February 23, 2017October 2, 2019 Mago Work AdminLeave a comment

(Essay 2) Mary Magdalene: The Gnostic Mary Magdalene by Joanna Kujawa

It was only years later, while living in Melbourne and no longer connected to the Catholic Church, that I found my way back to the Gnostic Gospels. Surely I had Read More …

February 7, 2017February 20, 2018 Mago Work AdminLeave a comment

(Essay 1) Mary Magdalene: The Myth and the Mirror by Joanna Kujawa

For ages, tradition portrayed Mary Magdalene as a prostitute. Was it just the simple male fantasy of a beautiful sinner saved by Grace? The story itself probably wasn’t true. Two Read More …

December 18, 2016June 4, 2023 Mago Work AdminLeave a comment

(Meet Mago Contributor) Joanna Kujawa, Ph.D.

Dr Joanna Kujawa is the author of The Other Goddess: Mary Magdalene and the Goddesses of Eros and Secret Knowledge, scholar, and spiritual detective. She received her BA and MA from Read More …

(Poem) 'Crane Dance' by Anne Wilkerson Allen

Crane Dance We danced at the edge of pale waters, not caring if we missed a step or fell into the wake of each others jubilance. We leapt in the moonlight, contours of light and shadow reflected in the depths of the lake. The soft down at the base of her feathers was a gentle caress on the breeze of tender love and her silver eyes embraced me. “Why are you afraid of what you feel? Kindle the furnace of your heart and let go, or you will never know yourself” I beheld my nakedness and abandon and felt complete freedom in that moment, as with a trusted lover. “Mother,” said she, and I looked behind me. “Mother,” said she, and stepped closer to my fear because the voice was not of my child. In her voice I heard the yearning of a million hearts I felt the aching of a thousand needs And the brokenness in my own heart that I don’t know. I don’t know if I have enough to feed them all. Translated to French by Pierre Leclair Traduction (anglais > français) Nous avons dansé au bord des eaux pâle, ne pas se soucier si nous avons manqué une étape ou ont diminué dans le sillage de chaque jubilation autres. Nous sauté dans la lune, contours d’ombre et lumière reflété dans les profondeurs du lac. Le duvet à la base de ses plumes était une caresse sur la brise de l’amour tendre et ses yeux d’argent m’a embrassé. «Pourquoi avez-vous peur de ce que vous ressentez? Meublez votre cœur avec passion. Si vous ne lâchez pas, vous ne serez jamais se connaître » Je regardai ma nudité et d’abandonner et ressenti une liberté totale en ce moment, comme avec un amant de confiance. «Mère», dit-elle, et j’ai regardé derrière moi. «Mère», dit-elle, et s’approcha de ma peur parce que la voix n’était pas de mon enfant. Dans sa voix, j’ai entendu le désir d’un million de cœurs J’ai ressenti le mal d’un millier de besoins Et le brisement dans mon propre cœur que je ne sais pas. Je ne sais pas si j’ai assez pour nourrir tous.. ******************************************************** 鶴の舞蒼々とした水辺で自由気ままに踊っていました。ステップが絡もうとも、互いの歓喜の航跡に落ちてしまおうとも気にせずに月の光の中で心躍らせ、光と影の輪郭は湖の奥深くに映し出されていました羽の奥のにこげが愛の風の中で優しく揺れて輝いた眼差しがわたくしを包み込みました “自分の情感を怖がることはありません。心の炬に火を点けて、身を任せなさい。そうすれば本当の自分を見つけられますから“ 私はすべてを曝け出しました。感じるままに、その瞬間、完全なる自由が得られました。愛する人に身を任せた時のように「お母さん」と呼ばれて、私が振り返りました「お母さん」と呼ばれて、不安が近寄りましたその声は、わが子のものではないのですその声には大勢の叫びと悲痛な願いが入り混じり、そして砕けてしまった私の心を感じました。果たしてこれらの願いを満たすことは出来るのでしょうか。 Translated by Kunibumi Izumi 訳：　泉国文
(Essay) Gratitude Stalks You by Hearth Moon Rising

Gratitude stalks you Unawares you are ambushed Smile in surprise Earlier this week I was in the woods at a stream swollen with spring, and a familiar situation overtook me. It’s similar to coming upon a beautiful scene by surprise or having an unusual interaction with an animal–and of course you left the camera at home. This is the situation of coming upon a sublime space, maybe in some ordinary place where you’ve been many times, and your heart is unexpectedly opened and full to overflowing. Perhaps you can hear the voices of water, rocks and trees. This is the time for ritual, but you have no offering. A simple thank you does not seem like enough. What gift can you leave to signify the importance of this moment?
(Music/Art) Muse ~ Goddess Art and Music with Veronica Leandrez’s Art “Nuit” by Alison Newvine

Veronica Leandrez’s Art “Nuit” The oldest story ever written is about the journey into the underworld and the resurrection that follows. The ancient Sumerian myth of Inanna and Ereshkigal describes the Goddess’s descent into the underworld, where she is stripped of her sacred garments, symbolizing her power and identity, and ultimately dies before being resurrected three days later. Written 4000 years ago, twice as old as the story of Christ’s death and resurrection, Inanna’s myth provides a symbolic template for the psychological underworld journey and spiritual rebirth that we each experience over and over again. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYL2teKnb90 Image by Claire Dorey The acute period of the COVID-19 pandemic and shelter-in-place was an underworld journey for so much of humanity. The fear, uncertainty and helpless that pervaded the collective were stirring up deep, often preverbal traumas within so many of us individually. As this was unfolding within me, I began writing the song Muse in November 2020. At this time, I was losing my ability to play guitar due to chronic pain that was fueled and exacerbated by how the collective circumstances were waking up trauma in my own psyche. Additionally, my band, Spiral Muse, and I had not been able to make music together for many months due to the pandemic. I was beginning to feel like I’d never write another song again. Veronica Leandrez “Safely Ashore” The beginnings of Muse were eeked out before I put down the guitar for six long months, physically unable to play and fearing I would never pick it up again. When I resumed work on this song in June of 2021, one band member, Kathleen, was in the process of moving across the country and those of us remaining were figuring out how to move forward without her. The song evolved to reflect the journey of learning to accept change and loss in order to allow the Muse to be reborn. After a fallow period, we reformulated ourselves as a bicoastal band, writing and recording music long distance. Two years after writing “Muse,” we were able to record this piece, along with others, with Kathleen, adding another dimension to the theme of Muse Rebirthing. Spiral Muse ~ Kathleen, Dionne, Alison, Lana (photo by Tamara Trejo) My experience of connecting with the Mago Community has also been one of creative rebirthing. It feels organic and aligned to weave together a celebration of the abundance of creativity within this community, and beyond, with this particular piece of music. Each of the ten woman who have contributed artwork to this video, as well as each of the four of us who created this music, has walked many of her own underworld journeys and experienced her own rebirthings. The artwork reflects the different stages of this journey- descent, desolation, death, resurrection, inspiration and rejoicing. It is an honor and a joy to have each woman’s unique perspective and voice as co-creator of this multi-media piece. Several of these women are near and dear to me and each one shows up in the world and in their creativity in ways I respect and admire. Noris Binet “The Light Coming Down” Noris Binet is psycho-spiritual therapist and wise woman born in the Dominican Republic and currently living in Mexico. She is at home traversing the depths of the unconscious and bridging that wisdom into waking consciousness through art. She contributed six pieces to this project, all originating in the deep unconscious and dreamworld, and each containing a unique healing vibration. Andrea Redmond “Mother Ireland” Andrea Redmond is an artist and cultural anthropologist living in Donegal, Ireland. Her work reflects the Goddess in all her manifestations, particularly her Irish Celtic manifestations. She contributed five pieces to this project, each an exquisite historical imprint of the female divine across time. Veronica Leandrez “Samsara” Vernoica Leandrez is an eco-feminist and anti-systemic activist artist. Her work is stunning, expressing consciousness embodied in human form. She contributed five pieces to this project, all reaching out to the cosmos and into the human heart. Claire Dorey “Hathor Reflected” Claire Dorey is an artist and writer whose artwork depicts cosmic motion, the dark unconscious and ascension into the cosmos. Her work is currently being shown at the South London Women Artists exhibition. She contributed four pieces to this project, which together evoke the sense of staring into the abyss, plunging into the absolute depths of that darkness and then arising. Elaine Chan-Scherer “Our Lady of Miraculous Abundance” Elaine Chan-Scherer is a San Francisco native artist and soul-centered therapist. Her purpose in painting is to inspire and nurture the individual’s connection to the Sacred Feminine. She contributed three pieces to this project, offering blessings of miraculous abundance, surrender and balance. Cynthia Tom “Las Ancestras Water Receding” Cynthia Tom is a multi-dimensional artist whose work has promoted a cultural shift to embrace the importance and power of women. She founded A Place of Her Own, a community organization that uses art to heal generational trauma, colonization, and cultural conditioning. She contributed two pieces to this project, both in her unique “cultural surrealist” style. X-chel “Genius Mundi” X-chel is an artist whose painterly arts are best described as “metaphysical fantasy” with a Goddess and Woman-centric focus and elements of esoteric mysticism. X-chel contributed two water-based paintings to this project. Pegi Eyers “Femalia’ Pegi Eyers is an author, mixed media artist and independent curator living in Ontario, Canada. She contributed the piece “Femalia,” which opens the video. Sally Magness Sally Magness is Bay Area, California painter and musician. She contributed the piece, “Almost Red Rose,” to this project. Claudia Vico Caballero Claudia Vico Caballero is an Argentinian painter, doctor and witch. She contributed “The Wheel of the Year,” which appears near the end of this video. My hope is that this is the first of many collaborative projects of this nature, connecting Goddess art with Goddess music and co-creating something that is greater than the sum of its parts.
(Essay) Hope During the COVID-19 Outbreak by Francesca Tronetti, Ph.D.

