On My Mind The 2010 Goddess Festival was absolutely one of the best ever. The blend of Goddess women and the sacred lands surrounded by majestic redwoods was pure magic. We had meant to publish a Goddess Magazine right after the Festival, but sad times followed our joyous high. Our little Yorkie dog, Sierra, was ill with two types of cancer going into the Festival. Afterwards, she fell ill and required constant attention and love until she passed mid-November. On the same day Sierra passed, we learned that our Sheltie dog, Sage, was ill with Kushings Disease. She required immediate attention and love if we were going to prolong her life. And if that wasn’t bad enough, my beloved Puli dog, Zena, just fell ill one day in January. Within ten days, she too passed from us. While Sage continues to show improvement, it’s been a rough winter for us caring for and losing our beloveds. We had to table a few of our projects until we had the energies to pick them back up. Now is the time! We will talk about the Goddess Festival in another issue of Goddess Magazine because this issue has much more pressing topics to share.
Prayers for Margo Adler I’d like to take a moment to ask you to light a candle for healing love and peace for our dear sister Margo. This has been a rough year for her too. Let’s show her some love and good wishes!
Prayers for Merlin Stone – Memorial Plans As many of you know, Merlin Stone has passed away and I was asked by Merlin and her family to conduct her memorial services. I’m going to do better by her that just a service.
We have erected a memorial website www.MerlinStone.net and on this website you will find all the information to stay in-the-know ongoing as we continue to work on her projects.
There are three projects in the works. 1. DVD 2. Book 3. Benefit Memorial Celebration It was a few weeks before Merlin’s passing, Bobbie and I had been looking for her for over four years now and to no avail. My Bobbie hears things sometimes, and she came downstairs and told me we were going to do a documentary called In Search of Merlin Stone. We didn’t really understand the depth of that whisper in her ear, but now it makes perfect sense. The DVD, In Search of Merlin Stone, will be a lovely documentary chronicling our search for Merlin; and will include some of the other women who have also passed on. We are contacting everyone we can find who knew Merlin and could share stories with the world about her. If that’s you, please email me! The book, also titled In Search of Merlin Stone, is an anthology of remembrances, articles discussing Merlin’s influences and academic white papers. If you would like to participate in the book project, please email me and explain your contribution. On September 24, 2011, just a few days before Merlin’s Birthday (Sept. 27th), we are going to have a global benefit memorial celebration to remember the life and times of Merlin Stone. We are working hard to make sure that everyone who wants to can participate no matter where you live, but the memorial itself will be held in Clearwater, Florida. Why Clearwater, Florida you ask? Merlin passed away in the state of Florida and many of her friends were there. Clearwater is where my resources are (Hecate’s Wheel) and where the most beautiful Unitarian Universalist Church is located. We have rented that church. Benefit Memorial Celebration for Merlin Stone September 24, 2011 11am-3pm Unitarian Universalists of Clearwater 2470 Nursery Road Clearwater, FL 33764 Benefit admission donation required Yes, there is an admission donation price because we have to pay for the facilities, for the cost incurred in making a documentary, for the costs incurred in publishing a book, and for the costs incurred in
producing a globally accessible memorial service. There will be very notable people attending this memorial service and we will be filming the service itself. This is a her-storical moment in time when the women’s spirituality community comes together to remember the life of a remarkable woman, Merlin Stone. All of us can help keep Merlin’s memory alive by donating either through attending her memorial or by donating online at www.MerlinStone.net. We will be providing a live video stream from the memorial out to the Internet. Gather your groups or participate individually, but we are working to make sure that all of you can participate in some way. We will be sharing more information with you on the MerlinStone.net website. So, mark you calendars for September 24th! If you would like to attend the memorial in-person, you can make your donation to reserve your seat here online: http://merlinstone.net/merlin-stone-memorial-florida/ This is a huge undertaking. We need all of you to help get the word out about this event… make it go viral sisters! We can never repay the debt of what Merlin Stone did for women’s spirituality, but we can give her the accolades of this memorial service. Have you got any audio, video or photos of Merlin Stone that you’d like to share? Please email me right now!
April 10th Dumb Supper for Merlin Stone Dumb Supper means a quiet meal, and pagans hold it as a sacred event in remembrance of a beloved soul. When we do our dumb Supper, we bring photos (and in this case, her books) of our departed to set around their place setting. It helps us to visualize our beloved and remember them well. Make it a special occasion. You can even add some decorations or flowers that you think the departed might like. While it is a solemn occasion, it can still be appealing to the living and dead alike. The meal begins with a prayer and a welcoming of the departed, and then goes totally silent. Blessed be the good Spirits of our ancestors. (pause) We invite the awakening Spirit of Merlin Stone, come Merlin, sister, be with us! You have slept your deep sleep, now come as we elevate your spirit. We set your place at our table. We set out your food, apple sauce and black coffee. Please eat this with us, and take strength for your journey in the spirit world.
The food is served up to all plates, and then everyone eats together. No one leaves the table until everyone is finished. Then, finally the silence is broken as everyone thanks the departed for coming to supper with them. Thank you sweet spirit for your attendance. Merlin, let these lines you have written now serve you as wings as you fly. (Read them 3 times.) Ancient Mirrors of Womanhood, has many more selections you can use. (From When God was a Woman) “ Most ancient Mother Great radiant One Lady of the Stars Mistress of celestial Oceans Highest Judge Fiery One who rose from primordial floods It is Neit who reaches down from heavens To take the hand of each who dies Taking them in her arms To place them as stars of the Universe.” Dearest Goddess Neit, reach down to our sister Merlin, take her in your arms, and place her as a star in our Universe. Blessed be. After the meal is over, nobody eats the food on the plate of the departed. You can feed the departed’s food to the family pets, or the earth. It’s believed that the departed ate of the essence of the meal and thus, shared the meal with their living relatives. Now Merlin Stone is fortified to enter the spirit world.
