January 6, 2016October 2, 2019 RTM Editors1 Comment

(Book review) The Mago Way by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang reviewed by Judy Foster

(For more info on The Mago Way, see here.) Helen Hye-Sook Hwang’s intriguing study, The Mago Way: Re-discovering Mago, the Great Goddess from East Asia (Volume 1), presents her discovery Read More …

December 28, 2015October 2, 2019 RTM EditorsLeave a comment

(Essay) The Oceanic Goddess: Near Oceania: Papua New Guinea by Judy Foster

‘Trying to discover Pacific women’s roles and status, (and by implication, the Oceanic goddess) is problematic: women’s cultures, rituals, and symbols are there, despite contrary information. Pacific women are only Read More …

June 8, 2015October 2, 2019 RTM EditorsLeave a comment

(Essay) Physical Origins of The Goddess? by Judy Foster

First Wave: The Lower Palaeolithic Period – On the Physical Origins of the Goddess: Mother Earth Read More …

November 3, 2014October 2, 2019 Mago Work AdminLeave a comment

(Essay) Why I admire the goddess by Judy Foster

For me, the goddess, the female deity, is not one but many; she has reached across all cultures worldwide, has had many aspects and attributes, and has been known by Read More …

September 8, 2014October 2, 2019 Mago Work AdminLeave a comment

(Book extract) Invisible Women of Prehistory by Judy Foster

An extract from Invisible Women of Prehistory : Three million years of peace, six thousand years of war by Judy Foster with Marlene Derlet The Indian Neolithic Period (9,000–5,000 BP) The earliest Read More …

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

(Essay) Snake Story by Judy Foster

Australian snakes are among the most beautiful and efficient creatures of the bush. They come in a range of sizes with varying degrees of toxicity, or none at all, and, Read More …

August 7, 2014March 19, 2022 Mago Work AdminLeave a comment

(Meet Mago Contributor) Judy Foster

[We are in sadness and gratitude to be informed of Judy Foster who passed away in the morning of March 16 2022. Her daughter, Sarah Winter, stays close to the Read More …

(Poem) Nothing is never nothing by Donna Snyder

The Night with the Genii of Study and Love – Pedro Américo de Figueiredo e Melo (1843–1905) from public domain. A message Written for a bottle with no ocean. The body atremble, the mouth a desert. Sirens so far away but still the jaws grind. Not even the dogs know what dogs always know. Hands thrust into what becomes a salivating mouth. Birds fall, frozen, from the sky to unyielding ground. Words without meaning. Ask the women, they all will tell you, An utterance shuts out objective meaning. Oxygen sucks the life out of a lying mouth. Not even the shadow knits truth from facts. The first page missing, the first line begins, But that was long after Night arose from nothing. Chaos, Dark void of space, Counter-intuitively comprising Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire. The gods both spirit and being, But their answers illusory, begging the question. Something from nothing, they tell us again, Yet nothing was ever made of something. Chaos, The first something from which gods appeared, And from those primordial beings, everything. A vacuum that yielded only luminous flashes Yet gave birth to Night and her brother, Darkness. And when Night and Darkness coupled, Night Gave birth to Light and Day, Sleep and Death. Time killed Space, his father, While Night, hidden in her cave, made oracles, Listened to drums, the raucous timpani, the zills, The celestial bodies’ thrum, as her daughter judged, Moving the universe in the rhythms of ecstatic dance. Time dreamed, prophesied the future, drunk on honey, Oblivious to Retribution that chained him within Night’s cave. A blank book No longer wholly incomplete. Ink now scratched over ruled lines Filled with fragments, a two-lane highway, Leaves plucked from a boll of cotton. A vignette of tin roofs and stucco shacks. A stalk of bronze maize braided to the dusty green. An artist’s eye No better than the eye of a witness in a court of law, Each untrustworthy as the basis for a just outcome. The mere act of observation will change the observed. Time lies incognizant of retribution yet prophesying still. With neither bottle nor letter, the world spins in a lonely sea. Previously published in the Western Voices of Setu, this poem is included in Snyder’s newest collection of poetry, As Meaningful As Any Other (Gutter Snob Books 2022) (Meet Mago Contributor) Donna Snyder https://www.magoism.net/2013/04/meet-mago-contributor-donna-snyder/
(Essay) The Equinoxes as Story of Redemption: Sacred Balance of Maternal Creativity by Glenys Livingstone Ph.D.

At 11:02 UT March 20th it will be Autumn and Spring Equinox at the same time on the Planet – the Seasonal Moments of balance of light and dark that occur in the dark part and in the light part of the year respectively. The story essentially enacted and told at these seasonal transitions is one of descent and return – the mystery and power of loss and return. The Autumn Equinox (sometimes named as Mabon) is inseparable from the Spring Equinox in its revelation. Spring Equinox is frequently named as Eostar, from which the Christian rituals of Easter have taken their name since the Middle Ages of the Common Era. The most popular story of descent and return in the Christian West, and also adopted within other cultures around the globe, is that of Jesus: a story celebrated in the Christian Easter rituals. Jesus is regarded literally by many, and at least nominally by many more, as the Redeemer – shaman if you like – who saves all of creation from eternal alienation and loss. Such stories of redemption may be understood in essence, as a desire for the restoration of Beauty – a sense of Cosmic order. The fact that Jesus’s story as told is based on more ancient stories of descent and return remains unkown to many, and the fact that the Cosmos Herself reveals such story often remains out of reach – disabling the perception of stories of descent and return that may be witnessed in what was/is most likely the primary place of such revelation – the phases of the Moon and seasonal experiences. Such Cosmic/Earth-based story may be more useful in our times, for the regaining of deep relationship with our place of being, since the saviour or redemptive quality – the return of Beauty – is revealed within our creative context Herself, and all participate in it by nature of being and becoming. It does not require an external entity to do the dying on behalf of all and resurrect by extraordinary miracle. The initiates who attended the ancient celebrations of the Autumn Equinox in Greece – the Eleusinian Mysteries – were awestruck when the ear of wheat was upheld: they got something in that moment, that the cut wheat held within it. It was Seed, a numinous reality, a holy thing. Both Equinoxes celebrate a sacred balance of loss and return which are inseparable, and they may both be understood in the Mystery of the Seed. The Seed essentially is, and represents, deep Creativity, that manifests in the flower of Spring and the fruit of the harvest in Autumn: seed becomes fruit, fruit becomes seed, as is commonly spoken in Pagan ceremony[i], and illustrated in the diametric slicing of an apple which reveals the core – the Kore, understood as the Daughter-Self within the Mother, in the heart-intelligence of the Mother, illustrating the continuity of the life thread. It is a religious relationship, expressed in icons of the Mother Demeter handing wheat to the Daughter Persephone. Such an icon came to be central to the Autumn Equinox rituals as we do them at my place, wherein the celebrant as Demeter hands each participant stalks of wheat tied with thin red ribbon/thread. The rituals of Autumn Equinox season express that the beauty and sustenance (the harvest) that we may enjoy everyday, unfold from the underworld, the deep dark Earth – into which the Seed goes. The metaphor expresses a stepping into the creative power of the Abyss: that the ancients could see in the Seed, and in the vulva shape of it … the Mother-Source, which was/is, at the same time, Daughter and continuity: ontological renewal. It was an initiation into the vision, the knowledge of the Seed, as a thread of life that continues beneath the visible. The metaphor arose at a time in the human story when the power of the seed was coming to be understood – thus it is often said poetically that Demeter gifted humans with agriculture. Demeter, the Grain Mother, is Earth-Mother (Gimbutas 1991:141) and identified with the triangle motif – the pubic triangle – which represents the sacred Source of Life (Gimbutas 1991:145). For millennia in Greece, this Seasonal Moment was the holy celebration of Persephone’s descent to the Underworld, and in earliest traditions of female-based metaphor, Goddess-centred sympathies, evidence suggests that Her descent may be understood as voluntary, as Charlene Spretnak tells it in her re-storying (1992:105-118), and as Marija Gimbutas’ research indicates (1999:160-161). The Daughter-Self of the Mother knows the necessity of the journey into the dark, if life is to be renewed[ii]: She (the Seed) thus comforts the dead, the lost, with the promise of renewal, the restoration of Beauty. Her descent is also a journey to self-knowledge, to Wisdom, to becoming Mother: as such, She is shaman, Redeemer. It is said in Pagan tradition that Persephone becomes “Queen” of the Underworld – that is, it is a descent to “Sovereignty”: it is meant that She is Caretaker in that world, and also, that the self must be known, is the primary location of the Sacred. It is not a sovereignty that lords it over others, but a sovereignty that knows its agency, and will dare the Journey required. As Sovereign, Persephone is all three dynamics of a female trinity at once: She as Seed is New Young One, Old One and Mother, a sacred balance of Creativity. It is a threefold Wisdom of deep reverence for the small self, in deep relationship with the web of life, directly participating in Cosmic Creativity. The Demeter-Persephone Mysteries celebrate a familiar-ity with the Deep, a descent to power: a power that is understood as the capacity an apple tree has to make an apple – not as a capacity for control (Judy Grahn in Spretnak 1982:265). It is an authority earned by shamanic capacity to travel the depths of transformation, and of vision to see the Thread of Life that continues beneath the visible, …
(Pandemic Poem 5) Surely by Jyoti Wind

