About
Queen Mama Donna
Donna Henes is an internationally renowned urban shaman, award-winning author, popular speaker and workshop leader whose joyful celebrations of celestial events have introduced ancient traditional rituals and contemporary ceremonies to millions of people in more than 100 cities since 1972. She has published four books, a CD, an acclaimed quarterly journal and currently writes for the Huffington Post and UPI (United Press International) Religion and Spirituality Forum. Mama Donna, as she is affectionately called, maintains a ceremonial center, spirit shop, ritual practice and consultancy in Exotic Brooklyn, NY where she offers intuitive tarot readings and spiritual counseling and works with individuals, groups, institutions, municipalities and corporations to create meaningful ceremonies for every imaginable occasion. |
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Without doubt, The Queen of My Self is the best
book of its kind I have ever read. You are blessed with such a wonderful warmth
and easy flow that your book is a joy to read. Thank you for your
inspiration and the four-fold goddess. When you spoke of Her I could see Her
clearly in my mind's eye. All this time She had been there, but with Her back
to me, waiting. Suddenly She turned and I recognized Her at once. I feel a
connection with Her that I have never felt before.
- Kathryn, Cardigan, Wales
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Calling All Queens!
The Queen's Chronicles
Offers
upbeat, practical and ceremonial inspiration for all women who want to
enjoy the fruits of an influential, passionate, and powerful maturity.
I would appreciate it if you would please forward The Queen's Chronicles to people who might value it.
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DONATE!
 To The Queen's Chronicles
My dear sister Queens,
Writing The Queen's Chronicles is a joy and an honor - a labor of true love - but, the fact remains
that it takes a great deal of time and effort and requires the services of a
techno-cyber Queen to be able to offer it each month. Consequently, after two
years of publishing, the royal coffers are sadly diminished and in desperate
need of replenishing.
Your donations will allow me to continue to provide you with
a monthly offering of information and inspiration for
an influential, passionate and powerful maturity.
I thank you so much for your royal support. With your help, The
Queen's Chronicles can maintain its mission
to promote meaning, moxie, magic and majesty to women in midlife.
With regal blessings,
xxQueen Mama Donna
CLICK HERE TO MAKE A TAX DEDUCTABLE DONATION
THANK YOU!
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You have set me on a journey
Mama D. All things are possible!
- Lidia, NY
Are you looking for meaning, moxie, magic and
majesty in midlife?
Consult the
Midlife Midwife
The transition from Maiden and Mother to Queen can be a difficult one, fraught with hard lessons and lots of loss. It takes great determination and courage to confront and embrace the changes brought about by the midlife passage.
It can be really helpful during this confusing time to have the inspiration, advice and encouragement of a counselor/coach/mentor - someone who has been there and done that and is ready to help you do the same.
Queen Mama Donna offers upbeat, practical and ceremonial guidance for individual women and groups who want to enjoy the fruits of an enriching, influential, purposeful, passionate, and powerful maturity.
xxQMD
TURN YOUR MIDLIFE CRISIS INTO YOUR CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT!
Further information: www.thequeenofmyself.com
Click on Individual Consultations.
Sessions are available in person and by phone. To make an appointment, call 718-857-1343 or email the Queen at TheQueenOfMySelf@aol.com
I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, but
through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand
thing.
- Agatha Christie
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A Queen Event
Near You
JANUARY
GLOBAL
JANUARY 1-31
MAMA DONNA'S HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAROT CLUB
1/3 off reading for January Birthdays. In person or by
phone.
For info: 718-857-1343
cityshaman@aol.com
NEW YORK
JANUARY 30
SATURDAY,
11:00 AM-3:00 PM
TAROT
101
A Spirit Support Skills Workshop
Learn
the basics about the tarot. This beginners workshop will be required for future
tarot classes.
Mama
Donna's Tea Garden & Healing Haven
Park
Slope, Exotic Brooklyn, NY
For
info: 718-857-1343
cityshaman@aol.com
$50.
If prepaid 3 days before class.
$60. At the
door.
FEBRUARY
GLOBAL
FEBRUARY
1-28
MAMA DONNA'S HAPPY
BIRTHDAY TAROT CLUB
1/3 off
reading for February Birthdays. In person or by phone.
For
info: 718-857-1343
cityshaman@aol.com
NEW YORK
FEBRUARY
2
TUESDAY,
7:30PM
A
CANDLEMAS CEREMONY TO CENTER US AT THE HALFWAY POINT OF
WINTER
One
of the eight power days in the wheel of the year. Open
your heart and let the light in. Please
bring a candle in a holder.
Mama
Donna's Tea Garden & Healing Haven
Park
Slope, Exotic Brooklyn, NY
For
info: 718-857-1343
cityshaman@aol.com
Advance
reservation required.
$25.
FEBRUARY 6
SATURDAY,
11:00 AM-3:00 PM
TAROT
101
A Spirit Support Skills Workshop
Learn
the basics about the tarot. This beginners workshop will be required for future
tarot classes.
Mama
Donna's Tea Garden & Healing Haven
Park
Slope, Exotic Brooklyn, NY
For
info: 718-857-1343
cityshaman@aol.com
$50.
If prepaid 3 days before class.
$60.
At the door.
FEBRUARY
12
FRIDAY, 7:00 - 10:00 PM
TAROT
SALON
Mama
Donna offers 15-minute readings for only $25! Free wine and refreshments.
