The Sacred Feminine is inclusive, tolerating, diverse, fierce and compassionate. Infinite ways does She manifest, and infinite paths have been made towards and around Her.
As we complete this exhibit, let us not "set things straight" about who or what we think the Sacred Feminine is... let us see more of the circles and cycles around us all. Let us not define our connection to the Divine by our differences, but by the commonality of our love for Her.
She comes through our words...
Talking to Goddess - Powerful Voices from Many Traditions
This new book published by the Lilith Institute features the writings of 72 women from 25 spiritual traditions.
Curator's Note:I am the one who tires of needle and thread after sewing just three sides of a square patch. And yet, the word I use repeatedly to describe the creation of this exhibit is "weaving"...
Sacred Stitches
Lying On My Back at Stonehenge, Deann Tyler
Vicki Noble writes in her thesis, Women's Textiles: Code for Sustaining Culture and Keeping Time,
"By examining "common threads" and looking at practices and approaches that seem to indicate traditions "cut from the same cloth," I will "piece together" images and illustrations from places as far apart as Peru and India, or Africa and Mexico. And by following all the different clues, and pulling the threads together, I will create a loosely woven whole new cloth that demonstrates the consistency of women's culture". More
Sometimes we need a Goddess who embraces our whole self... one who laughs at us, who adds fuel to our fire and who wastes no time in slicing away our illusions.
One way or another, girls journey towards the experience of being time-keepers, as they come to embody the lunar cycle as a cyclically menstruating and ovulating being.
The linguistic origins of the word 'time' comes from di-ma, meaning "to cut the moon". Women have been menstruating since the beginning of time, and, the beginning of time-consciousness was menstruation.
Not only were the first calendars created by women painting blood on bone to mark days of the menstrual cycle, but the first words in dozens of languages all boil down to menstruation. If one were to open a dictionary of word origins, they would find over and over that the words moon, month, measure, mind, and menstruation are interchangeable.
Two women who gift the world with menstrual-lunar wisdom and its connection to the Sacred Feminine are Judy Grahn and Vicki Noble. Judy's development of Metaformic Theory brings to light the infinite ways that human culture and human consciousness are rooted in menstrual rites. Vicki's scholarship and shamanism have woven tapestries of connections between archeology, astrology and women's embodiment of the lunar cycle. We will be visiting some of their works more closely later in this exhibit, but know now, that their influences are like sacred springs throughout.
Cross-culturally, and throughout time, the transition from girlhood to womanhood has been honored as a sacred event that affects the entire community and is ritually celebrated. Can you imagine living in a world where each time a young girl comes-of-age, the entire community celebrates?! Judy Grahn and Dianne Jenett with Serpentina Films grace us with another beautiful documentary of a modern menarche ritual in Kerala, India... MORE
Since this is the first of twelve exciting weeks exploring the Sacred Feminine, let’s begin with one of our basic human needs: food.
Whether mother’s milk or mom’s home cooking, we have all been mothered with food. Perhaps by our own mother or by another person showing motherly love, the essence of the Sacred Feminine is present in the universal experience of feeding and being fed.
Men can embody the essence of mothering when feeding others, and children, too when ‘feeding’ their dollies, as the Sacred Feminine can be embodied by anyone, regardless of gender or age.
Songwriter and percussionist Tara Greenblatt’s gorgeous song ‘Ground Beneath’ beautifully exemplifies a perspective on the Sacred Feminine as source of sustenance, and one woman’s need to acknowledge and give thanks to the feminine essence for her life-sustaining gifts.
Later this month, on the full moon of February 28th, hundreds of thousands of women from all over the world will gather to simultaneously cook for the Goddess in Thiruvananthapuram,the capitol city of Kerala, India, for an annual festival called Pongala.
Women of all ages, castes, and religion participate in Pongala, performing a cooking ritual for the health and prosperity of their families, each bringing their own firewood, cook pot, rice, sweetener and other flavorsome ingredients, as well as their own prayers to the Goddess.