Blue window with ladder, NM. Photo by Jyoti Wind Surely, as light follows dark, we will emerge from this time with an acknowledged connectedness and keep it in daily awareness. Surely, through the fears we’ve faced, we will have a more acute sense of where we are in the scheme of things. Surely, our prior arrogance, thinking we had dominion and license to forge ahead gave way to humility to take forward. Surely, this virus as catalyst changes us, reminds us that as guests and stewards, we are in service to a greater consciousness. https://www.magoism.net/2020/08/meet-mago-contributor-jyoti-wind/
Dance Dramas as an Instrument of Political Change by Dorothea Kahena Viale, Ph.D.

There are many ways to create change in society. I was considered a good girl; parents liked when my friends and I played together. I was always creating games for us to play, and we never caused trouble. However, I started rebelling against the existent order of things from a young age. I grew up in Bed-Sty Brooklyn. My friends and I were all connected to a hyphenated American culture. I was Sicilian/American, others were Maltese/American, South America/American, Puerta Rican/American and so on. When I asked my mother where the white people were, she told me they had money lived in Manhattan. Later, I realized that she meant Northern Italians, British, etc. When we met someone new, it was common to ask their heritage. No big deal. So, it came as a shock when I introduced somebody new to the group and there was resistance. I had watched this girl looking out her window every day and she looked sad. I would cross the street and talk to her. We exchanged stories. I asked her to come play with us. She said her mom wouldn’t let come out. She had to watch her little brother. Well, my humble self, told her, don’t worry I will talk to your mother and convince her to let you play with us. And I did. She was black; African-American. When she joined us, I was in for a shock. My friends would not play with her. Why this one hyphen bothered them, with all the mixtures we had, was beyond me. So, I played with my new friend, and let my other friends fend for themselves. I realized that, while I had other black friends before, I had played where they lived, not on my block. After a very short while, my friends got over themselves and joined us. What helped was that I was the one that usually made-up new things to do, when they got bored. For example, I created a skating army. My mom worked in a sweat shop as a seamstress. Pay was low but one of the few benefits was that she could take home scraps of material that were too small to make clothes with. She made all of us these cute hats which we wore while skating. We were quite proud of our selves. I created routines (which I much, much later realized were choreographies). Having the hats made us feel connected. The next run ins were with the Church (Catholic, of course). The earliest that I remembered occurred when I was about 7 years old. I told a priest from the parish that I wanted to be an altar boy. He said that couldn’t happen, but that I could be an altar girl. I asked him what altar girls did. He replied that they cleaned the altar linens. I responded angrily, that if I wanted to do housework, I would help my mother at home. I demanded that he give me the address of our local bishop. I was sure the priest was just against women and couldn’t believe that it was a rule of the Church. But, of course, it was. Many decades later, I went to Italy as a part of a Women’s Studies in Religion course. Gianluigi Gugliametto, a fellow student, set up a fabulous tour in Italy which included a church where nuns ran the services. The one exception was that a priest consecrated the host which the nuns distributed to the congregation. A step forward. One last Catholic Church run in… When it came time for Confirmation, we had to choose a name for Confirmation. I chose Athena. The nun told me that it had to a saint’s name. I replied confidently that it was a Goddess name and wasn’t that better!? Umm…. None of them agreed. I was bummed. I ended up using the most common name Mary because I lost interest. As I grew and learned, the manner of things I felt needed change expanded. I have marched, voted, attended rallies and I have signed petitions. I was squished against a chain link fence while police dogs threatened to maul us (during the Nixon administration). I was a founding member of the Black Student Union. It was by request. When they asked, I looked at them, pointed at my skin, and looked at them questioning. They said we know, but, ummmmm, we need to have a white person to get the Union OK’d. OH! So, you need me to be your token? They replied yeah…Sorry but we trust you. Do I have to go to many meetings? No, you don’t have to go to any, unless you want to. I said you have a deal. But the action that has made the most impact, are the thirty something dance dramas I have created. All were created and performed at the Long Beach WomanSpirit Summer and Winter Solstice Faires. Some were performed also at MECDA (Middle Eastern Culture and Dance) events. The arts are profound way to create change because they engage people in a way that is not dry and draw them into the story. With the dance dramas, our stories were danced, had dialogue, and always had an interactive part to include the audience. I usually added a give-away to help them continue the energy after the fair. This including of the audience gave them ownership to continue action the taken when they got home. What was nice is that at our regular meetings, they would let me know how things went. The first or second one I created, I danced alone. It was for LBWS. A member of our community, who was overwhelmed attempted suicide. He, also, caused other problems. But, underneath, he was a good person. He had ended up in jail with no one to bail him out. He was very depressed. I created a dance drama, where I was dressed in black, the sky cooperated by being overcast. I don’t remember the words …
(Art Poem) Comforter of the Afflicted by Yvonne M. Lucia

COMFORTER OF THE AFFLICTED O Comforter of the Afflicted, hide me in the shelter of your wings. See me with the tender sight of your many-eyed vision. Caress my wounds with your soft healing touch. Open me to the paradox that the crucible of sorrow may bear unseen gifts. As your merciful care embraces and assists me, may I be a sacrament of presence to all whose sufferings touch my heart. Images & Prayers ©Yvonne M. Lucia 2013 Meet Mago Contributor, Yvonne M. Lucia and her other posts
(Poem) Artemis by Andrea Nicki

She rides her bike in the intense heat behind a man without a shirt on She keeps staring at the golden glow of his back a young Apollo riding the world How she would like to ride like that free of encumbrances the wind cooling her back people admiring her back’s golden glow her athletic form her good practical sense not a “booby trap,” a “she-devil” divinely inspirational an Artemis
(Art & Poetry) Beltane by Sudie Rakusin & Annie Finch

A WREATH FOR BELTANE May 1 May is here, come around, Find a place on the ground. Find a place on the ground, and the flowers rain down. And the flowers rain down. We are gorgeous today. We are gorgeous today, We’re alive for the May. We’re alive for the May, May is here. Come around. Meet Mago Contributor Sudie Rakusin and Meet Mago Contributor Annie Finch. Sudie Kakusin’s artwork is included in Celebrating Seasons of the Goddess (Lytle Creek, CA: Mago Books, 2017).
(Essay) Mental and Emotional Abuse: Surviving Patriarchy and Finding Healing Through the Goddess by Sharon Smith