I used to lie in bed at night and wonder about the end of the world. Would it be the eruption of the caldera volcano in Yellowstone? Worldwide famine due to drought? Rising sea levels forcing people to abandon coastlines and move inland? It wasn’t that I was anxious for the end times, but I would lie awake and wonder if we would finally learn our lessons? If we would realize that when we relocated that we must preserve farmland and not build subdivisions on it? Understand that we could not have manicured twenty-acre lawns during a drought? I have to say that, in all my musings, I never expected a pandemic to hit us this hard. It is because I have seen minor pandemics hit before. And isn’t that a misnomer, a minor pandemic. We saw SARs hit Asia, but not the US. We saw Swine flu, but the disease caused few American deaths. Ebola made it seem like we were heading for The Walking Dead, but there were only a few cases in the US and not a widespread outbreak. It seemed like we had beaten them all, no more pandemics, no more mass deaths. Humanity triumphs, nature loses. Then came 2020. And the world fell apart. COVID-19 or Coronavirus promises to be our triumph or our downfall. We will either stand united or fall in chaos. Let me explain. At the start of 2020, we heard about the Coronavirus; however, most of us did not pay much attention to the reports. It was another respiratory illness coming out of the far east; we had faced that before. Then, towards the end of January, the news became more urgent. We heard about the virus’s spread through China. Suddenly it was in Europe, on cruise ships, spreading quickly. The WHO had a test; the world was preparing. Coronavirus would be another SARs outbreak, scary but manageable. But only if we moved as quickly as we had before. In the US, our leaders failed us. They wanted to develop a test in the US so that it could be sold, and someone could make money. They didn’t want to issue travel restrictions, which could cause the markets to drop. And our leader judged his success but how much money the rich were making. So, we waited until it was too late. Then the panic came, and our decency to each other broke down. Videos appeared on YouTube showing minivans stuffed full of toilet paper; people were fighting in stores to defend their cart full of bottled water and bleach. Shelves of crackers and bread were cleared, and people bought all the meat as it arrived in stores. Still, it was funny in a way. Look at all these people panicking, we said, there will be more on the shelves in a few days, don’t worry. But, for many items, the shelves remained empty for weeks. People sought to profit off the fears of others, selling a bottle of hand sanitizer for $70. Then, when they could not sell it online, they still hoarded it, perhaps waiting for the people to become so desperate that they would pay anything for the supplies. The greed and fear have not stopped with toilet paper and hand sanitizer or bleach. People are hoarding medical supplies, so much so that hospitals cannot supply their staff with masks or gloves. Those on the front lines are treating patients with little or no protection. The elderly and the immunocompromised are likewise without protection. Rumors about the imposition of Martial law are running rampant on Facebook. Our leader cannot acknowledge that there is a problem. That he ignored the coming storm for months. Then, when he was asked to offer comfort to the people, he lashed out at the questioner. Yet, during this decline into our worst selves, we can see the best in some of us come out. Sewists, tailors, and crafters around the world are making masks to give to the most vulnerable. Free mask patterns are circulating on Facebook and Pinterest. Emails have been sent out to quilters, and donation sites are being set up. Many are using their confinement to fight back and protect their friends and neighbors. Communities are lowering the cost of water and sewer bills because they know that people are out of work or working fewer hours. Stores are closing for hours to clean, then letting the elderly be the first to shop to ensure they get the supplies they need. Companies are voluntarily losing money to help the people who need it. Food delivery services have expanded their delivery areas, and restaurants are waiving delivery fees. Other restaurants take food out to the parking lot for customers, keeping people from meeting in the waiting area. Some local banks and credit card companies are planning to limit interest on payments. In February, a storage company offered free lockers to students who had only a few days to vacate their dorms but no way to take their stuff home with them. Companies are stepping up to the challenge to help out the people who need it. There are still issues with the government, bills to give money to those out of work or offer paid sick days have been shut down because they would make people lazy. Small businesses are worried that they will not be able to pay their bills or reopen after the crisis, and the money offered to them is minimal. Meanwhile, taxpayer money is pouring into the coffers of multibillion-dollar industries so they will not be hurt during this time. However, others in the government are using this crisis to try to improve the lives of the people. They are calling for student loan debt forgiveness, so the economy can more quickly recover. Congresspeople are calling for testing and treatment of the Coronavirus to be free, to encourage people to get tested and seek treatment if they contract the disease. The Coronavirus pandemic is scary because …
(Mago Almanac Excerpt 7) Introducing the Magoist Calendar by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang

