This is the 4th in a series of blog posts about finding goddesses in the bible who had been hidden away through translation or denigration or other means. In my last blog post I discussed Lilith as a Great Goddess… Read More ›
General
Tree Teachings by Sara Wright
I breathe in the scent of moist wooded bogs, crystal lake waters, baskets of dew heavy and sweet soaking heat through every pore… note withered leaves shriveled mosses and still the rains do not come. The Earth is on Fire…. Read More ›
Yes There are Goddesses in the Bible, Part 3
This blog post is the 3rd in a series of looking for female deities in the bible who have been translated out of easy reach or otherwise hidden within its words. In my last blog post I discussed bird imagery… Read More ›
Re-Visioning Medusa: Part II by Sara Wright
Read Part I of Re-Visioning Medusa here. Recently, I was given a wonderful gift, a small shiny black pot with Avanyu’s image carved into its micacious clay surface. I have become enamored by the images and the mythology around this… Read More ›
Re-Visioning Medusa: Part I by Sara Wright
All through my childhood a self-portrait, painted by my mother hung above my parents’ bed. I was fascinated by this image of the stern face of my very beautiful mother with her long wavy chestnut hair. In the painting my… Read More ›
With Beauty Around Me by Carol P. Christ
With Beauty Around Me by Carol P. Christ When I moved from Lesbos to Crete, I decided to take some 30 large and medium-sized handmade terra cotta pots acquired over the years along with me. As I had been… Read More ›
“We Must Have Music” by Barbara Ardinger
In 1936, Sir Noël Coward (1899-1973), one of England’s greatest and most prolific songwriters and playwrights, wrote a song for a play called Shadow Play, which is part of a series of ten short plays gathered under the title Tonight… Read More ›
Sacrificial Gathering in the Long Covid Desert by Tallessyn Zawn Grenfell-Lee
I am a fairly private person; but I do like nice hugs. I grew up in a home that involved so much intentional love and affection that I came to see it as a normal part of any loving relationship…. Read More ›
Herb Talk: Bee Balm by Sara Wright
For Carol. Women’s relationship with plants stretches back to the beginning of humankind. Most of us know that women invented agriculture and became the first healers. I come from a family of women who all had gardens, but no one… Read More ›
Matriarchal Politics The Vision of an Egalitarian Society (Part 3): Global Structures by Heide Goettner-Abendroth
To solve global problems, these steps from below must nevertheless be supplemented with more comprehensive structures. These are not „above,“ as there is no „above“ in this sense in matriarchal societies; they are simple more comprehensive. National states no longer… Read More ›
ANNA’S DANCE: A BALKAN ODYSSEY by Michele Levy – Book Review by Joyce Zonana
Toward the end of her complex odyssey, Anna finds herself alone in an ancient Istanbul synagogue, where at long last she unreservedly “name[s] herself” a Jew and experiences connection with a God that “fuse[s] both male and female” and “from that wholeness birth[s] mercy and love.” Vowing to work to “help repair [the] world”–tikkun olam–she moves forward to face her life with a “sense of wholeness” that had eluded her for so long.