Public domain image Twenty-eight years of my life. That’s how long I endured mental and emotional abuse and neglect from my first husband. That may seem crazy: I mean, why would anyone want to stay in an abusive relationship for so long? The answer is both simple and complicated. As is the case with so many women living in patriarchal cultures, the reason is twofold: 1) I had two children to care for; and 2) I didn’t think I could make it on my own.Patriarchy cripples women by making them dependent upon men for their existence. I was one of the crippled ones—a bird, whose wings had been clipped and whose body had been shoved into a cage called “Home”. I married right out of high school and had no work experience. So I literally depended upon my ex for everything.My ex, who had treated me like a queen before we were married, was “Mr. Happy Man” to the outside world. Everybody in our rural, upstate New York community loved him. He seemed jovial, always laughing and making corny jokes. But, after the ring was on my finger, when the door was shut to the outside world and we were alone in our home, the mask came off. He was not a “happy man”.Like many men raised in a home with a strict patriarchal father, my ex, who was not by nature a “macho” kind of guy, grew up lacking self confidence. So in order to feel “big” and “in charge” he found the perfect “punching bag” in me—not physically (he never laid a hand on me) but verbally, emotionally and mentally. He fine-honed his skill, over the years of our marriage, of slicing and dicing me verbally and neglecting me to the point that, as my second husband, Jerry, once noted:“Honey, he made you feel lower than whale shit at the bottom of the ocean!”Yeah…That’s pretty accurate! My self-esteem, what little I had of it going into the marriage, was stripped away, bit by bit—kind of like having your nails ripped off, one by one.Physical abuse is terrible. I don’t want to minimize the horrors, or the pain, of being beaten and bloodied. But sometimes we forget how damaging mental and emotional abuse and neglect can be, and how difficult it is to heal from it. The problem is this: With physical abuse, there are “tells”: The black eyes, bloodied lips, the cuts, bruises, broken noses, arms, legs, ribs, etc. The damage can be seen. Not so with mental/emotional abuse and neglect. That kind of damage is done through words—hurtful name-calling, accusations, mockery, mean and spiteful teasing, the “shame-and-blame” game. It’s also done through neglect: in my case, my ex never bought me a birthday gift—or even a card; he didn’t acknowledge me on any holiday—not Valentine’s day, Mother’s Day, not even Christmas. No cards, no gifts, nothing. And what did I do? I shoved it all down, put on a smile, and pretended everything was okay.Mental and emotional abuse and neglect is the silent, unseen killer of self-worth. Your best friend may be suffering from it, and you might not even notice. Chances are, you won’t.As I mentioned earlier, I stayed in that toxic relationship because I had no college education and no work experience, outside of the home.. Another factor was my small-town upbringing. I was raised to believe that you don’t just throw away your marriage: You worked through the hard times. You persevered. Also, as I was in the Christian religion at the time, I believed it was my job to submit to my husband, as long as he wasn’t physically threatening my life. He was, after all, God’s appointed “Head” (authority) over me, and who was I to question God?This is Patriarchy’s subtle brainwashing of Womanity: make us believe we MUST have a man to guard, guide and decide for us. Because Eve screwed up the world, right?Eventually, my ex decided a wife wasn’t enough. He needed a girlfriend on the side. And when I discovered his infidelity, I knew I couldn’t stay with him any longer. Although I was terrified of being on my own, I knew I couldn’t subject myself, or my daughters, to his abusive, neglectful ways any longer. I thought I had finally secured a “just way” (according to the Bible) to leave my marriage. I went to the Elder Women of my church and told them what was going on and looked to them for help: Surely they would counsel me to leave him. How shocked I was to hear them say, “You can’t leave your husband! God hates divorce. You need to go home and try harder to be a better and more submissive wife, so your husband doesn’t feel the need for comfort from another woman!”BAM! The weight of those words fell on me, hard! The burden and responsibility for the success or failure of my marriage landed squarely on me, not my roving, abusive, neglectful husband. I had to try harder. Not him. I went home that afternoon dispirited, disillusioned…Later, as I stood at the kitchen sink, washing the supper dishes, I picked up a carving knife and, in a moment of hopelessness, thought how easy it would be to slit my wrist and free myself from the pain of that abusive marriage. What saved me was the fact that my daughters needed me (their father was harsh with them and neglected them, too) and I could not, I would not, leave them with HIM.But that night I prayed for iron to enter my soul. But I did not call out to the patriarchal Father God of Christianity. I prayed to someone, somewhere, who would truly understand my plight; someone who would hear me and help me and my children to be free. The next morning, I experienced what is called a ”lightbulb moment”: I finally understood that my ex’s abusive treatment was not my fault. I didn’t need to feel guilty about a damned …
(Webinar) Madonna Rising Rosa Mystica: The Sacred Way of the Rose by Anne Baring

[Author’s Note: It was delivered for the lecture at Ubiquity University on August 18th, 2020.] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgIw8ItXs7s&t=5s There is a line in a poem by Walter de la Mare that goes: “Oh no man knows through what wild centuries roves back the rose”. I first read that poem when I was at university and it haunted me until I began to write The Dream of the Cosmos. Rose Window of Chartres I did not know then that the rose was the primary symbol of the Feminine Archetype, the Great Goddess and the soul. Nor that it was dear to the Sufi poets. Now, I know that the rose is the greatest mystic symbol of the West, just as the lotus is of the East. Like the thousand-petaled lotus or the jewel in the heart of the lotus of the Eastern traditions, the rose came to symbolize not only the radiant love of the Divine Ground but the awakened soul that has been re-united with it. In the Christian tradition, the rose was associated with the Virgin Mary and, in the gnostic and alchemical tradition, with Sophia, Divine Wisdom and the Holy Spirit. As an initiatory path, the Sacred Way of the Rose symbolizes the hidden feminine Wisdom Tradition and the Way of the Heart. The rose represents love, creation, fertility, wisdom, beauty, and also mystery. Its exquisite beauty, its fragrance, the soft velvety feel and symmetrical disposition of its many petals, and its golden centre made it a symbol of perfection, not only earthly perfection, but heavenly perfection. Drawing on ancient Mystery Traditions originating in Egypt and Persia, the rose was a central symbol in both European and Islamic alchemy: a symbol of the opening of the heart to the revelation and experience of Divine Love. It was immortalized as the white rose at the end of the Divine Comedy in Dante’s great vision of Paradise. The sublimely beautiful rose windows of Chartres could be seen as a vision of Divine Wisdom and the Holy Spirit, holding at their heart Christ and the Virgin Mary. Labyrinth at Chartres There is a six-petalled rose at the centre of the labyrinth of Chartres. Whoever has walked or will walk the path of the labyrinth is treading the Sacred Way of the Rose from circumference to centre and the return journey from centre to circumference, taking with him or her, the experience of the central circle which is the direct communion with the energy and frequency of Divine Love. Red Rose The rose is one of the oldest symbols of Divine Wisdom, the Holy Spirit, radiating love to our world from the invisible ground of the cosmos. Its Christian origins and its association with an enclosed garden or sacred temenos go back to the words of the bridegroom in the Song of Songs or Song of Solomon: ‘A garden enclosed is my sister, my bride: a spring shut up, a fountain sealed.’ (4:12). But there is also the Persian image of roses within an enclosed garden representing paradise; the very word ‘paradise’ comes from the Persian word ‘paradis’. Imagine what the gardens of the magnificent city of Persepolis, filled with roses, might have looked like before it was burned to the ground by Alexander the Great. Orbital Pattern of Earth and Venus around sun The origins of the sacredness of the rose can be traced to the beautiful eight-year orbital pattern made by the planet Venus. Eight was the number associated with Venus in Sumer, addressed as ‘The Radiant Star and ‘The Great Light’ in a Sumerian poem.[1] Astronomers and mathematicians noticed the geometric connection between the orbit of Venus and the distribution of the petals of the rose with its hidden golden centre. The outer rim of the picture on the left is the earth’s orbit round the sun and the inner circle with its 5-petalled rose pattern is the orbit of Venus. From ancient times Venus as the bright morning and evening star was associated with the Great Goddesses of the ancient world, particularly with Isis and Inanna, but also the Greek Goddess Aphrodite and the Roman Venus. Griffons in throne room at Knossos Now I would like to take you back in historical time to earlier ages. Homer wrote of the rosy-fingered dawn but the image of the rose goes much further back to the temple and palace gardens of Egypt, Crete, Sumer and Babylon. I will show you a few images from that ancient past. The rose was always associated with the Goddess in the ancient world. This is why the two griffons guarding the throne room in the palace of Knossos have stylized roses placed at their heart. Look carefully at these griffons. For the people of Crete, they symbolized the triple domains of the Great Goddess: sky, earth and underworld, represented here by the bird, the lion, and the serpent as the curved tail of the lion. Friezes of roses also adorned the frescoed walls of the Mycenean palaces built near the coasts of Greece, but this throne room was a sacred place where a priestess presided over the shamanic rites of the Goddess. Phaestos Disk An eight-petalled rose is at the centre of this four-thousand-year-old disk from the palace of Phaestos, in Crete, whose meaning has only recently been tentatively deciphered. The disk is covered with a total of 241 “picture” segments created from 45 individual symbols and is thought to be a prayer or invocation to the Cretan Mother Goddess. It may also represent the labyrinthine path connecting this world with the other, invisible one, the path souls took as they journeyed from one to the other, into and out of the womb of the Goddess. Diadem Roses were painted on early terracotta vases and strung on gold necklaces, now lying in the museums of Athens and Heraklion. They are found on this exquisite diadem and funeral wreath found in the tomb of Philip of Macedon (382–336 BC) at Vergina, near Thessaloniki in northern Greece. The …

