Last night I was listening to plant scientist Monica Gagliano who is pushing the boundaries of what we know about plants. She proved that plants respond to the sound of water by moving toward it and cannot be tricked. Bio-acoustics… Read More ›
Ecofeminism
Legacy of Carol P. Christ: Mountain Mother, I Hear You Calling
This was originally posted on July 7, 2014 The mountaintop shrines of Mount Juctas in Archanes, Crete are situated on twin peaks, which may have symbolized breasts. Ancient shrines on the northern peak date from 2200 BCE until at least… Read More ›
From the Archives: “The Importance of Religion for Ecofeminism,” by Ivy Helman.
Author’s note: Originally published on January 8, 2017, this post still speaks to me 6 years-to-the-day later. Now, when I teach ecofeminism, I dedicate a week to religion as we cannot deny the way in which Western patriarchy and religion… Read More ›
Saying Goodbye (Refuge), Part 2 by Sara Wright
Part 1 was posted last week. You can read it here. When I first came to this area 40 years ago I was ‘called’ to land about 15 minutes from here. That first summer I was out in the field… Read More ›
Ode to Seeds by Janet Maika’i Rudolph
“In this is all that is.” Julian of Norwich (while purportedly holding a seed in her hand) – 14th century “Even if I knew that the world would end tomorrow, I would plant an apple tree today.” Martin Luther Have… Read More ›
The Legacy of Carol P. Christ: Meeting the Windigo
Towards the end of Braiding Sweetgrass, mother, biologist, and member of the Citizen Potawami Nation Robin Wall Kimmerer sets out at the end of winter to visit a forest area near her home that she considers hers not in name… Read More ›
When Earth Meets the Son by Sara Wright
As I curl up in my hatchback open to sky I am a snail loving her shellsun warms me from behindAutumn lightshimmers, leavesa testamentto breeze some withered by a freeze.Burnt umberGoldSalmonthe understoryin full gloryBare hardwoods peer down sentries stationedOverheadAcorn browned… Read More ›
The Mixed Bag that is Toldot by Ivy Helman.
The parshah for November 26th is Toldot, Genesis 25:19-28:9. In it, we have the struggles of Isaac and Rebecca to conceive, the relations between Abimelech and Isaac’s family, the birth of Esau and Jacob, and the loss of Esau’s birthright… Read More ›
Legacy of Carol P. Christ: Tree-Hugging Is About Trees and So Much More Than Trees
This was originally posted March 11, 2019 Not too long ago I heard someone deride members of a seminar who were building labyrinths in the olive groves of Greece as “a bunch of tree-huggers.” I bristled! I probably first heard… Read More ›
Legacy of Carol P. Christ: “Calling All Women” to Save the Earth, signed and shared by Carol P. Christ
This was originally posted on April 1, 2019 We are calling all women and our allies to come together to save the earth that sustains us all. Is it any wonder that from Rachel Carson to Wangari Maathai to the… Read More ›
Whale Continues Singing to Me by Judith Shaw
The mystery evoked by Whale continues to fill my heart as Whale images fill up papers laid out on my drawing table.
