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Temple of the Goddess Announcements
MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD! - Goddess Choir: If you'd like to be a part of the ever-growing Temple of the Goddess Choir, please contact us at choir@templeofthegoddess.org
COMMUNITY EVENTS: Additional information about Community Events is available at the Temple of the Goddess website. 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.
JOIN OUR ONLINE COMMUNITY! Keep up to date with what's happening at the Temple. Get to know us better while you enjoy daily words of inspiration, interesting and helpful articles as well as the latest Pagan news. All you have to do is "Like" us on Facebook and/or follow us on Twitter under @TO_Goddess. See you there! |
 Darkness
Darkness wraps me in her soft folds
and holds me as I sleep.
With the gentleness of a lover
she caresses my cheek.
All the while I lay dreaming
she tenderly rocks me in her
velvety arms.
As the first bird begins to sing
she quietly slips away and
the morning light takes her place
beside me.
by Annette Fortier 2004-Reprinted We'Moon 2012
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SAVE THE DATE: 2013 Temple of the Goddess Ritual Sabbats
"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.
 Check our website or future Temple newsletters for 2013 dates.
Rituals scheduled at the Neighborhood Church. Click here for more information and to download an event flyer. Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church 301 N. Orange Grove Blvd. Pasadena, CA 91103 818-771-5778 Website: www.TempleoftheGoddess.org
We hope you will join the temple, in community, to honor the seasons, the Earth, and our own personal growth for our 2013 Ritual Sabbats.
Artwork from Ritual Path DVD by artist John Banks of Artek Images and music by Fritz Heede. Available from Temple of the Goddess Music & Media Store.
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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."Patricia Monaghan - Poet, Storyteller, Mover of Earth (February 15, 1946, - November 11, 2012)  Patricia Monaghan was born in the urban jungle of Brooklyn, NY, grew up in the vast wilderness of Colorado and Alaska and spent her final days at her beloved farm, Brigit Rest, in southwestern Wisconsin's Driftless Area.
Many of you may have known or known of Patricia. She was a pioneer in the contemporary women's spirituality movement who authored such books as: Encyclopedia of Goddesses and Heroines, The Goddess Path, and The Red-Haired Girl from the Bog: The Landscape of Celtic Myth and Spirit. As a poet the Goddess, women, and the land were important features in her work and her finely crafted book of poems, Seasons of the Witch won the Friends of Literature Award for poetry. And as a mover of earth who cared deeply about the land and social justice she founded The Black Earth Institute. It was with the institute that she sought to put all of her passions together. Continued . . . Memorial by Joanne Elliott. If you would like to contribute a memory, image, or photo to Temple of the Goddess' Memorial page for Patricia, send to CircleofLife@templeofthegoddess.org. |
Autumn Equinox and Hallows Eve Celebration
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The Wheel of the Year spins and we come together to honor the turning of the seasons and the Earth's never-ending cycles of life. Temple of the Goddess' Mythic Players, once again, presented two wonderful evenings of ritual theatre in celebration of Autumn Equinox and Hallows Eve. Adele Shakal took over Art Direction for RA when she transitioned to Oregon this summer. Following in RA's ritual artistic shoes wouldn't be easy for anyone, but Adele did it magnificently. Her costumes were awesome. Ganesha's Temple and Medusa's Cave were enchanting and deeply moving for participants meeting the mythic divine.
 Our Equinox myth was given by a storyteller, as in days of old. In her reading, she told the story of Aapti, a woman, a heroine of her own story, living a good life but faced with overwhelming obstacles . . . Mountains ALL, which she must face, embrace, integrate, and when needed . . .obliterate. In vivid story, we see Aapti descend into the Valley of Limen, the place betwixt and between . . .
 Liminality.
A place of upheaval
Where Order convulses,
And Tranquility is ripped away.
Unsought.
A space of absolute Disintegration The Dark Unknown. Aapti's journey towards Fulfillment takes her to the very edge of the unknown. There she cries out, "A Wounded Prayer," and calls on unseen and unknown, Holy Numinosity. Ganesha, Remover of Obstacles and Lord of New Beginnings comes to her aid in a dance of Com-Passion, and Wisdom . . . a dance that quenches her soul's thirst and fills her with Courage to face the obstacles that are a natural part of life's evolution. Click here for more pictures and videos by Charles "Beautyseer" Elliott. Ganesha Temple and costumes by Adele Shakal. Aapti played by Haize Hawke Rosen, Ganesha played by Briana Murray.  At Hallows Eve, the community came together in celebration, seeking great change, and built a magnificent communal ancestor altar. We mythically stalked our fears, grasped our courage and the all encompassing power of change. We remembered and called forth the myth of Medusa, a mythic Goddess, one of the many stories of the feminine that got turned upside down. Medusa's name in Greek means Guardian and Protectress. Snakes in Ancient Greece were a symbol of change, rebirth, and power. Beautiful Medusa, with serpents coming out of her head, turning us to stone . . . marble, and dared us to slow down and face our greatest fears because that is where our power lies. Meeting Medusa was a beautiful opportunity for us to go within, look into that most frightening place of all, the Mirror of Self, and face that which frightens us most. There are critical, archetypal times in our lives when the Spirit of Medusa calls to us, calls us to change, to grow, to be more than we ever dreamed we could be. That's just what she did at Hallows this year. Click here to see a video by Charles "BeautySeer" Elliott of our Hallows myth, Medusa: Stone and Bone, written and directed by Xia Please join Temple of the Goddess and the Mythic Players in 2013 for more community celebrations in honor of the Earth and Her seasonal changes.