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

[This book was publish by Mago Books (April 1, 2022). Details and purchase info is available here (Mago Bookstore).]INTRODUCTION The Salzkammergut is one of the most beautiful places on earth. Mountains stretch to the sky, some even remain snow-covered throughout the year, while others are colored with deep woods, bright meadows, and green pastures. Water is abundant in rivers, streams, and lakes. This lush fertile area has been inhabited for millennia, yet it remains filled with mystery and wonder. The uniqueness of the region has been recognized for centuries by the people living here as well as the workers who came from Germany to work the salt mines, the pilgrims who made their way to St. Wolfgang’s church, those seeking good health in the spas in Goisern and Ischl, and the Viennese court when they summered with Emperor Franz Josef and his wife Elisabeth, Sissi, in Ischl. The most recent international recognition came with the announcement that Bad Ischl and the Salzkammergut have been selected as one of the three European Capitals of Culture for 2024 along with Bodø in Norway and Tartu in Estonia. Different from the other capitals, the Salzkammergut is a region, not a city. Bad Ischl is the historical home of the Medieval Salzkammergut, but it is only one of the ten mini-regions that comprise today’s Salzkammergut, which crosses the borders of three Austrian provinces: Salzburg, Upper Austria and Styria. There are a number of books on the legends and customs of the Salzkammergut available to those who read German. There is, however, nothing that is in English for those who do not speak the local language, but still would like to know more about the magic and history of the area. Additionally, there is nothing in either English or German that places the legends in a culturally relevant context focusing on the impact of Divine Feminine figures on the region. This book hopes to fill that void as it offers insights into how the local legends and customs contain universal lessons while being embedded in the region’s distinct history and geography. The text starts with a brief historical overview of the peoples and events that shaped the legends; this is followed by an introduction to the various Alpine spirits that are touched on in the legends and annual celebrations. The divine feminine figures mentioned include the Neolithic Kienbach Gorge goddess, the Celtic Bethen, their Christian counterparts: Katherine, Margarethe and Barbara, and the Alpine Frau Holle, Frau Percht and Witch Kranabetha. The Virgin Mother Mary appears in various contexts throughout the book. The legends are organized into five general moral codes that shape the region’s communities and are based in specific places and landscapes around Land Salzburg and the Salzkammergut. The next section deals with the relation of the Alpine spirits to the organization of time through the changing of the seasons as seen through local customs and celebrations. The last section ties the themes from the legends and annual celebrations back to the role of the divine feminine in the daily life of the people of the Salzkammergut. A word on the translations and terms: all translations are that of the author as are all the photographs. Translations of the legends are often not literal, but have been adapted for readability and comprehension in English and for a non-local audience. Three legends from neighboring areas in the provinces of Salzburg and Styria have been included as they could easily have been from places within the Salzkammergut, but those from around the city of Salzburg and the Untersberg Mountain are available in other media. Terms like “Raunächte” and “Hollerbush” have been left in German as English translations do not connote the mystery and magic of the German words. The province of Salzburg is called by its German name, Land Salzburg, to differentiate it from its capital city. Regional lakes are also called simply by their German names, e.g., the Wolfgangsee rather than Lake Wolfgang. Frau Percht and Frau Holle are known by a number of different spellings in German legends, e.g., Frau Perchta, or Frau Hold; for simplicity, only the former spelling is used here. The same is true for Witch Kranabetha, who is often spelled Kranawitha or Kranawett; they are the same legendary figure. Additionally, explanatory English or German names and terms are occasionally placed in parenthesis for greater comprehension. The section on traditional annual events relies heavily on Sandra Galatz’ Bräuche im Salzkammergut: Gelebte Tradition im Jahreskreis and some of her entries have simply been translated. The footnotes reference the works the translations stem from, as well as those that provide support for the various topics and ideas presented in the text. Winter mist near Schwarzensee https://www.magoism.net/2018/09/meet-mago-contributor-krista-rodin-ph-d/
(Poem) Lake Mother by Francesca Tronetti

Lake Erie Bluffs by Amy Wallace The Goddess, the Divine Feminine, the Great Mother She is the peaceful serene surface of the lake She is its cold depths preserving forever her lost children She is the warm embrace when all seems lost to us She is the gentle song which soothes us with her lullaby Even then the winds whip up and the waters loudly crash Within her depths all is still calm and quiet Lake Mother please help me in this time I cannot go back to the shore where fires burn But even your waves are rough now As you worry about your children and draw them near Mother take this little raft I sit in now I have tossed my oars when the splinters pierced my hands My mind was pushing me to the wrong rocky shores Lake Mother take my little raft far out into the water Let me sail past shores and shoals, past parks and bays Let me watch colorful dances and festivals of life Held on your beaches of sand and smooth stones For even the stone beaches are places to find and celebrate you Guide me finally to a new dockyard and put my raft in drydock Let me rebuild myself far from distraction or conflict Then, when I am strong again, set me back out into the water Guide me to a new one for I cannot return to the old Let your waves slide my raft into the shallow water to the sand Mother send me to the new shore where I will find peace And please Lake Mother, send me others to share this new shore Where we can live and love, garden and build, and remain A community of your daughters and sons How this poem came to be born Before writing this poem, I had written an essay about the idea of resistance and fighting back against, well, you name it in U.S. America. Even after a significant rewrite and several edits, it was still an essay displaying my anger and was wisely and kindly not accepted to RTM. Helen Hwang, primary editor of the RTM editorial circle, emailed me and reminded me of what RTM is supposed to be about and that I needed to reflect on what was causing my anger. As I sat down to do this, I realized that my essay was the worst parts of myself and not representative of the deep reflection, personal and academic, which I typically strive for in my work.What she wrote gave me a lot to think about, and my thoughts turned to Lake Erie, where I live. I have always felt strongly connected to the water Goddesses; I suppose because the lake is such a large part of my life.I thought about all her aspects, her harshness, her depths, and the boats which sailed across her. As I meditated on what she wrote and my feelings, I let them go and gave them to the Mother. As I did, I began writing this poem. My poetry is very cathartic for me, but sadly I have not been doing much writing in the past year. I put my feelings into the words and let them go as a prayer to her to help me rebuild what in myself needs to be repaired. It was not the review’s original intention, but it has helped me reconnect with the part of myself, which has always been my connection with her. I thought I would share what I wrote. https://www.magoism.net/2018/11/meet-mago-contributor-rev-francesca-tronetti-ph-d/
(Essay 1) Open, Please!: Persian & Islamic Tales of Women Rescued by Mountains by Krista Rodin, Ph.D.

Throughout Central Asia there are many legends of women who refused to convert to a new religion or way of life in order to maintain their purity. In some of these stories the woman fled into the barren desert mountains and prayed for refuge within. The mountains opened up, water flowed, and the woman was able to find shelter. The reason for the flight was to avoid persecution and to maintain a traditional religion, though it was also often framed as escaping men in order to remain physically and spiritually pure. While the stories are patterned in the same manner, the religion they wished to protect was different in three of these stories giving rise to an understanding of the perpetual nature of doctrine induced geo-political change in this region and some of the ancient animosities. Today, the locations of these mountain sanctuaries, three in Iran and two near the Iranian border in Turkmenistan, are pilgrimage sites for the sacred traditions they were intended to protect. All of these sites have a Persian heritage and as Herodutus in his Histories pointed out in the 5th C BCE, “It is not their (Persian) custom to make and set up statues and temples and altars but they offer sacrifices on the highest peaks of the mountains.” Each of these sites also has a water source near the sacred cave, which harkens back to the early Persian goddess of fertility and water, Anahita. The generic pattern of the legend gives rise to the merging of boundaries, physical and spiritual, as well as a reversal of traditional hierarchical conquest and gender roles. Nokhur, Turkmenistan It is impossible to put a chronology to the sites as they may have been used for worship since well before Herodotus’ writings. Perhaps, though, the site preserving the oldest tradition is the one found in Nokhur, Turkmenistan. The small village of Nohkur lies about 1,100 m above the Karakum Desert not far from the Iranian border and wandering amid the bare hillsides it is easy to get lost. There are no border markings here, just a sea of tall crusty brown waves of mountain ridges that have been witness to caravan trading since the beginning of human migration and commerce. Time seems to stand still in this tiny hamlet where there is a hallow 2000 year old sacred sycamore tree, 100 year old mud brick and rock houses that are held up with rotting wood posts, and a millennia old cemetery where the graves are marked with posts etched with stair like designs and Urial mountain sheep horns as capitals to protect the dead and ward off evil. The villagers earn their living through sheep herding, agriculture and silk production as they have for centuries. Nokhur Ancient Cemetery The people of this small region of the Kopat Dagh mountains are said to be descendants of Alexander’s army. Their language and traditions are distinct from the rest of Turkmenistan, as they also are with their more closely aligned Iranian neighbors. While they are active practicing Muslims, their traditions remain laced with remnants of ancient animism as seen in the cemetery and the legend of the cave. The greatest additional source of income comes from the tourists who visit the Bibi Qyz Cave. The story of Bibi Qyz is quite similar to that of her neighbor about 80 miles to the north along the main road, Bibi Parau, whose shrine is distinctly Islamic and whose site is the second most famous pilgrimage site in Turkmenistan. The term ‘Bibi’ is used as an honorific title for a woman, similar to ‘Lady’. One of the main differences between the two is the sacred background to the legend. Bibi Parau’s story distinctly Muslim and the ca. 11th C site has a mausoleum. The origin of Bibi Qyz, on the other hand, is lost in time and rather than man-made structures, the site has a sacred tree. The first is officially sponsored and promoted by the governmental tourist association; the second is merely acknowledged. According to the legend recounted at the site, Bibi Qyz was a young girl who wanted to dedicate herself to a solitary spiritual life. Her father, however, insisted she marry. Much like the Tibetan legend of Yeshe Tsogyal or the Catholic St. Barbara, she ran away to the mountains to avoid soiling herself with the physical and mental impurities of marital and everyday life. As her intended husband, accompanied by father, came closer and closer, she prayed to the rock face to bear witness to her pure desires and to open up and give her protection. A small cave opening appeared through which she immediately crawled in and was saved. She remains the woman of the mountain granting to those who seek her wishes that are pure of heart. She is especially called upon by women who have been unable to bear children. They come to ask her to bless them with offspring, and to tie their wishes written on cloth strips onto a special wishing tree that is about 40 feet below the cave. The cave is currently overseen by a caretaker family consisting of the family patriarch, and four women, two of whom are his sisters and two his wives. The oldest woman is also the leading fortune-teller and medium. She offers Bibi Qyz’s blessings on the basis of a balancing stone held on top of the index and middle finger of the right hand. Once the stone is balanced and it turns to the left on its own accord three times, then the blessing has occurred. After the blessing, the seeker is supposed to build a small rock pile to send wishes to Allah along with Bibi Qyz’s blessings. Bibi Oyz’s Cave, Nokhur, Turkmenistan Similar to Bibi Qyz, Bibi Parau (Bibi Paraw) escaped into a small cave in the Kopat Dagh mountains, but her story is a bit more elaborate. According to her legend, she was a very beautiful and virtuous young girl. Other women and girls in the village were jealous of her so when an invading army of infidels came one of the women decided to offer Bibi Parau in exchange for the warriors not attacking the village. Bibi Parau cursed the woman who was subsequently turned into a black stone. As the enemy troops approached, Bibi Parau asked the mountain to protect her and her virtue; the cave appeared and she was …
(Pilgrimage 1) A Day in the Kalash Valley of Pakistan by Krista Rodin, Ph.D.

