Danu, of the flowing waters, Queen of the fertile land – Danu, the Great Mother Goddess of the Irish Celts, known as Don by the Welsh Celts, is the Creator Goddess of the Tuatha De Danann, the first wave of… Read More ›
Spirituality
The Bee Goddess Calls by Judith Shaw
Spring arrived in the Northern Hemisphere and all of Goddess’s children are waking up from our winter slumbers. Birds are singing, fruit trees are blossoming, bees are buzzing, and early spring bulb flowers are in full bloom. Signs of spring… Read More ›
The Soul is Symphonic: Reclaiming Sacred Music
Here is a hymn of praise, a beautiful and intimate piece meant to be sung. Hail, O greenest branch, sprung forth on the breeze of prayers. . . . . a beautiful flower sprang from you which gave all parched… Read More ›
Our Loss of Od by Deanne Quarrie
Freyja is an Old Icelandic goddess of the Earth, fertility, and beauty. Her name means “Lady.” Freyja is known to be very beautiful and sexual. It is thought that Freyja was first in union with Od. This union represented what… Read More ›
Dr. Debbie Downer Discourses on the Lives of Early Pious and Sufi Women by Laury Silvers
I’ve been called a downer because I take what seems like a jaundiced perspective on the early history of pious and Sufi women. There is a tendency in some scholarship, and nearly all contemporary popular treatments of these women’s lives,… Read More ›
Religion: Trapped in Love Through Shame by Andreea Nica
I was first introduced to shame in the church. Shame paradoxically drew me closer to God, prevented me from committing sins, and helped me repress certain natural urges. The church I grew up in indoctrinated its congregation to believe that… Read More ›
Freedom and Faith by amina wadud
In September past I travelled to Zanzibar with a long time friend from Singapore. I intentionally planned to visit the places where other Africans, like my ancestors, were bought, sold, and held in waiting like fish in the fish market…. Read More ›
Celtic Goddesses – a Personal Journey by Judith Shaw
When I first discovered the Goddess as a young woman, I was drawn to the Goddess of prehistory. I felt Her power and importance through the statues, figurines and shrines that were uncovered, as Her names and stories have been… Read More ›
Birthdays and Aging and Feminism and Religion by Marie Cartier
“Spring passes and one remembers one’s innocence. Summer passes and one remembers one’s exuberance. Autumn passes and one remembers one’s reverence. Winter passes and one remembers one’s perseverance.” ― Yoko Ono If you are reading this on February 28, 2014,… Read More ›
We Rose for the One Billion on V-Day by Jameelah X. Medina
Every February I gear up to participate in local V-Day 1 Billion Rising events where activists rise up to end violence against women and girls. This year’s theme was the journey to justice, and there were two local events. I… Read More ›
Echoes of Mesopotamia by Molly
Echoes of Mesopotamia small figures from ancient places ancient times and ancient faces ancient words and ancient wisdom still flowing in my veins Clay in my hands clay in her hands running on the rivers of time spiraling in the… Read More ›
Getting It Done: The Buffy-Blodeuwedd Connection by Kate Brunner
You guys, you’re just men—just the men who did this… to her. Whoever that girl was before she was the first Slayer. You violated that girl… made her kill for you because you’re weak… you’re pathetic and you obviously have… Read More ›
Let’s Build an Altar for Springtime by Barbara Ardinger
With spring springing up all over and warm days coming back in the colder climates, let’s build an altar to celebrate life. Now don’t worry—I’m not advising you to worship idols and do anything to insult your god. We’re not… Read More ›
The Winding Road of Life by Jameelah X. Medina
A while back my family and I went up to the mountains to Lake Arrowhead Village. My metaphorical thinking took me on a fantastic mental voyage replicating our way up the mountain. I give thanks to Allah for the power… Read More ›
Beyond Clenched Teeth: Reflections on Forgiveness by Elizabeth Cunningham
“I forgive you.” These words make my teeth buzz like the sound of chalk squeaking on a blackboard. I can vividly recall my sister and myself, as children, saying these words through clenched teeth. Not only were we Christians, we… Read More ›
Why I Need the Goddess by Judith Shaw
