Director's Message-IMPORTANT
As Pagans, it's a good time to stand up and be counted by participating in The Pagan Census. Three researchers are working to update Voices from the Pagan Census: A National Survey of Witches and Neo-Pagans in the United States, originally published in 2003.
Helen Berger, one of the researchers, writes, "This survey builds on an earlier one completed over twenty years ago, primarily in the United States, which was conducted by Helen A. Berger and Andras Arthen (of the EarthSpirit Community) entitled the Pagan Census. A number of scholars have noted that it would be helpful to have a follow-up of that survey to see if and how the community has changed or remained the same. The survey that follows uses many, although not all of the same questions that were in the original survey to provide that comparison. There are also new questions, for instance about the Internet, something that was of little interest 20 years ago but is now, and some from other studies, that again permit a comparison. This has resulted in the survey being somewhat long--we appreciate your taking the time to complete it."
It's an anonymous survey so no need to worry about being outed but it is time for Pagans, and their beliefs, to be counted. Please take a little time, click here and fill out the survey. Make your Pagan voice heard. Blessings to you-one and all. Xia
|
|
Temple of the Goddess Announcements
Pagan Pride Day 2009 Visit Temple of the Goddess booth at Pagan Pride Day on Sunday, October 4th. Details below. Temple of the Goddess Choir will be performing center stage at 12:00. See you there!
Goddess Choir Rehearsals
2009 Dates for Rehearsal are:
September 27th 4-6pm
October 18th 4-6pm
Goddess Choir: If you'd like to be a part of the ever-growing Temple of the Goddess choir, email choir@TempleoftheGoddess.org. MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD! NOTE: Please send any related essays, articles, interviews, and poetry for temple newsletter to newsletter@TempleoftheGoddess.org.
Click here to find out about Community Events. If you would like to post an event with Temple of the Goddess, please let us know by submitting the date and pertinent information to: Events@TempleoftheGoddess.org. |
Hallows Eve Ritual & Celebration
October 24, 2009
7:30 to 9:00 p.m.
This Hallows Eve we are celebrating the element of Earth, our beloved ancestors, especially those who died for their beliefs during the inquisition, and Hecate, Queen of Witches. We reclaim the ancient way, a way of walking in nature with compassion and power as guardians of the Earth. We take back the power of the witch within-the healer and the artist. We call on Hecate to share her wisdom, magic, prophecy, mystery, regeneration, and knowledge of time and eternity.
Our Hallows celebration opens with a song honoring the Greek Goddess, Hecate, and Her Celtic counterpart, Cerridwen. We will remember those who died in the inquisition and bring to light this holocaust of mostly women whose lives were sacrificed on the altar of destruction, greed, and death. We offer songs and dance in celebration of the Ancient Witch, the Mother Goddess, in all of her faces-Maiden, Mother, Queen, and Crone. We stand at the crossroads of past, present, and future and magically create our lives with love and compassionate power. We sunder, forever, the myth of witch as evil and ugly and reclaim witch as artist, healer, and lover of the blessed Earth. So come dressed as your inner witch, whether as Isis, Robin Hood, Diana, Ganeesh-in kilt, business suit, belly dance or yes, even pointed hat if that's your inner witch.
Temple of the Goddess, and The Mythic Players invite you to join us for an evening of art and ritual theater in celebration of a very special Hallows Eve.
Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church, 301 N. Orange Grove Blvd. Pasadena, CA 91103
Click here for printable flyer. Samhain Witch by Dawn Wolf.
|
Soothsayings: September - October 2009
by Rosemary Clark
Balance and Justice
As we enter the season of Libra, we cross the threshold from personal endeavor to collective participation. The first six Signs of the Zodiac signify the development of Will (Aries), Values (Taurus), Self Expression (Gemini), Relationships (Cancer), Ego (Leo), and Socialization (Virgo). In Libra, one enters the world of communal interests and engagement. Throughout this season, we are prompted to relinquish the things that serve only ourselves and find a genuine place in the collectivity.
