“Matriarchal Landscape Mythology”

with Andrea Fleckinger and Heide Goettner Abendroth

Thursday,  January 26, 2022 at NOON Eastern Time 

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Dr Andrea Fleckinger on Principles of Matriarchal Landscape Mythology: The Matriarchal Landscape Mythology (MLM) is a theory and a practice that allows rediscovering the matriarchal art of landscape formation and decodes landscapes in their ancient, sacred meaning. The methodology of the MLM had been developed by Dr. Heide Goettner-Abendroth. The MLM allows to restore the ancient meanings of the sacred places, the great goddesses, the spiritual symbols, and the rich mythology of Central Europe. The analytical process consists of ten steps: 1) Walking the landscape, 2) Discovering sacred hills, 3) Individuating sightlines according to archaeo-astronomy, 4) Research for cult lines/ paths, 5) Archaeological analysis, 6) Linguistic analysis, 7) Research in churches 8) Research of legends and myths 9) Folklore research 10) Research of retreats and cultural niches. The single steps of the methodological process will be deepend during the presentation and illustrated further by concrete examples during the salon.

Dr Heide Göttner-Abendroth on Sacred Landscape and Landscape Temples: With the cosmological references of the Neolithic tombs and other sacred places and their meaningful emplacements, people created not only a social but also a symbolic landscape. They projected their religious symbolism onto the landscape, turning it into a sacred one. As the landscape was always regarded as a manifestation of Mother Earth who, depending on the local area, may have had different forms with different names: this results in many different landscape goddesses but they always refer to the one Mother Earth. The sacred landscape is shaped by her divine forms and forces. Until now, this symbolic relationship between sacred monuments and the landscape has not been taken into consideration in archaeology because of the ideology of “taking over and possessing the land by elites.”

However, the Neolithic people not only emphasized the natural landscape with their religious buildings, but also transformed the landscape itself into a symbolic one, with large earthworks. The formation of sacred landscapes in the image of Mother Earth, occupying an area with places of worship in a particular arrangement, is a widespread feature in Neolithic cultures. It led to the phenomenon of “landscape temples.” These characteristics of Matriarchal Landscape Mythology will be illustrated by examples and pictures.

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Dr. Andrea Fleckinger is a sociologist, social worker, lecturer on Modern Matriarchal Studies, and founder of the MatriForum. an organization that aims to encourage constructive dialogue between science and the public at large regarding “alternative, egalitarian forms of society supported by the latest findings in the scientific fields of modern matriarchal research, economics, sociology, political science and cultural studies.”  Among other areas.In her research, she focuses on gender equality, gender-based violence, social work, mothering, and the possibilities for social transformation.

Dr. Heide Göttner-Abendroth is a mother and a grandmother, and the founder of Modern Matriarchal Studies, who has twice been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. She earned her Ph.D. in philosophy of science at the University of Munich where she lectured for ten years. She has published on philosophy of science, and extensively on matriarchal society and culture.. Her many publications include The Dancing Goddess. Principles of a Matriarchal Aesthetic, Matriarchal Societies. Studies on Indigenous Cultures across the Globe, and The Goddess and Her Heros. Matriarchal Religion in Mythology, Fairy-Tales and Poetry. In 1986, she founded the International ACADEMY HAGIA for Matriarchal Studies in Germany, and since then has been its director. She also guided three World Congresses on Matriarchal Studies. In 2012, she received ASWM’s Saga Award for Contributions to Women’s History and Culture.

Save these dates for the next ASWM Salons:

February 9, 2023, 12 NOON Eastern Standard Time  
Searching for Palaeolithic and Neolithic Ancestors in Italy
Luciana Percovich

February 23, 2023, 12 NOON Eastern Standard Time  
The Woman who Married the Bear and Original Instructions
Kaarina Kailo

The Salon recording will also be available to members after the event. 

“Eruptions of Inanna: Justice, Gender, and Erotic Power”

with Judy Grahn

Thursday,  January 12, 2023 at 3 PM Eastern Time 

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“My forty-year love affair with Sumerian goddess Inanna continues with the 2021 publication Eruptions of Inanna: Justice, Gender, and Erotic Power, with interpretive retelling of eight of her stories. I address her depth, her longevity (now!), and a beginning take on her thealogy. This salon will allow even more complex and relevant understandings of who She is, and how we access Her. Because if, as I argue, She is goddess of Life itself, and we are blessed to have lush material from the ancient poets who first described Her, then what can we perceive of the ethical as well as the psychological teachings in Her stories?”

“From the translations and interpretations of Noah Kramer and Diane Wolkstein, Betty De Shong Meador, and a dozen more, we already know much of the psychological value of Inanna’s literature. For fourteen years my colleagues and I used her Descent myth to frame the journey students took through our MA program in Women’s Spirituality. Researching and writing Eruptions allowed me to address my own questions: why is a goddess of love and beauty also so violent–or is She? How do Her androgyny and cross-gendered priesthoods fit? Were the writings of her greatest poet, Enheduanna, the central axis of the Book of Job? And how, if She is goddess of Life itself, how do we have an intimate, even everyday, relationship with Her?   Using two of her lesser-known stories, I plan a presentation with illustrations enhanced by your questions and experiences to deepen our connection to Her vivacity and love.”

Judy Grahn is an internationally known poet, author, mythographer, and cultural theorist. Her works include seven books of nonfiction, two book-length poems, five poetry collections, a reader, and a novel.  Audible just released two audiobooks if her works: Judy’s first forty years memoir, A Simple Revolution, and The Judy Grahn Reader, which also includes The Queen of Swords, read by six readers as a raucous verse play on Inanna’s Descent Myth. Grahn’s eco-essays, Touching Creatures, Touching Spirit: Living in a Sentient World came out in print in 2021, as did Eruptions of Inanna: Justice, Gender, and Erotic Power. The latter has won two awards for scholarship, from ASWM (the Sarasvati Award for Best Nonfiction) and from PENOakland. Coming next: an updated version of The Highest Apple: Sappho and the Lesbian Poetic Tradition with commentaries by seven younger writers. Judy’s lifework has fueled LGBT movements, feminism, and Women’s Spirituality. For more information about her work see the Commonality Institute, a community for artists and scholars engaged with Judy’s work.

Save these dates for the next ASWM Salons:

January 26, 2023, 12 NOON Eastern Standard Time  
“Matriarchal Landscape Mythology”
Andrea Fleckinger and Heide Goettner-Abendroth

February 9, 2023, 12 NOON Eastern Standard Time  
Title to Be Announced
Luciana Percovich

The Salon recording will also be available to members after the event.