GODDESS BLOG
What you seek is seeking you 🌺 April 2022
🌺 My Journey to the Goddess began as a young teenage girl, years before I ever knew who or what the Goddess is. She first appeared to me as a ritual agreement with Pele, the Hawaiian volcano goddess; an agreement which I fulfilled over twenty years later in graduate school.
She remained with me throughout my teenage years as a passion for the red hibiscus flower. In fact, the moment I turned 18, I felt the utmost urgency to get an image of the red hibiscus tattooed on my back. It wasn’t until many years later when I realized that the Goddess was speaking to me through my love for this flower. . .
“What You Seek is Seeking You”
My Journey to the Goddess began as a young teenage girl, years before I ever knew who or what the Goddess is. She first appeared to me as a ritual agreement with Pele, the Hawaiian volcano goddess; an agreement which I fulfilled over twenty years later in graduate school.
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She remained with me throughout my teenage years as a passion for the red hibiscus flower. In fact, the moment I turned 18, I felt the utmost urgency to get an image of the red hibiscus tattooed on my back. It wasn’t until many years later when I realized that the Goddess was speaking to me through my love for this flower.
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Reading “Awakening Shakti” by Sally Kempton nearly 15 years later, I learned that the red hibiscus flower is the symbol for the primordial Indic (Hindu) goddess, Shakti. I recognized then that, in a very real sense, my body had been marked by the Goddess. Though my Journey to the Goddess had begun a few years prior, She had actually been with me all along. Rumi’s famous words “What you seek is seeking you” couldn’t have been more true!
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As I was searching my heart for the right words to say in this newsletter today, I couldn’t help but reflect back on my journey that began all those years ago. The past few weeks have brought me closer to my vision of what it means to be in service to the Goddess. For me, it is not a journey to claim some sort of elusive “feminine energy.” Though, this is a totally legitimate path for those who want it!
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Instead, my Journey to the Goddess is actually a quest to discover what it means to be a woman, outside of any patriarchal fantasy, and to share this discovery with others who seek the same. Of course, the Goddess is leading the way. The fruits of the quest have led me to the profoundity of embodied feminine power. Thus, my path to female empowerment is crystalizing in my desire to Resacralize the Female Body.
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But the simple truth is, all Life is sacred. So much of the world is currently dominated by staunch materialistic and anthropocentric paradigms. As a result, the sacrality of Life—and the beauty of our interconnectivity with plant, animal, mineral life, and one another—has increasingly become diminished and distorted for centuries, if not millennia. To truly recognize Life’s sacrality, it will take a reevaluation of many of our inherited beliefs.
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One of which is our notion of power and how we wield it. I believe that the power humans need to cultivate is one that is in alignment with the cyclic powers of Life—think birth, growth, decay, death, and rebirth. And it is time for more women to remember that we embody this cyclic power, as it is so profoundly made manifest, throughout our lives, in our wombs.
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It is a unique and primal power that is simultaneously biological, spiritual, and archetypal. And, I believe, this power—and ALL that it implies—is the feminine power that women, and the world, have been seeking.
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Perhaps Rumi’s visionary words are the antidote for our time.
🌺Annalisa, PhD
IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
Current Journey to the Goddess TV Episodes
Goddess News
What I’m Reading
Feature: Women to Follow
Upcoming Interviews
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DON’T FORGET . . .
SUBSCRIBE to my YouTube channel! It’s Free!!
LATEST EPISODES
🩸Why is is that Menstruation is still such a taboo topic around the world? What is it that makes this particular form of bleeding dangerous enough to largely remain hidden behind the cultural curtain? Why do so many women feel period shame
🩸Six years ago, I began to ask myself why I was so ashamed of my menstruation and menstruous body. This has led me down a deep and often dark path filled with anger, rage, and grief, but, ultimately, has given me the opportunity to heal my shame.
🩸This is an EXPANDED presentation of my doctoral work to resacralize menstruation--but with a twist! I asked two colleagues to join me for a post-presentation "Red Roundtable" discussion. In the Q&A section, we deep dive into our blood stories, internalized sexism, the sacred power of menses & so much more!
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Is menstruation 🩸 sacred or a curse? What would you think if I said menstruation is one of the most sacred of human acts? I believe that it IS sacred and I have created a Menstrual Art Performance series to honor the sacredness of menstrual blood.
This is a Period Performance called "A Ritual Puja for Menstruation" and is followed by my commentary on the inspiration for the piece, the bleeding goddess of Assam, Kamakhya.
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After an extraordinary experience with a dying cat, I decided to bring on my dear friend, podcaster, and self realization expert, Maia Wilde to discuss how connecting with my feelings of grief actually healed my body.