In some cultures, the Sign of Libra is represented by the mirror, signifying the processes of reflection and identity. Through relationships, personal and collective, we gain an understanding of the wholeness that arrives from being a part of the whole. In Libra we learn the lessons and skills of negotiation, compromise, understanding, and harmony. From these experiences, our values are shaped and continuously adapted to the changing world around us. And so as we transition to the Sign of the Scales, it is important to weigh our values against the transitory conditions of the hour and be reminded that balance in our lives will prevail against the disharmonies of the outside world.
Sacred Marriage
In Libra, the hieros gamos (sacred marriage) inspires us in our relationships to seek divine consonance. This ideal was enacted in ancient ritual with purification of the couple, community acknowledgment of the union, and symbolic consummation, intended to enrich society as well as the individual participants. But the hieros gamos alludes to other significant unions of opposites - the conscious Ego and the unconscious Self, the Ida and Pingala forces of the Chakra body, the Sun and Moon in celestial life. In this time of equal day and equinox, "equal night," we come to know that even in seasonal terms the visible world achieves balance and equilibrium. More. . .
* Pharaoh MenKauRa and Queen KaMeriNebty Egypt, Fourth Dynasty
(*) All phenomena are cited for the Tropical (Western) Zodiac
© Copyright 2008 by Rosemary Clark
Rosemary Clark is author of The Sacred Tradition in Ancient Egypt: The Esoteric Wisdom Revealed and The Sacred Magic of Ancient Egypt: The Spiritual Practice Restored. She has also written The Everything Meditation Book and her work is included in Menopause: A One-Stop Resource for Feeling Good and The Complete Dream Dictionary. When not writing and organizing spiritual expeditions to Egypt, she is saying sooth to an international cadre of students and associates. |
DONOR ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Temple of the Goddess wishes to acknowledge, honor, and welcome those who have joined, tithed, or donated to the temple this month. You keep the temple doors open for all of us.
 Realm of Air
Kamala
Gloria Avrech
Realm of Fire
Anne Gauldin
Realm of Water
J. Clark
Realm of Spirit
Dawn Bodnar Sutton
J. Tatum
eScrip Shoppers = $4.91
Click here for information on becoming a member of TOG. Temple of the Goddess has a variety of ways that you can participate fiscally in our vision. To learn more about making a tax-deductible donation to the temple, go to Gifting Opportunities.
|
|
SAVE THE DATE
"The seasons and all their changes are in me." -Henry David Thoreau
Our multi-cultural Earth celebrations are held at the Neighborhood Unitarian Church in Pasadena and are open to families and community. Our Sabbats are multi-media ritual theater combining mythology, music, visual art, dance, liturgy, spoken word, and participatory theater which fuses drum and dance with personal enactment to re-connect us to the seasons and the Earth. 
- October 24, 2009 All Hallow's Eve
Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church
301 N. Orange Grove Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91103
818-771-5778
Website: www.TempleoftheGoddess.org/Events
We hope you will join the temple, in community, to honor the seasons, the Earth, and our own personal growth for our 2009 Ritual Sabbats. |
 You
are sitting around a fire after a hard day of work. The air cools and
the sun sets, the frogs and crickets begin singing as the sky darkens.
Suddenly the person you have been eagerly awaiting leaps to the center
of the circle. You
have heard the story a hundred times, but the antics of the animals and
the wisdom in the story never fail to give you pleasure. As she weaves
her tale, the knowledge that every thing is alive, carrying its own
power and wisdom, soothes your soul.
Let
us join together, in this virtual circle, and share these Animal Tales.
Let us once again feel how the stories connect us to the natural world
and remind us that we are all part of a vast Circle of Life. Listen now
as the Shaman whispers tales of animal power and wisdom
in your ear. Tonight's
tale is Brer Rabbit. A trickster of the African-American South, the Rabbit, as
trickster, is also found in the Cherokee's tales of the Great Hare. Rabbits
teach us about being creative, and looking at our fears and finding creative
ways to face them. This time of year these are lessons to help us move into the
dark of the year.
