Hallow's Eve Celebration offered by Temple of the Goddess on Saturday, October 28th.

Hallow’s Eve is the new year, the time when the veil between this world and the spirit world is at its thinnest. It marks the onset of a darker, more introspective time of year. The theme of Hallows is honoring darkness, the memory of our loved ones who have died, communication with the spirit world, and purification for the future.

Please join us as we greet the new year, cross the veil into the darkness of winter, honor our ancestors and dance in their loving embrace, look into the mirror of self and name the fears we wish to shed, and seek an oracle of guidance from the Dark Mother Crone. Bring a votive candle in holder and photo or token of your ancestor for the ancestor altar. Temple serpents in attendance.

Temple of the Goddess’ Sabbats are ritual theater that combine mythology and art to re-connect us to the seasons and the Earth. These seasonal rituals are multi-media programs combining music, dance, liturgy, spoken word, visual art, and participatory theater which fuses drum and dance with personal enactment. These multi-cultural events are directed toward family and community and in 2006 are being held at the Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church in Pasadena.

DATE: October 28, 2006
TIME: 6:45 p.m. arrival, Ritual from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m.

LOCATION: Neighborhood Church
301 North Orange Grove
Pasadena, CA 91103-3599

Click here for event flyer.

Her Grandmother’s Teachings by Deborah B. Odjick

She descends the winding path,
through the trees and down the mountain,
Her hair flowing like an ebony fountain.
She comes to a clearing near the edge of the wood,
As long ago her Grandmother would.
Her teachings, her legends, her stories so old,
were forever and always to be foretold.
As She was leaving the clearing, her spirit aglow,
She watches the sun set soft and slow.

Continued . . .
Painting: Rose of Grandmother's Song by Frank Howell

by MATT CRENSON, AP National Writer

Whoever it was probably lived a few thousand years ago, somewhere in East Asia–Taiwan, Malaysia and Siberia all are likely locations. He–or she–did nothing more remarkable than be born, live, have children and die.

Yet this was the ancestor of every person now living on Earth–the last person in history whose family tree branches out to touch all 6.5 billion people on the planet today.

That means everybody on Earth descends from somebody who was around as recently as the reign of Tutankhamen, maybe even during the Golden Age of ancient Greece. There's even a chance that our last shared ancestor lived at the time of Christ.

"It's a mathematical certainty that that person existed," said Steve Olson, whose 2002 book "Mapping Human History" traces the history of the species since its origins in Africa more than 100,000 years ago.

It is human nature to wonder about our ancestors– who they were, where they lived, what they were like. People trace their genealogy, collect antiques and visit historical sites hoping to capture just a glimpse of those who came before, to locate themselves in the sweep of history and position themselves in the web of human existence. More . . .

Childhood is a journey, not a race.

There’s something about autumn that makes you want to go out and savor the season as a family. Maybe it’s the cooler temperatures and clearer air–or maybe it’s just the nagging feeling that you’d better have all the fun you can before winter moves in! Here are our top five picks for fall family fun.

Plant now, grow later.

Gardening isn’t over just because summer is. Now is the time to plant spring-flowering bulbs (as long as you don’t live in the south, as the bulbs need to be cold for a number of weeks to grow properly). Visit your favorite nursery or online gardening store to find bulbs with names that kids will love: ‘Flaming Parrot’ and ‘Blueberry Ripple’ (tulips), ‘Jennifer Rebecca’ and ‘Starship Enterprise’ (irises) and ‘Spellbinder’ and ‘Pink Parasol’ (daffodils). Or how about growing your own garlic for yummy garlic bread and pasta? Planting cloves of supermarket garlic may work, but again, a nursery is a more reliable source. Mark your plantings with Personalized Plant Pokes so you know where everything is in the spring.

You can also grow flowers indoors on a windowsill. Your kid-friendly best bet: an amaryllis, which will likely bloom around the holidays. “Amaryllis are fun because they come in vibrant colors and have four or five huge blooms on a tall thick stalk,” notes Lisa Whittlesey of Texas A&M University and coordinator for the Junior Master Gardener program.

Reprinted from Kid's Domain. For more Autumn activities go to Kid's Domain. Click here to download Moon Coloring Page. Power to the Witch image by Willowroot at www.spiralgoddess. com.

Chokae’, one of our temple brothers, will be going out as a teacher and missionary, in the fullest sense of the word, to assist the lovely people of Madagascar.

He has been selected to travel in January 2007 to remote villages in Madagascar with Azafady, an international, non-governmental charity. Azafady means "please" in Malagasy. Along with other volunteers, he will help build wells, provide clean water, monitor endemic and endangered lemur species, establish community market gardens, teach English, and promote HIV/AIDS awareness. As a volunteer member, Chokae’ must raise a minimum of £2,000 (roughly $4,000 US). These funds will go directly to support Azafady's work with only a tiny portion covering his food, training and travel while in Madagascar. We are asking you to offer whatever you can in prayers and donations.