This conversation is lively and dives deep into the intelligence of our bodies. Maia also gives several simple and effective techniques to anyone who would like to learn how to safely tap into and experience their feelings. She also shares how to use such techniques as a vehicle for creative expression and emotional healing.
GODDESS NEWS
New!
I am happy to share the publication of “Spirit Marriage” by Dr. Megan Rose! “Spirit Marriage” is an in-depth exploration of the practice, relevance, and purpose of spirit marriage around the world. You may remember Dr. Rose from her great talk on Sacred Sexuality and Mary Magdalene for Journey to the Goddess TV. Find her book, here on Amazon today!
Sunday!
APRIL 10th! The Association for the Study of Women and Mythology will be holding their 2022 Symposium, “Hearing the Invisible: Lessons from the Sentient Beings & Inter-Relational Ecosystems.” For Registration, click here: ASWM SYMPOSIUM
Modern Matriarchy
“Portraits of Matriarchy: Where Grandmothers are Still in Charge.” A portrait series by KAROLIN KLÜPPEL. Featured in Yes! Magazine.
Enlightenments
Dr. Thomas Daffern (founder of the Mary Magdalene Studies Association) & Satyen Raja will be teaching: “A Course On Enlightenments, East And West:
Examples From The Past And Present, For The Future.” This course will consist of 12 online tutorials, in which they will take turns presenting role models of enlightenments. This will include sections featuring Mary Magdalene and the work of Marija Gimbutas. For more info, click here.
WHAT I’M (RE)-READING
“Awakening Shakti: The Transformative Power of the Goddesses of Yoga”
by Sally Kempton
Shakti
If you’ve ever wondered what the Goddess is, then this is the book for you! Beginning with her personal narrative and an introduction to the meaning of the Goddess from the perspective of Shaiva Tantrism, Kempton takes us on a journey through the many facets of cosmic, deity, symbolic, and energetic feminine powers. Then, chapter by chapter, we learn about 11 goddesses, how to identify their archetypes, and practical how-to methods to access the goddesses’ power for our own empowerment. “Awakening Shakti” is truly one of the most thorough introductions to the
FEATURE: WOMEN TO FOLLOW
Ana Mendieta
was a Cuban-American painter, performance artist, and sculptor.
(Image: Women’n Art)
The more I learn about Ana Mendieta, the more I fall deeply in love with her unapologetic artistic vision and commitment to laying bare the profundity of embodied female power and its interwoven connection with the Earth and other spiritual elements.
Ana used her body as a vehicle of art and often in site-specific, natural settings. For example, in her Esculturas Rupestres series, including works such as Guacar or “Our Menstruation,” Ana carves locally worshipped goddesses into caves outside Havana. These carvings evoke symbolic and existential meanings about female power and embodiment.
In a way, I see myself and my own work with embodied menstrual rituals and retellings of goddess myths, within the artistic lineage so fully explored by Ana as well as other artists like Judy Chicago.
In 1985, Ana died in a tragic incident, that, some say, exemplifies the themes she so powerfully evoked in her art. Ana lives on through her art, which continues to inspire many artists and non-artists alike.
Learn more about Ana Mendieta here.
UPCOMING INTERVIEWS
April 2022
Co-founders of Fates and Graces Mythologium, Dr. Stephanie Zajchowski & Dr. Joanna Gardner, will join me for a special Earth Day discussion on the intersection of myth and ecological consciousness.
Dancing in the Dark - December 2021
Happy solstice, friends! Over the past few days, I’ve been reflecting on the Winter Solstice and the inevitable dance between dark and light.
I recognize my own resistance to prolonged darkness, cold, and the slowdown the winter season not only encourages, but simply requires of me.
My mind’s eye continues to return to the image of a candle flame illuminating the darkness. Such as in the above image, which is a picture I took at the Church of Santa Maria dell’Orto in Rome during Easter Holy Week 2019.
In some traditions, the candle flame represents the soul as an individual emanation of the Divine. Meditation on such an image reminds me that the candle flame is brightest, strongest, and most beautiful when dancing in the dark. And more so still when the candle flame burns bright among a sea of likeminded flames.
It reminds me that no matter how dismayed I may be by the state of the world, I am surrounded by so many luminous souls who are each doing their part to—in the words of a dear friend—“be a part of the healing of this world”.
That brings me to the many illuminating conversations I have had the great pleasure to facilitate on Journey to the Goddess TV. This year. . .
Dancing in the Dark
Happy solstice, friends! Over the past few days, I’ve been reflecting on the Winter Solstice and the inevitable dance between dark and light.
I recognize my own resistance to prolonged darkness, cold, and the slowdown the winter season not only encourages, but simply requires of me.
My mind’s eye continues to return to the image of a candle flame illuminating the darkness. Such as in the above image, which is a picture I took at the Church of Santa Maria dell’Orto in Rome during Easter Holy Week 2019.