Kris Waldherr Art and Words
1501
Newkirk Avenue
(entrance
on Marlborough Road, around the corner)
Brooklyn,
NY 11226
For info: 347-406-5811
FEBRUARY 13
SATURDAY, 1:00-5:00 PM
DANCING WITH THE QUEEN OF
HEARTS: FALLING IN LOVE WITH YOUR
GODDESS SELF
A spirited, sensual, celebratory
ceremony for women to ignite your Self-love. Evoke, embrace, exalt and enjoy your
beauty, wisdom and power! Drumming, chanting, dancing, luscious treats. Please
dress in your ceremonial best.
Be really red!
Mama Donna's Tea Garden &
Healing Haven
Park Slope, Exotic Brooklyn, NY
For info: 718-857-1343
cityshaman@aol.com
$40. If prepaid
$50. At the door
FEBRUARY 20, 27, MARCH 6, 13, 27, APRIL 3
6 SATURDAYS, 11:00 AM-3:00 PM
IT'S IN THE CARDS!
A Spirit Support Skills Workshop
An
in-depth study of the tarot. (The beginners Tarot 101 workshop is required for
this series.) Major Arcana, Minor Arcana, Suits, Numerology, Royal Cards,
Spreads are covered.
Mama
Donna's Tea Garden & Healing Haven
Park
Slope, Exotic Brooklyn, NY
For
info: 718-857-1343
cityshaman@aol.com
$50
per class
$240
($40/class) for the entire series if prepaid by 2/13/10
Students
from past tarot classes are welcome to take single make-up classes.
MARCH
GLOBAL
MARCH 1-31
MAMA DONNA'S HAPPY BIRTHDAY TAROT CLUB
1/3 off reading for March Birthdays. In person or by phone.
For info: 718-857-1343
cityshaman@aol.com
MARCH 3
WEDNESDAY, 8:00 PM EST
**TELESEMINAR:
PSYCHIC PROTECTION FROM ENERGY VAMPIRES: Spirit-Depleting People, Places and
Predicaments
A Spirit Support Skills Workshop
Learn
how to protect yourself against the predators and parasites who steal away your
personal power and resolve.
$25
Register for all 3 teleclasses in the
series (the first Wednesday each month)**
Only $60
(April 7 - Spiritual
Spring Cleaning: Detoxing Body, Mind, Spirit, and Home
May 5 - Staying
Centered in Stress, Storm, and Chaos: Holding the Spirit in Hard Times)
For info: 718-857-1343
cityshaman@aol.com
NEW YORK
MARCH
20
SATURDAY
1:00
PM EDT Event starts
1:32
PM EDT Equinox moment
35TH
ANNUAL WORLD FAMOUS EQUINOX CELEBRATION:
Eggs
on End: Standing on Ceremony
A
family friendly event. Bring kids, drums, percussion instruments and plenty of
spirit. Call to volunteer.
Call
for venue
For
info: 718-857-1343
cityshaman@aol.com
FREE
APRIL
GLOBAL
APRIL 1-30
MAMA DONNA'S HAPPY
BIRTHDAY TAROT CLUB
1/3 off
reading for April Birthdays. In person or by phone.
For
info: 718-857-1343
cityshaman@aol.com
APRIL 7
WEDNESDAY, 8:00 PM EDT
**TELESEMINAR: SPIRITUAL SPRING CLEANING: Detoxing Body, Mind,
Spirit, and Home
A Spirit Support Skills Workshop
Learn how to detox and declutter in order to sweep
away the detritus that clogs your body, fogs your brain, and bogs you down.
Purify and sanctify your body, mind, spirit, and living/working space.
$25
$60. if you register for all 3 teleclasses in the
series**
For
info: 718-857-1343
cityshaman@aol.com
APRIL 13, 2010
TUESDAY, 1PM EDT
Radio interview with Maryanne Comaroto
on Maryanne Live!
www.healthylife.net
APRIL 14, 2010
WEDNESDAY, 12PM EDT
Radio interview with Raven Blair Davis
on Woman Power Talk Radio
www.womenpower-radio.com
CONNECTICUT
APRIL 29 - MAY 2
THURSDAY EVENING - SUNDAY BELTAINE FESTIVAL: A PAGAN ODYSSEY
Mama Donna is a guest workshop leader and ritualist. Hosted by the Panthean Temple.
For information: 203-660-1369
PaganOdyssey@aol.com
www.paganodyssey.com
MAY
GLOBAL
MAY 1-31
MAMA DONNA'S HAPPY
BIRTHDAY TAROT CLUB
1/3 off
reading for April Birthdays. In person or by phone.
For
info: 718-857-1343
cityshaman@aol.com
MAY 5
WEDNESDAY, 8:00 PM EST
**TELESEMINAR:
STAYING CENTERED IN STRESS, STORM AND CHAOS: Holding
the Spirit in Hard Times
A Spirit Support Skills Workshop
Learn simple body/mind/spirit techniques to help you keep
your perspective, sanity, clarity, equilibrium, good cheer and positive
attitude intact during the toughest of times.
$25
$60. if you register for all 3 teleclasses in the
series**
For
info: 718-857-1343
cityshaman@aol.com
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Have Crown,
Will Travel!