(Special Post 2) Multi-linguistic Resemblances of “Mago” by Mago Circle Members

Artwork, “The-great-mother” by Julie Stewart Helen Hye-Sook Hwang: On the word, Magi/Magus, from Magi – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Magi (/ˈmeɪdʒaɪ/; singular magus /ˈmeɪɡəs/; from Latin magus) were priests in Zoroastrianism and the earlier religions of the western Iranians. The earliest known use of the word magi is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius the Great, known as the Behistun Inscription. Old Persian texts, predating the Hellenistic period, refer to a magus as a Zurvanic, and presumably Zoroastrian, priest. Pervasive throughout the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Asia until late antiquity and beyond, mágos was influenced by (and eventually displaced) Greek goēs (γόης), the older word for a practitioner of magic, to include astronomy/astrology, alchemy and other forms of esoteric knowledge. This association was in turn the product of the Hellenistic fascination for (Pseudo‑)Zoroaster, who was perceived by the Greeks to be the Chaldean founder of the Magi and inventor of both astrology and magic, a meaning that still survives in the modern-day words “magic” and “magician”. In the Gospel of Matthew, “μάγοι” (magoi) from the east do homage to the newborn Jesus, and the transliterated plural “magi” entered English from Latin in this context around 1200 (this particular use is also commonly rendered in English as “kings” and more often in recent times as “wise men”).[1] The singular “magus” appears considerably later, when it was borrowed from Old French in the late 14th century with the meaning magician. … An unrelated term, but previously assumed to be related, appears in the older Gathic Avestan language texts. This word, adjectival magavan meaning “possessing maga-“, was once the premise that Avestan maga- and Median (i.e. Old Persian) magu- were co-eval (and also that both these were cognates of Vedic Sanskrit magha-). While “in the Gathas the word seems to mean both the teaching of Zoroaster and the community that accepted that teaching”, and it seems that Avestan maga- is related to Sanskrit magha-, “there is no reason to suppose that the western Iranian form magu (Magus) has exactly the same meaning”[4] as well. But it “may be, however”, that Avestan moghu (which is not the same as Avestan maga-) “and Medean magu were the same word in origin, a common Iranian term for ‘member of the tribe’ having developed among the Medes the special sense of ‘member of the (priestly) tribe’, hence a priest.”[2]cf[3] Helen Hye-Sook Hwang: On the word, Gaia, from Gaia (mythology) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia In Greek mythology, Gaia (/ˈɡaɪə, ˈɡeɪə/ GHY-ə, GAY-ə;[1] from Ancient Greek Γαῖα, a poetical form of Γῆ Gē, “land” or “earth”),[2] also spelled Gaea (/ˈdʒiːə/ JEE-ə),[1] is the personification of the Earth[3] and one of the Greek primordial deities. Gaia is the ancestral mother of all life: the primal Mother Earth goddess. She is the mother of Uranus (the sky), from whose sexual union she bore the Titans (themselves parents of many of the Olympian gods) and the Giants, and of Pontus (the sea), from whose union she bore the primordial sea gods. Her equivalent in the Roman pantheon was Terra.[4] … The Greek name Γαῖα (Gaĩa)[5] is a mostly epic, collateral form of Attic Γῆ[6] (Gê), Doric Γᾶ (Gã, perhaps identical to Δᾶ Dã)[7] meaning “Earth”, a word of uncertain origin.[8] Robert S. P. Beekes has suggested a Pre-Greek origin.[9] In Mycenean Greek Ma-ka (transliterated as Ma-ga, “Mother Gaia”) also contains the root ga-.[9][10] Helen Hye-Sook Hwang: Greek mythology of Gaia’s family tree is remotely evocative of the Magoist genealogy written in the Budoji (Epic of the Emblem City), the principale text of Magoism. In Korean, “Mama” is also an honorary title referring to the royal family including ruler, ruler’s mother, father, grandmother and so on. This suggests that “ma” means “mother,” “ruler,” and “Goddess” all at once in gynocentric/gynocratic (Magoist/Magocratic) societies, pre-patriarchal in origin. Helen Hye-Sook Hwang: I came to search the etymology of “montgomery” in relation to Mt. Mago or Mt. Goya and am led to such related terms as Gomer, Gog, Magog. Montgomery (name) – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Montgomery or Montgomerie is a surname from a place name in Normandy.[1] Although there are many stories of its origin,[2][3][4][5] An old theory explains that the name is a corruption of “Gomer’s Mount” or “Gomer’s Hill” (Latin: Mons Gomeris), any of a number of hills in Europe named in attribution to the biblical patriarch Gomer,[2] but it does not explain the final -y or -ie (the phonetical evolution would have been *Montgomers) and it does not correspond to the old mentions of the place name Montgommery in Normandie : Monte Gomeri in 1032 – 1035, de Monte Gomerico in 1040 and de Monte Gumbri in 1046 – 1048.[6] More relevant is the explanation by the Germanic first name Gumarik,[7] a compound of guma “man” (see bridegroom) and rik “powerful”, that regularly gives the final -ry (-ri) in the French first names and surnames (Thierry, Amaury, Henry, etc.). Moreover, the name is still used as a surname in France as Gommery,[8] from the older first name Gomeri.[9] Helen Hye-Sook Hwang: On the word, Gomer below from Wikipedia. Gomer (גֹּמֶר, Standard Hebrew Gómer, Tiberian Hebrew Gōmer, pronounced [ɡoˈmeʁ]) was the eldest son of Japheth (and of the Japhetic line), and father of Ashkenaz, Riphath, and Togarmah, according to the “Table of Nations” in the Hebrew Bible, (Genesis 10). The eponymous Gomer, “standing for the whole family,” as the compilers of the Jewish Encyclopedia expressed it,[1] is also mentioned in Book of Ezekiel 38:6 as the ally of Gog, the chief of the land of Magog. Helen Hye-Sook Hwang: On the word, Gog and Magog from Wikipedia. Gog and Magog: They are depicted as monsters and barbarians from the East/Eurasia. Gog and Magog (/ɡɒɡ/; /ˈmeɪɡɒɡ/; Hebrew: גּוֹג וּמָגוֹג Gog u-Magog; Arabic: يَأْجُوج وَمَأْجُوج Yaʾjūj wa-Maʾjūj) are names that appear in the Hebrew bible (Old Testament), the Book of Revelation and the Qur’an, sometimes indicating individuals and sometimes lands and peoples. Sometimes, but not always, they are connected with the “end times”, and the passages from the book of Ezekiel and Revelation in particular have attracted attention for this reason. From ancient times to the late Middle Ages Gog and Magog were identified with Eurasian nomads such as the Khazars, Huns and Mongols (this was true also for Islam, where they were identified first with Turkic tribes of Central Asia and later with the Mongols). Throughout this period they were conflated with various other legends, notably those concerning Alexander the Great, the Amazons, Red Jews, and the Ten Lost Tribes of Israel, and became the subject of much fanciful literature. In modern times they remain associated with apocalyptic thinking, especially in the United States and the Muslim world. Helen […]
(Special post) Interweaving Mago Threads by Mago Circle Members

