Who’s Presenting at the 2016 Conference? Heide Goettner-Abendroth, Holly Bellebuono, & Marie Summerwood

Dr. Heide Goettner-Abendroth, founder of
Dr. Heide Goettner-Abendroth, founder of Modern Matriarchal Studies

Dr. Heide Goettner-Abendroth (“Matriarchal Studies: Past Debates and Present New Foundation”)

Born in Thuringia, Germany, in 1941, Heide is a mother and a grandmother. She earned her Ph.D. in philosophy and theory of science at the University of Munich where she taught philosophy for ten years (1973-1983).

She has published extensively on the theory of science, in addition to various books on matriarchal society and culture, and through her lifelong research on matriarchal societies has become a founder of Modern Matriarchal Studies.                                                   

In 1986, she founded the “International ACADEMY HAGIA for Matriarchal Studies and Matriarchal Spirituality” in Germany, and since then has been its director.                            She has also been visiting professor at the University of Montreal in Canada, and the University of Innsbruck in Austria.

In 2003, she organized and guided the “1st World Congress on Matriarchal Studies” in Luxembourg; in 2005, the “2nd World Congress on Matriarchal Studies” in San Marcos, Texas; and in 2011, a major conference on Matriarchal Studies and Politics in Switzerland.

In 2005, she was elected by the international initiative “1000 Peace Women Across the Globe” as a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize. In 2012, she received the Saga-Award for contributions to women’s history and culture, from the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology (ASWM).  She is also a member of ASWM’s Advisory Board.

This year, Heide’s presentation comes to us via Skype from Germany.

Herbalist Holly Bellebuono
Herbalist Holly Bellebuono

Holly Bellebuono (“Women Healers of the World”)

Our most important foremothers include the scientists, healers, herbalists and collaborators, who pushed past difficult boundaries and risked their safety to advance women’s discoveries in medicine and healing. Their persistence, vision and passion shaped modern pharmacology, medicine, perfumery, aromatherapy, herbalism, and other healing arts.

Supported by 7 years of travel, research, and personal interviews, author, herbalist and empowerment speaker Holly Bellebuono shares their provocative stories and the inspiring process through which these women examined our world and recorded ancestral knowledge.

“Years ago, my passion for plants and my work as an herbalist and gardener slowly birthed an understanding of and appreciation for feminine spirituality, and I especially gravitated toward its philosophies of duality and cycles. Years later, I was able to fuse herbalism and feminism in my 7-year documentary project in which I interviewed some of the most extraordinary women in the world. This eye-opening project reinforced for me just how amazing women’s accomplishments are and how empowering a grounded spirituality—especially a feminine spirituality—can be. Today I participate in inspiring and down-to-Earth women’s groups that uplift me and keep me in touch with the cycles and rhythms of life, and writing and teaching about the confluence of herbal healing and mythic ideas is a delight in my life. If you are in need of role models or looking for fresh inspiration from incredible women past and present, I hope you’ll join me for Women Healers of the World. You’ll meet your heroes and your friends, and the spunky and courageous gals of science, medicine, conservation, politics, and herbalism who make us proud.”

Marie
Herbalist & Chant Leader Marie Summerwood

Marie Summerwood (“Chanting to Heal The Spiral Everywhere”)

“When I finally understood that everything is sacred and that my acting like everything is sacred is part of that, it changed my life.”

For over 25 years, Marie Summerwood has served as a voice for the earth, and for the women of the earth. She teaches workshops on chanting, grief and other topics in women’s sacredness. She has composed and produced 2 CD’s of women’s chanting,  “She Walks With Snakes,”  and “Step Into The River”.   A third CD produced by Marie, “Memories From the Lost Pines”  is a collection of chants written by women in a weekend workshop she led in Austin TX.
Marie is an herbalist, cook and teacher in the Wise Woman Tradition, having apprenticed with Susun Weed in 1990 and having cooked at The Wise Woman Center for many years.  She apprenticed for two years with ALisa Starkweather on the Priestess Path.  She brings to all her work a wise perspective around wholeness and a compassionate understanding of life.
When the Sacred Spiral entered my consciousness, when I began to see how everything moves and journeys in a spiral,  I was empowered to make better decisions, I was inspired to see more clearly.If there is one true movement of life, it is the spiral.  And if there is one thing we can do with sacred chant, it is to heal the ragged places on our inner spirals. Heal within, heal without.  It all comes together, truly, within us, with chant. “