GODDESS & THE Survival OF THE SPECIES

"Only women ... enabled to sense a female divinity within their own spirit can bring about the profound changes that need to be made if humanity is to last much longer....   


"The survival of any species depends on the nurturing behavior of it females, not the aggressive behavior of its males.

"...[T]he best hope for humanity is to return to ... male submission to the Goddess...."


~From The New AmazoNation
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A big thnx to Cecilia Adolfsson for the foto.  Go here to see more of her work.

Letter to the Children of 2062

I am so sorry.  Please, on bended knees, we beg for your forgiveness!

Most of us in 2012 never, ever wanted you scratching around in caves in abandoned hills grubbing out on cockroaches, leeches, Japanese knotweed*, and whatever else is left.  Many of us suspected this would happen, but we didn’t know how to head it off!

When the Big Bust hit, your great, great grandparents alone survived -- by grabbing the remaining food and uncontaminated water from the rest of us. That’s why your last names are Bush, Cheney, Romney, Koch, Rove, or Dimon.

In 2012, your great, great grandparents ran the world.  And being clinical psychopaths, in their minds bright flashing pictures of Money and Prestige crowded out all other images – including those of a dying humanity and a collapsing climate.  Oh -- and of your future.

And the rest of us did not know how to stop them. 

And we are so, so sorry…. 

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*Since 2004 I have done battle in my yard with Japanese knotweed.  After all other plants have succumbed to whatever holocaust hits us, trust me: knotweed will still be shooting its green little tips up out of the ground all over the place.  And with a smile on its face.  

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Thnx to Dimitridf for the foto; go HERE to see more of his work.  

Calling All Mad Hackers with a Heart

GOOD NEWS!   6,642 world societies still remain un-skinned, un-sliced and un-diced by Jehovah and his stinky followers!  

Most are small and indigenous; some still worship goddesses. 

THE BAD NEWS: I learned the good news through “The Joshua Project”, a humongous online collection of “ethnologic data” scraped together “to support Christian missions” and “for sharing the Christian gospel all over the world…. “

In other words, stinkiness is about to crush hundreds of thousands of some of the Earth’s last happy people. 

Calling all hackers with a heart: how about scrambling up an internet site designed to slice and dice the last happy peoples left on Mother Earth?   Go HERE to scramble it.

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Thnx to Viktor Fejes for the foto!  Go HERE to see more of his work.  

RIDDLE: What’s the difference between christianity and cancer?

 (The answer's below; don't peek!)

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 ANSWER: Not much:

 Cancer crushes all cells but its own; Christianity crushes all religions but its own.

 The aim of cancer is to smash and fry everything but itself; the aim of Christianity too is to smash and fry everything but itself.

 When cancer hits town, the end of the story is often someone’s funeral.

 When Christianity hits town, the end of the story is society’s funeral – through a new swing toward never-ending warfare, a class system as rigid as sticks, and a new pool of poor people that never dries up.

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Thanks to Nancy from Orlando Florida for the pic!

Salivating CHRISTIANS?

Are Rick Perry, Sarah Palin and Michelle Bachmann salivating over the thought of executing “adulterers,” gays and lesbians?

Chip Berlet says, “Yeah, could be. We need a few journalists with enough nads to pry the truth out of them.”

Chip writes for the Boston Globe, the New York Times, the Progressive, the Nation, and other publications.
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 Thnx to MichaelNewport10 for the foto; go HERE to see more of his great work.

A DISEASE TO BE Slashed AT THE KNEES

One of the most gruesome and grisly monsters ever to threaten our Mother Earth is the Kochtopus.

In this week's Mother Jones, the Kochtopus is at it again: trying to eat the EPA, lacerate labor unions, and rout all but the right-iest of the right-wing media.

Go HERE to see.

So, dear readers: what Magic you hide right now up your sleeves, pitch at all eight of those Kochtopus knees!