“Mago” tradition Magoism is a new word to the modern Western vocabulary, yet it has its linguistic roots in many parts of the globe and in an ancient knowledge and know-how almost lost. Dr Helen Hwang determinedly and methodically is excavating the little-understood historical Mother-Goddess knowledge of Korea, and its traditions, the Mago, and Magoism, and in doing so is unlocking another previously invisible door, and replacing another ripped-off corner of the global map of significant, almost-lost tradition and forgotten knowledge. This is a most welcomed prospect. The newness of this discovery for those who learn of it fills them with excitement because every step to remember the ancient ways, particularly the lost Goddess ways, and those ways that hint of Source, are crucial to humanity remembering itself. Moderns have become accustomed to modes of mind that strip the soul and psyche of finer attunement to earth, sea, stars and each other. This renders most adrift on a sea of seeming limitless freedoms, to be picked up by any technological hook that would substitute for inner knowing. The map becomes the new computer wiring, insurance policy or bank regulation to follow. But once we scrape from our psyches the encrustation of mind most moderns have settled with (which calcifies the innate senses and finer antennae of knowing, emboldening technologically driven modes of mind and being to take their place), then we are on our way to a vivifying recollection. Here is an earlier presentation of the “mago” root word in “imago” or image. Not coincidentally, perhaps, it is connected to maps. (Mary Ann Ghaffurian, culled from Through a Darkened Door—Light, Part 2 by Mary Ann Ghaffurian PhD [http://magoism.wordpress.com/2012/11/26/through-a-darkened-door-light-part-2-by-mary-ann-ghaffurian-phd/]) A very special online, global group Dearest X, …Which brings to mind the “other” reason why I wanted to write to you … Other than just saying “hello” and letting you know that you are very much missed, I also wanted to share with you about a very special online, global group that I have had the honor of being a part of. This group is called Mago Circle and it was founded by my dear friend, “sister” and colleague, Helen Hwang. Helen’s work and commitment to restoring Mago, Ancestral Mother Goddess, to her rightful place as progenitor and creatrix of the Korean people, has not only been admirable but truly critical during a time when we are in real need for inspiration from thought leaders and scholars with a solid foundation in the arts and research of the sacred feminine. As you know, with the roots of Korean shamanism in the realm of women, it makes perfect sense that Korean spirituality must also have sprung within the womb of Woman … the great cosmic goddess, Mago. While Helen’s work is very much grounded in meticulous research — showcasing Korea to the rest of the world in all of Her depth, herstory, and vibrance — it is more importantly, founded in genuine intentions of love, transparency, and humility. I know that Helen can explain the depth, breadth, and height of her work much better than me so I think it will be better to have her directly share more of herself with you; what I simply hope to do through this letter is perhaps help serve as a familiar hand …. reaching out to you and letting you know that your presence and blessings as a well-regarded and much-admired Korean female shaman and scholar would be much appreciated in Mago Circle. Do you remember, X, … you once told me … about 20 years ago: “Sanity is insanity with a focus.” These words I still remember and hold true … they have helped me through times that were truly dismal and chaotic in my life, and with this reassuring and transformational way of looking at myself, looking at my life, looking at the world, I have made it through. My life continues to have its share of insanity, but I know that with focus, all sanity is restored. I know that my letter to you today may feel unexpected and random (especially after not having seen each other for so, so long), but as you know, somehow, life brings us through twists and turns that may seem awkward and strange at first, but upon retrospect, all makes complete sense. In closing, may I have the honor and pleasure of introducing Helen Hwang and the Mago Circle to you … I realize that you must be very busy, but it is my sincere hope that you will find a little time to acquaint yourself with Helen and this wonderful group of women (and men) who are very much dedicated to restoring the balance and peace of Korea and the world via Mago and her goddess sisters of many names… (Wennifer Lin, culled from her letter to her old friend) I share your call for staying connected with each other at a time of cultural and religious tensions. I too believe that all tensions arise from a patriarchal system of hegemony or domination. In the absence of patriarchal hegemony, there would be little or no tension among human beings. The belief in the Mother Goddess would remove the necessity for aggression and hence domination of other human beings or animals. In the eyes of the Mother, every living being is her creature. Hence love, kindness, nurturing and all that is beautiful would prevail everywhere. Am I sounding too idealistic or am I pining for a utopian society that is just not possible? But in theory, it is possible to return to the spirit of Mother, manifest in everything in nature and in our thoughts and actions. With admiration and preservation of Mother we can change the world for a better place. So with this in mind, I submit to all women (who are the living image of the Great Mother Goddess) and goddess lovers in the world to unite in our efforts to bring back the ideals of the Great Goddess. As an academic, I […]
(Special Post Isis 2) Why the Color of Isis Matters by Mago Circle Members

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

(Mago Almanac Excerpt 5) Introducing the Magoist Calendar by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang

Mago Almanac: 13 Month 28 Day Calendar (Book A) Free PDF available at Mago Bookstore. THE 28-13-7 INTERPLAY How does the number, 28 (days), for the lunar cycle come about? Why is it 28 days and not 29 or 30, the latter implicated in the traditional lunar calendar of East Asia? It appears that 28 days is a value closer to the moon’s sidereal period (about 27.3 days) than the synodic period (about 29.5 days). Or is it that 28 days points to the median between the synodic lunar cycle and the sidereal lunar cycle? To answer these questions, it is important to note that a value in the Mago Time captures an inter-cosmic biological cusp/juncture derived from the matrix of sonic numerology. Distinguished from the patriarchal measure of time fixated into a solipsistic space, it makes visible the interconnectedness of all bodies. It never stands as an isolated single occasion. The 28 day, 13 month calendar has to do with how we perceive the moon. There are two ways of understanding the lunar cycle; the sidereal period and the synodic period (see Figure 2). The synodic period refers to the time, about 29.5 days, that we on earth see the moon complete one round of revolution, e.g. from the full moon to the full moon. In contrast, the sidereal period refers to the actual time, about 27.3 days, that the moon takes to complete one round of revolution. While the synodic time is measured relative to the Earth (the observer’s position is on earth), the sidereal time is measured relative to the distant “fixed” stars (the observer’s position is far out at the distant stars). Since the distant stars are considered at rest, the sidereal period is taken as a universal value, not affected by the location of the viewer, we on earth. There is, apparently, a discrepancy between the lunar cycle that we on earth see the moon return to the same phase and the lunar cycle that the moon actually completes a revolution. The former is based on our observation of the moon’s phases, whereas the latter is based on the moon’s actual orbital motions. The two differs basically because all celestial bodies, the moon, earth, and sun, in the solar system are in motion. It is not just the moon that we watch revolving but Earth also revolves around the sun. We are watching the movement of the moon on a moving vehicle, earth, so to speak. Therefore, the moon has to travel about 2 more days in order for us on earth to see it in the same phase (see the green portion in Figure 2 part). At the position A of the moon in Figure 2, the moon is in line with the sun and the distant stars, which is a new moon. In the position of B (the new moon), the moon is in line with the sun but not with the distant stars. The right hand line of the green portion in line with the distant stars is where the moon started as a new moon. The moon has traveled about 2 more days to be in line with the sun. That is why the synodic period is about 2 days longer than the sidereal period. When it comes to “the lunar calendar”, moderns tend to think of it as the waxing and waning phases of the moon (29.5 days, the synodic period). The problem lies in that, following the synodic period, people see nothing beyond the moon’s phases. They overlook the fact that the moon rotates and revolves on its own axis and around the earth approximately 13 degrees every day. The synodic lunisolar calendar is a navel-gazing vision. Attending to the moon’s phases may seem benign. However, that is a planned pitfall; the synodic lunisolar calendar with 12 months in a year is here to supersede the 28 day, 13 month gynocentric calendar. Its irregularity with the number of days in a month (29 or 30 days with about 11 extra days for intercalation) is an inherently critical flaw. Its inaccuracy when incorporated within the solar annual calendar (approximately 365.25 days) stands out. Seen below in the table, the synodic lunar track results in as many leap days as a total of 44 days for 4 years, whereas the sidereal lunar track has 2 days for 4 years. The synodic lunisolar calendar undercuts the moon’s given capacity – guiding earthly beings into the intergalactic voyage of WE/HERE/NOW. In it, both the moon and women are, glorified and objectified by the viewer, cast under the male voyeuristic eye. On the contrary, the sidereal lunisolar calendar, based on the cyclic synchrony between the moon and women, offers the lens to the interconnectedness of all bodies in the universe. Synodic Lunar Track (Patriarchal) Sidereal Lunar Track (Magoist) Focus Moon’s phases Moon’s motions Days of month 29 or 30 (irregular) 28 (regular) No. of months in a year 12 13 Women’s menstrual cycle Assumed sync Synced Luni-centric Astolonomy Unknown 28 Constellations Intercalations 11 days annually, a total of 44 days for 4 years 1 day annually & 1 day every 4 years, a total of 2 days for 4 years Sources prove that the sidereal lunation is, albeit esoterically, known across cultures to this day. Through the comparative study of ancient cultures of Babylon, Arabia, India and China, W. B. Yeats (1865-1939) observes the substantive difference in dynamic between the two lunation tracks, the synodic and the sidereal. He notes that the moon’s orbital motion, apart from the sun’s, charts out the celestial sphere as the 28 Mansions. I have learned that the 28 Mansions or 28 Constellations of the Moon is a popular form of the 28 day and 13 month Magoist calendar, widely circulated among East Asians especially Koreans from the ancient time. Yeats’ following insights corroborate the Budoji’s explication of the Magoist Calendar in general and the faulty nature of the patriarchal (ancient Chinese) calendar in …
(Essay) The Emergence celebrated at Spring Equinox by Glenys Livingstone Ph.D.

