While the 'Sacred Feminine' or 'Divine
Feminine' means different
things to each of us, at its most essential it is that life force
within
every sentient being, every woman and man, to create , to nourish,
to intuit and be in cooperative relationship to others. Symbolized
since before recorded time by female deities and earth goddesses
--and suppressed by the male-dominated, sky-god religions, leaving
our world unbalanced and wracked with war-- the Sacred Feminine
is again on the rise.
Starhawk: The River of Life The
Sacred Feminine & Freemasonry
"Throughout humanity’s societies, the
Sacred Feminine has been identified with the qualities of wisdom,
justice, beauty, and compassion. She is also the irresistible
power that destroys old forms and brings new ones into being.
The Divine Feminine is this unseen dimension of soul to which
we are connected through our instincts, our feelings, and the
longing imagination of the heart. She is an invisible flow of
energy that brings life into being, sustains and transforms it,
and withdraws it into a hidden dimension for rebirth or regeneration.
This process is rhythmic, and rhythm is a primary characteristic
of the Feminine. In a very Masonic definition of Being, She has
been described as being the principle of justice that inspires
all human laws, She is the invisible spirit guiding human consciousness."
"Today, the reason
we haven't found our grail, the key to who we are as women,
is because we look for it in worlds of false power, the very
worlds that took it away from us in the first place. Neither
men nor work can restore our lost scepter. Nothing in this
world can take us home. Only the radar in our hearts can do
that, and when it does, ... 'We will light up like lamps,
and the world will never be the same again.' "
--Marianne
Williamson
As the Easter season blooms, and April of 2004 emerges as the
month with the greatest loss of American lives since the Iraq
war began, two of Thomas Jefferson’s quotes invite reflection:
A little rebellion now and then is a medicine necessary for
the sound health of government.
I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just.
Jefferson, America’s third president, was born April thirteenth,
1743. The number thirteen[1] has figured prominently in American
symbolism. In the original flag, the thirteen colonies were represented
by thirteen stars forming a circle. Our current flag has
thirteen stripes.
On both the obverse and reverse of the Great Seal of the United
States, (which can be seen on the back of a one dollar bill) the
number thirteen is seen in abundance. There are thirteen stars
in the crest, thirteen stripes in the shield, thirteen letters
in Annuit Coeptis, thirteen letters in E Pluribus Unum
and thirteen courses of stone in the pyramid. The eagle holds
an olive branch with thirteen leaves and thirteen olives in its
right talon (representing peace, and the feminine), and thirteen
arrows in the left (representing war, and the masculine). The
gaze of the eagle, however, is firmly upon the olive branches,
indicating America’s focus and destiny toward peace.
Thirteen is also the number traditionally associated with the
Divine Feminine. In ancient times there were thirteen “moonths”
in a year, since there are thirteen full moons, and therefore
thirteen menstrual cycles annually. The thirteenth letter of the
alphabet is “M,” a letter associated with many things
feminine, including mother, mom, mama, mammary glands, menstruation
and one of the most powerful feminine archetypes in the world,
the Virgin Mary.
In its purest sense, American democracy is a reclaimation of the
balance in the masculine/feminine dance, a waltz which has suffered
from the imbalance of patriarchy for the past 5,000 years.
Keeping in mind that everyone, man or woman, has both a right
brain (feminine) and a left brain (masculine), duality pairs meriting
consideration include:
Feminine-Masculine
Venus-Mars
Love-War
Heart/Emotions-Head/Thoughts
Flowing-Angular
Circle-Square
Creation-Destruction
Arts-Sciences
Grace-Law
Myth-Fact
Inclusiveness-Hierarchy
Union-Separation
Nature-Technology
Oral tradition/herstory – Written tradition/history
Formlessness-Form and Order
Horizontal path of power-Vertical path of power
Compassion for others-Focus on self
Appreciation- Analyzation
Nurture- Critique
Process Oriented-Goal Oriented
Compromise-Compete
Win/win paradigm – Win/lose paradigm
None of the individual components in each pair is right or wrong.
However, the dynamic dance between the two is required for fruitful
balance. A pendulum cannot swing in only one direction, nor can
we clap with just one hand.
In viewing the competitive, hierarchical, technological and war-focused
direction of America, the imbalances caused by the overzealous
glorification of masculine attributes are apparent. The dawning
of understanding of the tragic loss of the feminine in our culture
is underscored by the custom of skipping thirteen in the numbering
of floors in skyscrapers, hotel rooms or racecars.
In the imbalance of patriarchy the dance and the dancers suffer,
and both the feminine and the masculine ache for wholeness.
The architects of America crafted a foundation of government with
the built-in potential to reclaim the masculine/feminine balance.
The Declaration of Independence authored by Jefferson is a stunning
break from patriarchal rule and vertical power. It includes such
right brain/feminine concepts as “liberty for all,”
“equality” and the inalienable rights of all persons
to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” It
rejects the hierarchical claim to power subscribed to by England’s
George lll who declared that his power to rule came directly from
God through the “divine right of kings.” (Deja-vu, anyone?)
The Declaration of Independence embodies the seeds of the feminine
attributes of inclusivity, compassion and union. In a radical
assertion for the times, the Declaration of Independence states
that the American government receives its power not from God but
from its people. It also decrees that a government that does not
live up to the purposes for which it was created can and should
be changed or abolished by its citizens.
Jefferson’s sentiment that “a little rebellion now and
then is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government”
is echoed by Thomas Paine, who penned some of the most stirring
words of the American Revolution by the fading light of a campfire,
beside his compatriot, George Washington. Upon reading Paine’s
essay, Washington commanded that it be read to all of the troops.
Paine’s words still stir American hearts today: “These
are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and
the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service
of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and
thanks of man and woman.” Paine’s words, referring to
the American Revolution, are just as meaningful in describing
the current revolution by the Americans who are in the “service
of their country,” passionately reclaiming a government “of
the people, by the people and for the people.”
