Blessings Sisters in Goddess!

We are pleased to announce our Goddess Festival Special for the the month of August 2010.

In the month of August only!
We are offering women who register for the Goddess Festival a FREE one year membership into the Susan B. Anthony Coven #1 … the world’s most famous coven!

Membership into the Susan B. Anthony Coven #1 is $50. So you’re getting a savings of $50! Plus, once a member of the SBA, you will find savings on classes worth more than the cost of your membership!

It’s a WIN-WIN!!! You get to come to the Goddess Festival and become a Susan B. Anthony Coven #1 Sister in Goddess … and you help raise funds for the Women’s Spirituality Forum.

The Women’s Spirituality Forum is an IRS 501(c)3 non-profit. Your registration fees and your membership are tax deductible.

* SBA Special pricing ends Sept. 1, 2010

I have been thinking in these last two increasingly wild and wooley weeks of protests, demonstrations and banter back and forth about the healthcare reform currently before Congress here in these United States. What, in my way of thinking, should be a no-brainer – the availability of standard quality healthcare for every citizen – has become the debate of the year. But why? The neo-con right wingers in power behind the scenes have made puppets and mouthpieces of the usual suspects who are radio show and televisions show hosts to brainwash the susceptible public with fear tactics and double speak, as well as plain, old-fashioned lies. And what a surprise! It works. Now we have good, decent people truly terrified that they or their grandmother may be brought up before a panel of unfeeling government employees who will assess them as no longer a productive member of society and they won’t get the medical care they need so they can hurry up and die and rid the country of their expenses, a la Ebenezer Scrooge. People have taken leave of their senses! In a representative democracy such as ours, any member of Congress who would vote for such macabre absurdity could kiss their career good bye. But somehow common sense and reasoning have jumped ship here.

Additionally, there are those who want us to believe that having government run healthcare will take us down a slippery slope to – *shudder* – Socialism. Well, I don’t want to point out the obvious, but we already have that in Medicare and Medicaid. And don’t even try to tell someone over 65 that they are not any longer going to have Medicare available to them – you’ll have a gray panther riot on your hands. Yet somehow, many people don’t get the connection. It’s the same thing, only expanded to include everybody. And nobody’s going to force it on anybody, every individual will still have the choice to have whatever kind of insurance they want. The idea behind the public option is just that – it would be an OPTION. If people truly understood this, would it be so frightening to them? No. And if people understood that this greatly affects women’s health and the health of future generations because this lack has a greater affect on women – would they be so against it? I certainly hope not.

So how are we, as women of the Goddess, connected to this debate? I have written on several Goddesses who come to mind. Grandmother Spider says we are all related, we are connected – what happens to one of us happens to all of us. If there are millions of people who are ill and possibly die without medical care except at the most critical moments, that affects all the millions of the rest of us. In order for us all to be well, we have to provide for those of us who have no other recourse available to them. That is the sacred wisdom of Grandmother Spider.

And Ma’at – what relationship does She have here? Ma’at is the Goddess of Truth and Justice. The truth about this bill before the House and Senate is being obscured by those who, frustrated and angry about their loss of power in the 2008 elections, only want to take power back for themselves. They seek to misinform and inflame the people who would be their base in the next election and confuse more in hopes to sway them against the President and cause them to vote for the other party in the next election. This is the game of politics, fueled by the powerful medical and pharmaceutical industry lobbies, but it is directed at such an important issue before us now, one that cannot afford to be killed. Ma’at holds power to bring forth Truth and make sure that Justice is carried out.

The Great Kwan Yin, who weeps for Her children who are lost, ill or dying – She would, like the loving Mother Guadalupe-Tonanzin, want all to have the healthcare they need all the time from their cradle to their grave. She wants to see the end of suffering. She wants to protect us. We are the wealthiest nation on the globe – and we should provide care for each of our citizens no matter their ability to pay.

At the feet of the Goddess Pax we should lay wreaths of flowers to invoke Her to keep our nation from wars and tend to the needs of those who live within this country.
And we need to pray to Hekate, Bringer of Light to Darkness, that the Truth will be illuminated so that the Will of the Goddess will come to pass.

For once, a great Feminine principle is on the brink of manifesting: healthCARE for all. Let us do whatever we can, each of us, as women of the Goddess to bring this to fruition. Write, call or email your Congress person, the White House. Speak about it among your friends. Write your local newspaper. This issue is too important to let die, because if it does, it could be decades before it comes up again. We have to fight ignorance, falsity and darkness back like the Amazons we are!

Ohio Supreme Court: Breastfeeding Not Related to Pregnancy – What?

This is one subject near and dear to my heart.  Womyn should NEVER be restricted from breastfeeding their babies!