Please join us in helping the children of Madagascar by sending them one of Temple of the Goddess’ distinguished teachers and healers. I hope you will take the time to click here, and learn about the incredible work Azafady is doing to serve these beautiful people. I am sure that you will be as moved as I have been, and will consider making a donation.

If you have any questions, please contact Chokae’ directly at papawitch@gmail.com or (323) 877-2626. To make a donation please click here.

Temple of the Goddess is proud to announce that Miranda Rondeau has been chosen as the first recipient of its Community Service Award. This award is given to acknowledge outstanding individuals who have made a difference in the Los Angeles Temple community through their exceptional service.

We honor her creativity, energy, and the selfless giving of her spirit as an artist, teacher, healer, and priestess to her family, friends, in the Temple and the Los Angeles community.

Miranda offers her song, drum and chant from the heart, truly and beautifully channeling her performances. Audiences are placed in a calming transcendent state as she connects this world of reality with the spiritual world through sound. Using the frame drum, “a powerful archetype and tool of remembrance" and one of the oldest sacred instruments of the world, Miranda’s voice build’s a bridge to the past which dances as living memory in our DNA. More . . .

For more information concerning classes and performances: mirandasmuse@gmail.com or 562-633-4688

Temple of the Goddess wishes to acknowledge, honor, and welcome those who have joined, tithed, or donated money to the temple this month. You keep the temple doors open for all of us.

Realm of Air
Tonius A. Louie
Karen & Roy Tate

Realm of Fire
Sharita

Realm of Earth
Kathleen Forrest
Christine Papalexis
J. Tatum
J. Clark
Ruth Ann Anderson

Realm of Spirit
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.

by Pythia

This is the time of the third and final harvest of the year (called the meat harvest). It is a time of ending (summer, physical activity in the warm sun, relaxation in the form of vacations), but it is also a time of beginning (shifting from physical action to internalizing, conserving strength, and reassessment of our lives). Perhaps this is why the Celts called Samhain (Hallows Eve) their New Year.

When the veil is thin we can ask support and/or guidance from ancestors and loved ones who now walk with the Goddess.

In ancient times a new fire was lit, but where the Beltane fire was lit at dawn, the Hallow's Eve fire was kindled at dusk. The purpose of the bonfire was to banish anything hurtful or negative (that which is holding us back from the growth we are capable of at this time) from the past year.

As late as 1938 children went door to door asking for "Soul Cakes", and at midnight when souls of the dead visit their earthly homes, families would make sure to have a lighted candle in each room to guide them, and place a glass of wine on the table for them to refresh themselves. Continued . . .

Dia de los Muertos celebration at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Los Angeles Photo by Joseph Francis

So many of you have submitted Prayer Requests to Temple of the Goddess over the past few months, we wanted to assure you that your prayers are anonymously shared among some of our temple priestesses, and then placed on Kuan Yin’s altar, (yes the same Kuan Yin who greets you at the door of TOG rituals) with a candle, a blessing and then lovingly offered into Kuan Yin’s loving arms. To read more about Kuan Yin, click here.

If you have a prayer request, whether it be to increase your health, peace of mind, or any other desire, you can go to the temple website to fill out an anonymous prayer request form. Your prayer form, as a physical representation of your inner spirit’s difficulty, will be placed in a bowl at Kuan Yin’s feet for one week. During that week, meditate on Kuan Yin’s compassion, and be compassionate to yourself. Meditate with her, so she can give guidance as to the path needed to repair the damage, fix the problem, heal. To return to a place of peace, merely repeat her name over and over. The meditation calls to her and she cannot help but put her arms around you. May Kuan Yin’s waters wash away the hurt impeding your growth on the sacred path.

Click here to make a prayer request.

You can have an automatic tithe designated from your payroll check. Many companies offer this easy option as a way to send money to your favorite charity. As with the Automatic, Continual Gifting, this is simple to put into action. Once you notify your place of business, using the form provided, a specified amount will be deducted from your paycheck before you receive it. This way, you don’t have to think about when you gift or tithe. Regularly received funds allow Temple of the Goddess to provide Sabbat rituals, celebrations, guide artists to qualify for grants, heal bodies and souls, and to teach and nourish the world’s children.

The allocated specified amount is deducted from your paycheck before you receive it. Out of sight, out of mind–but, not out of heart; your heart gift is a continual benefaction.

Note: As a special gift, check with your employer and find out if they are set up as a “Matching Gifts” employer, thereby doubling your regular, cyclical donation.

Click here for more information.

Acorn Photo by Laurie Campbell

Sacred Sensual Moving Meditation for women
SHAMANIC TANTRIC DANCE
~ In a sacred circle of sisters,
come home to your authentic self~

INTRODUCTORY CLASSES AND SERIES OF FIVE
with ... Raven Ganesha ... No Dance Experience Necessary

For Registration and Information Call (310) 455-3876 or
email -- raven@terrakino.net