Two of my books are beautifully back in Print! So exciting! GRANDMOTHER MOON by Zsuzsanna E. Budapest Inviting us to "look at the moon as the old ally she is," renowned feminist witch Zsuzsanna Budapest shows how to tap into the moon's powers for peace, health, and energy. With delightful wit and wisdom, she shares practical and entertaining lunar lore, from ancient moon-based rituals to lunar cycle diet tips. Budapest reveals how, by acting in harmony with the moon, women can balance everything from their mood and weight to fertility. Here is a spirited illumination of the natural cycles that influence our lives as lunar primates. List Price: $19.99 Add to Cart
Rewritten and new materials added! Available on Kindle
Selene - The Most Famous Bull-leaper on Earth by Zsuzsanna E. Budapest Selene is far more than a coloring book! The story of Selene, the bull-leaper, is a story of a young woman who defeats fear and socialization, and gains self-hood through accomplishments of her own. Her name means moon and this name was common for young women to take up in honor of the Moon Goddess ... Selene. List Price: $11.99 Add to Cart
Selene was pictured on the temples and walls of Asia Minor sitting atop a white sow. So while this story is fictional, it is based on the history we do know.
Please enjoy this issue of Goddess Magazine and blessing to you and all your beloveds. Blessed be,
Z Budapest
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In Search of Merlin Stone by Bobbie Grennier Marilyn C. “Merlin” Stone passed away on February 23, 2011 from complications caused by an extended illness. She was born September 27, 1931 in Brooklyn, New York. Merlin loved education and was a devoted student. She attended New York State College where she earned her Bachelor’s of Science in Art Education, Albright Art School, California College of Arts and Crafts where she earned her Doctorate of Philosophy, and Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England for five years of independent studies. Merlin Stone is best remembered for her impressive literary body of work. From 1971-1976, she traveled to Turkey, Lebanon, Cyprus, Crete, Greece, among others, where she uncovered the lost Goddess culture. She wrote about her discoveries in two landmark books: When God was a Woman (originally titled The Paradise Papers) and Ancient Mirrors of Womanhood – Our Goddess and Heroine Heritage. She also wrote a third book called Three Thousand Years of Racism, and she was also published in many magazines and anthologies. She was a noted American Artist and Sculptor, working her craft from 1958-1967. Merlin Stone’s artwork still stands throughout the state of New York, and she received a personal letter of thanks from Robert F. Kennedy for the loan of her art work which was on display in his New York City office. To say that Merlin Stone changed the religious landscape is an understatement. Her work influenced the budding Women’s Studies Departments with thoughts of women’s theology and history. She fostered new thinking throughout the academic world. In the same way that Marija Gimbutas gave women their own historical record of artifacts, Merlin Stone gave women their own spiritual culture.
Merlin Stone was recognized by liberal thinkers. She once wrote, “…Yoko [Ono] and John [Lennon] had taken turns reading “When God was a Woman” to each other. I knew they had the book because I had been asked to autograph a copy for them. …it touched me deeply.” There is so much more to say about Merlin Stone’s life, much of it we are just beginning to understand because Merlin led a very private existence. With the help of her life-partner, Len Schneir, and her two daughters, Cynthia Davis and Jenny Hirst, we are creating three memorial projects. 1. DVD documentary called "In Search of Merlin Stone" chronicling her life. 2. A book of the same title featuring remembrances, personal influences and white papers, all focused on Merlin and her body of work. 3. The Benefit Memorial Celebration on September 24, 2011 in Clearwater, Florida.
When God was a Woman by Merlin Stone
The Benefit Memorial Celebration will take place at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 2470 Nursery Road, Clearwater, FL 33764. This celebration of Merlin Stone’s life is in production, and updated information will be posted on the www.MerlinStone.net website. You may also donate to Merlin Stone’s Memorial Fund at the www.MerlinStone.net website. All donations are thankfully welcomed! “I want the world to remember her for the goddess she was,” said her life-partner Len Schneir. “I must admit that it took me a long time to finally believe and fully trust the Goddess and Merlin; everything I am is because of her wisdom.” If you have a Merlin Stone story, photo, audio recording, video recording to share, etc. please contact Z Budapest. (www.ZBudapest.com) The September 24th Memorial will be streamed live onto the Internet; details will be announced at the www.MerlinStone.net website. She touched the hearts of women and men globally; Merlin Stone is recognized and remembered most by her contemporaries: Today, we are no longer spiritual orphans of the world. It was sister Merlin who gave her entire life to this sacred reclaiming. All of us stand to thank her for this very potent gift of the legitimized woman spirit. When you came back with “When God was a Woman,” and enough material for its follow up, “Ancient Mirrors of Womanhood,” we all knew you had found the cultural Goddess mother lode. You are much too hard to let go! -Zsuzsanna Budapest, author of The Holy book of Women’s Mysteries and Grandmother Moon