Brer Rabbit Earns a Dollar-A-Minute
One fine morning, Brer Fox decided to plant him a patch of goober peas. He set to with a will and before you know it, he had raked and hoed out a beautiful patch of ground and he put in a fine planting of peas. It didn't take too long before those goober vines grew tall and long and the peas ripened up good and smart.
Now Brer Rabbit, he'd watched Brer Fox planting the goobers and he told his children and Miz Rabbit where they could find the patch. Soon as those peas were ripe, the little Rabbits and Brer Rabbit would sneak on in and grab up them goobers by the handfuls. It got so bad that when Brer Fox came to the goober patch, he could hardly find a pea to call his own.
Well, Brer Fox, he was plenty mad that he'd worked so hard on those peas only to have them eaten by someone else. He suspected that Brer Rabbit was to blame for this, but the rascally rabbit had covered his tracks so well that Brer Fox couldn't catch him. So Brer Fox came up with a plan. He found a smooth spot in his fence where a cunning rabbit could sneak in, and he set a trap for Brer Rabbit at that spot. He tied a rope to a nearby hickory sapling and bent it nearly double. Then he took the other end of the rope and made a loop knot that he fastened with a trigger right around the hole in the fence. If anybody came through the crack to steal his peas, the knot would tighten around their body, the sapling would spring upright, and they would be left hanging from the tree for everyone to see. Continued . . .
Retold by S. E. Schlosser, www.AmericanFolklore.net. Animal Tales Column brought to you by Kamala. Animal Tales logo by Anne Gauldin, Gauldin Farrington Designs. |
|
Kid's Realm ~~Childhood is a journey, not a race.~~
 Paper Bag Scarecrow
By: Amanda Formaro
Difficulty: Very Easy
Age: 5 and up
Scarecrows not only watch crops and brave the weather, but they also make great puppets! Make this kids scarecrow craft with your kids today and invite their friends over for an afternoon show. Continued . . .
|
The Supreme Court and Government-Sponsored Religious Displays In Brief: Salazar v. Buono
Sept. 24, 2009
On Oct. 7, 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in
Salazar v. Buono, a case involving a constitutional challenge to the
presence of an eight-foot-tall Christian cross in the Mojave National
Preserve in San Bernardino County, Calif. The case arose when Frank
Buono, a former assistant superintendent of the preserve, filed a
lawsuit demanding that the National Park Service, which administers the
preserve, remove the cross. Buono argued that because the cross is on
government land it amounts to a government endorsement of religion and
thus violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment to the
U.S. Constitution. After eight years of litigation in lower courts, the
case is now before the Supreme Court. The high court's decision has the
potential to determine the fate of the cross and similar displays
across the country as well as to limit who may bring Establishment
Clause lawsuits in federal court.
The Pew Research Center's Forum
on Religion & Public Life provides a brief overview of the case's
long path to the Supreme Court and the arguments that the parties are
likely to make when they appear before the justices. More.
|
Silver Phial
With Temple of the Goddess'
Musical Maestros
Ananda (Cheryl) & Patrick
with Silver Phial's Jonny.
October 11th, 9pm
EL CID
4212 Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90029
Valet Parking
Discount with Silver Phial flyer.Click here to go to go to pdf flyer to print.
|
Heavy Like the Weight of a Flame One Night Only!
Thursday, November 5th, 8pm
Whitefire Theater
13500 Ventura Blvd
Sherman Oaks, CA 91423-3802
(818) 990-2324
Ernie Silva's one-man show is a serio-comic autobiographical story about a Brooklyn kid who meets the life described in Jack Kerouac's On The Road. The show is along the veins of John Leguizamo's Freak and Danny Hoch's Jails, Hospitals and Hip Hop. However, it also contains a multi-disciplinary aspect in the form of guitar playing which ranges from Jimi Hendrix to Andres Segovia! Heavy is sometimes raw, sometimes fun , but always universal and real.
