Category: Sharing News of Others

News and articles of allied and complementary organizations, of interest to the membership

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Die Zeit ist Reif: Report on the 2011 International Congress on Matriarchal Studies

by Lin Daniels, MA, Amazon Icon Foundation

            “Better to build lifeboats than to wait for the Patriarchy-Titanic to listen to reason” was the emphasis of this year’s conference.  It was an examination of what to do about the patriarchy-built looming global crisis. The conference was a feast for the mind and the heart as women from all over the world convened to find answers.

The conference was held in the medieval town of St. Gallen, at the Town Hall. The old building was transformed by the art exhibitions.  The photo exhibit by Siegrun Claaben gave glimpses of the New Matriarchal Mystery Festivals that began in 1983. They invoked the spirit of the time. “The 1000 PeaceWomen Across the Globe” exhibit displayed biographical postcards of women who have all profoundly changed lives on this planet for the better. Lydia Ruyle’s powerful banners graced all of the halls of the building. They set the atmosphere of the conference.

Dr. Cecile Keller designed and facilitated the rituals that closed the days of the Kongress, with drumming led by Isabella Verbruggen and Loes Moezelaar of the Netherlands.  We conjured a grand spectacle as hundreds of women made a sacred circle in the park in front of the town hall.

Continue reading “Die Zeit ist Reif: Report on the 2011 International Congress on Matriarchal Studies”

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Altared Spaces Art Exhibit

Altared space–Barb Lutz

ASWM member Barb Lutz, whose work is featured on the page Myth and Living Rituals, had first  gallery showing of her unique earthen altars (“shamanic creations of sacred space”) in Madison, WI, in May.

These are words and images from Barb Lutz’s art show, “Altared Spaces,” which ran concurrent with the recent ASWM Symposium in Madison, where Barb also presented, and RCG-I’s annual “Gathering of Priestesses and Goddess Women.”

One entered the exhibit experience, which was dedicated to the Earth (“we will not forsake you!”) through a “Hall of Ancestors.” These words welcomed visitors:

You are entering sacred space.. . . You are entering the culture of a very special Tribe of Wimmin who honor and love the Goddess and who Follow the Wheel of the Year (the Seasons of Nature), the Wheel of Life, as our Life.

“Our religion is the Wheel. Our language, Ritual. Our tribe, Dianic….Goddess…. Amazon!”*    

Each elaborate display was visual and silent.  Barb chose not to add written explanations to the altars, instead inviting people to “simply and deeply experience them as an opportunity for an intimate conversation between each of us and Her. “

Barb had this to say:  My work as an altarist, ritualist, and creator of sacred space is done within the culture of my People, Goddess wimmin, in our Mystery School in North Carolina, the WOTY program, rituals, and other venues.  These altars are about my relationship to Her, from their conception to manifestation to the completion, when the dirt and sand and other natural items are composted in our garden or made use of in other altars and sacred spaces.

My inspiration is Nature, the temples and science and art of ancient Goddess cultures, my foremother’s such as archeologist Marija Gimbutas, other artists and researchers, my Priestess, and the wimmin I Circle with, who are also Nature. 

 

 

*from unpublished manuscript by Kim Duckett, soon to be serialized on RCG-I’s Seasonal Salon. 

Altar by Barb Lutz
Altar by Barb Lutz
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Modern Matriarchal Studies

Modern Matriarchal Studies Week at the Academy Hagia

by Joan Cichon

This past July I was privileged to attend a special week long seminar taught by Dr. Heide Gottner-Abendroth at her International Academy Hagia (www.hagia.de) in Bavaria, Germany.  Entitled “Modern Matriarchal Studies,” the seminar was attended by sixteen women from Africa, Europe and North and South America.  Among the participants were politicians, activists, scholars, academicians, and artists.

We came to Bavaria for Dr. Gottner-Abendroth’s first seminar in English on Modern Matriarchal Studies, a field which she originated.

Continue reading “Modern Matriarchal Studies”

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Heart of the Sun: forthcoming Sekhmet anthology

Sekhmet

The anthology  Heart of the Sun:  An Anthology in Exaltation of Sekhmet will be published this year by Goddess Institute Publishing.  The editors, Dr. Candace Kant and Dr. Anne Key, Priestesses of the Temple of Goddess Spirituality Dedicated to Sekhmet, describe the project as follows: “As Priestesses and scholars, we endeavor to create an anthology that will serve as a resource and a source of inspiration to those that want to honor Sekhmet and explore more about Her multiple manifestations.”

Watch this site for more information detailing this exciting publication and other projects of Goddess Institute Publishing.

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A Pilgrimage of Self-Discovery in Cornwall

At the mysterious site of Mên-an-Tol in Cornwall, women on a self-discovery pilgrimage by Women Creating Change pass through an ancient circular stone as goddess scholar Cheryl Straffon sings them along.

Ancient Stone in Cornwall inspires “Women Creating Change”

Picking Up Stones-The Pilgrimage is the annual event of Women Creating Change.  On this pilgrimage, women experience sacred sites of feminine spirituality in Great Britain, where they may discover their own voice and authority.  Continue reading “A Pilgrimage of Self-Discovery in Cornwall”