Events – ASWM

March 23, 2025March 23, 2025

2025 Conference Session: Sister Speak: A Sacred Conversation among Women of Color

Saturday, March 29, 2025, Westward Look Inn, Tucson AZ

Sister Speak: A Sacred Conversation among Women of Color

facilitated by Luisah Teish and Leilani Birely

We are honored that our conference keynoters, Yeye Luisah Teish and Kahuna Leilani Birely, will guide this special session. The intention is to facilitate an authentic conversation among women of color, in which white women are invited to actively listen and learn: “There will be a circle within a circle with the women of color being the primary center circle; we will be discussing issues of importance to us. White women are invited to listen in on the conversation and to respectfully submit questions at the end of the presentation by women of color.”

We ask that women arrive on time and plan to stay for the whole session. Once the conversatioin begins, the door will close and latecomers will not be admitted, to honor the sacred space and create a time for deep speaking and listening.

Chief Iyanifa Fajembola Fatunmise also known as Yeye Luisah Teish is a writer, performance artist and Yoruba priestess. An American author of African and African-diaspora spiritual cultures, also is an affluent ritualist, keynote speaker, and spiritual advisor on a global scale. Primarily known for Jambalaya: The Natural Woman’s Book of Personal Charms and Practical Rituals, a women’s spirituality classic that has been translated into German, Spanish, and Dutch. She has co-authored has co-authored On Holy Ground: Commitment and Devotion to Sacred Lands with Leilani Birely. She has contributed to 40 anthologies, and her essays, artwork and poetry appear in such publications as Essence, Ms, and Coreopsis: Journal of Myth and Theater. As an Oshun priestess (Yoruba Goddess of Love and Sensuality), Yeye continues to officiate over spiritual retreats, rituals, and workshops that span over forty years since her introduction into the Ifa spiritual practice. Teish has said, “My tradition is very celebratory – there’s always music, dance, song, and food in our services – as well as a sense of reverence for the children. It’s joyful as well as meditative.”

Leilani Birely is a Native Hawaiian Kahuna and Dianic High Priestess who brings ancient Hawaiian healing and Goddess wisdom to the community. Kahuna Leilani brings forth teachings of the Aloha Spirit through Hula, Ceremony, Performance, Writing and Ritual. She is the founder/ritual director of Daughters of the Goddess Women’s Temple in the San Francisco Bay Area an international community of women dedicated to She of 10,000 names and Multicultural Women’s Mysteries. She has her Master’s in Women’s Spirituality from New College of San Francisco. She has lectured at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology, Dominican University and the California Institute of Integral Studies. Leilani has co-authored the book, On Holy Ground: Commitment and Devotion to Sacred Lands with Luisah Teish. She is included in anthologies Shades of Faith: Minority Voices in Paganism and Stepping into Ourselves: An Anthology of Writings on Priestesses.

Read all about the ASWM Conference and register here.

March 23, 2025March 22, 2025

2025 Conference Workshop: Deep Learning: Art as Medium for Interspecies Listening

Saturday, March 29, 2025, Westward Look Inn, Tucson AZ

Deep Learning: Art as Medium for Interspecies Listening

with Lori Wells

My artwork explores the question, “how can I tell a story that re-connects humans and nature, especially for those of us who have forgotten or forsaken our heritage as guardians of the Earth?”I began my exploration through a daily practice of painting tiny votive offerings to nature. One other-than-human a day. Sitting with the painting, I then asked for guidance on how to tell a story of how our human lives could be informed by their knowledge and innate ways of being. As I researched the other-than-humans I painted, I learned their challenges and mourned their deaths. Consciously, I lived and breathed with them, not turning away from the pain, remembering every day that I am them and they are me.
One day, I awoke with a new question, “How could I possibly tell a story that reconnects humans and nature if I leave the humans out?” Sacred women then appeared. Shortly thereafter, an image leapt out of my imagination and asked to be cut out of paper. She insisted on jumping off the page, thus becoming a sort of bas relief or a dimensional cut paper illustration. Lovingly I began embellishing my creations with embroidery and beads. Creating art is a sacred gift, meant for the community. In this presentation, I will share the images and wisdom that the sacred women and other holy beings of the world have gifted me.