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

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

This essay is an edited excerpt from Chapter 5 of the author’s book A Poiesis of the Creative Cosmos: Celebrating Her within PaGaian Sacred Ceremony. Dates for Winter Solstice/Yule Southern Hemisphere – June 20 – 23. Northern Hemisphere – December 20 – 23 This Seasonal Moment is the ripe fullness of the Dark Womb and it is a gateway between dark and light. It is a Birthing Place – into differentiated being. Whereas Samhain/Deep Autumn is a dark conceiving Space, it flows into the Winter Solstice dark birthing Place – a dynamic Place of Being, a Sacred Interchange. This Seasonal Moment of Winter Solstice is the peaking of the dark space – the fullness of the dark, within which being and action arise. It is the peaking of emptiness, which is a fullness. As cosmologist Brian Swimme describes: the empty “ground of being … retains no thing.” It is “Ultimate Generosity.”[i] In Vajrayana Buddhism, Space is associated with Prajna/wisdom – out of which Upaya/compassionate action arises. Space is highly positive – something to be developed, so appropriate action may develop spontaneously and blissfully.[ii] In Old European Indigenous understandings, the dark and the night were valued at least as much as light, if not more so: time was counted by the number of nights, as in ‘fortnights,’ and a ‘day’ included both dark and light parts … it was ‘di-urnal’. I have been careful with my language about that inclusion in the ceremonial ‘Statement of Purpose’ for each Seasonal Moment. This awareness is resonant with modern Western scientific perceptions about the nature of the Universe: that it is seventy-three percent “dark energy,” twenty-three precent “dark matter,” four percent “ordinary matter.”[iii] The truth is that we live within this darkness: it is the Ground of all Being. In Pagan traditions since Celtic times, and in many other cultural traditions, Winter Solstice has been celebrated as the birth of the God; and in Christian tradition since about the fourth century C.E., as the birth of the saviour. But there are deeper ways of understanding what is being born: that is, who or what the “saviour” is. In the Gospel of Thomas, which was not selected for biblical canon, it says: “If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you.”[iv] This then may be the Divine Child, the “Saviour”: it may be expressed as the new Being forming in the Cosmogonic Womb,[v] who will be born. We may celebrate the birth of the new Being, which /who is always beyond us, beyond our knowing … yet is within us, burgeoning within us – and within Gaia. What will save us is already present within – forming within us. The Winter Solstice story may emphasize that what is born, is within each one – the “Divine” is not “out there”: it may be said, and expressed ceremoniously, that we are each Creator and Created. We may imagine ourselves as the in-utero foetus – an image we might have access to these days from a sonar-scan during pregnancy. This image presents a truth about Being: we are this, and it is within us, within this moment. Every moment is pregnant with the new. It will be birthed when holy darkness is full. Part of what is required is having the eyes to see the “new bone forming in flesh,” scraping our eyes “clear of learned cataracts,”[vi] seeing with fresh eyes. That is what the fullness of the Dark offers – a freshening of our eyes to see the new. And the process of Creation is always reciprocal: we are Creator and Created simultaneously, in a “ngapartji-ngapartji”[vii] way. We are in-formed by that which we form. In Earth-based religious practice, the ubiquitous icon of Mother and Child – Creator and Created – expresses something essential about the Universe itself … the “motherhood” we are all born within. It expresses the essential communion experience that this Cosmos is, the innate and holy Care that it takes, and the reciprocal nature of it. We cannot touch without being touched at the same time.[viii] We may realize that Cosmogenesis – the entire Unfolding of the Cosmos – is essentially relational: our experience tells us this is so. The image of The Birth of the Goddess on the front cover of my book PaGaian Cosmology expresses that reciprocity for me, how we may birth each other and the healing/wholing in that exchange. It is a Sacred Interchange. And it is what this Event of existence seems to be about – deep communion, which both Solstices express. Babylonian Goddess, Ur 4000-3500 BCE. Adele Getty, Goddess, 33. Birthing is not often an easy process – for the birthgiver nor for the birthed one: it is a shamanic act requiring strength of bodymind, attention, courage, and focus of the mother, and resilience and courage to be of the new young one. Birthgiving is the original place of ‘heroics,’ which many cultures of the world have never forgotten, perhaps therefore better termed as “heraics.” Patriarchal adaptations of the story of this Seasonal Moment usually miss the Creative Act of birthgiving completely, usually being pre-occupied with the “virgin” nature of the Mother which is interpreted as having an “intact hymen.” The focus of the patriarchal adaptation of the Winter Solstice story is the Child as “saviour”: even the Mother gazes at the Child in most Christian icons, while in more ancient images Her eyes are direct and expressive of Her integrity as Creator. NOTES: [i] Swimme, The Universe is a Green Dragon, 146. [ii] See Rita Gross, “The Feminine Principle in Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism.” The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology 179-192. [iii] These figures as told by cosmologist Paul Davies with Macquarie University’s Centre for Astrobiology, Australia. [iv] Elaine Pagels, Beyond Belief: the Secret Gospel of Thomas, saying number 70. See https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/religion/story/thomas.html . [v] Melissa Raphael’s term, Thealogy and Embodiment, 262. [vi] The quotes come from a poem by Cynthia Cook, “Refractions,” Womanspirit (Oregan USA, issue 23, March 1980), 59. [vii] This is an Indigenous Australian term for reciprocity – giving and receiving at the same time. I explain it a bit further in PaGaian Cosmology, 256-257. [viii] An expression from Abram, The Spell of the Sensuous, 68. REFERENCES: Abram, David. The Spell of the Sensuous. New York: Vintage Books, 1997. Getty, Adele. Goddess: Mother of Living …
Imbolc: Through Goddess Eyes by Carolyn Lee Boyd

Photo by Carolyn Lee Boyd In times past, Creation’s Winter cupped me in her icy hand of sanctuary Gathered in, I sucked dormant life, and slumbered Till Earth’s rebirthing groans awakened my new body Now, older and full of life’s weeping and wondering awe At all that has happened in my decades on Earth I must shake myself into consciousness My seed’s opaque, blinding hull disintegrates and Bodyless, at last I can see through Goddess eyes I ache as my blood paints each flower petal I spin the whirlwind that cannot stop creating abundance I push the seasons through the year that mortals believe revolve of their own accord. Through Goddess eyes I can see me, I inhabit Winter’s hand as my own. I make the cold to slow creation of outside of me To gather the seed into fertile stillness within. That burgeons in my own time. https://www.magoism.net/2016/08/meet-mago-contributor-carolyn-lee-boyd/
(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

