Accoding to them, the second character “Sim (心)” meaning “Maeum (마음)” in “Ungsim” is an indicator of its phonetic sound, “Ma.” Following the first character “Go” in “Gom (곰), “Ungsim” should be read as “Goma.” A compound of “Ung (熊)” and “Nyeo (Woman),” “Ungnyeo” is a euphemism for “Ungsim (熊心).” Idu (吏讀 Official’s Script) is an ancient Korean writing system that uses logographic characters for the Korean spoken language. Its use is noted during the early three states (Silla, Goguryeo, Baekje) to Joseon (1392-1919) periods. That Goma is the Idu word for Ungsim offers no small insight. It holds key to unlock a broad range of the Goma words found trans-nationally in East Asia and elsewhere. The Idu word “Ungsim” for “Goma” holds the key to unlock the Goma words that permeate ancient Korean history, language, and culture. Ungsim-yeon (熊心淵 Goma Lake) and Ungsim-san (熊心山Goma Mountain) and Ungsim-guk (熊心國 Goma State) are the most prominent examples. These place-names show how Goma mythology has shaped the landscape of ancient Korean mytho-histories. Ungsim-yeon (Goma Lake) is associated with Yuhwa (Willow Tree …

Category: Goddess

(Poem) Spring Equinox Dance by Andrea Nicki

Like this:

(Essay) The Gift Alternative by Genevieve Vaughan

Like this:

(Prose) Liminal Time and Space by Deanne Quarrie

Like this:

(Poem) Hystory by Susan Hawthorne

Like this:

(Poem) Open Hearts by Janie Rezner

Like this:

(Art) Mother of All by Nicole Shaw

Like this:

(Prose) "Mary" As a Title by Alaya Dannu

Like this:

(Art) The Door Where Time Stands Still by Jhilmil Breckenridge

Like this:

(Call for Contributions) RTM relies on your sharing of talents/passions/struggles!

Like this:

(Art) Sekhmet by Jassy Watson

Like this:

(Prose and Poetry) The Breath of Goddess by Deanne Quarrie

Like this:

(Poem) Woodpecker by Andrea Nicki

Like this:

Seeking Mago, the Great Mother from Old Korea

S/HE: IJGS V5 N1 2026 (B/W Paperback)

Mago Almanac Year 9 Monthly Wheels

(Proposal Invitation) Join the November “Nine Poets Speak” Salon

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this:

Share this:

Like this: