Reading the brilliant post Another Brick in the Ivory Wall by Natalie Weaver brought back some old feelings about being an ex-academic who finally let go of the search. While the wound reopened a bit, I can honestly say that… Read More ›
Feminism and Religion
Leadership and Community: Continuing to be Teachable by Kate Brunner
Over the last several years, the North American Pagan community at large has been engaged in an often turbulent process of self-examination. A lot of allegations of abuse, bigotry, and oppressions are surfacing very publicly as the greater Pagan culture… Read More ›
The Blue Organdy Dress by Carol P. Christ
The blue organdy dress was a present my grandfather bought for me at the end of a summer I spent in San Francisco with my grandparents when I was six-going-on-seven. Was this the first time I crossed my father? Or… Read More ›
The Heraklion Museum: A Critique of the Neolithic Display by Carol P. Christ
If I had been asked to write the words that introduce visitors to the Heraklion Archaeological Museum of Crete to its earliest inhabitants, I would have said something like this: While there is evidence that human beings visited Crete as… Read More ›
Centering Women’s Circles with Altars and Ritual by Anne Yeomans and the Women’s Well
From 1994 until 2012, the Women’s Well, based in Concord, Massachusetts, offered thousands of women the opportunity to participate in women’s circles of all kinds. Here, in their own words in the second of this three-part series, Anne Yeomans, a… Read More ›
The Practices of Forgiveness and Yoga by Vanessa Soriano
Forgiveness and yoga require consistent practice. As we engage in each, healing unfolds in the body, mind, and soul. Forgiveness and yoga exist in a symbiotic relationship: forgiveness allows us to release emotional blockages that affect the body/mind, and yoga… Read More ›
Claiming the Power to Choose Our Lovers and Partners by Carol P. Christ
My dear friend Carol Lee Sanchez once told me that the women of the Laguna Pueblo– whose culture is an egalitarian matriarchy–taught her that women must choose their men, not wait for the men to choose them.* This was a… Read More ›
A Victory for the Environment: For Birds and for Us by Carol Christ
On February 20, 2018, the Greek government issued a Presidential Decree mandating the formation of government bodies to monitor and protect the more than four hundred bird and wildlife habitats in Greece designated as part of the European law Natura… Read More ›
The Power of the Women’s Circle by Anne Yeomans and the Women’s Well
Women’s Well Series ( 1 of 3) From the most ancient times, women have gathered in circles to transform themselves, their communities and nations, and the world. Today, when millions of women are finding their voices, when they are joining with… Read More ›
Women’s History Month: Painting and Empowering Adolescent Girls by Angela Yarber
In celebration of Women’s History Month, the Holy Women Icons Project is excited to launch Revolutionary Girls, a new program seeking to empower marginalized adolescent girls by telling the stories of revolutionary women through art, writing, and discussion. Partnering with local schools… Read More ›
“Womenspiration” for International Women’s Day by Elise M. Edwards
Happy International Women’s Day! I hope it is a happy day for you as we recognize women’s achievements throughout the world. Our FAR community is not only for or about women, but as feminists in some form or another, collectively… Read More ›
Toil and Trouble (Part 1) by Barbara Ardinger
…and Ella can’t remember the last real meal she had. After supper with the refugees in the witch’s house, she and the witch put their heads together to begin making significant plans. She’s also been meeting all the refugees who… Read More ›
Goddess Spirituality and Women’s Leadership by Jessica Bowman
As a public school administrator, and a human, I feel tremendous grief for the tragedy generated in the latest school shooting. The impact is devastating and disastrous. Immediately after such a calamity is the public outcry for change and the… Read More ›
Queen Esther from The Goddess Project: Made in Her Image by Colette Numajiri
Queen Esther An orphan child, who became a well respected queen, Esther, the Queen of Persia, was a woman of integrity, Wisdom and courage, a beautiful woman, truly supreme, favored by God, She had a awareness of dependability, steady strong,… Read More ›
Esther’s Choice — And Ours by Joyce Zonana
The Book of Esther tells a story in which women’s power is not so much repressed as asserted. The king who banishes one queen finds himself submitting to the will of another. Numerous women writers of various ethnic, religious, and racial backgrounds in the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries have found inspiration in the stories of both Esther and Vashti’s disobedience to an autocratic king.