"In the beginning ... God was a woman. Do you remember?" Those words still give me chills. “When God was a Woman� changed my life. I remember Merlin's penetrating wit and intellect and her wild henna red hair. She will be missed. Blessed be! - Carol P. Christ, author of Rebirth of the Goddess and She Who Changes Few people have inspired me like Merlin Stone and her work. Because of her I found Goddess; deity, archetype and ideal. Because of her, my life has been filled with inspiration, meaning and direction. Thank you beloved Merlin Stone. May you smile down on us and guide us from that special resting place in the arms of the Mother. - Karen Tate, author of Sacred Places of Goddess Merlin Stone's work brought knowledge of the Divine Feminine to the consciousness of the Western world. We are very grateful to her for her pioneering work. - Miriam Robbins Dexter, Ph.D., author of Sacred Display and Whence the Goddesses Merlin Stone was a great inspiration when I first read "When God was a Woman" in the early 80's. It spoke to something deep inside me and affirmed my own knowing. We all owe her gratitude for the Goddess work she did. - Kathy Jones, author of The Goddess in Glastonbury and Priestess of Avalon, Priestess of the Goddess She [Merlin] was so, so amazing. I am really saddened to learn this ---as it came like a shock. I knew her pretty well in the days when my book was happening. What a terrible loss--but what a great gain for women in our time! She opened up so much for all of us---and it was because she wanted to be a sculptor and was searching for empowered images of women--that's how she came upon all the goddess images. The story is very amazing. - Gloria Orenstein, author of Reweaving the World: The Emergence of Ecofeminism I remember Merlin when we met in 1986 to film Goddess Remembered in San Francisco. She was not originally scheduled to be at the 'dinner party' we filmed but mysterious forces made it possible for her to arrive in SF just in time. I enjoyed Merlin's contribution to the conversation we filmed and especially enjoyed some pleasant hours months later in New York with her. I feel her passing very much and remember her life as one of the great blessings all women have shared. In love may she return again. - Donna Read, director of Goddess Remembered, The Burning Times, and Full Circle
Requiem for Merlin Stone By Zsuzsanna Budapest I have tried to write this memorial several times. You are much too hard to let go! I cannot celebrate you, and bemoan you, and preserve you forever all at once. So, I will just talk to you as you once were, here, in my house many years ago. Merlin, sweet sister, recline comfortably on my leather couch. Here is your black coffee, let’s talk and remember together. For a long time, I didn’t know what happened to you. “Have you heard from Merlin?”, I asked everybody I knew. Your phone no longer worked. Letters to your address were returned. That was your last footstep for most of us. Then nothing for decades, and many years I spent in search of Merlin Stone. Suddenly, your man Lenny called, and he told us you passed away. February 23, 2011. You had been ill a long time, and didn’t want to show yourself. You knew years ago that your beautiful mind was changing. You didn’t want to be remembered for the long illness, but for the contributions of art and literature. I get it. Once there was the Heroic Age of the 70’s, you were amongst this generation of the brave seed- casters, inventors, and artists who has sown seeds of knowledge about all things good for all women. Even in these fertile times, women were still spiritual orphans. We had no soul reflection in the high spiritual places. We had no knowledge of where we had been as women, or where we could aspire to go. We had politics and feminism. We needed more. Some important part of us was still very empty. We simply had no spiritual past. It was not good form to believe in the existences of the Amazons of Anatolia, or Asia, or of the global Goddess women’s cultures. No evidence for that. Even feminists were frowning. We didn’t dare to believe in that, it would have been one more reason to disqualify spirited women from any meaningful conversation or visibility on the feminist cultural canvas. Some politicos called us bliss bunnies! We had no ground to stand on. Our cultural past had been stolen from us. Schools certainly never mentioned us, the divine feminine was either a perfume or a lipstick shade, or maybe a salad dressing, but certainly not an all powerful real Goddess.
Merlin Stone… you felt this part of feminist thought was sorely missing. We simply had no information about our own great people, as a gender. Who did we pray to? Always men? Who went back in time, and stole it all back for us? Who was smart enough to read the old, musty outof-print books in hopes of finding a couple of lines the patriarchs missed when they erased the Goddess culture? Like an Amazon of the libraries, it was you who hunted down the hard-to-come-by books, visiting museums and traveling to far-off distant lands for research. When you came back with “When God was a Woman” and enough material for its follow-up, “Ancient Mirrors of Womanhood”, we all knew you had found the cultural Goddess motherlode. The brilliance, richness and diversity of the global Goddess traditions were beyond anybody’s hopes. All around the globe, Merlin Stone had found our traditions of celebrations, our goddesses and our moral codes. We did come from somewhere awesome, and our foremothers had left us treasures in ritual, sacred poetry, and art… footsteps for us to follow. And, it was Merlin Stone who found it and published it! She published in England as The Paradise Papers because American publishers would not touch it. Now, the books are with Beacon Press. Today, we are no longer spiritual orphans of the world. It was sister Merlin who gave her entire life to this sacred reclaiming. All of us stand to thank her for this very potent gift of the legitimized woman spirit. As usual, Merlin would just smile and make little of my accolade. She felt “called”, she said. She was an acclaimed American artist, a sculptress and national treasure. She taught Art History; and that led her to the surviving images of the Goddess, which called her to see more. Her welded art sculptures took on more and more triple goddess themes, and finally dissolved into the physical research, which took her to Turkey - Anatolia of old, the land of the Mothers. She was lovingly protected, hitch-hiking alone with long red hair flowing down her back; she had little money, slept in caves, a sacred stranger in her own once fertile Goddess homeland. “How did you find the books?” I once asked her. “Strange thing,” she explained, “I heard a hum - a hum of women, when I got close to a book that had useful information for us. I just reached out and there it was. I was led by a hum.” “Oh yes, the hum.” Merlin had come to dinner in Santa Monica, we feminist witches were much honored. We held hands over my barley dish, and hummed together as we usually did, praying our blessing. Merlin burst into tears. I was worried. Who hurt our highly esteemed guest?