Lori Wells is an artist/writer/dancer with deep roots in nature spirituality, dreamwork and ancestral healing practices. Her work lies at the intersection of ecology and spirituality, it swims in the waters of the numinous imagination, nourished by the magic of biology and myth, and reaches back in time to sit at the fires of the ancestors.

Read all about the ASWM Conference and register here.

March 22, 2025March 22, 2025

2025 Conference Workshop: Earth as Canvas: A Collaborative Eco Arts Experience

Saturday, March 29, 2025, Westward Look Inn, Tucson AZ

Earth as Canvas: A Collaborative Eco Arts Experience

with Jamie Moon

In this immersive workshop, participants will explore the ecological, spiritual, and historical significance of Earth as an art form. Thiscommunal experience invites participants to work collaboratively using soil, sand, and other natural materials to create a large-scale, unified piece of art. Through guided discussions, we will explore the deep connection between humanity and the Earth, highlighting how various cultures have historically and spiritually engaged with the land as both a sacred and artistic medium. Participants will embody the Earth, not just as a physical resource, but as a living, expressive form through which we can explore our relationships to nature, community, and creativity.

The workshop also fosters an appreciation for eco-art practices, encouraging participants to reflect on sustainability, interconnectedness, and the healing power of natural materials. This unique, collaborative process invites participants to not only reconnect with the Earth through their hands but also to engage in meaningful reflection on the role of nature in art, culture, and collective human experience.

Location TBA–Outside!

Jamie Moon, MFA, is a World Mythology professor at Pueblo Community College in Colorado and a doctoral student at Southwestern College. As an integrative educator, conceptual artist, and visual storyteller, she focuses on holistic education and healing, fostering creativity and connection through her work with organic media. Extensively working with diverse and often marginalized populations, she designs immersive, kinesthetic art installations, using her work to create safe spaces for advocacy, healing, and community building.

Read all about the ASWM Conference and register here.

March 22, 2025March 23, 2025

2025 Conference Workshop: Tea Ceremony: The Light that Shines Though Everything

Friday March 28, 2025, Westward Look Inn, Tucson AZ

Tea Ceremony: The Light that Shines Though Everything

with Catherine Reynolds

When society laid aside the old stories in the name of “progress,”we stepped away from our connection to Nature, forgetting our place and responsibilities within it. We collectively forgot what it meant to be enchanted by and entangled with the world, to the detriment of the entire planet.The plant Tea (Camellia sinensis), when consumed in Ceremony, offers an initiation of return – both to the old stories and to the power that comes from remembering our interconnectedness with all beings. The myths around Tea’s origins even point to humanity’s ancient reciprocity with Nature; the Tea tree herself playing a part in the mythic exchange.

Tea Ceremony is both an art form and a means of connecting to something greater than ourselves. It offers a simple and elegant solution to begin to rebalance the imbalances humanity has wrought on the planet for centuries. A relationship with Tea is one that values reciprocity with other sentient beings, respecting and honouring the inherent intelligence of Nature.

Tea offers a deeply sacred, feminine medicine – a light that shines through everything – which can only be experienced when we relate with her as an intelligent, sentient Other. In Ceremony, we are co-collaborators with Tea, returning bowl after bowl to our entanglement with the animate Earth. She reminds us that the human, the animal, the natural and the celestial are one; each and every thing intertwines and is interchangeable. In other words, we can experience the entire universe in every single bowl of Tea.

Note: This workshop has limited participation, but the presenter is willing to repeat the ceremony at another time; sign up at the registration table.

Catherine (Cat) Reynolds is a Tea Ceremonialist and Nature Mystic living in Canada. She is an Animist, poet, and storyteller – speaking to trees and birds more often than she speaks to people. Cat holds an MA in East-West Psychology. Her work is focused on ecopsychology, connecting people with the animate Earth, encouraging re-enchantment and sparking remembrance of what it means to be a part of (and not separate from) Nature.

Read all about the ASWM Conference and register here.