There are so many benefits to the baby, and to the mother, that are not spoken about enough – especially in this decade.  The baby gets an ironclad immune system, greater and faster brain development, healthier teeth over their lifetime, greater and close bonding with the mother, easier food digestion, more sleep and more regular sleep patterns, less fussiness in general.  The mother gets a vast lowering of her chances of later breast cancer because she actually uses her breasts for the purpose they were designed ( DUH!), a deep satisfaction that she is giving her baby the absolute best nutrition available to her, also more sleep because the baby sleeps better, some women even get faster weight loss after pregnancy – bonus!

I encourage all my pregnant clients to breastfeed.  I would not have traded my experience with it for the world – even though I had a milk duct in my right breast that had a tendency to get plugged up.  Every time, somehow my baby would get it dislodged and save me!

I breastfed for an entire year and I didn’t start feeding my baby solid food till she was 6 months old.  No one would have ever known – she was a very healthy chubbette at 6 months!

There is no more perfect food for a human infant than their mother’s own milk.  It is clear that though the Supreme Court in Ohio had it’s head up it’s – well, did not deliver a wise decision, this mother should have been vindicated and given the justice she deserves.

Lactate on your own time, lady

Friday, Aug. 28, 2009 11:29 PDT
On Thursday, the Ohio Supreme Court affirmed that Totes/Isotoner had the right to fire breastfeeding mother LaNisa Allen for taking breaks to pump milk. Yeah, you read that right. Timothy P. Reilly, attorney for Totes/Isotoner, told the Columbus Dispatch, “Totes has taken the position since the beginning of this case that it terminated the plaintiff (Allen) for a proper reason, and that’s that she took unauthorized work breaks, regardless of her sex or condition.” Because unauthorized pumping, clearly, can be divorced from one’s “sex or condition.” This would be the rare instance in which I find myself tempted to type “LOL,” except the Supreme Court used essentially the same reasoning: It was on Allen to prove that the stated cause for her dismissal (failure to follow directions) was a pretext for discrimination, and technically, she didn’t. Ergo, the court decided not to bother addressing the thornier question of whether lactation counts as a pregnancy-related condition, which would be protected under the state’s anti-discrimination laws.

In the strictest legal sense, the ruling is logical: Allen admitted she took unauthorized breaks, and that’s a firing offense. If she can’t prove that someone said, “Ha! Now’s our chance to get rid of her for being a woman!” then apparently, she can’t prove discrimination. But it’s manifestly weaselly to suggest that her “insubordination” can somehow be separated from the fact that she was lactating, especially since they were responding to a decision that included this colossal eye-roller:

Allen gave birth over five months prior to her termination from [Isotoner]. Pregnant [women] who give birth and choose not to breastfeed or pump their breasts do not continue to lactate for five months. Thus, Allen’s condition of lactating was not a condition relating to pregnancy but rather a condition related to breastfeeding. Breastfeeding discrimination does not constitute gender discrimination.

Of course not.

Chief Justice Thomas Moyer and one of the court’s three women, Justice Maureen O’Connor, at least had the decency to “concur in judgment only,” meaning they agreed that Allen hadn’t technically proved discrimination but believe lactation should, in fact, be covered under the law against pregnancy discrimination. Yet the only straight-up dissenting opinion came from Justice Paul Pfeifer, who wrote, “Seriously? Are you kidding me with this?”

OK, no he didn’t. But he did say that even if you insist on separating Allen’s extra breaks from her condition as a lactating mother, then they should be regarded no differently than unscheduled pee breaks. “There is no evidence in the record about any limit on the length of unscheduled restroom breaks and no evidence that employees had to seek permission from a supervisor to take an unscheduled restroom break. There is evidence only that unscheduled bathroom breaks were allowed and that LaNisa Allen was fired for taking them. What made her breaks different?” Ding ding ding!

More importantly, Pfeifer gets to the heart of why the court’s refusal to address whether lactation counts as “a condition related to pregnancy” is so incredibly disappointing:

We accept cases not necessarily because of how the result might affect the parties in the individual case, but because of how a holding might affect other persons similarly situated. Ohio’s working mothers who endure the uncomfortable sacrifice of privacy that almost necessarily accompanies their attempt to remain on the job and nourish their children deserve to know whether Ohio’s pregnancy-discrimination laws protect them.

Yeah, they do. And furthermore, LaNisa Allen deserved not to be fired because her employer expected a lactating mother to go five hours without expressing milk. Totes/Isotoner may have the law on their side by a hair, but that doesn’t change the facts. LaNisa Allen was terminated for taking 15 minutes a day to relieve a painful and distracting condition that arose because she believed breastfeeding was best for her child and thus chose to maintain her body’s natural post-pregnancy state. Lactation is, in fact, related to pregnancy, even if some women halt it earlier than Allen did. And breastfeeding discrimination is, in fact, gender discrimination, unless I missed the news that men can breastfeed now. That anyone could argue otherwise with a straight face only highlights how absurdly reluctant some people are to acknowledge and oppose blatant sexism.