GOD Hates AMERICA

Right on, dudes at Westboro Baptist Church and the Supreme Court of the USA! Yu have hit the proverbial nail on its very head! Yu are so SMART! The god Jehovah does despise America -- along with the world and everyone in it. He and his triplet bros, Yahweh and Allah? They all hate humanity. All ya hafta do is dance around a bit in their "holy books" to see what I'm sayin' is true.

SO WHY ARE WE TOLERATING DUDES WHO DESPISE US?!?

It's time to pitch these dudes out on their flappy ears. Down with Jehovah, Yahweh and Allah, I say! Up with the glorious, peaceful and humane goddesses and gods who adore us! Time to return the love given us by deities like Isis, Apollo, Holle, Bridget and White Buffalo Woman!

Chucking ABRAHAM

"NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee is considering making it a felony to follow some versions of the Islamic code known as Shariah, the most severe measure yet put forth by a national movement whose members believe extremist Muslims want Shariah to supersede the Constitution." MORE>>>

Alriiight! We're on our way! Next we need laws making it a felony to follow any god of Abraham!*


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* (And the gods of Abraham are, of course, Jehovah, Yahweh, and Allah)

HAPPY Turkey DAY!

John Fiala, Texas Priest, Charged With Hiring Hitman To Kill Teen Who Accused Him Of Sexual Abuse

Behold! The war god Jehovah in full swing! Gobble the forbidden bird, and then squash what’s left so it can’t squeal.

In my book, Switching to Goddess*, I explain why we need to trade in Jehovah and our other war gods for the peaceful, unconditional-loving, guiding goddesses many human societies used to center around.

Go HERE to read the article.

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* Buy copies at the following online bookstores:

Abebooks
TextbooksRus
Valere Books
Alibris
Biblio
Half.com
TextbookX
Bookbyte.com
BiggerBooks.com
eCampus.com
pickabook
Barnes & Noble
Choosebooks.com
Amazon

Goddess TELEVISION

Wheeee! Oprah Winfrey is hunting down new TV talent!

Go HERE to help Karen Tate land a Goddess-Spirituality TV show.

Vote for Karen’s show as many times as you want/can/have the time for – but do it before July 3, because that’s when the voting ends.

Golden chance – help push the Goddess out there for the entire world to see and love!

Answering WILLIAM

Today, William left the following on an older post :

“I have read your book, Switching to Goddess and very much liked the first half of it. But i have to say, i have real problems with the theory that famine and starvation caused the rise of patriarchy.

“People starving to death still happens today. And the problem of starvation is not that people turn into savages, Reports from charity organizations is that people who are starving become very lethargic and don't do much to help themselves.

“Also i think in desperate conditions a matriarchal tribe is far more likely to survive than a patriarchal tribe. This is because in a patriarchal tribe it will be the men who will commandeer what little food they have and the women and children won't have anything....” MORE>>>>

MY REPLY:

Dear William,

First, thank you for reading Switching to Goddess. I’m glad you agree with the book’s general premise; hopefully you can introduce it to one degree or another to those in your sphere of influence.

For humans, religion is like speech, upright posture, and the incest taboo – all human groups have it. The most important job ahead of us now is not to banish religion (which would be impossible), but to banish war religions, and replace them with something healthy. Healthy mothers love us equally, whether we’re rich, poor, male, female, pretty or plug ugly, so I think they make the perfect role model for us.

Evidence suggests that before roughly 4000 BC, many groups around the world were guided by this kind of mother love. What happened to change that isn’t as important as just switching back to this "mother mode" of interacting with each other and the world. On the other hand, if we can figure out what caused the change, it might help us shove the gears into reverse and ride back home to the “good old days.”

