Whew! Last night I cracked open the latest edition of SageWoman* (No. 72) and found this Hot little letter to the Editor: “I have looked but don’t seem to find writing in SageWoman that connects Goddess women to the world we live in. The writings in SageWoman beg the questions of why don’t we see Goddess temples in our neighborhoods, why women are routinely abused and murdered by men, and why 18,000 Americans die each year because of no health care.You go, Artemis. Go, girl!
"Does the Goddess of SageWoman want us to be blind and deaf?
Snip
“We have meditated, visualized, intuited, and mused ad nausea. Now we need to help our Goddess stop the suffering of all humans.
Snip
“It is my hope that SageWoman will get out of the closet regarding speaking out about the harmful nature of Christianity, how it totally destroyed all that is Goddess, and how it devastates women and children today. Come on out! You will find that you are not alone.
“Artemis Oakstone”
My personal opinion? For what it is, SageWoman turns out a great little magazine. But what we need now for the Goddess Movement is a brand new activist journal.
Whadda you think?
_______________________
*The leading North American Goddess-Movement rag. Artemis' letter is on pages 88-89.
8 comments:
For the activist journal I read Ms Magazine and Bitch Magazine (which also helps show my co-workers I am capable of being as profane as they are, I just don't choose to be). For Goddess studies, I do enjoy Sage Woman, Pan Gaia, and New Witch.
Sounds like some good reading, amy. However, here's what none of your magazines give us (and neither do any other publications I know of): Info on how the daddy gods Jehovah, Vishnu, Allah and Yahweh are killing the human species, and on how Guiding Mother Goddesses -- when we were centered around them -- made human societies peaceful, nonviolent, egalitarian, free, smart, rich, courageous and playful.
So I say, who out there is willing and able to start a new publication?
NewWitch and PanGaia are published by Blessed Bee,the same publisher as SageWoman. IMO, if anything they are less woman and Goddess Centered than SageWoman. SageWoman has seen better (meaning more strongly feminist)days and I think may have just undergone (or just be undergoing) an editorial change (but don't expect it to be in the direction you're looking for). As you may know, we on http://medusacoilsblogspot.com blog about the online Goddess journals,and have just blogged about a few of them, so take a look at what we've written and see what appeals to you. Especially you might want to check out Max Dashu's series in Goddess Pages (off the top of my head I think the url is http://www.goddess-pages.co.uk ). Athana, maybe one or more of on online zines would be interested having you write something for them.
labyrs, thanks for the info. I ran off a copy of Max Dashu's "The Meanings of Goddess Part 2" and will read it tomorrow. Looks good. Too tired tonight to read.
I think SageWoman is good for people who want just to bask in Goddess and to learn about Her. I really resonated with the following lines from Artemis, though: "We have meditated, visualized, intuited, and mused ad nausea. Now we need to help our Goddess stop the suffering of all humans."
It's so obvious: the big male state gods are poisoning us. They're all war gods. They're political control mechanisms. And what I'm beginning to call the "Guiding Goddess" -- when she was at the helm, we had little if any war, social violence, social ranking, poverty or slavery.
Where are the magazines talking about this?
I'd love to write articles for the online journals, but I have a contract to finish a book by November, and I'm trying to keep my nose to the grindstone!
Thnx again!
Athana
I had a big long diatribe written out here, but I decided to save it for another time. The nature of who we are seems to keep us from forming any solidarity. And the patriarchs are well-organized and relentless. Short of raising an army of Amazons - which would be a great idea as far as I'm concerned - I don't know how we move forward.
I'm totally with you on this Athana.
Where are the magazines talking about this?
I'd love to write articles for the online journals, but I have a contract to finish a book by November, and I'm trying to keep my nose to the grindstone!
Maybe, initially, someone could start a blog (politial goddessness and grassroots goddessness or however you want to define it) and either run it as a group blog, or invite a range of people to guest blog. That way you spread the load.