“Nobody hurt me”, she said. “But this was the hum I heard in the libraries of Turkey. This was the hum that led me to the great Goddess books.” Then the witches fell silent and one by one, we also teared up at this miracle. How could a ragtag revolutionary group of witches hum on a California mountaintop, and a woman on the Goddess search hear it all the way in Turkey? Never mind the multiplication of the fishes and the loaves; this was a much better miracle. Our belief in the all-pervasive, omnipresent Goddess was never stronger. Which Goddess shall I invoke for your memorial? You have given us hundreds! As a Dianic witch, I love Hecate, the transformer, She who takes the tired souls away on her chariot drawn by the dragons of time. She is the healer of wounds, the Queen of the dark side of the Moon. But Merlin loved Anahita. She is the one “who is the Cosmic Ocean, in which the stars do float. It is Anahita who provides the nourishing rain, sending waters from the heavens to the springs and rivers, protecting the flocks in pastures and causing them to bear their young -- as it is Anahita who fills the womb with life. Her chariot is drawn by white steeds named rain and wind and clouds and sleet, or as she rides on the back of a gliding eagle, or even upon a splendid lion.”* At Anahita’s shrines, still visible in Sardis and Susa, in Kangawar and Ecbatana, her inscription reads, “I am the conscience of thine own self.” Rest sweetly, dearest sister, and if you wish to live on in our hearts, please guide us like the hum once guided you. Don’t hurry; linger amongst us. Merlin, my beloved sister your chariot can wait. * Ancient Mirrors of Womanhood, Merlin Stone, 1979, p.210
I am going to be a guest speaker at the Women of Spirit and Faith Conference April 28- May 1.
The Alchemy of Our Spiritual Leadership: Women Redefining Power Calling all women of spirit and faith! This is not your typical women's conference! Imagine the energy of more than 300 women ready for inspiration, deep wisdom and potent co-creation.
Alchemy Highlights
Inspiring Keynote wisdom from Sister Joan Chittister, Valarie Kaur and Naomi Tutu Stimulating Leadership Conversations featuring the wisdom and experience of a dozen diverse women leaders Informative workshops with a focus on building practical skills and new models for collaborative leadership Many opportunities for circle dialogue and structured conversation Optional activities such as Open Space Offerings, Morning Meditations, Yoga, Movement, Labyrinth Walks and more The Alchemy Marketplace where you can shop for books, jewelry, art and music A Beautiful Meditation and Prayer Room for silence and reflection Art, music, poetry, laughter and lots of right-brain fun and stimulation
I am also going to be attending the Glastonbury Goddess Conference 2011 Now five full days of Goddess-loving celebration with Fringe events from Sunday July 24 – 31. Celebrating the Great Mother of Water at Lammas, details are online www.goddessconference.com Welcoming two USA two pioneers of the Goddess movement Vicki Noble, co-creator of the Motherpeace Tarot Zsuzsanna Budapest, Founder of the Dianic Wiccan Tradition and Women’s Spirituality Movement With Conference Favorites: Anique Radiant Heart, Barbara Meiklejohn-Free, Carolyn Hillyer, Julie Felix, Kathy Jones, Lydia Ruyle and Lady Olivia Durdin Robertson.
With Ceremonies, Adorations and Praise Songs to the Great Goddess of Water, She who is the Source and Womb of all Life. Participate in moving Sacred Ceremonies, take part in inspiring Workshops, listen to fascinating Presentations, see beautiful Artwork & Stalls, Performances, Music, Song, Poetry and Dance. Visit the Holy Wells of the Goddess in Avalon, cleansing and immersing yourself in Her Healing Waters. Join one of Nine Wells - circles of support and participation in Conference Ceremonies. Dance the night away at the Goddess Gala Buffet and Masque, and join our Goddess Procession through the Landscape to the River Brue with a Fruit Feast! Plus Presenters, Priestesses and Spinners : Amanda Baker, Annabel Du Boulay, Anna Saqqara Price, Charissa Schipper, Caroline Lir, Deonesea la Fey, Emma Rose Knight, Erin McCauliffe, Ganga Ashworth, Georgina Sirett-Hardie, Graell Corsini, Heloise Pilkington, Isabella Verbruggen, Isis Queen, Jacqui Woodward-Smith, Jennifer Cooper, Katinka Soetens, Kaye Cooksey, Koko Newport, Lauren Raine, Lisa Newing, Louise Bell, Louise Tarrier, Lydia Lite, Marion van Eupen, Mary Bruce, Michelle Patten, Miriam Raven, Morgaine, Noam Zimin, Oshia Drury, Rose Flint, Roz Bound, Sally Pullinger, Sharlea Johnson, Shirley-Ann Millar, Shoshana Horobin, Sophie Pullinger, Sue Quatermass, Tegwyn Hyndman, Thalia Brown, Tiana Pitman & Tina Free, plus more great Priestesses, amazing helpful Melissas & lots more wonderful women and men.