I think you make a good point when you say matriarchal versus patriarchal tribes are more likely to survive disastrous conditions. Your reasoning makes sense. However, I think what happened around 4000 BC was not your everyday garden-variety disaster, but disaster on a scale rarely seen on the planet. Evidence suggests that a good quarter of the earth dried up and left millions to starve to death. This was “Saharasia,” a giant strip of land stretching from the Atlantic across Africa and Asia and all the way to the Pacific.

Read Colin Turnbull’s The Mountain People (1972) for insight into what long-term starvation does to a group. It’s an eye-opener. Turnbull lived for a few years among a large group of starving, isolated Africans, the Ik, who had been barely surviving famine for several generations. I can’t even begin to describe the deep-down horror these people lived with. You wouldn’t even recognize them as human – either the men or the women.

But today’s starving people are surrounded by groups who aren’t starving, and so any barbaric mode of living they might develop is sooner or later swamped out by the rest of us leading relatively normal lives. Not so in 4000 BC Saharasia. There were no “normal” people to swamp out the behavior of the Ik-like groups that managed to hang on to survival in this humongous expanse of land.

And here’s what haunts me, William. Anthropologists can see a difference between modern indigenous cultures living in or near Saharasia, versus those living outside it. Saharasians have harsher child-rearing methods, harsher coming-of-age ceremonies, and to one extent or another, violence pervades much of what they do. What’s more, there’s a direct correlation between how violent an indigenous culture is, and how close to Saharasia it’s located.

All my best,
Jeri Studebaker

Cousin Harold & TAXES

Today, my right-wing Cousin Harold got the following from me:

Dearest Cuz,

Since you detest taxes, why are you still using things taxes buy?

When your house catches fire, put it out yourself!

If someone burglarizes you, jail the burglar (I KNOW building your own jail is expensive, but … so are taxes).

You can’t drive on roads -- they’re paid for with taxes -- so you’ll have to knock on doors getting permission to prance across lawns to get where you need to go.

Also, you won’t be using bridges any more – get a good boat.

Hopefully you have money for private schools for the grandkids?

Sick? My, isn’t it dreadful you can’t drive on roads to a hospital!

And BY ALL MEANS don't forget: when America’s attacked, the military can’t protect *you* – the military’s built with taxes.

Your dearest Cuz who delights in keeping you honest,
Athana

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thnx to jared wilson for the foto; go HERE to see more of his work.

& THE 2010 Stupid AWARD GOES TO…

...THE TEXAS STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION!

My deepest regrets to all my Texas friends.

But really, dear ones, you might want to spit-polish your politician-picking process. I should be able to drop the following story into the TOO WEIRD TO BE TRUE pot. Unfortunately, since it IS true, it can’t be pitched into the pot:

Here’s the story:

According to the new Texas state education guidelines, pieced together by the wheezing old geezers you Texans fingered for your State Board of Education, Moses was a real, live dude who helped stitch together the U.S. Constitution:

“In the new [Texas state education] guidelines, students taking classes in U.S. government are asked to identify … the individuals whose principles of law and government institutions informed the American founding documents,” among whom they include Moses….” MORE>>>>

Last time I checked, Moses was just a Fig Newton of someone’s imagination. And, speaking of Fig Newtons, this same bunch of Texas bobble heads not only want to put Newt Gingrich into your history textbooks – they want to leave Ted Kennedy out:

“… the board considered an amendment to require students to evaluate the contributions of significant Americans. The names proposed included Thurgood Marshall, Billy Graham, Newt Gingrich, William F. Buckley Jr., Hillary Rodham Clinton and Edward Kennedy. All passed muster except Kennedy, who was voted down….” MORE >>>>

Jeezum ... Newt Gingrich …. Name rings a bell. Wasn’t he kicked outa Congress for being a bad cookie? I sure hope you add his crimes to your textbook bio. And Teddy Kennedy – wasn’t he the “lion of the Senate,” loved by everyone left and right for all the fab legislation he managed to squeeze through the Senate?