After spending about a week exploring Gandharan Buddhist sites and art in Northern Pakistan in September 2021, I had the unexpected opportunity to visit an area that I thought was closed to foreign visitors, namely the Kalash Valley. This valley is famous for the indigenous matriarchal religion that persists even in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. When I expressed my interest in the Kalash culture my guide, Amyn, and driver, Iqbal suggested we detour to Chitral and then to Kalash rather than heading directly to Hunza, which was our next scheduled stop. I jumped at the chance. Neither of them had been there either, so this was going to be an adventure for all of us. After a long day of driving north from Mingora through Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province along the Afghan border we finally arrived in Chitral towards dusk. We stayed in the very pleasant Mountain Inn, with separate cabins and a large garden with a tree whose leaves are supposed to be good for dealing with diabetes. Locals use much of the vegetation from the surrounding hills and mountains for herbal cures, and this tree was just one example of how ancient wisdom is maintained even in tourist areas. The young man running the hotel came from Kalash Valley and was helpful in giving us information on the people and culture that we were going to visit the following day. Before heading up to Kalash, however, I wanted to stop at the Chitral Museum, which is located by their polo field. Polo is a national pastime in this region, even more than soccer or cricket. (Well, perhaps equal to cricket…). The museum is small, just a few rooms, but it did have a number of Kalash artifacts including some Gandau effigies. These are carved from a single piece of wood and are said to represent the soul of the person who has died. When an important person dies, a gandau is placed on the grave. The term is also used for the three day ceremony to install the effigy. Family members select the best piece of wood from the forest to carve the image and the name of the deceased is constantly recited during the carving process. After the image is complete, a procession takes it to the Jestakhan, where they dance for twenty-four hours before heading on to the cemetery. There are three kinds of gandaus: standing, sitting and those on horseback. Sometimes the horses have two heads, which supposedly means that the deceased was quite powerful and/or influential. Women are usually represented in a sitting position on ornately carved chairs wearing caps with four horns. According to Kalash tradition, a goat with four horns is seen as an auspicious omen. This may harken back to the earlier pre-historic traditions, as this valley was cut off for centuries. Gandao, male god & three images of the goddess Dezalic There were a number of other interesting artifacts in the museum, including one where help is needed to identify the script. There is a stone with an unknown ancient inscription, and it would be helpful if someone could identify it and let me, or the Chitral Museum, know. It would also be helpful if we could have the name and contact of a scholar who might be able to decipher it. Here is a photo of the stone: After the museum we headed up to the Kalash Valley. We had to change cars in a small village near the base of the windy narrow hilly road as the Toyota Corolla we were driving wouldn’t make it up the jeep track. The driver of an old broken down, but drivable, vehicle we hired was from Kalash, spoke the language and was able to act as a local guide. There are fourteen small villages in the Kalash Valley, each with somewhat unique traditions, but all within the same general framework. They, like many in Hunza are said to be relatives of the troops who left Alexander’s army to stay put where they were. After seeing all the mountains they had to cross, I can completely empathize with their decision. The valley is lush with water from the surrounding glaciers, fruit trees grow in abundance, as well as grapes for wine and apricots for fruit and schnaps. We visited a room where three centenarians were in the process of making the latter. It seems if one can survive the winters when young, a hearty long life is entirely possible. I was surprised that the valley is known for its wine as alcohol is not permitted in the Islamic Republic. It seems that the tribe has a special exemption as wine and schnaps are used in their sacred rituals. It is said that the cultivation of wine stems from Alexander’s Dionysian legacy. The red wine was quite good as were the grapes that people would pluck off the vines for us. The exemption is for their entire cultural heritage, not just for wine and schnaps. Centenarians making schnaps The people of the Kalash Valley have a different language and the elder generation did not speak Urdu, so the conversation had to be translated from English to Urdu to Kalash and back again. How much was lost in translation, I can’t begin to guess. The translators were quite reluctant to ask my questions or provide any responses to questions regarding the Kalash sacred traditions. Most of what I could gather was from the museum descriptions, the plaques near some of the buildings and from the internet. What I did understand was that their funeral rites entail giving the soul back to the creator; life is temporary and there is another life after this one. There are a number of annual festivals according to an agricultural calendar, and the festival of Madaik is equivalent to the Catholic All Souls Day. The departed souls live forever. The bed of the deceased is turned over on their grave so that they have their resting place in …

(Special Post 2) 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.] Harriet Ann Ellenberger I got involved with women’s liberation in the early 1970s, so involved that it became my life for many years. During those beginnings of what is now called “the second wave of feminism,” everything was new to us and everything was mushed together — the political, the economic, the intellectual, the emotional, the spiritual. I liked that a lot; it felt as if all the parts of myself were coming together. During that time, I learned something crucial the imagery and concepts of patriarchal religion justify and are embedded in the material structures of oppression. I don’t know which came first, institutionalized oppression (of everyone; I’m not speaking here only of women) or the religious expression of that oppression. All I’m certain of is that patriarchal religion permeates, for example, the Oxford English Dictionary, which I use all the time, in conjunction with Websters’ First New Intergalactic Wickedary of the English Language, conjured by Mary Daly in cahoots with Jane Caputi.
(Special Post 1) 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.] Introduction by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang and Wennifer Lin-Haver Helen Hye-Sook Hwang I am asking each of us to consider writing a sentence or paragraph on “Why Goddess Feminism, Activism, or Spirituality?” This idea is prompted by Wennifer Lin-Haver, Founder of Mother Tree Sanctuary, and I agree that we need to and can create a sort of collective writing on the topic. What we write below will be included and published in The Girl God, Mother Tree Sanctuary, and Return to Mago. As a subaltern minority as we seem at the current point of time, Goddessians/Magoists [the term Mago means the Great Goddess] need to make extra efforts to make our voices and presences exposed to the public and inner circles. Length and style are open. Please also include your name, region/state/country, title, and/or website URL. We strongly encourage you if you are located in a place where Goddessians are rarely around. We intend to make a collective testimonial tapestry of WE as Goddessians/Magoists! Please keep this in your mind and join us in this collective effort. Thank you in advance. March 6, 2014 AF (Archaic Future)! Wennifer Lin-Haver Our “call” started as a conversation between Helen and me where I was expressing to her the real need for Mother Tree Sanctuary to be more articulate with exploring the significance and importance of Goddess in our lives. I was prompted to give such a response, when asked “why” we had to differentiate God and Goddess. “Isn’t everything God?” She asked. And “Isn’t Goddess also God?” “Isn’t it all the same as long was we’re all coming from our ‘higher’ self?” she asked. So I saw this warranted a longer and much deeper discussion. I initially thought I should formulate a response and post it as a Page or Tab in our website, but after some reflection with Helen, I saw how much better it would be if we replied to this question as a diverse and creative collective. I surely do not have all the answers as an individual but perhaps together, we can come up with something more whole, colorful and satisfying. I do hope you will contribute a little something! We are always grateful for all that you have to share.
(Special Post) Why I choose to be an RTM contributor by Glenys Livingstone

The contribution of my writing to Return to Mago E-Magazine has evolved since it began four years ago, into a deeply mutually enhancing relationship. The time and effort taken to write carefully and in alignment with my heartfelt passions and insights, and then to be able to publish to a receptive audience, has always been rewarding – for me personally and apparently for many who received it.