My Workshops at Glastonbury ZSUZSANNA BUDAPEST: WE ALL COME FROM THE GODDESS (Women Only) Sunday, July 25th: Women from all walks of life come together with High Priestess Zsuzsanna (Z) Budapest, in a flowing woman-only Dianic circle celebrating our expanding global sisterhood. Beginning with the sacred Dianic purification we enter the circle, commune with our ancestors and our divine selves, lift up a joyous dedication to the Goddess Sedna of the Deep, as we bless all waters inside and outside. Chanting, dancing and strengthening our bonds of sisterhood. We are the flow, we are the ebb. When the women are healed the whole world is healed. Drummers, musical instruments, voices welcome. Dress comfortably. Come garlanded with something in season, greens or flowers. Z Budapest is the founder of the Dianic (Feminist) Tradition of Wicca in the USA, initiating the world’s most famous coven, the Susan B. Anthony Coven Number One, which continues to thrive and brings women’s spirituality into mainstream consciousness (SusanBAnthonyCoven.com). Z has led rituals, lectured, taught classes, given workshops, written articles tirelessly, and published in hundreds of women's newspapers across the country. She has powerfully influenced many of the future teachers and writers about the Goddess. She is the director of the Women's Spirituality Forum, a nonprofit organization and Z founded and sponsors the Dianic University’s Goddess College (GoddessCollege.com). Her books include Holy Book of Women's Mysteries, Grandmother of Time, Grandmother Moon. See www.ZBudapest.com. Venue: Glastonbury Assembly Rooms Time: 10.00am-4.00pm Fee: £50/$85/€65 register online www.goddessconference.com
ZSUZSANNA BUDAPEST – TAROT SOCIAL IN MY ROOM! (Glastonbury) July 26-27th: Tarot Social information and exact date to be announced.
ZSUZSANNA BUDAPEST – THE HERSTORY OF THE DIANIC TRADITION (Mixed Audience) July 28th: A multi-media presentation on the Herstory of the Dianic Tradition for a mixed audience. Z Budapest provides the historical background to the origins of the Dianic Tradition, as well as important triumphs that the Dianics fought for and won for the Pagan community and beyond. Like the right to perform divination readings in the United States in public and charge for it. Historically, it was Z and Dianics who fought for the rights of this civil liberty in California, which then opened the door to other states to follow suit. You can learn more about that at WitchTrial.net. This presentation also clears up some urban legends about the Dianic Tradition. Such as, it’s a man-hating tradition, the accusations of separatism. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Z Budapest founded the Women’s Spirituality Movement in 1971. Since then there has been an uninterrupted Goddess worship for the past 40 plus years of women circling together in sacred celebration of all the Sabbaths and many moons. This Dianic Tradition has spread all over the globe. After a brief break, the second half of the workshop will involve spiritual movement and dancing the meeting Dance. Finally, we will finish with an inspiring multi-media presentation. Prayers to the Mother, all living creatures are one.
Hope to see you at the Glastonbury Goddess Conference 2011! Follow Z Budapest on Facebook! And Twitter!
ZSUZSANNA BUDAPEST – TAROT SOCIAL I am doing another women-only Tarot Social on April 23rd at my own home! Who wants to host a Tarot Social? For more information visit TarotSocial.com and contact me.
After more than thirty years in circulation, The Holy Book of Women’s Mysteries is still a ground-breaking book in the forefront of women’s spirituality.
Get your own copy of Z’s out of print books and DVDs at the Women’s Spirituality Forum online store.
I’m also available for Tarot Readings. I know many of you are going through some tough times, and that’s really when you should be reaching out for a reading. I’m here if you need me!
This magazine is sponsored by the Women’s Spirituality Forum. Please help support our efforts to help keep the Goddess Alive!
The Application for Dianic Clergy Priestess is online
Goddess College Updates & More We have changed the way the online school is doing business! After offering free memberships over the last four years, the changes in the economy have forced us to make changes … good changes! The Dianic University has now become the Goddess College, and has its own website to boot! It was necessary to update the school’s software, but with all the free accounts, the database had gotten too big to migrate. So, we were forced to start over from scratch eliminating all the free accounts. If you were a student in good standing and part of a paid class in old Dianic University, then we are working to grandmother you into the new school. The way to gain entry into the new Goddess College is through membership in the Susan B. Anthony Coven #1. Everyone in the Goddess College will be active members of the SBA; with only a handful of exceptions. Join the Susan B. Anthony Coven #1 - You can apply for membership here! The Susan B. Anthony Coven #1 now meets inside the Goddess College, and the old DU area is closed. We have updated and moved over the Dianic Feminist Philosophy class and the first Holy Book class. The Holy Book series of classes is being totally reworked and improved. That’s partly due to an alliance we’ve made with the Ocean Seminary College; which will allow us to offer degrees for our course of study. We are currently in process with meeting their requirements to make this happen. Very exciting stuff for women’s spirituality! I will keep you updated in my column here in the Goddess Magazine. We are networked up the Hoola-Hoop in Facebook. It’s hard to miss everything we’re doing, and yet some of you are still contacting me and saying you hadn’t heard of this or that. Get your face into Facebook my sisters and friend the following pages so you can stay in the know: Z Budapest on Facebook Z Budapest Fan Page Goddess Magazine Radio Show Fan Page Goddess Festival Fan Page Food Magic Fan Page Susan B. Anthony Coven Fan Page
Why aren’t you more active in the Dianic Tradition? We have a lot of women who read this Goddess Magazine every month, and it would awesome to have more of you join in with us at the Susan B. Anthony Coven #1. A membership into the world’s most famous all-women’s coven makes for a nice gift to yourself. Give it some thought and then, come join us. The Women's Spirituality Forum is an IRS 501(c)3 non-profit. Your registration fees and your membership are tax deductible. Check out our mobile-friendly portal website! www.GoddessLive.com … We’ve pulled all our information and articles into one location for you and it doesn’t matter if you’re a computer user or a mobile user because we’ve programmed the site to be able to switch back and forth. Goddess Magazine Radio Show Goddess Magazine Radio Show will be forced to go to a half hour program because of changes at Blogtalk Radio. We will bring you more chats with Z very soon! Promise! Look for announcements of the new Goddess Magazine Radio Shows on our Facebook fan page. Are you a member of the Goddess Magazine Radio Show Fan page? And, now you can listen to Goddess Magazine Radio Shows on iTunes! So, open you iTunes and subscribe to our podcasted show. It’s free!
