|
Director's Message
2008 has moved in with great swiftness. 2007 was an amazing year of growth for
the temple thanks to all of you who've generously given of your time,
creativity, as well as financial support. 2008 looks to be even busier than
2007. Our ritual celebrations have been standing room only and the feedback I
received after our Hallows event was, "can we do more?" The temple will continue
to offer four ritual Sabbats this year in our unique ritual theatre format, and
the Board of Directors are exploring new ways to publicly honor more Sabbats
without the huge productions we currently undertake. Classes are also being
discussed and planned. More to come.
The winter has afforded our staff some time to grow the Temple of
the Goddess website. In addition to the
Temple Store
which went up in November, we now have a
calendar
which shows all rehearsals, board meetings, planning meetings and other
events held at Sutton Studios. Thank you Dawn and Phoef Sutton for so
generously making the space available to the temple. We've also created a
discussion board
and hope you will check it out and use this forum to voice your thoughts,
ideas, and inspire others to think.
I am also very happy to announce that my personal
astrologer, Rosemary Clark of
Astro*Logic
, will be offering the temple community her guidance with a regular
column called
Soothsayings
. Please check out this month's
Soothsayings below or go to the temple website for
Lunar
guidance from Rosemary. Thank you Rosemary.
Lastly, I hope to put the newsletter out on a more timely basis as our volunteer
staff continues to grow. I wish you all an amazing 2008 and look forward to
seeing you soon. Xia
|
|
Temple of the Goddess Announcements
Choir Rehearsals have resumed and will be held on the first and third Sundays at
4-6.
February 3rd, 4-6
February 17th, 4-6
|
SAVE THE DATE
"
The seasons and all their changes are in me
." -Henry David Thoreau
We hope you will join the temple, in community, to honor the seasons, the Earth,
and our own personal growth for our 2007 Ritual Sabbats. This year's theme is
"Reclaiming the Earth."
Our multi-cultural Earth celebrations are held at the Neighborhood Unitarian
Church in Pasadena and 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.
SAVE THE DATE!!
March 22, 2008 Spring Equinox
Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church
301 N. Orange Grove Blvd.
Pasadena, CA 91103
818-771-5778
Website:
www.TempleoftheGoddess.org/Events
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
.
|
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.
We Remember:
Susan Gray, 58, formerly
known as Susan Gitlin-Emmer, passed away on January 5, 2008. She had Chronic
Fatigue Syndrome for many years, but it was bronchiectasis, a severe lung
disease that was diagnosed in 2005, that she valiantly fought, but finally
succumbed to. Susan is survived by her loving husband, Fred Emmer; son, Josh
Gray-Emmer; father, David Gitlin; brother, Jonathan Gitlin; and cats Ginger
and Roscoe.
Born in
Boston, Susan grew up in a town whose apple trees and nearby woods made it feel
more like the country than a Boston suburb. Some of her happiest memories were
of summers spent with her brother in the small town of Wellfleet on Cape Cod.
There she learned how to fish with her father and how to go antique hunting with
her mother, a love she would later pass on to her son. Susan often worked
cleaning cabins and as a salesperson at a clothing store to earn extra spending
money.
Continued . . .
|
DONOR ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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
Kamala
Realm of Fire
Roy & Karen Tate
Realm of Water
Greg & Miriam Dexter
J. Clark
Realm of Spirit
Ruth Ann Anderson
Dawn Bodnar Sutton
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
.
|
|
Soothsayings: Insights at the Inception of 2008
Everyone looks to a new year with idealistic hopes and practical expectations,
and 2008 moved in that trajectory swiftly after what seemed like an extended
winter of disillusionment. In the cosmic realm, a number of events and phenomena
do point to a change in the seasons of spiritual life.
-
Two planets that have an astrological reputation for fear and catalytic change
now move into landscapes of stability and reflection. Saturn, in his dual role
as lord of the harvest and grim reaper, entered Earth-ruled Virgo on September 2
last year (*) and brushes back and forth at the portal of this Sign through
Beltane (May 4).
-
Saturn announces our obligations to the physical world and endows us with the
fruits of former labors. His passage through Virgo to late October 2009 calls
for practical approaches in education, science, and agriculture. Moving closer
to self sufficiency in these realms will certainly be the outcome, but in the
meantime you should think - and act - to use this influence to your personal
advantage. This could include the study of environmental conservation, gardening
and composting, organic cooking, and the wide spectrum of natural healing -
veterinary and human. Virgo is a Mutable (double-bodied) Sign, reflecting the
two faces of feminine power - celestial (the Virgin goddess) and terrestrial
(Mother Earth). Honoring these two realms during this transit means giving
substance to our ideals by building their habitations.