To discuss booking Queen Mama Donna for a reading, presentation, ritual, workshop or a keynote address in your area, call her at 718-857-1343 or e-mail her at TheQueenOfMySelf@aol.com
Donna Henes is a regular
and cherished speaker at the Omega Institute. The response to her present-ations
is always a rapt audience. She is articulate, insightful, and totally engaging.
- Lois Guarino, Director
People and Culture
Omega Institute
Rhinebeck, New York
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The Queen's Emporium
Make sure to visit The Queen's Emporium, which specializes in all manner of elegant, practical, and frivolous goods to fulfill all the royal needs and fantasies of The Queen of Your Self. Therein you will find a choice collection of goods to augment and accessorize your royal prerogative.
Anoint, Adorn, Enjoy!
The
Queen's Oil of Empowerment is a dandy little ritual. Every morning I bless my
Self before going out into the world. It helps me stay in a place of personal
sovereignty.
-
Charlene, UT
My
women's group starts every meeting by blessing each other with power.
- Faye, ME
THE QUEEN'S OIL OF
EMPOWERMENT
A ritual in a bottle. Use this oil to bless
your Self with the sovereignty that you seek. Made by Queen Mama Donna,
herself.
2 oz. bottle in gauze
bag
$35
(Includes shipping in the USA)
ORDER YOURS TODAY!
The Queen's Emporium
|
Imagine Your Ad Here!
Welcome to our new advertiser:
ToMePeaceIs.com,
the brainchild of Queen Dr. Susan Corso. Dr. Corso says she believes
peace can be manifested through the power of intentional, collective prayer.
Thank you Queen Susan for your support and your desire to
network with our fabulous royal readers around the globe.
May you be successful in your endeavors and blessed with spiritual and material abundance.
YOUR
ad in
The Queen's Chronicles!
Would you like to reach the
5000+ Queens in our royal network across the country and around the world with information about your business?
Advertising listings in the Queen's Chronicles are available for $50/per issue with significant discounts for ongoing listings.
For more information and to place your order contact: thequeenofmyself@aol.com or call 718-857-1343.
|
Royal Resources
for Queenly Women
Our extended circle of Queens includes some mightily talented women. Please support them by availing yourself of their superior services and by buying their excellent products.
Dr. Susan Corso
Omnifaith spiritual insights for
seekers and finders
Eve's Garden
Celebrating the sacred power of women's sexual energy
Feldenkrais Associates
Discover
the Feldenkrais Method with Amber Barbara Grumet, director of Feldenkrais
Associates. Become aware of how you move in order to improve your overall
functioning. Through group lessons or individual hands-on sessions you learn to
expand your potential in all areas.
For info: 212
242-2309 or amber@feldenkraisassociates.com
Maguire Pubic Relations
Expertise in journalism and marketing qualifies us to position and deliver the news of our clients
Menopause Support Group
A community of patients, family members and
friends dedicated to dealing with Menopause, together. Register for free.
MLA Editorial Services
Whether you're
looking to publish with a top trade house, a prestigious academic press, or are
considering self-publishing your work, we can help you shape and polish your
manuscript to the highest professional standards. We specialize in serious
nonfiction. More than 20-years experience.
Licensed Acupuncturist and Chinese Herbalist.Focusing on women's health and other chronic issues
Spruce Shore Cottage
Restore yourself on the Maine coast. Lovely cabin for
rent. Minutes from Acadia National Park. Ocean, sky, full kitchen. Contact
Weslea Sidon via email
or call 207-244-9897
Talking to the Goddess
An
anthology of blessings, prayers, invocations, chants, oriki and other sacred
writings by 72 women (including Queen Mama Donna) from 25 different spiritual
traditions. 10% of profits go towards funding the education of a female student
at the University of Venda, South Africa.
Specializing
in Soulful Web Site Design and Creative Marketing Solutions for Soulful
Businesses & Professionals
The
Tarot and the Mysteries of Love and Sex
An explicitly erotic Wiccan deck that
passionately and lovingly celebrates the Great Rite with illustrations of
master artworks. Available
in ebook,
paperback, and kindle formats.
ToMePeaceIs.com
An omnifaith site
designed as a collaborative effort where users create the content by posting
what equals peace to them on that day. ToMePeaceIs.com is about forming the
habit of creating inner peace. There is no fee.
Your Advertisement Here!
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Apologies
for the lateness of this issue. The Queen Team is in the midst of a personnel
change, which set our schedule back some.
A fond and grateful farewell to Yana Kraeva, the cyber-Queen of The Chronicles. Thank you for your expertise and diligent work. Great good luck on your return to Russia.
Welcome to Sarah Reynolds who will inhabit the cyber-throne beginning with this issue. Thank you so much in advance. The crown is now yours!
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Hail Queens!
last decade have shaken our
naive privileged delusions
of
safety and exemption from
many of the harsher realities of life. We have
been forced to face the fact that nothing in the world is permanent. Nothing
lasts forever. Nothing is ever really completely safe. There is no such thing
as security. Anything, anything at all, can happen at any moment. And in that
moment, we are changed forever, as well.
How the
hell can we cope with such uncertain times? (And all times are uncertain.) Life
is a dangerous proposition all the way around. Nobody makes it out alive, after
all. We never know, from day to day, from minute to minute, when a crisis will
arrive unannounced on our doorstep. We never know when or how we will be called
upon to rise to a critical, pivotal occasion. Yet we would like to think that
we would be ready, willing and able to handle whatever may come our way. Like
any good scout, we aim to be prepared.
