Temple of the Goddess Announcements 

      The Sun

Bursting Sun by Jaison Cianelli

      Your hot breath

      Roared

      Its way through my

      Front door

      Flicking

      The tips of my hair

      As it went past

      Subtle hints

      Of your great power

      Prisms pouring

      Onto the walls

      As your love

      Kisses

      The tear drop crystal

      Announcing

      The glory of a

      New day

       Written by CandyJo Dahlstrom

Releasing the Green Dragon 

Image by Lars Grant-West

By Joanne Elliott

Within us lies the Green Dragon, an aspect of ourselves that is deeply connected to the Earth, our physical home on this plane of existence. It's true that ultimately we come from the Source that births all things and is all things, but some aspect of ourselves recognizes Earth as its home and will fiercely protect it. The dragon is a guardian, a guardian of Earth.

The Green Dragon came back to human consciousness last year via a group of Christian fundamentalists backed by a right wing think tank called Cornwall Alliance. Here is how they describe themselves:

The Cornwall Alliance is a coalition of clergy, theologians, religious leaders, scientists, academics, and policy experts committed to bringing a balanced Biblical view of stewardship to the critical issues of environment and development.

The Cornwall Alliance created a series of DVDs under the title: "Resisting the Green Dragon" and by Green Dragon they mean the environmental movement as they believe it to be. This DVD series has no real purpose but to scare Christians and anyone who will listen into believing that environmentalism is dangerous, even evil. They describe environmentalism as promoting paganism, pantheism and being against Christianity. See: http://wildhunt.org/blog/2010/11/conservative-christians-and-the-green-dragon.html 

This group appears to be so terrified of their own Green Dragon within that they needed to externalize it in those who cared for the Earth. Some Christians may be terrified or led to be afraid of the environmental movement as pagan and dangerous, but Cornwall Alliance is more allied with big oil interests than Christians trying to save their religion.

http://www.rightwingwatch.org/category/groups/cornwall-alliance  

This underlying motivation of greed that hides behind religious concern would allow them to rape and pillage Mother Earth until she dies.   Click here for full article... 

Neighborhood Church Labyrinth

Neighborhood Church is creating a new courtyard with a labyrinth. It will be a 5-circuit, wheelchair-accessible, open to the public labyrinth. The courtyard will be a paved surface that is good for kids to play on and for events to take place on, will have river stone and concrete benches for contemplation, plus have the beautiful labyrinth with a flaming chalice mosaic at its center. Underneath the courtyard will be an entire drainage well system so that we are also responsibly taking care of water runoff and returning it to the aquifer.

We are currently fundraising for the courtyard and have a $20,000 matching grant. One of the fundraising strategies is to sell engraved donor pavers (which can be dedicated to anyone) and memorial pavers (which can honor the memory of anyone not just church members). They cost $250 each. I think the engraved pavers are a wonderful opportunity for people who want to honor the memory of someone but would rather it not be in a cemetery or non pagan friendly setting. Here is a link to the website: http://www.uuneighborhood.org/courtyard.htm  

NOTE: Temple of the Goddess has purchased a paved engraver in support of this wonderful project. Please support this project that will benefit so many for many years.  

One of Our Own: Erykka Ximone

On May 14^th, our own Erykka Ximone, a soloist and member of Temple of the Goddess choir, gave this amazing operatic performance at the LePetiti Chateau Montignac. Click here to enjoy her wonderful performance.  

We look forward to hearing more songs from Erykka and adding her dance talents to our ritual theatre performances in the fall. 

Visionary Artist Lisa Thiel

Pagan singer/songwriter Lisa Thiel is a visionary artist and ceremonial singer whose healing song prayers and chants are among the most popular in the women's spiritual movement today. Her music has been an important part of Temple of the Goddess' ritual theatre. Many of Lisa's songs are sung annually at our Sabbats throughout the Wheel of the Year and are part of the "spiritual capital" that our participants know, sing, and love. It is with great excitement that we introduce Lisa's visionary art to you. 

Originally a holistic healing professional in Los Angeles, California, Lisa began creating her music as an expression of and as a vehicle for her own process of personal growth and transformation. Her spiritual path led her to study many of the world's spiritual traditions and her teachers were yogis, shamans, Tibetan lamas and wise women of the Goddess tradition. The connecting thread throughout was the practice of sacred song for healing and empowerment, and an emphasis on the Sacred Feminine found in all traditions in one form or another. The result is a vital, authentic music that resonates with the energy of her experiences. Lisa's songs literally are shamanic healing (medicine) songs that have touched the lives of countless women in a profound way. Her songs soon became a traditional part of women's spiritual music and are currently sung in circles around the world.

Since leaving Los Angeles for the Southwest, Lisa's work continued to expand. Though a visionary artist known best for her new age music that is currently being distributed internationally, she is basically a self-taught artist and has been painting for over 20 years.  

Lisa describes her journey into art, "When I paint I go into a meditative state that brings spiritual energy into my work. My art reflects my deep love of the Sonoran Desert and the visions that I see in the earth , the sky and the clouds . I hope to convey the incredible beauty and magic of nature that I experience all around me, and to share my unique perceptions that it might inspire others to see the world through different eyes. All of my work is based on scenes that I actually saw in one way or another! My work is inspired by my dreams and visions that come from my spirit, my sacred dreams. My music and art are the gifts of the encounters with my soul."  