The Constitution[2], penned primarily by James Madison, also abandons
the patriarchal view of “power over” in order to empower
its citizens. One example of the feminine qualities of compromise
and creating a win-win outcome occurred when systems of representation
were debated in the Continental Congress. The larger states wanted
Virginia’s proposal, which would allow representation based
on population. The smaller states naturally preferred New Jersey’s
plan of equal representation by state. The “Great Compromise”
was a paradigm shifting, win-win solution, which birthed the concept
of two houses in Congress: the Senate and the House of Representatives.
In another example of a conscious shift toward more inclusivity,
the preamble to our Constitution was changed. It originally read,
“We the States…” but was changed to “We the
people of the United States…” Our founders wanted to
punctuate the fact that the government was instituted in order
to be in service to the citizens, not the other way around.
Thomas Jefferson set the cornerstone for freedom of religion in
America as author of both the Statute of Virginia for Religious
Freedom and the Declaration of Independence [3]. In his wisdom,
he referred to spiritual influences in more inclusive terminology,
such as “Creator,” “Divine Providence” and
“nature’s God.”
While all religions are tolerated in America (theoretically, at
least), Christianity remains the religion of the majority. In
its purest form, Christianity also represents a movement toward
the recovery of the masculine/feminine equilibrium. Jesus himself
exemplified this quest for balance. He embraced grace (right brain/feminine)
over the left brain/patriarchal law of “an eye for an eye,”
in effect replacing karma with grace. In Luke, when Jesus healed
the crippled woman on the Sabbath[4], which was forbidden by law,
he showed that he followed a higher law - the law of the heart.
And in Jesus’ predilection for teaching in parables, he quietly
endorses the power of oral myth and story, a feminine mode of
imparting knowledge, as the means to embody the greater Truths.
(As Don Quixote noted, “Facts are the enemy of truth.”)
Jesus also distanced himself from the masculine concept of hierarchy,
embracing a lateral distribution of self-empowerment with words
such as “even greater things (than I) shall ye do.[5]”
Even the ways in which Jesus treated his mother and Mary Magdalene
offer a glimpse into the way that he honored the feminine. He
was radical in his inclusion of women in his ministry, although
this isn’t always clearly seen through the eyes of the less
visionary scribes who recorded his life.
Possibly the most feminine, heart-centered quote from Saint Paul
is associated with the number of the feminine. “And now abides
Faith, Hope, Love, these three— but the greatest of these
is Love,” is verse thirteen of Chapter thirteen of I Corinthians.
Thirteen is also associated with Jesus’ birth through Epiphany,
the date when the Magi arrived with gifts, which occurs thirteen
days after Christmas on January 6th. The circle created by Jesus
and his disciples, numbers thirteen, as does the family of Jacob
and his twelve sons, who formed the twelve tribes of Israel.
Even the knights of King Arthur and his Round Table, number thirteen.[6]
The fame of the knights of Camelot is based more upon their honor,
integrity and spiritual values than upon their martial skills.
The Knights of the Round Table were sworn to such feminine values
as to be merciful, courageous, hospitable, faithful, to uphold
integrity and to respect all women. They dedicated themselves
to the quest for the Holy Grail. What more feminine symbol is
there than the image of the vessel, the sacred womb of the mother?
In patriarchal times, the Grail legends speak to the deepest parts
of our souls in an archetypal quest for the feminine aspects of
divinity.
Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) is a modern day Knight of the
Round Table who exemplifies the archetype of Sir Gawain, beloved
of Camelot and champion of the divine feminine. In a trial-by-fire,
Kucinich’s integrity was proven by his courageous response
to the Enron-like attempted takeover of the municipal light company
during his tenure as the young mayor of Cleveland in 1978[7].
Like Gawain, Kucinich knows that the path toward balance is through
restoring feminine principles to its rightful place in society.
Kucinich’s compassionate politics and heart-centered platforms
on civil rights, health care for all, free education for all,
jobs for all, respect for the environment, and the conservation
of Social Security for our elders invite American citizens to
engage in a more whole and balanced dance. He is the only presidential
candidate who voted against the civil liberties-shredding Patriot
Act. Ironically, though labeled a progressive, Kucinich is a conservative
in the purest sense, completing the circle in his quest to conserve
the rights of the Constitution for the American people.
Like the Round Table Knights, Kucinich believes in the appropriate
development of defense, but is dedicated toward the primary pursuance
of more honorable and peaceful measures. The 2003 recipient of
the prestigious Gandhi Peace Award[8], Kucinich authored HR 1673,
a bill that would establish a U.S. Department of Peace at the
cabinet level. Designed to institute nonviolence as an organizing
principal of American society, it would provide domestic and international
peace-building policy options. This department was first proposed
by none other than George Washington, who believed it was an essential
component in American government. 210 years later, Americans are
still waiting.
Certainly a Department of Peace is the fitting manifestation of
the American eagle’s steadfast gaze toward the olive branch.
Kucinich offers the lone voice in the political limelight with
a workable plan for getting out of Iraq[9] as a first step toward
restoring peace. His well thought out exit strategy, detailed
on his website, asks the U.N. to step in and then brings U.S.
troops home. In a classic scenario of feminine versus masculine
modus operandi, he demonstrates that he is wisely willing to stop
to look at a map and consider directions, rather than just rage
blindly forward.
It is interesting to note that Kucinich officially announced his
candidacy for the president on the thirteenth of October[10],
during the zodiacal month of Libra, the symbol of balance. And
in his speeches Kucinich often word-paints an image of the American
eagle’s need for both wings in order to fly, the Left and
the Right in balanced synchronization.
The bald eagle has a deep, archetypal connection to this land,
as it was sacred to the Native Nations long before America was
conceived. The “eagle eye” symbolizes vision, and the
essence of this great bird is strength and courage. Because the
eagle flies higher than any other known bird, it symbolizes the
quest toward the heights of spiritual excellence.