― Kate Harding

In this lifetime, it all started in the Susan B. Anthony Coven No. 1, the most amazing gathering place for ancient and new Sisterhood. Here is my Journal-type entry on this momentous meeting, and the recognition and deep-soul connections it triggered. These are exciting times indeed!

I wrote:

“Monday evening, June 29th, souls who have known each other across time met again consciously and recognized each other at the deep soul level. The air around us was crackling with magical energy, light sprites, firecrackers, fairy bubbles and the sound of laughter and yes, giggling like five-year-olds let loose at Disneyland!

We were meant to meet! In fact, we believe we have met several times in this lifetime, without actually being aware of it. Both Ro and I attended the Goddess 2000 Gathering in California, nine years ago. And we both frequent the same part of Toronto, what is called “Greektown”, a relatively small area along the Danforth, going into the same restaurants, certainly shopping and browsing the same bookstores, most likely bumping into each other. And my last year living in Toronto in my son’s house, we were just a few blocks away from each other! Who knew?!!!

I had actually noticed Lady RO on the Z-list a bit earlier, and was curious about her because of her unusual writing style. So I asked my friend Tinne who told me she’d met her at the last Gathering (which I was supposed to have attended), and what a sweetheart she is! Ro and I noticed on the SBA Forum that we were both from the same part of Canada, so we resolved to meet; we talked on the phone and oh, the energy was amazing! And the rest is now herstory!

Ro met me with her Divine Twin Flame, David, at a wonderful Greek restaurant and they treated me to dinner, the darlings! She even knew when I walked into the restaurant without being able to see me – she felt it! And oh, the joy, the hugs, the bubbling energy, the laughter, the LOVE! David is SO amazing, and Z is right, he is truly an ancient Kouretes! A true lover and supporter of the Goddess! (Read: Z Budapest’s “Holy Book of Women’s Mysteries” to find out all about the ancient Kouretes.)

What an honour to have met these two beautiful souls and what a deep feeling of contentment and peace that these two are once again in my life. We are already planning events together, including a workshop which we want to present at a WomanSpirit Gathering in Ontario in the Fall.”

Many Sisters immediately wrote that they also felt a strong Sisterhood connection, one that stems from our deep roots of the times when the Goddess ruled, “When God was a Woman”, “When the Drummers were Women”, across the ages and into the nunneries, when sweet Sisterhood linked us in unbreakable bonds: Z and Bobbie, Solocrone, Boudicca, Sage, Belou, Aradia, Aura, and SO MANY MORE!

In PRAISE of Sisterhood, I post the following cyber-entry to disclose the MAGICK of  Technology’s ability to tear down the “supposed barriers” of Geographical limitations to the Women’s Spirituality Movement!

Shared below is a testament to the power of Wimmin’s Desire to Unite Community and Spirituality no matter what the obstacle may seem to be! Eclecta and I had been corresponding for many moons before finally meeting in person! This article is a testament of our times bringing witches together from all over the world in their quest to further the Cause of WomanSpirit RISING! Rosmarinus (yours truly) and Eclecta (ghislaine) are Sister Lunar Kindreds of the 21st Century’s Reincarnated Susan B. Anthony Coven #1 -initially Envisioned by Z Budapest in 1971! The SBA Coven lives on! SHE BREATHES! SHE EXPANDS! SHE AWAITS YOU  AS SHE GROWS! Technology is Midwifing  our Dianic Vision into the Future! This article is dedicated to the Deeper Dreams of Womankind- their Visions and Will to Unite Sisterhood……. with Will and Passion, we can Create New Realities…. Dream New Dreams.. and have the pleasure to bask in each other’s Sacred Realms for a sweet moment of Wholeness! Reach out SISTERS! The World is indeed your Nectar of Bliss if you Dare to use the technology out there! May Love be your Guide! BB Lady RO.

Reviewing the Momentous Meeting

Eclecta Shares her experience of two Souls Meeting in the Flesh for the first time:

“Monday evening, June 29th, souls who have known each other across time met again consciously and recognized each other at the deep soul level. The air around us was crackling with magical energy, light sprites, firecrackers, fairy bubbles and the sound of laughter and yes, giggling like five-year-olds let loose at Disneyland!

We were meant to meet! In fact, we believe we have met several times in this lifetime, without actually being aware of it. Both Ro and I attended the Goddess 2000 Gathering in California, nine years ago. And we both frequent the same part of Toronto, what is called “Greektown”, a relatively small area along the Danforth, going into the same restaurants, certainly shopping and browsing the same bookstores, most likely bumping into each other. And my last year living in Toronto in my son’s house, we were just a few blocks away from each other! Who knew?!!!