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DONOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
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
Charles & Joanne Elliott
Mary Sampson
Realm of Fire
Ruth Ann Anderson
Realm of Water
Kamala
Realm of Earth
Roger & Kathy Nolan
Gloria Avrech
J. Tatum
Anne Gauldin
Realm of Spirit
Adele Shakal
J. Clark
Carolyn Potter
Nancy Ann Jones
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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Caesar's Messiah: The Roman Conspiracy to Invent Jesus
Documentary Review by Jeanne (Pythia) Leiter
 I enjoy reading archaeological and anthropological books and magazines which feed my left brain. That's how my logical brain started warring with my right brain-the side of belief. I was raised Christian and always believed in Jesus, who I'm supposed to emulate, and the one who loves me because, "The Bible tells me so." When I was younger, and under the Christian Spell, I believed in the man, Jesus, because I was told and therefore believed that the Bible was inspired by God. So, whatever it had to say about Jesus-or anything else-had to be true. No other book besides the Bible ever showed me any proof of a real person named Jesus living in the Middle East at 1 C.E. except for some writings by Josephus Bar Matthias (37-100 C.E.). I thought it was strange that this was the only non-Bible mention of this supposed world changer. This documentary (and book of the same name: see below for book information) shows us that Josephus, a Jew, was adopted into the Imperial Flavian Family and took the name, Flavius Josephus. Flavian is the family name for the dynasty of emperors founded by Vespasian.
Titus Flavius Vespasianus (39-81 C.E.) was the eldest son of Vespasian. Why, you ask would Titus, a Roman emperor, hire and pay Josephus to write about this imaginary savior? It turns out that Titus was pretty darn smart. This time period was very turbulent, Titus schemed that by promoting a gentle Jew, it would defuse the situation. Josephus was paid to invent the fictional Jesus to control the Jewish masses! Continued . . . |
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 our story is the Pueblo/Zuni tale of the American Southwest. Turkey medicine teaches the spirit of giving. As with the buffalo, the primary peoples of the Americas respected and revered the animals that provided them with sustenance. Benjamin Franklin suggested the Turkey become the national bird. How different would our country be if the bird whose medicine is the spirit of giving was the national bird?
THE POOR TURKEY GIRL
A Native American-Santa Clara Pueblo and Zuni tale retold by Oban
A very long time ago in the village of Shufinne, a young orphan girl lived with her aunt.
The aunt spoilt her own children but was very mean to the little girl. She made her work from sunrise to sunset gathering wood, working in the fields, patching the mud walls of their house and looking after the turkeys.
Each morning the girl would let the turkeys out of their cages and take them into the canyons to let them search for food.
Each night she would go up into the canyons and call the turkeys to come home. They would gather round her and follow her back to their cages. Everyone in the village, including her cousins, called her Turkey Girl.
She was often sent off with the turkeys without any breakfast, and many times she went to bed hungry at night.
Turkey Girl worked hard for years. No one showed her any kindness. But she was very kind and caring to the turkeys. They loved her in return and came immediately she called them at night to lead them back to their cages. Continued . . .
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 Brave
Movie Review by Jeanne (Pythia) Leiter
I know what you're thinking. . . Brave is an animated Disney movie therefore the story will either start off with a dead mother or she'll be absent from the plot. Also, the fair maiden will be saved by her Prince Charming. You'd be totally, completely wrong.
Brave is the story of a young Celtic princess who emulates her mother in beauty and brains and follows in her father's footsteps as a warrior. When her father gives the young girl, Merida, a child-sized bow & arrow set for her birthday, she begins her individuation from her mother and father. Finding her own path in life, she rides her horse into the forest--alone. She routinely practices archery, hitting target after target from her companion horse.
Those of you who know something about Celtic history will recognize Merida as a reincarnation of the warrior queen Boudica from the Iceni tribe. In ~60 C.E. she and her sister inherited their father's empire. He had specified such in his will which was immediately and completely ignored by the Roman Empire who annexed the land as though it had been conquered. Boudica and her daughters gathered an army and led a revolt which destroyed three Roman-held towns, the last being Londinium (modern day London), and in the process, killing at least 70,000 Romans. More . . . |
Faith on the Hill: The Religious Composition of the 113th Congress November 16, 2012 The newly elected, 113th Congress includes the first Buddhist to serve in the Senate, the first Hindu to serve in either chamber and the first member of Congress to describe her religion as "none," continuing a gradual increase in religious diversity that mirrors trends in the country as a whole. While Congress remains majority Protestant, the institution is far less so today than it was 50 years ago, when nearly three-quarters of the members belonged to Protestant denominations. Catholics have seen the biggest gains among the 530 seats in the new Congress that have been decided as of Nov. 16. So far, Catholics have picked up five seats, for a total of 161, raising their share to just over 30%. The biggest decline is among Jews, who have been elected to 32 seats (6%), seven fewer than in the 112th Congress, where Jews held 39 seats (7%). Mormons continue to hold 15 seats (about 3%), the same as in the previous Congress. Protestants also appear likely to continue to occupy about the same proportion of seats (56%) as in the 112th Congress (57%). In addition, the Protestant share of each political party in the new Congress is about the same as in the 112th; roughly seven-in-ten Republicans are Protestants, compared with fewer than half of Democrats. However, the members elected for the first time in 2012 are less Protestant than the group first elected in 2010; 48% are Protestant, compared with 59% of those elected for the first time in 2010. More . . .
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