In an arrestingly symbolic incident on July 4th, 2003, the bald
eagle at the National Zoo in Washington D.C. died as the result
of an attacked by a fox. In addition to being the name of a major
news organization, “fox” is the only three letter word
in the English language in which the letters, numerologically,
are 666. A provocative mix of archetypes, can this point to the
renovation of America, a death to the old things that aren’t
working and the exciting possibilities of birthing the new through
the democratic, transformative process? Punctuating Independence
day as symbolic of death and the promise of rebirth, America’s
second and third presidents, John Adams and Jefferson[11], both
died on July 4th, 1826, exactly 50 years after the signing of
the Declaration of Independence.
In the zodiac, death, transformation and the eagle are all associated
with the sign of Scorpio. Although the exact birth time of the
United States is subject to some conjecture, there is reason to
accept the time of approximately 2 pm on July 4, 1776[12]. Several
written accounts indicate that John Hancock signed his name to
the Declaration when it came out of committee in the afternoon
of the fourth. Synchronistically, the constellation Scorpio was
just then rising on the American horizon. American elections in
November, the pivotal point of democracy, fall during the annual
zodiacal period of Scorpio, infusing the voting process with the
archetype of transformation. And this is indeed a year that Wisdom
beseeches voters to invoke that transformative spirit.
Jefferson said he trembled for his country when he “reflected
that God is just.” And yet he had helped to put into place
the wheels of progressive politics with a system that enables
our government to transform, to ultimately regain its footing
and rebalance itself. The glory of democracy is the organic nature
of the system to “breathe,” bringing in fresh air and
expelling the old, and with that inspiration comes the ability
to mold itself as a better fit to its evolving citizenry. In that
dance of balance, America has the opportunity to live in grace
rather than karma; in appreciation and compassion rather than
criticism, in wholeness rather than separation, and in a state
of dynamic peace rather than war.
Can there be any doubt that this is the moment of transformation?
That the eaglet born 200 years ago has grown into her wingspan
and is poised to soar? She invites each one of us to follow the
leadings of our deepest destiny, the passion of our soul, and
the sacred Truth of our hearts to provide the wind beneath her
wings. And in that syncopated dance entwining right and left,
feminine and masculine, heart and head; finally Lady Liberty and
Uncle Sam can be reunited in the dance of dynamic peace and rise
to the celestial heights in the experiment of democracy.
We have received nothing less than an invitation to fly.
Meryl Ann Butler MerylAnnB@aol.com
is an artist, author and educator who counts First Lady Dolley
Payne Todd Madison and patriot Thomas Paine among her ancestors,
as well as James Payne and Thomas Wheeler, signers of the Articles
of Confederation (the precursor to the Constitution.) She appreciates
knowing that the blood of America’s matriots and patriots
runs in her veins. To see gallery of Art for Peace & Spiritual
Politics, (her currently under construction but open for visitors
site) go to www.creativespirit.net/MabArt
[2] The American Constitution is based largely
upon the constitution of the Iroquois nation, a balanced system
that had proven successful for 500 years. However a fateful difference,
is that the US did not include an essential safety feature of
the Iroquois’ “checks and balances:” that in order
to wage war, the blessing and permission of the Grandmothers’
Council was required.
[3] These two endeavors, along with “Father
of the University of Virginia” are the three accomplishments
that were inscribed over Jefferson’s grave according to his
instruction. It is interesting to note that from Jefferson’s
perspective, being president of the United States didn’t
make the top three.
[4] Luke Thirteen:10-17, the woman is healed in
verse thirteen.
[11] Jefferson’s last words were: “Is
it the Fourth? Then I resign my spirit to God, to my daughters,
to my country.” Ironically, Adams’ last words were,
“Thomas Jefferson still survives! Independence forever!”
March is Women's History Month. It is the one month of the year
designated to honor the contributions of women and to reflect
on the moments of history influenced by their leadership. Thirty
days is hardly enough time to honor all of the women who have
participated in the shaping of this world, but it does provide
an opportunity for us to acknowledge how far we have come.
A lot has changed since the early 1900s, when winning the right
to vote was the priority for women in this country. Today, women
are the heads of organizations in every sector, holding key political
offices and shaping a nation in their words and deeds. For some,
this month may be the only time they reflect on women's contributions
to society.
Fortunately, in more than a decade of work with women and girls,
I have had the privilege to bear witness to women's stories of
triumph and accomplishment every single day of the year. These
are the stories of women that may not go down in history books.
These women will probably not stand in the spotlight as celebrities,
or grace the stage of award shows, but they deeply influence the
ways of the world.
They are the single mothers of Oakland's LIFETIME (Low Income
Families Empowerment Through Education), who despite the barriers
that have kept them in poverty, are working their way off welfare
and achieving secondary degrees that will move them into economic
security.
They are the women from the rural towns of Lindsay and Alpaugh
in Tulare County who, through grassroots organizing, are influencing
the "First Do No Harm" legislation for groundwater quality
monitoring to create healthier communities instead of harming
them.
They are the women of the Women's Health Rights Coalition and
Planned Parenthood who are fighting to keep control of their reproductive
health despite the passage of laws that limit women's access to
reproductive health services and birth control.
This Women's History Month we honor the everyday "sheroes"
for picking up the mantle of the women's movement and shaping
it into a new movement, one that is inclusive and centered on
the rights of humankind.
While there is much to celebrate and honor about women this March,
it is also a time for us to take measure of the barriers that
still exist for women and girls:
-- In California alone, 37 percent of single women and their
dependent children live in poverty, according to a report from
the Public Policy Institute of California.
-- Every day in this nation, women are trafficked under physical
threat as sexual property.
-- The Bush administration's proposal for marriage promotion
is sending the message that women on welfare, many of whom are
victims of domestic violence, will find their way to economic
security only if there is a male breadwinner in the home.
For these reasons, there is still work to be done before we can
move closer to a society built on true equity. The Women's Foundation
of California will continue to support and recognize women and
girls who work to make this world and their community better than
they found it. Although women have made many gains, broken down
walls and cracked the impenetrable glass ceiling, much remains
to be done. Although Women's history will be celebrated by most
for just one month, the truest honor we can pay women and girls
is to continue to support their efforts to remove barriers to
equity and opportunity every day of the year.
