I'm always amazed at what's possible. For long time, seeing the possibilities seemed hard-wired for me -- it seemed easy.
And then I experienced a series of heartwrenching losses, and suddenly loss, rather than possibility, was the main theme in my life.
[Hop to the full entry of Transmuting Loss Into Possibility in my Feminine Mojo Blog.]
Blessings,
Jamie
We've all heard it: "There's no going back."
We've been places, created things, experienced relationships, and leave things and people behind as our lives take us into new territory and explorations, sometimes by way of 'dark and starless roads.'
Yet sometimes things come back up -- things that we might have filed away under 'in the past' -- and we see them with refreshed eyes and a transformed mind. Maybe even with a bit of new wisdom.
Jamie
I just posted "Beyond the Fear & Shame of our Moolocracy" in the new Feminine Mojo blog. Here's an excerpt, and the link for the whole piece:
This is a story about the Moolocracy in which you and I live. And if we want to get beyond it (and we sort of have to), we have to recognize it for what it is and where we are on the Moolobot scale.
The term 'moolocracy' buzzed into my awareness as part of an 'insight download' in the wee hours last night. When I googled the term this morning, nada. So, Moolocracy is born into the memosphere.
We live in a Moolocracy, of course, so it's no surprise that the term would be floating around the 'luminous aether'.
The God in the Moolocracy
In our Moolocracy, the presiding deity is the Great God, Moolah - aka Money, and the the religion, Moneytheism. Unfortunately, this is a religion that requires frequent human, animal, and Nature sacrifice - and blood sacrifice, at that. Life, and quality of Life, are sacrificed hourly on its altars.
The Feminine is considered too untameable, too unruly, too renegade, and way too wildy creative and passionate for maintaining Moolocracy status quo, so leading Moolocrats tried to banish the Feminine long ago, and rigorously try to squelch or at least marginalize any Feminine outbreaks.
You'll find the complete "Beyond the Fear & Shame of our Moolocracy" post here.
[Ultimately, newer posts will migrate to the Feminine Mojo blog, so sign on to receive updates. You'll see the 'subscribe' option once you're there!]
FeMojo Blessings,
Jamie
Tune in to The Feminine Mojo Show for these upcoming dynamic and inspired conversations on "The Mystic & the Leader" (transformation and leadership), the Divine Feminine & Your Creative Soul, and "Sophia, Gnosis & Restoring Sanity", all coming up in December -- starting tomorrow, December 8th.
Read on for the details and links. Shows are live as scheduled, and you can listen-in at a later time via the Feminine Mojo Show archives at BlogTalkRadio.
Wednesday, December 8th at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time (9:00 in New Delhi, India) -- The Mystic & the Leader - Transformation and Leadership with Indraneil Mukerjee. Listen in (and join the conversation) as I speak with Indraneil about his own journey on The Mystic's Path to sacred relationship with the Divine Mother, and how those encounters and experiences influenced (and influence) his own life and work as a transformation and leadership consultant and writer. What does leadership look like when it's sourced from and guided by Wisdom? Indraneil will join me from India to explore just that. Learn more about Indraneil, this show, and archived shows at the Feminine Mojo Show page.
Tuesday, December 14th at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time (12:30 Pacific Time) -- The Divine Feminine & Your Creative Soul, with Kathy Crabbe. Join us for a conversation about the Divine Feminine, tuning in to Lunar wisdom, and cultivating your intuition and creative soul. Kathy is an artist and a creative soul guide who works with women to inspire creative soul. Learn more about Kathy, this show, and other archived shows at the Feminine Mojo Show page.
Wednesday, December 29th at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time (8:00 p.m. Andalucia, Spain & Euro Time) -- Sophia, Gnosis & Restoring Sanity through Ancient Mystery Teachings, with author & scholar, John Lamb Lash. John's book, Not in His Image: Gnostic Vision, Sacred Ecology and the Future of Belief, is one of my favorites. John will join me from Spain for a conversation on December 29th to discuss what the ancient Mystery teachings and the Sophia Myth teach us about the influences that divert us from our heart & wisdom (Divine Human), and how those teachings guide us to use our Divine gifts well, reconnect with Gaia-Earth, re-member Sophia, and restore heart and sanity. Learn more about John, this show, and check out the show archives at The Feminine Mojo Show at BlogTalkRadio.
Previous shows feature Ronna Detrick for Renegade Conversations, Lucia Rene on Unplugging the Patriarchy, David Hillman on the Ancient Greeks & Powerful Priestesses, and other fabulous people.
More on The Feminine Mojo Projects and other inspirations can be found at Ivy Sea Online.
Have a merry and magical holiday season!
FeMojo Blessings,
Jamie
Bottom image: detail from John William Waterhouse 'Circe'
The Black Madonna was calling to me today, so I thought I'd write her.