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OTHER WOMEN’S SACRED EVENTS & TOURS TELL THEM Z SENT YOU!!! A WOMEN’S RITUAL RETREAT IN CRETE: A JOURNEY TO THE GODDESS. MAY 23-JUNE 5TH, 2011 Facilitated by Ruth Barrett and Catherine Ridder. YES! We still have spaces still available for our fourth ritual retreat to Crete! Space is limited to 13 women on a first-come basis. If you are interested in hearing more information about this incredible trip, contact Catherine Ridder at 626-793-7520, or email: caridder2@netzero.com
Sacred Sites of Avalon England with Donna Virgilio April 27 to May 3, 2011 Travel to Stonehenge for a private ceremony in the inner circle, Walk to the Tor considered to be the legendary Camelot, Tour Roman and Medieval Baths and honor the Goddess Minerva, visit and pray at the Chalice Well and see the Sacred Gardens. Tour the Glastonbury Goddess Temple and participate in the official Beltaine Festivities and Ceremony. See the Boscastle Witchcraft Museum and Journey to Tintagel the mystical birthplace of King Arthur and peek inside Merlin’s Cave. Walk through Avebury Stonecircle, West Kennet Long Barrows, Silsbury Hill and see Crop Circles. Finally, dance at the Avalon Beltaine Fairy Ball featuring Doreen Virtues Band, Obsidian.
On the Trail of the Goddess in Turkey - Anatolia - Land of the Nourishing Mothers! ON THE TRAIL OF THE GREAT GODDESS Sacred Journey to Turkey November 2 - 14, 2011 featuring Karen and Roy Tate Guided by: Rashid Ergener
Visit the sacred goddess sites in Turkey: Catalhoyuk, Lagina, Ephesus, Troy and Sardis http://www.examiner.com/women-s-goddess-spirituality-in-losangeles/sacred-tour-of-goddess-sites-turkey-coming-november2011-for-women-men
Check out the new video of sacred places in Turkey.... Hear the hauntingly beautiful music as the Ancient Mother calls... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Twbcx8IicxI
8th ANNUAL WISE WOMAN'S FESTIVAL IN FLORIDA
Come and Greet the Springtime with Our Lady of the Faery Greenwood April 9th and 10th Nymphs, Dryads, Devas, Kami, Apsaras, and Sprites, Oh My! What is the connection between Goddesses and Faeryfolk? It’s Springtime and even though we have April showers you won’t have to wait for May to enjoy the flowers. Join Morning Glory Zell, noted Goddess historian and Priestess for the latest in her series of Great Goddess Retreats and find out why the Green Goddess is more than a salad dressing! With her 36 years of experience and a collection of over 200 votive Goddess statues, get ready for an unforgettable weekend journey of sacred learning and transformational experience. This Retreat will be held at the Raven Haven: Morning Glory’s beautiful 10 acre home in Sonoma County, California. Raven Haven is nice and roomy with a deck, a pool and a spa and a special magickal Faery Porch covered with flowering wisteria. The Temple Room has huge floor to ceiling glass cases displaying her collection of Goddess figurines and a large altar covered in beautiful Goddess images. If you come from out of town, there is room to camp out (if it’s dry) sleep over if you like or you can choose from the many excellent nearby hotels. The Retreat begins on Saturday the 24th at 2:00pm and ends on Sunday the 25th at 8:00pm. Saturday we will devote ourselves to learning and exploring the many Goddesses who have a connection to the realm of Faery from Danu to Ma Ku. Hold the images in your hands and hear their fascinating stories! Later we will journey deep in guided meditation to discover the special one which calls to you. Sunday starts with fun and relaxation as we learn the ancient art of weaving wreaths of living flowers and plants to make a magickal faery wreath or perhaps you would like to learn how to make a faery house outside on the Faery Porch that will be covered with blooming wisteria. Later we will have a ritual bath in the spa and a procession to decorate the various Goddess shrines around the property. The Retreat culminates with a ceremony to honor the Goddesses and the Fae in a Council where we sing together and where each Goddess or Faery can share Her Truth. The fee for the entire weekend Retreat is only $100.00 or you may attend only Saturday’s program of the lecture and meditation for $60.00. Sunday however, is not open to anyone who has not already attended the Saturday session. Meals are shared in an easygoing potluck fashion. You truly have never had any other experience quite like this one and you will come away re-energized as well as transformed by the power of your new divine connection. Phone: (707) 795-8047 mythici@mcn.org PO Box 758 Cotati, CA 94931
Tryst – Handfasting Commitment Ceremonies Z is back sisters! And she’s available to officiate your Trysting wedding ceremonies again! The most popular pagan Goddess wedding ceremony was created by Z Budapest in The Holy Book of Women's Mysteries where Z coined the term Tryst Ritual as an expressly feminine marriage ceremony and rite of passage that can be used for heterosexual couples as well as same sex couples. Z Budapest has been conducting Pagan marriage rituals for over 40 years as a celebrated High Priestess within the Dianic Tradition, which she founded. Z is available to officiate your handfasting ceremony as well. Whether it's a civil union or a licensed marriage certificate, Z is able to offer you her services as clergy. She has legal standings through the Women's Spirituality Forum, an IRS 501(c)3 non-profit in the state of California; making your clergy fees tax deductible. You can learn more about Z’s Trysting Ritual and schedule your wedding ceremony with her in 2010!
