Exploring the F-word in religion at the intersection of scholarship, activism, and community.
How quickly the wheel of the year turns. Once again we have reached the dark and cold of the Winter Solstice, which occured on December 21st this year. Winter Solstice is an astronomical moment – the exact moment when our hemisphere tilts as far away from the sun as possible. But for the ten days after, the increase in daylight each day is only a few seconds So I think of this time as the Winter Solstice Season.
Even though the world is full of injustices, system breakdowns, and wars, I am thankful to be alive.
Even though the current trajectory of climate change, together with inaction to change the way society is organized, promises the collapse of modern industrial civilization, I am thankful to be alive.
Even though my own life has had many set backs and personal disappointments, I am thankful to be alive.
Practicing gratitude helps me deal with these adversities. But practicing gratitude goes beyond its ability to deal with adversity. It helps me to feel more positive, to appreciate small everyday occurrences like sunsets and running water, to treasure good experiences, and to build strong relationships.
I was on my way home from a wonderful morning spent with my son when I heard the news of the horrific attack by Hamas on Israeli citizens. We had risen early to witness the mass ascension of balloons at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, joining tens of thousands of people from around the world. For 10 days, a diverse crowd gathers on a vast field, experiencing childlike wonder as they watch brightly colored balloons ascend into the early morning sky. It was a joyful morning.
But then, after all that wonder, the car radio delivered the shocking news of the Hamas attack. My joy was shattered.
Continue reading “War, War and More War – Can Goddess Wisdom Offer a Path to Peace? by Judith Shaw”We live in difficult times. Daily we hear of culture wars, real wars, mass shootings, floods, fires and multiple other climate disasters and human clashes.
How on Earth can one maintain a positive outlook and experience genuine happiness? I’ve discovered a few activities that effectively pull me out of dwelling on past challenges or worrying about future uncertainties. These activities consistently guide me back to a state of inner peace and contentment.
Continue reading “Finding Happiness Through Nature and Creativity by Judith Shaw”The recent climate disaster, which involved the devastating fire that ravaged Maui and left the historic town of Lahaina in ruins on August 8, 2023, has been weighing heavily on my heart. In the early morning hours of August 12, while on the cusp of wakefulness, an unsettling vision appeared in my dream’s eye. A solitary house sat atop a hill with swirling darkness threatening to engulf it from below and above. A small patch of light surrounded the house, grounding it on the hill. This persistent mental image, though not what I prefer to harbor in my consciousness, refused to dissipate. So I decided to put pastel chalk to paper, hoping to release myself from its haunting presence.
The Dark Goddesses, with qualities that are mysterious, magical, chaotic, destructive, violent and transformational bring a wholistic understanding of ourselves and of nature. They are wild and untamed. Today I finish up my initial dive into the Dark Goddesses which began yesterday with the publication of Part 1. Look for a more detailed look at these goddesses and more in the coming months.
Dark goddesses are wild, free, and sexual – Lilith, Erishkigal and Medb
Lilith and Erishkigal
Long before the rise of civilization, people lived together in very different ways and Goddess was understood as the force that encompasses all life – the light and the dark. It’s very interesting that two of the world’s oldest dark goddesses – Lilith and Erishkigal – are found in the creation story of Sumer, considered as the world’s first civilization.
I always approach the Dark Goddesses with trepidation, preferring to focus on the bright, life affirming aspects of the Goddess. Yet now I find that the difficult break-downs and violent conditions of these days are calling me to explore the terrifying aspects of the ones called “Dark Goddesses.”
But who are the Dark Goddesses and why are they called dark? That question is one of controversy within the Goddess community. Carol Christ has written that the Dark Goddess only exists as a projection of patriarchal values onto the Goddess, turning the Goddess into a force of war and terror, in particular the War Goddesses found in various cultures. Christ views war as an abnormal desire for the Goddess. Whereas others view the Dark Goddess as a part of the one Great Goddess, who encompasses all.
People think that goddesses only came into being long, long ago. People think goddesses are only found in ancient mythology. But people are wrong. I know because I am Aviana, the Wetlands Crane Goddess who helped create the Bosque del Apache Wildlife Reserve of New Mexico. I first manifest on Earth as an Otherworldly force in the early 1900s. It was the migrating birds and waterfowl, in particular sandhill cranes, who called me into being.
You see before Euro-Americans arrived in the land of the American Southwest, the Rio Grande was a mighty river which flooded every year bringing life and renewal to the land. These wetlands were a favorite wintering habitat of the Sandhill Cranes. They left their summer nesting grounds of Alaska, Canada and the northern United States and headed south for the winter. Every year in November hundreds of thousand of cranes arrived in New Mexico. Here they fed on grasses and small animals throughout the short winter days.
Continue reading “Aviana, 20th Century Crane Goddess by Judith Shaw”This was originally posted on June 23, 2021
At first glance the ancient belief that bees were birthed from dead bulls seems odd. But if we delve deeply into pre-historical artifacts we discover the mythopoetic roots of this idea.
Our Paleolithic ancestors lived immersed in nature within the cyclical nature of time. For them the moon, which revealed monthly, yearly and even longer cycles of time, became the symbol of the cycle of birth, death and regeneration.
Are cruelty, violence and greed written into the human DNA? Are we destined as a species to continually and for eternity create our world in a hierarchical manner where the privileged few receive almost all of the goods and services while the masses live in slavery of one form or another?
Continue reading “Is A Balanced World Possible? by Judith Shaw”
Feminism and Religion 