MAX DASHU - Restoring Women to Cultural Memory

    

" We stand on the shoulders of the sisters before us."

I've been stumbling around on this entry for over a week.
No words I can write will even come close to honoring the amazing work that Max Dashu does.
In 1970 she founded The Suppressed Histories Archives . Go there. Live there. Tell me you aren't touched, moved, inspired, relieved, reclaimed, in awe of our ancient cultural history.
The Art of Max Dashu
Very affordable Online Courses  to keep her important work (our true history) alive and passed on to future generations.
Max Dashu's Channel; Real Women, Global Vision
An Interview with Max Dashu, go to the second interview
 

GODDESS FESTIVAL 2010

Did you know ? 

We have our very own Goddess Gathering on the West Coast put on by our very own sisters, Z. Budapest and Bobbie Grennier.

Burnt Offerings - Palo Santo

Palo Santo ( Burseara Graveolens) known as "Holy Wood/Tree/Stick" .
A highly aromatic wood used by the indigenous people of the Andes for centuries. A close relative to the frankincense and myrrh bushes with a hint of sandalwood and an indescribable clean scent that permeates the air whether smoldering or not.
Used as a spiritual remedy for purifying, cleansing, to remove evil spirits and misfortune.
Medicinally used as an insect repellent, for colds, asthma, stress, anxiety, migraine, dermatitis and arthritis.
Palo Santo is a protected species in South America and the harvest is monitored by the government. Naturally fallen branches lie dead on the ground for 4-10 years before they are harvested. This creates a limited supply and a higher price so use in a sacred way, a little truly goes a long way.

If I have this sacred wood on hand, I use it to clear space before doing a reading.
If you'd like to try it out for yourself, click the picture above and add Palo Santo to your witchy cupboard.

MOON, MOON by Anne Kent Rush

In 2003 I found myself closing another witchy store in another small west coast town. I had a huge, month long, estate sale and sold everything. Everything from the store, everything from my life. I filled my 22' witch wagon with the necessities, some prized books, some store stock to barter along the way, and some personal mementos. My journey was to be 3000 miles at a slow pace that wouldn't wear out my old wagon. I hit the road with the fall chill on my coat tails. The inevitable happened in the Northern California mountains and I found myself camping in a relatives driveway while waiting for engine parts. Two weeks I was stranded in a California driveway during a freak heatwave in a tin box wagon. I walked about town, from shade tree to mountain fed rivers passing the longest of hottest days. I found a decent health food grocery and the coolest second hand bookstore hidden away in an industrial warehouse. The bookstore guy played the best browsing vinyl, had quartz crystal clusters the size of  breakfast tables crated in from Brazil (his own mine) and a whole room dedicated to herbals and the mystical arts. Moon, Moon was a book that had been attracting my attention for a couple years. I never bought it for some reason or another, it's big, it's outdated, it's not going to be what I want it to be, blah, blah, blah. This time, in this store, there it was again. And here I was with two weeks to burn and in need of some inspiration. I bought it, paid more than I normally would have, and went home to my little hot tin wagon. This book was amazing. Every page answered a question I had about the moon. Things I'd pondered and was too lazy to research (for years) was right there in my new "old" book. What a joy to read. Pictures of ancient moon goddesses, moon mythology and folklore in other countries, the ancient feminine connection to the moon and her cycles. I continued to read, page by page, and absorb the information. It became my little comforting ritual each day to turn to a new page and let my troubles melt away. My witchy wagon was ready to go while still reading my book so I said my goodbyes and once again continued on my slow journey with a new ritual added to my daily routine. I collected maps and pamphlets from the places I stayed and added them as bookmarks amongst the pages of my book. It was a sad day when I finished the last pages somewhere in Louisiana. I've never had the same experience with any other book, but each of my special books have their own rituals and stories I guess. I've never read another of Anne Kent Rush's books, but this one has joined my collection of books that will always have a place in my wagon wherever life may take me.

Moon, Moon

Patricia Monaghan - Seasons of the Witch

" I stand on the shoulders of the sisters before me. "

Warning

She won't make wigs

of it. She has more brutal plans.

Some she feeds to pigs.

Some she burns in distant lands

you never want to visit.

Is it

strange that nude

before a flat stone altar

she fashions crude

and obsene figures from your hair ?

Beware

women who don't falter

when they pick up scissors or a knife,

who know the names of poison plants,

the purpose of each star,

the absolute anatomy of life.

Such women are, however,

individual and rare.

A single warning:

never let one cut your hair.

page 1, Seasons of the Witch 1992, by Patricia Monaghan, Delphi Press

Wikipedia Patricia Monaghan

Patricia Monaghan's Bio

I have a copy of Seasons of the Witch. Can't tell you how long I've had it and it most likely joined my collection via some thriftstore purchase. Books have a way of falling off shelves and into my path just when I need them. The poetry and artwork inspire me still to this day (and I'm not a real fan of poetry).

JULIETTE DE BAIRACLI LEVY - Grandmother of Herbal Medicine

 " I stand on the shoulders of the sisters before me. "

Traveler, writer and champion of gypsy herbal medicines, breeder of Afghan hounds, mother to all the animals and the pioneer of holistic veterinary medicine.

Wise Woman Juliette

Book Biography