But being
prepared in the way of the Scouts can get you only so far. Sure, it is always a
good idea to have a well-stocked pantry, tool box and first aid kit, just in
case. It behooves one to be smart, to be alert, aware, vigilant, careful and
calm. But there is simply no way - given the infinite variety of diabolically
creative forms that death and destruction can take - to be prepared for any
conceivable contingency.
How can we
predict and plan for every possible danger when we are confronted with
scenarios that no sane person could ever invent? Who, save for Hollywood's most
obscene illusionists, could possibly have conjured the unthinkable traumas that
we have been exposed to - if not personally, vicariously, and certainly
psychically? Let alone prepare for them?
Two
well-heeled, well-coiffed Japanese tourists in London were struck and killed by
lightning striking literally out of the blue as they strolled through Hyde
Park. The wire, it would seem, on their under-wire brassieres had attracted the
deadly bolt. How could we ever anticipate anything so bizarre?
A few years
ago, a woman I once knew was walking with her husband and two adolescent sons
along Boston harbor one sunny Sunday afternoon. They were eating ice cream and
looking at the ships when a freak wind came along and knocked one of the boys
into the water, never to be seen again. Imagine. Life is so fragile that an
errant wind could literally blow you away forever.
The only
way that we can truly prepare ourselves for unanticipated emergencies is to
center ourselves in the present moment. To pay attention. To be ever mindful. To really be here
now. If we can focus on the immediate, rather than obsess
over the past or try to anticipate the future, we will have the presence of
mind to assess each situation as it arises. And we will be able to be flexible
in our response to it.
I have a
friend who tends toward panic. The woman craves security. Just watching the
dizzy ups and downs of my ever-precarious economic circumstances over the years
drives her to distraction. When the vagaries of my life make her especially
nervous, she will demand, "What, exactly, are you going to do?"
Exactly?
"Well, I will do such and such," I brazenly reply, not because I know
that to be true, but because I feel compelled to come up with an answer to ease
her concern and worry on my behalf. Of course, the correct and honest answer
always has to be, "I don't know. It depends. I have to see. I have to
think. I have to feel. I have to meditate. I have to consult the cards. I have
to do what seems right at the time." This is not being irresponsible. It
is the ultimate response-ability.
Eventually,
I came to understand that she was asking the wrong question in the first place.
It is not so important to know what we will do in any given situation. The
crucial thing is to know that we will be able to do something. To have confidence in our ability
to think on our feet. To have faith in our own assessments, instincts and
intuition. To be able to figure it out as we go along. To believe in our good
intentions and our courage to do whatever is called for.
I remember
so vividly the last cogent conversation that I had with my dear friend Jimmy a
few days before he died. I asked him what lessons he had learned having had to
deal with a mortal disease for so many years. What did all that pain and
suffering come to in a spiritual sense? He replied that he had learned that he
had inside of himself the resources that he needed in order to do what he had
to do. He had never known that before, he told me.
What a valuable lesson. But I don't want to die
to learn it. It seems to me that the secret to successful preparation is
mindful presence. To live the life that we have, while we can, as best as we
can, and to appreciate every single minute of it. L' chaim!, the Yiddish toast,
"To life!" recognizes, embraces and salutes life in the full range of
its scope and complexity. It celebrates all of it -
the good, the bad, the
ugly, the indifferent - for tomorrow we die.
Yours for an evolved response-ability,
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Farewell Queen Miep
Miep Gies, the woman who
sheltered the
Frank family
and saved Anne's diary for
posterity, died this month
at the ripe
age of 100.
She was born Hermine
Santruschitz in Vienna
to
Christian parents in 1909.
In 1920 she moved to Leiden to escape food
shortages and was raised by a Dutch family who moved to Amsterdam two years
later. They nicknamed her Miep.
In 1933, she went to work as an office
assistant for Otto Frank, who was director of a pectin producing company.
Gies and her husband became family friends with the
Franks and when Otto asked
for help, they agreed to
hide him and his family in a secret warehouse annex.
From July 1942 until August 1944 she
brought them daily groceries and served as their link to the outside world.
After 25 months in hiding, the Frank family was taken
away to the death camps, but an Austrian SS
officer
spared Gies from arrest out of sympathy - on the
condition she promise
not to flee.
"There
is nothing special about me," Gies wrote in a book first published in
1987. "I have never wanted special attention. I was only willing to do
what was asked of me
and what seemed necessary at the time."
Gies found Anne's diaries in the debris
left by the raid and kept them in her desk drawer without ever reading them. After the war
ended, when it became clear that Anne was not coming back, she handed them over
to Anne's father.
They were
published in Dutch in 1945 and in English two years later. It has been
translated in 30 languages. As of this writing it was an amazon.com best seller
in three categories.
This
apparently inconsequential diary by a child, this "de profundis"
stammered out in a child's voice, embodies all the hideousness of fascism, more
so than all the evidence of Nuremberg put together.
- Dr. Jan
Romein, Dutch historian, 1946
After the
war, Queen Miep gave public speeches to keep Anne's memory alive and she
corresponded with people around the world to promote peace and other causes. She also campaigned against
holocaust denial. Gies received honors from several governments
and institutions, and last year had an asteroid named after her by the
International Astronomical Union.
Helping people who are in danger is not a matter of
courage but from making a decision that every human being has to make in his
life when he or she distinguishes between good and bad.