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 …
Lammas/Late Summer in PaGaian tradition By Glenys Livingstone Ph.D.

This essay is an edited excerpt from Chapter 5 of the author’s book PaGaian Cosmology: Re-inventing Earth-based Goddess Religion. Traditionally the dates for this Seasonal Moment are: Southern Hemisphere – Feb. 1st/2nd Northern Hemisphere – August 1st/2nd however the actual astronomical date varies. See archaeoastronomy.com for the actual moment. Lammas table/altar Lammas, as it is often called[1], is the meridian point of the first dark quarter of the year, between Summer Solstice and Autumn Equinox; it is after the light phase has peaked and is complete, and as such, I choose it as a special celebration of the Crone/Old One. Within the Celtic tradition, it is the wake of Lugh, the Sun King, and it is the Crone that reaps him. But within earlier Goddess traditions, all the transformations were Hers[2]; and the community reflected on the reality that the Mother aspect of the Goddess, having come to fruition, from Lammas on would enter the Earth and slowly become transformed into the Old Woman-Hecate-Cailleach aspect …[3] I dedicate Lammas to the face of the Old One, just as Imbolc, its polar opposite on the Wheel in Old European tradition, is dedicated to the Virgin/Maiden face. The Old One, the Dark and Shining One, has been much maligned, so to celebrate Her can be more of a challenge in our present cultural context. Lammas may be an opportunity to re-aquaint ourselves with the Crone in her purity, to fall in love with Her again. I state the purpose of the seasonal gathering thus: This is the season of the waxing dark. The seed of darkness born at the Summer Solstice now grows … the dark part of the days grows visibly longer. Earth’s tilt is taking us back away from the Sun. This is the time when we celebrate dissolution; each unique self lets go, to the Darkness. It is the time of ending, when the grain, the fruit, is harvested. We meet to remember the Dark Sentience, the All-Nourishing Abyss, She from whom we arise, in whom we are immersed, and to whom we return. This is the time of the Crone, the Wise Dark One, who accepts and receives our harvest, who grinds the grain, who dismantles what has gone before. She is Hecate, Lillith, Medusa, Kali, Erishkagel,Chamunda, Coatlique – Divine Compassionate One, She Who Creates the Space to Be. We meet to accept Her transformative embrace, trusting Her knowing, which is beyond all knowledge. Lammas is the seasonal moment for recognizing that we dissolve into the “night” of the Larger Organism of whom we are part – Gaia. It is She who is immortal, from whom we arise, and into whom we dissolve. This celebration is a development of what was born in the transition of Summer Solstice; the dark sentient Source of Creativity is honoured. The autopoietic space in us recognizes Her, is comforted by Her, desires Her self-transcendence and self-dissolution; Lammas is an opportunity to be with our organism’s love of Larger Self – this Native Place. We have been taught to fear Her, but at this Seasonal Moment we may remember that She is the compassionate One, deeply committed to transformation, which is actually innate to us. Whereas at Imbolc/Early Spring, we shone forth as individual, multiforms of Her; at Lammas, we small individual selves remember that we are She and dissolve back into Her. We are the Promise of Lifeas was affirmed at Imbolc, but we are the Promise of Her- it is not ours to hold. We identify as the sacred Harvest at Lammas; our individual harvest isHer Harvest. We are the process itself – we are Gaia’s Process. Wedo not breathe (though of course we do), we borrow the breath, for a while. It is like a relay: we pick the breath up, create what we do during our time with it, and pass it on. The harvest we reap in our individual lives is important, andit is for us only short term; it belongs to the Cosmos in the long term. Lammas is a time for “making sacred” – as “sacrifice” may be understood; we may “make sacred” ourselves. As Imbolc was a time for dedication, so is Lammas. This is the wisdom of the phase of the Old One. She is the aspect that finds the “yes” to letting go, to loving the Larger Self, beyond all knowledge, and steps into the power of the Abyss; encouraged and nourished by the harvest, She will gradually move into the balance of Autumn Equinox/Mabon, the next Sesaonal Moment on the year’s cycle. References: Durdin-Robertson, Lawrence. The Year of the Goddess.Wellingborough: Aquarian Press, 1990. Gray, Susan. The Woman’s Book of Runes.New York: Barnes and Noble, 1999. Livingstone, Glenys. PaGaian Cosmology: Re-inventing Earth-based Goddess Religion. NE: iUniverse, 2005. McLean, Adam. The Four Fire Festivals. Edinburgh: Megalithic Research Publications, 1979. Notes: [1]See note 3. [2]Susan Gray, The Woman’s Book of Runes,p. 18. This is also to say that the transformations are within each being, not elsewhere, that is the “sacrifice” is not carried out by another external to the self, as could be and have been interpreted from stories of Lugh or Jesus. [3]Lawrence Durdin-Robertson, The Year of the Goddess, p.143, quoting Adam McLean, Fire Festivals,p.20-22. Another indication of the earlier tradition beneath “Lughnasad” is the other name for it in Ireland of “Tailltean Games”. Taillte was said to be Lugh’s foster-mother, and it was her death that was being commemmorated (Mike Nichols, “The First Harvest”, Pagan Alliance Newsletter NSW Australia). The name “Tailtunasad” has been suggested for this Seasonal Moment, by Cheryl Straffon editor of Goddess Alive! I prefer the name of Lammas, although some think it is a Christian term: however some sources say that Lammas means “feast of the bread” which is how I have understood it, and surely such a feast pre-dates Christianity. It is my opinion that the incoming Christians preferred “Lammas” to “Lughnasad”: the term itself is not Christian in origin. The evolution of all these things is complex, and we may evolve them further with our careful thoughts and experience.
The Ceremonial Creative Cosmos 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. The Cosmos is a ceremony, a ritual. Dawn and dusk, seasons, supernovas – it is an ongoing Event of coming into being and passing away. The Cosmos is always in flux, and we exist as participants in this great ritual event, this “cosmic ceremony of seasonal and diurnal rhythms” which frame “epochal dramas of becoming,” as Charlene Spretnak describes it.[i] Swimme and Berry describe the universe as a dramatic reality, a Great Conversation of announcement and response.[ii]Ritual/ceremony[iii] may be the human conscious response to the announcements of the Universe – an act of conscious participation. Ceremony then may be understood as a microcosmos[iv] – a human-sized replication of the Drama, the Dynamic we find ourselves in. Swimme and Berry describe ritual as an ancient response humans have to the awesome experience of witnessing the coming to be and the passing away of things; they say that a “ritual mode of expression” is from its beginning “the manner in which humans respond to the universe, just as birds respond by flying or as fish respond by swimming.”[v] It is the way in which we as humans, as a species, may respond to this awesome experience of being and becoming, how we may hold the beauty and the terror. Humans have exhibited this tendency to ritualize since the earliest times of our unfolding: evidence so far reveals burial sites dating back one hundred thousand years, as mentioned in the previous chapter. We often went to huge effort in these matters, that is almost incomprehensible to the modern industrialised econocentric mind: the precise placing of huge stones in circles such as found at Stonehenge and the creation of complex sites such as Silbury Hill may be expressions of some priority, indicating that econocentric thinking – such as tool making, finding shelter and food, was not enough or not separate from the participation in Cosmic events. Ritual seems to have expressed, and still does actively express for some peoples, something essential to the human – a way of being integral with our Cosmic Place, which was not perceived as separate from material sustenance, the Source of existence: thus it was a way perhaps of sensing “meaning” as it might be termed these days – or “relationship.” Swimme and Berry note that the order of the Universe has been experienced especially in the seasonal sequence of dissolution and renewal; this most basic pattern has been an ultimate referent for existence.[vi] The seasonal pattern contains within it the most basic dynamics of the Cosmos – desire, fullfilment, loss, transformation, creation, growth, and more. The annual ceremonial celebration of the seasonal wheel – the Earth-Sun sacred site within which we tour – can be a pathway to the Centre of these dynamics, a way of making sense of the pattern, a way of sensing it. One enters the Universe’s story. The Seasonal Moments when marked and celebrated in the art form of ceremony may be sens-ible ‘gateways’ through the flesh of the world[vii] to the Centre – which is omnipresent Creativity. Humans do ritual everyday – we really can’t help ourselves. It is simply a question of what rituals we do, what story we are telling ourselves, what we are “spelling”[viii] ourselves with – individually and collectively. 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”[ix] 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.[x] Ceremony then is a form of social action. NOTES: [i] Spretnak, States of Grace, 145. [ii] Swimme and Berry, The Universe Story, 153. [iii] I will use either or both of these terms at different times: I generally prefer “ceremony” as Kathy Jones defines it in Priestess of Avalon, Priestess of the Goddess, 319. She says that ritual involves a repeated set of actions which may contain spiritual or “mundane” elements (such as a daily ritual of brushing one’s teeth), “whereas ceremony is always a spiritual practice and may or may not include ritual elements.” The PaGaian seasonal celebrations/events are thus most kin to “ceremony,” although I do not perceive any action as “mundane.” However, “ritual” is more commonly used to speak of how humans have conversed with cosmos/Earth. [iv] Spretnak, States of Grace, 145. [v] Swimme and Berry, The Universe Story, 152-153. [vi] Ibid. [vii] Abram speaks of “matter as flesh” in The Spell of the Sensuous, 66, citing Maurice Merleau-Ponty, The Invisible and the Invisible (Evanston, Illinois: Northwestern University Press, 1968). [viii] Starhawk used this term on her email list in 2004 to describe the story-telling we might do to bring forth the changes we desire. [ix] A term used by Gloria Feman Orenstein in The Reflowering of the Goddess (New York: Pergamon Press, 1990), 147. [x] As my doctoral thesis supervisor Dr. Susan Murphy once described it to me in conversation REFERENCES: Abram, David. The Spell of the Sensuous. New York: Vintage Books, 1997. Jones, Kathy. Priestess of Avalon, Priestess of the Goddess. Glastonbury: Ariadne Publications, 2006. Orenstein, Gloria Feman. The Reflowering of the Goddess. New York: Pergamon Press, 1990. Spretnak, Charlene. States of Grace: The Recovery of Meaning in the Postmodern Age. San Francisco: HarperCollins, 1993. Swimme, Brian and Berry, Thomas. The Universe Story: From the Primordial Flaring Forth to the Ecozoic Era. New York: HarperCollins, 1992.
Summer Solstice Poiesis by Glenys Livingstone Ph.D.