I have been drawn to the Goddess for a variety of reasons. Initially, as a young woman, She spoke to me of my own power, self-worth, self-determination and my/every woman’s inherent beauty. She lent Her hand to my emerging sense… Read More ›
Winter Solstice – When Darkness Nurtures Light by Judith Shaw
In the Northern Hemisphere Winter Solstice, usually December 21, heralds both the time of deepest darkness and the beginning of the return to light. It is a liminal day offering a transformation from darkness to light. In the mid-latitudes in… Read More ›
Painting Sappho by Angela Yarber
“Someone, I say, will remember us in the future,” she once wrote. To my knowledge, she was never dubbed a prophet. A muse, yes. A romantic, perhaps. But never a prophet, rarely holy, and nary an icon. Until now. Hailed… Read More ›
How I Loved Myself through Charismatic Worship by Andreea Nica
Breaking up with your first love can be an excruciating process; especially when it happens to be completely entangled with your being. God was my first love and he stayed for a long while. We had many exhilarating times together,… Read More ›
Let’s Celebrate the Holiday Shopping Season by Barbara Ardinger
We’ve recently celebrated Thanksgiving, when I hope that, like me, you gave thanks to the deity of your choice for the wise and thoughty blogs we’ve been reading on this site. Now we’re well into the holiday season, which seems… Read More ›
A Thanksgiving Story by Barbara Ardinger
A Turkey Tail Tale Once upon a time, oh, maybe five hundred years ago, there lived a little girl and her brother in a small village at the foot of a high, flat hill, on the crown of which stood the… Read More ›
IS IT ESSENTIALIST TO SPEAK OF EARTH AS OUR MOTHER? by Carol P. Christ
The charge of “essentialism” has become equivalent to the “kiss of death” in recent feminist discussions. In this context it is taboo to speak of Mother Earth. Yet, I would argue there are good reasons for speaking of Mother Earth… Read More ›
Who Am I Under Oppression? By Deanne Quarrie
In a class I am taking we were asked to journal with these questions: Ask yourself who are you in the inner voice that does not speak in the world around you or which you have worked tirelessly to bring… Read More ›
Dreaming the dream on . . . by Kaalii Cargill
I am author, writing fiction and non-fiction. My short stories have been published in various magazines and I have won an international writing prize. When my work was first published, I wanted to write a best-seller and earn enough from… Read More ›
The Quiet Voice of the Frame Drum by Oxana Poberejnaia
Layne Redmond passed away on 28 October 2013. Days before her death I received by post her signature Lotus Tambourine which Layne developed with Remo, manufacturer of world frame drums. Remo posted a tribute to her on her page as… Read More ›
“THE DIVINE MYSTERY”? by Carol P. Christ
“The mystery of God in feminist theological discourse” is the subtitle of Elizabeth Johnson’s widely read She Who Is. The notion that God is “a mystery” is rarely questioned in feminist theologies. But maybe it should be. Although it is… Read More ›
Painting Dorothy Day by Angela Yarber
Radical Revolutionary. One with the workers. Daily works of mercy. One who challenged the status quo. She never wanted to be called a saint, though the Claretian Missionaries proposed that she be canonized in 1983. The Catholic Church calls her… Read More ›
Fand – Goddess of the Sea – a Shapeshifter for Samhain by Judith Shaw
Fand is a Celtic Sea Goddess whom some scholars believe originated as a Manx sea deity (the original inhabitants of the Isle of Man). With time She became the most loved of Ireland’s fairy queens, called “Queen of the Fairies. … Read More ›
Entering Winter, the Season of Darkness by Barbara Ardinger
Halloween used to be spelled “-e’en,” with the apostrophe replacing the V in “eve.” The N was probably added so the word ends in a consonant and we don’t have “hallow-wheee.” But people get lazy, and since the late 20th… Read More ›
IS THE SPIRIT OF GREAT GENEROSITY IN CRETE A SURVIVAL OF ANCIENT MATRIARCHAL VALUES? by Carol P. Christ
At a coffee shop in Agios Thomas, Crete last month a perfect stranger offered to pay for the coffees and sodas of the 16 women on the Goddess Pilgrimage to Crete. This spirit of great generosity is rarely experienced in… Read More ›