- Miep Gies
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Creole Queens
All eyes have been on Haiti of late. Our hearts go out to those who have lost so much,
especially those who had so very little to begin with. So many of us have
thought of Haiti as being a desperately poor, severely undeveloped, politically
corrupt and brutal, socially unstable and environmentally devastated place.
While all
of these statements are true, Haiti has always been a country rich in natural
beauty, cultural uniqueness and well-deserved national pride. Haiti was
the first independent nation in Latin America and the
first black-led
republic in the world when
it gained independence as part of a successful slave rebellion in
1804.
But perhaps
the most valuable Haitian treasure is the generation upon generation of strong
willed, out-spoken, effective, ethical and influential women leaders.
Anacaona
Queen
 Anacaona,
or Golden Flower, was born in 1464 in Yaguana (today the town of Léogâne), the
flourishing capital of Xaragua, the most prosperous and heavily populated of
the indigenous Taino kingdoms at the time of the European invasion.
Both
her brother and later her husband were two of the five most powerful chiefs in the land.
And she, herself, had a powerful matrilineal heritage. Anacaona and her brother
Bohechio negotiated as a team with Columbus when he demanded tribute from the
local tribes. Their talks were friendly and successful.
She
became Queen of Xaragua after her brother's death. Her husband Caonabo,
suspected of having organized the attack on La Navidad, the Spanish
settlement on northern Haiti, was captured and shipped to Spain, dying in a
shipwreck during the journey.
As
Queen, Anacaona was widely admired for the ballads, ballets, poetry and plays
that she composed as well as for the elegance of her court. Her realm of
Xaragua was the only Taino kingdom on the island that had not succumbed to
Spanish conquest. In
1502, a new Spanish governor arrived with some 2500 troops. He requested a
meeting with Anacaona, and in 1503, the Queen and other chieftains of the province
prepared a lavish reception for him and his men.
In
the middle of the entertainment, the governor gave a signal, and the Spanish
seized the Xaraguayans, tied them to poles and killed them. Eighty Taino
leaders were slaughtered. Anacaona was saved that night, but was captured, and, in September
1503, she was taken to Santo Domingo where she was hung.
Queen
Anacaona is still very much revered in Haiti, where she is considered to be a
primordial founder of the country. She is immortalized in the intertwining histories
of both Haiti and the Dominican Republic where many places bear
her name. The renowned Haitian-American author Edwidge
Danticat
wrote Anacaona Golden Flower, an award-winning novel in dedication to the befallen
chief.
Anacaona,
captive-bred Indian
Anacaona,
the primitive region
Anacaona,
I heard your voice
As she
wept as she moaned
I heard
Anacaona
From
your anguished heart
Your
freedom never came ...
- From a
song by Cheo Feliciano
Esther Boucicault
HIV/AIDS Activist
 Born in
Saint-Marc in 1960,
Boucicault was diagnosed as
HIV positive in 1995. Following
the AIDS death of her husband
and her son who was born HIV
positive, she
decided to
dedicate herself to saving
others from the same fate.
In
December 1998, she was interviewed on a private TV station about her illness.
This was the first time in Haiti that a person with HIV/AIDS had gone public in
such a way. Her testimony provoked a scandal in Saint-Marc, and she endured the
hostility of the families of both her first and second husband.
Undeterred
by the scorn, Boucicault has established a foundation to work to prevent the
spread of HIV/AIDS and provide medical and psychological aid to those carrying
the virus.
Accompanied
by health professionals, she tours Haitian towns giving information and advice
to young people. She encourages the use of condoms, believing that even though
this is contrary to Catholic religious morals it is more important to speak
frankly to adolescents about the dangers they face in a country where more than
5% of adults are HIV positive.
Following
Boucicault's example, others with HIV/AIDS have come into the open, and, in 1999,
a number of them got together to form the National Solidarity Association.
Today, no anti-AIDS campaign takes place without them. Young and old come to
hear them speak, and there is no longer the outrage that such public discussion
once provoked.
The Queen does
not bite Her tongue nor does She withhold Her views. She makes Her beliefs
perfectly clear, assumes full response-ability for them, and then takes action
to effect change for the betterment of all.
- QMD
"Things
have changed a great deal," she said of the decade since she disclosed her
status. "For example, there was a survey in Haiti that showed that most
people wouldn't need to keep it a secret if a member of their family had
HIV/AIDS. It's no longer this super illness where the victim must be isolated
from the rest of the world."
Marie
Chauvet
Novelist
 The best
known and most prolific of Haiti's female novelists,
Marie Chauvet was born in
Port-au-Prince in 1917. Her first
novel, Fille D'Haiti (1953), about
the mulatto daughter
of a
prostitute who tries to escape her
origins in the hypocritical world
of
the Haitian elite, was awarded
the Prix de l'Alliance Francaise. La Danse
sur le Volcan
(1957), depicting the events
leading up to the Haitian Revolution, was
translated
into English and Dutch.
Chauvet's
most famous work, the trilogy of novellas, Amour, Colere et Folie, was published in Paris in 1968.
The author was unable to return to Haiti from France because the novel dealt
with the behavior of corrupt Duvalierist officials and the sadistic Tontons
Macoutes. Her husband begged her not to publish it, and when she did so over his
objections, he not only left her, but also bought and destroyed all the copies
of the book sent to Haiti. She died in exile in New York in 1975, and was only
awarded national honors after the end of the Duvalier dictatorship.