Crete Archaeologists discover skeleton covered with gold foil in 2,700-year-old grave Greek archaeologists have found an ancient skeleton covered with gold foil in a grave on the island of Crete, officials said Tuesday. Excavator Nicholas Stampolidis said his team discovered more than 3,000 pieces of gold foil in the 7thcentury B.C. twin grave near the ancient town of Eleutherna. Cemeteries there have produced a wealth of outstanding artifacts in recent years. The tiny gold ornaments, from 1 to 4 centimetres (0.4 to 1.5 inches) long, had been sewn onto a lavish robe or shroud that initially wrapped the body of a woman and has almost completely rotted away but for a few off-white threads. "The whole length of the (grave) was covered with small pieces of gold foil — square, circular and lozenge-shaped," Stampolidis told The Associated Press. "We were literally digging up gold interspersed with earth, not earth with some gold in it." The woman, who presumably had a high social or religious status, was buried with a second skeleton in a large jar sealed with a stone slab weighing more than half a ton. It was hidden behind a false wall, to confuse grave robbers.
Experts are trying to determine the other skeleton's sex. The grave also contained a copper bowl; pottery; perfume bottles imported from Egypt or Syria and Palestine; hundreds of amber, rock crystal and faience beads; as well as a gold pendant in the form of a bee goddess that probably was part of a rock crystal and gold necklace.
"If you look at it one way up, it's shaped like a lily," said Stampolidis, a professor of archaeology at the University of Crete who has worked at Eleutherna for the 25 years. "Turned upside down, you see a female figure holding her breasts, whose lower body is shaped as a bee with wings. The workmanship is exquisite." The ruins of Eleutherna stand on the northern foothills of Mount Ida — the mythical birthplace of Zeus, chief of the ancient Greek gods. Past excavations have discovered a citadel, homes and an important cemetery with lavish female burials. The town flourished from the 9th century B.C. — the dark ages of Greek archaeology that followed the fall of Crete's great Minoan palatial culture — and endured until the Middle Ages. http://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/ 2010/09/archaeologists-on-crete-findskeleton.html
SWEET TASTE OF SPRING Susun S. Weed March winds blow the sweet scent of maple sap boiling to my questing nose. When the days are warm and sunny and the nights below freezing, the sap rises in the trees. If those trees are sugar maples, then it is worth drilling a hole in the bark, inserting a tap, and collecting their sweet sap. There is so much sugar in sugar maple sap that it can be boiled and turned into maple syrup and maple sugar. There’s about one gallon of maple syrup and ninety-nine gallons of water in one hundred gallons of maple sap.* A hot fire and a slow but steady boil send that sweet-smelling water vapor high in the clear, cold sky. The March wind blows it to me. I close my eyes and remember my years of “sugaring”, making maple syrup. There’s something special about a task that requires one to stay up all night. Maple sap starts to ferment if it is left at normal temperatures for very long. Once ten or so gallons of sap have been collected, the boiling begins … and cannot be stopped until the finished syrup is achieved many, many, many hours later. I have never sugared without at least one overnighter, and sometimes two. A large operation boils sap for weeks without stopping, just drawing off the syrup as it forms, if the run is steady and copious. It was a picture of Helen Nearing driving a team of horses through the woods standing on a sleigh loaded with buckets of maple sap that made me long for a homestead where I could lead The Simple Life, like her. Two years later, I had my own “sugar bush” (an acre or more of woodlot where large sugar maples grow). Spring equinox found me with my drill in hand, a pocket full of taps, and a bunch of funny buckets with lids to hang from the taps. “Ting, ting,” the ping of sap filling the metal buckets echoes, tying me through time to every woman who has ever sugared, and bringing a smile to my heart and face. My groves of sugar maples have never been large enough to require a team of horses or a sleigh. I’ve always lugged a big bucket out to the trees and poured the sap from the collecting buckets into it. When I have two or three buckets full, I pour them into a big galvanized tub set up on cinder blocks over a fire and commence to boil it down.