Salmon of Wisdom by Judith Shaw
Salmon, ancient symbol of wisdom and transformation, has been venerated by humankind since our pre-historic days.There exists one cave painting of a life-sized salmon – most likely part of a more complex composition – in the l’Abri de Poisson cave… Read More ›
A Case for Context by Sara Frykenberg
I have a close family member who is staunchly Republican and frequently posts videos from the conservative platform PragerU or “Prager University.” Video topics include: why the Democratic Party is the “real” racist party (as though either party is innocent… Read More ›
Poem to Mary of Magdala by Anne Fricke
The first documented reference of Mary Magdalene as a prostitute was not until 594 C.E in a sermon by Pope Gregory. The Catholic Church has since, in 1969, officially repealed this declaration. Mary’s gospel has been found, though a few… Read More ›
Yes, There are Goddesses in the Bible – Part 2 by Janet Maika’i Rudolph
As I wrote in my last blog post, there are female deities and goddesses sprinkled all throughout the bible. They just aren’t obviously in plain sight. One example is the Goddess and Her association with birds. Many ancient creation myths… Read More ›
Kamala Harris! “I Feel Heard” by Carol P. Christ
Shortly after Kamala Harris was announced as Joe Biden’s choice for his Vice Presidential running mate, a panel of black women were asked, “How do you feel right now?” “I feel heard” was the simple yet profound response of one… Read More ›
In Sight (Part 2) by Sara Wright
This post follows In Sight (Part 1). Yet, I was content enough here wasn’t I [living part of the year in Abiquiu, New Mexico]? The desert was starkly beautiful, and I loved the place I lived, doing my best to… Read More ›
Judaism or Christianity: Which Tradition Is More Open to Feminist Change? by Carol P. Christ
Jill Hammer’s recent post on midrash surrounding the Biblical figure of Eve (Hava in Hebrew) sparked me to muse again about the fact that, despite its patriarchal roots and overlay, Judaism is a much more flexible tradition than Christianity and,… Read More ›
Post-Hysterectomy Reflections: Not All Women Bleed by Ivy Helman
Around the age of 8, or maybe 10, I learned my aunt had had a hysterectomy. I remember visiting her house either shortly before or after the operation. I can’t remember which, and it doesn’t really matter. At the time,… Read More ›
The Grace of Letting Things End by Mary Sharratt
Ms. Boo, aka Queen Boudicca, in the heart of Pendle Witch Country. Though I was born and raised in Minnesota, I have wandered the world as an expat writer nearly my entire adult life, living in Belgium, Austria, and Germany,… Read More ›
“This World Is Not My Home” by Esther Nelson
I’ve been puzzled for a long time why people, especially conservative Christian people who seem to be decent human beings, enthusiastically support Donald Trump, our current president. My thinking stems from my own experience of being brought up in an… Read More ›
Living with Uncertainty by Sara Wright
I was deeply moved by Carol’s willingness to share deeply personal feelings about how her visit to the hospital , enough so that I decided to write about how the Covid virus has impacted my life and the lives of… Read More ›
Yes, There are Goddesses in the Bible by Janet Maika’i Rudolph
“Freud once asserted that mortals are not made to keep secrets;what they would like to conceal oozes from all their pores.”Psychoanalyst Theodore Reik[1] It’s remarkable how much female imagery there is in the Bible hidden within its wording. The more… Read More ›
Dr. Signature’s Whoopee Pack by Barbara Ardinger
As I write this in late June, the news is still pretty depressing. Pandemic. Politics. Corruption. No no no. I can’t write anything current and cheery, so here’s another bit of distracting nonsense from my so-called archive. Back in the… Read More ›
Lammas after Lockdown by Laura Shannon
Today, August 1, 2020, is Lammas, the Celtic festival of late summer, the ‘feast of bread’, time of harvest and of golden grain. Here in the UK, Lammas arrives just as we are emerging from our coronavirus lockdown. It’s hard… Read More ›
Ecocide and PTSD by Sara Wright
The fierce light of the white star pierced her thick white fur as the mother froze. She was trying to imagine how her cubs could make the jump from one jagged ice flow to another in the cracked deep blue… Read More ›
Eve, Revisited by Jill Hammer
About six months ago I was hired to write a curriculum for a Jewish organization on biblical women in ancient and contemporary midrash. Midrash—the ancient process of creative interpretation of sacred text that began two thousand years ago and continues… Read More ›
TikTok, the Pandemic platform for community, resistance, and activism by Anjeanette LeBoeuf
It’s July which means we have collectively endured 7 months of uncertainty, turmoil, darkness, and light. America, we are still battling all aspects of the virus: rising numbers of infected, those that deny its existence, those refusing to wear masks… Read More ›
Pandemic Grace: A FAR Message from Xochitl Alvizo
Hello FAR friends, I hope you are each doing well – that you are holding up ok during these trying times. It’s Xochitl here. I’m the behind-the-scenes co-weaver keeping things afloat (to varying degrees!) on this collaborative endeavor we call… Read More ›
