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dess Newsletter | |
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BETWEEN THE COLUMNS WRITING AND EDITORIAL STAFF |
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Briana Murray
Pythia
Rosemary Clark
Xia | |
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 From the Director
Sol
Renewed Light
Breath of Fire
Bringer of New Life
Possibilities planted in Spring
Hopes, Dreams Realized
Birthed in the Womb of Summer's Heat
Please join us for Summer Solstice in the park. Temple of the Goddess has the reserved the Hindenberg Park in La Crescenta to celebrate Summer Solstice together. It's an all day event for the community to honor the sun and share fun and reverence. Sheltered under beautiful old trees and sloping lawns we will picnic, play, make music, and be in ritual space. See times below in Save the Date. We will also be sending out a separate notice soon with more details.
2010 is a year of growth for us, both contraction and expansion. As mentioned in our last newsletter, we are sending out a Temple of the Goddess Survey and hope you will take a few minutes to fill it out. Your input will assist us in setting a course for the future of the temple.
We look forward to seeing you on June 19th for a day on the land honoring the renewal of Sol's longer days. Blessings, Xia
Spirit of the Elements by Josephine Wall
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Temple of the Goddess Announcements
TEMPLE SURVEY Next week the Board
of Directors will be sending out a survey in order to solicit
your
input about the growth of the temple and
how we
serve your spiritual needs.
Goddess Choir Rehearsals
Sunday, June 6th 2-4pm
Sunday, June 13th 2-4pm
(No rehearsal Sunday, May 30th)
NOTE: Soothsayings, one of our regular Between the Columns monthly articles from astrologer Rosemary Clark will now run in conjunction with the Sabbats due to Rosemary's writing schedule. She is working on another book so we have that to look forward to as well. EverGreen, our newest series from Patrick Cleary will return in July when Patrick finishes school. I'm sure he'll have lots to share with us about the environment.
NOTE: Please send any related essays, articles, interviews, and poetry for temple newsletter to newsletter@TempleoftheGoddess.org.
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!
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 I AM by Elena Saviano (Age 8)
I am one who see far.
I wonder what everything would be if it wasn't what it is now.
I hear the wondering of thoughtful people.
I see why people are different.
I want the world to settle in happiness.
I am a jump ahead of time.
I pretend I am a candle, shooing away the darkness
and welcoming the light.
I feel the energy in other people's hearts.
I worry that people who need won't get.
I cry about falling into a wild pit of time.
I am a light.
I understand that sometimes people just won't catch their ball.
I am good at wondering, trying, wanting.
I dream that someday people who need, will get.
I try to see the glass half full, not half empty.
I am a rising sun.This poem was written a few weeks after I held a Spring Equinox seed planting activity in my classroom to encourage the students to bring about something wonderful in their lives. I spoke to the children about my own desire to be "the light and no longer fear what others may think." Upon reading this extraordinary poem, I was filled with an incredible sense of belief and hope that young people, like Elena Saviano, are embracing their light and shining for the world to see. May we all be blessed and as fearless to shine as she! -- Teacher and Between the Columns Editor, Briana Murray
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As
the Wheel of Life spins, the seasons bear witness to the covenant of
the Goddess, Her promise of life and the never-ending cycle of birth,
death, and renewal. To each of us in times of both joy and sorrow She
sweetly whispers, "Be not afraid of my cycles and embrace the changing
nature of all things, the permanence within the impermanence. The
seasons bear witness to this promise I manifested for you. For surely,
the darkness and death of winter is followed by the light and renewal
of spring.
