With the timely publication of Societies of Peace: Matriarchies Past, Present and Future we now have a definitive textbook on the incredible outpouring of modern Matriarchal Studies that has occurred in recent years. An excellent anthology of research, essays, and ideas by luminaries in the academic world, Societies of Peace also brings together political activists, goddess scholars, feminists and indigenous women from all over the world. The new paradigm of Matriarchal Studies is here to stay! Presenting concrete social alternatives to the looming global crises our patriarchal civilization has wrought, Matriarchal Studies holds great political potential and lifeboats developed from thousands of years of experience.

If we take the wisdom in Societies of Peace and DELIVER IT! as Kenyan activist and powerhouse Wahu Kaara suggests, it will have an incredible impact on the world.  The times require a fundamental shift in the way we perceive our collective reality, and findings on matriarchal cultures can offer us the vision of a new/old egalitarian society.

Matriarchies have a non-violent social order, conform to motherly values, and are based on gender equality.  Political decisions are reached through consensus, and social guidelines guarantee a good life for all. Matriarchal spirituality, deeply rooted in a reverence for Mother Earth and her gifts, prevents the exploitation of nature or animals.  These societies, both ancient and still existing on the planet today, are humanity’s – and especially women’s – greatest heritage.  Societies of Peace presents to a wider public the message of an alternative social and cultural model that promotes trust, mutuality, and abundance for all.

Edited by Heide Goettner-Abendroth, the founding mother of modern Matriarchal Studies, the scholarship and ideas in Societies of Peace are taken from two groundbreaking World Congresses on Matriarchal Studies that she led – “Societies in Balance” in Luxembourg in 2003, and “Societies of Peace” in Texas in 2005.  For the first time at these Congresses, international scholars working on Matriarchal Studies and women’s spirituality in isolation from one another came together to connect and collaborate. The book features exciting, creative and important contributions from (among others) Riane Eisler, Barbara Alice Mann, Peggy Reeves Sanday, Claudia von Werlhof, Lucia Chiavola Birnbaum, Vicki Noble, Susan Gail Carter, Annette Kuhn, Lamu Gatusa, Bernedette Muthien, Fatimata Oualet Halatine and Wilhelmina J. Donkoh.

Of special interest is Genevieve Vaughan’s contribution and sustaining support, both to the Texas congress and the book, as well as her essay “Matriarchy and the Gift Economy.” The guiding light for the new gift economy movement, Genevieve Vaughan describes the practice of “freebies” like housework, childcare and other “random acts of kindness” that already exist in society, unrecognized and unappreciated by the dominant patriarchy. Within a matriarchal culture, the modes of distribution are based on the principles of nurture, and needs are met directly resulting in a more functional community than a market economy based on self-interest, greed and profit. Gift-giving creates positive relationships, justice and solidarity, and with radical change, can be adopted as a new alternative economy at local levels and beyond. 

The knowledge and insight made possible with modern Matriarchal Studies is absolutely amazing, and has the capacity to change the historical record and create a paradigm shift in the prevailing worldview.   Societies of Peace: Matriarchies Past, Present and Future gives us the tools to wake up and take on this great work, which is creating alternative, life-affirming matriarchal models as the basis for a new society!

This year on my March 17 birthday (the day of the Celtic green!) I looked out over the expanse of drab lawn uncovered by the recently melted snow and saw that the robins had returned.  Spring enfolds very slowly here in central Ontario.  The robins touched with red busily foraging and the tiny buds barely visible on the highest branches are the first hopeful signs of renewal and rebirth.  Year after year, ravaged by the cold in myriad ways (I don't like winter) it's no wonder that I resonate with Persephone, Queen of the Underworld, and her monumental struggles.  In the discovery of Her story and the deep meaning inherent, I found a myth that speaks to my own experiences with hibernation and illness, and my emergence into the light of recovery and transformation.

In Greek mythology, the maiden Persephone, daughter of the harvest Goddess Demeter, is abducted and raped by Hades, the Lord of the Underworld.  Facing abuse, adversity, and the bleakness of her new home, she still manages to find her true self and embody the dark and mysterious persona of Hades' new wife and Queen of the Underworld.  In the meantime, Demeter searches desperately for her daughter.  She neglects to nurture the land in the process, and the earth becomes a wasteland barren of crops or vegetation.  Eventually Persephone is rescued by her mother, but because she was tempted by Hades to eat pomegranate seeds, she must return to the Underworld every half-year.  Persephone now divides her time between the upper and lower worlds, with an awareness and existence in both the dimensions of the living and the dead.  She cannot return to her original innocence, as she has eaten the seeds of death and knowledge and has evolved from Maiden to Queen. 
 