Click for full article.
(*) All phenomena are cited for
the Tropical (Western) Zodiac
© Copyright 2008 by Rosemary Clark,
Astro*Logic
Rosemary Clark is author of The Sacred Tradition in Ancient Egypt: The
Esoteric Wisdom Revealed
and The Sacred Magic of Ancient Egypt: The Spiritual Practice Restored.
She has also written The Everything Meditation Book
and her work is included in Menopause: A One-Stop Resource for Feeling
Good
and The Complete Dream Dictionary.
When not writing and organizing spiritual expeditions to Egypt, she is
saying sooth to an international cadre of students and associates.
|
HOPE AND FEARLESSNESS
by: Rev. Karen Tate
Sacred Sundays services are provided to offer a safe place to
share sacred space, to offer a few hours one can look forward to each month to
carve out time for yoruself or with your family or friends. It is a niche where
you can be with a like-minded community and of course, to seek out the Divine
within and to strengthen that connection with Deity. Each month we will
introduce a new deity and concept with January being that of
Hope and Fearlessness.
At this time of the year, called Candlemas or
Imbolc by some, when the circle is turning once again and the light is
returning, we begin to let go of the darkness, the time of pondering, gestating
and going within, and now begin to embrace a more active role, making this a
great time to
take action and speak to the ideas and attitudes associated with hope and
fearlessness.
Just what is hope? According to Webster hope is "the feeling that what is wanted
can be had." Perhaps you may be aware for years now, we have all been living in
a climate of fear which brings about feelings of hopelessness, insecurity and
vulnerability. We constantly hear about Global Warming, war, terrorism, economic
uncertainty, corruption of our political and religious leaders, corporate
Fascism, disaster exploitation, super viruses, the lack of health care. It goes
on and on ad nauseam.
Continued. . .
|
Eat, Pray, Love
by: Elizabeth Gilbert
Penguin Books, 2007
I'm a fiction gal all the way. It's hard for me to shift into non-fiction.
It's like salads; really, really good for you, but not my favorite meal.
This book puts pizzaz into the salad, making it not only palatable, but a
feast.
Elizabeth Gilbert wrote Eat, Pray, Love
with her life. She holds nothing back, not the heartache, not the soul/body
yearnings, and not the depression so deep that she was very near the edge of the
abyss-suicide. After a painfully debilitating (emotional and financial) divorce
she decided to take a year off from writing and travel to Italy, India, and then
Indonesia.
The
Eat section
takes place in Rome, Italy to satisfy her
pleasure with pasta and to learn the Italian language. I laughed out loud as
she got lost in Rome, Italy (just like I did-who devised those crazy
meandering streets, thinking it was better than the grid system?), but
manages to find St. Crispin's gelateria three times in one day! And the
Italian men-she loves them all. All too soon her four months in Italy are up
and she's off to India to live at an Ashram.
Read more
.
Reviewed by: Jeanne Clark. Now available at Temple of the Goddess
bookstore
. |
In a Sacred Circle of Sisters,
Come Home to Your Authentic Self
The
Shamanic Tantric Dance
is a meditation in motion, a sacred dance spontaneously sourced from body
impulse.
SERIES OF FIVE CLASSES
Monday, January 14 to February 11, 2008 from 7 to 10 pm $150
No Dance Experience Necessary. For more info
click here
.
Contact Kamala: (310) 455-3876 or
kamala@terrakino.net
.
|
|
Travel to Sacred Places of the Divine Feminine begins again . . .
Guided by Karen Tate.
On your sacred tour, history, spirituality and culture come alive, creating a
continuum between past and present. Time and distance dims. The line between
traditional and non-traditional faith fades. You become one with the Mother.
Paris and Chartres - May 2008 /Turkey - October 2008
SACRED SUNDAYS Sunday, February 10th, 11AM - 1PM
For more information go to
KarenTate.com
or contact the author at karentate108@ca.rr.com or 310/450-6661
|
|
Come join us in 2008! Conversation and sacred
travel allow us to open our minds, hearts and spirits to new learning...a chance
to exchange ideas and expand our world.
Goddess Conversations invites you to engage and
converse in the study of the Divine Feminine through spiritual journey and
pilgrimage to some of the most spectacular art, architecture and sacred lands on
Mother Earth.
Palm Springs, California: Mar 20th -23rd
Amazons in Turkey: July 1st - July 10th
|
|
