Tag: Hypogeum

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”