In Memoriam: Rosemary Radford Ruether by Elizabeth Ann Bartlett
Yet another of my great feminist and spiritual teachers has died. Rosemary Radford Ruether, ecofeminist Catholic theologian, died on May 21st. Her work challenged my thinking and gave me new understandings and perspectives. She was a prolific writer, authoring hundreds… Read More ›
On the Good and the Bad of Behar by Ivy Helman
The Torah portion for May 21, 2022 is Behar (Leviticus 25:1 – 26:2). In it, the Israelites receive instructions for sh’mita and yovel – two types of sabbatical years. These years attempt to set up right relations between the community,… Read More ›
From the Archives: Frozen 2: Can the Christian Church Hear its Gospel Song? by Trelawney Grenfell-Muir
This was originally posted on March 5, 2020 The first time I saw Frozen 2, I was impressed by the ecofeminism and the efforts to respect the Sami culture. The second time, I thoroughly enjoyed the superb music and the… Read More ›
From the Archives: Through the Eyes of the 21st Century Bird Goddess by Carolyn Lee Boyd
Moderator’s note:Today’s blogpost was originally posted March 14, 2018. You can visit it here to see the original comments. When I raise my eyes to a bird soaring over me in flight, I am no longer bound to the Earth… Read More ›
From the Archives: Child of the Earth by Elizabeth Cunningham
Moderator’s note: This marvelous FAR site has been running for 10 years and has had more than 3,600 posts in that time. There are so many treasures that have been posted in this decade that they tend to get lost… Read More ›
Carol P. Christ’s Legacy: Women And Weeding, The First 10,000 Years* by Carol P. Christ
Moderator’s Note: We here at FAR have been so fortunate to work along side Carol Christ for many years. She died from cancer in July, 2021. Her work continues through her non-profit foundation, the Ariadne Institute for the Study of Myth and… Read More ›
From the Archives: The Way We Are Created: Eco-feminist Explorations of Bodily Hair by Tallessyn Grenfell-Lee
Moderator’s note: This marvelous FAR site has been running for 10 years and has had more than 3,600 posts in that time. There are so many treasures that have been posted in this decade that they tend to get lost… Read More ›
For Love of This Life: Carol Christ’s Contribution to Ecofeminist Thought by Elizabeth Ann Bartlett
Journeying with students into the woods to dive deep into our spiritual connections with nature, I would invoke these words from Carol Christ: “There are no hierarchies among beings on earth. We are different from the swallows who fly in… Read More ›
The Blessing of the Elders by Rachel Thomas
, elders are people who have illuminated my path, inspired me to see my own potential. To open my eyes, all my senses, even those I did not know I had. Elders show bravery and model for us how to be strong.
Carol P. Christ’s Legacy: With Beauty Around Me
Moderator’s Note: We at FAR have been so fortunate to work along side Carol P. Christ for many years. She died from cancer in July 2021. To honor her legacy as well as allow as many people as possible to… Read More ›
Asherah, Blessed, Asherah by Janet Maika’i Rudolph
Once upon a time, the Great Goddess was the spiritual focal point of ancient culture. Her worship included honoring women, living in harmony with the earth, and cherishing the processes of the cycles of nature. Asherah was one of those… Read More ›
Last Tuesday Night by Marcia Mount Shoop
It’s been just over a week. Last Tuesday night to be exact. That’s the night the four of us huddled around our beloved companion of sixteen and a half years and said goodbye. Buck became a part of our family… Read More ›
An All Hallows Story – My Father becomes a Beaver by Sara Wright
Transmutation? The year my father died I fell in love with beavers. All summer I watched them at dawn and dusk gnaw down the poplars, drag them to the plume, observing keenly how the trees slid so easily into the… Read More ›
Mirror Reflections by Sara Wright
The Old Woman still lives in the Forest as she once did in fairy tales. She can present her dark side to those who are uninitiated (mirror mirror on the wall…) but she also offers gifts to those that visit… Read More ›
Suzanne Simard Creates a Bridge to the Future by Sara Wright
It interests me that September 30th was declared Truth and Reconciliation Day in Canada because this is the day I was born and this is where I think we need to begin. Truth and Reconciliation is about acknowledging the wound… Read More ›
Sequoias by Sara Wright
When I think about the burning trees I think about women because we are so closely related through myth and story as well as sharing DNA. What is happening to these trees once happened to us… I note that women… Read More ›
Avian Friendship by Sara Wright
The other night I had a dream about a strange green hooded figure that was guarding a green gate underground. She wasn’t human; she had a hooked bird’s beak (like many of Marija Gimbutas’s goddess figures). Something about the strange… Read More ›
Rainbow Goddess by Sara Wright
Winged Iris flew over earth and sea. Rainbows luminesced in her wake. Messenger from the clouds, she gathered up the rain,
Farewell to Carol Christ at the Kamilari tholos tomb, Crete by Laura Shannon
September 7, 2021 1. At the gate On a hilltop between the horned peak of Mount Psiloritis and the wide blue expanse of the Libyan Sea, Ellen Boneparth, Tina Nevans and I prepare to enter the Kamilari tholos tomb. This… Read More ›