Rose
Anne Auguste
Nurse, Social
Worker, Human Rights Activist
 Marie
Carmèle Rose-Anne
Auguste was born
in 1963, in
Jérémie. During the 1970s she
attended the Pressoir Jerome
School
in Jérémie, and later
studied at Port-au-Prince's
Lucien Hibert College, where
she received her baccalaureate in
1984. She went on to study at the National
School of Nursing, earning her diploma in 1988. While there, she established a
nurses' student union.
Auguste
then worked for a variety of non-governmental organizations in central Haiti,
but was in Port-au-Prince at the time of the 1991 military coup. She risked her
personal safety to rescue patients at the general hospital when soldiers came
to finish off those wounded while resisting the coup.
In 1992,
with help from Partners in Health, she founded the Women's Health Clinic located in
a heavily-populated hillside shantytown to the south of the capital. Originally
only meant for women, it grew to treat more than 200 women, men and children
each day.
Auguste
has also provided counseling for female victims of gang beatings and rape. In
1994, she received the Reebok Human Rights Award, which she later donated to
Partners in Health in support of destitute women in Haiti.
Auguste
remains outspoken about Haiti's legacy of poverty and violence, reporting human
rights abuses to international organizations and working to make the local
healthcare system more responsive to victims of repression. She was one of 1000
women worldwide who were proposed for the Nobel Peace Price 2005.
I firmly
believe that the overwhelming majority of women need to fight with
determination against social inequalities.
- Rose Anne
Auguste
Yvonne Hakim Rimpel
Feminist, Journalist
 Born in
Port-au-Prince in 1906, Rimpel was a founder of the first Haitian feminist
organization, the Women's League for Social Action. It was established in 1934 by a
group of women intellectuals,
professionals and activists from
the middle and
upper classes,
and played an important role in
politics for the next 25 years,
focusing mainly on legal rights:
suffrage, access to education and equality for
married women. In 1951, she founded Escale, a bi-weekly news revue, and for six years she was
its director, driving force, and main editor.
When
François Duvalier emerged as winner, she criticized the manipulative engineering of his
victory. On the night of January 5th 1958, the vicious dictator Duvalier sent a group of masked Tontons Macoutes to
Rimpel's house. They dragged her off into the night. The next morning, she was
found lying naked in a street in Petionville, beaten unconscious, covered in
blood, and probably raped. After two months in the hospital, she recovered, but she
never wrote again. She maintained her silence until her death in June 1986.
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Haiti's
Fallen Sheroes
The 2010
earthquake claimed the lives of three of Haiti's most prominent sheroes of
women's rights. Myriam Merlet, Magalie Marcelin and Anne Marie Coriolan,
founders of three of the country's most important advocacy organizations
working on behalf of women and girls, are confirmed dead.
One
returned to her Haitian roots to give voice to women, honor their stories and
help shape their futures. Another urged women to pack a courtroom in Haiti, where
she succeeded in getting a guilty verdict against a man who battered his wife.
A third joined the others and helped change the law to make rape, long a
political weapon in Haiti, a punishable crime.
Myriam Merlet
Author, Activist
 Merlet fled Haiti in the
1970s. She
studied in
Canada, steeping her-
self in economics,
women's issues,
feminist
theory and
political sociology. In
the mid-1980s,
she returned to her homeland.
I felt the need to find out who I
was and where my soul was. I chose to be a Haitian woman.
- Myriam Merlet
She was a
founder of Enfofamn, an organization that raises awareness about women through
media, collects their stories and works to honor their names. Among her efforts, she
set out to get streets named after Haitian women who came before her.
Myriam
Merlet was until recently the chief of staff of Haiti's Ministry for Gender and
the Rights of Women, established in 1995, and still served as a top adviser.
"She
was very bold," said Eve Ensler, who, at Merlet's insistence, brought her play The Vagina Monologues to Haiti and helped establish safe houses for
women in Port-au-Prince and Cap Haitien. "She had an incredible vision of
what was possible for Haitian women, and she lifted their spirits."
She was
53.
Magalie Marcelin
Lawyer, Actress
 Magalie
Marcelin, who
appeared in films and on
stage, established Kay Fanm,
a women's
rights organization
that deals with domestic
violence, offers services
and
shelter to women and
makes micro loans available
to women working in markets.
A study
of Haitian women and girls conducted by Kay Fanm right before the disaster
showed that an estimated 72 percent had been raped, and at least 40 percent of
the women surveyed were victims of domestic violence.
Two years
ago, Marcelin was
prosecuting a man for wife beating. Hoping to deflect the political clout of
the defendant in court, she asked for women to come out in droves and pack the
courtroom. The women won and the man on trial was convicted of battery.
In an
interview last year with the Haitian Times, Marcelin spoke about the image of a drum that adorns
Kay Fanm's public awareness stickers. "It's
very symbolic in the Haitian cultural imagination. The sound of the drum is the
sound of freedom, it's the sound of slaves breaking with slavery."
She was
believed to be in her mid-50s.
Anne
Marie Coriolan
Political Organizer
Anne
Marie Coriolan served with
Merlet, as a top adviser to the
women's rights
ministry. Coriolan
was the founder of Solidarite
Fanm Ayisyen (Solidarity with
Haitian Women, or SOFA), an
advocacy and services
organization.