I had actually noticed Lady RO on the Z-list a bit earlier, and was curious about her because of her unusual writing style. So I asked my friend Tinne who told me she’d met her at the last Gathering (which I was supposed to have attended), and what a sweetheart she is! Ro and I noticed on the SBA Forum that we were both from the same part of Canada, so we resolved to meet; we talked on the phone and oh, the energy was amazing! And the rest is now history!

Ro met me with her Divine Twin Flame, David, at a wonderful Greek restaurant and they treated me to dinner, the darlings! She even knew when I walked into the restaurant without being able to see me – she felt it! And oh, the joy, the hugs, the bubbling energy, the laughter, the LOVE! David is SO amazing, and Z is right, he is truly an ancient Kouretes! a true lover and supporter of the Goddess!

What an honour to have met these two beautiful souls and what a deep feeling of contentment and peace that these two are once again in my life. We are already planning events together, including a workshop which we want to present at a WomanSpirit Gathering in Ontario in the Fall.

My cup runneth over, with joy and love!

Blessings,
Ghislaine/Eclecta

Rosmarinus Responds:

“SACRED SIGS!!!!

The Bliss I felt in the above evening’s “Present-Lifetime Reunion” defies description!  I have counted the days to this Sacred Moment of Bliss!

Sister-Witches…..

Even before Eclecta walked through the door, it is true as she expressed- I felt her because my Heart Chakra exploded with Serene Joy-I closed my eyes and smiled- a feeling of being lifted into the air came over me with a radiating Lotus Spinning at my sternum- sending out beams of rose-coloured light!

TRULY!

This feeling was followed by uncontrollable Laughter of Joy!

I was overwhelmed and screamed out, “SHE’S HERE!!!?!?!?!!?!!!!!” to my Belov-ed David.

We had a momentous LOVEFEST THENCE-FROM!

Staring into each other’s eyes… Hugs… kisses… giggles…. the name of the Restaurant described the vibe:

************** ASTORIA***************

- we were traversing the Starry Skies of OUR SPIRITS TOGETHER!!!!!!!!!!!

I have to say that my Divine was Honoured to meet Our Sweet Eclecta… and vice versa!

My joy to have our Spirits meet again was strong, Sweet Ghislaine! Now, I have to take this moment to express my Reverence for Eclecta’s Sensitive ability to Intuit “character” as she pegged specific Shamanic energies within both David and I which, Secretly, we recognize as our Karmic bond as a couple over many a-lifetime!!

Eclecta and I intend to attend a WomynSpirit Festival this October in Orangeville, ON together where we wish to bring the Wisdom of Dianic Witchcraft to the Festivities via a presentation and Workshop. This will be the vehicle through which Z’s Holy Book of Women’s Mysteries shall be shared, and Dianic Witchcraft shall be mused about with guidance from Z and this sacred forum!

May the Goddess Bring us together in the Realms of the Flesh more often- We are the Living Temple of Love- We are GODDESS!

ALL HAILS!
BB
)O( Lady RO!”

Beloved Goddess Sisters, something to ponder….

Are we being the Queen in our lives? What does it mean to be a true Queen? What does the Queen Energy feel like?

To me, the QUEEN is my strongest self. The part of me that holds the boundaries in my life. No one treads on me when I am QUEEN of my realm (life). She reminds me to stay in my power. To stay in integrity in all things that I do.

Much more to come in my next post sisters….

The power of Twitter can drive a Movement … blessed be the Generation Z!!!

Have you used Twitter? If I can do it, so can you.

I just posted to Twitter: #dianic #lesbian and #pagan #women, Susan B Coven has a new blog and it’s awesome! http://the-goddess.net/goddess/ Join us!

The # marks indicate keywords that a lot of people are following. In this case, I not only Tweeted to the people who follow me, but also to the dianic, lesbian, pagan and women groups as well. And, wow the results!

Within minutes, Llewellyn Publishing had picked up and rebroadcast my Tweet (called reTweeting) to their whole community. And within minutes of that, PaganFeed did the same thing.

Blessed goddess! Are we connected or what in this age of technology. Twitter is one of the technologies driving a revolution of minds by connecting us all. Even this blog post is going to be broadcast to Twitter the moment I push the button to post it live for you.

Goddess bless the new virtual world of the Susan B. Anthony Coven Number One.

It is here in the pages of the Goddess blog that women’s hearts come together in common bond to a rhythm that is uniquely female and plainly beautiful.

We are the women of the Susan B. Anthony Coven Number One, and we have a few things to say to the world.

Please make yourself an account here on our Goddess blog and join us in conversation  leaving us comments.