March 22, 2025March 23, 2025

2025 Conference: Seasons of the Witch Poetry Reading

Thursday March 27, 2025, 7:30 PM

Westward Look Inn, Tucson AZ

Seasons of the Witch: A Poetry Reading in Honor of Patricia Monaghan

“Poetry is an oral art. Although since the invention of writing, poetry has been written down, it begins with the voice. The Inuit people of the arctic recognize this, for they use a single word to indicate “breath” and “poem.” A poem is not a picture but a song; it lives best when spoken, chanted, sung.

“Earth-centered people must reclaim the voice of magic. We must make songs of the cycles of the year and of our own lives; we must chant the names of our own divinities; we must remember the powers of earth and air, fire and water, that ancient people honored. As we do so, we not only reconnect with their wisdom, we bring that wisdom to life and breath again.” (Patricia Monaghan, Introduction to Seasons of the Witch, Third Edition, 2004)

Tonight we celebrate Patricia Monaghan as a poet and our inspirational leader. Her words, her ideas, and her visionary works continue to feed the fires of our own creativity. We are grateful to the five poets who present their work in honor of her lasting contribution to scholarship and the arts.

Flow: Our five featured readers are Annie Finch, Ann Filemyr, Judy Grahn, Monica Mody, and Marna Scooter Cascadia. In keeping with Patricia’s organic, ever-flowing view of the art of poetry, these women will decide the order of their readings on site. Pat’s poems are read by Miriam Robbins Dexter, Mary Jo Neitz, Letecia Layson, Sid Reger, and Dawn Work-Makinne.

Ann Filemyr is the author of six books of poetry.. She speaks on the Rising of the Divine Feminine as connected with deepening Earth-based consciousness and leads a monthly New Moon Circle for gathering and grounding. She is the Founder/Director of the PhD in Visionary Practice & Regenerative Leadership at Southwestern College in Santa Fe.

Annie Finch is the author of seven poetry collections including Among the Goddesses (awarded the Sarasvati Award). Her other works include poetry translation, verse theater, writings on poetic craft, ritual, and the Divine Feminine, and the anthology Choice Words: Writers on Abortion. Based in NYC, she teaches and performs worldwide.

Judy Grahn, Ph.D., has been writing about women’s spirituality and women’s contributions to human culture for over fifty years. She taught her own work in Women’s Spirituality Master’s Programs at New College of California and the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology for over thirteen years total. Her work on Inanna includes Eruptions of Inanna: Justice, Gender, and Erotic Power; and three book-length poems on the goddess of love, power, and beauty.

Marna Scooter Cascadia designs collaborative writing games for climate justice futures. Recent work appears in the International Symposium of Poetic Inquiry series, and in the We’Moon. Marna serves as Southwestern’s Associate Director of the Program in Visionary Practice and Regenerative Leadership. She tends Goddess gardens and earth dreams in Pacific Cascadia.

Monica Mody is the author of poetry collections Wild Fin (Weavers Press, 2024) and Bright Parallel (Copper Coin, 2023), the cross-genre Kala Pani (1913 Press, 2013), three chapbooks, and other creative and academic work that has been published widely and presented at international and US-based conferences and talks. Visit www.drmonicamody.com.

About our friend: Patricia Monaghan was a poet, a writer, a spiritual activist, and an influential figure in the contemporary women’s spirituality movement. Her own experience of the natural world and her deep connections with the other-than-human were significant for her adopting the worldwide vision of the earth as feminine. She saw the connection between ecological damage and the oppression of the feminine in Western society. Much of her work explored the question of the role of feminine power in our world, in an inclusive and multicultural way.

The creation and development of goddess scholarship were high priorities for Pat. When she and Sid Reger compared their visions, they jumped at the chance to create ASWM. Pat was devoted to mentoring new and emerging scholars; endowing ASWM’s Kore Award for the Best Dissertation. Pat’s commitment to supporting new work, to call attention to goddess scholarship within society and academia at large, led her to create our prestigious Sarasvati Award for Best Nonfiction Book in Women and Mythology. Her vision and creativity continue to inspire our work to advance goddess scholarship.

Read all about the ASWM Conference and register here.