Here's the URL for medusacoils (the URL above is incorrect)
http://medusacoils.blogspot.com/
Thanks, Labrys, that looks a wonderful resource.
Hello!
I agree with Amy...I'm a huge fan of Bitch myself and find it satisfies my activist nature :-)
To answer many here, the staff at The Beltane Papers http://www.thebeltanepapers.net would warmly welcome (an understatement here) any articles on the topics mentioned above. The Beltane Papers strives to present material to those who are not only goddess and pagan oriented, but crave a deeper discussion on issues that affect women today around the world. Hope to hear from you all soon!
--Carisa, volunteer designer/illustrator for TBP
Sometimes the internet can be so magical and today I stumbled upon your blog. Yay. I am with you sisters. I live in Massachusetts and have been involved for 23 years with women's empowerment and the goddess/earth culture. Just this morning I was doing my best to explain to our local newspaper for women about a conference that I've been facilitating for ten years, the Women's Belly and Womb Conference and why women benefit when we embody our power. We were both women, both interested in women's issues and even she was telling me that she was having a hard time comprehending what I was talking about. We got into the discussion of what we intellectualize about feminism and even the sacred feminine but then there is the building of culture around us that supports women and our empowerment.
I could really get into a lot here so since I am new suffice to say that I am holding down presently some vital and active visions that I will list below.
I launched in Sept of 2007 the Red Tent Temple Movement that has grown to three countries and 19 states. Here our temples rise at least one day a month for now and it is held for women, by women. More to say on that later. Very exciting. It is owned by ALL of us and is free with donations supporting them all locally. Get involved. Our next teleconference about it is Oct 23rd.
In 2005 we began Daughters of the Earth Gatherings more and more becoming a place for the grand experiment of healing our fractures, coming home to our diversity and dealing with the issues of racism and classism while also being in ceremonies, celebration, councils and circles. If we can't get into this mess and heal it then who can? Some place to lay it out and do the work. It is on the land and off the grid. Five women's temples are raised up.
Women in Power, Initiating Ourselves to the Predator Within. Another amazing experiment in the making where we tackle the place of where we get stuck in victim/perpetrator/ predator/prey loops and by women's initiation to coming out the other side we face the perpetrator within and the one we promised never to be. It is so hard to explain here so I will just say it is working and women are gaining their healthy predator and prey natures back and liberating ourselves from that internal oppression/annihilation loop inside.
Priestess Path, is now a ten year women's mystery school where women reclaim the priestess archetype for her empowerment as a leader serving her communities with her spiritual gifts. And the route here is almost all embodied ceremonies and experiences that deeply change how she perceives her role as a woman so after 200 graduates we see women effecting the whole in large ways.
And the Women's Belly and Womb Conferences where women reclaim the power and knowing of their bellies since this is our first brain and more neurons fire here than our brains. We must get our throne back you know?
Lately I am also involved in starting Daughters of the Earth Alliance and creating dialogues and healing ceremonies among sisters of different skins, the Sisterhood Bridge. These begin to bring us together in that world work too like our writings, music, links, petitions, microbanking, art, etc.
I am interested now in how to create the women's love army connected of women connected to the earth and to becoming women leaders bringing forward the new paradigms. I've got to write now after 23 years of all of this embodied work but where?
The "experiments/visions" are working and we are a healthy growing and vibrant network of committed of women. I've bought the domain names, Women Rise Up, Red Tent Temple Movement and Daughters of the Earth and we will need programmers to get things going. Anyone know how to program Druple? For now there is my website, www.alisastarkweather.com
I am going to talk about all of this on Nov 5th, on the radio show, Sacred Voices of the Feminine with Karen Tate. I don't usually do this kind of thing but this underground river must come up and out now. It is time women. It is our time to lead.
Also because who knows when I will get back here, keep your eyes on Max Dashu's work, the Suppressed Histories Archives. We must fundraise for her and this cause because she holds over 38 years of uncovering massive women's histories. Let's preserve it. Her new DVD is Women and Power. Get it. Support her!
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