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

Introduction: Why Inaugurate the Great Goddess Consciousness? The Great Goddess is known by many names around the world. “Mago” is one known by East Asians from time immemorial. As such, the term “Mago” is a common noun referring to the Great Goddess rather than the name of a particular goddess. According to my assessment of a large volume of primary sources that I have documented, Mago’s divine nature is characterized as the progenitor, creator, and ultimate sovereign. In short, Mago is supreme as the Creatrix. That does not mean that there is nothing before or even after Her. In fact, according to the Budoji (Epic of the Emblem City), principal text of Magoism, Mago was born into the cosmic era prior to our cosmic era by the music/vibration/movement of the universe. Being the Creatrix, She is the beginning and the end. She is the Origin of humankind. She will be with us insofar as humanity continues to exist on its cosmic journey. She is the Great Ancestor of all humans as well as goddesses and gods. Furthermore, She is “the Cosmic Great Mother” from whom everything is derived. “Mago” is eponymous of human civilization. With regard to the world, She is immanent and transcendent at once. Standing at the threshold of the world, She embodies the world. She is the Channel that connects humanity with nature and the universe. She is the Lens through which we humans perceive Ultimate Reality. To be precise, She is the Cause for human consciousness. Through Her, we enter the world. She is self-sustained, as symbolized in the ouroboros. The beginning and the end for the world relies on Her. While holding the key to eternity, She shares the rise and fall with humankind. Here is Her intimacy with humanity: We are part of Her and She is in our DNA. My reconstruction of Mago and Magoism did not begin with a teleological scheme. No pre-measured outcome was there to motivate my undertaking of the research project. On the contrary, the topic was a serendipitous yet timely encounter, which I had never consciously expected. Nonetheless, I was not in a vacuum. As a self-identified radical feminist, I sought a new mode of knowing within my own cultural roots that can remedy Eurocentric, nationalist, colonialist, racist, and ethnocentric knowledge. The years of my graduate studies were spent in exploring such possibilities. Only after furthering my research of Mago and Magoism for over a decade, I began to grasp something at which my intellectual/spiritual voyage is destined to arrive. It was this phrase, in fact a very old mandate that ancient Magoists self-identified with, “Return to the Origin of Mago (Mago Bokbon, 麻姑複本),” that surfaced over the horizon with clarity. How do we return to Mago’s Origin? Do we return to Her Realm or invoke Her Reality to our time? Time is one seamless measurement. No need to go there or bring it here. The fact that “Mago” refers to the Great Goddess rather than an individual goddess intimates an implication at the level of consciousness. Talk of Mago invokes the Great Goddess consciousness, primordial unity/oneness. A “new” mode of knowing is re-birthed once and time and time again. Individuals are placed in unity with the whole. Each shares with the subject position, WE. After all, everyone is progeny of the Great Goddess! We are re-stored within the scheme of old knowing that the whole (universality) comprises parts (particularities) and that they are organically interconnected. Complexity and precision of the way microcosmic entities work in harmony with the cosmos are beyond the human grasp. However, we know that an assault on a part affects the whole. And vice versa. This is why I study Mago and Magoism: Reenacting the Great Goddess consciousness is the ultimate antidote to the patriarchal consciousness. WE learn how to see things beyond the isolated position of an “I,” the notion of the self molded to stand against its environments (the other) by the patriarchal mastermind. The separated “I,” implanted in one’s psyche from birth through patriarchal institutions such as the state, religion, family, and heterosexuality, conjoins the new awareness of WE. The Mago consciousness is the original, pristine perspective prior to the split of the patriarchal consciousness. It is an undifferentiated state of mind that underlies patriarchal socialization. Ancient cultures had an understanding of the mysterious working of Mago. With Mago, WE Re-Turn to the Origin! The Female is epistemically invincible, nullifying the assaults of the patriarchal “I.” The power of the Mago consciousness is well depicted in the icon of Durga defeating the patriarchal demon. One should not be mistaken that the Mago consciousness is just another form of patriarchal thinking with reversed gender. It fundamentally differs in nature from the latter. Suffice it to say that “the Almighty God,” unlike the Great Goddess, does not share the same DNA with humans. In fact, He has no DNA! The monotheistic god rules over and against the world in protection of himself. He is needy. He isn’t even transcendent but disconnected from primordial unity. He can’t be “He” but only he of She. He can’t be the representative of the world because he is biased against the female principle. Ultimately, he is incapable of embracing everyone, unlike the Great Goddess. To hide the fact that the monotheistic god leads only to the abyss of self-destruction, patriarchal religions have created dogmas to indoctrinate people. The Great Goddess consciousness exposes the patriarchal deception. As patriarchy developed over the course of history, Mago was made unintelligible. People lost the Original Knowing! The Paradise was gone not only in a physical manner but also epistemically! That may as well be a corollary in that patriarchy precludes the concept of the Great Goddess by definition. It is not patriarchy if a society upholds the female as supreme. Nonetheless, patriarchy could not get rid of the manifestation of Mago in history, culture, and the collective consciousness of people. In fact, the ancient cultures, histories, myths, topographies, religions, and memories …
(Essay 4) Magos, Muses, and Matrikas: The Magoist Cosmogony and Gynocentric Unity by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang, Ph.D.

[Author’s note: This paper is published in the journal, the Gukhak yeonguronchong 국학연구론총 (Issue 14, December 2014). Here it will appear in five sequels including the response by Dr. Glenys Livingstone. Numbers of end notes differ from the original paper.] (Part 4) Parallels between Magos and Matrikas The numeric fluidity of a particular pantheon of Goddesses from three to nine is no isolated phenomenon in Western Muse tradition only. Laura K. Chamberlain’s research on the Hindu Goddess Matrika, one of the major manifestations of Durga, bears a close resemblance to the counterpart in Magoism.[1] In the story of Mago Halmi, Mago had eight daughters and dispatched seven daughters to seven regions/islands who respectively became the shaman progenitor of the region. She lived with the youngest daughter, whose region was the center of Magoism.[2] The Mago pantheon is also addressed as Gurang (Nine Goddesses) in the case of Gaeyang Halmi (Sea Goddess/Grandmother).[3] Among others, a parallel between Chamberlian’s delineation of the worship of the Asta Matrikas (Eight Mother Goddesses) and folk rituals concerning Mago is striking with regards to the aniconic rituals offered at “crossroads, rivers, the sea, and mountains” to Matrika. In the case of Magoism, the veneration of rocks and mountains that may be seen as “animistic beliefs” is widespread throughout the Korean peninsula. The linguistic resemblance is also present between Matrikas and Magos. According to Chamberlian, Mai (mother) and Ajima (grandmother) are the “two of the oldest names for the goddess in Nepal.” [4] They appear analogous with the Korean words Eomma 엄마 (Omai 오마이, Omasi 오마시, and etc. for mother) and Ajime (아지매, a female relative or aunt), a dialect from which the modern term Ajuma (아줌마, neighbor woman often pejoratively referring to a housewife) is derived. Chamberlain also notes the varied number of Matrikas and writes: The inconsistency in the number of Matrikas found in the valley [Indus] today (seven, eight, or nine) possibly reflects the localization of goddesses [ ] Although the Matrikas are mostly grouped as seven goddesses over the rest of the Indian Subcontinent, an eighth Matrikas has sometimes been added in Nepal to represent the eight cardinal direction. In Bhaktapur, a city in the Kathmandu Valley, a ninth Matrika is added to the set to represent the center.[5] On the one hand, it is true that the indeterminate number of Matrikas, as Chamberlain points out, explains localization of Hindu Goddesses in the Indian Subcontinent. On the other hand, it is equally possible to posit that there was a Goddess myth once shared by the members of mother community in a remote past. A daughter community, which resided in the mother community, came to migrate farther away from the mother community. She herself became a mother and was known as the mother community by her own daughter communities. From the perspective of the original mother community, the memory of the original myth by granddaughter communities would be fragmented and flavored with their own cultural, historical, and linguistic backgrounds. After many generations passed, granddaughter communities would lose the memory of the original myth and that they would not recognize kindred communities all over the world. However, the first mother was wise. She chose one daughter to carry on the legacy of the original myth. This is exactly what Mago stories tells us. When all is said and done, the numeric similarity of three, seven, eight, or nine and the inconsistency of the number are only some of the fragmented testimonies by granddaughter communities. Under such circumstances, Mago’s lineage, especially the first three generations, works as a blueprint of the family tree lost among granddaughter communities. (Read Part 3, to be continued in Part 5, Dr. Glenys Livingstone’s response to this essay.) References: Bak, Geum (Bak, Jesang). Budoji (Epic of the Emblem City). Eun-Soo Kim, translated and annotated. Seoul: Hanmunhwa, 2002, 1986c. Baring, Anne and Julies Cashford, eds. The Myth of the Goddess: Evolution of an Image. London: Viking Arkana, 1991. Chamberlain, Laura K. “Durga and the Dashain Harvest Festival: From the Indus to Katmandu Valleys” in ReVision (vol. 25, no. 1, Summer 2002), 24-32. Chung, Yenkyu. Ancient Korea and the Dawn of History on the Pamirs. Seoul: Jimoondang, 2007. Daly, Mary. Pure Lust: Elemental Feminist Philosophy. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 1984. Davis, Elizabeth Gould. The First Sex. New York, NY: G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1971, 33. Hwang, Helen Hye-Sook. “Issues in Studying Mago, the Great Goddess of East Asia: Primary Sources, Gynocentric History, and Nationalism,” in The Constant and Changing Faces of the Goddess: Goddess Traditions of Asia, eds. Deepak Shimkhada and Phyllis Herman (Cambridge Scholars Publishing 2008), 10-33. ____________________. “The Female Principle in the Magoist Cosmogony.” Ochre Journal of Women’s Spirituality, (Spring 2007) [http://www.ochrejournal.org/2007/scholarship/hwang1.html]. ____________________. Seeking Mago, the Great Goddess: A Mytho-Historic-Thealogical Reconstruction of Magoism, an Archaically Originated Gynocentric Tradition of East Asia. Ph.D. Dissertation: Claremont Graduate University, 2005. Kim, Busik. The Samguk Sagi (History of Three Kingdoms). Translated and annotated by ByongSu Lee. Seoul: Elyu Munhwasa, 1977. Lee, Ki-baik. A New History of Korea. Translated by E. Wagner and E. Shultz. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1984. Smith, Barbara. “Greece” in The Feminist Companion to Mythology. Carolyne Larrington ed. Hammersmith, London: Pandora Press, 1992. Yoon, Thomas. BuDoZhi: The Genesis of MaGo (Mother Earth) and The History of the City of Heavenly Ordinance. Notre Dame, IN: Cross Cultural Publications, 2003. Walker, Barbara G. The Woman’s Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1983. [1] Levy 1990; Slusser 1982, cited in Laura K. Chamberlain, “Durga and the Dashain Harvest Festival: From the Indus to Katmandu Valleys” in ReVision (vol. 25, no. 1, Summer 2002), 24-32. [2] See Tales [9-1] and [5-3] in the Appendix, Hwang (2005), 391-8. [3] I was able to join a field research trip organized by the research team of Kunguk University’s Korean Literature Graduate Studies to collect the folk stories of Gaeyang Halmi, the Sea Goddess, in Buan-gun (Buan County), North Jeolla Province, South Korea July 10-12, 2012. Only after the trip, I realized Gaeyang Halmi with her eight daughters was …
(Book Excerpt 1) Mago Almanac Planner for Personal Journey by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang, Ph.D.