Patti Chang is president and CEO of the Women's Foundation
of California (www.womensfoundca.org),
a statewide nonprofit foundation formed 25 years ago this month
that has granted $13 million to more than 1,000 organizations
for women and girls.
Before I turned sixty I thought I was a feminist. I was in a
way - I worked to register women to vote, I supported women
getting elected. I brought gender issues into my movie roles,
I encouraged women to get strong and healthy, I read the
books we've all read. I had it in my head and partly in my heart,
yet I didn't fully get it.
See, although I've always been financially independent, and professionally
and socially successful, behind the closed doors of my personal
life I was still turning myself in a pretzel so I'd be loved by
an alpha male. I thought if I didn't become whatever he wanted
me to be, I'd be alone, and then, I wouldn't exist.
There is not the time nor is this the place to explain why this
was true, or why it is such a common theme for so many otherwise
strong, independent women. Nor is it the time to tell you how
I got over it (I'm writing my memoirs, and all will be revealed).
What's important is that I did get over it. Early on in my third
act I found my voice and, in the process, I have ended up alone...but
not really. You see, I'm with myself and this has enabled me to
see feminism more clearly. It's hard to see clearly when you're
a pretzel.
So I want to tell you briefly some of what I have learned in
this first part of my third act and how it relates to what, I
think, needs to happen in terms of a revolution.
Because we can't just talk about women being at the table -
it's too late for that - we have to think in terms of the
shape of the table. Is it hierarchical or circular (metaphorically
speaking)? We have to think about the quality of the men who are
with us at the table, the culture that is hovering over the table
that governs how things are decided and in whose interests. This
is not just about glass ceilings or politics as usual. This is
about revolution, and I have finally gotten to where I can say
that word and know what I mean by it and feel good about it because
I see, now, how the future of the earth and everything on it including
men and boys depends on this happening. Let me say something about
men: obviously, I've had to do a lot of thinking about men, especially
the ones who've been important in my life, and what I've come
to realize is how damaging patriarchy has been for them. And all
them are smart, good men who want to be considered the "good
guys." But the Male Belief System, that compartmentalized,
hierarchical, ejaculatory, andocentric power structure that is
Patriarchy, is fatal to the hearts of men, to empathy and relationship.
Yes, men and boys receive privilege and status from patriarchy,
but it is a poisoned privilege for which they pay a heavy price.
If traditional, patriarchal socialization takes aim at girls'
voices, it takes aim at boys' hearts - makes them lose the
deepest, most sensitive and empathic parts of themselves. Men
aren't even allowed to be depressed, which is why they engage
so often in various forms of self-numbing, from sex to alcohol
and drugs to gambling and workaholism. Patriarchy strikes a Faustian
bargain with men.
Patriarchy sustains itself by breaking relationship. I'm referring
here to real relationship, the showing-up kind, not the "I'll
stay with him cause he pays the bills, or because of the kids,
or because if I don't I will cease to exist," but relationship
where you, the woman, can acknowledge your partner's needs while
simultaneously acknowledging and tending to your own. I work with
young girls and I can tell you there's a whole generation who
have not learned what a relationship is supposed to feel like
- that it's not about leaving themselves behind.
Now, every group that's been oppressed has its share of Uncle
Toms, and we have our Aunt Toms. I call them ventriloquists for
the patriarchy. I won't name names but we all know them. They
are women in whom the toxic aspects of masculinity hold sway.
It should neither surprise nor discourage us. We need to understand
it and be able to explain it to others, but it means, I think,
that we should be just about getting a woman into this position
or that. We need to look at "is that woman intact emotionally,"
has she had to forfeit her empathy gene somewhere along the way
for whatever reason?
And then, of course, there are what Eve Ensler calls Vagina-Friendly
men, who choose to remain emotionally literate. It's not easy
for them - look at the names they get called: wimp, pansy,
pussy, soft, limp, momma's boy. Men don't like to be considered
"soft" on anything, which is why more don't choose to
join us in the circle. Actually, most don't have the choice to
make. You know why? Because when they are real little (I learned
this from Carol Gilligan), like five years or younger, boys internalize
the message of what it takes to be a "real man." Sometimes
it comes through their fathers who beat it into them. Sometimes
it comes because no one around them knows how to connect with
their emotions (This is a generational thing). Sometimes it comes
because our culture rips boys from their mothers before they are
developmentally ready. Sometimes it comes because boys are teased
at school for crying. Sometimes it's the subliminal messages from
teachers and the media. It can be a specific trauma that shuts
them down. But, I can assure you, it is true to some extent of
many if not most men, and when the extreme version of it manifests
itself in our nation's leaders, beware!
Another thing that I've learned is that there is a fundamental
contradiction not just between patriarchy and relationship, but
between patriarchy and Democracy. Patriarchy masquerades as Democracy,
but it's an anathema. How can it be democracy when someone has
to always be above someone else, when women, who are a majority,
live within a social construct that discriminates against them,
keeps them from having their full human rights?
But just because Patriarchy has ruled for 10,000 years since
the beginning of agriculture, doesn't make it inevitable.
Maybe at some earlier stage in human evolution, Patriarchy was
what was needed just for the species to survive. But today, there's
nothing threatening the human species but humans. We've conquered
our predators, we've subdued nature almost to extinction, and
there are no more frontiers to conquer or to escape into so as
to avoid having to deal with the mess we've left behind. Frontiers
have always given capitalism, Patriarchy's economic face, a way
to avoid dealing with its shortcomings. Well, we're having to
face them now in this post-frontier era and inevitably -
especially when we have leaders who suffer from toxic masculinity
- that leads to war, the conquering of new markets, and the
destruction of the earth.
However, it is altogether possible, that we are on the verge
of a tectonic shift in paradigms - that what we are seeing
happening today are the paroxysms, the final terrible death throes
of the old, no longer workable, no longer justifiable system.
Look at it this way: it's Patriarchy's third act and we have to
make sure it's its last.