Pongala takes place around Attukal Temple, the abode of the Divine Mother, which is at the center of the city. For seven kilometers radius in all directions from the temple, women line the streets and prepare for the ritual cooking. An ancient story about a woman seeking justice is read in the temple during which the sacred fires are lit, and the signal is sent for the women to begin.
“I stand in the sun, waiting with hundreds of thousands of other women for the moment to light my fire.” -Dianne Elkins Jenett
As hundreds of thousands of women simultaneously light the fires under their pots, they hope and pray to receive a ‘pongala’ - the auspicious moment when the pot boils over, which means the Goddess has given them her blessings.
The women call the Goddess Attukal Amma, which means Attukal Mother. On the streets, she is also recognized and worshipped as Bhadrakali, the auspicious but fierce aspect of the Hindu Goddess Kali.
Dianne Elkins Jenett, whose love for Kerala and research into the Goddess Bhadrakali brings her to this exclusively-women’s ritual almost every year. Jenett has raised worldwide awareness of Pongala and women’s relationship to the Sacred Feminine. The women who gather in joy and peace are pleased that Pongala is certified as the largest annual gathering of women by the Guinness Book of World Records. Dianne has also created a beautiful film of Pongala which she graciously offered to share in this exhibit.
The next time you are cooking a meal, I invite you to give thanks to the motherly aspect of the Sacred Feminine - an energy that is available within everyone, and a nurturing essence that keeps us alive and well. Put a special prayer into your food, and remember, if the pot boils over, consider that it may be something other than a mess. It may be a blessing from the Goddess!
Blessings While Cooking
All that I have comes from my Mother!
I give myself over to this pot.
My thoughts are on the good,
the healing properties of this food.
My hands are balanced, I season well!
I give myself over to this pot,
Life is being given to me.
I commit to sharing, I feed others.
I feed She Who Feeds Me.
I give myself over to this gift.
I adorn this table with food.
I invite lovers and friends to come share.
I thank you for this gift.
All that I have comes from my Mother!
Chief Luisah Teish
Footnotes: Thanks and blessings to Tara Greenblatt, Dianne Elkins Jenett, and Chief Luisah Teish for their generosity of heart and for allowing me to republish their works in the Museum of Motherhood’s Sacred Feminine 2010 exhibit:
Pongala references from Red Rice for Bhagavati: Pongala Ritual at Attukal Temple in Kerala, India copyright Dianne Elkins Jenett, PhD, published in 1998 in ReVision, Vol. 20 No. 3
As I share my definition with you, know that mine is just one of infinite ways to experience and define her.
It is in our seeking the Sacred Feminine, in our naming her, and in speaking out to express our findings that we will come to know her and how she is already in our lives.
The way I discover her is to look beneath, below, and before any situation, location or circumstance. Then I uncover, unearth and revel in her stories.
I look for the Sacred Feminine everywhere… and though well-hidden, she is always there – in nature, in family, in politics, in economics, in history, in the birth of consciousness, in the creation of culture.
The Sacred Feminine I speak of is an all-encompassing feminine essence and energetic principle. She is relational, cyclical and spiral in time and motion. She acknowledges and honors both sides of the same coin - the light of our lives as well as the darkness, the wax and the wane, the haves and the have-nots, the harmony and the disaster.
Exhibit on The Sacred Feminine Begins Feb. 17th and Goes Through April 28th, Here!
As a multidisciplinary artist, I create song, visual art, dance, and writing which embodies and explores the role of the Sacred Feminine in our global culture. I encourage and celebrate as well, others’ expressions and perspectives on the Sacred Feminine.
It is said that ‘She Is Everywhere’… will you look for her with me?
Polly Wood
For Museum of Motherhood
Sacred Feminine Exhibit, 2010
Museum Of Motherhood/PO Box 164/Seneca Falls NY 13148/museumofmotherhood@gmail.com