(I’d say we need to keep our beady little eyes on Texas like sharp-shinned hawks, so they don’t strip the textbooks clean of John F. Kennedy and Franklin D. Roosevelt -- but I don’t wanna give the dudes any ideas…).

All this wouldn’t be so bad except that U.S. textbook companies follow Texas around like a bunch of sheep. Since Texas Christians pump out babies by the boatload, Texas buys most of the nation’s textbooks. Which means many to most other states feel forced to use the same texts.

Which also means that in the near future your kids could be penning school papers on Moses and Cookie Gingrich -- while remaining stone-cold stupid about Ted Kennedy, John F. Kennedy, and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
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thnx to benkuhns for the fab foto; go HERE to see more of his work.

GODDESS Goes RADIO

The awesome and metacool Karen Tate (California Goddess minister, author, and radio host) has asked me to tell you that ....

"....Voices of the Sacred Feminine Radio has been creating an archive of the brightest minds of our time for the last twenty months.... This is in response to your requests!

"Just some of the guests interviewed since last September:

Layne Redmond
Judy Grahn
Starhawk
Joan Marler
Barbara Walker
Genevieve Vaughan
Patricia Monaghan
Charlene Spretnak
Riane Eisler
Elinor Gadon
Isaac Bonewits
Phyllis Chesler
Ava Park
Miriam Robbins Dexter
Luisah Teish
Carol Christ
Jean Shinoda Bolen

"Be sure to tune in. Or call in. Or send your email questions prior to the show."

UPCOMING SHOWS:

2/17/2010 9:00 PM

Phyllis Chesler & Prof. David Hillman - Noted author, feminist and foremother Phyllis Chesler, famous for her book Women's Inhumanity to Women, will discuss her views of feminism, contemporary challenges of women, and her books, including Women's Inhumanity to Women. AT THE BOTTOM OF THE HOUR hear scholar David Hillman discuss the new movie Percy Jackson and the Olympians as we delve into Greek Mythology we've learned through a Western/Christian lens versus what the ancient texts actually say and mean."

2/24/2010 9:00 PM - Cristina Biaggi
3/3/2010 9:00 PM - Heide Goettner Abendroth
3/10/2010 9:00 PM - Michael York

FOR MORE INFO >>>> GO HERE

NEW BLOCKBUSTER Stars MOTHER GODDESS

In the new 3D blockbuster film Avatar, the good guys worship the Great Mother Goddess Eywa!

Finally -- a film with some real religion in it.

I know it’s late, but if you still haven’t zeroed in on that perfect holiday gift for that special someone, BUY HER/HIM A TICKET to Avatar! (Mercy, buy tickets for that un-special someone. Buy tickets for everyone on your block. This is a film everyone needs to see. Take it from your Auntie Athana!)

Wishing YOU ALL A GODDESS-FILLED WINTER SOLSTICE!

A few Winter Solstice Goddesses:

• Alcyone (Greek): Alcyone is the Kingfisher goddess. She nests every winter for two weeks, and while she does, the wild seas become calm and peaceful.
• Ameratasu (Japan): In feudal Japan, worshippers celebrated the return of Ameratasu, the sun goddess, who slept in a cold, remote cave. When the other gods woke her with a loud celebration, she looked out of the cave and saw an image of herself in a mirror. The other gods convinced her to emerge from her seclusion and return sunlight to the universe.
• Bona Dea (Roman): This fertility goddess was worshipped in a secret temple on the Aventine hill in Rome, and only women were permitted to attend her rites. Her annual festival was held early in December.
• Cailleach Bheur (Celtic): In Scotland, she is also called Beira, the Queen of Winter. She is the hag aspect of the Triple Goddess, and rules the dark days between Samhain and Beltaine.
• Demeter (Greek): Through her daughter, Persephone, Demeter is linked strongly to the changing of the seasons and is often connected to the image of the Dark Mother in winter. When Persephone was abducted by Hades, Demeter's grief caused the earth to die for six months, until her daughter's return..
• Frau Holle (Norse): Frau Holle appears in many different forms in Scandinavian mythology and legend. She is associated with both the evergreen plants of the Yule season, and with snowfall, which is said to be Frau Holle shaking out her feathery mattresses.
• Frigga (Norse): Frigga honored her son, Baldur, by asking all of nature not to harm him, but in her haste overlooked the mistletoe plant. Loki fooled Baldur's blind twin, Hod, into killing him with a spear made of mistletoe but Odin later restored him to life. As thanks, Frigga declared that mistletoe must be regarded as a plant of love, rather than death.
• La Befana (Italian): This character from Italian folklore is similar to St. Nicholas, in that she flies around delivering candy to well-behaved children in early January. She is depicted as an old woman on a broomstick, wearing a black shawl.
• Spider Woman (Hopi): Soyal is the Hopi festival of the winter solstice. It honors the Spider Woman and the Hawk Maiden, and celebrates the sun's victory over winter's darkness