It's possible that the extreme, neo-conservative version of Patriarchy
which makes up our current Executive branch will over-play its
hand and cause the house of cards to collapse. We know that this
new "preventive war" doctrine will put us on a permanent
war footing. We know there can't be guns and butter, right? We
learned that with Vietnam. We know that a Pandora's box has been
opened in the Middle East and that the administration is not prepared
for the complexities that are emerging. We know that friends are
becoming foes and angry young Muslims with no connection to Al
Qaeda are becoming terrorists in greater numbers. We know that
with the new tax plan the rich will be better off and the rest
will be poorer. We know what happens when poor young men and women
can only get jobs by joining the military and what happens when
they come home and discover that the day after Congress passed
the "Support Our Troops" Resolution, $25 billion was
cut from the VA budget. We know that already, families of servicemen
have to go on welfare and are angry about it.
So, as Eve Ensler says, we have to change the verbs from obliterate,
dominate, humiliate, to liberate, appreciate, celebrate. We have
to make sure that head and heart can be reunited in the body politic,
and relationship and democracy can be restored.
We need to really understand the depth and breadth of what a
shift to a new, feminine paradigm would mean, how fundamentally
central it is to every single other thing in the world. We win,
everything wins, including boys, men, and the earth. We have to
really understand this and be able to make it concrete for others
so they will be able to see what Feminism really is and see themselves
in it.
So our challenge is to commit ourselves to creating the tipping
point and the turning point. The time is ripe to launch a unified
national movement, a campaign, a tidal wave, built around issues
and values, not candidates.
That's why V-Day,
The White House
Project and their many allies are partnering to hold a national
women's convention somewhere in the heartland, next June of 2004.
Its purpose will be to inspire and mobilize women and vagina-friendly
men around the 2004 elections and to build a new movement that
will coalesce our energies and forces around a politic of caring.
The convention will put forward a fresh, clear, and concise platform
of issues, and build the spirit, energy and power base to hold
the candidates accountable for them. There will be a diversity
of women from across the country who will participate in the mobilization.
There will be a special focus on involving young women. There
will be a variety of performers and artists acknowledging that
culture plays a powerful role in political action. There will
be a concurrent Internet mobilization. Women's organizations will
be asked to sign on and send representatives to the convention.
There will be a caravan, a rolling tour across the country, of
diverse women leaders, celebrities and activists who will work
with local organizers to build momentum, sign people up, register
them to vote, get them organized and leave behind a tool kit for
further mobilization through the election and beyond.
This movement will be a volcano that will erupt in a flow of
soft, hot, empathic, breathing, authentic, vagina-friendly, relational
lava that will encircle patriarchy and smother it. We will be
the flood and we'll be Noah's arc. "V" for Vagina, for
vote, for victory.
"Women,
all females are
the manifestation
of Mother Earth
in human form.
It is essential
to collectively struggle to
recover our
status as
Daughters
of the Earth."
United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women
Beijing, China
August 31, 1995
I am from the Mississippi Band of Anishinabeg of the White Earth
reservation in northern Minnesota, one of approximately 250,000
Anishinabeg people who inhabit the great lakes region of the North
American continent. Aniin indinawaymugnitok. Me gweich Chi-iwewag,
Megwetch Ogitchi taikwewag. Nindizhinikaz, Beenaysayikwe, Makwa
nin dodaem. Megwetch indinawaymugunitok.
I am greeting you in my language and thanking you, my sisters
for the honor of speaking with you today about the challenges
facing women as we approach the 21st century.
A primary and central challenge impacting women as we approach
the 21st century will be the distance we collectively as women
and societies have artificially placed ourselves from our Mother
the Earth, and the inherent environmental, social, health and
psychological consequences of colonialism, and subsequently rapid
industrialization on our bodies, and our nations. As a centerpiece
of this problem is the increasing lack of control we have over
ourselves, and our long term security. This situation must be
rectified through the laws of international institutions, such
as the United Nations, but as well, the policies, laws and practices
of our nations, our communities, our states, and ourselves.
The situation of Indigenous women, as a part of Indigenous peoples,
we believe is a magnified version of the critical juncture we
find ourselves in as peoples, and the problems facing all women
and our future generations as we struggle for a better world.
Security, militarism, the globalization of the economy, the further
marginalization of women, increasing intolerance and the forced
commodification and homogenization of culture through the media.
The Earth is our Mother. From her we get our life, and our life,
and our ability to live. It is our responsibility to care for
our mother, and in caring for our Mother, we care for ourselves.
Women, all females are the manifestation of Mother Earth in human
form. We are her daughters and in my cultural instructions: Minobimaatisiiwin,
we are to care for her. I am taught to live in respect for Mother
Earth. In Indigenous societies, we are told that Natural Law is
the highest law, higher than the law made by nations, states,
municipalities and the World Bank. That one would do well to live
in accordance with Natural Law. With those of our Mother. And
in respect for our Mother Earth of our relations-indinawaymuguni
took.
One hundred years ago, one of our Great Leaders, Chief Seattle
stated..." What befalls the Earth, befalls the People of
the Earth..." And that is the reality of today, and the situation
of the status of women, and the status of Indigenous women and
Indigenous peoples.
While I am from one nation of Indigenous peoples, there are millions
of Indigenous people worldwide. An estimated 500 million people
are in the world today. We are in the Cordillera, the Maori of
New Zealand, we are in East Timor, we are the Wara Wara of Australia,
the Lakota, the Tibetans, the peoples of Hawai'i, New Caledonia
and many other nations of Indigenous peoples. We are not populations,
not minority groups, we are peoples, we are nations of peoples.
Under international law we meet the criteria of nation states,
having common economic system, language, territory, history, culture
and governing institutions. Despite this fact, Indigenous Nations
are not allowed to participate at the United Nations.
Nations of Indigenous people are not, by and large, represented
at the United Nations. Most decisions today are made by the 180
or so member states to the United Nations. Those states, by and
large, have been in existence for only 200 years or less , while
most Nations of Indigenous peoples, with few exceptions, have
been in existence for thousands of years. Ironically, there would
likely be little argument in this room, that most decisions made
in the world today are actually made by some of the 47 transnational
corporations and their international financiers whose annual income
is larger than the gross national product for many countries of
the world.