Paul Forrest  | Paul Forrest, 58, beloved cousin of Temple of the Goddess' Priestess and Altar Artist, Kathleen Forrest, died of a heart attack in his sleep the first week of April. Paul lived in New Orleans, a city he loved. He had a passion for food and was a great cook. This picture is from Thanksgiving 2008 when he directed all of us cousins in creating a fabulous meal. He was, at once, kind and thoughtful, with a sharp wit that escaped no one. It was always fun to hang out with him. He is survived by his father Jack, sister Helen, brother John, girlfriend Mary, as well as several aunts, uncles, and Forrest cousins. We will all miss him. _________________________
 Lois Hansen, mother of Temple Priest, Howard Hansen, and Goddess-Mother to Founder and Director, Xia and her son Zach, passed away peacefully
in her home on Friday March 19, 2010 attended by her loving son, Howard. She was
preceded in death by her parents and her brother and is survived by her
only son, Howard Hansen, who recently returned to Spokane to take care
of her. Lois was an avid traveler as seen here visiting the pyramids in her early nineties.
Lois was born in the small farming
community of Johnson Washington on January 23, 1919. Johnson was
founded in the late 1800s by several groups of extended families who
settled there primarily from Tennessee. Lois graduated from the
Johnson school in the class of 1936 and continued her education at
Kinnman Business University in Spokane, graduating in 1937. Click here for more . . .
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 Beltanegreen
spilt out into the meadows
running
into every being
filling us up with spirit
tumbling
the
pulsing red life of the earth
in the smoke of the firecircle
i saw
my demons scatter to the skies
dissolving into the midnight air
there
is nothing but the sun
the moon
in perfect equilibrium
unreal
yet grounded
alone in body, full in spirit
love
Poem by Lady Lissar, jskolnik@cap.gwu.edu
Image
of original painting Divine Mother by Shannon Delsol
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May Day 2010  | Mayday, Mayday, Mayday
by Jeanne Leiter
I, and Temple of the Goddess facilitators, family, and friends, just celebrated MayDay, also called Beltane, on the traditional day of May First. It got me to thinking. . . Why is the universal distress signal for airplanes, ships at sea, or even a hiker fallen down a ravine, Mayday, expressed three times?
Is there any connection, or is it just coincidence?
Beltane is the celebration and honoring of the Earth at Her most fertile time as She receives the seeds that will grow into the fall harvest. It signifies mystical union and harmony with the environment. It is celebration of sexuality and the fertility of life. In days past, male and female villagers would wander into the fields wishing their joining would encourage abundant crops and an increase in the flocks. If the crops did not flourish, if the pigs, sheep, and cows did not produce offspring, it could spell a death sentence for the entire village come winter. Click here for more . . .
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SAVE THE DATE "The seasons and all their changes are in me." -Henry David Thoreau
Our multi-cultural Earth celebrations 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.
- June 19, 2010 Summer Solstice
Park will be available from 11:00 to 5:00,
and ritual will be held from 1:00 to 2:30.
Crescenta Valley Park
(Hindenberg Picnic Area)
3901 Dunsmore Avenue
La Crescenta, CA 91214
We hope you will join the temple, in community, to honor the seasons, the Earth, and our own personal growth for our 2010 Ritual Sabbats.
Click here for Summer Solstice Flyer.
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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 Fire
Realm of Earth
J. Tatum
Realm of Spirit
Dawn Bodnar Sutton
J. Clark
eScrip Shoppers = $101.28
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.
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Man Made God by Barbara G. Walker
Excerpt from the "Foreword" of Man Made God by D.M. Murdock
 "Man is certainly stark mad; he cannot make a flea, and yet he will be making gods by dozens." Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592)
I've known Barbara G. Walker for over a decade, after I contacted her about using quotes from her books for my work The Christ Conspiracy. She graciously agreed, we became friendly, and she has continued to inspire me. Indeed, Barbara has been a muse for me all these years, a living aspect of the Triple Goddess, a reflection of the "Crone" in her purest sense. She has been not only a mentor and muse but also a spiritual sister, whose wise ways should be emulated while her sagacity is shared.
Barbara's previous texts concerning mythology, such as The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets and The Woman's Dictionary of Sacred Symbols and Objects, provide a mass of erudition compiled over decades of research. Whenever I revisit these masterpieces, I am in awe of how much information she has managed to record in those large tomes.
