If you are not yet a member of the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) Orange County Chapter, now is a great time to sign up. It’s your chance to enjoy many ARCE membership benefits and become part of our mission of facilitating the study, excavation, preservation and renovation of important historical artifacts and sites from the Pharaonic through the Medieval Period.
“The purpose of human beings is to pour blessings on the earth from cradle to grave.”
Norma Meyers
The Autumn Equinox marks a balancing point between summer and winter, when day and night are of equal length. While many may celebrate this as a season of harvest and autumnal beauty, here in Southern California, we are near the end of the dry season, when the waters of the Los Angeles basin rest at their low point, where fires and desert winds are common, and where the land thirsts for the rains that come with winter. In this season, we gather in community to work an experimental, multi-year spell intended to deepen our relationship with the land we call home, to work to align our magical practices with the land we are on, and to pour out blessings for the place that sustains us.
Park at: Merry Go Round Lot One, Los Angeles, CA 90027
We’ll be gathering on the grassy part visible from the road as one drives up from Griffith Park Road to Lot One. For mapping, the geo coordinates are: 34.132157, -118.281742, and the Plus Code is: 4PJ9+V8 Los Angeles, California. $0 – $20 suggested donation
INFO
There are no seats at the ritual location. Please bring a chair or blanket that will allow you to be comfortable during the ritual.
Bring percussion instruments for the drum jam if you are called!
Wear comfortable shoes for walking.
Wear clothes you feel comfortable wearing in a public park (e.g. this may mean shorts and a t-shirt instead of your usual ritual wear)
The ritual will be held fully outdoors.
All genders welcome!
Children welcome with adult supervision.
To support those in recovery, this ritual is drug and alcohol free.
ACCESSIBILITY
The ritual space is approximately 100-120 yards from the parking lot, with a shallow downhill grade. There is a well-packed dirt trail leading from the lot, as well as a fully-paved street. There is a curb-cut near the ritual site. Street parking may be available directly across from, and level with the ritual space, but can be limited. Organizers are happy to help folks get to the site as best we can. The ritual will be held on a grassy area that is relatively level, but does have small dips and divots. There are very few sound reflective elements near the ritual space that would reflect sound back to attendees. We are likely to complete the ritual around dusk, and there is no street lighting. We have written this to be as inclusive as possible so that people with accessibility concerns do not have to do the labor of asking.
Parliament of the World’s Religions is the world’s largest interfaith global event that occurs periodically in various locations around the world. In 2023, the event was held August 14th through 18th. in Chicago. This year’s theme was “A Call to Conscience: Defending Freedom and Preserving Human Rights”. Within that overarching theme were a number of tracks in the program, including climate action, global ethics, peace and justice, indigenous issues, and the next generation of women. It is important to remember that PWR is a global interfaith event, not a pagan festival. Nevertheless, some of my time at PWR was spent on activities in and around The Women’s Village.
In 2018, PWR Toronto featured a “Red Tent” inspired by the 1997 novel by Anita Diamant (later turned into a film and mini-series). It was based on the idea that Hebrew women of biblical times had a red tent where they would sequester during their menstrual cycles and participate in private women-only rituals. PWR 2018 featured an actual, large, Red Tent decorated with several altars, carpets, a large canopy, everything to make it a special, private space for women. Nevertheless, there was some controversy about the Red Tent concept and the fact that Transwomen were not welcomed into that space (I heard about the controversy after PWR, not during). Fast forward to 2023. Although the official program still listed the Red Tent, in 2023 the actual space was renamed the “Sacred Space for Women”. It was not a tent, but a small room with red curtains, a few tapestries and a small altar. Although I meditated in there, I did not attend any of the rituals held in that space. Rather, I spent a good amount of time immediately next door in “The Women’s Village”.
The “Peace Quilt” was displayed immediately outside the Women’s Sacred Space.
In contrast to the Women’s Sacred Space, The Women’s Village was open to men. There were men going in and out of this space and no one made a fuss about it. The “walls” of the village were made of hanging tapestries called “Women’s Voices”. Each section was made by a different woman, whose portraits and stories were displayed on the outside of the village.
“Women’s Voices” tapestries around the Women’s Village
My week began with the activity “Seeding the Women’s Village”. Each woman (and men, too) was invited to add decorative items to the altar. Contributions included feathers, shells, bits of cloth, paper, etc. Some items were provided for those who hadn’t brought anything to contribute.
The Earth Altar (left), the Mother Tree (top right) and the Staves for the Next Generation of Women (Iower right) in the Women’s Village
Tuesday was perhaps the most important day for the Women’s Village and it began with the Ceremony of Water. It was identified as ”women only” in the program, but there were men present. The priestess (whose name I didn’t catch, but she lives in Southern California) specifically mentioned that “all those who identify as women are welcome.” She and two other priestesses, one indigenous (Great Grandmother Mary Lyons) and one Priestess of Oshun, led those assembled in the blessing of the water for Oshun. The assembled were invited to pour waters into a large vessel. Many of the women brought waters from various places, as far away as Ireland, Canada, Australia and many other places across the US as well. The three lead priestesses brought their own waters of the world to contribute as well. Once everything had been passed around, the water was poured into a fountain, which would remain there for the rest of the week. Some water was then drawn from the fountain, to take to the Women’s Assembly upstairs.
The Water Ceremony (left) and the Fountain of Oshun (right) in the Women’s Village
We made a procession from the Women’s Village on the lower floor to the upper floor where the main hall was located. Along the way, we chanted and drummed and whooped and hollered and generally made noise. We went through the basements and up the escalators, to and then around the assembly room. As we entered, there were many women who were already sitting in the assembly room, and most of those groups of women got up and joined us as we walked around. It was a very powerful moment.
Entering the Women’s Assembly with the water of Oshun
The Women’s Assembly, which covered only about 2 hours, featured several notable speakers, including Great Grandmother Mary Lyons (she said her Indigenous name, but it was very long and I wouldn’t be able to spell it), Phyllis Currott, and Cynthia Conti-Cook (also Indigenous). Phyllis read the Declaration of Women’s Rights to the assembly.
The only other event I attended that was specifically related to Women’s spirituality was a presentation on Wednesday August 16th “One Step Sideways: When the Divine is Feminine.” There were several times when multiple sessions of interest to Pagans were scheduled for the exact same time, so it was impossible to attend multiple events.
The session was presented by a panel including Rev. Angie Buchanan, Rev. H. Byron Ballard, Rev. Christopher LaFond, Dr. Derek Sabri, and Drake Spaeth, Psy.D. All confirmed they are Animists and that understanding our relationship with the Divine Feminine influences our relationship with the planet Earth. The deliberate elimination of the Divine Feminine from the conversation of monotheistic patriarchal religions has resulted in wounds that may not be recoverable from without Her inclusion. They also disputed the contention within interfaith groups that all religions come from the same source, and said that worship of the Divine Feminine is not about Goddess-worship or identifying with women (as evidenced by the fact that most of the panel was actually male). Interesting stuff.
I participated in many other sessions, but they weren’t related to this theme. The next Parliament will likely take place in 2025 or 2026 somewhere outside the U.S. Nevertheless, I look forward to going again.
Morgana RavenTree is a former President of Pagan Pride LA/OC and has been a practicing witch for 45 years.
Southland Pagan Press Contributors 