This is a centerpiece of the problem. Decisionmaking is not made
by those who are affected by those decisions, people who live
on the land, but corporations, with an interest which is entirely
different than that of the land, and the people, or the women
of the land. This brings forth a fundamental question. What gives
these corporations like CONOCO, SHELL, EXXON, DIASHAWA, ITT, RIO
TINTO ZINC, and the WORLD BANK, a right which supersedes or is
superior to my human right to live on my land, or that of my family,
my community, my nation, our nations, and to us as women. What
law gives that right to them, not any law of the Creator, or of
Mother Earth. Is that right contained within their wealth? Is
that right contained within their wealth that which is historically
acquired immorally, unethically, through colonialism, imperialism,
and paid for with the lives of millions of people, or species
of plants and entire ecosystems. They should have no such right,
that right of self determination, and to determine our destiny,
and that of our future generations.
The origins of this problem lie with the predator/prey relationship
industrial society has developed with the Earth, and subsequently,
the people of the Earth. This same relationship exists vis a vis
women. We, collectively find that we are often in the role of
the prey, to a predator society, whether for sexual discrimination,
exploitation, sterilization, absence of control over our bodies,
or being the subjects of repressive laws and legislation in which
we have no voice. This occurs on an individual level, but, equally,
and more significantly on a societal level. It is, also critical
to point out at this time, that most matrilineal societies, societies,
in which governance and decisionmaking are largely controlled
by women, have been obliterated from the face of the Earth by
colonialism, and subsequently industrialism. The only matrilineal
societies which exist in the world today are those of Indigenous
nations. We are the remaining matrilineal societies, yet we also
face obliteration.
On a worldwide scale and in North America, Indigenous societies
historically, and today, remain in a predator/prey relationship
with industrial society, and prior to that colonialism and imperialism.
We are the peoples with the land - land and natural resources
required for someone else's development program and the amassing
of wealth. The wealth of the United States, that nation which
today determines much of world policy, easily expropriated from
our lands. Similarly the wealth of Indigenous peoples of South
Africa, Central, South American countries, and Asia was taken
for the industrial development of Europe, and later for settler
states which came to occupy those lands. Development of Europe,
and later for settler states which came to occupy those lands.
That relationship between development and underdevelopment adversely
effected the status of our Indigenous societies, and the status
of Indigenous women.
Eduardo Galeano, the Latin American writer and scholar has said:
"In the colonial to neocolonial alchemy, gold changes to
scrap metal and food to poison, we have become painfully aware
of the mortality of wealth which nature bestows and imperialism
appropriates...."
Today, on a worldwide scale, we remain in the same situation
today as one hundred years ago, only with less land, and fewer
people. Today, on a worldwide scale, 50 million indigenous peoples
live in the world's rainforests, a million indigenous peoples
are slated relocated for dam projects in the next decade (thanks
to the World Bank, from the Narmada Project in India, to the Three
Gorges Dam Project, here in China, to the Jasmes Bay Hydor Electric
Project in northern Canada. Almost all atomic weapons which have
been detonated in the world are also detonated on the lands or
waters of Indigenous proposal to detonate atomic weapons this
upcoming month. This situation is mimicked in the North American
context. Today, over 50% of our remaining lands are forested,
and both Canada and the United States continue aggressive clearcutting
policies on our land. Over two thirds of the uranium resources
in the United States, and similar figures for Canada are on Indigenous
lands, as is one third of all low-sulphur coal resources. We have
huge oil reserves on our reservations, and we have the dubious
honor of being the most highly bombed nation in the world, the
Western Shoshone Nation, On which over 650 atomic weapons have
been detonated. We also have two separate accelerated proposals
to dump nuclear waste in our reservation lands, and similarly
over 100 separate proposals to dump toxic waste on our reservation
lands. We understand clearly the relationship between development
for someone else, and our own underdevelopment. We also understand
clearly the relationship between the environmental impacts of
types of development on our lands, and the environmental and subsequent
health impacts of in our bodies as women. That is the cause of
the problems.
We also understand clearly, that the analysis of North versus
South is an erroneous analysis. There is, from our perspective
not a problem of the North dictating the economic policies of
the South, and subsequently consuming the South. Instead, there
is a problem of the Middle Consuming Both the North and the South.
That is our situation. Let me explain.
The rate of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon, is one acre
every nine seconds. Incidentally, the rate of extinction of Indigenous
peoples in the Amazon is one nation of Indigenous peoples per
year. The rate of deforestation of the boreal forest of Canada
is One In Every Twelve Seconds. Siberia, thanks to American corporations
like Weyerhauser, is not far behind. In all cases, indigenous
peoples are endangered. And, there is frankly no difference between
the impact in the North and the South. Uranium mining has devastated
a number of Indigenous communities in North America.
Uranium mining in northern Canada has left over 120 million tons
of radioactive waste. This amount represents enough material to
cover the Trans-Canada Highway two meters deep across the Country.
Present production of uranium waste from Saskatchewan alone occurs
at the rate of over 1 million tons annually. Since 1975, hospitalization
for cancer, birth defects and circulatory illnesses in that area
have increased dramatically - between 123 and 600 percent in that
region. In other areas impacted by uranium mining, cancers and
birth defects have increased to, in some cased, eight times the
national average. The subsequent increases in radiation exposure
to both the local and to the larger north American population
are also evidenced in broader incidences of cancer, such as breast
cancer in North American women, which is significantly in the
rise. There is not a distinction in this problem causes by radiation
whether is is in the Dene of northern Canada, the Laguna Pueblo
people of New Mexico, or the people of Namibia.
The rapid increase in dioxin, organichlorides, organichlorides,
PCBs(polychlorinated byphenots) chemicals in the world, as a result
of industrialization has a devastating impact on Indigenous peoples,
Indigenous women, and other women. Each year, the world's paper
industry discharges from 600 to 3200 grams of dioxin equivalents
into water, sludge and paper product on the United States Environmental
Protection agency statistics. This quantity is equal the amount
which would cause 58,000 to 294,000 cases of cancer every year,
based on the Environmental Protection Agency's estimate of dioxin's
carcinogenicity. According to a number of recent studies, this
has increased significantly the risk of breast cancer in women.
