Tag: 2025 Conference Special

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

Trekking through Ruins and Forgotten Temples: Reclaiming Women’s Sacred Spaces with Carla Ionescu

Throughout history, women’s sacred spaces have been neglected, erased, or rewritten to fit dominant narratives that diminish their original power. In an era where access to historical knowledge is increasingly filtered and controlled, the act of documenting and reclaiming these spaces is an essential. This talk explores the Artemis Mapping Project, a research initiative dedicated to uncovering, preserving, and amplifying the voices of the past through firsthand archaeological investigation, video documentation, photography, and historical analysis.

Led by Dr. Carla Ionescu, this session will guide participants through key locations—including Eleusis, the Sanctuary of Despoina, and Sardis—where goddesses and their priestesses once held authority, where rituals centred on feminine power flourished, and where layers of erasure have obscured their histories. By retracing these sacred landscapes, this research not only reconstructs the spiritual and cultural significance of goddess temples, but also challenges the systemic forces that have silenced them.  By prioritizing boots-on-the-ground exploration, this project reminds us that to reclaim history, we must walk the paths of those who came before us. Through film, site notes, and immersive research, this session invites us to engage with women’s sacred spaces not as distant relics, but as living, breathing testaments to feminine power, resilience, and legacy.

Founder of the Artemis Mapping Project, Dr. Carla Ionescu is an ancient historian specializing in Artemis and her impact on both ancient and modern cultures. Her research spans mythology, ecology, and the sacred feminine, bringing ancient wisdom into dialogue with contemporary environmental and cultural conversations.

Read all about the ASWM Conference and register  here.