Seasonal Wheel of Stones Both Summer and Winter Solstices may be understood as particular celebrations of the Mother/Creator aspect of the Creative Triplicity of the Cosmos (often named as the Triple Goddess). The Solstices are Gateways between the dark and the light parts of the annual cycle of our orbit around Sun; they are both sacred interchanges, celebrating deep relationship, communion, with the peaking of fullness of either dark or light, and the turning into the other. The story is that the Young One/Virgin aspect of Spring has matured and now at Summer Solstice her face changes into the Mother of Summer. Summer Solstice may be understood as a birthing place, as Winter Solstice may also be, but at this time the transiton is from light back into dark, returning to larger self, from whence we come: it is the full opening, the “Great Om”, the Omega. I represent the Summer Solstice on my altar wheel of stones with the Omega-yonic shape of the horseshoe. I take this inspiration from Barbara Walker’s description of the horseshoe in her Woman’s Encyclopaedia of Myths and Secrets, as “Goddess’s symbol of ‘Great Gate’[i]”; and her later connection of it with the Sheil-na-gig yoni display[ii]. Sri Yantra. Ref: A.T. Mann & Jane Lyle, p.75 Summer Solstice is traditonally understood as a celebration of Union between Lover and Beloved, and the deep meaning of that is essentially a Re-Union: of sensed manifest form (the Lover) with All-That-Is (the Beloved). This may be understood as a fullness of expression of this manifest form, the small selves that we are, being all that we may be, and giving of this fullness of being in every moment: that would be a blissful thing, like a Summerland as it was understood to be. The boundaries of the self are broken, they merge: all is given away – all is poured forth, the deep rich dark stream of life flows out. It is a Radiance, the shining forth of the self which is at the same time a give-away, a consuming of the self.In traditional PaGaian Summer ceremony each participant is affirmed as “Gift”[iii]; and that is understood to mean that we are both given and received – all at the same time. The breath is given and life is received. We receive the Gift with each breath in, and we are the Gift with each breath out. As we fulfill our purpose, as we give ourselves over, we dissolve, as the Sun is actually doing in every moment. The “moment of grace”[iv]that is Summer Solstice, marks the stillpoint in the height of Summer, when light reaches its peak, and Earth’s tilt causes the Sun to begin its “decline”: that is, its movement back to the South in the Northern Hemisphere (in June), and back to the North in the Southern Hemisphere (in December). Whereas at Winter Solstice when out of the darkness it is light that is “born”, as it may be expressed: at the peak of Summer, in the warmth of expansion, it is the dark that is “born”. Insofar as Winter Solstice is about birth, then Summer Solstice is about death, the passing into the harvest. It is a celebration of profound mystical significance, which may be confronting in a culture where the dark is not valued for its creative telios; and it is noteworthy that Summer Solstice has not gained any popularity of the kind that Winter Solstice has globally (as ‘Christmas’). The re-union with All-That-Is is not generally considered a jolly affair, though when understood it may actually be blissful. Full Flowers to the Flames Summer is a time when many grains ripen, deciduous trees peak in their greenery, lots of bugs and creatures are bursting with business and creativity: yet in that ripening, is the turning, the fulfilment of creativity, and it is given away. 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. Summer is like the rose, as it says in this tradition[v]– blossom and thorn … beautiful, fragrant, full – yet it comes with thorns that open the skin. All is given over. All is given over: the feast is for enjoying With the daily giving of ourselves in our everyday acts, we each feed the world with our lives: we do participate in creating the cosmos, as many indigenous traditions still recognise. Just as our everyday lives are built on the fabric of the work/creativity of all who went before us, so the future, as well as the present, is built on ours, no matter how humble we may think our contribution is. We may celebrate the blossoming of our creativity then, which is Creativity, and the bliss of that blossoming, at a time when Earth and Sun are pouring forth their abundance, giving it away. In this Earth-based cosmology, what is given is the self fully realized and celebrated, not a self that is abnegated – just as the fruit gives its full self: as Starhawk says, “Oneness is attained not through losing the self, but through realizing it fully”[vi]. Everyday tasks can be joyful, if valued, and graciously received: I think of Eastern European women singing as they work in the fields – it is a common practice still for many. We are the Bread of Life Summer Solstice celebrates Mother Sun coming to fullness in Her creative engagement with Earth, and we are the Sun. Solstice Moment is a celebration of communion, the feast of life – which is for the enjoying, not for the holding onto. We do desire to be received, to be consumed – it is our joy and our grief. Brian Swimme says: “Every moment of our lives disappears into the ongoing story of the Universe. Our creativity is energising the whole[vii]”. As it may be ceremoniously affirmed: we are (each is) …
(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
A Southern Hemisphere Perspective on Place by Glenys Livingstone Ph.D.