Similarly, heavy metals and PCBs contamination of Inuit women
of the Hudson Bay region of the Arctic indicates that they have
the highest levels of breast milk contamination in the world.
In a 1988 study, Inuit women were found to have contamination
levels up to 28 times higher than the average of women in Quebec,
and ten times higher than that considered "safe" by
the government. It is also of great concern to our women, and
our peoples, that polar bears in that region of the Arctic have
such a high level of contamination from PCBs that they may be
facing total sterility, and forced into extinction by early in
the next century. As peoples who consider the Bears to be our
relatives, we are concerned also, significantly about the ability
to reproduce, as a consequence of this level of bio- accumulation
of toxins. We find that or communities, like those of our relatives,
the Bears, are in fact, in danger of extinction. Consequently,
it is clear to us that the problems also found in the south like
the export of chemicals, and bio-accumulation of toxins, are also
very much our problems, and the problems clearly manifested in
our women. These are problems which emanates from industrial societies
mis-treatment and disrespect for our Mother Earth, and subsequently
are reflected in the devastation of the collective health and
well being of women.
In summary , I have presented these arguments for a purpose.
To illustrate that that these are very common issues for women,
not only for Indigenous women, but for all women. What befalls
our mother Earth, befalls her daughter- the women who are the
mothers of our nations. Simply stated, if we can no longer nurse
our children, if we can no longer bear children, and if our bodies,
themselves are wracked with poisons, we will have accomplished
little in the way of determining our destiny, or improving our
conditions. And, these problems, reflected in our health and well
being, are also inherently resulting in a decline of the status
of women, and are the result of a long set of historical processes,
processes, which we as women, will need to challenge if we will
ultimately be in charge if our own destinies, our own self determination,
and the future of our Earth our Mother.
The reality is that all of these conditions, those eminating
from the military and industrial devastation of our Mother the
Earth, and subsequently, our own bodies, and the land on which
we live are mimicked in social and development policies which
effect women. It is our belief, at Indigenous Womens Network,
the following:
1) Women should not have to trade their ecosystem for running
water, basic housing, health care, and basic human rights.
2) Development projects, whether in the north or in the south,
whether financed by the World Bank, or by the coffers of Rio Tinto
Zinc and Exxon, often replicate patriarchy and sexism, and by
and large cause the destruction of matrilineal governance structure,
land tenure, and cause a decline in the status of women. By denying
us the basic land on which we live, and the clean food and streams
from which to eat, and instead offering us a wage economy, in
which priviledge is often dictated by class, sex and race, Indigenous
women are frequently moved from a centrel role in their societies
to the margins and refugee status of industrial society.
3) The intellectual knowlede systems today, often negate, or
deny the existence, and inherent property rights of Indigenous
people to our cultural and intellectual knowledge, by supplanting
our knowledge systems industrial knowledge systems, calling us
"primitive", while our medical knoweldge, plants, and
even genetic material are stolen (as in the Human Genome Project)
by transnational corporations and international agencies. This
situation effects Indigenous women, as a part of our communities,
but in a larger scale, has effected most women.
4) Subsequently, our women find that the basic rights ot control
or bodies are impacted by all of the above, through development
policies aimed at non-consentual or forced sterilization, medical
testing, invasive genetic sampling, and absence of basic facilities
and services which would guarantee us the right and ability to
control the size of our families safely and willingly. These same
development policies often are based on tourism which commodifies
our bodies and cultures (the Pacific and Native America as prime
examples), and causes the same with women internationally .
Collectively, we must challenge this paradigm, and this international
arena. I call on you to support the struggle of Indigenous peoples
of the world for recognition, and to recognize that until all
peoples have self determination, no one will truly be free, free
of the predator, and free to control our destiny. I ask you to
look into the charter of the United Nations, Part one, Article
Three which provides that "All peoples have right to self
determination. By virtue of that right they may freely determine
their political status and freely pursue their economic, social,
and political development."
All peoples, should be constructed to mean, Indigenous peoples
have that right to self determination. And, by virtue of that
right, they may freely determine their political, status and freely
pursue, their economic, social and poltical development. Accord
us the same rights as all other nations of peoples. And through
that process, allow us to protect our ecosystems, their inherent
biodiversity, human cultural diversity, and those matriarchal
governments which remain in the world, and with the Unrepresented
People's Organization UNPO , we reaffirm that definition of self
determination provided in Article of The International Covenant
on Social Economic and Cultural Rights. Further recognizing that
the right to self-determination belongs equally to women and to
men. We believe that the right of all peoples to self determination
cannot be realized while women continue to be marginalized and
prevented from becoming full participants in their respective
societies. The human rights of women, like the human rights of
Indigenous peoples, and our inherent rights to self determination
are not issues exclusively within the domestic jurisdiction of
states. For further discussion of these, please see the international
agreements an d'accordes struck by hundreds of Indigenous nations,
such as the Karioka document and the Matatua document.
Finally, while we may, here in the commonness of this forum ,
speak of the common rights of all women, and those fundamental
human rights of self determination, it is incumbent upon me to
point out the fundamental inequalities of this situation. So long
as the predator continues, so long as the middle, the temperate
countries of the world continue to drive an increasing level of
consumption, and, frankly continue to export both the technologies
and drive for this level of consumption to other countries of
the world, there will be no safety for the human rights of women,
rights of Indigenous peoples, and to basic protection for the
Earth, from which we get our life. Consumption causes the commodification
of the sacred, the natural world, cultures, and the commodification
of children, and women.
From the United States position, consider the following. The
US is the largest energy market in the world. The average American
consumes seven times as many wood products per capita as anywhere
else in the industrialized world, and overall that country consumes
one third of the world's natural resources. Canada, by comparison
per capita energy consumption is the highest in the world. Levels
of consumption in the industrial world drive destruction of the
worlds rainforests, and the worlds boreal forests, drive production
of nuclear wastes, and production of pcbs, dioxin and other lethal
chemicals, which devastate the body of our Mother earth, and our
own bodies. Unless we speak and take meaninful action to address
the levels of consumption, and subsequently, the exports of these
techologies, and levels of consumption to other countries (like
the international market for nuclear reactors), we will never
have any security for our individual human rights as Indigenous
women, and for our security as women.