What We Can’t See by Sara Frykenberg
As a professor, I find myself returning to a similar struggle again and again. I know what I know; and I know what I hope students will gain from the class, in terms of content knowledge, critical thinking, classroom community-making,… Read More ›
Children of German Immigrant Farmers in Cherry Ridge: American Stories by Carol P. Christ
In my genealogy research, I traced my father’s grandmother, Catherine, to her roots on the Iloff farm in Cherry Ridge, Honesdale, Pennsylvania, about two hours north of New York City. Catherine’s parents were Henry Iloff, who emigrated in 1841 from… Read More ›
On Snakes by Ivy Helman
In the ancient world, snakes represented fertility, creativity, rebirth, wisdom and, even, death. They were often closely connected to female goddesses, priestesses and powerful human females who were the embodiment of such powers. For example, there is the Minoan goddess/priestess… Read More ›
Questions that Matter: What is Feminism? by Elise M. Edwards
It certainly is a busy time of year for me, but I’m fortunate that many of the events I am participating in offer a chance to share what is important to me. Next week, I’ll be speaking to a group… Read More ›
My Journey to Define Libyan Feminism by Samah Elbelazi
Before coming to the U.S., I felt disconnected from feminist theory. I thought this framework labels women as haters of men and seekers of obscure rights. I was not sure who could identify with it or belong to it. For… Read More ›
Great Goddess, Mother Goddess, Creatrix, Source of Life by Carol P. Christ
The symbol of the Goddess is as old as human history. The most ancient images of the Goddesses from the Paleolithic era are neither pregnant nor holding a child. In Neolithic Old Europe the Goddess was most commonly linked with… Read More ›
A Rescue Remedy, Part 2 by Barbara Ardinger
The handsome but uncharming prince having been magicked, the witch and her coconspirators know it’s time to focus on finding Ella. The witch looks around the table. “Mrs. Janedoe and Mrs. Worthington,” she says, “you are two of our most… Read More ›
In Light of Women by Mary Jane Miller
Why are so few women mentioned in the great feast days like Pentecost, the Last Supper, the Baptism of Christ, etc.? God made no commandment that they not be included. Inquisitive women like myself have always been around Christ listening… Read More ›
Just How Rotten Are Things in Denmark? by Marcia Mount Shoop
The Shakespearean quote, “something is rotten in the state of Denmark,” comes from a palace guard. After watching Prince Hamlet walk away with the ghost of Hamlet’s murdered father, the former King, the guard has a sinking feeling about how… Read More ›
Run Women Run! You Can Do Better than a Mediocre White Man! by Carol P. Christ
When I was in graduate school, I learned to doubt myself. Despite having won Danforth and Woodrow Wilson graduate fellowships that paid for my tuition and living expenses, I was continually told by professors and male students alike that I… Read More ›
If You Can’t Flirt, Don’t Have Sex by Trelawney Grenfell-Muir
If you don’t know how to flirt, you shouldn’t be having sex with anyone. I admit it… I used to love flirting. It can be incredibly fun. I flirted outrageously with guys I had no intention of dating, and guys… Read More ›
Michal the Priestess: Midrash, Multiplicity, and the Tales of King David by Jill Hammer
When I was in my late teens, I discovered midrash: the Jewish exegetical process by which commentators weave creative and additive interpretations into the sacred text. Midrash comes from the word “to ask,” “to seek,” or “to divine.” For example,… Read More ›
The Beauty Way by Carol P. Christ
When I learned about the Navajo Beauty Way, I understood it to be a path in which human beings respect all beings in the web of life and live in harmony with them. But I didn’t understand why this path… Read More ›
“Oh For a Pair of Clean Dry Warm Socks” by Carol P. Christ
Stories about refugees in the island of Lesbos (where I live) are no longer front page news. Yet according the United Nations Refugee Agency, 12, 742 refugees arrived here in 2017. This number is equivalent to 15% of the year-around… Read More ›
How My Pets Have Taught Me Compassion for All Beings by Ivy Helman
My cat is a hunter. You can see it in her eyes. She plays fetch considerably better than the dog and seems to enjoy playing with her “kill” – throwing it up in the air, batting it around and pouncing… Read More ›