~from the article "Thanks to Deities of the Winter Solstice,”
by Patti Wigington
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Thanx to Oriana.Italy for the pic; go here to see more.

Keeping COMPANY WITH A GNAT’S EYEBROW

Lou Engle, a big YAJ* dude (Jehovah followers think he’s metacool), is actually telling Christians to martyr themselves in the name of anti-abortion. As in, “be willing to die” for the "cause."

He’s also shouting about a 2nd American Civil War – Abortion-Rights dudes in the left corner, and Right-to-Lifers – where else? -- in the right. (Pssst! Don’t tell anyone, but I think he means ‘war’ with real guns and live ammunition….)

And here’s a comforting bit of news: biggie Republicans in Congress are actually being seen with this gnat’s eyebrow (Sam Brownback, Jim DeMint, and Michele Bachman, for starters).

Thnx to Rachel Maddow for the tip on this situation. Check out dailykos for MORE >>>>>
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YAJ is short for Yahweh-Allah-Jehovah, who many think is three separate deities, but who is really just one god -- the god of Abraham.

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a big round of applause to astrophotography for the foto of the gnat's eyebrow.

CULTURE WARS: WHO Killed BABY JESUS?

Action star Mr. Chuck Norris says Obamacare woulda killed Baby Jesus.

Shooting back from the hip, Washington Post writer M. Kessler says Christian-dude Chuck Norris woulda killed Mary even before she’d delivered Jesus.

Afterall, Mary was an unwed mother. Before he’da let her give birth in his holy Christian manger, Chuck woulda let her freeze to death out on the plains.

Dudes, dudes, I say! Stop your sniping! Save your lovely breath! Nobody killed baby Jesus -- Jesus never existed!

Not one shred of evidence exists that a man named Jesus of Nazareth walked the planet from 1 to 32 AD. None. Nada.

As in zip, zero and zilch.

Posted by Athana
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thnx to okinawa soba for the pic; go HERE to see more

Striking A NERVE?

Why are so many suffering apoplexies over the simple notion that, in the past, the world might have revolved around goddesses?

Take, for example, Mr. Robert Sheaffer at “The Debunker’s Domain.” Mr. R.S. must have spent months -- if not years -- scouring the planet for every document he could scare up that might possibly besmirch the notion of Goddess.

For the best yucks, read all the way to the final article. In “Why Is the ‘Goddess Movement’ Being so Vehemently Promoted?” Mr. S. explains that it’s all a lesbian plot (to what? Turn him into a lesbian?).

Frankly, my dears, methinks mi’lady doth protest too much….
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Thnx to dogwelder for the foto; go HERE to see more of his work.
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P.S. For a refutation of nearly everything Mr. R.S. says, read Switching to Goddess: Humanity's Ticket to the Future, by Jeri Studebaker, 2009, O Books: Winchester, UK. You can put your hands on a copy of STG at almost any online bookstore.