This essay is an edited excerpt from the Introduction to the author’s book PaGaian Cosmology: Re-inventing Earth-based Goddess Religion, which was an outcome of her doctoral research/thesis entitled The Female Metaphor – Virgin, Mother, Crone – of the Dynamic Cosmological Unfolding: Her Embodiment in Seasonal Ritual as Catalyst for Personal and Cultural Change. This doctoral work was in turn a documentation and deeper research of the Seasonal ceremonial celebrations that the author was already engaged in for over a decade. The whole of the process is here named as her “Search”. photo credit: David Widdowson, Astrovisuals. The site of seasonal ceremonial celebrations will always be significant. In my case, the place in which I have created them has been notably in the Southern Hemisphere of out Planet Earth. The fact of my context being thus – the Southern Hemisphere – had contributed in the past to my deep internalized sense of being “other”, and dissociated from my senses, since almost all stories told were based in Northern Hemisphere perspective. Yet at the same time this context of inhabiting the Southern Hemisphere contributed to my deep awareness of Gaia’s Northern Hemisphere and Her reciprocal Seasonal Moment: thus, awareness of the whole Planet. My initial confusion about the sensed Cosmos – as a Place, became a clarity about the actual Cosmos – which remained inclusive of my sensed Cosmos. PaGaian reality – the reality of our Gaian “country” – is that the whole Creative Dynamic happens all the time, all at once. The “other”, the opposite, is always present – underneath and within the Moment. This has affected my comprehension of each Sabbat/Seasonal Moment, its particular beauty but also a fullness of its transitory nature. Many in the Northern Hemisphere – even today – have no idea that the Southern Hemisphere has a ‘different’ lunar, diurnal, seasonal perspective; and because of this there often is a rigidity of frame of reference for place, language, metaphor and hence cosmology[i]. Indeed over the years of industrialized culture it has appeared to matter less to many of both hemispheres, including the ‘author-ities’, the writers of culture and cosmos. And such ‘author-ity’ and northern-hemispheric rigidity is also assumed by many more Earth-oriented writers as well[ii]. There has been consistent failure to take into account a whole Earth perspective: for example, the North Star does not need to be the point of sacred reference – there is great Poetry to be made of the void of the South Celestial Pole. Nor need the North be rigidly associated with the Earth element and darkness, nor is there really an “up” and a “down” cosmologically speaking. A sense and accountof the Southern Hemisphere perspective with all that that implies metaphorically as well as sens-ibly, seems vitally important to comprehending and sensing a whole perspective and globe – a flexibility of mind, and coming to inhabit the real Cosmos, hence enabling what I have named as a ‘PaGaian’ cosmological perspective, a whole Earth perspective. It has also been of particular significance that my Search has been birthed in the ancient continent of Australia. It is the age of the exposed rock in this Land, present to her inhabitants in an untarnished, primal mode that is significant. This Land Herself has for millennia been largely untouched by human war, conquest and concentrated human agriculture and disturbance. The inhabitants of this Land dwelt here in a manner that was largely peaceful and harmonious, for tens of thousands of years. Therefore the Land Herself may speak more clearly I feel; one may be the recipient of direct transmission of Earth in one of her most primordial modes. Her knowledge may be felt more clearly – one may be taught by Her. I think that the purity of this transmission is a significant factor in the development of the formal research I undertook – in my chosen methodology and in what I perceived in the process, and documented; from my beginnings as a country girl, albeit below my conscious mind in the subtle realms of which I knew little, to the more conscious times of entering into the process of the Search. In this Land that birthed me, ‘spirit’ is not remote and abstract, it is felt in Her red earth[iii]. Aboriginal elder David Mowaljarlai described, “This is a spirit country”[iv], and all of Her inhabitants, including non-Indigenous, may be affected by the strength of Her organic communication. It took me until the later stages of my research to realize the need to state the importance of this particular place for the advent of the research: the significance of both the land of Australia, and the specific region of the Blue Mountains in which I was now dwelling, as well as the community of this particular region, which all lent itself to the whole process. The lateness of this perception on my part, has to do with the extent of my previous alienation; but the fact that it did occur, is perhaps at least in part attributable to the unfolding awakening to my habitat that was part of the project/process. The specific region of the “Blue Mountains” – as Europeans have named them – is significant in that I don’t think that this project/process could have happened as it did in just any region. David Abram says, “The singular magic of a place is evident from what happens there, from what befalls oneself or others when in its vicinity. To tell of such events is implicitly to tell of the particular power of that site, and indeed to participate in its expressive potency[v]”. Blue Mountains, Australia: Dharug and Gundungurra Country The Blue Mountains are impressive ancient rock formations, an uplifted ancient seabed, whose “range of rock types and topographical situations has given rise to distinct plant communities”[vi]; and the presence of this great variation of plant communities, “especially the swamps, offer an abundance and variety of food sources, as well as habitats for varied fauna”[vii]. I feel that this is the case for …

(Bell Essay 6) The Magoist Whale Bell: Unraveling the Cetacean Code of Korean Temple Bells by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang, Ph.D.

[Author’s Note: The part 6 and ensuing sequels are a new development from the original essay sequels on Korean Temple Bells and Magoism that first published January 11, 2013 in this current magazine. See (Bell Essay 1) Ancient Korean Bells and Magoism by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang.] Southern right whale from Wikimedia Commons Introduction The Korean temple bell is no mere Buddhist device. Calling it a Sillan Esoteric Buddhist invention in origin only adds to its mystification. Commissioned by Sillan rulers who represented traditional Magoist shaman rulers, Sillan temple bells administer sonic balance within and without all beings once and for all. In short, the Sillan temple bell reenacts the Magost Cosmogony HERE and NOW.[1] Engendering resonance to the self-creative power of cosmic music, Yulryeo (Rhythms and Tones), the Korean temple bell summons the paradisiacal reality of the Creatrix, Mago. Cast in the form of a female body, the bell structurally embodies the gynocentric principle of the Creatrix, the Mago Way. I have discussed earlier such features as nine nipples and apsaras. Here the dragon figure (Yongnyu) and the sound tube (Yongtong or Eumtong) in its head are focused. Multi-functional and polysemic, the dragon is there not only to be the loop for hanging but also to envelop the sound tube, seen below. Among others, the sound tube stands out as a distinctive feature of Korean temple bells that distinguishes them from their Chinese and Japanese counterparts. What is the sound tube of the Korean temple bell? Why do Korean temple bells have a sound tube? Answers to these questions concern a yet-to-be-unraveled undergirding theme of the Korean temple bell, the whale. Although its origin is debated, the sound tube signals Sillan cetacean veneration. In the mytho-history of Magoism, Silla (57 BCE-935 CE) stands as a prominent ancient Korean state, which succeeded and flowered ancient Magoist cetaceanism. Sillan cetacenism defines Silla as a new government that succeeded Old Magoist confederacies. In this context, we can assess a whale-shaped wooden mallet, which is no mere decorative addition to the bell. Nonetheless, the whale-shaped mallet is only a tip of the cetacean meaning of the bell. A whale (고래 Gorae in Korean) is the very model that the Korean temple bell (the bell hereafter) takes after, especially for its vocalizations. The bell mimics the music of whales. While the latter is heard in water, the former is heard in land. Its cetacean names corroborate such an assessment. The bell is called Janggyeong (長鯨 Eternal Whale), Gyeongjong (鯨鐘 Whale Bell), Hwagyeong (華鯨 Splendid Whale), or Geogyeong (巨鯨 Gigantic Whale). As such, the sound of the bell is alternatively called “the sound of whale (鯨音gyeongeum).” Ancient Koreans perceived whales, pre-human in origin and once a land animal, as the messenger of the Creatrix, Mago. In folk traditions, the phrase, “riding the back of a whale,” was widely popularized among East Asians throughout history, which means that one returns to Mago, by riding the back of a whale upon death. That ancient Koreans were cetacean venerators remains esoteric. The cetacean code of Korean temple bells holds the key to unraveling what has gone suppressed in patriarchy, the Magoist Cosmogony. By the Magoist Cosmogony, I mean a systematic origin story of our universe, as is recounted in the Budoji (Epic of the Emblem City). I have summarized the Budoji’s cosmogonic chapters in my aforementioned book, The Mago Way, as follows: The Magoist Cosmogony highlights the sonic movement of cosmic elements as the Creatrix. In the beginning, there was light. The movement/vibration of light (cosmic music) in the universe caused creation to take place over eons. Stars were born in the previous cosmic era. In due time, Mago was born together with the Earth (the Stronghold of Mago) with her moons. Her (self-)emergence marks the beginning of earthly history. Mago listened to and acted in tune with the cyclic movement of the cosmic music. In further due time, S/HE bore two daughters, Gunghui (Goddess Gung) and Sohui (Goddess So) parthenogenetically. This Primordial Triad laid the foundation for the earthly environment for all species. Mago, assisted by HER two daughters, orchestrated the terrestrial plan to bring acoustic balance in harmony with the cosmic music/sound/vibration. S/HE delegated HER descendants to cultivate and manage the sonic equilibrium of the Earth [Italics added].[2] Precisely, the Sillan temple bell encodes the message that whales are the paragon of Magoists whose mandate is “to cultivate and manage the sonic equilibrium of the Earth.” Restoring Magoist cetaceanism is metamorphic. Antithetical to the very establishment of patriarchy, ancient Magoist Korean cetacean practice unfolds the Other World that has been ever HERE. This essay, assessing the sound tube as a Magoist code of Sillan cetaceanism, aims to delineate how the Magoist cetacean meaning came to be encoded in the sound tube of the bell by the Sillan rulers of the 7th and 8th centuries. In decoding the cetacean message, we are led to the myth of Manpasikjeok (萬波息笛 the pacifying flute that defeats all, hereafter the pacifying flute), a Sillan royal treasure that is hermeneutically construed as made of the tusk of a narwhal. A group of Korean scholars maintain that the sound tube was designed to represent the pacifying flute. The task of this essay is to go further and to re-read the myth of Manpasikjeok—a story of King Sinmun the Great (r. 681-692) of Silla (57 BCE-935 CE) who was told by a sea dragon to create a flute out of a mysterious bamboo tree growing in a mysterious mountain in the East Sea, alternatively known as the Sea of Whales—from the Magoist perspective. This story has been written and misinterpreted as an enigmatic Buddhist story. I hold that “Ruler (King or Queen) the Great (大王 Daewang),” unlike other kings of the ancient world, does not refer to a patriarchal monarch. It is a Magoist cetacean term that is related with “Ruler Whale the Great (Daewang Gorae),” referring to the blue whale for its gigantic size or whales collectively. By adopting the cetacean title …
(Mago Stronghold Essay 3) The Forgotten Primordial Paradise by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang, Ph.D.