If we are to seek and struggle for common ground of all women,
it is essential to struggle this issue. For, it is not frankly,
that the women of the dominant society in so called first world
countries should have equal pay, and equl status, if that pay
and status continues to be based on a consumption model which
is not only unsustainable, but causes constant violation of the
human rights of women and nations elsewhere in the world. It essential
to collectively struggle to recover our status as Daughters of
the Earth. In that is our strength, and the security, not in the
predator, but in the security of our Mother, for our future generations.
In that we can insure our security as the Mothers of our Nations.
The History of the Knights Templars --Charles G. Addison
Rosslyn: Guardians of the Secret of the Holy Grail --Tim Wallace
- Murphy
The Woman With The Alabaster Jar: Mary Magdalene and the Holy
Grail --Margaret Starbird
The Templar Revelation: Secret Guardians of the True Identity
of Christ --Lynn Picknett & Clive Prince
The Goddess in the Gospels: Reclaiming the Sacred Feminine --Margaret
Starbird
Holy Blood, Holy Grail. --Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, Henry
Lincoln
The Search for the Holy Grail and the Precious Blood --Deike
Begg
The Messianic Legacy --Michael Baigent
The Knights Templar and their Myth --Peter Partner
The Dead Sea Bible. The Oldest Known Bible--Martin G. Abegg
The Dead Sea Deception --Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh, Henry
Lincoln
The Nag Hammadi Library in English --James M. Robinson
Jesus and the Lost Goddess: The Secret Teachings of the Original
Christians --Timothy Freke, Peter Gandy
When God was a Woman --Merlin Stone
The Chalice and the Blade. Our History, our Future --Riane Eisler
Born in Blood --John J. Robinson
The Malleus Maleficarum --Heinrich Kramer & James Sprenger
The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci --Leonardo da Vinci
Prophecies --Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci: Scientist, Inventor, Artist --Otto Letze
Leonardo: The Artist and the Man --Serge Bramly, Sian Reynolds
Their Kingdom Come: Inside the secret world of Opus Dei --Robert
A. Hutchison
Beyond the Threshold: A Life in Opus Dei --Maria Del Carmen Tapia
The Pope's Armada: Unlocking the Secrets of Mysterious and Powerful
New Sects in the Church --Gordon Urguhart
Opus Dei: An Investigation into the Secret Society Struggling
for Power Within the Roman Catholic Church --Michael Walsh
I. M. Pei: A Profile in American Architecture --Carter Wiseman
Conversations With I. M. Pei: Light Is the Key --Gero Von Boehm
HOW MUCH OF THIS NOVEL IS BASED ON FACT?
All of it.
The paintings, locations, historical documents, and organizations
described in the novel all exist.
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The River of Life…
By Starhawk
Once a people lived along the banks of the river of life…
The river of life is a river of sweet water, that awakens the
seeds of spring
and nourishes all growing things.
The river of life is a storm wind, blowing fresh across the earth.
The river of life is the deep molten fire that shakes the continents.
And the people should have had all they needed for happiness
and joy,
But they were plagued by a terrible monster, the triple-headed
monster of Greed, Hate, and War.
Greed sucked up all the colors of life and locked them inside
his fortress.
Hate severed the threads of love and taught the people to fear
each other.
War threatened destruction to anyone who opposed the monster's
rule.
And the people were separate, and afraid, and poor.
The threads of connection were frayed.
The fabric of care unraveled.
And War took the young and marched them off to slaughter and die
in places far away.
Greed stole their future...
The river of life ran dry.
The women saw the springs go barren, the new sprouts fail, the
trees die, and the hills turn brown…
And they wept and mourned, and didn’t know what to do.
The women, too, were divided, for some had more and some had
less.
Old wounds and present injustices kept them apart.
But as War shook his fist, and threatened to unleash
weapons to destroy the earth...
The women turned to each other; they said: "We are scraps
of a torn fabric,
but if we tie them together,
we can bind wounds, dry tears,
weave a net to carry heavy loads.
"We must amplify love, and throw off dread,
Take back our power and spin a thread,
A life-line, held in our strong hands,
A living web of shining strands.
"And our hands remember how to spin.
We spin freedom on the rising wind,
We spin threads of life, the cords of fate,
We spin love into a river that can overrun hate.
"We spin justice burning like a flaming star;
We spin peace into a river that can overcome war.
And if you want to know where true power lies,
Turn and look into your sisters' eyes.
"So come mothers and grandmothers,
Lovers and daughters.
Come spinners and weavers,
Tool makers, potters,
Dancers and dreamers,
Fixers and changers,
Singers and screamers.
Forget all the dangers.
Come ancestors, guardians, Goddesses too,
You who teach us, you who speak true,
You who plant, and you who reap,
You who soar and you who creep,
You who cook, and you who drum,
You who have been, and you yet to come,
You who fight with the sword,
You who fight with the pen.
Unreasonable women,
Unmanageable men.
Come harpies and banshees and gorgons and Witches;
Come sweet loving hearts and furious bitches!"
"Break the chains that have kept us bound.
Weave a web to pull the monster down.
In the face of truth, no lie can stand.
Weave the vision, strand by strand.
"We are sweet water, we are the seed,
We are the storm wind to blow away greed.
We are the new world we bring to birth;
The river rising to reclaim the earth."
U.S. military policeman Sgt. 1st Class Brian
Pacholski, left, comforts his hometown friend, U.S. military
policeman Sgt. David J. Borell, right, both from Toledo, Ohio,
at the entrance of the U.S. military base in Balad, about
50 kilometers (30 miles) northwest of Baghdad, Friday, June
13, 2003. Borell broke down after seeing three Iraqi children
who were injured while playing with explosive materials. (AP
Photo/Victor R. Caivano)