In some traditions, the candle flame represents the soul as an individual emanation of the Divine. Meditation on such an image reminds me that the candle flame is brightest, strongest, and most beautiful when dancing in the dark. And more so still when the candle flame burns bright among a sea of likeminded flames.
It reminds me that no matter how dismayed I may be by the state of the world, I am surrounded by so many luminous souls who are each doing their part to—in the words of a dear friend—“be a part of the healing of this world”.
That brings me to the many illuminating conversations I have had the great pleasure to facilitate on Journey to the Goddess TV. This year I spoke with activists, authors, dancers, scholars, and artists on a wide variety of Goddess-related topics. Some of these women include: Artist Lisa Levart and the debut of her Goddess on Earth Oracle deck (including my portrayal of Mary Magdalene); Indian classical dancer and Success Coach for women leaders, Dr. Vena Ramphal on the Yoga of Dance; as well as my Everyday Goddess collaboration with activist and soon-to-be-author, Natasha Thomas.
Most recently, I was honored to have eco-activist, Zoë Tryon, join me live from the Ecuadorian Amazon, where she works as a cultural liaison with a handful of Amazonian communities, helping them fight international corporate corruption and ecological devastation of their territories.
I am blessed to have such incredible women who inspire and uplift me on my show. Each of their lights shine bright.
Where do you find meaning and beauty in the dance between the light and the dark?
🌺 Annalisa, PhD
P.S. Every year I also aim to support and amplify a woman-centered organization. This year it is: WomenSpirit Coalition: Sta’ni Shay’i, or Washington State Native American Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. Because of many complex issues of colonialism, racism, sexism, treaty violation, environmental degradation, and geopolitics, Indigenous women around the world are one of the most vulnerable human populations on Earth. This is not because they are weak—quite the contrary—instead, it is more often because so many Indigenous women are on the front lines, willing to put their lives on the line, fighting for ecological, community, and personal justice.
For more info: Native Hope, Native Women’s Association of Canada, A Modern Trail of Tears.
IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
Recent Journey to the Goddess TV Episodes
What I’m Reading
Feature: In Memoriam
Upcoming Interviews
DON’T FORGET . . .
Have you SUBSCRIBED to my YouTube channel yet? It’s Free!!
Become a Journey to the Goddess member on Patreon! Benefits include behind-the-scenes access, goddess gifts, and more!
Latest Episodes:
I’m excited to feature my conversation, “Entering the Heart of the Amazonian Womb” with eco-activist, #ZoëTryon. Join me for this riveting and timely conversation where we discuss:
🌳 What #ecoactivism is and how it is rooted in Divine Feminine / Goddess consciousness.
🌳 Some of the indigenous women on the front lines to save their communities (and by extension, the whole world), from corporation lead environmental devastation.
🌳 The fight to hold oil companies such as Chevron accountable to ecologically restore the #AmazonRainforest and its communities.
🌳 The best ways to support Indigenous communities
🌳 What each of us as individuals can do to be a part of the solution.
In “Regent Women Powerfully Stepping into Midlife”, Dr. Andrea Slominski and I dive deep into the #REGENT archetype. This emerging archetype encompasses the #spiritual, psychological, biological and cultural significance of women’s midlife. In particular, Dr. A reframes and affirms peri-menopause, #menopause, and post-menopause as a time for women to step most fully into their own. In other words, aging is a woman’s superpower.
What I’m Reading
I know, I know…I am probably a little late to the party on this one. After learning I had not yet read “The Red Tent”, my friend Toni insisted that I read it. “The Red Tent” is a remythologzation of the Genesis story of sisters Rachel and Leah, as told by Leah’s daughter, Dinah. If you’ve ever read this story in Genesis, like me, you may have felt heartbroken by the rivalry depicted between the two women. This re-imagining remedies this rift and offers a nuanced, affirmative (albeit sometimes challenging) perspective on life, love, and sisterhood.
Feature: In Memoriam
(Image by: Liza Matthews on lionsroar.com)
bell hooks
Feminist scholar, author, activist, and professor.
bell hooks—a feminist scholar and author, an activist, and a professor—transitioned on December 15th, 2021. Though I have only encountered bell hooks’ work through the works of other feminists, I have long admired her from afar.
Her impact on feminism and feminists, women and men, is undeniable and palpable.
Of the many bell hooks quotes I’ve seen posted to social media platforms since her death, this is by far my favorite:
“The one person who will never leave us, whom we will never lose, is ourself. Learning to love our female selves is where our search for love must begin.”
🌺 Goddess Blessings on your journey, bell.
About bell hooks: bell hooks Institute
A few of her more well known books:
Upcoming Interviews:
Dr. Lisa Skura
Speaking on “The Feminine in the Tarot”