Part 3: Indelible Old Magoism Encrypted in China’s “Mago Stronghold” The Mago word “Mago Stronghold” has narrowly survived patriarchal linguistic censorships. Sometimes it is preferably or deliberately employed as a euphemism. Other times, it is replaced with random words. But it has never been completely wiped out from written and oral texts. The Mago term, constituting the very foundation of patriarchy, is indestructible. Having survived, the term “Mago Stronghold” debunks the plot intent to magna-matricide. It unearths the buried and re-members the severed. Extant Mago Strongholds in Korea and in China differ not only in number but also in implication. Just like Magoist data in general, Korea surpasses China by a large number of extant Mago Strongholds. It is a corollary that China does not have much to do with Mago words in that ancient China “entered the stage of the patriarchal society around 5,000 years ago”.[1] Magoist materials are systematically dismissed as dubious or apocryphal data, as pre-Chinese Old Magoist Korea remains uncharted in Sinocentric East Asian historiography. Readers are reminded of the meaning of Old Magoist Korea, the socio-political-religious conglomeration of the People of the Great Goddess originated from pre-Chinese times. It is by definition non-ethnocentric and pre-nationalist.[2] Magoism substantiates the derivative nature of ancient Chinese history from Old Magoist Korea. It unveils that Old Korea was there long before the establishment of the Chinese patriarchal rule. The Mago Stronghold talk debunks the fantasy of ancient China as the forerunner rule. It is unknown how many Mago Stronghold places may have existed before or survived today in present China. One I found is located in Cangzhou, Hebei Province, according to the Atlas of Heavenly Harbor Government (天津府總圖, Tianjinfuzongtu) published in 1805. The historical accuracy of this place is backed by an earlier account in the Records of the United Great Ming (Damingyitongzhi 大明一統志), a fifteenth century geography book from the Ming dynasty. Its brief record concerns the visit of Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE) to Mago Stronghold, as it reads: Mago Stronghold is located in Cangzhou on the border of old Qingchi-xian (Clear Lake County). Emperor Wu of Han took an administrative tour to this place and offered rites. Thus came the place-name, Mago Stronghold.[3] The Cangzhou Mago Stronghold, noted for the second century BCE anecdote, makes its history two millennia old at the least. When Magoism is made invisible, however, the long history or the royal association of Mago Stronghold is systematically censored as non-data in official historiography of China, which is the norm for East Asian historiographies. Given that Emperor Wu (141-87 BCE) of Han is known as one of the most accomplished rulers in Chinese history, it may appear odd that he is associated with the Mago term, “Mago Stronghold.” Indeed, the account may seem to mismatch Emperor Wu of ancient China with Mago Stronghold. And Chinese scribes would not have fabricated the anecdote. It is indeed a rare case that the Mago term has survived in Chinese official documents. That said, we want to ask if the two terms, Emperor Wu of Han and Mago Stronghold, are irreconcilable per se? My answer is no. They appear to be at odds only to the modern Sinocentric mind. In fact, the above anecdote is highly evocative of the concept of Heaven (天 Tian) worshipped by ancient Chinese rulers. Emperor Wu’s visitation and officiation at Mago Stronghold, which may have been known as Heavenly Stronghold (天城 Tiancheng),[4] account for the ancient ruler’s worship of Heaven. It is of utmost importance for Chinese rulers to observe rites and customs that venerate Heaven, for it is deemed that Heaven selects rulers and endows them with the right to rule. Accordingly, ancient Chinese rulers are known to have taken the title of “the Son of Heaven 天子” and ruled with “the Mandate of Heaven 天命.” Nonetheless, the problem with the Chinese thought of Heaven lies in the fact that Heaven is equated with the supreme god (上帝, Supreme Emperor) or an impersonal quality of the divine. That Heaven is a euphemism for “Mago” was known to the populace. In various sources, Mago is referred to as “Heavenly Deity.”[5] S/HE and Magoism are sometimes equated with the impersonal term, “Heaven.” For example, Mago Lake (Maguji in Chinese) is also called Heavenly Lake (天池 Tianchi in Chinese) in oral tradition.[6] The fact that, according to the Budoji, Heavenly Mountain is known as the residence of the Hwanggung, the eldest clan community in the post-paradise world, is no accident. When its semantic tie to “Mago” is lost, “Heaven” is stripped of the Magoist implication. The surviving term, “Mago Stronghold,” however, debunks magna-matricide in the modern mind. It is inferred that Emperor Wu officiated the Magoist rite at Mago Stronghold as the Son of Heaven according to the Mandate of Heaven. The scheme of Old Magoism puts the above anecdote into a context: Emperor Wu emulated the royal tradition of ancient Magoist shaman queens, the representative of the Great Goddess who is the ultimate sovereign of the Earth, Mago Stronghold. Emperor Wu and Mago Stronghold were not at odds with each other in an earlier time of ancient Chinese history. Written together, they indicate that Magoism was acknowledged by Emperor Wu of Han. Put differently, magna-matricide was not committed or completed in the second century BCE China. Were ancient Chinese rulers including Emperor Wu of Han Magoist? This question is difficult to answer, for each ruler of ancient China may have taken an ambivalent attitude toward Magoism to a varying degree. Some may have been pseudo-Magoists. Ancient Chinese rulers, representing the establishment of Chinese monarchy, which marked the onset of patriarchal history in East Asia, are distinguished from traditional Magoist shaman queens who defended the Magoist confederal system of Old Korea. Nonetheless, they needed the Oracle of the Great Goddess to legitimize themselves as rulers. In pre-patriarchal East Asia, Old Magoist Korea was the source of power, technology, and civilization for any ruler to draw from. Evidence shows that …
(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