Third Wave Witch: Feminist Spirituality, Spiritual Feminism

Third Wave Witchcraft explores the intersection of feminism, Witchcraft, Goddess Spirituality, and feminist activism. A place to explore how to make our spirituality more feminist, our feminism more spiritual, and our world more just.

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Susan Harper

Susan Harper

Susan Harper is an eclectic solitary Feminist Witch from Irving, Texas. She is a professor of Anthropology, Sociology, and Women's Studies, with a focus on gender, religion, and sexuality. She is also an activist, community educator, and writer. When she's not making magick or fomenting social change, Susan is the head soapmaker, herbalist, and aromatherapist for Dreaming Priestess Creations. She shares her life with her partner, Stephanie, five cats, and two guinea pigs.

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Huchi-Fuchi, by Kris Waldherr

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  • Anne Newkirk Niven
    Anne Newkirk Niven says #
    I did not know about this Goddess before. Do you have any pages that describe her further that you can link to?

Posted by on in SageWoman Blogs

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Weekly Goddess Inspiration: Bastet

Bastet is one of my household Goddesses, and I'm looking forward to spending time with her this week. A household with five felines in it has to honor Bastet, right? And a house with two queer female householders and five felines really has to honor Bastet! She is, after all, not just the Goddess of Cats, but of sexuality in all its forms, a protector of women, and the patroness of divine play. Bastet was one of the first Goddess I met, on a transformative trip to Egypt in my early 20s, and she has had a place on my altar and in my heart every since. Even if I am not always so good at remembering her message, to find play and moments of lightheartedness.

And I can use some lightheartedness this week! Last week was trying, with the news that a promising job lead had fallen through, my partner's mother having hip replacement, and a brief descent into a black depression that kept me mired in sadness and inertia for several days. (I am happy to report that my partner's  mom is doing well, there are new job opportunities on the horizon, and I'm back to my usual self!) Last week was heavy beyond heavy, with few moments of laughter and play. This week I'm thankful to have the reminder that we need those moments of light, of silliness. We need to be able to look at the world like a cat and see everything as something to investigate, to be curious about, to play with.

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Weekly Goddess Inspiration: Baba Yaga

Baba Yaga might be one of my favorite Goddesses/female figures from folklore. I love the image of the wild-haired Baba Yaga, living in her house perched on chicken feet, embodying all our stereotypes of the witch. The "eating children" part I'm not as down with, but I get how that is part and parcel of her image. I've been fascinated with images of witches since I was a child, and even today as a Witch myself, I collect images and figures of witches of all different kinds.

What I also love about Baba Yaga is that, in her guise as a witch, she embodies some of humanity's deepest fears. And perhaps the biggest fear we have is change.

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Weekly Goddess Inspiration: Berchta

Here in the Northern Hemisphere, it's nearly Summer Solstice. Thankfully, the Texas heat has (mostly) held off so far, and we've enjoyed some lovely temperate days. The full force of the Sun will surely arrive after the Solstice, but it's been a nice respite to have our days in the 80s and low 90s.Here in the high, bright days of June, the Winter Solstice seems very far off indeed.

As we approach the midpoint of the year, I've been doing a lot of reflecting on what it is I'm trying to create in my life, what I'm trying to manifest, and what I want for my future. My companion this week is a Winter Goddess, Berchta. Worshiped throughout what is now Germany, and one of the patrons of Midwinter, Berchta is thought to oversee spinning.  Cloaked in her mantle of snow, and sometimes pictured with swan's feet, Berchta is also the guardian of beasts and of mothers. (Her celebration at Winter Solstice is known as Mother's Night.) She is a great teacher and an initiator. And like other Goddesses associated with spinning, including the Fates and the Norns, she is also a Goddess of Destiny.

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  • Susan Harper
    Susan Harper says #
    Thanks for reading! I sometimes get soooo caught up in trying to "make" things happen!
  • Ted Czukor
    Ted Czukor says #
    Excellent questions and reminders, Susan. Thank you. I, too, find that things go better when I allow them to unfold. I, too, somet

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Maybe I should be a little worried that a Goddess whose message is about communication showed up while Mercury is in retrograde. Those who know me know that I have a hard time restraining my tongue and my rather...strong...opinions at the best of times, and during a Merc Retro I'm even worse. My patience runs very short and my "filter," which is porous enough on a regular day, goes down entirely. Add in that I'm someone who makes much of her living with words, whether by lecturing in front of a classroom, writing articles, or blogging, and anything that interferes with communication can wreak all sorts of havoc in my life.

But Oya, Yoruba Goddess/Orisha of the Winds -- is my guide for this week, and I've learned in my time working with the Goddess that you don't resist. When She wants to talk, She will be heard. And that goes double for the Orishas.

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I've always had a soft spot in my heart for the Japanese Sun Goddess Amaterasu. While I don't work with the Japanese deities at all in my own practice, one of the most moving public rituals that I have ever assisted with was an ordination of a priestess of Amaterasu. It was a Midsummer over 15 years ago, a hot and humid Texas Midsummer where it had been well over 100 degrees. (It was the summer of 1998, where we had over 100 consecutive days of over 100 degree temperatures.) But it wasn't the heat that made it memorable. It was the fact that the priestess we ordained was born in a male body, but identified as a priestess. Others had refused to recognize his -- the pronoun he preferred -- priestesshood, but my circle agreed to do so. It was a beautiful, powerful moment of someone stepping into power and being supported by community. Ever since then, I've associated Amaterasu with stepping into our full beauty -- a message especially important to queer and gender nonconforming people.

It made me smile that Amaterasu appeared in my cards on this first Sunday of June, which is also the first Sunday of Pride Month.

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