WHAT THE CRITICS HAVE SAID:
"Silva is a charismatic talent! I expect we'll be seeing more of Mr. Silva and this is a good place to get acquainted" -LA Weekly
"The sheer strength of will that it took for Silva to outstrip such negative indoctrination is inspiring"-LA Times
"Silva is a dynamic performer-lean, lithe, and athletic-and he calls upon all his skills in this outing. He sketches his characters with speed and accuracy, and displays a sassy manic wit in regaling us with his adventures"- BackStage West
|
 Too Many Guitars
Thursday, October 22nd, 7:30 to 10:30 p.m.
CAFE 322
322 W. Sierra Madre Blvd.
Sierra Madre, CA 91024
Rockin' Music with Temple Talents:
David Jacks
Van Webster
Click here for downloadable flyer for Too Many Guitars. |
Pagan Pride Day L.A.
October 4, 2009, 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
The mission of the Pagan Pride Project is to foster pride in Pagan identity through education, activism, charity and community.
Enjoy a wonderful day celebrating your Pagan roots with like-minded, Earth-honoring people. The day is filled with Rituals, Workshops, Authors, Entertainment, Vendors, Food, Children's Activities. Please visit us at our Temple of the Goddess booth.
The Meadows at Whittier Narrows, Regional Park, South El Monte, 751 South Santa Anita Ave. (off the 60 Fwy, south of the 605 Fwy) Admission is free, but you are asked to bring a non-perishible food item for the food bank. For more information, go to Pagan Pride Los Angeles. |
|
Power of the Feminine Film Festival
Date in September to be announced. Please RSVP to PoweroftheFeminineFilmFestival@templeofthegoddess.org for address and official notifications.
The Secret Life of Bees
Family Friendly!
Our next featured movie for the Feminine Film Festival is The Secret Life of Bees. This marvelous film is based on the historical fiction 2002 best-selling novel by American author Sue Monk Kidd. The book is a touching story that rightfully became a New York Times bestseller. It was nominated for the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction. The book was adapted to a screenplay by Gina Prince-Bythewood and stars Dakota Fanning, Queen Latifah and Jennifer Hudson. The film was released on October 17, 2008.
Set in South Carolina in 1964, The Secret Life of Bees revolves around 14 year-old Lily Owens, whose life is shaped by her blurred memory of the afternoon of her mother's accidental death. Lily's black "stand-in mother," Rosaleen, insults three racists in town, and in order to save Rosaleen's life, they both run away. They end up in Tiburon, South Carolina.
Lily has lonely at home and feels that she is unloved by her father, T. Ray, who punishes her harshly for small, and sometimes, imaginary infractions. When she comes to live with, and work with, August Boatwright, one of three sisters, she discovers that she has many people who love and care for her.
Since Lily was not allowed to ask questions of her father, she begins again to find out who she is. She writes down her thoughts in a notebook, and finds her first love, Zachary Taylor. She finds out who she really is when she learns about her mother's past.
When she discovers her past, she begins to see where she fits in the present. When one has a past, one also has a future.
Come watch this wonderful film with the Temple family, then discuss its meanings in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere.
|
Temple of the Goddess PAGAN BOOK CLUB
Date in September to be announced. Please RSVP to PaganBookClub@templeofthegoddess.org for address and official notifications.