Coriolan
helped bring rape - long used as an instrument of terror and war - to the forefront of
Haitian courts. Before 2005, rapes in Haiti were treated as nothing more than
crimes of passion. That changed because of the collective efforts of these
women activists, and the others who they inspired.
"She
loved her country. She never stopped believing in Haiti. She said that when you
have a dream you have to fight for it," her daughter Wani said. "She
wanted women to have equal rights. She wanted women to hold their heads
high."
She was
53.
With the
three leaders gone, there is concern about the future of Haiti's women and
girls. Even with all that's been achieved, the struggle for equality and
against violence remains enormous. "The chaos that's taken over the devastated
nation heightens those worries," warns Taina Bien-Aimé, the executive director
of Equality Now, a human
rights organization dedicated to women. "And humanitarian emergencies have been
linked to increased violence and exploitation in the past," she said.
Let us honor the lives and contributions of these three brave Queens by continuing to
struggle for the rights and safety of women and girls everywhere.
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The Queen's Chant
I am Queen Nzinga.
I am Queen Amina.
I am Harriet Tubman.
I am Mbuya Nehanda.
And Behold!
I've been pushed!
Down! To the
ground!
With only my bare hands
To use as a cup.
But I have fought many wars,
Plus untold battles,
AND I ALWAYS PULL MYSELF BACK UP.
- Nilene O. A. Foxworth
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The Queen's Court
 The
Queen's Court is a gathering
of sovereign women of a certain
age - our dear
peers - who
graciously offer information,
guidance, inspiration and
encouragement to each other.
We
Queens know what we know.
And we know a great deal. Our
experience has made us
wise. So,
feel free to consult with our
cyber council/counsel when you
are need of sage advice or wish to explore a particular topic of interest.
I have
recently received a flurry of letters from women offering
definitions and descriptions of Queendom. Here are a few. I hope that they will
spark some response from you, the loyal, royal sisterhood who comprise The
Queen's Court. Please keep your missives coming.
Declarations
of Queendom:
When I told my partner,
Sheriden about "regalicious" from the December Queen's Chronicles this morning, she coined another word.
"Well," she said, "it's Queendomonium around here today!"
It's all yours! Queendomonium! We laughed till she cried. Congrats on another
swell newsletter as always.
-Susan, MA
I just celebrated my 69th
birthday on December 4th, so I guess I am a Queen!!! If being a Queen is part
of your state of mind, then, Queen Donna, I too, am definitely a Queen, and I
hope to remain one for many years.
- Debbie, OH
I
thought about you when during a yoga class we did the Queen pose. How
appropriate that there is a Queen pose!
-
Susan, CA
You were right when you
wrote in The Queen of My Self, "There are no 10 easy steps to sovereignty." Becoming the Queen of my own life
has been the hardest thing I have ever done, and also the most rewarding. It
seemed natural to love and honor my husband. It was easy to love and nurture my
children. But it has been a struggle to come to love, honor and nurture myself.
I am still working on it, and every day I feel more like a Queen.
- Queen Isabella, VA
The thing women have yet to learn is nobody gives you power. You just
take it.
- Roseanne Barr
I would love to further this discussion.
Do send in your definitions, descriptions and declarations of Queendom.
Please
send your questions or responses to thequeenofmyself@aol.com. Your
letters will be printed in the next Queen's Chronicles.
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The Queen's Correspondence
Thanks so much for taking the time
to respond to The Queen's
Chronicles. Please keep your
comments coming. And do feel free
to make suggestions about content
you would like to see. Or anything
else, for that matter. It is a joy to
connect with you.
Letters In Response To The December 2009 Issue:
- Terry, CA
Here
is my contribution toward the continuation of The Queen's Chronicles. While
I recognize that the effort takes a great deal of time and money, the finished
product is priceless! I just love reading it every month, and be assured that I
forward every one to my entire book club and my garden club and all my friends. Please keep them coming.
-
Sarah, OR
I
always enjoy reading The Queen's Chronicles, especially this issue. Thanks!
-
Saundra, CA
I
love the book publishing story. Very inspiring. Taking the "reigns"
in your own hands!
-
Linda, NY
What an inspiring tale. How great that you had the courage
to walk your talk. We Queens everywhere are so grateful that you did. Thanks
for your wisdom and your regal example.
- Sharon, MI
Nice to read your story. Thankfully I never went the publishing route, but I did try this summer. I
thought I'd see about moving my book to a major house, and went to Book Expo in
America in New York. I got ten publishers very interested, and received
rejections from them all. But the comments were interesting. So life hasn't changed when it
comes to them understanding the importance of the book - I think they do it
just by their personal opinions - and so they don't think there's an audience,
even though I receive lots of emails from people thanking me for the book and
telling me how it's changed their lives. Publishers don't get it, or don't see
how women are seeking this information. Blessings on the work you do!
- Kris, WA
Good for you, Donna! I hear
you.
- Camille, CA
You look fantastic! Love the
caftan. Great color for you. I've been wearing caftans for years. I used to
attend many black-tie parties, and I couldn't afford to buy new gowns each
time, so, I started shopping the clearance section at Lord & Taylor, Saks,
Nordstrom and other stores in their lingerie departments when I traveled around
the country. Amazing the fancy gowns and caftans I would find at
bargain-basement prices. (In fact, my son Seth requested I wear one of them for
his wedding.) I always looked elegant, perhaps because I always felt elegant.
