Pilgrimage has been an enduring expression of reverence and devotion within spiritual and religious traditions since earliest times. Within the Hindu tradition, it is called tīrtha-yātrā, which literally means “undertaking a journey to river fords.”[1] Rivers and fords are considered natural places imbued with much power. Groves, caves, hilltops and mountain peaks are other equally important […]
Travel
Coyolxauhqui: She Who Is Adorned with Bells by Anne Key
One of the most fascinating deities of pre-Columbian Mexico is Coyolxauhqui. At first glance, a deity named “She Who is Adorned with Bells” might seem to be a dancer, until we read that warriors wrapped strings of bells around their calves before going to battle. Then we see Coyolxauhqui (Nahuatl: coyolli = small metal bells) as a […]
Jaguar Woman by Katherine Skaggs
Jaguar Woman is an inspired vision that came to me while deep in the jungles of Peru in late June 2015. Her inspiration was the first vision to come on a 14 day trip, without the comforts of home, and yet with the guidance of the jungle totems, plants, animals, birds, dolphins, mermaids, etc. Jaguar Woman is the […]
Is This How Patriarchy Began? by Carol P. Christ
In my widely read blog and academic essay offering a new definition of patriarchy, I argued that patriarchy is a system of male dominance that arose at the intersection of the control of female sexuality, private property, and war. In it, bracketed the question of how patriarchy began. Today I want to share some thoughts provoked by a short […]
Rediscovering Sacred Scotland by Mary Petiet
A long time ago in a land far away, I journeyed to small hidden church in the Scottish countryside. There I found a sacred grotto, a place where the goddess still dances in the hills above St. Andrews and the sea. I wrote about the experience for Motherhouse of the Goddess a few years ago, […]
SHEELA-NA-GIG by Carol P. Christ
On a trip to Ireland several years ago, I was fortunate to have been able to see the Sheela-na-gigs in the National Museum of Dublin. Two of these Sheelas including the one removed from the Seir Kieran Church of County Offaly, pictured below, are currently on display. They stand at the doorway of a room […]
What a Simple Latvian Breakfast Hash Taught Me about Being Fearless by Gail Jessen
I woke up jet lagged and completely famished on my first morning in the Latvian countryside. I also woke up to discover the lone bus to the village market didn’t make it’s run that day. With no groceries and no sense of the day or time, I slowly realized what I’d gotten myself into. I […]
What Listening To Iceland’s Glaciers Taught Me About Time by Gail Jessen
Wild Goddess Walkabout I’d been driving around Iceland, sleeping in my car for nearly 10 days when an unexpected encounter with a glacier changed everything. Even as my own two feet touched the canyon carved by this behemoth, it felt hard to believe. Icebergs that calve off the glacier’s face fall into a sparkling […]
The Deer Goddess – Ancestral Mother of Scotland {Jude Lally}
Growing up I regularly walked the hills up above Loch Lomond, Scotland. Among the stones at the top of Carman Hill, I would sit ever so quietly, scrunching up my eyes and in my imagination I erased all the traffic and cars and then the streets and houses taking the land back to how it […]
Connecting the Dots: Awakening to Our Intimacy with All That Lives – 3 Day Retreat with Sandy Boucher and Martha Boesing {February 2017 Retreat}
“All things are connected, like the blood that unites one family. All things share the same breath,” Chief Seattle. In this weekend nonresidential retreat, we are invited to slow down, breathe and relax as we explore the joy of knowing our connectedness with all beings including our loved ones, our enemies, all who suffer, trees, […]