Do you enjoy reading and discussing books? Then please join us for the temple's Pagan Book Club. Some of our young people are hungry to read what many of us older Pagans have long ago read so this is our chance to re-read, share our wisdom, and get some fresh new perspectives from the next generation (or two). We will be reading both fiction and nonfiction. If you're interested in joining us, our next book will be:
The Chalice and the Blade
Our History Our Future
by Riane Eisler
 Some books are like revelations, they open the spirit to unimaginable possibilities. The Chalice and the Blade is one of those magnificent key books that can transform us and...initiate fundamental changes in the world. With the most passionate eloquence, Riane Eisler proves that the dream of peace is not an impossible utopia.The phenomenal bestseller, with more than 500,000 copies sold worldwide, now with a new epilogue from the author--The Chalice and the Blade has inspired a generation of women and men to envision a truly egalitarian society by exploring the legacy of the peaceful, goddess-worshipping cultures from our prehistoric past. (courtesy of amazon.com)
This international bestseller -- now in 23 foreign editions, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Hebrew, and most European languages-- tells a fascinating new story of our past, present, and the possibilities for our future. Weaving together evidence from art, archeology, religion, social science, history, and many other fields of inquiry into new patterns that more accurately fit the best available data, it shows that war and the "war of the sexes" are neither divinely nor biologically ordained. It provides verification that a better future is possible--and is in fact firmly rooted in the haunting drama of what actually happened in our past. (courtesy of raineeisler.com)
Click here to buy this book from Amazon and help support the temple. For more information regarding the PBC or carpooling contact Inanna at: PaganBookClub@templeofthegoddess.org |
Temple of the Goddess Moon Lodge for Women
We gather to honor and celebrate the Moon Mother and her cycles which we embody with her sacred gift of rhythm and blood. Together we will celebrate stories of our own moon-time, from our experiences of menarche to menopause. We will share stories of Her ebb and flow, reconnecting ourselves with these divine and timeless cycles. Our repose in this dreamtime within the safety of a circle of sisters has the power to heal and reunite our deeper selves with the natural world. The Moon Lodge is held on Wednesdays between 7pm and 10pm.
October 14
November 18
December 16
Dress comfortable and bring comfy pillow and blanket to snuggle in. Bring any sacred offerings you may wish to share with the Goddess on Her Altar. And a decadent snack to share with your sisters. Contact Kamala@templeofthegoddess.org. |
 Temple of the Goddess ~ Full Moon Celebrations
Monthly Celebrations are held on the night of the Full Moon, unless listed otherwise.
Upcoming Dates:
October 3rd, 7-10:00pm
November 2nd, 7-10:00pm
December 2nd, 7-10:00pm & December 30th, 7-10:00pm
Strong lunar energy pulls everything out of hiding and reflects it back at us. Emotions seem closer to the surface and social inhibitions melt away. While neither Waxing nor Waning, the Full Moon is a highly charged time for release and gain.
During the Full Moon Celebrations you will learn the energy flow of each monthly Full Moon, meditate to draw down the Lunar power, create magic within sacred circle and use divination tools to release the unwanted as well as bring in the desired.
Click here for more information about Temple of the Goddess Full Moon Celebration, and a pdf flyer or email FullMoonCelebration@TempleoftheGoddess.org or phone: 818-771-5778 Picture Courtesy of Isquiesque |
 In a Sacred Circle of Sisters, Come Home to Your Authentic Self
The Shamanic Tantric Dance is a meditation in motion, a sacred dance spontaneously sourced from body impulse.
Mondays, 7-10:00pm
October 26
November 23
December 21
$30.00 (no one turned away for a lack of funds)
No Dance Experience Necessary.
For more info click here.
Contact Kamala: kamala@terrakino.net
|
 Trance Journey Through Drumming
New class offered by Temple of the Goddess
This is not a "learn how to drum" class, but deep meditation instruction. In this class you will learn about Shamanism and what a Shaman does when she or he moves into a trance and enters another reality. If you've wanted a different way of meditating to "sort things out" then this might work for you. In addition to the trance work, the class will study various topics including:
- Shamanic Trance Drumming-what it is and where it has been in practice.
- Spirit Guides-how to obtain one and what a Guide does for you.
- Relevancy of Shamanic Trance Drumming in today's world.
Classes led by Pythia, Temple of the Goddess priestess and a practioner of Shamanic Trance Drumming for 18 years. Classes ongoing. For dates and times, contact Pythia@templeofthegoddess.org and put Trance Journey in the subject. Click here for more info and a downloadable pdf flyer. | |