I knew nothing about the Black Madonna until October 2005, when my journey through the Dark Night and a series of synchronicities led me to her, literally, in France (I've written about this crucial meeting in previous blog posts).
Up until Autumn 2005, I had no context for the series of initiations I was in the midst of, and initiation without context or guides is sheer confusion.
What's feared is hidden, and what's powerful is hoarded, and both are true relative to the Black Madonna. She is Christianity's largely unknown Dark Goddess, drawn from much older pre-Christian traditions. She has come to symbolize what's hidden or marginalized, whether through suppression or oppression.
But just because we don't know about her doesn't mean her influence isn't present in our lives. As I learned, she was present. As I came to learn, hers was a profoundly dynamic and transformative influence, even ruthless as she separates us from false identities and attachments.
This is like Kali, the powerful Goddess of the Hindu pantheon who is shown holding a severed head and a bloody sword, with her foot on a lifeless body and wearing a skirt of skulls. Positively terrifying, right?
Well, it is terrifying, and horrifying, particularly without a clue of what's really wanting to happen when we experience Life's initiations without the wisdom-rich stories of the Black Goddess, or Black Virgin.
Kali, in her terrifying depiction, is the slayer of illusion, of false belief, the fake identity, the power-giveaways that keep us from living fully as we truly are. We wear all sorts of masks and armors in order to be accepted, to be loved, and to be invulnerable.
If you're on the transformation path, these masks and armors are all 'bulls-eye' targets. The masks are shattered, the false beliefs dissolved, and the armor is cracked open. It's about liberation of heart and soul, ultimately.
It is the quintessential 'trial by fire', with the fire burning away the dross to expose the Love that we, at our hearts, are.
Similarly, the Black Madonna -- the name and face that came to me to teach me through initiation -- wants to liberate our hearts and our minds so we can more fully and joyfully be ourselves, without the masks and heart-freezing armor.
She is our Initiatrix into the Mysteries of life and our own true nature; it is she who teaches us to dance through, rather than fear, uncertainty and the cycles of life, death, and regeneration. Her names are as varied as cultures: Kali, Pele, Black Madonna, Hecate, the initiated Persephone, Sophia...the list goes on.
The poet, author, and scholar Robert Graves (The White Goddess, etc.) wrote that in earlier times, 'black' and 'dark' was synonymous with 'wise' So Black Goddess was the wise Feminine. As a fear-centered culture spread, 'black' and 'dark' became associated with 'evil', as did anything else that wasn't understood.
The Black Madonna, as any fiery, initiating transformation Goddess, is really about wholeness as well as wisdom, and so she is an energy and consciousness that leads us on a path of recognizing the wholeness we already are, beneath the layers of fear and false belief that we're perpetually flawed 'sinners'. And through that path, we find our wisdom.
As a culture, we're being called to recognize wholeness, and we're called to wisdom, and this is the sacred ground of the Black Madonna, Sophia, by any of her names. And so as a culture we're experiencing a Dark Night of the Soul, an initiation of grand scale.
Remember that what's being birthed is wholeness and wisdom -- that we're able to bring the fullness of our hearts into life.
For those of you who've felt the call, or find yourself on the initiatory path, I've written other entries here at Sophia's Children about my experiences with the Black Madonna, and Sophia; and I'll be writing more.
And my friend Kim Gould and I will be sharing more about the 'Masks' and 'Descent & Initiation' (and Emergence & Integration!) cycles -- and the Black Madonna and others -- in our upcoming "Reclaim your Feminine Mojo & Express it in the World" tele- and eBook series. (Note: the response to our first Summer tele-series was so positive that we're scheduling another one.)
Blessings on the Way,
Jamie
Image: Painting of Our Lady of Częstochowska, the Black Madonna favored by the late Pope John Paul II, and used as a symbol of liberation by Lech Walesa and the Solidarity Movement.
You'll find two new audio SophiaLolgues added to the gallery: one with Melissa Gayle West and another with Kim Gould.
Melissa is an author, psychotherapist, and spiritual director based in Seattle, Washington, who specializes in working with women going through the Big Transitions in life. She had a lot of wonderful wisdom to share about those times of transformation -- when 'back there' no longer exists -- and how it can be very helpful to see these walks through the Underworld as initiations.
Kim is the founder of Love Your Design, and spoke about her own profound Big Shift after finding herself sitting in a darkened courtroom, hours after litigating a case. That was just the beginning. Kim shares wisdom from her own journey, her deep intuitive insight, and her knowledge of Human Design and archetypal energies (including Magdalene) for coming more fully into our authentic expression (and navigating those times of great transformation).
Both speak of the current cultural initiation we're going through on the planet. And these new SophiaLogues join a collection of other wisdom-rich conversations with wonderful, wise women. You can listen while you lunch, or download the MP3 for the iPod. You'll find more about the SophiaLogues in the audio gallery.
Love,
Jamie
Change is good
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