Lisa Thiel has a new art website, a place that reproduces all her art online, including art from her album covers & other goddess paintings. Click here to view and purchase Lisa's beautiful artwork. Click here to listen and purchase Lisa's amazing Pagan/Goddess CD's.

Image: Corn Mother by Lisa Thiel 

Remembering Our Veterans on Memorial Day-May 30, 2011 

For decades, Pagan Veterans were denied the right to have a symbol of their faith on their VA-issued memorial grave marker. U.S. soldiers awarded the bronze star were denied the right to have a Pagan star on the memorial stones.

On April 20, 2007, after ten years of keeping the Pentacle for Pagan soldiers pending, a federal lawsuit was filed by Circle Sanctuary and an agreement was reached to provide a VA-issued grave marker with a Pentacle to honor deceased Wiccan/Pagan veterans.

A federal lawsuit was filed by Circle Sanctuary and on April 20, 2007, after ten years of keeping the Pentacle for Pagan soldiers pending, an agreement was reached to provide a VA-issued grave marker with a Pentacle to honor deceased Wiccan/Pagan veterans.

Lady Liberty League and Circle Sanctuary created the video to honor the Pagan soldiers who both served and gave their lives for their country.

Let us never forget nor take our religious freedom for granted.

Father-Daughter Reading Streak Lasts Nearly 9 Years

by NPR Staff

June 18, 2011

When Alice Ozma was in the fourth grade, her family was going through a rough patch. Her parents had just split up, and her older sister had recently left for college. Ozma was suddenly spending a lot more time alone with her dad, Jim Brozina, an elementary school librarian. So Ozma and her father made a pledge: to read together every single night for 100 days.

But after 100 days, they just kept going. Their streak ultimately lasted 3,218 days - spanning from Ozma's fourth-grade year to her first day of college. Their commitment to reading and to each other are the subject of Ozma's debut book, The Reading Promise: My Father and the Books We Shared. Brozina and Ozma join NPR's Scott Simon to talk about what kept their "Reading Streak" alive.

The nightly reads quickly became habit, Ozma explains. "I think that once you start something like that, it's very difficult to stop; it seems very weird after 100 nights of reading in a row to say, 'Let's not read tonight.'"

The streak was a source of stability for the pair through difficult times. "I did everything I could to make things be as comfortable as possible," Brozina says. "We went through a very rough patch for a few years ... it was almost scary, the situation we were in financially."  Continued... 

Most Say Homosexuality Should Be Accepted By Society

May 13, 2011 

While the public is divided over same-sex marriage, a majority of Americans (58%) say that homosexuality should be accepted, rather than discouraged, by society.

Among younger people in particular, there is broad support for societal acceptance of homosexuality. More than six-in-ten (63%) of those younger than age 50 -- 69% of those younger than age 30 -- say that homosexuality should be accepted. Far fewer of those ages 50 and older (52%) favor societal acceptance of homosexuality.

These are among the findings from the latest Pew Research Center political typology survey, released May 4, 2011. The survey, conducted in February and March of this year, showed that opposition to gay marriage has continued to decline.

Currently, 45% favor allowing gays and lesbians to marry legally while 46% are opposed. Two years ago, in April 2009, 35% supported same-sex marriage while 54% were opposed. Click here to continue... 

Join us for a viewing of

2012: Time for Change

Dates to be announced soon!  

2012: Time for Change presents an optimistic alternative to apocalyptic doom and gloom.  Directed by Emmy Award nominee João Amorim, the film follows journalist Daniel Pinchbeck, author of the bestselling 2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl, on a quest for a new paradigm that integrates the archaic wisdom of tribal cultures with the scientific method. As conscious agents of evolution, we can redesign post-industrial society on ecological principles to make a world that works for all. Rather than breakdown and barbarism, 2012 heralds the birth of a regenerative planetary culture where collaboration replaces competition, where exploration of psyche and spirit becomes the new cutting edge, replacing the sterile materialism that has pushed our world to the brink.

"We readily admit that 2012: Time for Change is a teaching tool as well as a piece of propaganda masquerading as a somewhat slick, somewhat street, feature documentary. The secret purpose of 2012: Time for Change is to get you to look at your world differently, and to begin to participate in a conscious movement toward personal and social transformation.

What we believe and continue to learn from sometimes painful personal experience is that we can't hope to make the world a better place unless we start within, learning to nurture our own soul and spirit. Among other objectives, 2012: Time for Change wants you to become your own coach and spiritual adviser, taking good care of yourself."

While waiting for scheduled viewing dates, you can go to the website, 2012- Time for Change for movie details as well as information on the many organizations and individuals that are doing something to create positive and substantial changes in our world.  See how you too can contribute to creating positive change!

Trance Journey Through Drumming 
Class offered by Temple of the Goddess.
 

Temporarily on Hiatus

• 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. 

This is not a "learn how to drum" class, but deep meditation instruction based on Dr. Michael Harner's book The Way of the Shaman. 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: