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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Weekly Goddess Inspiration: Amaterasu

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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Some questions I'll be working with this week:

What does it mean to me to be beautiful?

Do I see myself as beautiful? Why or why not?

What beauty or light do I bring to the world?

What makes it difficult for me to share my light?

How can I better share my light with the world?

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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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