The essays here provide similar valuable knowledge, and are overall a smooth read that will enchant and enlighten the reader at the same time. Coming from a leader in the free thought community-and a notable female voice therein as well-Walker's pearls of rationality can be digested readily in this handy, portable format.
Life, Death and Bible Myths
In this collection, Barbara Walker recounts instances and epiphanies from her own life, while exploring numerous important subjects relating to the mysteries of human existence as a whole, including our place in both life and death, as well as salient myths that affect us to this day. For example, in discussing the influence of Bible myths, Walker remarks:
We sing the hymn, "Morning Has Broken," which speaks of the Garden of Eden "fresh from God's Word," and of God's literal footstep on the first grass. We may think of it as a nice poetic metaphor, though the writer of the lyric obviously thought of it as the truth. But the story of Eden is not a nice poetic metaphor; nor is it true. It is a lie born out of ignorance, and what's more, it is a pernicious lie that has caused an unimaginably huge amount of unnecessary human suffering over the centuries. It is the source of the doctrines of original sin, female inferiority and the damnation of disbelievers. The evils rooted in this myth still continue. There are still millions of people willing to kill or to die for Old Testament lies. There are millions of people who despise scientific enlightenment, who forbid real education for their children, who hate their neighbors if they disagree with Bible mythology. Battles are still fought, and will go on being fought, over religious nonsense. This is one of the greatest of human follies: Perhaps this is even what might be called the real original sin. More
Stellar House Publishing, Click here to purchase through Temple of the Goddess' Amazon Book Store
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May 14, 2010 Malawi Gay Couple Who 'Married' Face Harsh Prison Sentences
by David Smith and Godfrey Mapondera
The Guardian
A man whose same-sex "marriage" has become a symbol of the struggle for
gay rights in Africa has vowed to become a martyr rather than give in
to homophobia, campaigners say. Tiwonge Chimbalanga and his partner
Steven Monjeza are facing a possible 14 years in prison with hard
labour after becoming the first gay couple in Malawi to declare their
commitment in a public ceremony .
Peter Tatchell, the veteran
British gay rights campaigner, has maintained contact with the pair at
the maximum security Chichiri prison in Blantyre as they prepare to
stand trial next week.
Tatchell told the Guardian he received
a defiant message from Chimbalanga that said: "I love Steven so much.
If people or the world cannot give me the chance and freedom to
continue living with him as my lover, then I am better off to die here
in prison. Freedom without him is useless and meaningless."
Tatchell,
of the rights group Outrage!, also quoted Monjeza - who is described as
thin and weak with jaundiced eyes - as saying: "We have come a long way
and even if our family relatives are not happy, I will never stop
loving Tiwonge." Click here for more . . .
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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 it is a Spider tale. Spider Medicine teaches us about being
creative, they are the Master Weavers, weaving stories and dreams.
How the Spider Taught Woman to Spin
An Argentinean Tale by Natalia Belting
Once upon a time, women did not know how to weave. They did not even know how to spin thread. Two
old women went to Spider's house and hid themselves. Spider did not see
them. She did not know they were watching her. She began to spin. At
noon she hung her bag of thread up in the doorway and went away. The women came out of hiding. "Take the bag quickly," one of the
women said. They hurried away before Spider could return and find
them. "Come see what we have," the women called when they got back to the village. Everyone came out. The women left their cooking pots. The men left
their talking. The children left their games. Everybody crowded around.
"We have Spider's thread," one of the women said. Click here for more . . . |
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.
June 16
July 14
August 11
September 8
October 6
November 3
December 8
Dress comfortable and bring a 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. Led by Temple Priestess, Kamala. 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. Time for Moon Lodge is 7-10:00pm
Upcoming Dates:
May 27th
June 26
July 26
August 24
September 23
October 22
November 21
December 21
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. Led by temple Priestess, Morfreyja
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*
$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
*Classes are not currently being held but will resume in the summer. See you then!
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 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. | |
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