[Author’s Note: Year 4’s Mago Almanac celebrates the birth of Mago Almanac Planner for Personal Journey. The Magoist 13 month 28 day calendric movement has grown steadily and we welcome the public as well!] PREFACE: What Mago Almanac Planner Offers The Mago Almanac Planner for Personal Journey enchants people and our societies to live with a sense of the natural timespace patterned by the luni-menstrual rhythm in company with the earth’s song and dance. This is not a statement of poetic fancy unsupported by science or mathematics. We are invited to walk through the matrix of Sonic Numerology, the organizing force of Life. The 13 month 28 day Magoist Calendar returns calendric regularity to us. Calendric regularity is the very vision that unfolds the metamorphic reality of WE/HERE/NOW. Unlike the 12 month irregular day calendar that modifies the natural rhythm to serve the purpose of controlling people, the Magoist Calendar guides human activities within the natural rhythm to harmonize the human world with the natural world. The Mago Almanac Planner is built to provide flesh to the bones of the Mago Almanac. Taking the latter as foundation, Mago Almanac Planner partitions a year into the units of weeks and days. The regularity of 28 days makes it possible to lay out 52 weeks and 364 days with one or two extra days seamlessly. The rhythm of nine numbers becomes transparent. Each day of a year is named accumulatively in order i.e. the first to 364th. Likewise, each week of a year is named accumulatively in order i.e. Week 1 to Week 52. Each day is given the daily number, the moon phase, and/or 24 Seasonal Marks. Special days include such double dates as New Year (1st Moon 1st Day), double second (2nd Moon 2nd Day), double third (3rd Moon 3rd Day), and so forth. By writing the Mago Almanac Planner, I have observed that Double Ninth (9th Moon 9th day) overlaps with the 16th mark of 24 Seasonal Marks, Ipchu (立秋 Entering Fall) or Lammas in the Northern Hemisphere. The day of Double Ninth is indeed the center point of a year! Also the interval of 24 Seasonal Marks is about every 15 days, whereas that of 8 Seasonal Marks is about every 45 days. In three Appendixes, I have provided a traditional style of one year calendar, Year 4’s 364 Days (52 Weeks) with 2 Extra Days and their Gregorian Dates or the conversion chart, Large Calendar 1 (Years 1-4) marked in Gregorian C. Dates, and Year 4 Lunar-Menstrual Chart in which one can add their menstrual dates in relation to the moon phases and seasonal marks. As a whole, the Mago Almanac Planner is designed to personalize one’s own celebratory or commemorative days in tune with nature’s rhythm. This Planner marks the 4th year (Volume 4) of the revived Magoist Calendar, Mago Almanac: 13 Month 28 Day Calendar. We are about to complete the first Large Calendar, which refers to the first four years (Years 1-4). We set the new moon date (December 18) before Winter Solstice in 2018 in the Northern Hemisphere as the first lunation of the revived Magoist Calendar. If we count the year from the onset of the nine-state Danguk confederacy (3898 BCE-2333 BCE) founded by Goma, Magoist Shaman Queen Mother, our Year 1 would be 5916 ME (Magoma Era). Technically speaking, the Magoist Calendar formed at the time of our beginning came to be reincarnated on December 18, 2018 in the Northern Hemisphere (hereafter it implies the Northern Hemisphere otherwise indicated.) The year 2018 for the rebirth of the revived Magoist Calendar was arbitrary in that it could have been in 2017 or 2019. In retrospect, I must say that we are lucky to set the time of our first lunation on December 18 2018 because it makes the calendric migration process the smoothest. This means that our Magoist Calendar runs as less as 13 days behind the Gregorian Calendar. If we had begun in 2017, our New Year would have been December 17. Only one day difference. However, if we had begun in 2016, our New Year would have been on November 29. Likewise, if we had begun in 2019, our New Year would have been on November 26. These dates are the new moon date before Winter Solstice, the New Year day. The Magoist Calendar charts the human world into the Reality of WE/HERE/NOW. The Magoist Calendar needs to be in use today, which means that it has to be translated into the language of the Gregorian Calendar. For we have lost the actual counting of the Magoist Calendar into our days in the course of patriarchal history. Mago Almanac serves the purpose of making our calendric migration possible from the 12 month Gregorian Calendar to the 13 month Magoist Calendar. It guides our collective journey in the Mother TimeSpace interwoven by the cosmogonic force of Sonic Numerology, the musical interplay of nine numbers, which gives birth, nurtures, and transforms all beings in the cosmos. Intriguingly, I have realized only last year that the Magoist Calendar is identical with “the 13 Moon Turtle Calendar,” the calendar of North American indigenous peoples, which adopts the turtle shell that has 13 inner sections and 28 outer sections for the calendar of 13 moons and 28 days (see figure). This speaks volumes that the 13 month 28 day calendar was once widely known among peoples of the ancient world. The Magoist Calendar restores the link between lunation and menstruation as a 28 day monthly cycle, a topic that I have discussed in my essay, “Introducing the Magoist Calendar: Original Blessing of the Womb Time,” included in this planner. Why do we need to reinstate the calendar that is based on the luni-menstruation rhythm? That is because the Magoist Calendar is in accordance with Sonic Numerology. Put differently, the moon-women duet inscribed in the 13 month 28 day calendar is given by the Natural World. In fact, the Magoist Calendar is the first and …

Tag: Judy Foster

(Book review) The Mago Way by Helen Hye-Sook Hwang reviewed by Judy Foster

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(Essay) The Oceanic Goddess: Near Oceania: Papua New Guinea by Judy Foster

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(Essay) Physical Origins of The Goddess? by Judy Foster

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(Essay) Why I admire the goddess by Judy Foster

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(Book extract) Invisible Women of Prehistory by Judy Foster

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(Essay) Snake Story by Judy Foster

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(Meet Mago Contributor) Judy Foster

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Mago Almanac Year 8 (for 2025)

S/HE: IJGS V3 N2 2024 (B/W Paperback)

S/HE: IJGS V3 N1 2024 (B/W Paperback)

2025 S/HE Conference Program Booklet

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