This past week I traveled back to New York City, where I had lived in
my 20s, for the first time since I left. While I was there, I visited
the Museum of Natural History, where I had first experienced a
worldview that included women as sacred. Back in the 80s, Diane
Wolkstein had brought her performance of the Inanna story from ancient
Sumer there. I didn’t know it then, but that may be the closest I will
ever come to experiencing an ancient religious rite involving a female deity.
Thousands of years ago, the celebrations and ceremonies frequently
included re-enactments of stories about goddesses like Inanna.
When I unpacked after I returned home, I took my jewelry out of a
little silk bag and put back into it a mirror that had been sent to me
by my friend Marione. I had written a story in which one of the
characters shows another her reflection in a mirror as part of a ritual
and Marione sent me that gift in response. After I wrote the story, I
found out that this is indeed one of those spiritual acts that have
been done by priestesses for millennia all over world. Once again, a
modern woman had enriched my life by acting as a priestess. Continue reading “Living Like a Priestess Everyday by Carolyn”