As always, this was a great Chronicle. I always look forward to
them.
- Debby, OH
Please send your responses to thequeenofmyself@aol.com.
Your letters will be printed in the next Queen's Chronicles.
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Kudos to the Queens!
Where
there is a woman, there is
magic.
-
Ntozake Shange
Nancy
Azara, NY; Barbara Hammer, NY; Carey Lovelace, NY; Beverly Naidus, Rachel
Rosenthal, CA; WA; Annie Sprinkle, CA; Diane Torr, Scotland; Linda Vallejo, CA and
Martha Wilson, NY on the exhibitions of their work.
Deena
Metzger, CA, Ruin
and Beauty (Book); Eva
Pel, Holland, Observations of a
Celebration, Netherlands and New York 2009 (Book); Batya
Weinbaum, VT, Opening
Palms (Book); and Rubie Wilkie a.k.a Sista Flame, GA, DISTRAKSIONS (Book) on their new publications.
Elaine Silver, FL for being honored as A Woman as
Visionary.
Sarah
Jenkins and Erica Ryland, Mrs. and Mrs. Jenland, CT on their marriage
(performed by Queen Mama Donna).
Dr.
Jane Petro, MA on her retirement.
Debbie
Lubar, MA on the birth of her first grandchild.
Linda
Mayo Perez, SC, on her move to the South, and Hilary Mandel, British Columbia, Canada,
on her
change of residence.
Send
your good news, achievements, accomplishments, successes and celebrations so that our international circle of sovereign sisters can
send you blessings and accolades.
And we are glad to so. It is
a joy and a privilege to share in the fortune of another woman. I
recently heard Oprah say the saddest thing ever - "The hardest thing
about being successful is having someone to be glad for you."
It
takes a centered and confident Queen to break that pattern. There are
60 million thrones out there. One for each of us. There is plenty of
purpose, passion and power for us all. May we use it well!
It
is important that you recognize your progress and take pride in your
accomplishments. Share your achievements with others. Brag a little.
The recognition and support of those around you is nurturing.
- Rosemarie Rossetti
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Circle of Concern
Please Offer Your Purest
Thoughts, Your Heart-Felt
Prayers, Your Great Good
Feelings, And Your Very Best
Blessings For Healing and
Peace of Mind To:
Amy, NY;
Annie, MA; Betty, AL; Carol, NY; Cat, NY; Chrissie, NY; Deirdre, NY; Devidam NY;
Edie, PA; Ellen, NY; Gail, OH; Geraldine, ID; Glenys, Australia; Jane, NY;
Jill, PA; Jo, AZ; Kimi, NJ; Letitia, VA; Linda, NY; Lisa, PA; Lucia, TX; Lynne,
NY; Marcia, WA; Matild Cathy, NY; Naomi, DC; Reid, DE; Shari, NY; Shirley, IN;
Smriti, CA; Susan, NY; Terry, NY; Wai, NY and Yvette, NY who are in the process of healing themselves from
illness, accident, injury or surgery.
Amy, NY; Carol, NY; Daile, NY; Kayla, NY; Lee,
NJ; Lois, NY; Margo, NY; Meryl, NY; Nancy, NC; and Roslyn, NJ the caregivers who
are in weary need of care themselves.
May Their Spirits Rest in Peace:
Lois Barleman, CA
Dr. Wendy Callander, OR
Judith Clarke, WA
Mary Daly, MA
Dr. Christine Marie Dislin,
Nova Scotia, Canada
Leslie Leonelli, FL
Deborah Luppold, OR
Kate McGarrigle, Quebec, Canada
Linda Marie Small, MA
Paula Sperry, CO
With Sincere Condolences:
Toni Armstrong, CA
Anna McGarrigle, Quebec, Canada
Ann Podolske, MA
Cathy
Reiter, OR
Carole Smith, OR
We send special
blessings to the people of Haiti - to those who have lost their lives, their
loved ones, their homes, their livelihood and their plans.
Please send your requests for physical and spiritual healing
and positive energy so that the powerful women of The Queen's Court might send
their prayers and blessings to you in your time of need.
Compassion
literally means to feel with, to suffer with. Everyone is capable of
compassion, and yet everyone tends to avoid it because it's uncomfortable. And
the avoidance produces psychic numbing - resistance to experiencing our pain
for the world and other beings.
- Joanna Macy
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Where the Queens Are
CALIFORNIA
2010
is the time of New Beginnings
And
I choose to take my
Artist
Name:
Amber
Penrose
I
am asking you all to call me Amber
From
now on!
This
name chose me and
It
feels wonderful and right to be
Called
Amber!
Amber
Penrose
As
I live out the rest of my days as
The
Artist I was always called to be!
My
request is that you start calling me
Amber
from now on.
This
is my New Story
The
Artist Amber A. Penrose
Is
in the house!
- Amber
A. Penrose, CA
Please Submit Your Royal Reports
Tell
us about your Self and/or your Queen Group: who, what, where, when, why?
What
Queenly topics do you explore?
What
projects do you engage in?
Describe
some golden moments.
Send pictures!
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It is my hope that as more and
more women rise to reign in the fullest potential of our supremacy, we
will harness our purpose, passion, and power and direct it toward
creating a more balanced and peaceful world. This is the legacy of Her
majesty.
- QMD
Turn Your
Midlife Crisis
into Your Crowning Achievement!
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