The Persephone myth contains many layers of meaning for us today, and working with the story of her descent into darkness we learn that our own experience of powerlessness can be our greatest teacher.  When we are betrayed by our own bodies or by dire circumstance, we enter into an Underworld of disability and pain, and lose our yang energy and the ability to act of our own free will.   But like Persephone, when we surrender to the deep currents and dark places of our misplaced fears, many gifts and blessings can be found.  We quickly learn to trust and honour the mysterious workings of our bodies at a deep cellular level, which is very grounding and humbling.  We learn to trust our own unique purpose which may (or may not) include a healing crisis. We learn to slow down, to recognize our limitations and appreciate the small things in life, like the gestures of kindness and the everyday places we take for granted.  Illness becomes our teacher and the greatest gift is the "turning within" which occurs.  When in this yin mode we experience the peace at the heart of the world.  Peeling back the layers, we come close to the Divine Plan and can feel the location of the "key to the soul" - the sacred energies that are at play in our lives.   What at first feels like the push of The Dark Goddess into a life-shattering experience transforms into Her embrace!

As Daughters of the Goddess, we can keep the themes of Persephone's story close to our hearts.  She is the "green fuse" in our soul, and represents the regenerative energy and potential for growth and transformation.  Looking deep into the language of the myth we can develop the skills to transform ourselves as we adapt to all of our experiences, both light and dark, and move toward wholeness and awareness.  Persephone teaches us that at our core we are of the highest ultimate value, and have an intrinsic self-worth.   No longer afraid of the shadows in the Underworld, we have embraced the holy darkness, and claiming all parts of our soul, emerge into the light with joy and love both for ourselves and others. It is time to bloom, to ripen, to embrace our full power and celebrate our extraordinary triumph after a long and painful struggle.

Part of the curriculum and learning process in painting studios at college or university is to make copies of the works of traditional or contemporary Masters.  In this way, aspiring painters develop a better understanding of form, shape, composition, perspective, colour and texture.  In addition to exploring Matisse, Modigliani and even Michelangelo's "David," for one of my projects I chose to paint the still life "Que bonita es la vida cuando nos da sus riquezas" (1943) by renowned Mexican artist and feminist icon Frida Kahlo. 

This work is one of many still life paintings created by Kahlo in her lifetime. Nearly all of her paintings of this genre include watermelons and coconuts. The clock, which is present in other Kahlo paintings, may be a symbol of her life passing by. Inscribed on the banner at the bottom is the title of the painting, "How Beautiful Life is When It Gives Us Its Riches."

Cast paper, linocut printmaking, mixed-media   IN PRIVATE COLLECTION

"Bella Botanica" detail >click on image to enlarge<

I am lucky, in my life, to have side-stepped the church and organized religion.  At a very early age my Sunday-school experience felt deeply wrong.  I rejected the church completely, and luckily no one pressured me to return to the flock. So, as a free and unburdened spirit I spent years shedding the conditioning of the dominant society that keeps us separated from what is truly important - the embrace of a spiritual path unique to each individual and an overwhelming love for the land. Accessing my own inner knowing and wisdom through reflection, meditation, dreams, oracles and intuitive affirmation was a major part of the process.  When I discovered contemporary Goddess literature and archaeology my joy was complete! Among other eye-openers, I will never forget the electric moment of seeing ancient matriarchal carvings, sculptures and Paleolithic goddesses for the first time in Lucy Lippard’s Overlay.  In the college library that day, the door opened to a NEW version of history - a woman-empowered history – and a feminine view of diety.  THERE SHE WAS - She had been there all along, waiting.....and after all that seeking, the Goddess embraced me, and I embraced HER with my body, mind and soul.

For me, Divinity has always been a sacred presence, a circle encompassing all the directions, guiding and illuminating, sensed as beauty and unconditional love, and with the strongest connection happening when I spend time in nature away from the distractions of the left-brain world. 

Wild nature is truly the lens through which myth, magic, and the sacred appear.  My bond to nature is a luminous connection and I am Gaia's daughter - She is my first love ever and always.    "Whenever I go into wild nature I renew my wedding vows."   In  nature it becomes crystal clear that the divine presence emanating from, and animating the natural world and indeed, the entire universe, is FEMININE - abundant, fertile, yin, cyclic, ever-renewing, forgiving, and above all, loving and nurturing.  All things are born and nurtured by a mother, and this love and nurture is the great cosmic principle of all life.  It is so obvious, yet our civilization, based on 2000-plus years of patriarchal rule, has tried very hard to conceal this great and beautiful feminine truth.

It is time to realign ourselves, men and women, with the Great Mother, to bring the principles of the Divine Feminine back into our lives, to recover what has been lost, and to bring a much-needed balance back into the world.

Before developing a body of work, promoting other artists, curating group and solo exhibitions, becoming a gallerist, and focusing on the genres of nature spirituality and Goddess Feminism, I acquired 3 honors diplomas in Design Arts – Creative Arts at Georgian College of Applied Arts and Technology. The five years I spent in academic and creative pursuits were immersive, joy-filled and incredibly rewarding.  I studied art history, graphic design, art fundamentals and colour theory, and developed my art practice in wood, plaster and clay studios, printmaking, papermaking, painting, drawing, handbound books, assemblage, mixed-media and curatorial writing.  Here is a small collection of my work from the early days.