Native peoples valued maple sugar so highly that they set up camp in the sugar bush and lived there until the sap stopped flowing. Lacking metal drill bits, they cut a shallow groove in the bark and pressed hollow elder stems into service as taps to direct the flow of sap into birch bark containers. I can heat the sap directly in my metal tub, while they had to hollow out a log, put smooth rocks into the fire, heat them, and put the hot rocks into the sap in the hollowed out log to boil it down into maple syrup and sugar. Whew! I am impressed with the power of the desire for sweet. It takes far more calories, in fuel and human energy, to make maple syrup or maple sugar than it returns. Grandmother Twylah taught us that maple trees are friendly and companionable, colorful and expressive. They always have a positive attitude and are adept at helping us see solutions to impossible problems. Maple trees are devoted and true. Make friends with a maple and you will have a friend for life, she advised. Ellen Everet Hopman, green witch, reminds us that maple-syrup-making time is Eostre’s time. Eostre (ee-oh-stir) is the Teutonic goddess of fertility and manifestation. Her symbols are the egg and the rabbit; her time is Spring Equinox. A lovely custom, still enacted, but without the underlying magic, is to paint a picture of something you desire on an egg and plant it in the ground so Eostre can help it grow and become real. If it’s too late to tap your maples, or you live too far south for the sap to flow strongly, you can still be blessed and embraced by maple. A decoction of maple bark boiled in water can be used to ease sore eyes externally and to tonify the uterus after birth internally. A magical wand of maple wood is used for spells that bring harmony, especially in the home. And maple leaves sewn into a charm made of green flannel, tied with a golden string, will bring abundance into your life. Indulge your desire for sweet. Celebrate spring equinox and Eostre, who loves sweet things. Have a stack of pancakes swimming in butter and maple syrup. Or pour maple syrup over plain vanilla ice cream and savor the sweet taste of the friendly maple tree. Green blessings. * How much sugar per gallon of sap is quite variable, depending on the type of maple, the growing conditions, and especially the amount of sun the tree gets. Sugar maple (Acer saccharum) sap is the sweetest, followed by the saps of silver maple (Acer saccharinum), Northern red maple (Acer rubrum), and Norway maple (Acer platanoides). Susun Weed PO Box 64 Woodstock, NY 12498 Fax: 1-845-246-8081 Visit Susun Weed at: www.susunweed.com and www.ashtreepublishing.com
Vibrant, passionate, and involved, Susun Weed has garnered an international reputation for her groundbreaking lectures, teachings, and writings on health and nutrition. She challenges conventional medical approaches with humor, insight, and her vast encyclopedic knowledge of herbal medicine. Unabashedly pro-woman, her animated and enthusiastic lectures are engaging and often profoundly provocative. Susun is one of America's best-known authorities on herbal medicine and natural approaches to women's health. Her four best-selling books are recommended by expert herbalists and well-known physicians and are used and cherished by millions of women around the world. Learn more at www.susunweed.com
Susun Weed’s books include: Wise Woman Herbal for the Childbearing Year
Author: Susun S. Weed. Simple, safe remedies for pregnancy, childbirth, lactation, and newborns. Includes herbs for fertility and birth control. Foreword by Jeannine Parvati Baker. 196 pages, index, illustrations.
Healing Wise
Author: Susun S. Weed. Superb herbal in the feminine-intuitive mode. Complete instructions for using common plants for food, beauty, medicine, and longevity. Introduction by Jean Houston. 312 pages, index, illustrations.
Menopausal Years the Wise Woman Way Author: Susun S. Weed. The best book on menopause is now better. Completely revised with 100 new pages. All the remedies women know and trust plus hundreds of new ones. New sections on thyroid health, fibromyalgia, hairy problems, male menopause, and herbs for women taking hormones. Recommended by Susan Love MD and Christiane Northrup MD. Foreword by Juliette de Bairacli Levy. 304 pages, index, illustrations. For more info on menopause, visit: www.menopause-metamorphosis.com
Breast Cancer? Breast Health!
Author: Susun S. Weed. Foods, exercises, and attitudes to keep your breasts healthy. Supportive complimentary medicines to ease side-effects of surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, or tamoxifen. Foreword by Christiane Northrup, M.D. 380 pages, index, illustrations.
UPCOMING DIANIC EVENTS Pagan Examiner – Read the articles written by Bobbie and myself. Z’s Calendar of Events – Want to know where I am appearing? Goddess Festival – You think the last was good? Goddess is Alive! Tarot Social - A joyful coming-together of the Women’s Tarot community ... a Revival of the 70’s TRAVELING MAGIC SHOW by a FOREMOTHER of GODDESS SPIRITUALITY, The QUEEN of TAROT READINGS, and the woman responsible for LEGALIZING TAROT in California … Z Budapest.
Z Budapest is conducting a most entertaining Tarot Social at her home in Oakland, CA on April 23rd. For more information and registration go to TarotSocial.com.
The Dianic University for Women in Goddess Study the Dianic Tradition with Z Budapest, the woman who rebirthed it into modern culture. Classes at the Dianic University are designed for women only. Sisterhood of the Moon ~ Women’s Spirituality Coven in the Z Budapest Dianic Tradition Events in the Sisterhood of the Moon are for women-born-women only. Located in Hayward, CA. You must contact Jesamyn Angelica for more information. Many of the members of this group are also members of the Susan B. Anthony Coven No.1. Facebook.page.
Hands of Demeter ~ Women’s Spirituality Coven in the Z Budapest Dianic Tradition Events in the Hands of Demeter are for women-born-women only. Located in Semi Valley, CA. You must contact http://earthmothercovenant.com for more information. Many of the members of this group are also members of the Susan B. Anthony Coven No.1. Facebook page.
The Sacred Circle ~ Recovering & Reclaiming Ancient Ways to Heal Events in The Sacred Circle are for members only, unless otherwise stated. Call JoAnna 775-882-1599 for membership inquiries.
Sisterhood of the Turning Tides ~ Women’s Spirituality Coven in the Z Budapest Dianic Tradition They meet on Esbats and Sabbats and have a Tuesday night drum/ritual circle. Located in Mendocino, CA. You must contact Sage Simon for more information. Many of the members of this group are also members of the Susan B. Anthony Coven No.1. Facebook.page.
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Vicki Scotti, LuAnn Morris, and Amy Otero are
Hecate’s Wheel an acoustic folk trio. Their music is inspired by, and dedicated to the Goddess in all her guises. They sing an eclectic variety of cover songs and original music.
Hecate’s Wheel has been playing and singing together for several years and their voices have found a natural harmonious blend. We VERY much enjoyed their Beltaine concert!
Goddess Resource Links Z Budapest Website Goddess College Online Goddess Blog – Sponsored by the Susan B. Anthony Coven Z Budapest Blog Goddess Festival Susan B. Anthony Coven Dianic Wicca Tarot Social Witch Trial – the last great witch trial in America
Z's Events Schedule Z's University Calendar
Z's Books Summoning the Fates Holy Book of Women's Mysteries Celestial Wisdom Grandmother of Time Grandmother Moon Goddess in the Office Goddess in the Bedroom